Speaker 1: Hi, and welcome to a very special episode of Outspoken.
Speaker 1: You're joined as usual by journalists Amy Sophie and Kate Torber.
Speaker 1: Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a
Speaker 1: mother of triplets? Well today we're joined by our very
Speaker 1: special mum, Linda, who was just twenty nine years old
Speaker 1: when she found out she was going to become a
Speaker 1: mum to identical triplet girls. Our mum's story is extremely
Speaker 1: inspiring and we want to say a big thank you
Speaker 1: to her for being the most amazing mum and helping
Speaker 1: us become the women we are today. So we do
Speaker 1: all hope you enjoy this very candid look at what
Speaker 1: life is like for a mum of triplets. Well, thank
Speaker 1: you so much for joining us for this special episode
Speaker 1: of Outspoken. Mum, welcome to Outspoken. I know you're I
Speaker 1: think you're the podcast number one fan.
Speaker 2: That is absolutely correct, own business.
Speaker 1: Sorry for all the swearing that you tell us of
Speaker 1: for yes, I don't really like the swearing, so let's
Speaker 1: have a swear free podcast today. What did you think
Speaker 1: about the arguing last week?
Speaker 2: I wasn't feeling impressed.
Speaker 1: Now, Maum, we wanted to take you back to nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty eight. When you first discovered that you were pregnant
Speaker 1: at the time, did you feel like it was there
Speaker 1: was something different about this pregnancy at all?
Speaker 2: Not really. I had a scan at about eight weeks
Speaker 2: and then discovered I was having well we were having twins,
Speaker 2: so that was very exciting.
Speaker 1: Who was hiding?
Speaker 2: I really don't know, can't answer that.
Speaker 1: So how poor must have the technology been back then
Speaker 1: to say that you were having twins?
Speaker 2: Well, then naturally conceived, So I guess no one was
Speaker 2: really looking for more than one baby and discovered two,
Speaker 2: So I don't think they're really looking for any more
Speaker 2: than two.
Speaker 3: And what was going through your mind?
Speaker 1: Can you? Can you paint the picture for us when
Speaker 1: you found out that it was actually three instead of two.
Speaker 2: Well, my obstetrician that I was seeing was actually away,
Speaker 2: and I went to see his colleague and he had
Speaker 2: me was measuring my waist and sort of humming and
Speaker 2: hrring and thinking I was too big for my dates,
Speaker 2: so sent me off for a scan and he just said, oh,
Speaker 2: I found another baby, that's all and walked out of
Speaker 2: the room to go and get his receptionist to go
Speaker 2: and get her to come and have a look at
Speaker 2: the scan. Meanwhile I was looking at the ceiling, not
Speaker 2: saying good word.
Speaker 1: I was a bit overcome, and knowing Dad, I'm assuming
Speaker 1: just having the idea of having twins probably would have
Speaker 1: been mind blowing to Dad having two girls. What was
Speaker 1: his reaction to finding out now it was three?
Speaker 2: First of all, we didn't know what sex they were,
Speaker 2: but at the time he was with the scan. He
Speaker 2: was with me when I had the scan done, and
Speaker 2: he just looked at the ceiling and shook his head.
Speaker 3: Did he have a cigarette?
Speaker 2: Not allowed?
Speaker 3: I can actually imagine what his expression would have been like.
Speaker 3: What was the reaction from your other family members?
Speaker 2: I went my parents and my mum said to me, well,
Speaker 2: how am I going to cope? That was my mum's reaction.
Speaker 2: Hugh's mum's reaction, Your father's mum's reaction was, oh, that's nicety.
Speaker 2: Now what coles today? I was shocking and I just went, oh,
Speaker 2: my goodness.
Speaker 3: Did you feel kind of alone?
Speaker 1: Because I suppose I wouldn't, you know, there's not too
Speaker 1: many people that have given birth to triplets.
Speaker 3: Was it kind of hard?
Speaker 1: Because I mean that would have been at a time
Speaker 1: where you couldn't jump online and connect with someone else
Speaker 1: who'd gone through the experience.
Speaker 2: I think I was actually naive, and I think that
Speaker 2: was a good thing. I just thought, oh, this would
Speaker 2: be wonderful. Everything will turn out fine, nothing will go wrong.
Speaker 2: And I think if I was older, I probably would
Speaker 2: have worried, and if I'd had Google, I would have
Speaker 2: been super worried. But no, it wasn't at all.
