It's been a good few days. Yesterday, despite the fact that I had no nanny, no husband, and four kids to contend with, I was moderately productive. I got a shower (for the second day in a row! Whoo hoo!). The kids all got clean clothes. Laundry got done. Baby food got made. We even got out of the house. It was still a hard day, but it was a good day.
I had promised J that we WOULD get out of the house. So I started planning first thing in the morning a way to get out of the house. And after the first feeding of the morning, I thought, "Okay, we'll leave soon…" Except, then Abby and Ellie fell asleep and I remembered that whoops! It's naptime. And I put Sam down for his nap, too. Thanks, girls, for reminding me. Also, J needed breakfast, duh. So I made him breakfast and while I was at it, I thought I should take the opportunity to steam some carrots and bake some sweet potatoes for some baby food while J was engrossed in "Walking with Dinosaurs" and the babies were sleeping. SO, I stayed in the kitchen and worked on some baby food.
By the time I was done steaming, baking, and pureeing (hey, that takes a LONG time!), the babies were awake. You'd think we could finally leave the house, except everyone needed to be changed. And J needed socks and shoes. And the phone rang. And then… Oh right, then it was time for the babies to eat again. So I decided, because I'm an idiot, that TODAY would be a good day to experiment with actually FEEDING the babies this new solid food that I made them, because if not now, when? (We haven't really experimented too much with solid food, just occasional tries here and there since our initial experiment, so it wasn't a given that they'd get the food yesterday, but I figured I could live life dangerously)
We're not really good at solid food eating yet, so it takes a really long time. By the time I got to Ellie, my poor girl looked like this:
Not to worry, she DID eventually perk up:
By the time we were done with carrots, it was time to feed actual, you know, MILK, since the carrots weren't actual nutritional substance for the babies (not yet anyway) and they were positively STARVING (did I mention that feeding them solids takes FOREVER?). I fed them and then fed J and never did get around to feeding myself. Then I got emergency back up bottles ready just in case, got the diaper bag together, the stroller in the car, the car sets put in the car (Seth had taken them out when he'd needed more space in the van for something for some reason last weekened), got everyone loaded into the car at at 3pm, 6 HOURS after the thought of leaving my house had first crossed my mind, my four children and I finally left the house.
And I should mention this is the first time that I've taken all four children out of the house all by myself. And it's a big monumental moment, right? So I should be going someplace totally cool and nifty right? But I couldn't think of ANYPLACE interesting to go that could accomodate a big stroller, four kids and a tired mom. So we went, um, to…
Wait for it…
Target.
And now I'm not sorry about our forced quarantine for the last 6 months, because we are a giant walking FREAK SHOW. I can't tell you the number of people who stopped to ask "Oh! Are they triplets? Are they identical? How many girls/boys? Do you have any other children? [please note, J was standing RIGHT THERE NEXT TO THE STROLLER] Isn't it nice that you got it all done at once? [who says I'm done?] Are they natural? [who ever heard of an unnatural baby?] Were you doing fertility treatment? [who's business is this???]" It's unbelievable how many people actually asked such questions. MOST people, thankfully just said, "God bless you, what miracles you have" or something to that effect, but AT LEAST half a dozen people took it a whole lot further than that, which is so not okay. I had an agenda, people. Okay, not really, but I could have had an agenda! What if I'd had things to get done? What if I wasn't just out of the house for the sake of getting out of the house? What if I truly had things I needed to accomplish and you just ruined my ability to do so? Gah!
There's a piece of me that kind of enjoys being special, I'll admit that. But most of me really HATES attention. Particularly from strangers. And I despise being the walking freak show. It's hard enough walking around the neighborhood and getting all sorts of attention from people who KNOW us, but to get all that from people who DON'T know us? Oy.
Anyway, we survived. J got through Target with a new dinosaur, the babies got a couple cute summery outfits and a bunch of new take n' toss bowls for packing up their food. You should see my freezer now:
Quite a contrast to back when my fridge was full of milk. The times they are a-changin'!
Tonight I pureed a bunch of broccoli. I'm on a roll!
We'll see if they like it. I'm betting they won't. Today, they expressed a definite preference for sweet potatoes versus carrots, even though Seth can't tell the difference between the two in a blind taste test! They don't like bananas much (I'm betting it's the texture they don't like), but we'll keep trying it. We'll try broccoli in the next couple days.
