"How do you do it?"

People always ask me "How do you do it?" among many other things :) LOL Most of the time I say "this is me doing it!" But I do think on a few things.

Mainly, I am reminded multiple times a day at how blessed I have been in this last year: that my babies are here and are healthy. I am one of the lucky ones who had babies born as early as 27 weeks with virtually no problems. Nothing that can not or has not been overcome anyways. I don't know if its just my journey that makes me have a different attitude about parenting triplets or my personality, but one thing i know for sure is that God's grace has been gifted to me everyday and without that I don't think I could do anything. But I also think that all the moms out there that don't have multiples may be short changing themselves when they say they don't know how i do it. Because i think the truth is that as moms we have a certain strength that God gives us to do anything for our babies and if you had more than one at once, you could do it too. it may be hard to imagine, but don't sell yourself short as a mom.

Of course I have bad days, but thankfully I don't have those often. You get through it though. Each day is a new beginning and I just remember that in those bad moments. The days go by so fast and I know that I will get through those bad days and the next day won't be the same, and most likely will not be as bad. The only thing that is difficult about having 3 babies for me, is not being able to comfort them all at the same time when they are all upset at once. But again, thankfully that doesn't happen that often. i also am very blessed to have an extremely supportive and helpful husband.

I try to live in the moment and treasure every second of baby hugs, smiles, kisses and laughs.

What have we overcome?

-Two babies had brain bleeds-Molly and Oswyn. Completly resolved.

-Molly had an infection her first week and needed a blood transfusion.

-All babies of course were on oxygen. Oswyn was on the longest. It was a miracle that none had to come home with it. Oswyn is still considered to have chronic lung disease, but it is something she will grow out of in time.

-All babies were at risk for ROP-retinopathy of prematurity-eye prematurity that can cause blindness. Fiona was checked for this for a while because she was the smallest and most at risk. All babies eyes are fine now.

-Oswyn's delay of learning to nipple caused her to need surgery for a g button so she could come home.  No sooner did she come home from the hospital that we had to go right back for a week because her incision got infected. I was told to not expect her to ever breastfeed but she is now. She also does not need the button to feed anymore because she is breastfeeding well and taking bottles.

-I almost exclusivly pumped milk for 4 months and am still going strong-breastfeeding Oswyn and pumping at night for Fiona and Molly who no longer want to breastfeed but that's okay. Total of pumping breastfeeding for 7 months now.

-We spent a total of 4 months in the the NICU. 5 months plus one week in the hospital total including my antepartum stay and Oswyn's week in Pediactrics.

There will be many checks along the way for their development. The journey is never over. We never want to forget the miracles God shows us day to day. Our doctors, nurses, and developmental specialists are constantly amazed at how well they are doing for being born at 27 weeks and for all the things they girls have overcome.

I am grateful everyday for my girls, their health and growth. I love seeing what new things they do everyweek. I love seeing them smile and laugh. Its the best thing in the world. That's all I would ever need for the rest of my life. I am grateful for our amazing and supportive doctors, nurses and all our specialists. I am grateful for an amazing loving husband who is so supportive and helpful and an amazing dad. I am grateful to God for His amazing miracles and creation. I am grateful for His amazing grace and mercy. I am grateful He remembered me.
What do i mean by "God remembered"?

Left to right: Molly, Oswyn, Me, and Fiona. Taken on my birthday-best birthday ever

Surgery set for Saturday

So we decided to have the surgery for Oswyn. She will be getting what is called a G button on Saturday morning. She is just still very inconsistent with her eating and lacking in energy. We are confident that in time she will overcome this, it is just that the time she needs is longer than anyone would like to see her stay in the hospital. Also based on how old she is, she is getting too big for the NICU and they would have to move her up to pediactrics if she stays much longer. Talking to the nurses and doctors this week, they are in support of our decision and feel its in her best interest to get her home as soon as possible.

She is having some GI testing done tomorrow -partially as a precaution to the surgery to make sure nothing else is going on, but also to determine if she needs more extensive surgery to treat her reflux. this surgery is more invasive and we really don't want her to need this. we think she is doing just fine on her prilosec anyways.

The surgery to place the button is a minor laproscopic procedure and the doctor was very nice to fit us in asap for this so we could get her home asap. We are hoping that being at home where things are more consistent, less stressful, and with family will help her to thrive better as well. This surgery gives us the ability to take her home, still work on her bottles, but still be able to feed her if she cannot finish one. From saturday we have to wait 7 to 10 days for recovery before we take her home.