Speaker 1: And how I mean, it's hard to say because obviously
Speaker 1: you were the only children you have, But from what
Speaker 1: you've heard, how do you think your pregnancy differed from
Speaker 1: like a normal one child pregnancy.
Speaker 2: Well, I was really lucky because I was sick. Some
Speaker 2: poor women are sick. For the first three months, I
Speaker 2: did not have one day. The only thing as well,
Speaker 2: I was really tired, and that I grew quite big.
Speaker 1: I was going to say, Mum, now, we did threaten
Speaker 1: to use a photo of you heavily pregnant in your
Speaker 1: bra at our twenty first birthday to illustrate the first
Speaker 1: photo of I was But you were big and you
Speaker 1: were only five foot one. So what was it actually
Speaker 1: like carrying around all that weight, especially I suppose as
Speaker 1: your pregnancy progressed.
Speaker 2: Well, I only found out at twenty nine weeks that
Speaker 2: are that we were actually having triplets. So all that
Speaker 2: time I thought we were having twins. So after this
Speaker 2: said scan, when they told me I was having another
Speaker 2: baby at a couple of weeks later, I was put
Speaker 2: into hospital and that's where I stayed until you were born.
Speaker 1: So, if you only thought you were having twins up
Speaker 1: until then, which names were you going with? Which name
Speaker 1: was that Kate Amy or Sophie?
Speaker 3: Sophie?
Speaker 2: Probably Well, actually we hadn't agreed on anything. I think
Speaker 2: the boys' names were actually easier. And no, actually that's incorrect. Sorry,
Speaker 2: the girl's names were a lot easier and the boys
Speaker 2: would probably still be unnamed.
Speaker 1: So did you want a want boys or girls or
Speaker 1: a mixture?
Speaker 2: Actually, I really wanted to have at least one girl.
Speaker 2: I wanted a girl somewhere, and we're just blessed to
Speaker 2: have three.
Speaker 1: And you know, mothers speak about that experience of feeling
Speaker 1: like the kick for the first time.
Speaker 3: What does it feel like to have three babies?
Speaker 1: And did you was there a time or real kicking,
Speaker 1: because I mean we fight as it is now, I
Speaker 1: mean we might have been having a fight in your stomach.
Speaker 2: Well, there were some occasions where you were having fights
Speaker 2: in my stomach. I couldn't actually guarantee.
Speaker 3: That maybe someone was brought up the AFLW or.
Speaker 2: Something maybe, but just blessed that you were all healthy,
Speaker 2: and that's the main thing.
Speaker 1: And for someone who hasn't seen this infamous photo of you,
Speaker 1: just how big did you get and how uncomfort was
Speaker 1: it in the final stages of the pregnancy.
Speaker 2: Well after they found out that we were having triplets,
Speaker 2: I went, I had a couple of weeks resting at home,
Speaker 2: and then they put me into hospital. So twenty nine
Speaker 2: and a half weeks I think I went into hospital
Speaker 2: and had the last couple of weeks there and all
Speaker 2: I did was lying a bed. So you babies grew.
Speaker 2: I think they said a pound each, so that was
Speaker 2: quite a lot. And at the end I just couldn't
Speaker 2: wait for you to get out because there was just
Speaker 2: no more room. It was just very very tight and uncomfortable.
Speaker 2: You obviously touched on that you're in hospital, But why
Speaker 2: was that and how risky was it at this time
Speaker 2: to be having triplets. I think they were just concerned
Speaker 2: that you were actually quite small at that time, and
Speaker 2: I think they just wanted to monitor everything, and I
Speaker 2: think in the end, I did have some issues I
Speaker 2: had and had some possible renal failure, so that was
Speaker 2: why you were brought on and I had an injection
Speaker 2: to increase your lung capacity, and then you were born
Speaker 2: twenty four hours later.
Speaker 1: So is this why we are older now? Because I'm
Speaker 1: already upset at turning thirty.
Speaker 3: But it could have been postponed. Been May.
Speaker 1: I think it was May the tenth, was your actual
Speaker 1: drey date you spoke about the threat of having renal failure.
Speaker 3: Did you ever actually think that you might die?
Speaker 2: No, not at all.
Speaker 3: Ife was just the busness the note.
Speaker 2: I think my brothers, because they're all doctors, were concerned.
