Week 33

Each day is now a milestone for the girls. I am feeling good- very tired but good. My doctor appointments just wear me out. They never fail to last about 3 hours. Dave went to the appointment with me and he got to see his girls on the ultrasound. They do not get measured for weights until next week but we did see Baby B's face and also that she has hair!!! It is so thrilling to know a little something more about the girls. Baby A and Baby C are still hard to see clearly so there is no new news on them. All are active, good heartbeats etc. I imagine that A and C will be hard to measure again- space is becoming so limited for them. We will just have to hope that they are similar in weight to what we find out about baby B. Baby A and B are turned to "head out" but C is still sideways. My belly is just getting bigger and bigger daily. I can finally say that I'm uncomfortable. It's hard to find a position that my belly doesn't rest on my thighs. I may be uncomfortable but I'm so very happy and excited that it doesn't really factor in too much.


My Mother's Day was glorious. I had pancakes, flowers, cards and a pedicure gift certificate. And of course, steak for dinner! I hope all my friends and family had beautiful celebrations as well.


So now we just wait and see what happens. I feel like a ticking time bomb- I could blow babies all over the place any day now. The contractions are not bad and fairly infrequent so we are hoping for a few more weeks. Thanks to all for the prayers, food, visits, calls and flowers. It has really kept my spirits up to have such encouragement from everyone. This is such an amazing time and I'm so happy to share it with so many terrific people.

Blueberry Belly!

Here they are... enjoy the laughs at my expense!

I guess Elle is right- I do resemble a blueberry! She definitely is a courageous little girl- those comments can go either way with a hormonal preggo chick!

My doctor's visit went well, the girls are doing great and are very active. I was feeling great on Tuesday also but I paid dearly for it on Wednesday. I slept all day and never felt completely rested. I am now back in my bed upstairs and it is making a difference in how much sleep I am getting.

I have lots of "fun" side effects to this pregnancy like: swelling of the hands and fingers, violent heartburn, pregnancy "mask" on my face. Those are all my own, no one else here knows what all that feels like (the pregnancy mask doesn't hurt, I'm just vain and HATE it). But there is one side effect that I share with the whole house. I snore like I'm cutting down a a redwood forest. Needless to say, I sleep alone! From what I'm told, it's pretty obnoxious. I didn't realize it until Elle stayed one night in the sunroom with me and told me about it. Dave then finally admitted that sometimes he could hear me upstairs... while I was downstairs! UGH!

The baby books are started, my things are laid out to go to the hospital and we are getting a list of names narrowed down. Things are coming together but we still pray the girls will hold out for another 3+ weeks. There is a small chance that they could come home with us after my 4 days in the hospital from my C-section. It will make things hard at home to care for me and them but they would have such a healthy start- although I was looking forward to hosting a Happy Hour in our private NICU suite one evening!

Week 32- Here we come!!!

Well, it's been a tough week but I'm finally feeling better. The only problem I can really complain about during this pregnancy is a sinus infection. It really took me down for a few days and since our computer was also down I was unable to update the blog and won't be able to post any new pics of my enormity.

My doctors visits now last about 2-3 hours on Tuesdays. Needless to say I'm completely whooped afterwards. I have a mini-ultrasound, monitoring, and then an office visit. I spend the majority of my time in a section of the hospital with the nicest people. The nurse was so sweet and reassuring about my needing an additional test on Baby C since the monitoring wasn't working well with her. My belly looks hilarious with all these monitors and belts holding them in place!! I wasn't the least bit worried about it, with three babies in there it's got to be hard to get the proper readings. She just kept going over and over how nothing was wrong that they just needed to use another method to get their readings. So, of course all was fine and she took my blood pressure and I was ready to head up for my office visit. Well, the blood pressure was high- NOT good!!! She calmly says to go up, let the doc run his tests but there was a good chance I could be admitted immediately. How in the world is my blood pressure suppose to go down if she just freaked me out like that??????? On my long walk to his office all I could think of is: one- I'm not ready, two- it's too early for the babies, and three- I didn't wash my hair!