So please pray that tomorrows testing goes well so that she doesn't need anything else done. Pray that the surgery on saturday goes well and she recovers quickly. and please continue to pray for her continued growth and strength to get this eating stuff down. 

In other news, the girls are 4 months old/ 1 month old adjusted. Molly and Fiona have been rolling over for about three weeks now and love their tummy time. They are also quite cuddling and love being held. Oswyn loves to look at faces and will follow objects. This has also been going on for at least a few weeks. We also give her tummy time when we can at the hospital and she is just as strong as her sisters. All are beginning to smile for real and not just for gas :) Molly and Fiona are going 4 hours in between feedings at night, almost 5 hours even!

oswyn update

you got to let it go and go with the flow sometimes and be grateful for the unexpected journey. I had dreams of adorable newborn photo sessions and outfits picked out complete with little headbands. But without all 3 babies home I just can't do that. I feel its only right to be all or nothing on these sort of things. I know that when the time comes when Oswyn is home, I will just be so happy that it won't matter that we didn't get a newborn photo session. It will just be nice to have a reunion photo session.

I don't remember what i've said or writtten before but everyday i'm reminded of the details of Oswyn's journey so far in this life and what a miracle she is. All 3 girls are incredible miracles, but she especialyl has had a bit of a harder go. From the begining of my hospital stay back in March, the doctors were worried the most about her, thinking that she may come too early, before her sisters even. When she finally did come, it was because her water broke due to stress brought on by her placenta detaching. They had a hard time stablizing her. Her first APGAR was a 2, followed by a 7 once they got her stable. She was on high flow oxygen for a long time and because of that, had a late start in beginning to learn to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time. this is one of the hardest tasks a preemie must learn to do and when you are struggling to breathe, it really is tough and often not enjoyable. The doctors said its like trying to run a marathon and eat at the same time. so its a miracle she is here and that she is doing as well as she is, even though she is still in the hospital.

Even though she is only on a little bit of air now she still needs it to give her enough energy to try to eat anything. It is a chore for her to take a bottle which is sad because most babies love this. She doesn't even really like her pacifier. She isn't oral averted, thankfully, but it is a fine line we walk. Its like learning to do anything physical that you've never done before-you need time to get it right and build up your endurance to do so. i'm grateful that that is all and that there isn't anything wrong with her, but at the same time its frustrating because all we can do is wait. i've had to learn all to early, i think, that it is painful to watch your child struggle to do something knowing that you can't do anything to help them out because they need to do it themselves. for now the best i can do is be there when i can for her. this is also painful because i wish i could be with her all the time but i am just as needed at home. i wish there was a way i could encourage her to do better and communicate to her that if she did she could be home and be with me all the time.

i can tell that she is a sensative child, more so than her sisters. this is hard too because you can see that any little thing that goes on in the nicu like another baby crying, stresses her out and she won't eat. so its like you want to take her out of the stressful environment in hopes that she would do better, but without a gurantee you don't want her to leave because the worst thing would be having to take her back to the hospital if she didn't do well. but as a mother, i know she isn't quite ready to just come home. and that's hard for me to see and admit as well.

last week we asked the doctor if there would be any long term effects on her for needing oxygen this long. He said that she wouldn't be an athlete. we don't accepet this. another thing you never want to have to do is limit our child. if she wants to do something i'm not going to tell her "no because you physically can't". no one knows what she can do till she tries. and i'm not going to hinder her aspirations by even telling her "hey you might not be able to do that". i just want to let her go and let her shine. i bet she will over come a lot because she already has. She continualy surprises the doctors and nurses at what she can accomplish even though it may not look like it to the rest of the world. don't let her fool you just because she is still in the hospital.

i know only parents could begin to understand the pain of having your child in the hosptial and unable to come home and you unable to stay. i often cry when i leave feeling incredibly guilty and sad that she isn't coming home with me. on the other hand it gives me the most incredible joy to see her face light up whenever she sees me. the positive side is that she gets me all to herself when we are together which she would not get if she were home. so i'm taking this bonding time as a gift. so far everything has worked out to be perfect timing, so i'm sure when she does come home, we will say it was perfect timing again.

Fiona and Molly are home!

Wow what day is it and what time is it? I'll tell you what time it is. Its always time to feed the babies :) We are loving being parents. And I hate to tell you this but one baby is boring, and two is totally managable. Not sure what it will look like with 3 though HA! 

Wednesday we brought home Fiona and Molly. The first night they were a little fussy but we realized it was because it was too quiet for babies from a noisey hospital setting. So since then we've been leaving the radio on and no problems! 

