Eight's Enough

The time came for the triplets to get out of the NICU and head home.

Louie was the first to be released after 9 days.

Giovonni and Rocky got to leave a day later.

I was very excited to finally have my brothers home!

A day later Phoenix finally got home from Camp Barnabas and we took this picture just after he walked in.  It was the first time all of us boys were together at home!

Soon mom and dad got into a routine.  They told me that the babies had to eat every three hours.  Dad had 11 pm to 2 am, then mom was up with them from 2-5 am.  After that, our neighbor Charleen came over from 5-8 am.  This went on for around 3 months.  It seemed like they were always eating… probably because they were.

We had lots and lots of help.  I’m not sure what we would have done without all of the assistance we had from family and friends.  Our church was a great help as well.  On top of the money they gave us, they donated over 7,000 diapers and over 10,000 wipes.  We used them all up in about 6 months.

Mom and dad said that those first few months were quite a blur.  Our living room was set up as the nursery.  The three bassinets were lined up against the wall, vibrating chairs, swings and other baby necessities filled the rest of the room.  Our house was always full of visitors too.  Everyday friends would drop by to see how we were doing and to bring us meals.

The triplets were very tiny when we first brought them home but were growing quickly.  Life was definitely crazy that summer but we were extremely thankful for all of the help and love we received from everyone.   Life would never be the same and the fun was just beginning!

(written from Journey’s perspective by dad…but partially typed by Journey)

People always ask me what it is like to have triplet brothers.  Well, I really don’t remember what it was like before they came along. I do know that wherever we go, the triplets draw a lot of attention.  In fact, they have been drawing a lot of attention from the very beginning.  Thursday, June 20th, 2013 was they day they finally came in to the world.

Just after midnight, the hospital staff was all ready and Dr. Bonebrake, got to work.  My brothers were all born one minute apart from each other.   Louie came first at 12:42 am.  He was 4 pounds, 3 ounces and 18 1/2 inches.  Giovonni was next at 12:43 am and was 4 pounds, 9 oz and 18 inches.  Then Rocky was pulled out at 12:44 am. He was 4 pounds, 13 ounces and 18 inches.

Here is mom holding each of the babies for the first time.  She was just as happy to see them as she was to have them out of her!

Dad told me that each of the newborns were placed in clear plastic boxes that looked like fish tanks and the nurses got busy working on them.  Because they were born earlier than most babies regularly are, they had to stay in a place called the NICU.  Weird name.

Right before they took them to the NICU, they put them all in one container for the picture you see above.   The nurse then wheeled them into the hallway and that is when the family got to see them for the first time.  Well, everyone except me.  The thing is, it was so late that I had already gone home!  But believe me, I have seen plenty of them since then.

Dad followed them all to intensive care where they were poked and prodded for a few more hours as the nurses did lots of tests on them.  Mom was pretty exhausted from bringing three new people into the world.  But within a few hours, she got to visit them for the first time as you see in the pictures here.

Mom and dad took turns going home and taking care of the rest of us, while the other stayed at the hospital with the newborns.  Every few days they switched and though things were a little crazy during that time, it was just a taste of what was to come.

After 9 days, Louie was released from the NICU and Giovonni and Rocky got to go home the following day.  I was very excited for them to come home because I was too young (by one month!) to visit them in the NICU, well…besides that time my parents snuck me in as you can see in the picture above.

We have been told that the most common combination of triplets is identical twin girls and a boy.  The most rare form of triplets is naturally conceived identical boys like my brothers.  In fact, this article claims it only happens in one out of every 200 million pregnancies!  In 2015, only 4 sets of identical triplets were born in the US.  As rare as that is, the next room over in the NICU also had identical naturally conceived triplets boys!  A local news crew from WIBW came to do a story about it.  The link for that news report is below.

WIBW news article about double sets of triplets!

