I can offically say that yesterday was the first day that I truly felt overwhelmed with three infants and a four year old. Wednesday night was a rough night for the girls. The reflux is getting worse for Brynn and Lexi and they were having a fussy night. Then Hannah woke up around 4am with bad dreams and needed Mommy. This meant even less sleep than usual. I think when I added it all up I got around 2 hours of real sleep. Then I had to get all three girls ready for their cardiologist appointments. You think with my parents' help and my neighbor Marcia that this would be an easy task. Not really when you have three fussy babies and a four year old who is not cooperating. Finally I got all three in seats and ready to go and then of course there was a smelly diaper that needed changed. When we finally left the house (my dad volunteered to go with us again) we were running around 10 minutes late. The cardiologist appointment was in Hagerstown. It was a cardiologist from Fairfax who travels to Hagerstown once per month. When we arrived at the medical center, my dad dropped me and the girls off at the door and helped get everyone situated in the triple stroller. This is when the fun began. We were already running late and I was in a huge hurry to find the doctor. The doctor's office had failed to mention that the cardiologist just rents a space in an OBGYN office. I could not find the doctor anywhere and while looking had started to draw lots of attention. I guess this was something that I was not prepared for. I had heard other mothers of multiples describe this happening but for some reason I guess I thought it would not happen to me. Boy was I wrong. The stares, pointing and comments were more than I could have imagined. Most people I think were interested and trying to be kind, but the comments just don't come across that way at all. Maybe it was the lack of sleep and my stress level being high from running late that made me just want to sit down and cry. I heard:
-Boy do you have your hands full (about 10 times)
-I can't imagine having three babies
-Are there really 3? (I guess those people can't count)
-I did not know they made a stroller that large
-You did fertility, right?
-The best was - "they don't all belong to you, do they?" I guess this is when I lost it. I should have smiled and carried on but I had enough with the comments. I responded, "One is mine and I borrowed the other two." The woman just looked at me like I was crazy and walked away.
(* So next time you see someone with multiple babies, HELP! Instead of staring - open the door, instead of making comments - just smile. It is funny because one would think women would be sympathetic and the first to help. Instead they were the people making the comments and acting like we were a show. The only person who offered any help was a older man with a cane. He got up off his bench to help me get the elevator, smiled at me and told me I had a beautiful family. I could have hugged him!!)
And all this took place before I even found the doctor. So by the time we got there we were really late and exhausted. Brynn had her echo done first and did great. She smiled and laughed through the whole test. Her echo showed the hole that has not enclosed and that is why they are hearing a murmur. She will have to have a repeat echo at three. Lexi went next and what a drama queen. She screamed every time someone touched her and threw a fit the entire echo. We tried everything: pacifier, bottle, mommy lying on the table holding her, rocking her but nothing worked. I have never seen her that out of control. Her echo showed a hole that had not enclosed like Brynn and Brooke but she also has pyloric stenosis like Brooke. Brooke had her echo at the Univ. of Md so she did not need one. So Lexi and Brooke will need rechecked at six months. If they still hear a murmur, they will need repeat echos done then: if not, then repeats done at three years.
Then today I took Brooke to the pediatric pulmunologist. It was so wierd leaving the house with one baby. She enjoyed the mommy time even if it was going to the doctor. We loved the doctor and he was pleased with her progress. Six more weeks on the monitor and if she does well and has no more episodes, she may be able to come off of it. That will be a wonderful day!