Here are a few more feeding pictures, from today:
Sam
Ellie
Abby
ChezPerky 
I know exactly what you mean about getting out of the house – it almost doesn’t make any difference where you go :-)I hated the early feeding. I found it was easiest to feed my twins with a single spoon, just going back and forth between them (they also happened to love Gerber chicken & vegetables (they used to sell it, kosher, in Israel) better than any other food…Your kids are adorable :-)Have a happy Passover!
Congratulations Karen for getting out of the house with J AND with your trio…..THAT IS HUGE!!!! I do remember the first time I did it, and I promptly went through the Starbucks deive-thru as a reward :o) Even now, with my boys being nearly 21 months, I feel a sense of pride when I get home from taking my three boys out.It is funny,I just recently blogged about how frustrating it is to be out in public with my triplets…..it is amazing the questions, stares, and overall rudeness you encounter. You get some sweet comments too, but the other can make you not want to go out sometimes! That really is so awesome though that you not only got out of the house, but managed to do some shopping as well!! I think the only places I ever go to with my triplet stroller is Target, Costco, the mall, and the grocery store….those are my big outings anymore! :o)More importantly, those pictures of your babies eating are SO ADORABLE! Seeing the pics of your homemade baby food made me smile and kind of miss those days!Take care, Kelli
that is so wonderful you got out of the house with everyone! even though it is a ton of work and you get a billion questions, it feels great doesn’t it? i took everyone to the mall the other day (i did have help though) and someone asked me if they were triplets. i answered yes. then they asked if i had them all. umm… no? i had one, bought one and grew the other in a tree. yes i had them all. duh.
So far, Bo has turned up his nose at broccoli and green peas. He will eat avocado, sweet potatoes, banana, mango, paypaya, peas, carrots, pears, applesauce (not his fav), peaches and squash. It does take a long time to make, but it seems so much better than the already prepared stuff!Good luck! 🙂
WOW! I am worn out just reading this post!!! Good job you!
oh my! it is weird to be out with them. part of me likes the attention, part of me is embarrassed by it. i’m kind of dreading taking them out in a triple stroller – that’s a rare occurrance, but how else will i be able to do it alone when they get a little bigger?
A friend of mine mashes bananas and avocados together for her son and he LOVES it. I think the fat in the avocado might improve the texture. She also uses pretty ripe bananas.Have I ever mentioned that you are supermom, btw?
Your children are just BEAUTIFUL! My cousin has triplets (2 boys and a girl) and used to baby sit for my twins. She would go to the mall, and BOY would she get some stares! And of course the “are they ALL yours?” question … hehe.
Those babies are always too freaking cute for words. I especially like the pre and post Ellie pic. 🙂 Also, you have a really cool high chair for her – so stylish! Lastly, I go to Target too for outings. I mean, why not? Big aisles, it’s fairly mellow most of the time and the Target we have has a Starbucks so I can get a decaf coffee or mocha and tool around. I prefer it to the mall, really.
i just love reading your blog!! i have a 3 yr old and twin 4 month olds, and you are my hero!! and, let me just say, target is THE happenin’ place to go hang out just to get out of the house…i do it, all the moms i know do it…wonder if target has any idea how many moms use them for this purpose?! my 3 yr old son actually ASKS to go to target now!! (it helps that every time we go, he leaves with a new thomas engine!) and i can only imagine the comments you get – i get them, with just twins – so you have my sympathy. you’re kiddos are absolutely adorable, btw!!
I HATE all those questions. My trio is 20 months and I ignore most people’s questions, don’t look ANYONE in the eye and just stare and smile at their amazingly insentive and personal questions. GOOD JOB getting out of the house. I laughed while reading your post because I totally remember what that was like. Good for you and it will get easier! Huge accomplishment for you!Christiemcgoverntrio.blogspot.com
Aw, those are GREAT photos.I have taken random get-out-of-the-house Target trips myself, and my children are seven and in school when I take these trips.This made me laugh out loud:”I had an agenda, people. Okay, not really, but I could have had an agenda!”You only have about three and a half more years, and then those comments pretty much disappear into the ether. I won’t say, “enjoy it while it lasts,” because I didn’t, but enjoy the sense of accomplishment, because man oh man, that’s super-mommyhood right there.