What was I doing without a body pillow for so long?

I mean, I knew people liked certain pillows and sleep positions when they are pregnant, but I thought a pillow tucked here and a pillow lodged there would suffice. But they always ended up on the floor or lost in the bed several times during the night. I asked KC to pick one up during a Target run yesterday, and boy, and I glad I did. I don't think I woke up once during the night (that I remember). Not to turn over or even to go to the bathroom! Now that is saying something. And I'm pretty sure I woke up in the same position I started in. And there is no way this pillow can get lost between the sheets. With that and unisom, I'm bound to have sweet dreams. Thanks heavens for this new addition to my bed!

And to answer your comment/question Matty, I think you are right on with the angles. Sitting straight up would defeat the purpose of what I need, so they say to stay as horizontal as I can be most of the time. But they did say a recliner is okay. I like that idea. The doctor also told me yesterday that some people float around in their pool all day. How great would that be?

Oh, and no contractions this morning during monitoring! I always like to hear that.

Typing horizontally is not so easy.

Thank you everyone for you encouragement and well wishes. You guys are great! Here's the update.

So, we saw the doctor again today. The verdict is that the bedrest and meds are working and keeping me stable, which is good news. I was having nightmares that things were going to look worse. They didn't look much better, but definitely not worse. We are not in a bad situation, just trying to avoid one, which is very different. And during the appointment, the babies were as active as ever. My stomach is really creepy sometimes when we watch them moving. Mostly he girl. She was quite the spaz this morning, but I love her for it. I was relieved that the are all looking great.

The past few days of monitoring have been pretty good. Most of the time my contraction count is quite low, 0-2, and sometimes when I have a few more, my nurse, who calls me at least twice a day when I send in my monitor data, will have me administer a demand dose of meds to calm everything down. It usually does the trick. It's hard to distinguish between uterine irritability, and contractions sometimes, because they move so much, but I am getting better at it.

As far as life on bedrest goes, it's not so bad yet. We've been offered lots of help from our kind friends, and even dinners have been arranged. I'm so grateful for the thoughtful people we know, and I think KC is even more full of gratitude. We have a new system so he doesn't have to come home from work every day, though he does have to leave a little later, and possibly go in on some nights. He packs me big cooler full of lunch and snacks, and it's been working great. He is always running around getting things done, and he has a beard to prove how busy he has been. But you'd never hear a complaint from him. His priorities are me and the babies, and I am truly amazed at his patience and willingness to do whatever is asked or required of him. Here is how me set me up yesterday before he was off to work. with books to read and things to do (never mind the rest of the mess in the room.). And here is what my lovely day of food looked like. He always switches up my sandwich a little to make it interesting. What a guy.

And just in case you are curious, here is my 23 week picture. No make-up or hair-doing for me most days, so no making fun. The doctor said I'm measuring at about 35 weeks. Ha! And, the waiting is over on the stretch mark front. I'm seeing the beginnings of them now. I knew it was inevitable. Hey, any indication that they are growing is fine by me.

Here's to another couple months of bedrest, monitoring, tubes hanging from my body, counting fetal movements, weekly doctor visits, and cooler meals! We'll make it. The babies are worth every second.

Also, I didn't realize the irony of watching the Three Amigos until Whitney's comment in the last post. It was quite fitting, don't you think? Now I'm watching Bleak House. I'm sure I could find some irony there as well.

It was bound to happen.

We were expecting this at some point during the pregnancy, but not quite this soon. I went in for a routine check up on Wednesday, and found out I had been having a lot of contractions. I had suspected that, but wasn't quite sure, so I was glad this appointment as coming up to figure it out. The good news is that the babies all look great, though one of the boys is a few ounces behind the others (we are hoping he catches up by the next time we take measurements, or at least doesn't get too far behind). But the not so good news is that they did see signs of possible preterm labor, but we are catching it early enough to do something about it. The doctor did make it seem like this is par of the course when it comes to higher order multiples, and all we have to do is stop the contractions to keep the babies in as long as possible. So things are starting to change a little.

