major challenge early on is that of caring for tiny babies in multiple.
Your babies may stay in the hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
for a while. They will probably come home one at a time as they reach
safe weights and develop sucking skills. They may come home with
apnea and heart monitors in tow. (The apnea monitor provides assurance
a child is breathing.)
Cribs. When your babies are very young, they won’t be moving
around much on their own. It’s perfectly acceptable to put two or even
three small babies in the same crib. We suggest you separate them when
they are mature enough to wiggle around in the crib, preventing any baby
from becoming a suffocation risk to another.
Diapers. As a prospective parent, you may have read exhaustive
articles in newspapers and periodicals on the merits of disposable diapers
versus cloth diapers. All combined, triplets will use between twenty-four
and thirty diapers a day. So with multiples, the cost of diapers can
become a significant item on the household budget. Weigh your options.
For lowest cost up front, you would buy cloth diapers and wash them
yourself. But when you factor in the need for daily loads of laundry, the
cost in terms of time and inconvenience is considerable. Also, cloth can
have a hidden cost built in due to increased incidence of diaper rash. And
babies can’t go as long between diaper changes in cloth as they can in
disposable diapers, because of the lower absorbency of cloth diapers and
their higher discomfort level when wet. Parents of multiples can find it
hard enough to keep track of who has been changed and who is due for a
fresh diaper—let alone be aware of who is wet or dirty at an unexpected
time.
Disposable diapers are nice because babies don’t experience
discomfort even when a wet diaper is overlooked. On the other hand,
commercial diaper services are cheaper than disposable diapers. But
remember, you will have multiple quantities of wet, smelly diapers
waiting for pickup each week. My personal preference is for disposable
diapers but because of cost concerns, I encourage parents to try a diaper
service and see if they can keep the babies changed and comfortable; if
this service works for you, you may realize significant savings.
nora
(Nora)
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