Results Are In!

Well, there they are...in all their glory. My appointment with the perinatologist went well today. Development looks good and on track. All three hearts were beating strong and no abnormalities were seen. Two of the babies had a small accumulation of fluid in the ventricles of their brains called Choroid Plexus Cysts. This is apparently a normal variance and some fluid gets traps as the brain is developing. 99% of cases will resolve so no worries there, just something to watch for at the next appointment. It's pretty crazy to see thirty toes and thirty fingers!

A major reason that women carrying multiples go on bed rest depends on the length of their cervix. Mine will be measured every week because as soon as the measurement starts decreasing, then the doctor will order some sort of bedrest. Some pivotal weeks are approaching for me when this can typically happen so laying down for the better part of my day is top priority. The words of my peri today to describe my cervix were, "strong and long." My cervix was over 50 mm. Strangely enough, I like to hear that!

We did get a firm answer on the specs of the babies, so here they are. Drumroll please....


Baby A: 7 ounces. SHE gets the letter A because she is closest to my cervix. She is the top in the picture.

Baby B: 8 ounces. HE is breech on my right side and next highest in the uterus. He's second in the picture.

Baby C: 8 ounces. HE is transverse on my left side and laying sunny side up. He seems to be in the more comfortable position. :) We'll see how that plays out in his personality. That would make him last in the picture.

Two boys and a girl.....thank heavens for that girl! For some reason three boys all together just SCARED me. We are VERY VERY excited though and Clark is now deciding who will get the birthright.

Here's my ever-growing belly at almost 18 weeks. Compared to the last picture I have grown quite a bit! Two pounds a week is what I'm gaining and it's definitely starting to show!



I've found this great show on TLC called Making Room for Multiples. Most of the time it's twins but just today there were some triplets and the rest of the week will be quads. Whew! It's kind of nice to get a feel for how our lives will be. Basically crazy, chaotic, and incredible.

Clark wore a sympathy belly. More on that next time. :)

16 Week Q&A

Well my four-month mark is this week. Feels like it should be six. I always imagined that I would be super active during pregnancy and never feel an ounce of sickness. Maybe in another life, I suppose. :) Here's an interview I conducted with myself from common questions we get asked. Again, this stuff is mainly for journaling purposes.

q:When did you find out you were having triplets?
a:March 3rd, 2010

q:What were your emotions?
a:60% fear/shock, 20% confusion, 10% denial, 5% joy, 5% excitement. Strange range of feelings at first but these emotional percentages are COMPLETELY different now.

I would like to digress on this last one a bit and document that particular day. I vividly remember so much about that morning. I just KNEW that there was more than one baby because of how sick I was which made me much more anxious for my appointment. I remember the screen, the nurse's face, her excitement over twins, then her silence, the phone call to Clark, the moments I had in the room to myself trying to digest the news, the walk into the Doctor's office, the discussion about fetal reduction, the elevator ride and walk to my car, the tears that flowed and could barely be held back before shutting the car door, the fear of the future and overwhelming task ahead, the phone call to my sister and Mom, more tears....then nothing. I have no recollection after that. I think my mind became so cloudy with emotions and confusion that the drive home and activities of the day became a mute point. I was confused about how I felt. I wasn't as excited as I had hoped. The doctors at the office kept saying, "congratulations!! you're pregnant!" I couldn't feel excitement because it was drowned out with all the possibilities of the unknown. The doctor said there was a 33% chance that one of the fetus' would spontaneously abort. That was about all the advice he could give because I was so shocked. I cried, a lot. Not because I was sad but because it was not what I expected.