First the doctor mentioned starting me on "the pump" as he put it. Apparently, a nurse comes to the house, inserts a tiny tube into my leg or my abdomen (much like an IV) and that tube has a small computer attached to it that gives me continuous medication to prevent contractions. He would also like me to have a Home Uterine Activity Monitor so it can make sure everything is calm, and it will also alert my nurse if the contractions are coming too quickly. It's normal to have some contractions, just not too many, so they are hoping to slow them down a lot, if not stopping them altogether for at least the next couple months.

Of course that seemed like a lot of information, and I was getting a little overwhelmed. But again, they seemed like this was pretty routine, and this is why I am seeing them as often as I am. They reassured me that with these treatments, they are very successful in lengthening the pregnancy with healthy babies in the end. We are praying for that.

Oh, and they told me, strict bedrest until my next appointment which was next Thursday, but has been changed to Tuesday, thank goodness. That's right, shower, and bathroom breaks only, but otherwise, lying horizontally until further notice. They said things could possibly normalize and I might be back on my feet soon, but there is also a possibility that I stay in this achy position for the duration of the pregnancy, which we are hoping desperately that that is still 10 weeks away, at least. Since I was given instruction to stay in bed/on the couch, we've had to get creative with my meals and snacks, since I still need them pretty often to avoid feeling a little queasy. Sweet KC gets me breakfast, stashes me up with a bunch of mid-morning stuff to munch on, and comes home for lunch everyday to make me something, and supply me with afternoon snacks. Sometimes I even keep a cooler by the bed for things that need to be kept cold. It's just what we have to do right now, and we'll get used to it, I'm sure. (Even though I feel bad that he has to take on so many new responsibilities, my selfish and lonely self really loves him being home so often.) He has also been great to prepare dinners. Since it's the weekend, I feel like we can really prepare with grocery lists and meal ideas, and get things under control since it seems like we've been scrambling a little as we get into this bedrest mode. I'm sure we'll get the hang of it.

So that all started on Wednesday, and since then quite a lot has taken place. I have been on the phone with several different people, mostly people from the company that supplies the equipment, Alere, trying to get this pump/monitor stuff worked out. My nurse Elise, who is awesome, has also been on the phone with all of the same people for the past couple days. Everything was supposed to arrive along with a nurse by Thursday at the latest, but leave it to insurance to make things complicated. Apparently, they will only cover the treatment for about a month, and then we'd have to start paying out of pocket, which will be like $250/day. Yikes! Like I said, we want AT LEAST another 10 weeks of this pregnancy, and we need that money for the babies, so we didn't like this. The company that supplies the gear we need has filed for an appeal to lengthen the coverage and expect to have the results by Monday at the latest. But they didn't seem too optimistic. Elise started talking to their area rep. who didn't like that they were making us make these hard decisions. She advised us to start the therapy, while we wait for the appeal. If it doesn't go through, we might just have to stay in the hospital for the duration of the pregnancy, since they can't deny me hospital stay coverage. Not my idea of fun, but it's all for the babies, so what else can I say? We decided on that plan. In the meantime I have been taking oral Trebutaline. I don't like it at all. It makes m heart race, and my body shake and tremble. I could hardly type, my hands were shaking so bad. But it was slowing the contractions, so that is what matters.

Anyway, yesterday we finally got the okay to start. We got a big delivery of equipment and meds (We thought we were done with this kind of stuff- Ha!), and the nurse arrived at about 4:30. KC came home early so he could see what was going down. The nurse went over everything, including tons of paperwork, and signatures. She taught me how to insert the tube for the pump, since I'll have to change it every 4-5 days. It's a little needle that I inject into my abdomen or thigh. The needle comes out and the little tube holder stays in. The tube that I had primped with the medication that is in the little computer is attached. It is programed to give me medication as I need it, and if I need to, I can make it give me more. I also have to replace the medicine cartridge when it runs out. I'm used to needles in my abdomen, so this was no biggie. Just a little annoying to have tube and small computer hooked up to me for the next 2-3 months. I guess this is what diabetics feel like. (They really drill it into you that this computer is something like $5,000, so I better take really good care of it. There is even a special shower bag for it.) They say the pump has way fewer side effects than the oral medication. I am still shaking, but I am hoping that will go away soon. They said my body will get used to it.

