Living With Multiples

Like many pregnancies involving multiples, Jessica's was considered high risk, and she was put on bed rest for an extended time. She went into preterm labor at 18 weeks and was found to have an incompetent cervix, which means that the cervix is weak and beginning to open before a baby is ready to be born. She had her cervix stitched (cerclage) at 18 weeks but at 23 weeks she had another scare—previewing full-blown labor. Doctors were able to stop contractions using various interventions.

Jessica's water broke in the early morning of October 29, 2006, 12 weeks before her due date. They tried to stop labor, but the contractions were coming on too quickly. She quickly dilated to seven centimeters, at which point she was rushed in for a C-section. The boys were born later that morning at 11:17 (Jack Thomas), 11:19 (Lawrence Paul III) and 11:22 (Sean Michael). "We purposely named them in alphabetical order so that the oldest was not named after his father," says Jessica. "We wanted the middle child to have that name, as to not have 'middle child syndrome' later in life. We'll see if it makes a difference!"

The boys were immediately brought to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where they stayed for what seemed like an eternity to their new parents. Sean came home first, after eight weeks. Larry followed a week later, and finally Jack, after 12 weeks (on Jessica's original due date). He had a difficult time feeding and was later diagnosed with reflux. "It was initially very hard for me to go home without them, yet I knew they were in the best hands possible," says Jessica, who remains close to two of their NICU nurses.

The next challenge was leaving Larry and Jack at the hospital when Sean was able to come home, and then again leaving Jack behind. "I was home alone with two babies all day and then had to wait for someone to come later in the day to stay with them so I could go see Jack," says Jessica. "I felt guilty that I didn't spend as much time with him, but having them come home one at a time was really the best for us. We had no idea what to do with one baby, no less three!"

The Newborn Days

"All I can say is, I would never go back to the newborn days again," says Jessica. "I never really knew what sleep deprivation was until all three boys were home." Many nights consisted of less than two hours of solid sleep for the entire family.

Eventually Jessica and Larry figured out how to make it work for them, utilizing a feeding schedule. "While I would have loved to have fed them every time they were hungry, that's all I would have done—24 hours a day," says Jessica. Instead, the boys were fed every three to four hours, at the same time. If they didn't eat, they were offered a small bottle an hour and a half later, or they had to wait until the next feeding. The same thing goes now—if they don't eat dinner, they'll have breakfast in the morning. "I refuse to run a diner!" Jessica jokes.