Last Pre-Babies Post!

Hi all! Just one last post before the babies are born tomorrow morning! We're getting everything ready, all of the last minute details. There really isn't anything left to do, but you know, we have to keep busy and it seems like we should be doing something. I'm not nervous yet, but I think everyone else is! Maybe it will hit me later tonight or tomorrow morning.

I've shared with a lot of you that my sister was also due to deliver her second baby around the same time as the amigos - well, he has arrived! Shelby's new son was born yesterday at 11:52 am, very beautiful, healthy and mellow. Shelby is doing well too, and should be going home tomorrow. She's so lucky - they'll all be home for Halloween!

Well, I'll leave with one last picture, this one of John and I (I figured he deserved to be in some photos too!) and thanks again for all of the prayers and good wishes! We'll post pictures of the boys as soon as we can get around to it!

Countdown is on!

Hi everyone! OK, it's Sunday so only 4-1/2 days left! It's starting to feel a little weird, knowing that this whole crazy pregnancy is almost over, but then it will be replaced with the experience of three crazy little boys, so I guess it's all a wash. Just a quick update... We went to the doctor on Thursday and everything still looks great with the boys. The only thing new with me is that I had my platelets checked again (they were low in the hospital) and they are now at a normal level - woohoo! This means that I will be able to be awake during the C-section, and John will be allowed in the operating room. Other than that, we're just hanging out getting ready for the big day. We're really excited that John's mom and step dad will be here for the delivery and my mom as well. So totally blessed to have such a loving family!

Here's the 34 week photo - I'm not quite as big as a house but maybe as big as a trailer! The belly is 51-1/2" around at last measurement! Go Steelers!

Exciting Updates!

We have had a really busy week! Last Tuesday we went in for the doctors appointment and had our first biophysical profile of the boys. This is done by sonogram and they check for 4 things on each baby:

1. Muscle tone - look for a clenched fist
2. Gross movement - look for big kicks and large body movements
3. Respiratory function - check the diaphragm for movement (they don't really breathe, but they're practicing)
4. Fluid level

Each function gets 2 points, so a perfect score is 8. Each of the boys scored 8 out of 8!

After that, we went for the appointment to check me out, and the doctor saw some abnormal lab test results, a high blood pressure and my feet were swelling. All of these things indicated a possibility of preeclampsia, which is a condition that pregnant women can get. It is usually characterized by high blood pressure and if untreated can be pretty dangerous to the mother. So we went to the hospital for more extensive testing. We weren't really all that worried, because I was feeling well. After all of the results were back, the doctors decided to keep me over night, and of course that turned into 2 nights.

On Wednesday, we had a very extensive sonogram which included a growth ultrasound. Everything looked great with them, but the most exciting thing is their sizes! Here's how much they weigh (estimated of course):

Baby A - 4 lb. 5 oz.
Baby B - 4 lb. 11 oz.
Baby C - 5 lb. 8 oz.

They're huge! Baby A is the smallest and he is considered normal for a singleton!

On Thursday, they finally decided that I don't have preeclampsia but I do have low platelets. So I was able to be released Thursday afternoon, and everything has been completely fine since then.

We went to the doctor again yesterday and had another biophysical profile - all of the amigos performed well again! Then we discussed treatment for the platelets - I will write more about that later. The final exciting thing is that we set a date for the delivery! We really wanted to have the surgery (Cesarean section) performed by Dr. Elliot, and he is really busy. So we worked with his schedule and decided on Friday, October 30 at 6:30 am. This is also the day my sister Shelby is due to deliver her baby boy - isn't that cool? Of course, it could be sooner if anything changes, but that's the date we're focused on for now. John and I are both so excited to have a concrete date to look forward to!

I promise to write more later this week, after our appointment on Thursday. It's getting close!

Week 32

Hi Everyone! Last week was exciting and busy for us, so I'm writing a little late. First of all, my Mom is here for the duration! We're so happy and grateful, both to her and to the rest of the family for letting us have her for a while! We're getting so much done to prepare for the amigos- I've attached some pictures of their nursery. We still have a lot of little finishing touches left to do. Basically we have everything we need though - at least to get started!

So the doctor's appointment last week was great! Dr. Elliot said that everything looks so good, he doesn't want to schedule the delivery yet. We'll wait until week 34 (not this coming but the next Thursday) to set the date. This will depend on how the boys are doing and how I'm doing. So far, we're all good. Next week we start going to the doctor's twice a week, where they will perform "physio-something" sonograms. (I'm not really sure what it is - I'll write more once we get one!) Basically it's to make sure that the babies are still growing and developing correctly, and these will help us decide whether it's best for them on the inside or the outside. If nothing unplanned happens, the delivery will be around October 29 (week 35) or November 5 (week 36).

Here's me and the amigos! I'm starting to get more uncomfortable, but I can handle it for a few more weeks!

