A few more days

The babies were behaving at the Dr. today,

so Tuesday will be the BIG day!

It appears Will needs a few more days

for this reality to sink in :)

Ready or not...

After spending most of the day at both of our baby doctors, they came to the conclusion that the babies need to be delivered very soon.
So tomorrow (Christmas day) we will go in for some further testing and depending on the results, I will either deliver tomorrow or at the latest Tuesday Dec. 29th (via C-section). We're very excited to meet these little ones!
Our smallest baby, baby C, is continuing to have the same issues I wrote about last week (not good), so it will be safer for the babies to be delivered than to keep them in any longer. The good news is that baby A & baby B are doing really well and that I'm almost 33 weeks along... just one week shy of our doctors' goal for delivery.

It seems impossible that this pregnancy will be coming to an end already. I swear it was just yesterday that we found out that we were expecting 3. I can only imagine what actually raising 3 will be like... I do know it won't be easy, but I think it will be a whole lot of fun. 
I suppose I should stop writing so Will and I can finally figure out some names for the babies.
Merry Christmas!

Trust me, my belly is huge, my black shirt is just deceivingly slimming.

Apparently, I have done well on my weight gain, a whopping 55 pound belly. Will loves that I outweigh him... we get a good laugh every morning as I step on the scale.

They grow, I grow

Yesterday the babies were measuring at 3.6, 3.8 and 3.11 pounds, making us proud.

Our perinatologist is concerned because the smallest baby is showing some restricted growth due to some issues with the placenta... so now they are preparing us for the babies to be here before the end of the year. 

Yea, Will and I are in complete denial of that possibility. So we're just taking it one day at a time...and still holding out hope for the trio to arrive sometime into January.

Most shirts don't make it all the way over my belly anymore...Will finds this pretty entertaining because most of the time I have no idea.  Good thing I'm at home on bedrest all the time!

30 days to go!

We've almost made it to 31 weeks and hopefully we'll make it to 35.  I can't believe how fast it's going!  The babies are all doing really well and have repositioned themselves to be head down again... I think they've figured out that if they are all in the same position they are less likely to get kicked in the face.

Last week I started to show some early signs of preeclampsia... apparently Fred Flintstone swapped feet with me. It's a little baffling that my feet and hands can be swollen since I'm laying on my side all day. Fortunately, I don't have high blood pressure or any of the other major indicators, so for now it's just another thing my doctors will keep a close eye on.

Since I see my belly every day it doesn't seem that big to me, but when I go to these Dr appointments I realize my perception must be a little skewed... I get these funny looks and whispers from people in the elevators...and I simply respond with, 'There's 3'...they usually respond with either 'AHHHHHHHH' or 'HOLY SHIT'...but all always look terrified. What can I do but laugh?!

I'm excited to share that Dustin and Heather (my brother and sister-in-law) are expecting a GIRL in May. Will and I will then have 2 nieces and 3 nephews (all under the age of 3). Next year's holidays are certainly going to be fun.. and this year's holidays spent on bedrest will be a distant memory!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankfully, the doctor gave us a good report this week so we get to spend Thanksgiving at home!

My father-in-law has been bringing over some of his delicious cooking..or as he calls it, rocket fuel for the babies.  As you can see it's been working!

I'm feeling great other than struggling with changing positions...but that was inevitable. I'm sure it's going to be more of a struggle every day....for the next 6 weeks. Gulp.

We haven't finished the babies' room, but we're getting closer. Thanks to A LOT of help from my mom, I'm thrilled that the babies' clothes and blankets are washed, put away and their closet is organized. Now we just have some small things to do in the babies' room and we'll be ready for them...or as ready as we'll ever be.
Oh, and the third crib is in our room.  They'll start off sleeping together which will only be natural for them as they do everything together right now.

Our special dog, Miles, just had to be in a picture. It's very sweet, both Cooper and Miles are glued to my side all day. I think they know something is about to change, but they have no idea...

week 27

I never thought I would love going to the doctor so much.. until it became the only reason I get to leave the house!
This week the trio had another good week of growth (all well over 2lbs).  We were surprised to learn that for the first time in 27 weeks baby A wasn't the biggest baby.  Baby C went from being the smallest little one, the little one that the doctors said week after week may not even make it, to now being the biggest.  What a fighter! 
Fortunately, my contractions have not really increased since last week and according to the Dr, are not causing any significant changes that give her concern for preterm labor.  Another good appointment...we hope to hear the same next week!

Boxers or Ballerinas

After an eventful weekend of contractions, I am now on a medication to help slow them down.  Hopefully this does the trick.  Other than the contractions, our Dr. said everything else looks good, including the very busy babies.  As much as the babies jab and kick, I will not be surprised if they end up being little boxers or ballerinas.

Speaking of boxers & ballerinas... as many of you know, we are not finding out the gender of the babies.  We've always thought it would be fun to to wait for the surprise at delivery...and when we found out about the 3, we were even more convinced that we didn't want to know.  Since they are all fraternal (not identical) we could have any combination.  To my sisters-in-law, I'm very sorry to put you through this, but you will both be okay!