So now, the monitor. It is just like the ones they put on you when they track your contractions at the hospital. I have to do it twice a day, for one hour each time. It is also hooked up to a small computer. There is a button on it for me to push whenever I think I feel a contraction. When the hour is up, we hook the small computer into a bigger contraption that wirelessly sends the data to my Alere nurse, who will call me with the results and tell me whether or not I was right with my contractions. KC usually takes care of all the computer stuff and transferring the data. When I monitored it yesterday, I thought I might've had about 3, and when we talked to them they said that I had possibly only one, and it was hardly relevant. This is great since before the meds, I was counting 6-7/hour. They are okay with 4-6 at the most, but would like there to be none, if possible. If they see a problem in my data, like tons of contractions, they'll either tell me to up the meds, empty my bladder, drink some water, and try again soon, or go to the hospital. Let's hope they stay low. I also take my blood pressure every day after the monitor, and report that to the nurse as well. We did it again this morning, and I had no contractions. I'm liking those results. I can also do an unscheduled monitoring if I feel like things are going awry.

On Tuesday at my appointment, they will have received all the data at my regular doctors office, and see what measure need to be taken. If it looks like it's doing it's job, they will have me continue as I have been doing it. Modern medicine has really helped us out with these babies, hasn't it? We are so grateful for it. We have faith that this will all work out.

Like I said, we knew this could happen one of these day. Needless to say, the pool is now out of the question. Bummer, but a lot of the aches and pains that led me there in the first place were probably due to my contractions. Who knew? Anyway, that was a lot of information, and mostly a brain dump from the last three days. Today, for one of my bedrest activities, I will enjoy The Three Amigos, my latest Netflix rental, and I can't wait. Hey, I gotta get excited about something, right? Oh, and it's nice to finally have KC here all day. I think he likes to play doctor. He's pretty good at it. Maybe I'll show you some pictures of all this stuff soon. Right now, I need to rest.

One happy pregnant girl.

I have been DYING to go swimming lately. During the first few months of pregnancy, it was the last thing on my mind. I just couldn't bare the thought of it with the dizziness and nausea. But, as the weather has heated up, and the nausea has become much better, and my belly has become significantly larger causing lots of joint/back pains etc, swimming seemed like just the thing for me. Not only does weightlessness seem so wonderful, but a little exercise would probably help that pain quite a bit. There is a pool within walking distance, but you have to be a member (which has a 2 year waiting list, and costs WAY too much) to enter. I can go with my friends when they go, and use their guest pass, which they kindly offer every time they go, and have even offered to just go to check me in, even if they aren't going to stay. But I wanted to be a little more independent than that. I was thinking about going to another nearby pool, that is nice because they have both indoor and outdoor pools. With rain being in the forecast all week, I thought I'd try this out. It's about $6.50 to get in, and that didn't seem so bad. I was about to get ready and head there, when I talked to my friend Jan, who asked if I had tried the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex. More specifically, the Aquatic Center.

I am SO glad I talked to her. A while ago I remember her telling me her kids loved it, and it is really inexpensive, and open year-round, but I had never taken the time to look into it. I quickly did a little online research, and knew this was the place for me. The prices are great! For the pool, it's only $5.00 if you want to pay per visit, but I went ahead and got the month pass for a mere 18 bucks. I'm pretty sure that is the best deal around. Also, for a family, it's only $30.00 for the whole month. They don't make you sign contracts, and it's open every day. You can sigh up for a one, three, or six month membership, and there is so much more to this place besides the pool, but that is all I looked into this time. When it's time to work off all this baby weight, I'm looking into the fitness center for sure!

So I took the very quick 10 minute drive to this place and found it very inviting. There's a competition pool, and a kids pool. The kids pool looked pretty awesome with it's mini lazy river, huge water slide, and all kids of splash mechanisms. There was also a ginormous hot tub, which of course I didn't get in, but it sure looked nice.

On the other side there was a lap pool for the more serious swimmers, and a more freestyle pool area where people could choose their own form or water aerobics, and move about as they please. That is where I hing out. I was so giddy to start swimming. So I donned my new bikini, and was all set. (Yes I wore a bikini with my large belly hanging out. I have no shame. My mother-in-law and I saw them on clearance at H&M while she was in town, and we couldn't resist. And the cute cover-ups that were on sale were roomy enough for me as well. Thanks for the prize, Janice. I want to get a lot of swimming out of it before the stretch marks make their grand appearance.)

