Pictures of my last outing..

My goal was to get to the Weavers couple's shower.. this was my big last night out (maybe for a long while..) Can't wait to meet Baby Weaver... especially now that we will for sure be in the same hospital this December :)

Baby Weaver , 32 wks Laura's couples shower

Me at 27 wks, love from aunts 

Weaver/Hackmans watch us grow

End of 28 weeks.. Trick or Treat

You start to really understand the meaning of "every day counts" when things change so quickly!

We are all doing great and I so appreciate everyone that has reached out to us over the weekend. I have been pretty exhausted getting used to everything, so I will pick up calling people back this week. We are so blessed to have all the support and prayers from our friends and family.

all 3 babies getting heart rates monitored..see how low Baby A is!
Those things on my leg are for circulation/prevent blood clots

24 hr/day contraction monitoring continues and I have been staying pretty much under control with those. 2 x day we get the babies heart rates monitored.. which is very comical and hard to do. Usually 1-2 nurses have to help find and keep a baby's heartbeat. When all 3 are going strong on the monitors it sounds like horses galloping. A great sound!

Yesterday we had a follow-up ultrasound to make sure fluid is OK around Baby B.. and it looks like she just wanted to give us a scare - she scored her full "2" points for fluid. Babies are checked for Fetal Biophysical profile screenings and receive points for fluid, movement,tone, breathing movement ("practicing breathing") and heart rate.

Otherwise, everyone has been great here and takes great care of us. Scott has stayed every night with me in his little dad cave in the room. It helps a lot to have him here. Yesterday the NICU came to talk w/ us about risks of preterm labor,etc.. but we are really hoping we can still get to 34-34 wks..which would put us in Hotel Community for 5 or so more weeks. Tomorrow we get a cervix check and all the baby's weight's .. so hoping November 1st brings us good news!

28 wks 3 days - Change of Plans

Scott & I thought we were going in for a quick cervical scan to have a surprising outcome - my cervix had dropped in one week from 3.4 to 2.4. Anything around or under 2.5 is not a good # for the week I am at. We also had a moment of fear when our Maternal Fetal Specialist got called in to do the u/s herself on Baby B because they couldn't find the beautiful membranes they always brag about around her. They were fearful her fluid had decreased, but in the end, Dr. D. thinks the fluid is just hard to see behind this baby. They checked the doppler of the umbilical cord of all babies and it seemed they were all ok. With the combination of my cervix and Baby B giving us a challenge, she quickly determined I should be admitted. (Very non- chalantly at that .. Scott and I thought she said, "I have to admit.." like a statement, but nope, she meant I am not going home. )

For the 1st few hours I was just business and trying to figure out what happened .. but I must have gone a little crazy in my mind with fear and the unknown coming in around us because I asked Scott who would feed Magoo (Magoo is in heaven eating dog candy since March) and then told the nurse I was Kristin Richards, my maiden name. However, all in all, my "check-in" to Hotel Community wasn't so bad. Just a lot and not planned for and certainly no bag packed in the car. I got assigned a room and my OBGYN is so awesome that she came over after a long day and sat with me to make sure I felt OK about everything. She said the babies looked great and not to worry about the fluid. We are going to check the fluid again on Monday when we do the u/s growth for the babies. (One good thing is that I'm on the same floor across the way from my Maternal Fetal Specialist, so they come to me for scans now).

My Dr checked me for being dilated.. and she said she couldn't get her finger up to baby's head, so that was good. Although Baby Boy is SO low that we can't see the top of his head on the normal u/s. We need to keep him behaving and not heading up "operation get us out of here" for awhile. I got swabbed for Group Strep B, got my first of two steroid shots to develop all baby's lungs, got an IV put in (one of my least favorite things) and got all the normal stat stuff done. I also got hooked up to FOUR monitors - one for each baby's heartbeat and then one that I will wear non-stop for contractions. Heartbeats get checked 2 x day for 30 mins each and of course contractions all day and all night.

My contractions went nuts last night. I am pretty sure I've been having more at home and didn't know it. From the time I checked in until about 10 or 11, I was having up to 9-10 contractions an hour. They were big enough I had to breathe through them and in my gut they felt more like what I imagine labor contractions to feel like - just more "pushing down" feeling. We turned up the dose of my tributaline, and I put on calming music and stopped talking, and by about midnight or 1 am, they had gone way down. I get big contractions when my bladder is full, so if I have big contractions in my sleep, my nurse will see on the monitor and wake me up to empty my bladder....and this seems to really take them down.

