The "Incubator" is Home Sweet Home

The day that I never thought would come finally did...the doctors let me go home from the hospital!  I was able to come home on Saturday, May 26 after a few tests and final evaluations.  All of the doctors agreed that it would be good for me to get out of there and rest at home for a little bit before the arrival of all our little ones:)  I was thrilled and couldn't wait to get home, although a little nervousness went along with that excitement.  I expressed my nervousness with the doctors and they all reassured me and said that everything we were doing in the hospital to prevent any problems could be done at home and that if I started to have any new symptoms to come in right away.  Now I was told I could go home on Friday, but Brian and I both agreed that Saturday morning would work out better as we literally had to move out of our room...you would be surprised how much stuff you can accumulate while in the hospital on bed rest for 38 days.

Since I've been home, things have been great!  I've been sleeping better, eating food I actually want, and I'm able to sit on the couch and watch a decent TV instead of the 20 year old, tiny screened one in my hospital room.  Of course one of the main concerns the doctors had was if I would be alone at all while at home on bed rest and we've been super lucky to have Brian's mom, my mom and my dad here over the past 12 days to help us out.  That way, Brian can still go to work and not have to worry about me at home.

On Friday, June 1, I went in for my regular checkup and found out that the babies are all around 3 pounds.  The little boy weighed 2lbs15oz, and the two girls weighed 2lbs13oz.  They are in the 45th-51st percentile for a single pregnancy which is right on track for triplets:) 

Tuesday, June 5, was the only time we've had any scares since I've been home.  I woke up a lot Monday night and was having a bunch of contractions when I woke up on Tuesday.  Naturally, we (my mom and I) kinda freaked out so we went in to the doctor's office and got checked.  Everything was normal and unchanged, and best of all, the babies responded well to the non-stress test and my fetalfibronectin test was negative (meaning that it's unlikely for me to go into labor in the next two weeks).  Although I was still having contractions, the doctor decided to send me back home and for me to just be extra sensitive to any changes.  All good news!!

This past Friday, June 8, we went back to the doctor for my weekly checkup and I was told that we could schedule a c-section!!  It's kinda funny how it all happened because I left the waiting room to go back to go to the bathroom and ended up running into one of the doctors who took care of me a lot in the hospital.  I was so excited to talk to her and tell her how everything was going and she was happy to see everything going so well!  She said that the main doctor (that really important doctor guy that I've talked about before) would want to see me since I hadn't seen him in a few weeks.  He was so impressed with how far I've come since I was put in the hospital at 22 weeks.  I told him that I need an end date so I have something to look forward to and to motivate me.  He told me that he won't electively do a c-section on triplets until 35 weeks, so he told me to pick a day.  He looked at his calendar and said "So how does 7/11 sound?".  Anything sounds great to me...and the fact that I have something to work towards really helps me out and lets me put things in perspective.  All this time, Brian and my dad were worried in the waiting room!  Luckily, when I waddled back out to sit with them, I had some good news!  Everything else at the appointment went great:)

Now for all my pregnancy-brain word vomit/my random thoughts and information that you might find fun and interesting...