When it was time to leave the hospital we did not make it out of there without hearing a "you've got your hands full!" and a "Did you have twins?!?!". Imagine the shock when i said no triplets!! and the hands full is ridiculous. Multiples moms hear it at least 90 times a day depending on how many people you encounter. 

The animals reacted how i expected. Zoey is obsessed with the babies and would love to constantly lick and cuddle them if we let her. Gavin is concerned enough to check on them but then does his own thing and Larry is avoiding them.

We are keeping to our feeding and changing schedule and it is working good. I was shocked to learn that my milk really did come in more once we got babies home. still not enough to feed three but that's alright. the doctors want them on special formula at least twice a day for the first 6months. I'm still working on figuring out when to breastfeed who and when to pump and how to divide it up between three especially with Oswyn still in the hospital. 

Oswyn has decided she doesn't like formula which has made it difficult for her to finish bottles. She is still being tube fed part of the time. She needs to be able to take bottles for all feeding times and finish the bottles. She is taking 2 out of 3 feeds on bottles, but doesn't always finish them yet. She is still on a bit of oxygen too-almost room air though. So we are hoping that in the next couple weeks(our guess of how much longer she will be) she can get off the oxygen completely before she comes home. its so hard to have her still in the hospital. i have been able to go once a day since wed. corey has not been able to go. i don't think we will get a chance for both of us to go in one day. we were advised to keep the girls away from the hospital and any public places til they at least have their next vaccines. even though they are home they were still preemies and are more sensitive. i feel guilty when i'm not with Oswyn and i feel guilty when i'm with her and not at home helping with Fiona and Molly. the nicu nurses said that's totally normal and how everyone feels with multiples. i made it through most of the nicu stay being strong but now is the hardest part. i cry when i leave now. hoping and praying Oswyn can click with everything really soon. the days and weeks go by fast but i don't know if i could go longer than a couple weeks. 

so today we went for our first walk before it got too hot. we walked to the coffee shop. so fun! i love our stroller. its super light and easy to maneuver. we also got these cool covers from brica for the car seats that keep bugs and sun away. 

so blessed to have team stisser! corey and i have always worked well together, but now we've got a whole new adventure to step up to :) and we are doing really good so far. i do the midnight feeding while he sleeps and then he wakes up for the 3am and the 6am!! he lets me sleep through 2 feedings :) :) i don't do well staying up late, but he can do stuff anytime of day or night no problem and still be fine during the day. amazing! 

 Leaving the hospital!!

 look at that sweet daddy daughter moment!

 tummy time

 "what is a baby anyway?"-lady and the tramp

 Oswyn

 Going on our first walk!

 made it to the coffee shop :)

 walk and tummy time makes for passed out babies

Fiona to Win, Molly to Place, Oswyn to Show!

This past week was a little up and down, but overall we all came out ahead! Monday Oswyn was taken off her high flow oxygen-this was probably the best news. She has not only stayed off of it but has gotten pretty close to room air levels on the low flow. Now she just has to catch up on her bottle feeding. She will probably be another couple weeks in the nicu unless she really surprises us.

Fiona started off strong with her feedings then had a dip in them but then by thursday she hit the ground running and hasn't stopped. She is taking all her bottle feedings and then some and has continued to gain weight. If she can continue to do this AND pass her car seat challenge tomorrow, we will be rooming in the hospital monday night with her and taking her home tuesday!! Rooming in at the hospital is something our nicu offers. You can spend a night at the hospital before you go home, virtually on your own as a trial run for what it will be like, but have the nicu nurses just down the hall in case you need someone that first night. Fiona also came off her oxygen two days ago.

Molly, not to be totally outdone by Fiona, has been close behind in handling her feedings as well and still gaining weight. If she continues this and passes the car seat challenge tomorrow as well, she may came home a day or two after Fiona. She also was taken off oxygen 24 hours ago.

We are so grateful everyday for the miracle of these babies and how strong and healthy they are. They are doing so well and continue to amaze us each day with their accomplishments. We thank God for everything He has given us along this journey, and pray He continues to amaze us. Praying that the girls can stay off their oxygen and pass car seat challenges so they can come home very soon. There is a good possibility that Oswyn will also come off oxygen now before she comes home too. This would be a huge answer to prayer as well!

