“I’m so sorry but there’s something wrong. Can you come in to the office tomorrow?” Hearing those words, as I sat on the phone in my boss’s office, was when I really understood the expression “blood ran cold.” My hands and legs felt numb as I tried to process the enormity of what the nurse was telling me. After years of trying to conceive, from the initial excitement of wanting to start a family to the crushing disappointment that each month brought, I was finally pregnant. The countless tests, invasive procedures, medications, and heartbreak had all instantly become worth it. I remember rubb ..read more

Having a premature baby or babies is like being welcomed into an exclusive club that you never wanted to join. Whatever vision you for your birth and the early days of your new family are suddenly replaced by jarring alarms, bright lights, and the overpowering smell of hospital disinfectant. At a time when all you want to do is hold your babies close, it may be hours, days, or weeks until you're able to have them in your arms. A premature baby comes into a world that she and her family are often ill-equipped to handle. In a world of wires, tubes, and medical professionals, one of the hardest ..read more

In high school, my English teacher Mr. McMillan always said "write what you know." Well I know kids and I know poop, I just never imagined a story combining those two topics would be published someday. It’s been a little over a month since the release of ,Multiples Illuminated: Life with Twins and Triplets, the Toddler to Tween Years. This book, and the first collection published a few years ago, celebrates life with twins and triplets. This first-of-its-kind series offers honest insight into the lives of multiples families and provides support, validation, and a few laughs to the moms and da ..read more

As National Infertility Awareness Week comes to a close, I can't help but reflect on our messy journey to parenthood. In the US, 1 in 8 families have trouble conceiving or sustaining a pregnancy. That's about 10% of the population but infertility still remains somewhat of a taboo topic. You know that it exists in this fuzzy sense, but you never imagine that one day you'll have trouble starting a family. All of a sudden your dreams of becoming a parent include needles instead of candles, confusing acronyms instead of romantic music, and bursting into tears as you rush by the baby section of Tar ..read more

We’ve all seen the pictures, a parent lovingly gazing into the eyes of their peaceful newborn, basking in the glow of breast/chest/bottle feeding this tiny, perfect creature. Unfortunately, what the images don’t show you are the frustrated tears over trying to get two babies to latch simultaneously, the sense of victory you feel when you discover that you can in fact balance a bottle with your foot, and the exhausted monotony of feeding two, three, or more hungry bellies every 2-3 hours, 24 hours a day, for eternity (just kidding, it only feels like that sometimes). Many parents of multiples ..read more

It’s been a rough winter illness-wise for our family so far: pneumonia, stomach bugs, sinus infections, we’ve had every single cold and sniffle that’s gone around. And while it’s never fun, it is so much easier dealing with sick kids times three now that they’re old enough to tell you their ears hurt instead of waking up crying every 45 minutes during the night. Life with infant twins, triplets, or more involves a special sort of balancing act and when germs strike, all of those spinning plates can come crashing down. So here are a few tips that I’ve learned along the way that might help make ..read more

Our last blog talked about the importance of tracking your newborns’ daily life and different systems that are available. An infant log is a pretty common tool, and while it’s obviously important to take care of your newborns, it’s also important to take care of yourself. In the midst of caring for two, three, or more bundles of joy, it can hard to remember to take care of yourself. It's too easy to get caught up in the eat/sleep/poop cycle of keeping multiple tiny humans alive and I wanted to find a way to remind new parents that they needed to eat/sleep/go to the bathroom occasionally. With ..read more

Once you have children the list of “things I never imagined I’d say” could fill a book. Having a very serious poop conversation with my husband at three o’clock in the morning was definitely a bizarre moment. Newborns average 10 diapers a day so it's easy to forget who you changed last when you're on diaper #29. Keeping records of each babies’ feeding, diaper, and sleep habits can help make sure everyone’s needs are being met without having middle of the night debates about bowel movements. After a little time, you can notice patterns develop, jot down questions and observations, and see how ..read more

In the beginning of November, I had the pleasure of being a guest on the show ,Woman2Woman Today hosted by Jen Maseda. Woman2Woman Today's mission is to provide a "platform for women to learn from each other and inspire one another" and airs locally and online. We had a lovely conversation about the challenges of raising multiples, the importance of having supports in place, and how Three Birds can facilitate a smooth transition to parenthood during pregnancy and postpartum. We discussed some newborn tips and tricks, shared some borderline inappropriate stories about my own experiences as a t ..read more

When you are pregnant with multiples, your to-do list can feel miles long: buy cribs, go to the bathroom, another doctor’s appointment, go to the bathroom, choose a pediatrician, go to the bathroom, attempt to find a comfortable way to sit at work, go to the bathroom, panic about life with two, three, or more newborns, go to the bathroom again. Finding a Multiples 101 class that fits your schedule and can help calm some of the multi-newborn induced panic can be tough. Here are five reasons why you should consider having Three Birds bring a prenatal class to you! 1. Expert advice tailored just ..read more