Thursday, August 30, 2007

Whew...so far, so good!

We made it through our appt this morning with good news. All three babies look good and are still growing quickly. There was also no indication from the screening that there is anything wrong at this point. They were able to take a couple of measurements and things are going just fine.
Since we've finished up with the 1st trimester, there are new pills/supplements to be added to my VERY full pill schedule. I'm going to need a little travel alarm to remind me to keep up with everything. The BEST news is that we have finally finished the nightly progesterone injections that Troy has administered for just at 12 weeks. The babies now have their own placentas that will produce progesterone and the extra shots are no longer necessary. WOO HOO!
The next appt is not for THREE weeks (Sept 20) and they might even be able to determine the sex of the babies at that time. Admittedly, we were glad that the nurse practitioner is on vacation during the originally planned 4 wk visit and so she asked that they schedule it for 3 wks from today. As usual, the more ultrasounds, the better (in our opinion), so 3 wks it is.
For now, the focus will be on my weight gain. It's time to eat more and start putting on the pounds so that the babies will get big and strong. I'm still hopeful that my appetite will improve in the next week or two and that I'll have fewer food aversions. I have a feeling that I'm going to wake up one morning and just eat for the next 4 months straight.
Thanks for your prayers as they must be working.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Another appt on the way - and we are at the 12 week mark!!!

Well, we've finally hit the 12 week mark which is a milestone. We are excited about another appt this Thursday. Please keep us in your prayers as they will be doing some "screens" - checking for fluid at the back of the neck (babies necks, that is) and checking their nasal bones. They will use this screen to determine if there might be any sort of genetic problems. We are confident that we will get good news and they will be bouncing around in there!
My bump is definitely becoming more and more evident. There are times that I still think it's sort of surreal and then I remember what's going on in there. Crazy stuff!
I'm thankful for my mom and my sister's willingness to be available at a moment's notice - to show up with egg salad, to bring me a smoothie, or just to hang out. Troy is still doing a great job at letting me work harder to make the babies while he does stuff around the house and is fulfilling my weird requests for food, drinks, etc.
My energy level is improving, though I've spent some time with my feet up because of some pains. The dr says they are probably growing pains, but to take it easy for a few days. Fortunately much of the work I do can happen from home and even from bed with a bunch of pillows. I'm still waiting on my appetite to appear and for some of the strange aversions to subside, but I've heard it could happen any day now.
That's all for now. We'll let you know what we find out on Thursday, but please keep praying!

Friday, August 24, 2007

HOT HOT HOT

OK, so I left FL for the cooler climate of TN and yesterday we hit a record 102 degrees! This is crazy. I know that some of you have it worse, but for us, it is HOT. The temp in my car actually read 104 all day. Fortunately, my friend, Chanda, told me about a sale at Old Navy and I found a few sundresses for bargain prices. I have decided that I will probably never wear pants/jeans again.... at least until it cools off.
Sorry we haven't posted more of the ultrasound pics. It took forever to scan the one in there and this week has gotten away from both of us. I promise we will get to that at some point. I especially don't want Baby C to feel left out, so we will be sure to get one up there soon.
We are headed to Huntsville, AL tomorrow to finally see our friends' "new" house. The Haynes actually moved in before Thanksgiving but we haven't managed to get there yet. We realized that it's sort of now or never, so we are headed to sunny AL tomorrow. I'm sure it will be much cooler there...yeah, right! We are excited to see their "crib" though. :) They have done more with their place in a short time than I have done in the 4 homes I've lived in as an adult. It's amazing (from what I've seen in pics).
Anyway, things still seem to be moving along. Troy pointed out that my tummy looks "huge" - a slight overstatement, although it already feels like it. Again, I know that it's really all of the food and drink that I've been told to consume and the babies might be all of 6cm a piece (maybe more, not sure yet). The ponytail holders that I was using to help hold my pants up (instead of buttoning them) appear to not be working as well as before (another indication of my "expanding waistline"). I've purchased a bella band, of sorts, that allows me to leave pants undone, but it holds them up for me. This works out well, but as I said before, I might not ever wear pants again - OK, at least until it cools off a little, so maybe in October or November.
Nana's house has become the climate-controlled storage unit for all things baby. Since Troy was going to be sanding down the walls, etc, we decided to get everything out and didn't want it getting dirty in the garage. Nana graciously offered to keep it in her guest room until we are ready for it. I think her neighbors must wonder what is going on. But seeing it all piled up over there is pretty exciting. We still have quite a while to wait until they get to sit in the bouncy seats or do any swinging, but for now, it helps us prepare for the reality and gets our imaginations going.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Baby "Pictures" from 8/16/07