We are so thankful for everyone's support and sharing in our excitement to bring home healthy and strong babies. One thing we hope everyone can understand though is that even though they are well enough to come home, it is not the same as bringing home a term baby. Therefore, we have been advised not to bring them into contact with a lot of people or places that are enclosed. So for other reasons than just being sleep deprived new parents, we will be hiding at home for at least a couple months once everyone is home, and not having many visitors. Basically the only visitors we will allow will be grandparents, unless people are dropping off food :) We hope that everyone can understand and respect this. Thank you so much :)

All I Really Want is GIRLS!

oh man have i mentioned how much i love having three girls!? its awesome and i had no idea i would love it so much. i mean i knew i would love being a mommy but i didn't know when we were wondering what we would have that i would enjoy 3 girls as apposed to other combos as much as i do :) that's why God knows best i guess.

i just got back from an excellent Carter's sale. i got sleepers for $5 each!! i had almost no 3mth clothes so that was super helpful. now we are set for the 3mth mark :) i really don't want them to be matchy matchy but i do like coodinating outfits. i find myself not wanting to get outfits if there are only two color varieties, which seems just as silly to me in a way. i mean why do they even have to have similar outfits at all? but i can't help it! anyways...

the girls are such troppers! All are over 6lbs! Fiona is at 20ccs of oxygen today which is practically room air, so the nurse said she will try her off oxygen today and see how she does. She is also taking 3 out of 4 feedings on a bottle and finishing them like a champ. Molly is not far behind. She is also doing 3 out of 4 bottle feeds and finishing most of them. She is on about 50cc of oxygen i believe. Oswyn is still on the high flow at 2 liters. Its better than 3liters, which is what she was on last week. Once she is on 1 liter they can try her on low flow oxygen like her sisters. She is allowed one bottle a shift-this is still a challenge for her with her high oxygen so she hasn't finished a bottle yet. but today the nurse said she got pretty close. She seems better than yesterday on oxygen too as the doctor ordered some doses of this stuff called lasix that helps get rid of extra fluid that can make it harder to breathe.

so proud of my miracle babies-making strides every day. we are now in june-my due date was june 30th-this is when doctors said they should be home by. we fully expect them to be able to do this. we think Fiona or Molly will be home soon. They are neck and neck it seems. Oswyn will be a little longer, but we think as soon as she can get on low flow oxygen she should be able to catch up quickly with the feedings. again, in order to come home babies must be at least on low flow oxygen, able to take all feedings by bottle and finish them, and pass a car seat test(they put baby in car seat for an hour and baby can not have any breathing issues in order to pass).

 Fiona snuggles

 Molly after bottle

 Oswyn in bouncy chair

We Make Plans and God Laughs...

And when God finally reveals His plans for me, I laugh(out of joy)! It seemed like we were waiting forever to get pregnant, and there were times I wasn't sure if it was going to happen-those were my worst moments. When I finally got pregnant and found out we had not one or two but three babies it was a shock, a bit scary, but so exciting. It was such a huge blessing to know that God would entrust us with three little beings and in a way make up for lost time. I had to laugh.

I was just reflecting again on how crazy it is that I am finally a mom and not just any mom, but a mom of triplet baby girls!! I still can't believe it all. One thing that has been amazing me lately is that I am the person that a baby wants and needs most. You know like when you hold someone else's baby it kind of feels like its more for your own enjoyment, because you know that baby wants its mom or dad over anyone else to be the one to hold them and do things for them. Well now I'm that mom to three babies and it feels great. At the same time I wish I could do more for them.

Another thing that is crazy to think about when you look at your baby(s) is that you grew that being inside your body-that is yours. That being is also yours in the sense that it is your DNA manifesting itself in someone else. Those are my exact fingers and my nose!! With three, its exciting to see how God knit each of our daughters together differently with both Corey and my traits.

They are doing wonderful!! We are so proud, and at the same time so grateful to God for the miracles He does everyday for our girls, and to all who are praying and believing all things positive for them. The doctor told us last weekend that he is so happy with how they are doing and isn't worried at all about them.

Today we reach 35 weeks gestational and 8 weeks since their birthday. As of today all of the girls are 5lbs or more. It seemed like today would be so far away at one point and now here we are. We have reached one of the harder parts in our NICU stay as we are about half way through and getting closer to that point when we start to go back and forth as to when they will come home. Fiona and Molly started bottle feeding and breast feeding this past week and are doing great at it. Oswyn is still one high flow oxygen and not able to start bottle feeding until she is off of that. All the girls are still on some level of oxygen right now. We are hoping and praying that they will all be off oxygen before they come home, but the doctors will send babeis home on low flow oxygen if all other signs are saying they are ready to be home. We really want Oswyn of her high flow asap. Right now Fiona and Molly are getting bottle/breastfeeding for 4 out of the 8 daily feedings. Once they can work up to doing that for all feeds they will pretty much be ready to go home as long as they continue to breathe well and pass their car seat test.

