Sleepwalking

As I gingerly lower myself into bed after a twenty-one hour day, I catalog in my mind the various health issues that come from being a mom of such young multiples. Bad knees. Back problems. Sleep deprivation. Low vitamin D. Occasional hypertension. The very best one of all... Sleepwalking.

This isn't any run of the mill case of sleepwalking. This sleepwalking leaves me with a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes it's dishes, but most often I awake surrounded by neatly folded stacks of laundry. Sometimes it's just stack-like piles of things that look like they were neatly folded with three happy little laundry monsters rolling around among them.

I can't pretend that this condition is entirely beneficial, but I do appreciate the midweek burst of laundry powers. These ten to twenty minute bouts of power napping/cleaning leave me fulfilled and refreshed. We treasure every ten minutes of sleep in this household.

My husband regales me with stories of my sleepwalking conversations that range from new nicknames for family members to plans involving a cougar in a jewel heist.  Occasionally I've been kind enough to incorporate him into my sleepwalking creations. From his account I give him a clear role in heists and getaways, adventures in the wilderness, and exotic animals with unusual resources and abilities.

I look on this as a gift at times when I'm behind on chores and too tired to get started, but I have to admit that it can be awkward socially. I have woken frequently in mid conversation with friends and family (especially over the phone). Then comes the dreaded 'great, see you then,' or 'thanks for taking care of that.' For all those that know and love me, I wouldn't say no to a simple recap at the end of conversations.

Dwarves

As we come out of our second bout of the year with pneumonia, I am reminded of Snow White... not only because I could use a few hours of poison apple sleep, but because our home is reminiscent of sleeping dwarves.

Little Ava taking a rest break

Our five little ones would be the envy of any sound effects team. Snores, whistles, and squeaks of sleep each a unique rhythm adding to the chorus of our nighttime. You may think it's an astounding thing that they sleep through their own noise, much less each others. The trick is they usually don't. Little Bella sleeps through anything... She also contributes at least half a cast of sleeping dwarf sounds to wake her sisters up. Ava, our sick-time sleep whistler,  only gets up once a night. Once she's up she stays up... for hours... and hours... running in small circles until she falls over on her face sound asleep around the time her daddy leaves for work. It's our little Cami that wakes up frequently. Every sound she makes when she's sick, every sound her sisters make when they're sick, or excessively long spells of quiet all end in our grumpiest dwarf being up in the middle of the night. Last night was particularly fun. After an hour of crying for us to find her favorite purple blanket, that she was wrapped in at that moment, we finally turned on the lights so she could  tell it was still purple. "Oh, purple, thank you Mommy."

Cami napping midmeal

The lingering cough will still keep us sleepless for a few more weeks I'm sure, but at least we can enjoy the fanciful moments that come from living in a house full of dwarves.

Negotiation

The trick to having triplets is negotiation. Verbally negotiating with toddlers, mentally negotiating with yourself, and physically negotiating everything.

Verbal negotiations: Not only do you need the skill to outwit a toddler, but you need the skill to outwit three very different and distinct toddlers. They have different motivations, interests, and concerns. Our little Ava is motivated by humor. No amount or pleading will bring her rushing to obey, but she's more than willing to come running for a chance to make you crack up with laughter. The sounds of joy call out like a beacon to her heart. Our Cami is motivated by rewards. Sometimes these are as simple as verbal praise, but she never turns down candy in a pinch. Beautiful Bella on the other hand is motivated by familiarity. A favorite book, character, even shirt grabs her attention and cooperation. Now the trouble is finding a way to explain to a two-year-old that you have what they want.

Mental negotiations: These range from, "I will stay awake long enough to..." or "no really, it's hilarious that my clothing can even absorb that much..." to "If I can just make it three more days I get a nap" and "If I chase them around the house twice more I will burn more than enough calories to have another cookie." Just keep in mind that triplets get significantly easier around nine months old and around two years old.

Physical negotiations: It is amazing how many things can be done one handed, one handed with a baby strapped to your chest, or a baby strapped to your chest and one on each arm using two to three fingers off each hand in cooperation. Just yesterday I figured out that by placing the knob of the pot lid on the edge of the sink, with the lid pressing against the sink wall I can easily drain noodles one-handed without the risk of burns. I can now adequately write with my left hand to make coherent shopping lists and balance the check book. I can make a decent chicken parmesan with two babies without injury. I admit, these plans have their drawbacks. The extra weight kills your back and knees. My doctor gave me at home rehab sort of exercises that are really simple and take care of physical repercussions from being covered in babies. I perhaps overly enjoy the moments when I'm only carrying around one baby. The relative ease provides a sense of freedom for accomplishment. Maybe now the laundry will get swapped or the dishes will get done. I can't begin to count how many days I spent pacing, holding two or often three kids to keep everyone quiet and happy.



I have heard lots of people notice the phenomenon of not realizing how much free time they had or how much time they wasted before they had kids. Having kids forces your time to somehow be better organized. Having twins after triplets has that effect in a big way. We didn't realize how easy it could have been if we'd done everything right, how much free time we still had after our first three, and how smoothly we could have functioned... But now with two more we have to figure that out all over again.

Introduction

Three years ago we were a family of two and had been for quite some time, two years ago we were a family of five, and this year we find ourselves a family of seven. Five children under the age of three. It sounds overwhelming... it probably is. I'm honestly too tired to tell. Some people count themselves to sleep at night, but I count to keep myself awake...
one... more *insert favorite snack/story of the day*
two... new babies
three... two-year-olds
four... hours of sleep on an average night
five... children in all
six... hours fixing food, snacks, refilling cups
seven... in our family
eight... years we waited
By this time I'm usually sound asleep, slumped over in the living room chair.

We moved out east for work two years ago and, without the opportunity to find a place for ourselves, ended up in a three bedroom apartment in Saint Louis, Missouri. As a family of two we had a four-bedroom home with fruit trees and a perfectly dog-sized lawn. Now we're seven, in an apartment, in the big city, and these are our adventures...