Singletons

Before I had triplets, when people said the word singletons, I always thought of the poor guy waiting to get on a roller coaster by himself and the ride attendant would stand there shouting, "Single! Single rider! I've got a single rider here!"

Probably those of you who AREN'T mothers of multiples (MoM) are still are wondering what a singleton is.

A singleton is when you have only one baby.

Just one ... geez, it must be sooooo easy.

Heck -- when one of the boys is out with Nana or Dan, and I only have two boys, I think to myself, "Twins would be soooo easy!"

I'm being sarcastic, of course.

For the most part, it's all relative. All things considered, I have pretty easy boys ... most of the time. And I'd take triplets over one colicky baby any day!

And some things are the same no matter how many kids you have -- sharing, temper-tantrums, teething, hitting/biting.

However, there are some things that MoM deal with that I'll bet singleton moms never even think of.

Here are some things that MoM handle that singleton moms (even with the same number of kids) will never have to deal with:

Diapers ... We got through approximately 15 diapers a day, 105 diapers a week, 5460 diapers a year. (Of course it was more when the boys were younger, but let's keep it simple, shall we?) You know those big huge boxes of diapers that you buy and it lasts 3-4 weeks ... it lasts me less than a week.

(And I'm not even going to mention the fact that we go through 2-3 boxes of wipes and a tube of diaper cream EVERY WEEK.)

So, MoM have to stock up when they are on sale and we have coupons. Here's my stash -- it's enough for about 36 weeks or 6 months worth ... it would last a singleton mom 144 weeks or 33 months.

Shopping Carts ... Seen many shopping carts that can hold three children? No? Me neither. That's why we shop at select stores that have special carts that can hold three kids ... Lowe's, Target, and Krogers.

Loading and Unloading in a Parking Lot ... Last time I checked, I only have two hands, so it is impossible to walk across a parking lot with three toddlers. This why I park my car, lock my doors, run like a banshee to get one of the special shopping carts, and then get my boys out of the car. So yes, they are left in the car for about 30 seconds. People will give me disapproving stares at the fact that I have "left" my children in a car. They don't seem to get that I'm not running into the local bar to have a drink -- I'm getting a cart so that my children are safe crossing the parking lot.

Clothes Shopping ... That cute, adorable must have outfit? Unless you can find two more just like it in the same size, forget it.

Oh, and that totally affordable price of only $25 for that Easter outfit? Multiply it times three -- is it still that cute? Usually not.

Cars ... Could you fit three car seats in the back of your car? Unless you own a large SUV or a minivan, the answer is no. Goodbye Saab 93 Turbo, hello Honda Odyssey.

Daycare/Babysitters ... Did you know that most daycare centers don't have three openings for the same age group at the same time? That doesn't leave MoM with many options.

Along those same line, how many 16 year old babysitters could handle putting three babies to bed while you are out on a date night with your husband? Heck, that hard for me!

Charts ... So of my singleton mom friends laughed at my chart and log book for the boys when they were little. Take three babies, 18 bottles, 18+ diaper changes, 6 different medicines, and 2 sleep deprived parents. Shake well. Then ask the parents if Baby A had a poop today, how many ounces of milk did Baby B drink, and if Baby C got his medicine.

Milk ... We use about a 1/2 gallon of milk a day, 4 gallons a week total. And that doesn't include Dan's milk. Our monthly budget for milk is $50. And people wonder why I clip coupons -- how else do you think I am able to spend only $250/month on groceries for a family of five?

Medicine ... I once got questioned by the Pharmacist at Walgreens because I was buying Children's Tylenol by the dozen. No, I'm not making meth ... three doses every four hours mean we go through an entire bottle every two days.

Eating Out ... Very few places have a plethora of high chairs available -- we need three. Which means several times we have had to walk in and back out of a restaurant because they could not seat us. There was plenty of tables available ... just not enough high chairs.

Quality Time with Each Child ... I know that singleton moms long for this, too, but it is something MoM really struggle with.

I hear stories from my singleton mom friends who gush about how they just love bottle time because they get to just look into their baby's eyes and play with their little toes. At our feeding time, we were just trying to make sure all three had their bottles and were eating much less gazing into their little chubby faces.

One of my friends who has quads (and a younger daughter and an older son) tries to spend just five minutes a day with each child individually. Most of my singleton mom friends are aghast at that small amount of time ... I'm wondering how she does it!

Ah ... the life of a MoM. Still, with all these roadblocks and snafoos, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

And I'm sure somewhere out there in cyberspace, a singleton mom is writing how much she would love to have multiples.

After all the grass is always greener ...