The Most Perfect Day Ever! 3 babies on 3-31-13

Midnight on Easter morning, March 31st some of our nurses came in and congratulated me on making it to 27 weeks. Corey and I were still awake getting ready to watch the first episode of the new season of Dr. Who, which he had to bootleg to our computer from our home dvr. Spending a month in the hospital you get to know most of the nurses and even ones I didn't know were rooting for me. When you are having triplets you become a little famous :) All of my nurses were determined to not have me go into labor on their shift.

We went to bed around 1:30am. About an hour or so later I woke up to my first painful contractions. At some point I had already had the oral meds and shot for increased contractions, so the only other option was to increase my magnesium for the first time since I was admitted. I remember talking to God about this because it was the first time that something really different had happened and I thought this could really be it this time. From the very beginning of this pregnancy and finding out about having triplets I trusted in Him to have healthy babies and believe that it was His will to give me three babies, especially since the odds are so small for triplets to happen. There are all kinds of things that can happen in a triplet pregnancy and I experienced none of those scary things and had a great pregnancy with babies that were doing awesome. I had also made it through the scariest part of my bed rest experience too. People have started to ask me if I was scared when I knew I was having the babies at 27 weeks. My answer is no because I decided to trust God once more. Knowing that I was exactly 27 weeks, just one week short of what my goal was, and it was Easter sunday, my favorite holiday, I told God that if that was His master plan for my little girls to be born this day, I would trust that it would all be just fine and my babies would be healthy and strong. With that I went to bed.

In the morning everything seemed fine. I didn't have any more painful contractions. My mom and stepdad were in visiting so they came over to be with us. My pastor and his wife came over after church to pray with us and share communion. I loved this because I was sad I wasn't getting a normal Easter celebration like I'm used to. Plus I thought it was so sweet of them to take time out or their holiday to come see us and share. A couple hours later my water broke. The perinatologist came in and said I was fully dilated now, but that still didn't mean that I couldn't make it a while longer on bed rest- surprisingly. He said to call if anything changed like I felt pressure or got more painful contractions. Then I started to get a little anxious just because I wanted to know whether or not this was really happening or if I had a few more days or weeks. I didn't want to have the babies on April fools day either. So I was like alright we are having these babies today or not for another week. But my doctor was only gone for a few minutes when I began to feel pressure. So he came back and said okay we are having babies today. They called my regular ob/gyn in as well as a neonatologist for each baby and assembled all the teams needed for my c-section. By 4pm I was in the O.R.

Now I had two perinatologist and my favorite one was on call that day, it being a sunday and a holiday. My regular ob just happened to be the doctor on call for his medical group as well. So I had the doctors I always wanted to be there to deliver my babies in the first place. One is not always in control of these things. According to the nurses, I also got the best anesthesiologist in the hospital that also happened to be on call that day. During the surgery all the doctors and nurses said what a good job I was doing and how relaxed I was during the surgery. Again I'm not sure what kind of people they usually experience LOL. To this day they all say what a good job I did keeping the babies in as long as I did. For me the hardest part of the c-section was sitting up for my spinal block. I had one big contraction when I sat up for the first time in a month and it was hard to relax for the doctor to do the spinal, but the nurse helped and it was all good after that.

Baby A, Oswyn Grace, was born first at 4:25 at 2lbs 4oz. They discovered that her placenta had began to detach so these babies really came just in time. Baby B, Fiona Lynn was 2lbs 1oz, and baby C, Molly Jane was 2lbs 7oz both born at 4:26. 2lbs sounds small and it is, but those are excellent weights for babies at 27 weeks old. They did awesome and continue to do so. They have never needed ventilators to breathe, which to me is shocking. They are just on what is called high flow-which helps push the air into their lungs basically. In fact, I had gotten a steroid shot for their lung development at 25 weeks and that shot peaks twice-once when you first get it, and again later-exactly when they were born :) The nurses and doctors are always telling us how good they are doing and that they are feisty little fighters. In more ways than one these babies are truly miracles. I don't know if its still totally real to me that I'm a mom and these beautiful babies are for real. It felt like we were waiting forever for them and now they are here. It was so worth everything and it really was the perfect time for more than one reason.

These are the pics of me getting to hold my girls for the first time. This was about 2 weeks after they were born. Its called kangroo holding-its skin to skin and you do it for at least an hour. There are whole studies on the benefits of it for both pre-mature baby and mom.

