Good things come in threes!

It's official...Brian and I are EXPECTING!!! As if that's not exciting enough, we're expecting three times over...that's right!  We're having triplets!  We are over the moon excited now that some of the anxiety and fear has worn off:)  Here's a little bit of what's been going on...

December 10, 2011 - I took a pregnancy test at home and got a positive but I didn't believe it so I didn't say anything to Brian that night.

December 11, 2011 - I went to the store and pretty much bought them out in pregnancy tests...which hind sight is a dumb idea because no one in their right mind can pee that much!  Anyway, every single one came back positive.  I was going to try to think of some cute way to tell Brian but I just couldn't wait so when he got home, I told him I had an early Christmas present and for him to sit on the couch and close his eyes.  He held out his hand and I put a positive pregnancy test in his hand and told him to open his eyes...he stared at it for a few minutes before he said "No way!!".  We both just laughed and hugged and enjoyed the moment together:)

December 20, 2011 - Brian and I drove home to my parents' house and showed them our annual "Year in Review" video with a little surprise at the end...this is how we told them we were pregnant.

December 25, 2011 - Brian and I went to his parents' house, opened presents, and shared the video again with all of his family!  Here's a link to the video we showed everyone to surprise them!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3a4UkuYNqo

January 16, 2012 (9 weeks, 4 days) - We will definitely remember this MLK day for the rest of our lives!  This is the day that Brian and I went to our first doctors appointment.  Of course we did not go in expecting to be told we were having triplets but it was quite funny how it all went down.  Luckily, our insurance covers ultrasounds at early stages of pregnancy so the doctor came in and started the ultra sound...from where I was sitting I could not see the screen but Brian definitely could.  His eyes got kind of big as he watched the doctor do the ultra sound before he said, "I have no idea what I'm looking at, but it looks like 3!"  The nurse looked over with big eyes too and just smiled, while the doctor didn't say a word!  I think I said something like, "That's not funny...".  After what felt like an eternity, the doctor turned off the machine and said, "Well, he stole my thunder.  You have three babies in there with three strong heartbeats!"  I don't really remember what happened after that...all I know is that I started sweating and shaking and asking a million questions about what, I have no idea!  Once the doctor and the nurse left the room, Brian and I just sat there in silence...I don't even remember if we talked or not because we were in so much shock.  After we left and got in the car, we both called our parents and told them the news.  My dad, in particular, thought I was joking as did most of our friends.  My mom asked if it was twins and when I responded with, "No...it's actually triplets!" she about passed out I think.

February 3, 2012 (12 weeks 1 day) - We had our first appointment with the Maternal Fetal Specialist at the High Risk Clinic at MUSC down in Charleston.  We are so blessed to live where we do!  They have a huge team of highly trained doctors who do a fellowship after their residency to specialize even further into the Ob/Gyn world.  In fact, one of the country's top MFS (maternal fetal specialists) who specifically concentrates on higher order multiples is here at MUSC.  The funny thing was that right after we found out it was triplets, I ordered a book off of Amazon that was highly recommended to parents of triplets.  I brought it with me to my first appointment only to find out that my doctor was one of the co-authors.  Anyway, enough about the doctors (although they are super important!)!  Let's talk about the babies!  At this appointment, we were able to see our little babies and they no longer looked like gummy bears!  They actually looked like babies:)  It was amazing how much the ultrasound tech could tell us about the babies...for instance...we found out that they all had brains that were divided into two hemispheres, all had 2 arms and 2 legs, their bones were beginning to form, and they all had properly functioning kidneys, and they are all fraternal.  We could even see them moving around a little bit!  At this appointment, we also learned a whole heck of a lot about what to expect with a triplet pregnancy.  In all honesty, in some ways it's just like any other pregnancy, but in a lot of ways, it's waaaayyyy different.  Here are some of the things we found out:

• While most people gain about 30 pounds during their entire 40 week pregnancy, I'm supposed to gain about 25 pounds before my 24th week, and at least 50 pounds total.  There have been a whole heck of a lot of studies done on this and it's proven that the more weight I can gain the earlier, the better off the babies will be when they are born.  This means I have to eat a whole heck of a lot of protein and high fat foods (like whole milk, meats, protein shakes, ensure shakes, high protein cereal, etc...).  Needless to say, we've been paying more attention to food labels!  
• A full term pregnancy for triplets is 36 weeks...hardly anyone makes it past this point.  Most are delivered around the 32-34 week mark, which means ours should be here anywhere from the middle to the end of June!
• Most people go on bed rest.
• 99.9% are C-Section births.
• I will appear as if I'm 10-12 weeks ahead of where I actually am...which is quite interesting.
• Most people outgrow maternity clothes and have to resort to men's XL t-shirts for the sake of comfort.
• The babies will be small, but they actually develop slightly faster than a singleton pregnancy.  No one really knows why but it's suspected that they develop faster due to a higher stress environment.
• Most people with multiples (especially fraternal) experience more intense morning sickness due to the increased amount of hormones produced by multiple placentas.  Luckily, I haven't been sick a single time.  I've had some food aversions but that's it!  

February 24, 2012 (15 weeks 1 day) - We went back to MUSC for a follow up and doctors were pleasantly surprised to see that I've gained about 7 pounds and all the babies look completely healthy (and so did I!!), and for that matter, Brian's doing pretty good too:)

March 15, 2012 (18 weeks) - My last day teaching!!! And let me tell you, I'm ready!!  I won't be going back next year as raising triplets will be more than a full time job in itself!!  I've decided to stop working now to focus on taking care of myself and the babies, getting off my feet, and setting up the babies' room.

March 16, 2012 (18 weeks, 1 day) - We're expecting to go and find out the genders of the babies as well as all of their anatomical measurements!  This will be a 3 hour long ultrasound followed by a 1.5 hour long consultation with the MFS to discuss everything (from bed rest to delivery!).

Keep checking back for updates!!