Then the time came to make a decision about fetal reduction. Doctors can 'reduce' the number of fetuses around week 12 down to two or one but there is a risk that all of them will miscarry as a result. I don't remember us contemplating much about this decision. As scary as three babies at once was, I had an overwhelming feeling that this was my Heavenly Father's will for Clark and me and if he wanted to send three babies to our family, he would make it happen if we provided him the right opportunity. Decision made. Three babies. That's when my emotions started to change. My emotional percentages shifted. It took a while, about eight weeks, but we knew this was the plan for us. Now we are REALLY excited!

q:What were Clark's feelings?
a:He thought I was joking. His shock was much less apparent than mine but maybe he just hid it better. He's now started to realize that our three kids will make up three legs of a 4x1 relay team which, to him, would be really cool!

q:Do triplets run in your family?
a:THEY DO NOW!!

q:What are some things you are worried about?
a:One fear I think about sometimes is that my skin won't stretch as far as it will need to. :) I know that's not true but for some reason it keeps surfacing. Maybe I should be thinking more in terms of my uterus...

q:Any cool pregnancy dreams?
a:A few. Nothing realistically significant though. However, I did dream that I was eating a granola bar that had 80 grams of protein in it!! If anyone knows where I can find this bar, please let me know.

q:What combo of kids do you want?
a:No preference. The thought of having three boys does scare me a bit though.

q:How much weight have you gained so far?
a:12.5 pounds.

q:What have you liked most about being pregnant with triplets?
a:Well if I think too much about it my head starts to spin with the task that is ahead. However, I have enjoyed my nightly ice cream shakes and the amount that I'm sleeping without feeling guilty.

q:When do you expect to deliver?
a:On average, triplet pregnancies make it to about 32 weeks. My goal is 33 and 1/2 weeks and my parents goal for me is 34. Obviously the later the better so we'll see what happens. If a baby is born later than 34 weeks they typically are not put on RSV restriction (or so I've heard).

q:Has your sickness been 3x as bad?
a:Well I have no reference point as to what a singleton pregnancy would feel like. My stomach has hurt consistently since February though. I have yet to throw up for which I'm grateful. Hopefully it stays that way. I have been 3x as emotional and hormonal. I don't know what it's like to feel normal anymore. I guess this is normal for now.

~~~~~

Those seemed to be the most common questions that people have asked us. I've attached a picture of my stomach growth. Clark seems to think I've grown quite a bit in the last few days.

Monday is a Special Day

From here on out, I'll be walking through those hospital doors every Monday until the big day. Do I think it's obnoxious that I have to go to the doctor so frequently? No not really. Added peace of mind I guess. I did ask my regular OB today if I could be a preferred patient and not have to sit in the waiting room for almost an hour. He said that would be fine...yes!

On to my high-risk ultrasound. Ultrasound took about 45 minutes. I'm almost 15 weeks so a lot of measurements weren't done but will be next time I go. However, it was AMAZING what we could see. Leg bones, hands, feet, facial profiles, chambers of the hearts, spines, different parts of the brain, reproductive organs, etc...

Baby A and B are both equally low in my uterus so it can't be determined quite yet which one will get the coveted "first one out" slot. He says they'll move around more so we'll know more later. Weights of the babies at this point are 3 to 4 oz each. The only thing I could think of to use as comparison when talking to Clark was the corner of a brick of cheese. Hmmm....no wonder I came home and had an ENTIRE frozen cheese pizza. Sick.

I did gain 6.5 pounds in three weeks which I'm proud of. I'm sure the pizza will help a little too. :) Ensure shakes and nightly bowls of ice cream have been added to up my calorie intake.

New pregnancy symptom of the week: overactive gag reflex. No vomiting or nausea just persistent gagging all the time, everywhere I go. I've read that there is a greater amount of blood flow to your mucous membranes which causes a constant stuffy nose and a lot more build up in the back of your throat...hence the gagging.

No sonogram pictures worthy of being posted. I have a few but I think I'll get some good ones later on and know which baby I'm looking at. Next week: Q&A. Get excited.

P.S. Ok, ok, ok. I did mention reproductive organs were seen. Now because it's so early he could not give me 100% certainty behind his observations. Let's just say, though, there's a good chance we might probably, not for sure, certainly, positively, maybe have a Rudd namesake!