Speaker 2: It was back in the day where you had a
Speaker 2: clipboard on the end of your bed, so when they
Speaker 2: used to come and visit me in hospital, they would
Speaker 2: look at the clipboard before they'd say hello, and was
Speaker 2: checking out my you know, all the results I was
Speaker 2: getting back, and I think they were concerned, but no,
Speaker 2: I was just oblivious.
Speaker 1: And what was it like, the moment that you actually
Speaker 1: they all decided, Okay, you can't go on anymore, you
Speaker 1: have to give birth.
Speaker 2: What was that like, Well, it was actually it was
Speaker 2: it was a little bit stressful, and I was just
Speaker 2: really pleased when it all started because I was just
Speaker 2: so uncomfortable.
Speaker 1: And you wanted to have an I know, obviously with
Speaker 1: three you can't have a natural birth, but you're one
Speaker 1: of those people that actually wanted to.
Speaker 2: Well, I did ask whether I could have a natural birth,
Speaker 2: and the doctor said, I don't guarantee the third one
Speaker 2: to get out on time, And well, well, okay, very nitty.
Speaker 1: So do some people actually have a natural birth with
Speaker 1: some peoples?
Speaker 2: Yeah, they do. Some people do, because.
Speaker 1: I thought that was crazy on friends when Phoebe gave
Speaker 1: birth naturally.
Speaker 2: I don't know if they really want you to, but
Speaker 2: sometimes that does happen.
Speaker 1: Can you talk us through what the birth was like?
Speaker 1: I can only imagine. I've heard different stories about me
Speaker 1: floating to the top and weird things. So can you
Speaker 1: tell us what that was like and what the operating
Speaker 1: room looked like and all those gory details and.
Speaker 3: How many cigarettes Dad had?
Speaker 2: Dad?
Speaker 3: There was he down there?
Speaker 1: Dad?
Speaker 3: Goland?
Speaker 2: No, No, your father was not down the goal and
Speaker 2: he was That.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't have been that wouldn't have been the goal and anyway, well.
Speaker 2: The stomach again, no, he was up helping me. No,
Speaker 2: I had an epidural, and the anthetist was fabulous. She
Speaker 2: actually had a child that I knew through the dental clinic,
Speaker 2: and so I had actually met her in a professional sense.
Speaker 2: And she looked at me, and I looked at her,
Speaker 2: and I thought, where do we know each other from?
Speaker 2: So I actually had so of.
Speaker 3: Course, that happens to you that you know somebody every
Speaker 3: time you know.
Speaker 2: Sdelaide once had the epidural. I actually had the shakes
Speaker 2: for the whole time I was having you. So she
Speaker 2: was wonderful. She just sat with me and talked to
Speaker 2: me and said I'd be all right. She was amazing.
Speaker 2: Your father was at the other side. He was sort
Speaker 2: of there. I remember he was kind of it was
Speaker 2: kind of helpful. Yes, I just remember there were so
Speaker 2: many people in the room because there had to be
Speaker 2: a doctor for each of you, and they had to
Speaker 2: be a neonatal nurse and they had to be I
Speaker 2: don't know. There just seem to be so many people,
Speaker 2: about twenty one people there, and there was even the
Speaker 2: janitor there with the broom. I remember. I don't know
Speaker 2: why he was there. He was down the action end.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure what he was doing if they allow
Speaker 2: him in there that I don't know if he was
Speaker 2: the janitor, but he had a broom.
Speaker 1: I don't know why was none of them?
Speaker 2: No, no, no. Back in those days, the parents waited
Speaker 2: by the phone.
Speaker 1: So if one of us was giving birth, would you
Speaker 1: want to be there?
Speaker 2: If I was asked, I would be.
Speaker 1: What does it actually feel like to see three babies
Speaker 1: being pulled from your stomach?
Speaker 2: Well, they actually have a little screen up, so you
Speaker 2: actually don't see much at all. They just pulled Kate
Speaker 2: out and she was the smallest, so they actually whisked
Speaker 2: her away and I sort of didn't even touch her
Speaker 2: until some time later. And then they took Amy out
Speaker 2: and they did actually put her by me and like
Speaker 2: she doesn't.
Speaker 3: Explain the favorite older.
Speaker 2: And then they did the same for Sophie. So I
Speaker 2: did actually see kay closer. I'm in Sophie, but I
Speaker 2: did see Kate, but she was she was the smallest.