I was a little self-conscious at first, being at least 20 years younger than the youngest person there, and showing quite a lot more skin, but as soon as I was in the water, and felt every tension released from my body, all my qualms had disappeared, even if I did hear bits and pieces of conversations about colonoscopies, and other topics that might be discussed among this crowd. With my low-impact work-out, I fit right in with the senior citizens, even looking to them for some techniques I should try. I swam for a blissful hour (taking a break to eat my sandwich). And since it's indoor, no sunburns, or sunscreen, which I am very happy about. I even enjoyed the padded benches available for the showers afterward. It's like this place was built just for me and my triplet belly. It was disappointing to get out. It almost felt like the ligaments were straining more than before as I felt the weight come back, but it just makes me look forward to going back even more. Now I know what I've been missing.

I might just make this part of my daily routine. I have a feeling that the movement of the joints, and the exercise to my muscles is going to help immensely with the growing pain I am feeling everyday, and hopefully help me to sleep better too. This place is truly a blessing to me, and I just know my money was very well spent. Area friends, you should come along!

I thought I'd also add, that a friendly lady kindly guessed that I am 8 months along. Ha! I wish!

I feel much better now.

It is just after 10 am and I am just getting up for the day.

Mission accomplished.

Sleep? What's sleep?

Lately, sleep has been more exhausting, than restful. I know what you are all thinking. That this will only prepare me for when the babies come, yadda, yadda, yadda. But hopefully then, when I actually do lie down in my what-I-used-to-think-was-comfortable bed, I may actually feel a tiny bit rested when I wake up. I usually wake up every hour or two during the night, and am pretty frustrated by morning. I think the rapid weight gain, mixed with the absence of exercise, causing pain in my back and my joints, along with the constant use of the bathroom, my tummy growling for food, and the babies saying hello in their funny yet violent ways, has really taken a toll on my REM Cycle. And it also doesn't help that KC was pulling an all-nighter at work last night to finish some overdue projects. I don't like a lonely bed. I've taken unisom for most of my pregnancy, but am trying to lay off it. It doesn't work sometimes anyway. So now I get it when I hear of pregnant people having trouble sleeping. I hear you loud and clear. But it's so true that the silly hardships of pregnancy are nothing compared to the rewards in the end. I'm counting down the days!

So now it is about 6 am, I've been awake since 4:30, ate a bowl of oatmeal, and took half of a unisom, in hopes that I sleep another few hours. Thanks for the venting session, and sorry about my complaints. I just know others out there can relate. And I definitely know it's all a small sacrifice for the little loves in my belly, but sometimes, they just gotta let mommy rest!

Bonker

When I was babysitting a few months back, it was a very common occurrence to be going about our daily activities, and then all of the sudden hear a loud bonking sound over and over coming from the sun room on the side of the house. When I first heard this, I investigated the incessant noise. While walking over to the room, I asked the kids what the noise was. Wade replied without even really looking up from what he was doing, that it was "Bonker", the aptly named red Cardinal that made a daily visit to the window. The kids were used to it, but I was stunned. Every day this poor little bird slammed himself over and over into the glass as if he were determined to get in one of these days. And he never learned his lesson either. This happened almost every time I went to their house, and we always knew when Bonker had arrived. He'd perch on the branch near the window, ram into it, go back to his perch, and do it all over again. Poor little fella.

At our house, we have a similar scenario, but it isn't always the same window or the same bird, as far as I know. But every now and then we hear a loud startling smacking sound on one of our several windows surrounding the house. They have even made me jump at times. I feel so sorry for the little birds, fearing that some of these loud smacks might lead to their doom. There was one rather loud one I remember, and it wasn't until a day or two later that I found this when I opened the blinds.

They must see the reflection of the trees or something, and just think they are having a nice flight, only to get blindsided. When will they learn? It kind of reminds me of this commercial, only it's them getting back at us for all that we put them through with our blasted windows.

A productive couple of days.

While KC's mom was here, we. . .