 Fiona

 Molly

 Oswyn

The month of March

Feb 28th I had a growth scan scheduled with my perinatologist. I was almost 23 weeks along. We went in and all the girls were measuring over 1lb each and still doing great. Other than starting to get uncomfortable I was doing great too, but I wasn't sure if I was feeling all the contractions I was having or not. So the doctor put me on monitors and I was having a lot more than I realized. None of them were painful, I just felt the hardening of my belly. My doctor sent me over to the hospital for the day where they put me on an oral medication to calm down the contractions and monitored me all day. By evening the meds were working so my doctor, surprisingly sent me home telling me to continue on the meds and if I had an changes including more than 5 contractions in an hour to come back.

The next day, March 1st, I spent mostly on the couch relaxing except for bathroom breaks. Every time I got up to go to the bathroom I was having a contraction. By lunchtime I was getting close to having 5 contractions in an hour, almost a half hour really. So Corey and I quickly packed a bag for me and went back to the hospital knowing that that would be it - I would be on bedrest at the hospital for the rest of the pregnancy. But I had no idea to what extent or how serious my situation had become. When I got to the hospital I was 4cm dilated, where I had not been at all the day before.

They hooked me up to an IV and gave me magnesium sulfate or "mag" which is a muscle relaxer. The first like 48 hours or so they give you a really high dose and it makes you really loopy, hot and not very able to move your body much because you feel really heavy. I also got double vision so it was really hard to focus on anything. They also put me in a position in the bed where my head was lower than the rest of my body for the first couple days I was there. I had to eat like this which caused terrible heartburn. After the first couple days, your body adjusts to the mag and the side effects subside.

The doctors were really concerned that I would deliver at the very least baby A, who was the lowest and head down, if not all three babies. But everything they did worked, plus I remained calm. By day three in the hospital I had made it through the weekend and everyone said it was a miracle that I was still pregnant. My doctors then said let's just see how far we can go like this. At this point they raised my head so I was more horizontal. I still wasn't able to sit up though-maybe 15 degrees but that was all. They didn't want any pressure on my cervix with my dilation.

We made short and long term goals. Each day and week was a short term goal, and my ultimate long term goal was 28 weeks. If I got to accomplish that I would make a new one. We met with the neotanologist to talk about what to expect and make decisions about what we would do if our babies were born at 24 or 25 weeks etc. Most people know that 24 weeks is considered viability or when a baby could survive outside of the womb. But most people don't know that its just barely true. If a baby does survive at 24 weeks its usually at a terrible cost. There are so many things that aren't developed yet. So at 24 weeks the decision to resessitate is up to the parents. Its not until 25 weeks that by law, doctors are required to step in. This was the hardest discussion Corey and I have ever had to have and I hope we never have to have anything like it again. Thankfully, we didn't need to come to any of those aweful decisions. The neonatologits begged me to make it to at least 28 weeks because those babies do way way better. But she also told us that girls and multiples do much better and develop quicker than boys or singletons, so we had both of those things on our side. I'm so grateful to God that we got through that super scary period to 27 weeks.

From there it was just a day to day challenge. Every day I woke up thanking God for another day of pregnancy. My day was pretty scheduled. I would wake up, we would see our doctors and meet our nurse for the day. Corey would feed me breakfast. I couldn't feed myself because I couldn't sit up all the way. I would make a bib with my napkin. I felt like I was the baby being taken care of before it was my turn to take care of mine. Corey would go to work and I would most likely go back to sleep for a couple hours. The magnesium makes you quite tired. Then the nurse would get the babies on heart monitors. This was always fun with three babies! And babies don't like the monitors either so they would kick them and move around alot as if running away. Then maybe sleep again, then lunch, then sleep, maybe some hgtv and dinner with Corey. Maybe I would get a bed bath at some point during the day too. I wasn't allowed to get up for anything, so it was bed pan and all for me.

My doctors and nurses were continually impressed in my positive attitude and compliance. I was kind of surprised at this-not sure how the rest of their patients behaved. But I can understand some women being less calm than I was. I am very grateful to God that He gave me a calm and sanguine personality to get through this difficult period of my life. But it also helped that I knew that I had to do it for my babies. Nothing else mattered. Being on bed rest can cause problems including respiratory infections, other infections from being in the hospital, and of course muscle atrophy. I'm also grateful for the best husband ever, who not only spoon fed me every day, but spent every night in the hospital with me. These were a huge huge comfort to me.  My parents also helped by coming to visit and hanging out with me during the days and spent nights at our house taking care of our animals. I'm so glad that they have schedules and money to have been able to do this. We are also blessed with a wonderful church family that came to visit and pray with me regularly. We have wonderful friends that checked in on us and did stuff for us as well when we were not able to. Our nurses were amazing too. Talk about people who have a serious gifting and are working in the field that uses those gifts perfectly. I am forever grateful to you amazing women!