Here are pics from the latest ultrasound on Thur, 8/16. We were at 10 wks and 2 days. The little munchkins are starting to look like babies already. They surprised us by being so active and Baby B was waving at us.
The first pic is supposed to be Baby A (bottom), but includes Baby B (top). The arrow indicates something that the tech was marking (I think the yolk sac, but that doesn't sound very glamorous).

ho hum

Not much going on here. We are still waiting to get through the 1st trimester. I have a friend who once said that she was not fond of pregnancy as a condition, but the end result was certainly worth it. I can't say that it is THAT bad, but the exhaustion has a way of making me feel like a real loser. Especially when my hubby is running around like a madman doing things around the house, etc. Am I complaining?!?!? What, am I crazy?!?! That's the greatest thing ever. But it's still hard to sit and watch the world go by. I'm reminded by family, friends and even the dr that I'm in the middle of making THREE PEOPLE and this is all to be expected. Three people, wow. That would make anyone tired, right?
The food thing has been a little more challenging for the last 3 days or so. I had a bad experience with a cheeseburger at Chili's Friday evening. Not the cheeseburger's fault though. We are still in the "no cooking in the house" rule(unless I'm locked in a room upstairs), although there have been a couple of incidences of food production here. I know Troy will be glad when he can express himself in his culinary way (that many of us know and love) once I get through the food sensitivity period. I did have a desire for pork chops, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut the other day. I think it's part of the "sour food phase". The sauerkraut was definitely the best part..and this time it was Troy who was sensitive about the smell. :)
And, just a little TV update....CBS has brought back reruns of "Rules of Engagement". I'm hoping that it is because they will run new episodes this fall. If you haven't seen it, you should give it a try as it's pretty hysterical. I'm hoping that it, along with Grey's Anatomy, will provide me with hours of entertainment during the many days of low activity when my belly is sticking out like a giant basketball and I'm just taking it easy. I'm beginning to take suggestions about movies that I can catch up on if/when bedrest arrives. If you want to make any suggestions, please feel free to email me. I don't like any scary movies, but Troy does, so I can always pass those suggestions on to him. I definitely prefer comedy and chick-flick type movies.
We met another family with triplets this past weekend. They were selling a lot of the baby "equipment" and we went by to see all of the stuff. We were lucky to get to meet their one-year-old triplets (who were absolutely ADORABLE) and they were so kind to spend time with us answering questions, showing us the Triple Decker stroller, etc. We came away with a lot of cool stuff for our little ones when they arrive and felt good seeing that both parents still had their hair. Of course all of that excitement was like a giant shot of caffeine/espresso and I was a total crazed mommy-to-be when we left (poor Troy had to be cooped up in the car with me).
So, there's no big news to report, although at this point, no news is good news. Things seem to be going just fine. No matter how tired I am or how bad the food may smell, I am SO excited about our babies and can't wait until we get to meet them! We are moving into week 11 tomorrow. The countdown continues.....

Thursday, August 16, 2007

(sigh) All is well with the babies

We finally made it to the appt today and it was GREAT! The tech spent lots of time with us doing the ultrasound which allowed us to watch them for a little while. All of the babies continue to be doing well, growing fast and their heartbeats are strong. We were able to see all three bouncing around and even waving their little "arms". It was truly a miracle to witness. And once again, the sound of the three heartbeats has to be the most beautiful and soothing thing I have ever heard! I want to get one of those things that lets you hear them whenever you want. I'd just sit around all day listening to them.
I believe Troy will be posting pictures from the ultrasound later this evening. For now, I'm going to nap because I didn't get too much sleep last night as the anticipation was a little too much. I was also reminded today that "making" three people takes a lot of energy.
Thanks so much for your prayers and we ask that you keep it up as they are working. We continue to be optimistic that things are going according to schedule and that our little miracle babies are getting big and strong in preparation for their arrival in 2008.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Appt Thursday