The blood pressure was down and all the office tests they run each week were all good so no hospital yet. But I did learn that despite my research on all of this, that if I go into preterm labor or my blood pressure goes up (and stays up) I will have the babies- end of discussion. I was under the impression that they might keep me at bay with drugs to help the girls grow longer in the womb but the doc said that works well for singletons but not as well for multiples. I'm sure my blood pressure rose pretty high from the stress of that comment. I am completely freaked out now. I am NOT ready for all of this to change! I have been planning and preparing for months but now knowing that it's literally ANY DAY NOW I just feel that I'm not ready. It all could happen so fast! At best, if I go into the hospital they might hold me off for a few days to give me steroids to assist with the girls lung development but then it's a C-section, 4 days in the hospital and then I would be sent home with my angels staying.

It was also mentioned that I am doing very well and it's completely out of my/our control if I go into preterm labor or the blood pressure rises. Barring those two complications, I could still go for about 4 more weeks. That makes me happy and keeps my spirits up. I know you all reading this would like to lay down all day and eat close to 4,000 calories but it's really hard to do for such an extended period of time. I am also on very restricted driving- only close to home and no highways. Close to home means to the grocery to pick up no more than 3 items- no more shopping trips or WalMart runs. My belly is one inch from the steering wheel! Elle now takes my car to school except on Tuesdays so I can go to my doctor visits.

At least I'm in good company with being worried about having the girls soon- we are all freaked out at this house. There is a new urgency to get things done. It's all little stuff but all the daily chores just get in the way. Dave and Elle are doing everything, along with getting me food and refilling my water. Elle is great with running errands (grocery store, Target, getting me donuts) and Dave is doing all the inside and outside chores plus finishing what he can on the bathrooms. I can barely help at all, it's very frustrating to lay there and watch and not be able to really help. Plus, sometimes they make noise and I can't hear what's happening on Desperate Housewives!!!

I took Dave's car to the Safety Stop at Children's Hospital last week to see if 3 car seats would fit on the bench of his car- WOO HOO, IT WORKED!! I sat in the front seat as the lady installed them all and just cried. "Oh! Honey, are you overwhelmed at the site of three car seats?" Hell no! I'm crying because I'm so happy we don't have to shop for another car!!!! I was so tired, it was after my doctors visit, and the thought of one more huge purchase was too much. It would be so difficult to have to buy a car right now on top of everything. It was a huge relief for us to have that work. But of course, they did not have the car seats in stock that begin at 4lbs so I could not purchase them... another trip down to Children's! Getting the car seats that start at 4lbs is just a precaution- babies do come home from the NICU between 4-5 lbs if they are physically ready in all other ways.

Oops! Almost forgot to update their weights! These weights, and all the earlier weights, have been estimates with a margin for error either way. They measure the head, stomach, femur, and some other stuff and then use a formula to determine the estimated weight. It is now getting hard to measure the girls so the weights are all different. They had me in some strange and difficult positions to try to get Baby A's measurements and Baby C is located under Baby B so it's hard to read her too.

Baby A: 3.3lbs, up 13 oz
Baby B: 3.15lbs, up 1.3lbs
Baby C: 3.5lbs, up 10oz

I am figuring that the girls are in the middle- about 3.8lbs each. I am hopefully that they are all as big as Baby B- she is the easiest to read since she is on top and can be accurately measured. They all have their own placentas so it's not like Baby B is hogging all the food. Oh, almost forgot- Baby C was cracking up the lady doing the additional monitoring test. They used a hand-held ultrasound to finish getting the readings and Little C was using her tiny feet to push off of Baby B. She did it over and over and the lady just laughed and laughed. They are definitely up to no good in that womb!

