30 Weeks Down...

Another week, another appointment…  I pretty much got the same report as usual – no indication of the babies being delivered any time in the next couple of weeks.  I saw Dr. Magee this week, usually it’s Dr. Yost, and he didn’t notice anything abnormal in William’s amniotic fluid, which made me feel much better.  I like seeing Dr. Magee because he is a little less serious than Dr. Yost – which I need every once in awhile.  He tries really hard to get good pictures of the babies, and he didn’t fail me this time!  I have finally scanned some of the sonograms!  He even found tiny little fat rolls on Savannah! 

I know that she will want to kill me one day,
but to see that they are putting on fat is a fantastic sign!!!

So, I’ve also had a lot of time to myself lately, giving me a little too much time to think!  (This is where work helped me – I had a lot to help keep my mind off of the unknown of triplets!)  Throughout this pregnancy, I have felt the need to put on a brave face for everyone around me and make sure that everyone knows how great things are going – which they are, medically speaking! 

Mentally, however, this has been a whole new level of stress!  Don’t get me wrong, I could not be more excited about the craziness that is about to ensue, but the unknown has become very daunting.  So many questions run thru my head on a daily basis, and there are not a lot of people to help me answer them.  Some of them are genuine concerns others are just the crazy thoughts of a severely pregnant lady!  Here are some of the questions that have come up the most….

~Will everyone be born healthy?

~How are we ever going to feed 3 babies, and Bryan, at one time?

~How are we going to give Bryan the attention that he needs?

~What doctors are going to be crazy enough to send THREE babies home with us?

~Are we ever going to sleep again?

~How am I going to get 4 kids into the car?

~How do you get 3 infants and a toddler bathed, diapered, and in bed?

~How will we get everything packed to go out of town? (After all, my parents live 6 hours away and we have 2 dogs to pack too!)

~Will we ever see our friends again?

~What do I do with girls?

~I could go on for a while with many more crazy questions…

I know that when the time comes, all of these things will work themselves out, but I can’t help but to question what life will be like in the next 6 weeks.  Yes, that’s right, in no more than 6 weeks; the size of our family will be doubled.  One thing that has taken some of the stress away is our family.  If it weren’t for knowing that we have so many amazing family members to help, I’m pretty sure I would be an absolute mess right now.  We are truly blessed to have so many people that already love Bryan, Ruby, William, and Savannah so much.

Growing Like Weeds!!

Another good doctor's visit this week!!  The babies continue to grow and I'm still showing no signs that they need to be delivered anytime soon.  Last week I did learn that William's amniotic fluid increased, which can be a negative, but it went down a little this week so they are just going to monitor it for now.  Other than that, everyone looks fantastic!!

As for sizes, I did have a growth sonogram today and they are all growing like weeds.  Three weeks ago, William and Savannah weighed 1 lb 14 oz each and Ruby was at 1 lb 13 oz.  This week, however, they are all different!  Ruby is the smallest, weighing 2 lbs 3 oz., Savannah is in the middle at 2 lbs 10 oz., and William is our chunky monkey at  2 lbs 13 oz!!  He gained almost a full pound in 3 weeks.  If one of them is going to be bigger than the others, I am glad that it is William because premie boys tend to have the most health problems.  The fact that he is growing so well will definitely help once he is born!  All of that being said, I am carrying around 7 lbs 10 oz of baby.  That is more than Bryan weighed when he was born!

Speaking of Bryan, he is also growing faster than I can believe.  When he went to stay with my mom, she had him sleep in a big boy bed for the first time.  He did amazing!!  Not once did he try to get out of the bed, which really surprised me because he was not in his own room, let alone house.  When he came home on Sunday, we put him to bed in his bunk bed and he loved it.  I'm afraid that I am jinxing myself, but so far he has gone straight to bed, no fussing, and no trying to get out of the bed.  He is also talking up a storm!  I'm such a proud and incredibly lucky mommy!

Pictures!!

I know I have been short on pictures lately, so I am going to make up for it now!!  Laura took some maternity and family pictures for us a couple of weeks ago.  It was a fun and tiring day!!  Here are a few.... Keep in mind that I am 5 months pregnant here, but measuring in at 9 months!!  It's quite a belly...

Time to Rest....

So, my maternity leave has pretty much started.  I say pretty much because, of course, I didn't get lesson plans totally finished, so I need to do that before Monday.  Other than that, though, I have been placed on restricted activity until these 3 sweet babies decide to make their appearance.  At the rate we are going, the doctors keep pushing out the number of weeks they want them to keep cookin'.  When we first found out it was triplets they said we would be good to make it to 30 weeks (which would be about 3 weeks from now!).  Then, it was 33 weeks, or the end of April.  Now, because everyone, so far, is doing so well - me included - they are trying to get me to 36 weeks.  That would be around May 15th.  As much as I am hoping, for the babies' sake, to make it that far, I'm just not sure that I can physically or mentally do this for 2 more months.  I am so incredibly thankful that everything has been uneventful up to this point and hope that the pregnancy continues the same way.

That being said, here is my 30 second venting - being pregnant with triplets and having a stomach that measures larger than full term at 27 weeks is VERY uncomfortable!!  It is hard to get up when you are sitting or laying down, my back hurts, and there is very little room for my lungs to expand - which makes breathing kind of difficult.

OK - I'm done - that was my 30 seconds.

My mom has also been in town since last Thursday to help me try to get organized.  She came in just in time to go to last week's sonogram appointment.  She got to see how squished these poor babies (especially William) are.  It was almost impossible to see any detail because of how big they are getting, and how little room there actually is for them.  Friday, she brought Bryan up to school to visit my students on my last day.  It was very strange to walk out of the building on Friday knowing that I won't be back full time until August.  Then, for the next 4 days, my fantastic mother helped me clean out cabinets and closets and organize our house.  I finally feel like we would be OK if the babies had to come home tomorrow.  There are still a couple of things we need, but nothing that is vital in the beginning.  Thanks to her help, I feel like I can actually rest and focus on Bryan and Trey until the babies get here.

To top it all off, my mother took Bryan home with her today.  I won't see him until Sunday.  Now it will be quiet so I can get lesson plans finished up and maybe do a little sewing.  Other than that, I have 4 days to rest and do a lot of nothing!

5lbs 9oz of Baby!!

Another week done!  I just finished week 26 on Saturday.  I went to the specialist again on Thursday and he gave me an A+ in triplets.  This week was a growth sonogram - they measure every 3 weeks.  William and Savannah each weigh 1lb 14oz, and Ruby is weighing in at 1lb 13oz.  The girls played shy, but William was nice enough to wave at us.  They are all measuring perfectly and showing no signs of coming anytime soon.  We could not be more thrilled!!

Bryan also went to the doctor on Thursday for his 18 month well visit.  He is growing like a weed and is very healthy and happy!  Today was a fantastic day of hearing how healthy all 4 of our kids are right now.  We are so incredibly blessed!!

Laura took my maternity pictures today and I am anxiously awaiting the final product!!  She is so talented and we had so much fun taking pictures with her - even though I had to keep sitting down because I would get dizzy.  Ahhhh, the joys of pregnancy!!!  I'll post them as soon as I can so you can all see how enormous my 5 month belly is!!

Other than that, things have been quiet around here.  I have one more week to work, then I am on restricted activity.  So if anyone has any book suggestions, I'm going to need something to do while I am at home!!