What's hard about triplets...in a nutshell

Someone recently asked a question in my comment section that I thought was a good one, especially for those of you reading who have triplets younger than mine. Plus, I usually get only a few comments, I want to keep all 4 readers happy. :) "What have been the challenges with triplets?"


I have no idea what it is like to have only 1 baby. I was blessed to have 3 at the same time, so that is my "normal." I often look at people with one infant or I hear someone talk about how hard it is with one and I think, "What are you complaining about? One would be a piece of cake." One baby is their "normal" and I'm sure I'd be in the same boat if I had only one.



Challenges are a constant with 3 toddlers. At the beginning, the challenge was feeding. They ate every 3 hours and it took, on average, 1 1/2 hours to feed them from start to finish. After 30 minutes of pumping and cleaning up everything, I had about 45 minutes to "rest" before it all started again. Of my 3, Liam was a horrible eater. Well, he ate enough, but he had such bad gas and reflux that feeding was miserable for me as well as for him. Lily was a super slow eater, but no problems. Ellie would drink her whole bottle in about 5 minutes. She drank it so fast that I had to slow her down and boy did that girl scream when the bottle was taken away.

At 3 months...L-R: Ellie, Liam, Lily. I can't believe how much they've grown so quickly.



Now, I'm trying to figure out how to deal with 3 completely different personalities at the same time while giving each child their own time with me. Ellie is very cautious and needs extra time to feel comfortable in a situation. Liam gets comfortable more quickly than Ellie, but still looks around frequently to make sure I'm still there with him. Lily is the one I have to keep my eye on. She will walk off without a care in the world. A couple weeks ago, I was at the acquarium with all 3. Two were eating a snack and Lily decided to go explore. She walked back into the exhibits without ever looking back at me. She followed some big kids into a tunnel and played in there for about 5 minutes, never calling out for me or even looking. I was standing right near her (she never saw me) and she suddenly realized that she was alone. She panicked and began crying out my name. I was right there and scooped her up, but she pulls this disappearing act all the time. She has no fear of new people and loves to go right up people and say, "Hi." It is hard at times trying to encourage Ellie to go explore, comfort Liam when he needs it and reign in Lily.

Sharing, or not sharing, as the case may be is another challenge. I don't want to zoom in every time there is an argument or everytime a toy is taken. They have to figure that out. Most kids begin to figure that out when they are older or even in preschool. Mine have had to deal with it since they could crawl. For the most part, they are very good at sharing toys and will hand toys to each other to play with.


Attention jealously is something that I'm dealing with as well as the kids. They each need their own individual time with me and with my husband. Right now, they are in a phase when only Mommy will do. Even though this is only a passing phase, I still feel badly for my husband because they pull away from him. He feels badly for me because there is nothing he can do when all 3 want to be held. Ellie often requires the most Mommy-time and she gets very jealous anytime I'm holding Lily or Liam.

On the other hand, I can't imagine life without all 3 of these little people. I love seeing the interaction between them that I wouldn't get of if there was only 1 or even 2. Raising 3 toddlers is non-stop but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Lily who currently has 4 teeth at 21 months.

Liam, who is faring better with 8 teeth.




Ellie, who wins in the tooth contest with 12.