I hope our old computer gets fixed soon so I can post a belly pic. Elle almost cried she laughed so hard at it- I'm wearing my favorite navy dress and was just thinking I was about the cutest little preggo chick ever... but then she ruined! She compared me to the girl in the Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory ( the Gene Wilder version) that turned into a blueberry. Her comment is accurate too- as mean as it sounds I do appear that I could roll away! So glad to be having more girls- they are so darn sweet!

Probably won't have much to post after tomorrow's doc. visit- but will try to keep things up until I head to the hospital!
Thanks for the prayers and support!!

Week 30

Most recent belly pic, end of March with Gayle. Notice my wide-leg stance to hold myself up- YIKES!

On the left is a diaper for a 1+lb baby, the one on the right is a preemie

Hooray for another mini-touchdown! 30 weeks along and no official bed rest. I have hit the stage where things are really wonderful or really bad with my mood/energy. Some days I just can't function and others I'm having to stop myself from doing too much. This is a pretty big adjustment for me, I really HATE the low energy days. Today just happens to be wonderful, I feel like Super Woman. I had an appointment for monitoring and mini ultrasound yesterday. The ultrasound was just to see where the girls were positioned and to check the fluid around them. Baby A pretty much has no choice of where she goes or how she is positioned- she will remain the gatekeeper. Baby B has done a somersault and is now positioned with her head down- right by Baby A's feet, I sense a payback time!!! Baby C is relatively in the same position with her feet near Baby A's head. The monitoring went well and the tech was about the nicest person in the world, come to think of it- all the nurses I came in contact with yesterday seemed to be on Disney Drugs- all smiles and encouraging words. She said the skin on my belly looked good- I think it's absolutely horrifying! She said she see lots of big bellies and mine looks pretty good, especially for 3 babies. She is my best friend.

Dave and I toured the NICU area of St. John's last night. It was a very daunting venture for me. I had cried thinking about it for 2 days and I actually held it together for about 10 minutes of the tour before breaking down. It's very hard to imagine a baby on all that support- any baby! All in all it proved to be a wonderful experience, calming my fears. It was a very positive place with lots of happy nurses. The NICU is divided into 2 places- the North which is where all preemie babies go after delivery to be fully evaluated and the NICU South which is private rooms for the babies as the continue to grow once they are stable enough. When our all of our girls are ready we will have our own room and they are really quite nice. We saw lots of different sizes of babies- anywhere from 1.7lbs to full term babies that needed assistance. We did see a little guy that is 2.6lbs- the same size as Baby A 2 weeks ago. That was a strange sight for us and really put it into perspective on accepting that if they are born now all will be OK and also it's an incentive to continue to eat to help my girls get as far past that as possible. The nurses were all extremely positive and encouraging about my progress to 30 weeks with no official bedrest. They seem to think there is quite the good possibility that our girls will have limited time in the North area before heading to their own private room in the South area. All of that encouragement from people who see these preemies everyday was a real boost for me.

I just began having contractions which are normal at this stage of a triplet pregnancy but still a wee bit alarming. I think it bothers Dave more than it bothers me. He asked me very sternly to stop it- I wish!!! I have had about a maximum of 4 during a 1 hour time period. If I have a 5th one in one hour it's time to call the doctor and most likely be admitted to the hospital for monitored bedrest and drugs to stop the pre-term labor. I have not found a pattern in my contractions, like time of day or activity so I really don't know how to avoid them. A lady told me to drink 2oz of wine to make them stop. No one will get me any and I generally have a real hard time hauling myself off the sofa so I'll just deal with it all.