(written from Journey’s perspective by dad…but partially typed by Journey)

I really don’t remember that well the day my triplet brothers came into the world.  Mom and dad have told the story enough times that I will try and retell it here.  Mom said she was really ready to stop carrying them around.  She took them all the way to 35 weeks and 6 days, which I’m told is a long time for triplets.  I know how she must have felt.  That’s about as long as a school year which feels like eternity to me!

The house was ready for babies.  The triplet’s bedroom was all set up.  Both of our maroon minivan’s were prepared especially after  Dad finished them off with bumper stickers.  One said, “Triplet’s Inside” and the other, “Got Triplets?”

Mom and Dad left me with Uncle Bob and Aunt Bonnie so they could go to the hospital around 1 pm on Wednesday, June 19th, 2013.  A lot of family met them there because everyone was so excited.  There is a video link below that has a few short clips from that day.

When mom got checked in they began to monitor how the babies were doing.  Mom knew it was possible she would have to have a Cesarean section.  (They had to tell me what that was…blech!) She really didn’t want a C-section because us three older boys came naturally.  I think either way is kind of gross.

Then everyone just waited and waited.  In fact, as it got close to midnight, it looked like things were stalled and maybe mom’s body wasn’t ready yet.  After nearly 11 hours, the nurses began to prep the OR for the C-section.  However, Dr. Bonebrake (yep, real name) decided to check one last time…and sure enough she was ready to deliver them naturally!

Mom was wheeled to the large operating room followed by dad and what seemed like almost every other worker it the hospital.  Besides the doctors and 4 or so nurses tending to mom, there were about 4 or 5 people for each one of the babies that were sure to be here soon.

Then, just after midnight on Thursday, June 20th, it was go time.  The doctor made quick work of the deliveries, bringing each guy into the world one minute apart.  But, I’ll save that story for next time!

Birth Day videos

 

This was taken a few months before my little brothers were born.  Being the baby of the family was pretty awesome, but it didn’t last long!  My world was about to change!

(written from Journey’s perspective by dad…but partially typed by Journey)

 

 

 

 

Within a couple of days of the sonogram, my dad was off to the races.  No, I don’t mean he went to bet on horses, even though he did seem to talk a lot about money.  He was like a madman preparing our house for a coming hurricane.  Where we lived was sufficient for five people…but eight?  That was going to take some work!  But don’t get me wrong, although dad was busy, all the hard stuff was done by his friends.

I think dad was a little worried that the remodeling wouldn’t be finished in time.  Mom said that normally babies take 40 weeks to come into the world.  However,  my new brothers would come earlier because most triplets come at 32 weeks when they run out of room.  Since the sonogram was done at the 21st week, dad had less than three months to get the house remodeled.  He might have been stressed, but let’s face it, he wasn’t he one with three babies inside of him!

My parents said that sometimes moms go on “bed rest” a few weeks before delivering  because their bodies shouldn’t work too hard.  Bed rest sounds kind of fun especially if I could watch episodes of “The Aquabats” or Twenty One Pilots videos.  Oh, and my mom never had to go on bed rest because she is some kind of superhero.

The first thing that needed updated was to add a second laundry room in the master bedroom closet.  Next, was a second water heater.  Then in the basement came the big project. A hallway, small office and small bedroom were torn down and a big bedroom for my two older brothers was built.  A full bath was also added to the new bedroom and now Phoenix and Bronze were set.

The house was a mess from March through May.  Then, right about the first part of June, all of the work was done.  Now we just had to wait.  The babies could come at anytime and I heard my parents say it was like the calm before the storm.   Dad said it felt like we were on the first part of a giant roller coaster where we just kept climbing uphill.  The anticipation of the drop that was soon to come was both exciting and terrifying.  I wouldn’t know.  I won’t ride roller coasters and I don’t know what anticipation means.

 

This is mom trying to get comfortable in bed about a week before the triplets were born.

 

Here is mom on Father’s Day 2103 just 4 days before the babies came!  She was pretty miserable.