Week 30/31 Appt

Today we went in for our 31 week appointment, but it's a few days early. Week 31 will actually be on Thursday. We went early to see the specific doctor who will be delivering the amigos, and he was supposed to be there, but wasn't. Anyway, we also went last week for week 30 appointment, and did a growth ultrasound. This is where they measure the boys to estimate how they're growing, if they're on track and if they're similar enough to each other to not indicate any other issues. So here's what we found out: (Remember this was done at 29 weeks and 6 days)

Baby A - 29 weeks, 6 days - 3 lb. 4 oz. (this is exactly the 50th percentile for a singleton)

Baby B - 31 weeks, 2 days - 3 lb. 8 oz

Baby C - 31 weeks, 2 days - 3 lb. 15 oz. (this is around the 70th percentile for a singleton!)

So as you can see, all are healthy and Baby C is a chunker! The doctors are really happy with their sizes. There is an 18% difference in size between A and C, but that is considered normal up to 20%. No cause for concern at all. Below is a 3D pic of Baby B. It's getting really hard to get these images, because it's crowded in there! He is on the left - I think he looks like John!

Speaking of size, lots of requests for belly pics have led me to post these pics. This might be the last time I actually show the belly, simply for humility's sake. I know there's lots of interest in the dolphin too, so here it is. Oh my!

Week 29 Appointment

This Wednesday we had our 29th week appointment. Everything went really well - there were no issues at all really. We had an ultrasound to check the babies' heart rates and fluid levels, and these were all normal. Then John and I talked to one of the doctors about my symptoms and lab work, and that all was fine as well. Smooth and steady so far!

A lot of people have been asking when the amigos are going to make their debut, so I thought I'd write a little bit about that. Gestational age, or the age of the baby, is calculated from the first day of the mother's last menstrual period. The average length of gestation for a single baby is 40 weeks - many people also think of this in terms of 9 months. For triplets, the nationwide average gestation is 34 weeks. The reason this is so much shorter is that the uterus is meant to grow to a certain size, and then the body knows it's time to give birth. All sorts of hormones are released saying "It's time!" Well, if you've seen my recent pictures, you know my body must be really confused! It's thinking it's time, but nothing's happening! This is why bed rest is so important. The weight of the uterus being pulled downward by gravity can also lead your body to think it's time. So everything we're doing now is to prevent my body from going into labor, just because of the physical size of my belly!

Even if I were to start into labor, that doesn't mean I would have to deliver the babies. There are all sorts of things that the doctors can do to stop labor in most cases. This could include administering drugs called tocolytics and/or being on super strict hospital bedrest.

OK, so the average gestational length for triplets is 34 weeks. My doctor's average is 35 weeks, so that's our goal. Why is one more week so important? Well, at 34 weeks, that's when most babies have developed the ability to breathe on their own, due to the presence of surfactant, a substance that helps keep the lungs open. The babies also should have developed the sucking reflex around 32 weeks, which means they should be able to eat on their own when born. At 34 weeks, all organ systems have been developed and the babies will just be growing bigger. The bigger the babies are, the less time they will probably need to spend in the hospital after birth. So our personal goal is 35 weeks, and 4.5 lbs. per baby. That makes the magic date October 29. We haven't scheduled the borth yet, but if everything goes well for the next couple of weeks, we will schedule the C-section! It seems like it's really coming fast!

Kindness of Friends

This has been an amazing experience so far, being pregnant with triplets. One of the most noteworthy and truly unexpected aspects of it has been the way that everyone has responded to this pregnany. John and I have had so much kindness from family and friends, that it's almost hard to believe.

First, to know that there are people all over the country praying for our health is just awe inspiting. My family is in mostly in the northeast, in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland; John's is more spread out, in Connecticut, Kentucky, Georgia and here in Arizona. I know that we have prayers coming from every corner of this country and that is more comforting than any good doctor's report we receive!

We both work for Honeywell, and have received countless good wishes and gifts from the wonderful people we have been blessed to work with. Before I left work for bed rest, they had a shower for us that was so cool! Almost all of the people in my group (about 60) attended. Lots of guys said it was the first baby shower they had ever been to, which I thought was really awesome! (We didn't make them play the diaper game, thank goodness!). We received so many supplies from those guys that the boys could have come home that day and been in pretty good shape. The funny thing was that it was a surprise to me, and I had come into work on that Monday and said I was going to leave work a week earlier than planned. I had no idea the frenzy that caused, until Thursday came around and I saw what they had pulled off. Just amazing!

Then on top of that, a dear friend of mine, Erin from Denver, came to Phoenix with her beautiful daughter Karli to have a shower for friends from the neightborhood, church and work to attend. Again we were inundated with gifts, both from those attending and from family that couldn't be there. It was so special that we had my mom Robin and sister Shelby join us over the Internet through Skype. We set up a laptop right in the circle of chairs and it was almost like they were there! We ate yummy food, played one game (won by Mother Betty, for you Honeywell folks!) and ate cake. It was super fun, and I appreciated everyone that was a part of it.

Finally, we have had people delivering dinner to us every Tuesday and Thursday for a couple of months now. This was set-up by dear Lisa and Misty from our church, who thought it would take some of the pressure off of John to bring meals. It has done that, and it has the extra benefit of bringing me visitors now that I'm sequestered in the house! What an amazing thing for people to volunteer to do.

We could never thank all of you enough for your support, prayers and friendship during this awesome time of our lives. To be able to share this blessing with so many makes it even more special.