Scott continues to be a trooper. His head was spinning and of course dropped everything to go home and get what I needed and then come stay the night with me. He has his only little area to sleep -- but it doesn't look so comfortable :) We are just trying to figure it all out, but somehow we both slept really good for at least 5 hours. The room feels more like a hotel room so it's nice to not feel like we are in a hospital room. I am lucky and got a room w/ an outside view which is nice too.

I woke up feeling very at peace for where I am. I think there is a lot going on that I just can't be sure of at home. I really think this will help to lengthen the pregnancy. My only complaint is the worst heartburn I've ever had because you can't bring in medicine from home..but they will bring in Milk of Magnesium which at least helped me sleep. My nurses have been really great. The only other thing I am a little sad about is that I wish I would have known that last night was probably the last night Scott and I could lay in our quiet bed together for maybe many years :) He always plays with my hair or rubs my back so I can fall asleep..too bad there is only room for me in my hospital bed :(

I just ordered my first breakfast... off to start my first day! I feel weird like I should tip all these people helping me...

27 wks 5 days update

Good news w/ my visit to the specialist yesterday - my cervix stayed stable from my bed rest, so I was able to come back home and just keep doing what I'm doing! My cervix stayed around 3.2 ish.

Of course, while there, we got to check in on our crew. It was the most active they have ever been during an u/s - I could feel all of them going crazy and they were kicking so hard the tech and her wand kept getting knocked. They must have been wanting privacy! And for the first time ever, I cried during an u/s. I wanted to cry when I heard their heartbeats the first time and when I saw them move or when I learned the sexes.. but none of that did it. It was an image of ALL of their tiny (but not so tiny, really) feet kicking at each other and just looking so sweet. It just made me so happy and it hit me that these really are OUR babies and they are REAL! And they were the cutest feet I've ever seen in my life.

Other than that.. life on bed rest isn't so bad. So far this is what life has looked like from bed/the couch..

-lots of great visitors that take my mind off everything! Thanks everyone! I have loved seeing my best friends and their babies and family members! Thanks for the baby and toddler energy and conversation Lauren, Tracy and Abby :)

-Food!! It's what I look forward to! (In small doses because when baby c moves up, my stomach actually gurgles when I eat too much) But have had serious cravings for quiche in the morning (hard to find!) and have been eating peanut butter cookies for "dessert" after breakfast..(thanks Mick :) ) Still love my icy cold water and it's been my #1 craving the whole pregnancy.

- Sore! Laying around makes those 50 lbs harder to carry. Not terrible pain, but my in-home prenatal massage was really nice yesterday. Last night I learned my yoga cat and cow stretches are not allowed anymore, I seriously got stuck because I hurt my back so bad. It was comical but was the worst pain I've had during this pregnancy. Thankfully, it went away in 20 mins. I told Scott I've never been so thankful for my strong and healthy body that I had to start with.. because otherwise, this may have been a lot harder! Mostly just hard to get a perfectly comfy spot these days.

- Mentally hanging in there! I am getting so excited to meet the babies and it's getting very real. I have my moments of feeling bad for myself, but when I feel them kick, I can't wait to feel their ears and kiss their toes!

- Power of Positive Thinking - right next to my countdown calendar (today is 49 days until 12/11/10) I have a list of positive affirmations with everything from big,healthy babies to an abundance of milk supply.

-Scott. I knew why I married him, but he is amazing right now. This is living proof of putting your spouse first. Sometimes I wonder how I can repay him, and then I remember, oh yeah, I'm growing and giving him 3 babies :)

So for now, no news is good news as every day counts! They say every one day you can keep them in is 7 less days in the NICU!

27 wks 2 days - Hope the Bed Rest Bugs Don't Bite

I knew it was coming at some point...and my goal was to get to 28 wks w/ no required bed rest..however, the team just got benched yesterday at 5 days short of my goal.