I had ups and downs during me stay. There would be times I would increase my contractions and I would have to have a shot and/or oral medication on top of the magnesium to calm down my uterus. I also made it to 6cm dilated about two weeks in. But I still continued to plug along. All the while still never feeling anything painful. I really think my poor uterus was confused. It was probably thinking okay I'm 9 months big enough, I can't get any bigger! I never felt like the babies wanted out of there and I think that's what kept them safe and happy with me for as long as they did.

I made it to a month in the hospital, but the rest of the story is for the next post :)

20.5 weeks

We had an amzing shower over the weekend. So many wonderful friends and family that are supporting us in so many ways :)

Today was another check up with my perinatologist. He is happy with how well i'm doing and the babies as well. Everything is looking great. He did tell us though that at about 26 weeks we should plan on me living in the hospital the rest of the time. its not because anything is wrong or will be, its just so they can monitor me even more/better. Starting this week they want to see me every week for check ups as well. If everything goes perfectly I will be in the hospital for 6-8 weeks. That would take me to about 32-34 weeks which would be ideal for the birth of triplets. Staying that long in a hospital sounds awful, but it would be amazing to be able to cook these little ones for that long. So that's still our goal.

Started to feel the babies move last week. Corey also has felt them a couple times. Its the coolest thing ever! It would be the freakist thing ever to get that sensation if you weren't pregnant though. LOL

18 week anatomy scan

We had our 18 week anatomy scan this morning. Everything looks good! Its just a girl party in there! Babies are growing well. Babies A and C are about 9oz. and baby B is about 8oz. All are good and normal sizes. Yay! I guess I'm still doing everything right :) Baby A is way at the bottom of my uterus laying down long ways. Babies B and C are on top- breech, with their heads just above my belly button. I had no idea they were so high up already. But that would explain the increased shortness of breath haha! Which is totally normal and I can look forward to more of that! Here are their cute profile pics. Corey is hoping they all have my nose :) Looks promising I think. hehe

 Baby A

 Baby B

 Baby C (the color came out funny on this pic)

Nursery is coming together

We got all three crib up over the weekend. Its made it a bit more real that we are having triplets, but I don't think that will sink in until they are born and home from the hosptial, but maybe not even then. LOL
Its a tight fit, but it works for now. This was our master bedroom btw. The room we thought would be our nursery is not big enough for 3 babies so it is now our room and we barely fit in it ourselves. But you make it work :)

 this is the most comfortable chair in the world. i suspect that many nights will be spent on it. corey and i will probably fight over it. haha! We are leaving the plastic on for awhile longer to deter extra animal hair and dust.

 Zoey has found the perfect spot: next to two cribs, with perfect visability of third across the room.

Latest news with the triplets :)

Well we found out this week that we are having 3 girls!! We thought for sure it was either two boys and a girl or two girls and a boy, but oh well. At first we were a little sad for no boy, but you can't help but be excited for what you have :) For me being such a girly girl, I'm looking forward to more tea parties, pedicures, knitting and make-believe.

Its funny how you can think you don't want something at first and then its the best thing ever. I keep saying oh man 3 girls would be insane, but now I think its going to be great. God knows what we need and can handle more than we do that's for sure. No offense to any all boy mommies out there, but I'm glad its not 3 boys. The thought of 3 boys rough housing makes me want to run away LOL.

We have two names picked out so far and are working on a third. Of course girl names have been the hardest for us to pick out.

Done with rude fertility comments? NOPE!

So as I've said before one journey ends and another begins. People have warned us about what's to come with triplets, but some of it has already begun.

When you have or are having triplets you become an instant celebrity. People have become used to twins but triplets are still a phenomenon. I don't blame them-they are amazing and a total miracle! But apparently people constantly interrupt your outings-dinner even to ask their intrusive questions, try to touch your babies, and even take pictures. I'm kind of shocked at this because in what world is it okay to touch or take pictures of a child you don't know? Its like these people become possessed.

Here's a great video I found showing all this happening on a new triplet mom's first outing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GE6zQ8FWok

Some ways we are going to try to keep this to a minimum is by having a double and a single stroller, and bug netting for the infant carriers to keep people from touching. Here's the netting:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12881526&fromRegistryNumber=49142672&product_skn=809695

But that won't really stop the questions that have already begun when people learn we are expecting 3 babies. They usually ask one of two things: "Was it natural?" and "Do triplets run in your family?". If you really think about these questions they make the person sound really dumb. I'm not even sure what they mean when they ask if it was natural. I just always say "yes". I'm not sure what's unnatural about being pregnant. I think what they really want to ask is "Did you do IVF?" but I think they know that's rude so they change the question so that's its okay to ask, even though it still isn't. Would they tell a child they weren't natural if their parents used IVF or other help in getting pregnant? No that's terrible!

