Mother's Day three times the fun
'Having triplets is really difficult. You have to have at least three hands, so it's a two-man operation.' - Danielle Kilmer
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

LITTLE DARLINGS ALREADY LOVE THE ACORN- The Kilmer triplets take a break in their toddler "library" with a copy of their favorite newspaper, the Thousand Oaks Acorn. Having three children keeps their mother constantly busy. Soon, however, she'll be getting a threesome of Mother's Day greetings.

Mother's Day may not mean three times the presents, but Danielle Kilmer's life as the mother of triplets definitely brings her lots more work, more fun and an abundance of love.

Kilmer knew she was in for a lot of work as soon as she was told she was pregnant with three babies. Her husband, Lou, thought only of the fun, at first, and how cool it was, she said.

"The next day it hit him. Reality set in, and he realized that even though we were going down from two incomes to one we were going to need a bigger car and a bigger house," Kilmer said.

While she was pregnant, she said, she didn't require extra bed rest and had no morning sickness. She delivered at 33 weeks, in February 2005.

After the triplets were born, she longed for some bed rest or just a little sleep, but snoozing was at a premium with three times the feeding and diapering required for newborns, Kilmer said.

"Having triplets is really difficult. You have to have at least three hands, so it's a two-man operation," she said.

Her mother, Linda Evron of Calabasas, stayed by her side during the first nine months after Austin, Bailey and Katelin were born. Since then she's had a nanny to work with her and provide the extra hands. One of her nannies grew up as a triplet herself.

"While she was here, I think she learned how much work having triplets was for her mother," Kilmer said.

The family has been through the stroller-for-three days, and has passed that contraption along to another mother of triplets.

Now that the children are 3 years old, Kilmer enjoys being on the go with them. They like to go to the park, on play dates and to what most call "Mommy and me" classes that Kilmer calls "Mommy and three" classes.

Potty training is never easy, but with three at one time it takes even more patience. Austin has mastered it, and his sisters are almost there.

Each has their own personality, Kilmer said. Austin likes to climb and to play rough. Bailey is the sweet pleaser. Katelin is sensitive, sometimes bossy and the most talkative.

Kilmer doesn't dress them alike because her older sisters, who are twins, asked her not to do that. She lets them choose what they wear from a selection she provides, and sometimes they will pick out similar outfits, she said.

"It's monkey see, monkey do around here," Kilmer said.

If one child takes off his or her clothes, they all will. If one puts all the chairs together to walk across, they all walk across the chairs.

The three enjoy their big dog, Duke, as an extra playmate who evens their numbers.

"Every hour there is one child who is crying for some reason," Kilmer said.

When they are on a play date or at the park that doesn't happen as much, she said, so she likes to keep them on the go.

The family will sometimes all go out to dinner, and the kids are well behaved for the most part. They've traveled across the country by plane several times. The Kilmers haven't taken the triplets to Disneyland yet but are planning to when they get a little older. The three love to bounce on the couch and play with toys, scooters or balls. "They're all very active," she said. The "older" neighborhood children, ages 4 to 10, drop by regularly to play with them.

"They think they're dolls," Kilmer said.

Naptime has been from 2 to 4 p.m., but recently they've started fighting naps. That makes Mom look longingly toward kindergarten coming up in the next couple of years. But Kilmer's realistic.

"Then there will be dancing lessons and sports. It's really not going to get easier," she said.