12 Weeks!

How Far Along: 12 weeks!

Size of baby: The babies are each the size of a plum and are half an ounce each.

Maternity Clothes: I really can’t get away with regular pants much longer. Today I had to unbutton my pants to drive home from work! Luckily my mom took me shopping this week so I got a few new things to wear. Thanks mom!

Weight Gain: Nothing this week.  I’m not sure if my scale is just different than the doctors or what, but I’ve been 98 lbs. max all week.

Sleep: I love to sleep. I don’t love getting up 2-3 times a night to pee, but luckily I can go right back to sleep. 

Best Moment of the Week: Telling everyone at work. I can’t believe how excited the other teachers are for me, some that I don’t even know.

Movement: It’s too early to feel the babies, but I’ve definitely been feeling something. Not sure if it’s RLP (round ligament pain) or my uterus stretching, but things are definitely changing in there!

Symptoms: No more throwing up!!!! Wooohooo!!!  Fortunately, I’m still feeling nauseous on and off, so that helps me feel more secure that things are going okay.  I’m still exhausted all the time, pee a LOT, and am having lower back pain.  I had a headache for a few days too, but it finally went away.  These are all good symptoms and I’m happy to have them, although I have to admit, I do not miss the puking every night.

Food cravings: Still nothing. 

What I Miss: Nothing really.  I’m still enjoying everything!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Getting my cerclage next Monday. 

Milestones: Today is halfway to viability! (The babies are considered viable at 24 weeks)

Emotions:  I’m starting to believe this may be real!  2 more weeks to get through and then I will fully believe it.

Cerclage

     Because I'm carrying 3 babies, my doctor is recommending I have a cervical cerclage. Not all doctors do this standard for triplet pregnancies, but many do. And I'm glad mine wants me to have one. Having this done will give me one less thing to worry about. If you don't know, a cerclage is when the doctor stitches your cervix closed to prevent pre-term labor. Click here to read more about it.  We don't know that I do have an incompetent cervix, but we don't know that I don't have one either. I'd much rather err on the side of caution and get this done now. I could decide not to, and wait to see if I have any issues with my cervix shortening. But the problem with that is that sometimes it shortens so quick that it's too late, and emergent cerclages are not as successful as preventative ones are.  It's just not a risk I'm willing to take.
     My procedure will be at Jersey Shore on Monday, April 2. It's a quick procedure, so I'll be home later that day.  I shouldn't be in pain, just uncomfortable, and need to stay off my feet for a few days. I can handle that. :)  I don't have another doctor appointment before the procedure so I'm really looking forward to it. Mostly, so I can see the babies again. I hate not knowing how they're doing, and even though I'm feeling more confident things may work out, I'm still really nervous and like the reassurance of knowing they're growing as they should.  10 more days...

11 Weeks!

How Far Along: 11 weeks!

Size of baby: The babies are each the size of a lime.

Maternity Clothes:  Same as last week. I’m still wearing some of my regular pants, but they are getting very tight!  My mom was going to take me shopping this week for some more maternity clothes, but I wanted to wait another week until I’m a little bigger.

Weight Gain: This is crazy, but guess what? At the doctor the other day I was 100.2 pounds. Yup, I broke 100 for the first time. I’m still pretty much 97/98 lbs. in the morning, but have been consistently99/ 100 at night. 

Sleep: I still sleep great. I get up 2-3 times to go to the bathroom, but have no trouble falling back asleep when I’m done. 

Best Moment of the Week: Hearing the heartbeats of our 3 children. Did I really just say 3 children?? Wow. 

Movement: Still a few weeks away.

Symptoms: I’m still having all the symptoms I’ve been having, but the exhaustion seems to be the strongest symptom right now.  On Saturday I took 4 naps, and that was after sleeping for about 10 hours!  My nausea is still there, but the throwing up has slowed down a lot.

Food cravings: None. In fact, I haven’t even had an appetite this week.  Michael’s always asking me what I want for dinner and I can never think of what I want.

What I Miss: Nothing really. This is all new to me now and I’m trying to enjoy every minute of it!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Having my cerclage placed.  I’ll have a post about that tomorrow.

Milestones: 11 Weeks! What a wonderful birthday present!

Emotions:  I’m still having a hard time believing that in a few months there could be 3 children sleeping in our home, but as my belly grows it’s becoming more real!

My First, and Second, Inappropriate Comment

     To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, my husband and I went to our favorite bar/restaurant around the corner from our home.  I go there a lot, so I'm pretty friendly with the owners and since my bump is pretty noticeable and the bartenders already knew, I figured it was time to tell them the great news.  There were a lot of people standing around, but I didn't think anything of it and told her we were expecting triplets. She was so excited for us and gave us both a big hug. Some woman standing nearby must have overheard me, and came over and said, "Did you do that IVF thing?"  I just said no, and kept talking to the owner. Then, when we were finished talking an older gentlemen (maybe in his 60s) came over to my husband, shook his hand, and said congrats. He turns to me and asks, "So, were you inseminated, or something like that?"  Um.....how do I ever respond to that? I just laughed and said "something like that."  I get that people don't hear of triplets often and may assume that some kind of fertility treatment was used, but I never expected a complete stranger to ask me that!  Of course, after the fact I thought of the perfect comeback.  Not that I'd ever really say this, but I think this convo would be pretty funny:

     Stranger:  Congratulations!
     Me: Thanks!
     Stranger:  How did you get 3? Did you take drugs, do IVF, or something else?
     Me:  How did you get your children? Was it from the missionary position, or a different position?
     Stranger:  (mouth gasps open)
     Me: Yea, it's really none of my business, is it? Well, it's not your business either how my children came to be. 

