22 weeks

I've reached 22 weeks last Thursday. While this hardly seems monumental, it was the week I anticipated being on bed rest. I have a friend who had triplets approximately 5 years ago and she was on bed rest at 22 weeks, and so from the beginning this has always been my bed rest date. The good news is: I am not on bed rest. When will I be, nobody knows. It is dependent on a couple of things: 1. Contractions: more then 6 per hour= bed rest 2. Shortening of my cervix less then normal= bed rest. So far, I've had a few contractions which causes immediate panic in Shawn but laying down helps. We met with the specialist on Friday and my cervix is still above normal. They did not recommend anything special besides no lifting over 30 lbs, except they also recommended not lifting groceries.

I have no pictures to post of the triplets as they are only pictures at this point and have to be scanned onto a disc. They all were very healthy and measured appropriate for their gestation (i.e. age). Their weights were Baby girl: 1 lb, Baby boy B: 1 lb 1 oz, and Baby boy C: 15 oz. "Three peas in a pod" as the doctor put it. It is imperative that they all continue to grow and be similar in size as this means health. If one starts slowing down this would mean that they would need to be born sooner then is healthy. In addition to good growth the fluid around each baby was healthy. All good news. It's funny watching each baby. If their movement is any indication, Baby boy B and especially our little girl are going to be very busy. They are a little hard to get measurements of because of all of their movements. Baby boy C, whom the US tech stated was her "favorite," moves but not quite to the extent of his siblings. He makes sure to give us great pictures. But don't let that fool you, as the tech was working to get heart measurements of his brother Baby boy C gave Baby boy B quite the karate chop to his face. He won't be anyone's doormat. Even if he is the youngest (which is most likely as they will be born in order A to C).

We've finally agreed to first names of all three babies, however, that will have to be a surprise to you. We have shared with our immediate family but want 1 surprise for everyone else. We've yet to finalize middle names but we aren't too worried about this.

Here is a picture of my growing middle. Yes, it can be uncomfortable at times. BUT, I continue to sleep fairly well. A HUGE blessing. I think at this point with Evie (belly size, I mean-not gestation) I was VERY uncomfortable at night. I had restless leg, post-nasal drip, and heartburn. Luckily, the little bit I've had of each of those has been short-lived and not disruptive of my sleep. I am having a baby shower on May 15th (1-3pm), in my home town, because well lets face it...one baby is expensive and three is outrageous. So if you are around you can come and view my sure to be huge abdomen. I know everyone is curious to get a real life look at it. It's not often that one gets to see a woman pregnant with triplets, after all. I'm a bit of an anomaly.

And just because no one is complete without a recent glimpse of our precious Evelyn. Here she is:

Signing daddy's birthday card. She wrote in it several times over several days. She concentrated on it very hard. She lately signs these very tiny squiggles. I'm assuming it's her interpretation of what our signatures and writing looks like. However, it can be hard to detect on paper as it will be two very small squiggles. Adorable in my opinion of course. She's gotten a little more attached to daddy. It's been a blessing, and somewhat bittersweet on my end. Inevitable, since I've spent more then my fair share of time in bed with one pregnancy illness or another. She does still love her mama though so I'm not to sad. She asks me several times a day "where daddy go?" and she also asks Shawn before work. She has also asked him to not go to work. It's all very adorable and sweet.
She wanted a picture taken this day. She's so cute. "Cheese!"

5 months

We are over half way there!! At 5 months I'm looking and feeling pretty big. Some of my pregnancy shirts are getting too short! The babies as of Easter started moving more in big ways, which for me means less flipping around and more pushing and kicking. I'm enjoying the movements, however, they continue evade Shawn's hands most of the time. It definitely is different then with Evelyn. Since there was no one else in there all of her kicks were directed at me. My placenta for these guys also lays along my abdomen, which can affect how strong the movements are. I recently consulted with a nutritionist whose recommendations were that I gain 50 lbs or 1.5 lbs a week. I'm under that currently and from what I read that is what is ideal to have the healthiest babies at birth. I'm working on it with powdered donuts, chocolate cake and Shawn's constant nagging. I get full easily so I'm finding it a little difficult. It's amazing that 2 years ago, 50 lbs was a goal to lose and now I am working to put it all back on. Hopefully, it will all stay with the babies/belly and off of my hips and butt.

I am official done with treating patients. As of now we are not sure how long that will be, 1 year or more. I will consult and of course continue with regular business activities that involve paper, pen and computer.

I have another OB appointment this week so we'll see how things are going. I'm planning to request an at home contraction monitoring device so that we can head off any premature contractions. We have another big specialist appointment with full US next week. We look forward to making sure they are growing appropriately. Unfortunately, children are not allowed in the US suite so Evie does not get a chance to be there for this. I'm waiting for them to start kicking hard and regularly so she can feel them. I can't wait to see her face!!

