Survival guide: things I couldn't live without

Expecting parents ask this question on Triplet Connection all the time. I hope this post helps parents-to-be, specifically those with multiples. When I was pregnant, I fashioned my own list of things to register for based on the information I found on blogs and forums, but I wished that someone could have done this legwork for me.

I'll be adding to this post as I think of more can't-live-without items.

TRIPLET MUST-HAVES

Triple Decker stroller. We use the Graco Safeseat infant carriers that click into the frame and it's worked very well to not load/unload 3 babies in and out of the car seats in cold weather.

3 Boppy pillows

3 Boppy covers

12+ Dr Brown's bottles (we bought the glass version and they've worked beautifully). We initially used Munchkin's glass bottles and love them too, but with 3 reflux babies, it was more important to switch to bottles with an internal vent. Read the post about glass bottles.

Bottle brush (we use Munchkin brand)

3 Munchkin drying racks

Crockpot or electric kettle to always have hot water on hand to warm bottles

24+ burp cloths. A friend bought more than two dozen "old style" cloth diapers for us to use as burp cloths since they're more absorbent than the commercially available muslin burp cloths. They're like hand towels, but square, and work beautifully. We go through *all* of them! It's handy to have enough to not do laundry every day, and to keep 3 in a diaper bag. We always have a clean one on the changing pad as an easily removable "cover" in the event that a baby pees while we're in the midst of a diaper change. It prevents urine from reaching their clothes in an "accident."

Bibs. We go through dozens of bibs with our refluxers. I like the Koala Baby bibs from Babies R Us as they're more absorbent than others we've tried.

3 Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Blankets. I've heard good things about Miracle Blankets too. Alternatively, buy any 60x60 blanket large enough to swaddle securely. At 4 months, we do not swaddle the babies for naps and nighttime sleeping anymore, but it still works wonders when they're fussy. I know of many parents who swaddle their babies until 9+ months of age.

Swing(s). We have 3, but have only used 2. You could get away with 1.

Baby Björn or Moby Wrap. We have 3 Baby Björns, but only use 1.

3 Bouncy seats. We have used all 3, all the time, from the time that they could hold their heads up.

3 Cribs. Initially, you could get away with 1, or a Pack 'n Play. Our babies have slept in separate cribs at night from day 1, but we had them co-sleep in one crib for naps until they were about 3 months actual.

3 Bumbo seats. Our babies will start using these in the next few weeks. We've tried them, but at 4 months (2 months adjusted), the babies still tire easily.

Playmat(s). Get different mats with different toys to prevent them from getting bored.

Crib sheets. We have 6, but I'm going to buy more. We have crib sheet savers, but haven't used them yet.

Sleep & play suits with zippers. One caveat, these won't work if your babies come home on monitors. Fortunately, ours didn't use monitors and LIVE in these outfits. It's faster for diaper changes, especially the middle-of-the-night ones. Refluxing babies hate wearing anything with a waist band, so even though they have tons of cute outfits, they hardly get to wear them. Constantly chasing down 6 little socks gets old fast too.

Gripe water. This has made a HUGE difference. Even though the babies are on prescription meds for reflux, I see a marked difference every time I stop giving them gripe water.

PUMPING

Hospital-grade breast pump. I've used Medela Pump in Style Advanced (portable) and Medela Symphony (at the NICU) and both are very efficient. Unfortunately, my first Medela PISA broke after a month, which is the absolute worst fear of anyone who is exclusively pumping. Fortunately, Medela has terrific customer service and replaced it immediately by overnighting it to me. No problems since.

3 sets of breast shields so you don't have to wash pumping parts in the middle of the night. Many moms just rinse them and place them in a container in the fridge and wash them once daily. I prefer to wash them after each use, but that's just me. Having 3 sets allows me to toss them in the hot, soapy water after use and deal with washing them when the babies are napping.

Extra 8 oz Medela collection bottles (you could use a different brand too; anything with a standard opening fits on the Medela equipment). Glass is too heavy, though, but the glass bottles do fit if you've run out of clean collection bottles!

Hands-free pumping bra. You can buy one, or create one yourself by cutting holes in an old sports bra.

About glass bottles and such - Part II

BB raised the issue of how we clean glass bottles:

You mentioned you are using glass bottles to feed them. That is something I would like to do, but I am a little concerned with the cleaning/sterilization part... I mean most people nowadays use the "BPA-free" plastic bottles (which I don't quite completely trust) and the microwave sterilizers, and from whatever research I have done so far, nobody seems to sterilize the glass bottles in (microwave/electronic) sterilizer. How are you managing to clean the bottles while being so caught up with your three lil miracles?

At the moment, we wash our glass baby bottles the old fashioned way (by hand, using very hot water, a bottle brush and dish soap) because I don't have enough of the bottles yet. Once we have a full set of 27 to 30 bottles, we will put them in the dishwasher. The Munchkin bottle brush works really well to clean the bottom and neck of the bottles. I originally used another (generic) bottle brush we had, but it didn't clean the hard-to-reach places that well.

