I never, never, worry if my 2 year old is smarter then your 2 year old

OK, that's not entirely true.  But really, the truth is, i don't worry about it often or for long.  Here's why i used to worry, & why i don't anymore.

When my girls were about 18 months old i worried.  A co-worker told me his 16 month old was recognizing letters, a friend told me her 22 month old twins could sing the alphabet.  My three were barely talking coherently (why do we teach them to talk?  more on that later), anyway, at the time it seemed very important.  I was convinced my kids were going to be the kids running in circles with buckets over their heads like the little boy in Parenthood (the movie).  A couple of months later my fears were put to rest.  Did they start spouting sonnets overnight?  Start doing equations Sheldon Cooper would be proud of?  nope.  They took their beds apart.

Lets go back to why they were in beds in the first place.  It wasn't because i thought it was time & it certainly wasn't because i was pushing them.  On the contrary, i would have kept them in cribs until they were 5 if i could have gotten away with it.  It was love that forced the issue. My trio love each other & hate to be separated.  I started going in in the morning & finding all 3 in the same crib.  At 20 months they had learned to climb out of their cribs & into each others.  The Point Of No Return came about a week into this.  I put them down for a nap & then watched on my video monitor, as Lori positioned herself on the crib rail with her back to the room & then proceed to slowly rock back.  That ended nap-time for the day & the transition from cribs to beds was made immediately.  Unfortunately that also meant a transition of bedrooms.  The girls had a large, beautiful (freshly painted) nursery, filled with toys & clothes.  Suddenly i saw everything in their room as a hazard.  If they were going to be in beds, it couldn't be in that room of horrors.  Wait for it, cus here's the fun part.  I insisted that right then & there, my husband & i switch bedrooms with the girls.  We had the smaller bedroom, since we collectively have far less toys & clothes.  Dave took 1 side off of each crib, turning them into toddler beds, & i moved our few belonging into what had been the nursery.  We now had far more toys & clothes then we had ever wanted.  The girls on the other had, had nothing but their beds & a few soft toys (so as not to hit each other to hard).

Then, for further safety, i put toddler bed-rails on all 3 beds.  That night, after we put them to bed, we watched - I love my Summer Video Monitor & recommend it to anyone.

And here is why i don't worry anymore.

Right away the girls started surveying their surroundings.  They moved together from bed to bed, looking at the rails, climbing in & out from under the beds.  Tumbling over the railings & into the beds.  About 30 minutes after they went to bed, i was called back to the monitor by a change in noise.  Then I watched as my girls removed the bed-rails from their beds.  One child lifted the mattress, a second crawled under it & freed the rail, the third pulled the rail out.

It was definitely a well thought out & executed plan.  We were amazed at the way they worked together to accomplish a common goal.  We knew that once again we had been beaten.  I went in & removed the rails from the room, never to be seen again.

So you see, your child may be able to recognize letters & even say them, but my children have shown skills that put my mind at ease for months to come.

Gender Selection

My Children were born through IVF.  That's not a secret.  I tell anyone who asks.  I never mind having a conversation about the miracle that brought me my girls.  That being said, i can get annoyed & snippy very quickly when i feel like my children are being looked at like a science experiment.  I, as much as anyone, have a high regard for medial advancements.  But are we taking it to far?

I read an article in local publication today.  It was about gender selection and was written by my reproductive doctor - the only man who's feet i would kiss if ever asked for any reason.  I was disappointed in him, even though the article was more informational then out right persuasive.  I think about having another baby, and i love the idea of adding a little boy (or 2) to our family.  Gender selection has been suggested to me once or twice by well meaning friends.  The concept actually makes me sick to my stomach. I think people have a right to do what they want with their own bodies, but for me, I can't imagine it. I can't imagine picking which children I should give birth to based on gender. 

taking three 2 year olds for a walk without a stroller is a lot like herding earthworms

I think i got the saying wrong, but the sentiment is right on.   I took the trio for a walk on a local trail today and bravely chose to leave the strollers behind.  We went maybe 500 yards and it felt like i had run a marathon (or, having never run a marathon, i can only imagine).  Jackie decided to lie down in the middle of the path, more then once, Lily picks up every stick she can find, & Lori refuses to take more then a few steps with out demanding to be carried.  All of this would have been a lot to handle with 2 good hands, but since I'm still working with only 1, our walk in the park was anything but.
I keep waiting for the day when they have all learned to listen & follow direction.  I think i may be waiting a while, but i have time.  I remind myself all the time that if they weren't behaving this way i would worry.  They are perfectly normal toddlers.  THREE perfectly normal toddlers.
Then Lori has to take the stick that Lily found & lily cries.  Jackie spotted flowers & Jackie has to smell them (ie.  pull the flowers apart).  I try & stand in the middle & make sure that no child is to far from me.  It's a full time job.  My girls have no fear - a trait that makes me crazy, but also jealous.  It's so hard to relax through the worry, but i need to try harder, to remind myself a little more often, to let them help me see the world through their eyes.

it's not nice to fool with a librarian

Want to throw of a 90 year old librarian?  Show up for story time with a different kid then the one you registered.  Ohh no, no name tag!!!  I thought maybe they didn't have any more, maybe it was an involved process, i know, she seemed so upset about it & i really didn't care if my kid had a name tag or not.  When she finally wrapped her head around the fact that we were there, name tag or not, she got another little laminated fish & wrote LORI on it.  I almost laughed out loud.  That was all it took.  She was actually really apologetic after that, i think she felt bad about being so rude in the beginning, i guess she had just never encountered triplets before.  
My girls turned 2 in December & since then, I've been trying to get them out individually for some one on one time.  While i love that they love each other & like to be together, i also recognize that they need the chance to develop individually.  Hence, story time.  It's nearby, it's free, & it's only 40 minutes.  I would have been happy to take each girl to a different time slot, but there or only 2 time slots.  My solution was to register for both & just rotate who i take.  The whole name tag thing never even crossed my mind!  Guess I'll just have to chalk this up to another parental learning experience. 

one hand down

Mama broke her right hand.  This does not bode well.  If i thought i was lacking before, i am way behind now.  And they know it!  They sense weakness.  On the upside, since I'm right handed, this has put me out of work for a while.  Unfortunately it's very hard to change a diaper or dress a wiggly toddler with only one hand.  If it were my right hand i might have a chance, but in this case i am just sunk.   I am so grateful to my wonderful friends & family who have jumped in to help.  It's been a little hard for me to give up the tiny bit of control i have left since the babies took over my life, but I'm managing.  I started this blog with good intentions, but unfortunately typing is yet another thing that is difficult to do with only one had.  Hopefully as i recover i will post more.