I have been in the best of moods up until this week. I have been beaming from ear to ear on finding out I had won the ‘Shloer Blog 2009’ competition. I’m really proud of myself because I’ve never won a competition before and certainly never for something I’ve written. I’ve been telling everyone that might be interested in reading my entries to get on line. Blaine didn’t believe me at first but, he has read them and is also really proud of me.
The prize of Boori Nursery furniture has not only been a blessing but has also spurred me into planning the nursery and I even pinned Blaine down to a day to take me shopping for other furnishings and to start painting. Yes, I am struggling to get up off the sofa and have had to admit defeat in being fully independent. I am having to let Blaine do things for me which includes taking me shopping. He’s actually not the worst bloke to go shopping with, he sometimes shows enthusiasm, especially if we are buying for him. I’ve officially broken up from school for the summer and nearly everything was finished in time. Well done me!! Looking forward to putting my feet up and to my dad visiting for a few days to help decorate the nursery, all well and good, but then the word pram cropped up again.
A simple word you might think, innocent and small, but oh no, no, no, it is an evil word. It has caused so much angst and will probably continue to do so until it arrives. The story of the pram started about 2 weeks ago.Blaine started researching prams for triplets on the internet, a highly essential piece of apparatus; he even gave up catching sun rays on his days off or in his spare time to surf the net. If you are buying a pram for one or even two you can go to any baby providing outlet and buy off the shelf. If you are buying a pram for three newborn babies you are stuffed.
We started with TAMBA and looked for advice and information on their website. It provided some good feedback on the type of pram that you could choose from. Should we go for a tandem stroller or a triple width ways? If we go for three in a row width ways how do we do simple things like get through shop doors, go in to town or even eat out if we will ever be able to afford to do so again? Why does it need so many wheels and handles and why does it have to be so bulky? If we go for a tandem how easy is it to steer? Does it fold easily? Do you have to buy car seats separately, which ever one you go for? All of the reviews were pointing towards a triple width ways pram. Ah, but can you get one from birth? Not really. Let’s look at a tandem; can you get one in this country? Yes, with great difficulty.
Eventually we found one after a week of researching and surfing. Twins UK have a tandem pram on their website, hurrah! You can buy the frame with car seats that clip on to it and can be transferred easily to a base in the car without disturbing your precious cargo. I contacted them to clarify a few details and costs with them.‘Yes this is the only one of its kind that you can buy in the UK, but the company has stopped supplying them. They have given no reason for withdrawing their product or any indication when, if at all they will begin to supply them again.’Bother, blast and for goodness sake came to mind (not really but now that I’m practising to be a responsible mother I thought I’d better rethink my language). So, we started again.
Finally we have found a company in The States who manufacture a ‘Triple Decker Stroller’, but the story doesn’t end there, to cut it short…There are two frames, one is cheaper but we can’t get the seats for it in the UK and with shipping costs we decided we would have to buy the car seats over here. We have ordered the more expensive frame, shipping is expensive and the car seats over here are also expensive we will also get stung quite heavily for excise duty when the frame arrives, so in all the pram is going to cost us about a grand all because our own country is failing to provide necessary products for parents of triplets or families with three or more children under 2.
This is where a lot of the stress comes from, all the hours of going round and around in circles, contacting companies, trying to keep costs down, getting our hopes up and then having them dashed, then finding out I’m going to need to take out a second mortgage just to be able to transport our little brood around and this is before I’ve even started buying Boots wholesale. I even got my wonderful Uncle Kevin who lives over in the States on board with researching and looking for products only to say we’ve changed our minds. Now I feel like I’ve messed him about and sent him on a wild pram chase. The cost of triplets is really hitting home and is giving me sleepless nights.
We have a fantastic support network and we’ll have to get family and friends on board with paying for this damned pram. We’ll have to ask them to not buy lovely toys and things but to club in towards the pram. My dad offered to buy a pram for us but that was before we found out we were having three and Blaine’s mum offered to buy car seats, but I can’t expect them to foot the bill on their own. We seriously need sponsorship of some description, either that or a hefty lottery win. I don’t want to be greedy for millions, a few thousand would do.
We had another scan yesterday and took my dad with us. I thought it would be nice for him to see his grandchildren on screen. We got a lovely picture of the girls face to face, it looked like they were planning their escape or when would be a good time to give me a kick. I think he was pleased but he didn’t say much, but he never does when it comes to emotions and feelings.
All babies are growing well, particularly Little Blaine, he is massive compared to Molly. Dr Khare was pleased although, she did mention that she thinks Poppy has more fluid than Molly who is about 10 to 14 days behind the others in growth but, as they had all made progress she wasn’t concerned but it needed to be monitored. Now I’m worried that Molly won’t be able to keep up and that they might need to be delivered early which makes me think of all sorts of negative scenarios. I was feeling so positive last week and happy with all of the kicking and wriggling that’s been going on and now I feel down and emotional. My blood pressure is up again and needs monitoring; I’ve to go see my community midwife next week to check it again. It’s so frustrating because I can’t control my emotions and can’t stop crying when I would normally be strong and be able to take it all in my stride. Being this emotional isn’t good for me or the babies. Why can’t things be straight forward? Everything Blaine and I do ends up being complicated and unconventional, even right down to starting a family.