The contractions did make a difference in the urgency to get things done around the house. The bathrooms are still being screwed up... I mean worked on. It seems that every time they do something they do it wrong and have to come back again to fix it. I have had about 5 full weeks of workers in my house- even on the weekends. I offered to speak to the main guy about the progress but Dave handled it, probably assuming I'll scare them off completely with my impatience and anger. The house is FULL of drywall dust and will need a professional cleaning before setting up the main floor nursery. There is a chance that one or more of our girls could come home with respiratory problems so this place needs to be completely free of dust. I KNOW I will be very happy when it's all said and done but for now I'm just plain aggravated with the whole thing. I will post pics when things get cleaned up- I can't wait for the nursery to be put together and I hope I'm still home to see it happen.

Here are my list of most recent complaints about the pregnancy: my knees ache like I'm 90 years old when I try to get up; I don't sleep well or for very long; I look "a little thick" around the middle; when I tan outside, only the front of me looks good; and the worst: I am the most boring wife in the world. I lay around all day, reading crap because I can't concentrate well or reading baby books, worrying about what to do when the girls go to kindergarten and there are only 2 classes and one girl gets left out, how to be room mom if the girls are in separate rooms, and watching Desperate Housewives which is on for 3 hours each weekday. What man wants to come home to all that nonsense!!!! When he asks me how my day was, my responses go from what happened on Desperate Housewives to the most recent thing I read about that we NEED and how I found it on Craigslist. All this could be the reason he is happy to sit outside every night and BBQ me dinner. By the way, he has no complaints about any of this and constantly appreciates the work I'm doing to grow some babies for him. I just think I'm boring and fairly substance-less. In a matter of a few weeks or so, I'll be too tired and busy to worry if I'm interesting.

I will have another appointment on Tuesday for a full ultrasound and the girls will be measured for their weight then. I will try to post as soon as possible after that appointment with some side-view belly pics.

Week 28- Another Touchdown!

Hooray! I have made it to 7 months with no bed rest! I'm sure my family thinks I'm on bed rest since they only see me laying around when they are home. I have about 2 good hours in the middle of the day where I pretend that all of this is not effecting me and that I feel fine. That whole process wears me out and then I'm on the sofa the rest of the day. I do generally feel fine but my energy is really low and I can't imagine it will get better anytime soon. I also try to get fully dressed, hair and make up, each day but the carpal tunnel effects my hands to where I have a hard time holding the hair dryer or make up brushes. Today feels like a slob day- no hair, no make up. The general public can just deal with it and get out of the fat, fussy lady's way.


I have been eating a TON of steak lately- most likely my body is craving iron and I should take my iron pill but the steak is soooo good! I also am trying to down some protein shakes but feel so full and gross afterward that I am dreading them. I do a chocolate Ensure with peanut butter and banana or a no sugar added vanilla ice cream with a vanilla whey protein. I still don't crave much and if it's not steak my body just won't make room for it.

All that eating is paying off for the girls, they are each the same weight as a single pregnancy at 28 weeks. I find that amazing. The doctor said it will start to decrease due to space constraints but they are ahead of the game so far.

Baby A: 2.6lbs, up 14oz from 3 weeks ago
Baby B: 2.4lbs, up 8oz from 3 weeks ago
Baby C: 2.5lbs, up 11oz from 3 weeks ago

There are no new pictures of the girls, there space is cramped and it's hard to get those cute shots anymore. But the ultrasound did show me where each one is located and it what position. Baby A is now the gate keeper, she is laying sideways at the bottom- no one gets out until she moves. Baby B and C are vertical with their heads up by my lungs, which puts their feet on Baby A. We did see Baby C kicking Baby A in the head in the last ultrasound. I have a feeling that Baby A will want to be as far away as possible from the other two after they are born. Most of the movement I feel is from Baby B and the sonogram tech told me she has the most fluid around her, the biggest swimming pool to play in. B and C move the most and finally Baby A fought back yesterday- my whole body was moved by them! We were so proud of her for fighting back- you go girl!