Speaker 2: So we're concerned about how and what were your first impressions.
Speaker 2: I was actually really excited to have three girls.
Speaker 1: I was just.
Speaker 2: Thrilled and because you're all healthy, and you know that
Speaker 2: was part of it, because prior to you being born
Speaker 2: they're taking me down to the neonatal in their natural
Speaker 2: room and showed me some kids that had been born
Speaker 2: before you had been and at a lesser week, less
Speaker 2: number of weeks, just to show me that you know,
Speaker 2: you were going to survive. I never had any doubts.
Speaker 2: I just thought you'd be okay. Perhaps that was because
Speaker 2: I was young and silly and didn't actually realize things
Speaker 2: go wrong.
Speaker 1: You're twenty nine. I suppose you weren't that young. But
Speaker 1: maybe it's maybe maybe your positivity ensured everything. You know,
Speaker 1: when you think positive, positive things happened. Was there any
Speaker 1: crying or when we were ripped out.
Speaker 3: From us or from whom, from the babies?
Speaker 2: I don't actually remember that. Probably was a little squawk
Speaker 2: or two, but I actually don't recall.
Speaker 1: Well when I just was thinking about it then, because
Speaker 1: obviously we were like very close to each other, was it?
Speaker 1: And then they took us away and put us an incubator.
Speaker 1: The I wonder if we were missing each other, could
Speaker 1: we see each other?
Speaker 2: They actually put you close together, so I guess there
Speaker 2: was some of that bonding going on even then.
Speaker 1: What was Dad's reaction when he found out he was
Speaker 1: having three girls?
Speaker 2: Oh, He was so excited. He was so delighted and
Speaker 2: just we were both of us were just absolutely thrilled
Speaker 2: that you were healthy.
Speaker 1: Was he a little bit disappointed he didn't have a boy?
Speaker 2: I don't think so. I think he's quite happy to
Speaker 2: have three girls look after him in his old age.
Speaker 1: Lady cigarettes, well, because we were still in hospital and
Speaker 1: you had to go home, was that really tough to
Speaker 1: leave us?
Speaker 2: Really tough? That was really really tough because my sister
Speaker 2: law had just had a baby and with my brother
Speaker 2: and they just had one baby and taken her home,
Speaker 2: and I had had you guys, and had to leave
Speaker 2: him behind. It was really hard.
Speaker 1: Did you feel like you'd won that competition they'd had one.
Speaker 2: Winning? Yes? I did.
Speaker 1: And when we were finally home, what is the reality
Speaker 1: of living with three newborn babies?
Speaker 3: Do you get any sleep at all?
Speaker 2: Can I just go back one step, because before you
Speaker 2: came home, I was in there twice a day feeding you,
Speaker 2: and that was really really hard because you'd have to
Speaker 2: get up rest, feed you, to get the pump out
Speaker 2: and pump all the milk out, bring it in, feed you,
Speaker 2: then go home and rest because it's extremely tiring, and
Speaker 2: then go back in another time to go and see you.
Speaker 2: So in a way, having your home is easier because
Speaker 2: you were there, but because I hadn't had an overnighte
Speaker 2: with you. The Queen Victoria Hospital where we were born,
Speaker 2: set up me to have a couple of nights with
Speaker 2: the staff allegedly helping me, so that I knew what
Speaker 2: it was like to feed overnight. Well, I don't think
Speaker 2: the nurses got the memo from the doctor saying you
Speaker 2: are supposed to help this woman in the middle of
Speaker 2: the night when her three babies are crying. They got
Speaker 2: the memos incorrect. They thought that they weren't supposed to
Speaker 2: help me. So when doctor haslum what was a wonderful
Speaker 2: man that was looking after me, came in the next
Speaker 2: day to see how I was. I think I just
Speaker 2: burst into tears and looked like I'd had about two
Speaker 2: hours sleep, and he went bunch at the staff and said,
Speaker 2: why weren't you helping her? So the next night was
Speaker 2: fabulous because I had all these people bring these babies
Speaker 2: in and were helping me. But then when I went home,
Speaker 2: it was really hard.
Speaker 1: Did you feel like a bit of a cow or
Speaker 1: like you know, with your udders out or like a
Speaker 1: cat with a.
Speaker 3: Litter of babies.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I did twin feeding, which was wonder bars. You
Speaker 2: should say not and anyone buy it.
Speaker 3: Okay, I think this is too much detail.
