It is impossible to miss them on the street - their grand carriage moves gracefully as they sit upright and bask in the glory of being the only triplets on the Island. Adrian, Francis and Isabella Biagioli are all of fourteen months old. Isabella has little ringlets and is a tad plumper than her brothers. Francis has begun taking his first few tentative steps when made to stand and Adrian's major concern is to save his toys and books from his sister. All three are as cute as can be. Kim, their mother, is a gregarious lady who has kept her chin up through a tough and very high-risk pregnancy. "I had always wanted three children so we were thrilled when we got to know that I was carrying triplets," says Kim. An architect by profession, she wound up her business in preparation for the trio of arrivals.

Alex, their father, has done his bit by painting and furnishing the nursery and completing his MBA at night while working full time at Coopers & Lybrand. "My first reaction was, 'Oh my God! Three of everything - how are we going to be able to do this?' Oh well, at least we got it over in one shot. This is great," recounts Alex.

"We used to live in a studio on 40th Street," Kim says. "We knew we had to shift to a bigger place and we chose an apartment on Roosevelt Island because we had heard about it. I am really glad we didn't move to a house in the suburbs like some people suggested we should because this place is so convenient. Everything we need is right next to each other. Despite being confined during my pregnancy, I did not feel cut off. For instance, I could go to get stamps. It helped that this is a doorman building. We are close enough to the heart of the City that I can get back to work easily. The Island is a great place for the kids to be and the fact that it is handicapped-accessible makes it easy for us to maneuver their stroller.

"I think living in an apartment is good because they are always within earshot, everything is at one level and child-proofing has been very simple," says Kim, her practical nature showing through. "As the pregnancy advanced, I was forced to rely on others to run errands for me and even for them, the Island proved to be very convenient."

Kim was beginning to show signs of pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure) in week 31 of her pregnancy, so weekly visits to the doctor were replaced by home monitoring. "I used to be exhausted all the time and called myself 'one of four.' Alex used to come home after his night classes and cook the equivalent of six meals for the following day for me because that is what I was eating at the time. I lay on the couch with a cooler full of food, a microwave and the hospital equipment right next to me. My mother-in-law, my mother and my stepfather came to help. I could not have managed this without their help."

The babies arrived on July 9, 1998, weighing about five pounds each. "We were home in four days, maintaining charts about their food, sleep and dirty diapers. We would feed them together, change their diapers together and put them to sleep together. The rule continues to this day on my insistence and that's why I have been renamed 'little sergeant,'" says Kim. "That's the only way we could have done it without going insane."

What has been the greatest challenge for the couple? "Time-management," says Alex. "Not getting 'burned out' by all the work and attention the babies need. Organization of all the things we need because no trip, however small, is simple. Also, remaining calm through it all and giving each child the attention he or she needs."

Kim says that, for her, being efficient occupies her mind all the time. "Co-ordinating an adult life with that of three babies is a challenge. I try to figure out what is recreation and that, too, is a task. As an architect, I am used to lists and projects and this is a huge project for me - raising and teaching my three babies. I had set up my own office three years prior to the millenium because I knew several projects would come up. Sometimes I can't believe I had triplets in the spring of the largest building boom in the history of New York City. My client base is gone. However, it is all well worth it because there would have been no point had I been very successful, forty-five years old and minus any kids at all! I have worked for about fifteen years and I know there will always be some work for me because people will keep building."

"Having the babies is the most exciting thing that has happened to us. We miss being just the two of us sometimes because now our lives are filled with people. Then again, we will never feel any isolation. Even the babies gain from being together all the time. From day one they have had playmates, they have something special and something extra," Kim says.

"I enjoy the fact that there are three of them and I love watching them interact. I never know which one to kiss first. They bring a lot of joy to our lives and that of their grandparents with their unconditional love," says Alex. "The hardest thing for us now is to treat each child as an individual as they grow up. What I do is determine what the child likes or what they are attracted to and spend some time alone with the child doing that task or play so that way each child has one-on-one time where it most counts and group time as well."

For Kim, the biggest concern is how to maintain their living standard in the future. "We are happy right now but how do we take them to an environment that they continue to have a good lifestyle? Their lives are very regular right now and I don't want to upset that by being gone. I want to maintain a hold on their lives so part-time work is good for me. What keeps me going is that I know that these three children are my project for right now."