It was only a matter of time.

We had our first head injury yesterday. The kind when you hear a really loud thump, wait for the inevitable blood-curdling scream, and rush over to the scene frightened about what you might find. After their snack time, I took Ruby out of her booster first and proceeded to changer her poopy diaper (and the rest of her clothes that she had soaked through, thanks for all the fluids I gave her that day to compensate for her runny nose). Bennett decided he didn’t want to be in his booster seat anymore, so he exerted enough energy to tip the whole chair over, and his head smacked right on the floor. I left Ruby immediately, before I had a chance to re-diaper her, so of course she peed everywhere, and Alex was yelling at me that he wanted to be freed from his booster as well, all the while I am frantically trying to get Bennett out of his booster and checking for blood. There wasn’t any, thank goodness, but I was still shaken up, trying to figure out how to deal with everything that was happening. First thing, check to make sure Bennett was not going to go unconscious, then get Alex out so he didn’t do the same thing, then find naked Ruby and put a diaper on before there are more messes to clean up. As soon as I had called my mom to refresh my knowledge on signs of severe injury, calmed everyone, change a couple more diapers, turned on a show, and gave Bennett some ibuprofen, things were much better.

After a few minutes of feeling like a failure of a mother, I forgave myself knowing full well that we have many more episodes like this yet to come. It’s just awful to see your kids suffer, and just keep wondering if there was anything you could have done to prevent it. But like I said, I better get used to this if I want to survive motherhood.

The dumb thing is, Bennett had threatened to do that a while ago, and I just said to myself,”whoa, that would be really bad if he fell over,” and banished it from my mind, not wanting to think about what a catastrophe that would be. Needless to say, we are finding a solution to the light weight chairs the boosters were on, and in the meantime they are eating picnic style, on the floor. It’s nice though, because when they drop their food or drinks from their tray, a favorite game lately, they can pick it right up.

This is definitely one of those times (kind of like when someone pooped (a lot) in the tub, and they were all playing with it, and we quickly took them all out and tried to keep the corralled while I ferociously scrubbed the disgusting tub, all the while one pooped on the floor before we finally got them into a clean second bath) that I have said to myself “it would be easier if I only had one. . . or even two.” I try not to let that thought enter my head, but I can’t help it when things get really rough. I want to be there for all of them, to hold and cuddle when they need me, to pay more attention to each of them individually, but sometimes there just isn’t enough of me to go around. I couldn’t live without all three of them, and I try to not always let the fact that I have three babies give me an excuse to pity myself, but the truth is, it’s hard to care for triplets. Especially when you are a first time mom, like me. Let me just tell you what else has been going on around here lately:

Three colds again. That mean three constantly runny, goopy noses, three clingy, heavy babies, three bad sleepers, and yes, all three are wheezing. It seems like someone is always yelling at me. Sometimes they are even fussy when they are eating, which is really annoying, as it’s usually my sure way to get them quiet and happy.

We haven’t had a good night sleep since, well, the last time I told you they were sleeping well. Serves me right for mentioning it. Their colds have something to do with it. Ruby has been coughing like crazy at night. But I also think they are teething again, and we are putting them in warmer pajamas incase they are getting cold at night. And the constant juice and water I give them to keep hydrated leads to very wet diapers at night. They take turns being to one to disrupt the peace, and I’m just feeling a little spent after a week of 2-4 am night wakings that sometimes last for hours, even after trying everything I know that has worked in the past. Luckily they usually make up for it during nap time, which I also take advantage of, but what I wouldn’t give to sleep through the night again.

KC’s car situation still hasn’t been resolved. So my choices every morning are to either go without a car all day, which I hate, or take him to and from work which entails lots of traffic, being cold, and taking the babies or feeling guilty to leave them at home with Elise. We are supposed to be getting a rental, but of course the other driver’s insurance is being ridiculous, saying our adjuster is out every time KC calls. The first few days I was patient, now I am ready to let them have a piece of my mind. This is when the mother-of-triplet babies status comes into play. You don’t want to know what happens when you mess with my sanity. 

Okay, enough complaining. We have had some fun amidst the stress and sleep deprivation. It’s been awesome having the Ribeiras here! We have already had some dinners together, played some rousing games, and it’s just fun having Lili and Penny to play with during the day.

The babies have their happy moments, even when they don’t feel the best, which is heavenly. I’ve turned the guest room into a play room when it’s not in use, and the kids love the space to roam without restrictions, since it’s pretty baby-proof in there. And I love being able to close the door for a few minutes to myself. They are really into the pool of balls lately. Even Alex. But especially Ruby. She is constantly diving in and out of the pool without fear. The boys need a little help getting in sometimes, but  they can always wriggle out.

And just now, Ruby was demanding I hold her, and within a couple minutes of rocking, she was sound asleep in my shoulder. The silver lining of having sick kids is their need for cuddles from their mom. I guess the long nights are taking a toll on her as well. I let her sleep there a few minutes, even though it wasn’t quiet nap time yet. I never get to hold my sleeping babies anymore, being a stickler for our sleep schedule, but I loved the excuse to rock my little sick baby. They are all now quiet in the cribs for an early morning nap. Oh, my sweet babies, let’s hope this craziness passes, and we are all back to our happy selves.