TI A TRIPLETS MOM

Madelein Jones gave birth to triplets Genevieve, Roxanne and James a year ago. Here are her top tips for coping with multiples during the first year:

■ FOLLOW A TRIED AND TESTED ROUTINE. Use the book Baby Sense as a guideline. Madelein says, “I dropped my babies’ night feed from 4 months, and they sleep through most nights”.

■ FEED AND CHANGE. Get into the habit of changing nappies after each feed. It saves you time.

■ TOP-AND-TAIL ON ALTERNATE DAYS. Bath your babies every second day, and “top-and-tail” them every other day.

■ CREATE A DAILY LOGBOOK. Madelein says, “I created a table for the nanny to fill out. It has each of my babies’ names, the date, feeding times, meals, medicine times and bowel movements. It’s a great way to monitor how each child is doing from day to day.”

■ TAKE TIME OUT. If you have a nanny and you don’t work, get out of the house for at least two hours, and do something you enjoy. Don’t feel guilty.

■ BE SELECTIVE. Make sure people who offer to help don’t create extra work for you. Politely refuse any offers that aren’t in your best interest.