Chloe, Bella and Elsie. BELOW: Mel and Peter Lewis, with the triplets and big sister Emily, 3. Photo / John Borren
Tomorrow will be a momentous day in the Lewis household - identical triplets Chloe, Elsie and Bella will celebrate their second birthday with family and close friends.
Born at 33 weeks, and sharing one placenta, the girls defied the odds and are now happy, healthy - and surprisingly tall for their age.
But this weekend's party is as much for Melanie and her husband Peter, who also have a 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter Emily, in celebration of a milestone in raising four daughters under 4.
Over the past two years the couple have listened patiently and empathetically as their friends tell them they have had a bad night with their child. They have also been a source of inspiration.
"Most of my friends, whenever they have a bad night, they will think of us and then they feel better," said Mrs Lewis.
Sometimes the girls will sleep through each other waking but if all three wake up there simply aren't enough arms to comfort them back to sleep.
"That's a daily problem - more children than parents to give cuddles. If you sit down, you can have two at once."
When the girls are sick the couple will take shifts of half a night each. "You just don't get any sleep, my husband and I just have to tag team. You just live on coffee."
An organised person by nature, Mrs Lewis went into overdrive once the triplets arrived.
Routine is everything.
She works from home four days a week, while the children are at day care, and spends the fifth weekday doing housework and cooking kid-friendly meals to freeze.
Waiting until the girls are hungry to feed them is not an option because, if one gets upset, the other two will soon follow and it is impossible to comfort all three while preparing a meal.
"We have a four-slice toaster - of course - and just keep the toast rolling," she said.
The girls cut teeth at the same time, crawled the same weekend and all started walking around 13 months.
Toilet-training will be the next challenge. "We'll leave it till they're a bit older, until we know they're ready," said Mrs Lewis.
Meeting the girls for the first time, they are all dressed differently with slightly differing frames but identical faces. Even those closest to them still make mistakes.
When they were younger, there were times the couple would end up feeding the same child twice.
"We look for differences, I guess. We can see differences in their personalities."
Chloe, for example, already shines at art, while Elsie has a slightly fiery side.
"They all have their mischievous side."
The girls share most of their clothes, except for special items - like Chloe's pink GAP hat - which they have adopted as their own and the other girls will only wear if they want to cause trouble.
Occasionally they are dressed the same "just because it looks so adorable", Mrs Lewis said.
A lot of their clothes are hand-me-downs from friends or other triplet parents around the country.
Laundry is a big job in the Lewis house and contributes a lot to the $600 monthly power bills they are facing this winter.
"Everything now we do in bulk, cooking in bulk, shopping the sales for clothes and shoes."
They do not go out much and when they do it needs to be to kid-friendly, well-fenced places. "It's just a constant head count," Mrs Lewis said. "Everything's like a military operation."
When they do venture out, they attract a flood of attention and comments. "Everyone stares and we get lots and lots of questions. Mostly just positive comments. People are just interested in them because it's three little kids that look the same."
They would not get nearly as much attention if the triplets were not identical, she said.
Big sister Emily enjoys having three little sisters - most of the time.
"She loves playing teacher because she's got a built-in classroom."
Mrs Lewis said it may have been easier having the triplets first, because they would not have known any different. "You know how a singleton is raised, they just get so much more attention."
The triplets have to fit in with each other, but are now reaching an age where they comfort and ask for each other on the rare occasions they are not together.
"It is really cool, seeing the bond that they have," Mrs Lewis said.
They sleep in matching white cots in the same room and chat away - sometimes in a language only they understand - before drifting off to sleep.
Life is busy and there is an obvious element of survival with four toddlers in the house.
"You have to kind of live it to know it."
The Lewises have not been anywhere together - except lunch on each of their birthdays - in the past two years but they know that will change with time.
"We just have to ride it out. There's no doubt it's a strain on the relationship but you know it's not forever."
Their four-bedroom house, which needs a spare room for family who help out when Mr Lewis is working out of town, is already too small.
"We've only got two bathrooms, that's not going to be enough," said Mrs Lewis.
But despite the challenges they remain focused on the positives - four beautiful, healthy daughters.
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