The only other thing going on in my life is I have nothing to wear. I think I'm down to the few dresses that I have- I actually had to cut away the elastic from my pants on Monday at the ultrasound. It was so tight that it was cutting off circulation to my legs and I just went in the bathroom and started cutting the band- oh the relief. I still hear that I look tiny for having 3 babies but when you are cutting your clothes off in a bathroom you can't help but think people just feel sorry for you and are being nice. Or, they are like Dave and just plain scared of me. As far as I can tell, I have not yet hit that angry pregnant woman stage- you would have to ask Dave and Elle. The doctor said at about 30 weeks he likes to conduct exams from the hallway since the multiple moms are just DONE and ANGRY that the kids aren't out yet. Looks like I have about 2 more weeks of playing nice and then I'll take that free pass and start whining.

I have heard from several people that our family is on their churches prayer chain and I'm thrilled. This is the time to really kick in the prayers that the four of us, me and the girls, make it about 6 or more weeks. I think the girls will actually be fine but I'm starting to feel "done" with it all so I will need the support to deal with the discomfort. The more time they are in the belly the less time in the NICU.

Another ultrasound and my first monitoring session (for contractions which are common and no worry) in 2 weeks.

Week 24 ultrasound pics and weights

Cooperative Baby B and her little hand

Baby B facing the "camera"

I like how Julie A's belly and mine totally cover Mary!
Julie A. had her boy, Will, 5 days after this shower!!!

Congrats to the Arnold Family!

The darling cake and favor table

What in the world is Elle wearing?????? And WHY???? (check the last post for a clue)

Yummy cake- as tasty as it was cute!

Hello All- week 24 is just about over- making a full 6 months of pregnancy. And wouldn't you know it, things are starting to slide down hill a little. I must have had too much fun yesterday after the ultrasound eating at restuarants, three to be exact, and somehow had a TON of salt. I woke up today with one regular ankle and one huge swollen foot and ankle. I'm not sure why it's not evenly distributed but thank goodness I can hide it with long pants.

Also, a strange aliment has begun- carpal tunnel syndrome!

My trusty book told me that the swelling throughout my body can lead to pressure on the nerves in my wrists and hands. The book suggested using wrist guards until it goes away after the kids are born. Now my "trusty" doctor also had some plum advice- walk around with your hands in the air. I'm not lying- no joke- those are his exact words. Look at what you can do with medical degree!!! Needless to say, typing and writing are becoming a chore- typing is easier than writing so far. It really acts up during the night for some reason and when I wake up I have to wait for the feeling to come into my hands and slowly work the fingers so I can grab things. So, if I owe you a thank you note, please be patient- I can only do 2 at a time and then I have to take a break. Sorry- don't tell Miss Manners on me!!!

One bathroom has begun and now all my vertical time is spent dealing with that- getting extra tile, caulk to match the nifty lifetime no sealing EVER grout, and picking out vanity tops. I'm thrilled with how things are going but all the baby stuff is on hold. Dave is working very hard at his day job so I run all the errands that I can with my schedule of laying down 3 times a day. Then when Dave comes home he finishes whatever project I started and then stopped because it was too much for me and then tends to the bathroom project to make sure it's done right.

As you can see from the pics above, only Baby B was cooperative at the ultrasound. I have only 10 pictures and these two are the ones I can tell what they are- I have no idea what the other pics show. At least she was in a better mood than a few weeks ago. I am feeling lots of kicking from all three girls.

It may sound crazy but they now have the ability to hear so I started reading to them. I did this for Elle when I was pregnant and it really worked to resite the book when she was upset- almost like swaddling- a memory from the womb. I have been waiting for week 24 when they can hear to begin their book: Guess How Much I Love You. I read up to three times a day- during my down time when they are active and "listening". Dave thinks it's crazy and refuses to read the Baby Beluga book we choose for him to read to the girls. Party pooper!!!