 

In this picture I was helping my dad clean up my big brother’s new room before the carpet was put down.

 

(written from Journey’s perspective by dad…but partially typed by Journey)

I suppose I should start from the beginning.  And by beginning I don’t mean the start of my life, but when my life started to get crazy.  Obviously I’m talking about when the tornado trio came into the picture.   I really don’t remember how everything happened because I hadn’t even turned three when they were born.  So, I have to just rely on the way I have heard mom and dad tell it over the years.

They usually start off by remembering how at our family Thanksgiving dinner in 2012, my aunt Christine kept telling my parents that they should have another kid.  Of course everyone just joked it off, but later on dad saw mom whispering something to aunt Chris.   Dad had a good idea what the big secret was and just as he suspected, after everyone left mom told him that she might be pregnant.  In a few days they figured out for sure that she was.  I’m not sure how all that works.  Maybe she just noticed she was getting fatter.

Other people seemed to notice.  One Wednesday night at youth group (my dad was the youth pastor at our church a the time) a couple of different people asked mom if she was having twins.  That night at home, mom told dad she was kind of offended that people thought she was that big.  Then after a visit to Chicago, Mimi (my grandma on my mom’s side) asked if mom ate a lot of Italian food on our trip.  Dad noticed she seemed bigger than normal too, but he knew better than to say anything about it.  In fact, when mom asked if she looked bigger, he actually told her “no”.   It must be okay to fib to stay out of the dog house.

Then on March 7th, 2013 my parents had a sonogram appointment.  This being their fourth child (or so they thought), this stuff was old hat to them and they had thought about skipping it.  During the first swipe of my mom’s belly, the sonogram tech said a bad word… they still won’t tell me which one.   Because of the strange reaction, my dad pulled out his phone just in time to get the news.  The link for that video is below followed by the clip of them revealing it to the family.  After my parents were told they were having triplets, the nurse noticed how grey my dad had turned and brought him a cup of water, a wet towel and a throw-up tray.

They walked out an hour later completely different than they had come in.  My parents couldn’t really comprehend what was happening.  They had never even met anyone with triplets before.  And as for me?  Well, no more being the baby of the family!  My world was definitely about to change!

My family’s reaction to the news of the triplets!

(written from Journey’s perspective by dad…but partially typed by Journey)

My name is Journey and I am 6 years old.  Yeah, I know, kind of a different name.  My brother’s have strange names too. They are:  Phoenix, who is 17; Bronze, who is 15; then after me come the 3 1/2 year old triplets, Louie, Giovonni and Rocky.

Yep, I said triplets.  I have heard my mom and dad tell the story to anyone who asks (and believe me, everyone asks) the same way hundreds of times.  “We weren’t expecting baby number four and baby four turned into babies four, five and six!”  Then they laugh as it was the first time they have ever said it.  So, including my parents, there are eight of us in our house and believe me…eight’s enough!

Like I said, EVERYONE asks if they are triplets!   Then it’s, “You have your hands full!” and “You sure are blessed!”  But the one that gets me is, “Wow!  Three boys!”  I mean, I can be standing right there and they don’t even see me past those guys!  But then my mom will hop in with, “Well, we have six boys all together.”  It is the same conversation 20 times a day no matter where we go.

I guess I really don’t mind.  They may steal the spotlight most of the time, but they are pretty fun.  I have heard my dad say that he wishes he would have been in a bigger family so he would have more stories to tell.  There is always a new story to tell because of the trips.  That is why I started writing this.  I wanted to make sure that I write down all of the funny things that will happen in my house so I won’t forget when I get older.

There are plenty of things that have already happened to us that I will be sure to write about too.  Like when the little guys flushed things down the toilet and my dad lost his mind.  Or, when they constantly break things…causing dad to once again, lose his mind.

Well, mom’s telling me I need to go to bed.  So, I will have to save those stories for another day!

(written from Journey’s perspective by dad…but partially typed by Journey)