When Deanna Burke went to have her first ultrasound for her first baby, it was a life-changing day for the mom-to-be. The technician told her, "Surprise! You have an instant family," recalls Burke. "I thought that meant I was having twins. But then I found out I was having triplets. I was going from zero to three."
When Sean, Luke and Charlotte arrived, Burke says "it was overwhelming. But you play the hand you are dealt. I figured out a system and I stuck with it." She quickly learned that if one baby woke up hungry, another would soon be waking. "So when one woke up, I fed him. And then woke the others and fed them. They all got fed at the same time."
Without family nearby, Burke relied on friends for help. She connected with another mom with older triplets who was willing to come and give Burke a break several times a week.
Although she happily took suggestions from others, she had to come up with her own mothering skills to get by. She recalls that when the babies were all old enough to sit in high chairs, she lined them up to feed them.
"At first, I thought I should have three bowls and three spoons _ one for each. But then I realized that was too much work. I started to use one bowl, one spoon and it was 'here's a bite, here's a bite, here's a bite. ' " She gave each child one spoonful and then went back to the head of the line and repeated the process.
Burke kept the babies on a regular schedule that she also followed. "I had my pajamas on and went to bed at 8 when they did. Otherwise, I would have not gotten any sleep." She feels that in some ways, having the triplets before having any other children was a little easier because she only had to focus on their needs.
The triplets are now 10 and have a 7-year-old brother, Ryan. Although they were born together, Burke says the triplets do not share the same personalities. "Charlotte is playful. Sean is serious and Luke is very sweet and loves to make people happy."
Not only do they have different personalities, they have different interests and tastes. "I make a schedule for each week," Burke says, pointing to a sheet of paper hanging in her kitchen. The detailed schedule has baseball games, swim practices and several other activities all outlined by day.
"All four are in different activities. I try to put down what we are having for dinner too. I don't always have every meal there but I manage to get some planned ahead. The kids really like seeing that we are having tacos on Tuesday or whatever and look forward to certain meals. It also saves me having to answer questions like 'what's for dinner?' over and over."
Burke is able to squeeze in a part-time job now that the children are older. "I work for Rodan+Fields, a skin care company. I am able to do most everything online, which is perfect," says Burke.
She enjoys cooking but is often pressed for time. "We are on the run almost every night taking someone somewhere," she says. She relies on slow cooker meals and recipes that can be fixed ahead. She has found several items like macaroni and cheese that can be prepared in the morning, held in the refrigerator all day and quickly popped into the oven for dinner. Another one of the family's favorites are stromboli sandwiches that can be prepared ahead. They only need 15 minutes in the oven and are ready to serve.
One of the family favorites are meatballs. The children like to get involved in shaping the meatballs, which can be frozen for later meals. Burke bakes the meatballs instead of pan-frying them. For each pound of ground beef or turkey, she adds an egg and 1/3 cup of seasoned bread crumbs. A quick mix in the bowl and the meatballs are ready to shape.
She lines up the meatballs about 2 inches apart in a glass dish coated with olive oil and bakes the meatballs at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. She then turns them and lets them cook another five minutes.
"They can be served with any sauce, rice or pasta," she says. "You can also use extra seasoning or different flavors of seasoned breadcrumbs."
Burke shares her recipes for macaroni and cheese and stromboli sandwiches for busy moms who are looking for quick-fix meals.