• Tested some chairs at the La-Z-Boy store. (I'm converted, btw.)
• Went furniture shopping for the nursery.
• Got rid of previously mentioned extra medications.
• Found some deals at the mall, including a couple shirts, and swimwear (I fantasize about the pool these days.)
• Went grocery, and Target shopping.
• Looked at paint samples at home depot. Tried one on our bookshelf. Didn't love it.
• Made kabobs and let KC grill them.
• Bought decided color of paint at home depot, along with a brush, roller, pan, and drop cloth.
• Watched Clifford (the Martin Short version) because Janice had never seen it, and had quite a laugh.
• Took naps.
• Finally bought a dresser for the nursery (also to be painted.)
• Ate some really good Chinese food, and had leftovers for lunch the next day.
• Saw the Air Force Memorial.
• Watched Passengers. Not a bad flick, but pretty predictable.
• Last but not least, gestated. This one I did on my own.(This may seem like a given, but I think it deserved mentioning. Every day is an accomplishment, and is sometimes pretty hard work.)

We were so glad Janice could stop by for a few days on her way home from Boston. She really helped me accomplish some things I've had on my list for a while. KC was pretty busy most of the time, but Janice and I didn't seem to run out of things to do/talk about, with the babies usually being the center of attention. We are planning on seeing a lot more of Janice, and many more family members in the near future, and we can't wait.

Now, I've got furniture to put together, and paint. Hurray, things are finally falling into place. But, as the nursery comes together, it seems that every other room gets neglected and/or cluttered from the stuff being moved from it to make room for the babes. Ah well, one step at a time.

Adios IVF meds!

After our final and successful IVf cycle, we were left with SO many extra medications. In cycles past, my body didn't respond to the lower doses, so we had to use a lot to get my hormones where they wanted them to be. So, my doctor, after he had learned what he thought I needed, ordered accordingly. But for some reason during this last one, my body needed a lot less medication to produce the desired result, leaving us with mentioned extras. So, as I've been cleaning and organizing, I filled a huge back full of our used sharps container filled with those wretched needles, hundreds of unused needles and syringes, and several boxes of unopened meds. A couple days ago, I finally took them to my clinic for others who are in need of some emergency extra meds like we have needed in the past. They have had some on hand to give us in a pinch, so I am glad to be able to pay it forward.


We were so lucky to have some coverage on medications. It was only about $30 per box (which we used about 10 or something per cycle), whereas if you aren't covered, it can be anywhere from $500-$1000 per box. I always felt so bad when I thought of those that weren't covered and had to use so many boxes like we had to sometimes. I think We would've spent another $15,000 without this coverage. So even though procedures weren't covered, meds were, and that as a huge help. So, if my leftovers can help someone save a couple thousand bucks, I would be very happy.


It is strange though, after seeing those things in my house for over a year and a half, it just seemed like part of the decor or something. And now it's just vanished, as if it was never there. I had my own little pharmacy. I even used one of those door organizer pocket things filled with needles, alcohol swabs, bottles of meds, and band aids to make my life easier. It was just our life, and now it's gone. Not that I'm sad about it or anything, it's just a huge milestone. But I am more than ecstatic to replace those spaces with pacifiers, bibs, and tiny socks instead. Sounds like a great trade-off. Out with the old, in with the new.

That was probably the last time I. . .

I've been saying this to myself a lot lately. As my tummy grows, simple tasks have become, well, difficult. Most recently, it has preceded thing like: paint my toenails, carry in all the groceries, or scrub the tub. And I'm sure I am bound to say it about many more things in the coming months. KC is always eager to make up for what I lack. Let's see if I can get him to give me a pedicure one of these days.

So, really this is just an update on some recent happenings. Our life seem pretty ho-hum, on the outside at least. Things are getting pretty wild on the inside. These babies certainly know how to move.The sweethearts can really turn this belly into a circus with all the weird lumps and bumps they create. I have a feeling this part will get crazier by the day, turning it more into a freak show. It's quite entertaining most of the time, except when one presses again my rib cage, or kicks my bladder in the middle of church. The little kicks are starting to look like popcorn popping from under my shirt. I always love it when they say hello, even if it is slightly uncomfortable sometimes.

