the babies, those irony and and poo filled creatures they are, pulled a cute one last night: d.i.t. slept while carys and jude tag-teamed awake and whinging duties.

at around 5.30am, or, if my sleep deprived calculations are correct, 15 minutes before jasper was due to wake up and 20 minutes before carys would doze off, i broke off my chat with wailing daughter number two (importance of proper running shoes) and called my mother, while keeping a semi-loving eye on carys, who was licking the floor and her fist.

t: tell me the end is in sight

m:hello darling. the end is in sight

t: tell me i can sleep soon

m: you can sleep soon

and then, noting the monotone and huge silences between her responses and my question, she asked:

m: have you slept yet

t: well, sort of. ummm...in between babies crying, you know the deal. i'm tired

m: when will everyone else wake up?

t: you mean like the babies or like sebastian or like pam and dad?

m: someone who can help you

t: they offered, really....but umm, you know...they're my kids, and i am used to this, and well, no one can help me. ever. there will never be relief for me. i know my fate

m: thank you anne boleyn

now the silences are growing long on her end, and i realise she is watching golf. we talk about tiger losing

t: hold on

while listening to my mum's tv commentary about vijay singh, i heard this cuumpth sound. carys had bonked her head. was whinging intermittently. not enough for me to move off the couch, but enough for me to shift and check on her.

m: is carys alright?

t: let me check (and i scoop her up and give her a cuddle..she's now quiet!)

i either gave carys or she found, a piece of old tape that used to hold something together. she started chewing it, and became quiet. i was so impressed. what a girl!

my shards of sanity would not even cover my size 12 bod if the triplets were my first children. it is a huge debate, whether it is more challenging to start off with multiples, or if it is better to have one first who does add one more to the equation, but does give you experience in parenting.

i am so glad i knew a little about babies and lost my honourable health intentions during the sebastian baby stage and before the triplets. can you imagine if i insisted on using three bowls and three spoons during feeding time? washed colour coded soothers every time they ended up on the floor? called the doctor the time i put ear drops in their eyes? held them continuously and didn't let them learn to play on their own? these are triplets! they should be thanking me for a few minutes of peace and quiet and alone time.

when sebastian was born, he never left our laps the three days we were in the hospital, unless we were changing him. we used the bassinette to store the delivery pizza boxes. but unrelenting bonding did not make a child who loved cuddling. au contraire, sebastian is a tres independent little man, and very reserved with his affection.

i am so glad. because if i didn't have this case study, i would think i needed to be holding a baby whenever i wasn't holding another one, or two. i would have jasper in the baby bjorn, sela in my handbag, and carys in my moneybelt.

even though it is untrue, and worse, a bit naff, i am so thankful for the Beatles song,

all you need is love

because early in the morning, minus energy, sleep, initiative, etc, that's all i got. and they don't seem to mind.

what wonderful kids!

Comments

[Mum aka Mo aka Maureen]

And there, ladies and gentlemen, is my darling daughter!! You can see why I/we love her to bits and are so proud of her :-)

M xox

[AyEnDeeAreEeAyAitch]

I love it! Remind me to leave bits of tape on the floor for entertainment although the tufts of dog hair, dried cat vomit, electrical cords and bits of leaves should be enough.

[Red]

When my best friend got pregnant my mom was flabbergasted by the entire 'process'... they "planned" when to have the child, had all of the "educational" toys picked our ahead of its birth etc... My mom said " I couldn't have kids today, I'm not smart enough." "In my day all you had to do was love them and keep them safe" I'm thinking that my mom could still do it today.

[Lauren]

So, did you get some rest? Enquiring minds want to know.

[Tertia]

It sounds hectic and v scary!!

[Trinie]

I hope that tonight will be filled with some more sleep for you. You are so right though. All babies need is love. Research shows that if babies are loved and form at least one secure attachment, the nerve pathways in their brain form much much better than if they are unloved - so you just keep right on loving your precious little triplets. Its the very best thing that you can do for them!!

[knobody]

i, too, am ever thankful for crud on the floor and now, for big brothers.

oh, yeah, and a newborn who sleeps for 5 hours. that can't hurt either.

i hope tonight is more restful, at least for you.

[mollyv]

Tess, around our house, we chant, this too shall pass, this too shall pass - I do believe that I have had the same conversation with my own mom (we have a 5 yr old, 18mo. twins, and #4 due in Dec.) So, love and enjoy, because the sleepless thing shall too pass and you will wonder how you survived it (and sometimes enjoyed it). I do miss, call me crazy, being the only one up with a babe in the middle of the night when the rest of the house has gone to sleep - there is just something about it.
Hoping you get some sleep soon...