20 Week Update

Today's 20 week doctor's appointment had some good news, and some not so good news. Let's start with the good news:

The babies are doing great! They are still on the larger side for their gestational age: Baby A weighs 12oz and Baby B & C weigh 13oz. They were very active as usual during the ultrasound and they were all more stretched out and looked less cramped up than at the last one. The ultrasound tech assured me that they have lots of room in there to grow and that they are still "beastly". All three of their hearts were beating in unison at 150 bmp. Isn't that the cutest! They are syncing up with each other :)

Now for the not so great news...my cervix has shorted about a centimeter. Our doctor was somewhat concerned about it. Not so much about what the measurement itself was (between 2.6-3.0cm) but at the rate of which it is shortening. She said we need to do what we can to preserve its length to avoid hospital bed rest in the near future. So she said I need to cut back even more from work. She said I can go in 2 days a week only and work from home 3 days a week. I am not sure if this is even an option at my job. If it is not then I guess I am ending work earlier than expected. I really hope it doesn't come to that this soon, but I guess I will find out when I talk to my bosses tomorrow. The doc said I can go in tomorrow, but that I need to take off Thurs and Fri. Monday I already have off b/c of Memorial Day, so it looks like I will be taking a total of 5 days off. She wants to see me back in a week.

I think that a couple of months ago I got in the mindset that this was going to be an unpredictable journey with lots of ups and downs, and at that point I relinquished most of my control. So I am not too surprised by this news. I am just taking it for what it is, and will do what my doctor recommends. No need to panic now, just taking things one step at a time and doing what I need to do.

There was a moment during the ultrasound where I just thought to myself, I just love them so much, and I started to get teary eyed. I am already so bonded to these girls. I get to watch them grow and change every week and I amazed and proud of them every time I see them. Everything they do is cute...even in utero! Putting their hands by their faces, kicking each other, making sucking faces. It is all just so cute! :) I am in love already.

19w1d Appointment Update & A Plan

Yesterday I had an OB appointment and it went well. At these appointments they do a quick ultrasound to check heartbeats and then it is mostly about me (blood pressure, weight, cervix check, measuring my uterus, etc). 

The girls were very active during the ultrasound yesterday--I asked them to take a peak to confirm that they were indeed, still all girls...I have heard too many stories about doctors being wrong. I was relieved to confirm that they are still all girls! Baby A ('Lil A) and Baby C (Ci Ci) were basically folded in half with their little legs almost touching their heads. The tech said that was normal for any baby and that babies are really flexible in utero. 'Lil A was having snack time and kept moving her little mouth around like she was sucking up the amniotic fluid. All 3 heartbeats were great and I did not get dizzy during the ultrasound! Yea!

BP was good, weight was good (and high), cervix good, and the doc said that my uterus is measuring around 32-33 cm which is about the size of a 32-33 week singleton pregnancy! When my doctor first came into the room he said "Wow, you have really blossomed". It made me laugh. 

Doc said he does not want me working past 24 weeks. I am totally ok with this and feel relieved that we have a plan. He said things can change before that, but assuming all remains well until, my last day of work will be June 21st which is only 4 1/2 weeks away! 

We talked a little about my breathing difficulties and that is one reason why he wants to remain cautious and no work past 24 weeks. He said in order to maximize cardiac output I will need to be basically resting all the time. He did not use the words "BED REST" per say, so maybe I will just be taking it easy. Who knows...but I like having a plan, even if it is a loose one. 

At the beginning of the pregnancy time was going by so slow. I couldn't wait to start showing and to stop feeling nauseous. Now it seems like time is flying by and that the babies will be here before we know it. They can safely (using this term loosely) arrive anywhere between 13-18 weeks from now...how crazy is that!? The longer the better and my goal is to make it to 35 weeks. At 35 weeks they say that babies have learned most of what they need to know in utero and if there are no complications can probably go home with mommy and daddy. I know there are no guarantees but it doesn't hurt to remain positive and optimistic. "They" also say that preemie girls tend to do much better than preemie boys so we have that on our side as well. Go girls, go! Keep growing big and strong and be nice to each other!

Updated belly pic coming soon!

Proud Mama

On Tuesday we had our 18 week appointment with our MFM. I learned that they basically do a full anatomy scan on each of the babies at every ultrasound because it is almost impossible for them to get all the measurements they need from each of the babies during one session. The girls looked great! They are getting so big. They each weighed 9 oz which puts them in the 75-86th percentile. The average weight of a fetus at 18 weeks is 6.7 oz (or something like that). The tech also told me it was very rare for all 3 of them to weigh the same. I think they are competitive with each other already!