Now "do triplets run in your family?" No triplets don't "run" in anyone's family you idiot. Twins can run in a family but triplets are so incredibly rare and spontaneous they don't occur often enough for that. The thing that people don't understand is that triplets happen one of three ways. One: you have three eggs-which is again, really rare to happen spontaneously. Doctors performing IVF will only use more than two eggs at a time IF the women has tried multiple times to get pregnant with IVF and it has failed, or if she's older with poor egg quality. This is not something that fertility doctors do right out the gate, which I think due to octomom and the like is a HUGE misconception. Good doctors know how risky multiple pregnancies are, and try at all costs to keep your risks of it happening low. Our doctor actuall apologized to us! Two: you have two eggs and one splits-again very rare and always spontaneous. Three(the most rare of all): one eggs splits two times=identical triplets.

Most of you know that I don't mind talking about my infertility journey and I certainly don't want to forget it because it is not only a part of me now, but it is a testament to God's hand in my life and what amazing miracles these babies are. For me it really depends on who's asking the question and why. If I think I have a minute to talk to someone, I don't mind telling them yes I used IVF, but I still like to emphasize that I had an egg split to show the miracle and so that people don't think I just willy nilly put three eggs in (I say willy nilly because I am so young for IVF and had great egg quality-there's no way my dr. would have allowed me to do more than 2 eggs). I do this because not only do I want to break the silence of infertility, but also because you never know why someone might be asking.They may be suffering, or someone they know is and they need to hear a success story or about the process of IVF.  But if its in passing and I know the person is just being nosey I will just say "yes its natural" or "yes it runs in my family" and then they usually shut up. Twins do run in my family, so that part is true :)

A couple other things people say all the time when they see you out with your triplets is "you have your hands full!" and "glad its you and not me!". Wow!  I get the "hands full", but really-do you think you are the first person who will have said that?? But "glad its you and not me" is extremely rude and hurtful. You might as well say "children are awful" or something. One mom said she responds to this with "me too!". I'm going to remember that one because anyone who wouldn't be glad to have their kids clearly doesn't deserve them. Especially for us, when we tried to so hard for so long with broken hearts, of course we are excited and overwhelmed with gratefulness for these three gifts we have received. I'm not saying its going to be easy, but we wanted children so bad and that is exactly what we are getting. It is my goal to never take for granted what we have even with dirty diapers and screaming babies and everything else that comes with it. The other thing is that we won't know the difference between what having one baby is like verses three. Its better that way. It will be what it will be.

its still only january? :)

Now that I'm done with my first trimester I can hurry up and wait for my second to pass. Not that I'm not enjoying being pregnant, cause I am! I'm just glad I'm havnig an easier time eating and more energy.

We had our 15 week check up with our specialist this week. Babies continue to do well :) Dr. also said I could still walk the dogs at least for the next 4 weeks. I think that has actually helped me to be sleeping better, that and he said I could still sleep on my back until I got uncomfortable with it. I was always a side sleeper, but when you only have one side you are allowed to sleep on, your back becomes more comfy :P I'll take it while I can get it. I can't imagine being able to sleep at all in another month or more with my huge belly.

We are trying to get as much as we can done in the next couple months in preparation and the unknown of when and what kind of bedrest I will be on. I want to be able to do as much nursery set up/nesting as I can before I'm not allowed to during the actual time that I will want to nest. Basically, I will be on some level of bedrest after 20 weeks or so and by then I will look and feel like a full term singleton pregnancy. I will be done working at 20 weeks as well.

So we registered last sunday. We didn't get everything yet, but we got a lot of it done. That helped me feel less anxious. We are waiting on some stuff like the bedding. I was surprised to find that I don't really like any of the neutral bedding right now. But there are a couple I really like that are gender specific. So in about 2 and half weeks doctor said he should be able to tell us, but if not, he would the following week when I'm 18 weeks.

I guess our 18 week appt is going to be another big one. He said he will need at least 20min per baby because he will be checking all of their anatomy. I hope they are more cooperative at that appt than the last important one. LOL A few weeks ago the doctor was trying to measure their brains and spines and they were bouncing off the walls or laying in a way that he couldn't get the pictures he needed. Eventually he did and everything came back normal.

Having my shower at 20 weeks. I'm so looking forward to it. I think its going to be great fun and come together well. I can only imagine how much bigger I'll be that week but hopefully not too uncomfortable yet.

That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for tuning in :)