For a change

Lately my posts have been focused on the babies with a little blurb about Evie. Today I want to share some recent pictures of our first precious "baby" and what she's been up to.


Auntie Keesha bought/sent Evie a pair of sunglasses which she absolutely LOVES! However, her face is too thin and they repeatedly slip off. That's not stopping her from "wearing" them. We'll still have to get her a hat for the summer to help keep the sun out of her eyes.


For the second year in a row we took Evelyn to our garden center that holds an Easter egg "hunt" for kids. Evie had a blast-even though it was a chilly morning!

Easter eggs from anma and ampa V. She was thrilled with them and the "bears" (Berenstein) books.

Baking with anma A. can be messy! Mostly because said adorable child took the flour and put it on her face HERSELF! Such a silly girl. This is one of the many reasons I call her monkey.

Digging through her Easter basket. She loved the "babies potty", "bubbles" and the book. But she couldn't do ANYTHING else until I had unwrapped a Cadbury egg. YUM! My favorite Easter candy. She's been enjoying the jellybeans on our kitchen table-especially the "pink" ones.

Looking through the fun bag of gifts from anma and ampa A. She loved the bag best..of course!

Coloring Easter eggs. She LOVED it. Especially the yellow. And she ONLY broke 4 eggs;o)

Evie and daddy having a little cuddle time. She enjoyed sitting on his lap and watching the Veggie Tales an "Easter Carol."

The A Family-April 2010

18 weeks

I am officially 19 weeks pregnant. Last week (18 weeks) we had our second appointment with the maternal-fetal specialists at the U of M. Another thorough US was performed to check their growth, the amniotic fluid and symptoms of pre-term labor. Everything was well. They confirmed for us that we would be having 2 boys and a girl. The boys were a little more "showy" in that department.

Our 2nd baby girl. She is lowest in my abdomen, and will likely be the first born. So the two oldest will be girls;o) She was flipping around and this was the best picture they could catch of her head/face and abdomen. She measured in at 8 oz.
Baby boy: His is the sweetest picture. One hand is by his cheek and the other below his chin. He is curling up his legs as newborns do. He measured in at 8 oz.
This is a good side profile of our second baby boy. He measured in at 7 oz. They were perfect. A measurement of their longest arm bone (the humorous) shows them at 2.5 cm, which is about an inch. They sure are tiny. They continue to fight each other for space. During measurements of baby boy b, his brother's foot could be seen kicking into the frame.

We will continue to have lengthy US with many measurements every 4 weeks for a few months until we get closer to delivery. The MD we talked to this time was head of the department and he stated that the average gestation for triplets was 34 weeks, which is better then the 32 we had been hearing. He seemed to think we could get them to 36 weeks because of my previous pregnancy and my height. Though we are unsure if my height is relative to him or other woman. We estimated his height at 5'. At 36 weeks the triplets would be only 1 week premature (37 weeks is considered "full-term") and the resident believed they'd only need to be in the hospital for 4-7 days. They have a new program on TLC about expecting multiples and I've been watching them diligently to see how it all goes. I caught my first program yesterday and the lady who made it to 35.5 weeks had babies which were all over 5 lbs. Still, since Evie was a whopping 8 lbs. 3 oz. they seemed "preemie" to me. Keep praying for us! I am definitely big, and am having trouble getting out of chairs without a little pregnancy wiggle. Shawn just laughs at my girth. He hasn't seen anything yet I'm sure.

Evelyn is as active as ever. Her vocabulary is quickly expanding, however, you would still require an interpreter to understand her. She has taken to enjoying music lately, playing her toy piano and singing the theme song to Dora the Explorer. She watches the baby shows with me and loves to point out the babies. She is very sensitive and will rub my head and tell me "it's ok, mama" when I'm tired and sore. She also loves to "talk" to the babies. Mostly she says "hi, baby" and gives kisses. She hasn't quite figured out that she can't climb on my belly, and gets into a bit of trouble in that department. I'm trying to involve her as much as possible with preparations for the triplets rooms. Though she sometimes gets the triplets stuff confused with her babies stuff. Currently, her "triplets" are wearing the sleep sacks I found for her brothers and sister. I've discovered a new fear of hers: bugs. I don't know where it comes from but she shakes, screams and runs for me whenever one is around. She is hilarious! Even specks of dirt are "bugs." She is not really and adventurous child, preferring to blow bubbles at the park and go down the slides. The swings are scary. Her bf, Abi, is thrilled by the swings and climbs up areas causing heart palpitations in her mother. Evie is becoming quite efficient in the toileting department. She has only a few accidents and is really good at telling us she has to go "pee-pee-poop." She does say it like this even though she usually only pees. We will be looking at preschools for her in the next few weeks and I can't believe that she is that old already!! We adore almost every minute of her (minus the whining and tantrums).