I am so proud of them! The ultrasound tech said we had some beastly babies, and I took that as a great compliment. We want big, healthy babies. Since they will be born early the bigger they can be the better. The MFM said from all the measurements she was able to get they all looked remarkably healthy. It was such a relief to walk out of that appointment. Like a HUGE weight has been lifted off of me.

Baby C has already migrated way up almost to my ribs. I can't believe she is already all the way up there. I had been feeling what I thought was movement right under my left rib, and the ultrasound confirmed it. So crazy!

Today was a big milestone. I knew the day would come, I just didn't think it would come so soon...I outweigh my husband! Now, he isn't a very large guy--he has a thin build and is only 5'9/5'10. It is just a weird feeling to outweigh him! I have gained almost 20 lbs in 18w2d! It seems to be that all 4 of us girls are gaining weight nicely :) Looks like the high protein diet (and my splurges) are paying off. 

Growing Pains

For the past several evenings (around dinner time each day) I have been experiencing some pain/pressure/tightness down low on my uterus. The pain seemed to be getting progressively worse each night. So on the way home for work on Wed I called my OBs office. The nurse suggested that if it were to happen again tonight that I should go the ER. 

I was already having the pain as we spoke so I drove straight to the hospital. They did an ultrasound (which looked good) and a urine test for a UTI (which came back negative). They sent me on my way and said they felt it was just "growing pains".

The next day I followed up with my MFM who told me she would like to see me that day. I took the day off work to rest and went on in. The appointment lasted all of 10 minutes. They did a vaginal ultrasound to measure my cervix. It was at 4.0cm which is very good! The hospital measured it (via abdominal ultrasound) the day before at 3.2cm. The MFM told me that the most accurate way to measure a cervix is via vaginal ultrasound.

So anyway, she told me that the pressure/pain I am experiencing is normal, but usually does not happen this early. She said she thinks it is time to start cutting back on my work hours. Her recommendation is 6 hour work days instead of 8 for now. So today I need to talk to my boss and see if this is ok. I am happy with this solution  because I do feel like my body is telling me to take it easier. 

First and foremost, I am so relieved that everything is ok with the babies. Secondly, I am trying not to allow these so called "growing pains" to worry me, but they either make me think something is wrong or cause me to fear the discomfort that lies ahead. I know that some stretching/pulling is considered normal, but sometimes I feel that what I am experiencing is beyond that.

It is time to trust that everything is ok and let go of the rest. This is my new mantra and I am going to try so hard to live by this. Sometimes that damn fear is just so tempting. 

17 Week Triplet Belly

Growing By The Second

Go Away Fear, You Are Not Welcome Here

This weekend we hit a big milestone. We started registering for gifts for our baby girls. I had no idea I would feel emotional about it. But while walking around the stores with my DH and picking and choosing the baby items really made me pause and feel so grateful. Planning for a shower feels surreal. There were several times throughout our TTC journey when my doubts and fears overwhelmed me and I thought I might never be sitting at my own baby shower, or that I would never have a need to register for baby products.

But here we are. Tomorrow I will be 17 weeks. I got teary-eyed just picking things up off the shelf and picturing OUR baby/babies using them. I know to some that this is early to register, but I don't really have much of a choice. I am getting more uncomfortable by the day, and to avoid missing my shower due to possible bed rest, my first (having 2) shower is in less than 4 weeks!!

Registering was a lot of fun. I did research on products and even made a spreadsheet (I know, a little much) before we hit the stores so that we wouldn't feel overwhelmed with all that we needed. It is very hard to stick to a "theme" when buying products for 3 babies, and instead of getting them all the same thing (when it comes to things like swings and exersaucers) we were pretty much all over the place and things don't all match. I even threw in a lot of blues and greens even though they are girls, because I love those colors. I am also not sure how much I could tolerate a whole house full of pink. 

Their nursery will be brown and pink for the most part, so don't worry, the pink will have its place :) This weekend my parents are coming into town and they have generously offered to purchase the babies' cribs, so we will be crib hunting. We are so lucky, and it is such a relief financially to not have to buy three cribs. 

As I get further along in the pregnancy I notice that all kinds of fears try to creep into my consciousness. It is like the more I settle into my pregnancy, the more some defense mechanism wants to comes out telling me to protect myself. I have done a fairly good job of ignoring that part of me, but it is there deep down somewhere. Do we all have that? I am DETERMINED not to let fear ruin this experience. I have ultrasounds pretty much weekly...what more proof do I need that everything is ok with the babies? Also my daily belly growth should be enough proof, but still at times I find myself fearing worst case scenarios. I really just remind myself that there is no reason to worry unless I have a reason to worry. I try to relax. And I try to just appreciate every single moment.