My 27 wk appt was my first not perfect report card. My cervix had dropped from 3.7 last week to 3.1 this week. (Still not a HUGE deal, a benchmark for an acceptable cervix at this point is 2.5) I had two measurements where one was 3.1 and one was closer to 3.9 ... however, since the cervix, as I have learned is like an ever moving rubber-band, and since my cervix touched in at 3.1 at all, it is not a good thing. That means it has the capability to go and stay that short. I may have been contracting when they measured, which would make it shorter, but with three bambinos, they are extra cautious. In addition to that, my uterus measures at 39 weeks (maybe I'm more miserable than I let on), so my body is a little confused. It thinks it's go time! We have to trick it back to 27 wks. So bed rest for me. Only allowed bathroom trips and showers every couple of days. I was almost doing this anyways..but it was nice to have the freedom to get in the car every couple of days. At least I still get my weekly dr appt at the hospital - I'll get to feel fresh air from the car to the door! One other thing we will do soon is get the shots to develop the babies lungs just in case. You get one shot and then another shot 24 hours. I know the babies are working hard at getting their lungs ready.. we saw Baby girl C get serious hiccups yesterday ( I still can't feel that baby girl!) and we have seen both other babies "practice breathing" -- which is really good.

This morning I had 4 contractions in an hour, so I got a double dose of my medicine (so I'm going a little crazy sitting alone in bed right now) and I have to re-monitor to see if they went down. I go back Friday to get my cervix checked again and my Dr. said pack a bag "just in case.." AH!! What happened this week? I know it's all worth it, but seems to be adding up a little more as the weeks go by. This morning I made a countdown calendar to keep my spirits up. I also am thinking about taking up crochet and finishing my book I started. Only 52 more days to go until our goal date - 12/11/10!!

Also.. many of you have asked how you can help once I'm on bed rest or after the babies are here..well, I hate asking for help - but the hardest thing for me right now is feeding me and the babies all the calories and protein we need to grow them! So my sister-in-law has set up an online meal registry for us! If you would like to help, we sincerely appreciate it, and this should be an easy way to do so :) You just visit the link and sign up for a date! If you have questions - just contact me and I will put you in touch with my sister-in-law who is heading it up! Here is the link -

http://mealbaby.com/viewregistry/286025 Thanks for your support and prayers to get these babies big and healthy and in our arms NOT until December :)

Weighing in at 26 weeks

From 6 wks to 26 wks..

Look what triplets can do! There's a pilates teacher in there somewhere...



Weight Update!!

Baby Boy A - 2 lbs 4 oz / heart rate 160 (grew 13 ozs since 23 weeks)

Baby Girl B - 2 lbs / heart rate 161 (grew 10 ozs since 23 weeks)

Baby Girl C - 2 lbs 4 oz / heart rate 147 (grew 10 ozs since 23 weeks)

Still all above 80th percentile within the charts of a singleton's progress. I'm so proud of them! As you can see, heart rates do not predict gender! My boy has a "girl" heart rate and my girl c has a "boy" heart rate!

My cervix has not changed in a week (3.7) = really good news! Even with my minor contractions I'm having, it is holding up. They press on your uterus to mimic a contraction while you have the probe in to see if your cervix funnels and mine seems to stay the same. So good job cervix.

In other news, crying has come on all of a sudden. I bust into tears last night because Scott was watching poker and baseball and because I just wasn't sure if my skin would ever stretch big enough for 3 babies. Followed by my body reaching what felt like 120 degree heat and then an attack of starvation.. followed by chef Scott's frozen pizza in bed at midnight. And then this morning, I decided during my hour of monitoring, I would turn the Today show off and do guided pregnancy meditation on youtube ... which is great -- except it made me so connected I cried! But a happy cry! Which you don't really understand until you are an adult.. and now that I am a mother to be, I really understand crying because you are happy. In fact, crying may become involun

tary when you are pregnant.

Since we are crazy people and NOT doing a nursery (I have accepted this against my desire to nest) and waiting until we move in a new house... this is where everything baby lives -- in the baby loft! We have been so blessed with so many great things and cute clothes! I at least have this space to stare at and imagine what life will be like when they get here :) Check out that twin brest friend feeding pillow in the bottom right - this pillow is a serious feeding device - it straps around your back and even has pockets for water bottles and your cell phone. Between this and my much researched humidifier on the way this week, life is exciting :) Sad, I'm serious..

26 wks, 1 day & Rice Krispie Treats

I haven't done much updating the past week and a half.. which is good because not much has happened!

We did have our pics taken at 24 weeks - our photographer is amazing -- here is a link to our favorites on her blog.. http://footprintsofgrace.com/blog/?p=1949

Contractions went up a bit - so my trebutaline was upped a little bit, but I'm getting used to the shaky hands and I sleep right through it. I get about 3 contractions every night and about 1 in the morning - not sure why, but that' s what seems to be the norm. I get the treasured cervix length today.. so will hopefully have good news there. My goal was to get to 28 wks w/ no strict bed rest, so almost there!