Speaker 1: Well, when you did finally get home, did you have
Speaker 1: any additional help from a nurse or was there anything
Speaker 1: in place that you got because you had three babies?
Speaker 1: Any extra help?
Speaker 2: Actually, sadly no, and I hope things have changed for
Speaker 2: the new mums that are having multiples that they do
Speaker 2: get some help from the government. I think we did
Speaker 2: initially get a little bit of financial help, but I
Speaker 2: think it was for six years. We got a tiny
Speaker 2: little bit of money which helped pay for formula, but no,
Speaker 2: I had my mum and dad would help which was
Speaker 2: amazing his parents but your dad's parents would help a
Speaker 2: little bit. And the CAFs group in Komlight Gardens, I
Speaker 2: have to say shout out to all you girls used
Speaker 2: to bring me a meal once a week, come and
Speaker 2: help with meals and sorry help was feeding it was.
Speaker 2: They were incredible people I didn't actually know.
Speaker 1: And talking of litters, that's just Bentley crying at the door.
Speaker 1: If anyone our cast I feel like one thing that
Speaker 1: I would be scared about if I had twins or triplets,
Speaker 1: is mixing them up? Was there like a technique that
Speaker 1: you had to ensure that the same, you know, the
Speaker 1: right baby was the right baby.
Speaker 2: Well, this was in the day as a capsules, so
Speaker 2: all your capsules had the name on it. You also
Speaker 2: came home with a band around your foot to identify
Speaker 2: just in case we got mixed up. But you actually
Speaker 2: did look different.
Speaker 1: Imagine if they mixed us up in the hospital. Well,
Speaker 1: I feel like because you were the smallest, they probably
Speaker 1: would have been able to at least tell you it
Speaker 1: wouldn't really matter because it'd only be a few days.
Speaker 3: Do you remember you can't.
Speaker 1: I know a couple of the thirty six's players have
Speaker 1: come up and said to me, I bet that you
Speaker 1: guys got mixed up and you were actually amy, And I.
Speaker 3: Wonder, that's just scary to think about. So you mentioned
Speaker 3: that we did look quite different.
Speaker 1: Did you make a conscious effort not to dressed us
Speaker 1: the same and so we'd all have our own identity,
Speaker 1: Because I know a lot of people fall into the
Speaker 1: trap of, I don't know, dressing twins and triplets the same.
Speaker 2: Now I made a conscious decision not to dress you
Speaker 2: the same. Occasionally people would give item of clothing that
Speaker 2: was the same, so you would wear it mainly at home.
Speaker 2: But I just did not like taking you out in
Speaker 2: the same outfit because it drew even more attention to you.
Speaker 1: Well, that's what I was going to ask. What is
Speaker 1: it like going out in public with three babies?
Speaker 2: Well, I remember one time we were down at Gulwa
Speaker 2: and we had the twins stroller that your dad was
Speaker 2: pushing and I had the single stroller and we were
Speaker 2: getting stopped all the time. It was just incredible. So
Speaker 2: your father wanted to get a copy of some answers
Speaker 2: to questions that we were asked all the time. Were
Speaker 2: you IVF? How do you cope? All these sorts of questions.
Speaker 2: He was going to put it on a pamphlet, just
Speaker 2: hand it out because he was seller answering all.
Speaker 1: These questions because dad loves talking to me talking to
Speaker 1: people one personal questions as well.
Speaker 2: Oh. Absolutely, you not believe what people ask you, and
Speaker 2: it's quite confronting.
Speaker 1: What's the weirdest question someone has asked?
Speaker 2: I'll probably say were the children IVF? Because you weren't
Speaker 2: you were naturally conceived. But really that's no one's business
Speaker 2: whether you were you were IRVF or naturally conceived.
Speaker 1: And I suppose you touched on it before about saying
Speaker 1: that you didn't like to dress us the same because
Speaker 1: you wanted us to be individuals on that same sorry,
Speaker 1: on that same sort of philosophy. Is that why you
Speaker 1: didn't like people calling us the triplets as well?
Speaker 2: Yes, because that meant that you would like one entity.
Speaker 2: And I wanted people to know you were three different children.
Speaker 2: Just because you were born on the same day from
Speaker 2: the same mother, you actually had three different personalities, and
Speaker 2: I just wanted to encourage that.