We don't steam sterilize the bottles, but Munchkin's instructions state they can be steam sterilized. Here's what the manufacturer has to say on the topic of cleaning and usage:

"Before first use, place in boiling water for 5 minutes. For easy cleaning use a Munchkin bottle brush and/or place in top rack of dishwasher. Bottle and nipple may be boiled (2-3 minutes completely immersed in a pan of water) or steam sterilized. Boiling of ring and hood is not recommended.

To use: to heat bottle contents, use Munchkin Deluxe Bottle & Food Warmer or place bottle in a container of warm water for several minutes with the cap off of the bottle. Sudden temperature change may cause breakage. To reduce chances of colic & gas, stop feeding before your baby has finished the bottle. Feeding baby in semi-upright position may help prevent ear infections. Avoid over-tightening the bottle collar onto bottle body as this can close nipple vents. Bottle can be frozen to store breast milk. Expressed breast milk can be stored in sterilized bottle in refrigerator for up to 48 hours (not in refrigerator door) or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Never refreeze breast milk or add fresh breast milk to already frozen milk."

When it comes to heating the bottles, you have to be a little more careful with glass compared to plastic, but this hasn't presented a problem for us. I simply immerse the bottles in a cup of warm water. You don't want to use boiling hot water since overheating milk kills nutrients and can scald your baby's mouth. Our babies usually get room temperature to lukewarm milk, but on a few occasions they've been so hungry in between feedings that they've had cold milk straight from the fridge (without complaining).

27w5d - Girl Girl Girl Gear galore

We have had not one, not two, but THREE baby showers! The girls, my husband and I are so incredibly spoiled by our friends and colleagues. Not just with the unbelievable baby showers, but with the most amazingly thoughtful 2nd hand clothes, blankets and other gear like high chairs, playmats and swings we have received from our generous friends.

In the words of a colleague, "Baby shower? Gmph! It's more like a baby thunderstorm!"

We started gearing up pretty early, knowing that I might be on bed rest towards the safer part of the pregnancy. After IVF, it required a huge leap of faith to start acquiring baby stuff. On the other hand, since this will most probably be my one and only pregnancy ever, I didn't want to miss out on a single moment of the experience.

Dh and I started boldly: by buying a 2nd hand triplet stroller and a previously owned minivan - all in one morning - when I was barely out of the first trimester! I was researching strollers online, reading advice from other triplet parents, when I came across a Triple Decker on eBay.


The wonderful family with triplets we bought it from had 3 Graco Snugride seats, six bases, and threw in 3 car seat sleeping bags, a must for our infants arriving in the fall.

We kept in touch with the triplet family, and they sold us their 3 bouncy seats, 3 exersaucers, 3 Bumbo seats, Podee bottles, and threw in lots of extras.

We had toyed with the idea of getting a minivan, but we weren't planning on purchasing it so soon. Then an incredible deal on a previously owned 2009 model turned up. The minivan was practically brand new, just owned for a month.

Craigslist proved very useful: we purchased two changing tables (still boxed and new) and things we won't need for a while, like the North States Super Yard XT.


Gift cards and gifts of cash from the baby showers enabled us to buy three Graco Lauren 4-in-1 convertible cribs. Target had a huge Labor Day baby gear sale where you could get the mattresses for free if we bought the cribs there. Not only were their cribs the most affordable (beating out any price I could find online - and even Wal*Mart), but getting the mattresses for free saved us $240.00.

It was quite the spectacle when my husband and I walked out alongside the Target employee with the rolling cart loaded to capacity with three humongous boxes and three mattresses.

There was a guy sitting on a bench near the loading zone waiting for his wife and he looked on in amazement. "TRIPLETS?!" I was so exhausted I almost responded with, "Nah, we're just getting a few extra because it's such a good deal." But I bit my lip.

My gracious husband responded with a proud father chuckle and said, "Yeah" as they started loading up our new minivan. The conversation continued with funny banter as the guy's wife and kids arrived and he went over the details of the unfolding spectacle again. They seemed very happy for us, and not at all intrusive, so it was fine by me. Better get used to it, eh? Once that Triple Decker starts going places with us and the trio, I'm sure it will be an attention-grabber.

All I really keyed into was how unflustered my hubby was with all the attention. That's a good sign.

In terms of other baby gear: we received a Boppy pillow, and bought two more, and purchased three matching covers. We have bought a few things new, including 3 Kiddopotamus cotton swaddle blankets and a Dr Brown's formula pitcher, which so many triplet moms recommended.

I think we're as ready as we'll ever be with baby gear, so if I have to go on strict bed rest at home, or heaven forbid, hospital, I can relax knowing we have tons of diapers, wipes, and all the gear in the world. :D

We're already looking forward to a humongous garage sale!