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!

Week 21.5 Ultrasound

Baby B appears to be using some "sign language"

Baby A's Face

Baby C's profile with a possible fist pump!

It has been quite a busy 2 weeks for us. The rooms are painted and coming along nicely. The downstairs nursery is a beautiful light blue and the upstairs nursery is a cream and light green. I am very happy with how things are turning out- all of the pretty pink things look so good against those colors.

I met up with a group of triplet/quad mom's for dinner last week and had a very good time. They all were very settled in with their label of triplet mom and probably didn't appreciate me bringing it to the attention of our waitstaff that I had triplets and between all of us at the table there were 61 kids. These ladies just wanted to go out and have some fun together and I just had to tell on us! Everyone was very, very nice and gave some great advice for the busy months ahead.

On Thursday Elle passed her driving test, got licensed and insured and drove off to work by 5pm! She is being very responsible about our rules and extremely helpful about running errands. I am thrilled to be finished with the driving and that she is all set to be able to take care of herself when I go on bedrest. (no date for that thank goodnesss!!)

I had a surprise baby shower at work on Friday that I ruined because I came in early that morning to get some work done before I begin training the new receptionist. I felt bad about ruining all of the hard work- I know they wanted me to walk off the elevator at 10am and right into the party but oh well- being the awesome people they are they understood.

I began to cry the minute I walked in the room- it was filled with pink and white everywhere and the HUGE cake had 3 darling babies in the center of flowers. Besides being so wonderfully supportive emotionally with everything, they absolutely spoiled me and the girls with gifts. I cried at almost every card and gift. Along with the gifts everyone brought food for a huge lunch buffet and also helped me load all the goodies to my car later. I have had so much fun unpacking everything- small diapers on the main floor, larger diapers in the basement, clothes upstairs, bottles and bibs filling my kitchen! Many gifts were handmade and just darling! Some cute little hats that have ears, darling burp cloths and then 2 out of 3 blankets knitted for the girls. I loved that the 2 blankets included an I.O.U. for the third!!! I don't know how she finds the time to knit all of that with a full time job. Everyone's thoughtfulness and extreme generosity to me and my whole family is amazing and makes me feel so special.

Now, about today's ultrasound. Those little angels are full of personality. Yesterday at church, Baby B would just go crazy when the organ played! We thought she was a fun little musical one until we saw the possibility of which finger she is using in the picture above- she may prove to be more difficult than Baby A. Baby A may just be shy instead of difficult. We had initially labeled (children LOVE labels-LOL) Baby C as the lazy baby but today she was moving so much the tech could hardly get the pictures. The whole thing was funny- Baby A wouldn't allow picture, Baby B might have flipped us off, and Baby C wouldn't stop moving. We are in for some serious fun with these three personalities.

Weight: Baby A: 1lb up 5oz from 2/1/10

Baby B: 1lb, 1oz up 7oz from 2/1/10

Baby C: 1lb, 1oz up 6oz from 2/1/10

The doctor is very happy with my progress and the girls growth so far. Things look good and I hope to make it through March at home taking it easy. I can't imagine how big I will be by April so I feel like the possibility of bedrest is likely then just due to my enormous size. I am putting myself on a strict schedule adding rest time as each week goes on. I feel so terrific with energy and exictement that I have to stop myself and rest. By the end of March I will probably be down more than I'm up! That should help my body deal with all the weight it has to carry around- or even just the chore of rolling over- UGH!!!

I hope to post more pictures soon of the shower, the showers to come, and the rooms as they get finished.

Please keep up the prayers for all six of us and also the people on the road while Elle drives. Tee hee!!!!

Happy Days!

Gifts from my parents for the girls to fight over!!!


Well, I have made my "first touchdown"... 20 healthy weeks for me and the girls. The doctor is very pleased with how well it's all going but has warned me that my body can only take so much before beginning to show signs of stress. I have had more energy the past week and have made it many days without a nap- woo hoo!!!