Speaker 1: On our first birthday, we did make the front page
Speaker 1: of the paper, just a humble brain. I happened to
Speaker 1: be snapping Amy's hat, your hat, one of their hats, and.
Speaker 3: Everyone was except me.
Speaker 1: Now when you say it was you know those party
Speaker 1: that has the sort of rubber Now, Mum, Mum was
Speaker 1: famously quoted as saying, Kate is bossy, and then I
Speaker 1: think it was Amy is placid, and what was Sophie
Speaker 1: was thoughtful?
Speaker 2: I had kind hearted or something like that.
Speaker 1: Now you have the chance to rectify your descriptions, do
Speaker 1: you let me just tell you about that day.
Speaker 3: That's description sound pretty bang on.
Speaker 2: It wasn't bad because it was a very off the
Speaker 2: cuff comment. We had organized with the advertiser to come
Speaker 2: and take a photograph, and I got my mum down
Speaker 2: to help me, so we'd fed you early, we had
Speaker 2: changed nappies, you're in your best dress ready for and
Speaker 2: they were so late working.
Speaker 1: With journalists, now that's no surprise, and all but three
Speaker 1: different ways in the article that was not good editing.
Speaker 2: So by the time they had arrived, you were over it.
Speaker 2: And so that's hints the photo on the paper review
Speaker 2: its rolling around pulling each other's hats.
Speaker 1: I reckon though if it had just been a stock
Speaker 1: standard photo, it wouldn't have made the front page.
Speaker 3: Like I feel like the fact that.
Speaker 1: We were like upset and ripping at each other that
Speaker 1: made it a iconic photo. It also said the headline,
Speaker 1: it's our party and we'll cry if we want to,
Speaker 1: So I feel like it did make a good front page.
Speaker 3: But back to your sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: I was just going to say. As the journalist was
Speaker 2: leaving walking up the hall, that's when she asked me
Speaker 2: what you were like. So I was really put on
Speaker 2: the spot. So it was very spontaneous.
Speaker 3: You're on the spot again. Would you stand by those
Speaker 3: descriptions or have they changed? How would you do?
Speaker 2: You're you're all kind, harded, and you're all placid.
Speaker 1: What would you say for someone who is asking you
Speaker 1: how to tell us apart? What are the key distinctions?
Speaker 2: I'd say Kate's very organized, which is a very good trait.
Speaker 3: Is that code for bossing?
Speaker 2: No, I'd say that Amy's very lay back and very
Speaker 2: laid back and casual. And Sophie's very kind hearted and
Speaker 2: always sees the good in people.
Speaker 3: Really, she does her descriptions alone, they were quite bang on.
Speaker 2: No. No, you're all and you're all very kind, You're
Speaker 2: all very thoughtful, you're all very loving. I think you're
Speaker 2: being triplets. You're very thoughtful and consider of other people's feelings.
Speaker 2: I think that's an amazing track to have. And you
Speaker 2: always share and all those wonderful things that you wouldn't
Speaker 2: get if you were a single child as much.
Speaker 1: What was your favorite age to experience your children? Obviously
Speaker 1: we went through the same milestones together, so was there
Speaker 1: a favorite time in I'm going to guess thirteen to
Speaker 1: eighteen wasn't, but.
Speaker 2: Correct, I look all the stages were amazing. I love
Speaker 2: the little toddlers stage when you know I was just
Speaker 2: the number one.
Speaker 3: And I feel like you're still number one now.
Speaker 2: Well, no thanks, but you know, when you know, if
Speaker 2: you all over, you only want your mom. That was
Speaker 2: you know, that was the same now you have not
Speaker 2: changed at all. And school was brilliant too. I love
Speaker 2: watching you grow and become, you know, strong and resilient.
Speaker 2: High school was interesting. We'll move on.
Speaker 3: That's fast forward through. That's good.
Speaker 2: You know you were pretty good at Uni. That was
Speaker 2: That was an okay stage, except you slept a lot
Speaker 2: in when you're in UNI. And yeah, we used to
Speaker 2: have very weird hours at university, but then.
Speaker 3: We that you were proud of us.
Speaker 2: Still I'm still proud of you, and I think also
Speaker 2: when you moved out, it was another another stage where
Speaker 2: you became self sufficient and were able to do a
Speaker 2: whole lot of things for yourself that you couldn't do
Speaker 2: when you were at home.
