Out & About

We've been getting out much more often, which is phenomenal. The girls love it, and I get a sanity break. It is a heck of a lot of work to pack, load, unload, feed, diaper, load, unload on my own when we're on the go, but I manage. Whenever we venture out with the minivan, I'm exhausted by the time we're home. But it gets easier the more we do it.

Going out for walks around the neighborhood is much easier and faster. We regularly go on a 2 mile hike on a nearby trail. It used to be a railroad track, so it's not too uneven with the stroller. Just a good enough shakey shake to help them burp!

We participated in a parade recently and it was awesome. I mean, we're a freak show anyway with the triplet limo, so why not flaunt it? There were lots of exclamations along the lines of, "Triplets? Awesome!" or "Look, cute babies!" and "Wow, triplets!" Wonderful, supportive shouts of "Yay for the mommy!" which was just magic to hear. I loved seeing the crowd's reaction and my husband had a video camera pointed at the crowd so we could capture it for posterity. My face hurt, I was smiling so much.

The girls get tons of attention whenever we head out, of course, because who can resist a baby? Any baby. And 3 of them, well, that's just 3 times the magnet.

I've learned to embrace it rather than resent it, since they'll blend in soon enough once they start walking and we ditch the stroller. I realize spotting triplets is a novelty, and I would probably have reacted the same way if I suddenly encountered a set of adorable triplets.

We're lucky in the sense that we haven't had too many awful comments and that not a single stranger has attempted to touch the babies. There are often very strange and quirky questions, comments and responses that amuse me. People are clearly caught off guard and then say the funniest things. The best one from yesterday, "Are they REAL triplets?" I just laughed proudly and said, "Yes!" But it left me wondering: real... as opposed to?

Since we were in a huge parade, I knew people would be taking photos and I was sort of trying to be okay with that. The only annoying encounter we had was when a woman walked up before the parade as we were crossing the street and without even making an attempt to talk to us, she just put her cell phone camera in their faces to take a photo. I purposefully stood in front of her, made a face, and said in an offended tone, "No. Please don't." Ugh. Thankfully, she retreated and said, "Sorry." I think people don't realize in that moment that these are my children, not some oddity. She had kids with her, and I'm sure she'd be mortified if some stranger walked up to her, randomly pulled out a camera, and took close up photos of her kids! Sheesh, people.

On a happier note, there was a surprise bonus: we spotted 2-year old triplets in the crowd during the parade! The mom was waving like crazy to get our attention. LOL. And afterwards, a woman came up to me to tell me her best friend was 10 weeks pregnant with triplets. I gave her my contact details to share with her friend, and I hope she reaches out to me. It's so scary in the beginning when you have no idea what the outcome of your pregnancy will be. If she contacts me, I'd love for her to meet our kids and hopefully, that will give her some encouragement to see how they're thriving now.