The excitement of our week is having my mom fly in... so Will is getting a week off of cooking/cleaning and I get to spend time with my mom as she helps get the babies' room ready.  We've, I mean, Will's been busy with so many other house projects that the babies' room hasn't received much attention... hopefully this week we'll pull it together.  Pictures to come...

Growth Spurt

We had a great 25 week appointment with the Perinatologist today.  The trio had a growth spurt!  Each baby is getting close to 2 pounds with baby A measuring the largest and baby B measuring the smallest.  During the sonogram, they were all 'head down' so we were able to get a pretty funny view of all 3 of their heads side by side by side. 
It's just baffles me to think about what it's like for the babies to hear not just my heartbeat, but each others too... and what it's like for them to feel each other kicking and stretching all day long.  We'll be really lucky if they like each other someday!
As for me, my belly is measuring larger than full term... and as our doctor reminded me today, "you're just starting to really grow".  hmmm, looking forward to finding out what that really means...

Bedrest:

Apparently it means I am supposed to ask Will to do almost everything for me while I lie down all day & night.  I can get up to go to the bathroom and to go to our weekly doctors appointments, but that's about it.
This includes eating all meals in bed.  It was fun at first, but it's actually pretty uncomfortable.  On the upside, I get to have Will's cooking for every meal.  Most of you know Will is a foodie (food snob)... which always makes eating with him a fun, glutinous adventure.  Now that he's cooking every meal for me (and I actually have to consume as much as Will) I couldn't be more grateful for his taste.

It also means that I have started monitoring for contractions with a home monitoring contraption.  As it turns out, I am having contractions throughout the day, but they are not frequent/strong enough to get me admitted to the hospital or put on meds...which is what we are trying to avoid for as long as possible!

I really am keeping quite busy.  After monitoring, eating (a lot), reading up on how the heck to raise triplets, working on computer projects and doing lots of other little things - the day is gone.  Thanks to friends, family and neighbors, I've had great company and lots of treats!

Due date???

When are the babies due?

I would be due February 15th (40 weeks) if there weren't 3 babies...
With triplets, it's much harder to predict. We do know they will come early...hopefully between 32-35 weeks, if there are no complications.

My goal is to make it into January (34-35 weeks along) when the babies would have the best chance of doing well enough to avoid a stay in the NICU or High Risk Nursery..
Will's goal is to make it to December 31st, ahem, for tax purposes.
Of course it's not up to us... the babies will certainly decide that along with most other decisions from here on out!

Even though I haven't had any complications so far, there is always the possibility of the babies coming too early (earlier than 32 weeks).  So we literally take it day by day.  Working in a NICU has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for my mentality at this point...

Doctors

Since we found out about the trio, I've been going to doctor appointments and having ultrasounds every week.  I see an OB and a Perinatologist (maternal fetal medicine specialist).  Between the 2 doctors, we are all monitored very well.  It usually takes about 30 minutes to check out each baby's growth and development, so Will and I get to sit back and watch our little acrobats perform every week - our favorite sitcom!
As the babies grow, it gets harder and harder to monitor them.  Now it seems, everytime the doctor finds the body part of the particular baby he's measuring, another baby's foot or arm floats into the screen.  Will and I think it's pretty hilarious, but I'm sure our doctors feel differently.

A, B, C

We are very happy to say that babies A, B & C are all doing well.
We know which baby is where in my belly, so we've already started to see differences in their growing personalities.
Baby A - biggest and most laid back.
Baby B - small but fiesty.
Baby C - wild and sneaky. This is our baby who went unseen at the first ultrasound... Already hidding from it's parents. Yikes.
I just love how active they all are!  I don't think I could ever get enough of their movements, despite the warnings I've gotten that I will be begging them to stop once they are a bigger..  Until then, I'm going to enjoy their dance parties!

24 weeks

We made it to one of many anticipated milestones for the babies' development - 24 weeks!

This week I received 2 steroid shots to help boost the babies lung development.. I was more than happy to get these just in case the trio comes too early.  I was also able to get my H1N1 vaccine... hopefully Will can get his next week.

24 weeks also marked the beginning of my bedrest.  I felt lucky I was able to work up until this point... yet very relieved to not have to make it through another day at the hospital, especially in the NICU!

"Wait a minute... ... ... there's 3"

When we found out I was pregnant we were thrilled!

Two weeks later as I was having the first ultrasound, we heard,
"Well, the first baby is measuring well and the second is..." 
'What did you say?! There's a first AND a second?!'
"Yup"
'Like 2 babies?!  Like twins?!'
"Yup"
Much to our surprise I was pregnant with twins and we were thrilled! 

A week or so later when we went back for another ultrasound we heard,
"Wait a minute... ... ... there's 3".
We were speechless.
So we then found ourselves stunned and overwhelmed... but most of all, thrilled!