Speaker 1: So I just just to explain, Mom is the best mum,
Speaker 1: and she would. I think she thought the way to
Speaker 1: help us when we'd moved out was to bring big
Speaker 1: packages of like forty eight toilet rolls and Ajax and
Speaker 1: helpful cleaning products because let's face it, forty eight rolls
Speaker 1: of toilet peaper didn't last long in our house.
Speaker 2: And also the Agui now is amazing too. I really
Speaker 2: like it because we always get together on a Wednesday
Speaker 2: night for family dinner and you bring your boyfriends and
Speaker 2: it's really really lovely. It's lovely that you still want
Speaker 2: to come and see your dear old mum and dad.
Speaker 3: It's the highlight of my week growing it so yeah,
Speaker 3: it is.
Speaker 1: I actually say every week I'm like, is it sad
Speaker 1: that I'm looking.
Speaker 3: Forward to family dinner?
Speaker 1: But growing up you had three brothers and you always
Speaker 1: wanted a sister. Do you feel like you got your
Speaker 1: sisters with the three of us.
Speaker 2: I do. I do. I think we're all pretty close,
Speaker 2: and I think that's I'm really really lucky that we
Speaker 2: all get on really really well.
Speaker 1: Just to put the end of perspective. On Saturday, we
Speaker 1: went shopping with Mum and she was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: we have so much to talk about. So we had
Speaker 1: to any of the things to go straight to excoosey
Speaker 1: and catch up and it was literally like I got
Speaker 1: a headache after it because it was too many people talking,
Speaker 1: it's hard to get a word in. Yes, and not
Speaker 1: to get sappy, but what is your favorite part of
Speaker 1: being a mum?
Speaker 2: About three years ago, we went through a really tough
Speaker 2: time as a family, and as your podcast viewers might know,
Speaker 2: if they listened to episode one, they might understand what
Speaker 2: what actually happened.
Speaker 1: But and if you'd like to see mom style on
Speaker 1: the seven thirty, look that up.
Speaker 2: That was a really, really tough time and probably that
Speaker 2: would have been about the worst time we've ever had
Speaker 2: other than my dad passing away last year was awful.
Speaker 2: But three years ago we went through that terrible time
Speaker 2: and I think as a family we actually grew stronger and.
Speaker 1: And we had that great trip to Sydney, didn't we, Mum,
Speaker 1: You and we had a great trip. This is when
Speaker 1: things were sort of ticking over, weren't they. And we
Speaker 1: remember we walked through the hotel. This is when we
Speaker 1: went to sort of settle things legally. And walking out
Speaker 1: of our hotel was Liz Hayes and I remember you
Speaker 1: were so excited, Mumm.
Speaker 2: You're like, it's a sign, It's a sign. I know,
Speaker 2: I thought we are winners.
Speaker 1: I had to I had to stop you from asking
Speaker 1: for her autograph, because one thing that I think is
Speaker 1: so special about Mum is she always takes such an
Speaker 1: interest in everything we do. So when we were in
Speaker 1: the journalism world, you knew everything like you knew all
Speaker 1: the Oh that's the slug, that's the super I know
Speaker 1: who this person is. And you we would sit around
Speaker 1: and critique the news and despite you not being a
Speaker 1: qualified journalist, you did a bloody good job. And I've
Speaker 1: always told our favorite news director Terry Plaine, that my
Speaker 1: mum would have been the best journalist ever.
Speaker 2: Oh well, thank you, And I still critique them. I
Speaker 2: only watch certain stations, so I only critique certain ones.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I guess it was. It was a fun
Speaker 2: time when you girls were working on the news and
Speaker 2: it wasn't really sad into that, and you know, we've
Speaker 2: moved on and bigger and better things.
Speaker 1: So one of my favorite memories of Mum was we
Speaker 1: always had to drag family members to be in stories
Speaker 1: if you ever had a time like a tight deadline.
Speaker 1: And I remember Mum and Kate were in a story
Speaker 1: where Amanda Blair, who South Australian personality, she's amazing, but
Speaker 1: she did an op shop story and Kate and Mum
Speaker 1: had to model op shop close bullshit and that was hilarious.
Speaker 1: So thank you for not for us, well for those watching.
Speaker 2: Amanda wanted me to buy this top and I'm looking
Speaker 2: at it thinking no, sorry for me.
Speaker 3: Can I ask Mum?
Speaker 1: How do you go at hearing things three times and
Speaker 1: pretending that it's new information because poor Mum constantly gets
Speaker 1: called And Top's.