I found the sheets for that darned crib mattress! UGH- it may be cute but it is a total pain. At least that is off my list. Also, my nifty diaper bag came today. I will begin filling it up for our first trip out... about 3 months after they come home from what I understand. Most pediatricans will want a preemie baby not to go in public for about 3 months. This is what some other triplet mom's have told me. We can have visitors so be sure to come by after the girls come home and check here for pictures of them and their progress. But beware, evidently I am going to become a germ freak about handwashing and holding the girls- apologies in advance. I have heard this from several multiple moms and books too.

Oh, by the way, my "trusty" doctor told me he didn't know what I was doing but it sure was working. I am doing great health wise, as long as my hands are in the air, and the girls are gaining significantly:

Baby A: 1lb, 8oz up 8oz from 2-22-10

Baby B: 1lb, 12oz up 11oz from 2-22-10

Baby C: 1lb, 10oz up 9oz from 2-22-10

I'm sure all this wonderful progress is the work of the prayers so please keep them up! I'm sure my lazy, grazy napping/feeding schedule is helping too- but I really think the prayers are the ace in the hole on this one!

Another Touchdown- Week 24

The rockin' good times wagon!!!

Gorgeous handmade blankets and hats

Elle with her "Co-Mommy" scrubs

Be sure to remember my dress....

Fun theme and awesome food!!

Hooray- 24 weeks of a healthy and wonderful pregnancy! I feel great- pretty tired but that's all. I have placed myself on a strict resting schedule that is extremely hard to adhere by- laying down 3 times a day for up to 2 hours each time. It may sound wonderful but it you really can't accomplish much before you realize you need to gather some food and head to the sofa AGAIN. I plan my whole day around these rest times and I know how much I will miss them once it's the girls that lay down 3 times a day and I will no longer have the luxury. I tend to lay there and survey all that needs to be done that isn't getting done because I'm laying there- not very productive.

The cribs have finally made it and one is put together. The sheets aren't fitting the mattress so I will need to figure out how to handle that- I believe that there are straps or clips to hold the sheet around the mattress. These mini cribs are a complete pain in so many ways!

I had two more showers in which my mother was more prominent than I. She is so darned excited that she just can't contain herself during games, food, or the gifts. She is a blast to have around for all of this because she is bubbling with joy. We received so many gifts and everyone's generosity was just overwhelming. We now have all the crib bedding, enough bumbo chairs, a rocking good times wagon, tons of bibs and blankets and some of the cutest handmade blankets and hats in the world. I am amazed at the talent of my friends and family and that they took time to make special things for our little girls. Both showers were very special with lots of cute touches, too many to mention all of them. Oh, yeah- I cried at every card and almost every gift. It was almost an out-of-body experience. I was opening these gifts for MY babies- finally!!! MY BABIES!!!!

The shower pics are from the "Friends and Family" baby shower on 2/27. The pics from the "Preschool Teachers and Families" will come on the next post- waiting for the disk to upload.

I go to another ultrasound again on Monday to see what the girls are up to. We feel them moving often and have had fun placing things on my belly and watching the kids make them jump. I usually only feel 2 at a time move but have felt all three before- pretty crazy feeling.

Elle is busy driving everywhere! It is so helpful to have her on her own and she really seems to be enjoying the freedom. She must have dented my car tonight because she offered to fill it up with gas- not a typical teenager.

Dave is currently beginning the demolition of the hall bathroom and the contractors come on Monday. I wonder if the contractors will be willing to make me a sandwich before they go on their lunch breaks?

I am picking up my triple stroller today, some free baby gates and I just found some bottles and the last boppy needed on Craigslist. I started doing all the tiny little socks and things in the laundry. I hate folding laundry and expect the cuteness factor will wear off quickly with so many tiny things to deal with. Hopefully within the next 2 weeks both nurseries will get finished and I can really move things in- right now it's just a mess! I can do almost nothing and Dave can't allocate time for the nurseries until he is finished with the demo of the bathroom. I guess I'll eat some more food, lay on the sofa and try to deal with it all!!! More pics of the other shower and the ultrasound on Monday or Tuesday!