The July 4th weekend was pretty fun with barbecues on both Friday and Saturday nights. The first was at the Wahlquists who moved from our ward to Virgina a while ago. It was fun to catch up with them and laugh at their rapidly growing little baby. We even got a little Guitar Hero out of it. Thanks guys!

The next was at with group of ward friends . The Stromsdorfers hosted and provided more meat than I ever imagined at a gathering with only 4 couples and their kids. It was all delicious, and it was lovely to sit out on their screened-in deck to enjoy the outdoors without the mosquitoes. The kids were playing in the kiddie pool, while we all chatted and laughed for hours. The weather was perfect, unlike some past 4ths when it's either been raining cats and dogs, or too hot to breath. Some went to enjoy fireworks, but we headed home. I can only handle one event per day in this body. I definitely heard some in the distance from my bed, and I thought of the years to come when I'll take my kids to see them. It isn't the 4th of July without fireworks when you're a kid. And I just want to say that even though the second picture isn't among my favorites for obvious accentuated reasons, I thought I better put it up to laugh at later. It is what others see after all, so I might as well own up to the fact that I look this way, instead of trying to ignore it. It is for my babies, and what's a better reason to get chubby.

Well, I had another appointment yesterday and it's always so nice to hear that things are looking great so far. 20 weeks is quite beyond the halfway point for us, so even though we only have a few more months to go, it still feels like forever before I get to hold the little ones in my arms. But I am glad for the little time we have left so I can get a few more things done. I don't move as quickly these days with pulled muscles, and and aching back, so time is precious.

We were delighted to see the ultrasound in 3-D this time. They are already having little baby mannerisms, and looking so precious. Of course the parents always think there is so much more to pictures than others do, but why not try to see who resembles who, and laugh at their facial expressions, even if we look like crazy, first-time parents while we're doing it. I loved seeing their little fists open and close, and gazing at their perfectly formed little fingers. There are tiny little people inside this belly of mine. It's really insane, if you think about it.

We only got some shots of the girl, and one of the boys. The other guy was facing away from us, but he looks just like the other boy, so you get the idea. Though, his little bum is right in his brother's face. I guess he thought that was good enough.

Here's the boy (with mentioned bum of other boy):

And here's the girlie.

Are we crazy to already be completely in love with these little alien looking creatures?

Thank you Fireflies

Thank you little friends for the light show you put on outside my windows every night. You just might make the miserable east coast summers worth all the sweat, humidity, and mosquitoes. You will be one of the biggest things I miss should we move away from this place someday.

Car seats. . .check!

The other day while I was talking on the phone to Melody, I was distracted by some commotion outside. I was a little miffed when I thought it was just the neighbors making noise. But I soon realized it was a huge UPS truck dropping off three very large packages on my doorstep. This is what I found.

The story of how these came about is a little funny, so I'll share. It started on a day that I felt like we simple MUST start getting on the ball as far as major baby purchases. Since car seats seem to be pretty high up on that list of priorities, we started there. We went to Babies R Us just to get a feel of what we were dealing with. There wasn't much of a variety to choose from, so I quickly glanced and moved on to other baby stuff, thinking we'd just go online to make the purchase. I'd seen car seats before, so it wasn't anything new to me, but KC was in a whole new world. He stayed in that aisle for quite some time pushing buttons, pulling straps, reading specs, lifting so see the difference in weight, and just anything else an engineer can think of when examining car seats for the first time. It hadn't crossed my mind that this was new territory to him. He was quite amazed at this new complex gadget that he'd come across. When he was satisfied with learning all he could, we went home and he started to search online. I was too tired to care about it anymore for that day, so I went to bed thinking we'd made enough progress and we'd work on it some more tomorrow. KC usually joins me a little while later since I retire so early these days. This time it was quite a while later. When I woke up and noticed the time, I asked what he had been doing all night, he responded with, " I now know everything there is to know about car seats." I couldn't help but laugh, but he was serious. He had read every forum, review, and car seat technicians advice he could come across. He found all these car seat crazy people who write on these forums, and as their signature after each entry they include how many kids they have, what kind of car seat they have/had each of them in, and whether they are rear-facing, or front facing, or when they graduated to front facing or seat belt alone, as if it were some huge milestone in their family's life. But of course it is all in acronyms that you are supposed to just know if you are in the car seat forum community. For example : DD born 4/11/05 in FF Pink Sky Britax Frontier. There was one lady who I guess you could call a "car seat purist" who kept her son rear facing for as long as possible (like those people who breastfeed until their kids are five). They usually include pictures, and this kids legs were all Indian style against the seat since he couldn't stretch out. They must've had some ceremony and shed a few tears when they turned him around. Did you know there were people like this out there?