Little baby girl C moves I know, from the ultrasound, but I don't feel her much! Especially compared to karate kid baby girl B - I feel her all day everyday - and love watching my belly dance from her. Baby boy A is starting to introduce himself with big bumps and rolling over feelings. He also is breech, which means his feet are dancing not only on my bladder...but another area that feels pretty

odd.. if you can figure that out. They all have figured out how to ball up and stick either their head or butt up, which sometimes feels really uncomfortable! I know it's getting tight guys, just 60 more days until our goal to get you out! Sometimes when they move up to my stomach I can sort of cup my hands around a baby...almost like I can "hold" one of their sweet little bodies.

My glucose (gestational diabetes) and iron tests came back normal! Yeah! I feel really good, considering I'm tipping the scales at 50 lbs gained (a mere 60 lbs heavier than my wedding day 3 years ago) and have 3 lives growing in there. I get around pretty good still and feel the most heavy at night when I want to roll over, which happens I think like every 30 minutes! The peeing isn't even the bad part, I only get up once a night, like clockwork at 4:30 to pee. My blood pressure is good and still no real swelling. My hands have just grown, not really big and swollen like sausages, just bigger. I stopped wearing my ring because I couldn't stomach for it to get stuck. I did wear it out for our big 1 hr trip to Maggiano's last week for our 3 yr anniversary...which was nice but a poor version of how we would have normally celebrated :) An hour in and out and right in bed when we got home. However, blood orange Italian soda is bubbly and so good

that I felt like I had champagne! The picture to the right is at 25 weeks .. celebrating our anniversary ..with my beautiful roses from Scott. 3 white in the middle for 3 life changing years and 3 life changing bundles in my belly.

I have been SO thankful for the help we have had with the most simple things -- meals, unloading the dishwasher and cleaning our sheets and making our bed. My mom and dad were great help this weekend and cooked for a full day so we have meals to freeze and eat! Tracy, Scott's sister, and his niece Lindsay came in and made us yummy BLTs and fresh fruit and left casseroles and steak! They even swept and folded laundry and made us a clean bed. And my new friend Jenny brings me lunch every week - sometimes twice a week! She is an angel I met out of the blue! In fact today, she brought me rice krispie treats...oh my goodness.. I didn't even know this was a craving until I had them! I am sitting here eating them like I've never had them. I will say the consistent cravings I have, have been comfort food from childhood -- anything from fish sticks to brownies to pizza rolls. And cheese has really stood by me.. I can always eat anything with cheese. (Healthy, I know.) So to my helpers - I thank you and want you to know the little things are the big things right now!

We are off to get the babies weighed today -- I can't wait to see how big they are! I will update later!

Just me and my pump

I did not pass out of the pump, in fact, I had 4 contractions in one hour the morning after I ripped it out, so I decided to stick through all the weirdness for the sake of keeping these babies growing. I'm getting a little more used to it, but I still can't write, lay still without tremors and I have managed to rip the needle out of my leg by accident and to waste about 4 doses of medicine when changing the canister of medicine. But I'm learning...and I know the pump and I can get 10 more weeks in.

I am officially done trying to do lunches and dinners and outings. I am big, tired and feel right when I am laying. So although not officially on bed rest, I am ready to rest and incubate because my body is telling me. I am so thankful my mom came down this weekend and make our house feel normal by changing our sheets, doing the dishes, getting us grocheries and making our house feel like home with smells of a home cooked meal. It's the little things that really help!

I feel all 3 babies now - just still very sporadic and I feel baby b the most. I mostly feel baby a flip and move like bubbles.

I was invited, along with millions of my closest friends, to "attend" the Today show wedding this week. (When you aren't working, you know the Today show well). I really think it's silly they get married at 9 am on TV, but I really liked the pastors message because it reminded me to just sit back and be thankful for all that Scott and I have. He was describing the way a girl pictures her perfect wedding day, down to every last detail of the flowers, cake, dress, etc. And then he said, "and then you got this." He went on to say the same thing about life, you so vividly picture how you want things, how you see it, how you imagine it will be. And then you get what you get. He went on to say, but the reality that you get is always so much better, sweeter than what you thought you wanted and needed. I just really liked that thought. I had a vivid image of my pregnancy, the delivery and the way ONE baby may feel on my chest after a long natural delivery. And maybe the way it would be to be pregnant with a SECOND baby... but the reality of all of this is so much better than my original picture.