We have choosen paint colors for the nursery- light green and cream. We decided that we would have so much pink that pink walls would just be too much. I also gave in on the bedding for the nursery. We are going with a Winnie the Pooh crib set for each girl. We are using mini-cribs and the bedding for these is very hard to find so it just seemed easier to get what was readily available. We have so many projects and things to attend to that searching for bedding is just silly! Slowly but surely I am getting my priorities straight!!

Some things we still need to do: look at cars that fit 3 cars seats easily, find Elle a car, find Elle a college, paint (this weekend), rearrange rooms, begin bathrooms and probably some more. UGH!! I can only help the decisions, I won't pick up anything at all so I just get things organized for others to do them. To do the laundry, I slide the basket down the steps behind me as I go and then kick it to the laundry room. After the laundry is done, I kick the basket back to the stairs and wait for someone to take it upstairs. I like the system and may continue it after the girls arrive.

I have bought some cute dresses for my baby showers and was thrilled to find stuff that fit and was actually cute. So far, the big 'ole belly is still sort of cute- the rest of me has not caught up yet so hopefully I can wear some cute stuff before I completely balloon.

The one sad spot in all of this is my leaving my job. They have found a replacement for me and it just hit me how real it all is that I'm leaving. I have gone in daily knowing this time would come but just being busy with things and not really thinking about it. I have a week to get my things organized before I begin training. I know they hired a good person so it will be easy to transition her to what I do all day, well, 1/2 of all day!!!
It certainly does not help that I have 3X the hormones running through my body and could cry at a car commercial, I don't know how I will keep it together for the next 2 or so weeks. At least I have had a wonderful year and a half to get some great experience with the most wonderful people. I never thought I would find a job I would love as much as teaching but the environment at work has been amazing. So many terrific people have made my time there just plain FUN!
Also, I probably won't go back to teaching after the girls start school. Why in the world would I leave a house of 3 children to go to work with 16 children???? I will most likely work a late shift at a seedy bar so my life has some variety (my mom can't read my blog yet so I can say that!!!).

Please, please, please keep up the prayers- I KNOW they are helping me to be able to truly enjoy this unbelieveblely uncomplicated pregnancy. My next ultrasound is on Feb. 22- I will post more pics of the lovely ladies then!

IT'S PAYBACK TIME!!!!!!!!!

Here are the darling shirts that Elle raced out and bought during the ultrasound!

Baby C with her arm bent!

Baby B with her arm up!

Baby B profile

Baby A's arm

Baby A's profile

After all three of us waited an hour in the lobby we finally were ready for the tech to tell us the genders of our little loves. She rolled over baby A and found out it's a GIRL. Next, we discovered baby B is also a GIRL. Finally it was baby C's turn and wouldn't you know it... IT'S ANOTHER GIRL!!!!!!!!!! We have three darling angel baby girls on their way to us in a few months!!! I had thought of many scenario's of nursery colors, possible names, etc but I never thought of ALL girls- I have to start all over again looking at paint colors for the nursery. This is going to be lots and lots of fun!!!! Elle is already excited and helping with nursery ideas, there is so much cute little girl stuff out there it will be hard to choose.

The whole ultrasound took about 2 hours and when the tech took a break Elle went upstairs and we assumed it was for cell reception. She came back and gave me a gift bag from the hospital gift shop: 3 tiny shirts that say "I'm the little sister". Of course, I burst into tears of joy. I am so happy with all my 4 girls and can't believe how sweet, thoughtful and generous Elle is about all of this. Her reactions to everything make it all so much more special.

Everyone is healthy, me included. Dave maybe in some sort of shock but his general health seems to be OK. The doctor used the word FANTASTIC to describe our health. At our 15 week ultrasound the babies weighed: 6oz, 6oz, and 5oz. Today, the 18 week ultrasound showed their weights as: 11oz, 10oz, and 11oz. I like to post their weights so everyone has a point of reference of why I am so big! I will NOT be posting my weight, now or ever so don't hold your breathe!

I don't write very often because everything is going so well, no news is generally good news! I see my doctor in 2 weeks and another ultrasound in 3 weeks.

Please keep up the prayers!