    

Guess What?

     I did not throw up last night!!!  Huge news, right?  Last night I went to bed relaxed, so happy to not feel sick for a change. But then I woke up this morning and worried that all my babies had died.  I know, I shouldn't have negative thoughts like that. But really, how am I supposed to know they didn't?  Well, I did wake up feeling nauseous, so I guess that's a good sign.  And I still got up twice last night to pee, so I think everything is okay.  Please, babies, keep growing.

     Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday Grammy!!!  Be safe today.

Early Birthday Present

     I went to the doctor today and got an early birthday present: all 3 babies are doing great! They have grown so much since my last scan and it was amazing how you could see them moving around. One even waved at us!  Their heartbeats were 161, 161, and 171, and they all measured within 2 days of each other, which is perfect.  I'm officially 10 weeks 4 days and everything looks great.  Here are A, B, and C ( I need a cute nickname for them, any suggestions?):

    Aren't they cute?? I know it looks like one is much smaller than the others, but it's just because he's hiding.  They're getting too big to have all 3 in one shot!  Sorry the quality isn't the greatest, I just took a picture of the picture.  Next time I'll have Michael scan them in. :)

     Wow, it's 8:30 already!  That's bed time for me. These babies are wiping me out!!!  Good night!

    

10 Week Bump Pic

10 Weeks!

How Far Along: 10 weeks!

Size of baby: The babies are the sizes or prunes or kumquats (um, what is that?).

Maternity Clothes: I haven’t bought anything new this week. I do wear the maternity pants I got as much as I can because they’re so comfortable, and then I wear my regular pants that used to be too loose on me the rest of the time. I can’t believe it, but even the biggest pair of pants I have is tight on me!

Weight Gain: Still nothing.

Sleep: I sleep a lot, because I’m always tired. I’m still waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, but otherwise I sleep great.  And naps are like heaven!

Movement: Not yet, but looking forward to this!

Symptoms: I’m still having all the same symptoms I’ve been having the past few weeks, but throwing up is by far my favorite.  So often I think something is wrong and can attribute all of my other symptoms to something else (ex. Exhaustion from working late, not from being pregnant).  But when I throw up, there’s no denying there are babies in there. J  By the way, in case you’re curious, if you don’t throw up fast enough it will come out your nose. I’ll leave the details out.

Food cravings: Nothing. In fact, most of the time I’m too nauseous to want anything to eat. 

What I Miss: Going to the doctor every week. This is the first time in so long that I’ve had to wait 2 weeks to see my babies!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Going to the doctor on Thursday and hearing those 3 precious heartbeats.

Milestones: If I am still in fact pregnant, then making it to 10 weeks is a huge milestone since I’ve never made it this far before.

Emotions:  Too many to list! One day I’m convinced the babies all died and the next I’m planning the nursery. 

I'm too tired tonight to take a picture. I'll do one tomorrow night.

9 Weeks

How Far Along: 9 weeks!

Size of baby: The babies are each the size of a green olive.

Maternity Clothes: I still can get away with my regular clothes, but my maternity pants are much more comfortable. 

Weight Gain: 0

Sleep: Still sleeping great and getting up a few times to go to the bathroom.

Best Moment of the Week: Hearing the heartbeats and getting a 3D picture of my babies!

Movement: It’s still way too early, but I wish I could feel them.  This not knowing if everything is okay is driving me crazy and a kick each day would be so reassuring. 

Symptoms: I’m exhausted, nauseous, throw up occasionally and have lower back pain.  And I am NOT complaining.  Honestly, throwing up is pretty much the only thing that reassures me at this point, and when I go a day without feeling extremely nauseous I am convinced something is wrong.

Food cravings: None. I don’t even have an increase in appetite yet.

What I Miss:  Being able to enjoy a pregnancy without thinking my babies could be dead.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Hearing those 3 heartbeats again. Unfortunately, my next appointment isn’t for 10 long days.

Milestones: Making it to 9 weeks is a milestone, although I can’t be sure they all did make it to 9 weeks….

Emotions:  Anxious, scared, worried, and nervous.

My New Doctor

     Apparently I need 2 doctors: 1 for being high risk (gene mutation and hypothyroid - I'll tell you about these later) and another for having multiples.  I don't really want to go to two different doctors, so I chose one that came highly recommended by my RE: Dr. H out of Sea Girt.  My choices were very limited because I need to deliver out of Jersey Shore. They're the closest hospital to me with a level 4 NICU.  I was nervous about finding a new doctor, but I must say, I was very impressed!  He has delivered lots of multiples, even septuplets, and I will be his 167th set of triplets.  He took his time with me, answered all of my questions, gave me a copy of his book, and sounded very optimistic that he can help me deliver 3 healthy babies. And the best part? I got a colored 3D picture of my babies, and got to hear their heart beats.  :)