Speaker 2: All right because sometimes I get little snippers. I can
Speaker 2: put it all together and go, ah, I understand now.
Speaker 1: I think the thing about you as well is that
Speaker 1: you were so fair, Like you just go out of
Speaker 1: your way to be fair with everyone. Even on our
Speaker 1: birthday you will write the exact same message on every
Speaker 1: single wall.
Speaker 3: What was that like?
Speaker 1: What made you think yeah, Facebook, well, what made you
Speaker 1: think about.
Speaker 3: That or what enticed you to be that be like that?
Speaker 2: I don't know. I think it comes from my upbringing.
Speaker 2: My parents were really really fair and even with my
Speaker 2: three brothers and I and also I remember talking to
Speaker 2: someone at the Multiple Birth Association. One thing that stuck
Speaker 2: with me was she said that the kids had to
Speaker 2: take along a photograph to school for the VIP of
Speaker 2: the week, and this particular person had no individual shots
Speaker 2: of so they had triplets and they had them all together.
Speaker 2: So I always made sure, particularly birthdays, that we take
Speaker 2: separate photos. Now still do that so that you actually
Speaker 2: have a photo of yourself. And I think that's really
Speaker 2: important to Even though you are triplets and it's a
Speaker 2: wonderful thing and you get on really well, you have
Speaker 2: to be individuals as well.
Speaker 1: So obviously you've said a lot of lovely things about
Speaker 1: having triplets, But what would your reaction be if one
Speaker 1: of us fell pregnant with triplets?
Speaker 2: Would be amazing? Yeah, it really would. It would be amazing.
Speaker 3: It would be a bit of karma.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, no, I just I know no different.
Speaker 2: I don't know what it's like to have a single child.
Speaker 2: I just know that everything comes in three. I'd be delighted.
Speaker 3: Is there a chance it is a hereditary or.
Speaker 2: I don't think so.
Speaker 1: No, because it's one and a million chants.
Speaker 2: Isn't it something like that? I don't. I don't know.
Speaker 2: Just one split into two and then one into two
Speaker 2: again is what I'm led to believe.
Speaker 1: And final question, who's your favorite daughter?
Speaker 3: Lull them into a false.
Speaker 2: I do not have favorites. You know that I'm very fair.
Speaker 2: I love you all equally.
Speaker 1: And just to wrap it up, if what piece of
Speaker 1: advice would you give to a mum who possibly listening,
Speaker 1: who's having twins or triplets.
Speaker 2: So get a lot of sleep beforehand, because you don't
Speaker 2: get a lot after. I just think you need to
Speaker 2: be organized and go with the flow and if something
Speaker 2: doesn't work, well, that's okay.
Speaker 1: Mom hasn't had sleep for three years, she said, in
Speaker 1: our teenage years.
Speaker 3: No, that's right.
Speaker 2: And I remember going after I had you girls, I
Speaker 2: would give bag up the clothes that I didn't need
Speaker 2: more and I passed them on to this other lady
Speaker 2: that had I think she had a son first and
Speaker 2: then triplets, and I went to her house. She was amazing.
Speaker 2: She had everything labeled, the single drawer and the top
Speaker 2: drawer and whatever. And because she got a lot of
Speaker 2: help from other people, so it was just easier for
Speaker 2: them to know where to get things from. So you
Speaker 2: just have to be organized and know that not everything
Speaker 2: is going to work out, and if you've got a
Speaker 2: lot of love, they'll they'll turn out. Okay.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you mom for joining us. It was I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know, hopefully other people took something from us.
Speaker 1: It was just nice for us to I suppose hear
Speaker 1: about some stories we haven't really heard about.
Speaker 3: If you guys did enjoy listening to.
Speaker 1: The podcast, we'd love if you could leave us a review,
Speaker 1: hopefully a positive one. And if you do want to
Speaker 1: join in the conversation, you can join us on Instagram
Speaker 1: and Facebook at Outspoken Underscore The Underscore Podcast. We also
Speaker 1: love it if you could share an Insta story and
Speaker 1: tag us on. As Amy said, Outspoken Underscore the Underscored Podcast,
Speaker 1: it's one of my favorite things to see where you're
Speaker 1: listening from. And if you'd like to follow mum on Instagram,
Speaker 1: she won't accept you because she doesn't know how to
Speaker 1: accept strangers.