Happy birthday to my little sweeties!

Rich and I had the "I can't believe we have triplets" conversation last night.  Six years have passed and the drama surrounding my pregnancy is buried under current day life and time.  Friends and family and sometimes nosy strangers would ask, "How are you going to manage with triplets?" and we would respond, "We'll figure it out.  We just need them to be born alive."  That was our only concern - that all three them be born alive - and then we would figure it all out.  I didn't care about a stylish nursery or fancy strollers.  I just wanted them to be born alive.  We had one car seat, Abbey's, and I didn't want to purchase the other two until the babies were born.  I told Rich to wait because the thought of having the house full of more unused baby items was too much to bear.  For four months, that's all I asked and prayed for - please just let them all be born alive.

Our experiences have made me a different person, a different parent than the one I most likely would have been.  I pick my battles.  If Anna wants to dress like Punky Brewster - who cares?  If their hair is messy - whatever.  If Emily needs to co-sleep - I'm sure she'll outgrow it when she's ready.  We quite often go back to basics here.  Are the kids fed and clean and healthy and loved?  Yes, yes, yes and YES.  Isn't that what's really important?  We try to find that balance between spoiling them on occasion without raising spoiled kids.

It's bitter and raining here today, much like it was on the day we left the hospital with Allie and Emily.  There were delays with the hospital pediatrician releasing them because of issues with another baby.  Security kept calling to find out when we were leaving because the security anklets on the babies were causing some type of problem.  The Boston Marathon was on television as Grammy and I attempted to dress Allie and Emily in clothing that was sized for a newborn but too big for them.  I hadn't purchased anything new and these were gender neutral clothes received from my baby shower with Abbey.  Rich and I visited with Anna and said a tearful good-bye.  She would spend two and a half more weeks there recovering from surgeries.  But we knew that she would be coming home.  It was different from our good-bye with Abbey.  We were positive that there would be a future.  The four of us left the hospital together with my parents.  There were some hospital employees in the elevator with us and one older man asked if both babies belonged to us.  Rich replied, "Yes, and there's one more upstairs."  He told us that we had been blessed.    

It hasn't been an easy journey but it's definitely been the most fulfilling one of my life.  Today, I have three six year olds.  They are sweet, smart, adorable, funny, caring... I could go on and on.   I've been blessed beyond words.

Happy birthday, my sweet girls.  Mommy loves you.