OK, I'm getting obsessed and couldn't resist posting something this afternoon. Tomorrow is another appt and more ultrasounds (which is a good thing in my opinion). Please keep us and the babies in your prayers as we check their progress. We are expecting all good news and can't wait to see the babies and hear their heartbeats (that is just AMAZING to hear their little beating hearts!).
Things are getting exciting around the house as Troy and I picked out paint for the nursery yesterday and he is working on new closet doors, painting the trim throughout the room and then he will begin painting the walls. The plans are to use a pale sage green, blue, pink and yellow. He will be painting an area with sea turtles as that's what we decided on for the "theme" (we fell in love with them in Kona, Hawaii). It's really fun to see him get so excited about his project.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get some work done for clients and also continuing to keep up with the calories. I had a "snack" about an hour ago that was probably about 700 calories. Crazy!
I've made some great contacts through a triplets group here in Knoxville and hope that we are going to come away with some friends and also some great gently used items for all of the babies. Keep your eyes/ears open in the event that you run into strollers for triplets, car seats, cribs, etc. We are on the hunt for great deals!
Again, we can't thank our friends/family enough for the support we are already getting and for all of the prayers going up for us everyday!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Goofing off on the blog

I've been working hard to add my "ticker" (the little pea pod thing on top) to the blog. Remember, I'm new to this and trying to make it interesting. I even figured out how to add the picture. Haven't quite figured out how to move the pictures around, but I'll get to that.
We are counting down until the appt. on Thursday. And Troy is busy being sweet tracking down the plain melba toast I was really hoping for, in addition to 6 different kinds of sour candy. He's gonna make a great daddy!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Getting started

I'm new to the blogging thing and not sure where to begin. For the record, we are at 9 wks and 5 days with our three "blobs". We affectionately call them Blob, Blobert and Blemma at the moment as they still look like blobs in our little pictures we have begun to collect.
I would also like to state up front that I'm not an English major and grammatical errors (and spelling mistakes) should be forgiven. First of all, I'm making three babies, so there is less and less blood reaching my brain and I'm not as smart as I used to be. Secondly, I'm an accountant....give me a calculator and I can add something up for you, but not proofread your term papers. Our three children will hopefully be blessed with some gift for writing since I'm not too good at it.
And instead of blogging, I should probably be downstairs working on meeting my calorie goals for the day. What will I start with???? Yogurt or a toaster strudel? The options are endless when you are maxing out calories!
Things are going well. Sometimes, almost TOO well as I haven't had the horrific morning sickness. I have had some nausea that seemed to disappear a few weeks ago, although I'm still sensitive to smells, have distinct food aversions and don't like to think about what I have just eaten once I'm done. I guess you could say it's nausea, but not too bad compared to some horror stories I've heard. Poor Troy isn't cooking much at home because of my sensitivities. I know he misses his kitchen and I'm hopeful that as we enter the 2nd trimester in just a couple of weeks, he will be back "in the saddle".
I'm completely pooped, so if that is any indication that there are 3 babies under construction in there, then we are in great shape. Usually, by the time I've showered and am halfway through drying my hair, I'm ready to get back in bed for a nap.
All of these "symptoms" are GREAT to me since it means I'm busy making babies and we will be rewarded with three beautiful little people in just a few "short" months (that is more for me, as I'm impatient and can't wait to meet these little guys/girls). Think of it...a " normal" pregnancy lasts 40 wks and we would be 1/4 of the way there. In our case, it is likely that we will meet them before I get to 40 wks, so it really won't be long.
For those of you who are "new" to the triplets thing, we are busy learning A LOT about the whole process (holler out to sister, Karen and also Chanda for all of your internet research already!). First of all, we have certain goals to reach in terms of keeping the babies "cooking" for as long as possible. We WANT to get as close to 40 wks as we can. 34 wks would actually be great (1/29). But we absolutely HAVE to get to 28 wks, which is 12/18. I know we can make it MUCH farther than that, but thought I'd explain anyway.
I'm hoping to get Troy to do some of the posting here, so we will make sure that you are able to tell who is doing the updating. I'm also going to leave the uploading of pics up to him as well. At some point, we will start posting the belly pics in the event that you want to keep with with my growing "bump".
That's about all for now, but we will keep you updated and I promise that the posts will not be this long every time. In the meantime, I'd appreciate prayers for good news at our appt this coming Thursday and also that I continue to work hard to eat LOTS of food so that these babies will be big and strong!