Anyway, KC must've been so entertained that he stuck around those forums to learn as much as he could. Amidst the craziness, there was a lot of good information concerning preemies, and what the hospital technician will require when we take them home in their tiny state. When KC found what he wanted, he looked for deals, and finally found exactly what suited him in model and price. They are actually a new model that have rave reviews. He did a lot more research than I would've thought necessary, but isn't that a dad's job? I let him take the lead where he wants to, saving me the trouble of deciding myself. The bottom like is, they look like they will do their job well, and I can't wait to start using them.

Now, let's just hope they fit in the stroller frame I've finally decided on.

The new me

First of all, where did my belly button go? That's right. 19 weeks, and it's disappearing before my eyes. But that is fine by me because it means the babies are growing everyday. (Seriously, sometimes I see a change from one day to the next.) I had an appointment last Monday, and for some reason I was feeling nervous. I always feel like I'll leave learning some bad news or something. It's hard to let got of that after living that way for so long. But thankfully I left with nothing but good news about the darlings and me. Their heartbeats are all within normal range, and they arms, legs, heads, bellies, and whatever else they look at all seems to measuring right as well. It takes quite some time to do the measurements for three babies, but I enjoyed looking them for about an hour while all the measuring was taking place.They are each weighing 8-9 oz by now, and I am constantly feeling their little kicks and squirms from my ribs to my abdomen. I've been feeling them on the inside for many weeks, but now they are to the point that if I tell KC to come at the right time, he can feel it too. The doctor said that if things continue to look this good, we'll definitely make it to the 33-35 week goal that they have for triplets. I am praying for that. We are over the half-way point for a typical triplet pregnancy, and every time I remember that, I get more and more excited for the coming months. (And it's much easier to be happy and excited without the constant nausea in the way all the time-just now and then these days.) Even though it's easier to have them on the inside, all of this is to have them on the outside, and I can't wait for that day.

Speaking of the absence of nausea, there is hardly a day that I don't take this for granted. This is "the new me" that I speak of in the title. It's so amazing how your whole outlook of life can change without that disgusting cloud hanging over your head. I still have to keep on top of the food, mind you, or else it will sneak in again, but as long as I do, I definitely to feel like myself again (with a big belly, swelling limbs, and back aches of course-but I'll take that any day over feeling constantly sick.) I even made a dinner calendar and stuck by it all week. Even grocery shopping is completely different when you can take something off the shelf without gagging at the thought of eating it. So, I am grateful to be done with that, and happy to move on to getting ready for the arrival of these little ones. And I am here to say, nesting is real. It hit me like a ton of bricks. We are on pack up, put away, throw out, and clean mode in almost every spare moment we have together. Of course I have to take a nap after about an hour of anything really productive, but it's better than nothing. KC is really taking the lead on a lot of the readying responsibilities. Thank the heavens for him.


I've started to make diagrams of the nursery to figure out what we need, and lists of where to get them. Shopping for babies is harder than I thought. Not that I'm that picky, or have anything really special planned, it's just that we need to be on top of things with three coming, making me a little more anxious about the layout, and organization and stuff. But I'm sure everything will be in place soon enough, and we'll finally feel like we are as prepared as we can be. So many decisions, and so little time.

And I am also happy to report that my doctor is happy with my weight, and isn't extremely concerned about me gaining a million pounds (which is what it seems like sometimes). I have gained sufficiently so far, and they think they babies are doing fine. Phew. I mean, it's not like I'm depriving myself or anything. Frequent meals are quite necessary, so I think things will just take care of themselves at this point. I might actually miss this eat-whatever-you-want phase, even though in the earlier weeks I vowed to hate food for the rest of my life. Hormones mess with your head sometimes, wouldn't you say?