• Brian went into nesting mode big time...he bought a new washer, dryer, and refrigerator (for the garage), hung up a pantry organizer, bought all 3 car seats and installed them, hung up curtains in the babies room, rearranged the babies room, organized the garage and cleaned out our office.  I have to give a shout out to my mother in law for helping him with all this too!
• I'm 30 weeks 3 days today hence the nickname "The Incubator."
• I've been on bed rest for 10 weeks which means I haven't driven a car for 10 weeks, stepped in a grocery store, been to a movie, been more than about 20 feet from any given bed or couch...you get the idea.
• I've gained 56 pounds in 30 weeks and I feel like a whale.  Gaining that much weight in combination with bed rest has really made me feel super uncomfortable.  My muscle mass has definitely deteriorated so the 56 pounds really feels like a ton!  I can't roll over very easily in bed anymore and every time I stand up, I feel like I'm doing a squat.  
• At the doctor's office last Tuesday, the nurse looked at me and said "Your face looks kind of swollen."  Now I don't know about you, but to me, swollen means there is an injury or reaction of some sort...I wanted to say, "No, I'm pretty sure I'm not swollen.  I'm pretty sure I'm just chubby...that's what happens when you're pregnant with triplets."  I guess if she would have said fat or chubby I would have been thrown off by that too...oh well!
• We have a stockpile of diapers (literally about 2000 diapers) that we calculated we should run out of within the first 3.5 months or so.  It's estimated that we will change about 7000-8000 diapers in the first year.
• The skin on my belly feels numb...I'm assuming it's because it's growing so fast that the nerves can't keep up.
• I can't tell if I have stretch marks or not...sometimes I think I have some but then I decide they're wrinkles in my skin from laying down on that side.  I never stand up long enough for them to go away and I usually always lay on my left side for some reason.
• My maternity clothes hardly fit anymore...I'm getting to the point where I have to wear XL maternity clothes just so it covers my belly and I don't look like I have a beer belly hanging out.
• I had an infection at my IV site which looked pretty nasty and was pretty uncomfortable.
• The babies' room is pretty much done for now...we only have 2 cribs set up as all 3 will sleep together for a while.
• My lungs feel like they are in my throat.
• Only 4.5 weeks left if I make it all the way to the c-section date on 7/11!!

Finally, again we want to say thank you to all of our friends and family who have been asking/thinking about us and praying for us.  We are so blessed to have made it this far and hope to hang in there for a few more weeks.  I also have to give Brian a little credit...this is definitely been taxing on me but I know it hasn't been easy on him.  He's been so supportive and at my beckon call the past 2.5 months and I couldn't ask for a better husband...and he's done all of this with out complaining.  These babies are so lucky to have such a wonderful daddy!

Nursery - glider

Nursery - changing table

Nursery - dresser

Nursery - closet

Nursery - cribs

garage - aka diaper depot

My awesome IV infection site - gross I know.

 My love bugs:)

 Just hanging out in the field behind our house...I venture outside every so often believe it or not.

 30 weeks 1 day - notice how my shirt doesn't really fit the bottom part of my belly...I look like a hillbilly when I sit down cause my belly just hangs out. 

 Me and my hubby!

 The randomly colored blanket I crocheted...not perfect but not bad for just learning.

All the pills/vitamins I have to take everyday.

Not So Fun-Day-Sunday

First, I just want to say we have been super blessed with wonderful supportive family and friends...our families have been able to rotate shifts here with us in Charleston just to help out at home and we are so lucky to have such thoughtful friends who send us flowers, bring us meals, send us food, send thoughtful cards, or just call/text/email to check in and see how things are going.  Thank you to everyone who has been thinking and praying for us:)  We really appreciate all your love and support:)

Now on to my long winded post...again!

The title of this post is slightly misleading...although it wasn't fun, the fact that we're still here in the hospital, I'm still pregnant, and everything is stable kind of counteracts all the crazy activity that went on around here yesterday.  First, I will tell you about yesterday...the crazy/not so good stuff, before I tell you about all the great things going on:)  I always want to hear bad news before good news so that the good news sounds really really good and you can walk away after reading this feeling reassured.

Sooo yesterday started off pretty normal...I was having contractions which isn't really that different from any other day.  On any given day, I probably feel about 15 hard contractions...although they are hard and really tight, they are not painful if that makes any sense.  I guess I didn't really realize how many I was having, because after about a half an hour on the contraction monitor (everyday I get strapped up the the monitor for an hour), one of the attending ObGyns came in and startled me from my daze (I can't move while I'm on the monitor so I usually sleep or read or something) and asked me if I was feeling all of those.  I kind of looked at him and was like what do you mean?!  He said I was having contractions every 6 minutes or so and that were measuring above 100...literally they were off the paper print out chart.  Like I said, they are definitely strong, but not painful because I'm able to sleep/rest while they are going on.  Although the contractions didn't feel any different than they have been, the increase in frequency was definite cause for concern.  It was about this time that I called Brian and told him to get down here...he got here so fast that his shorts were on backwards!! Haha!!  About 2 minutes later, a nurse came in with an IV and said they were going to treat me for mild dehydration first...I try to drink lots of water, but I know at night I don't because it's a Catch 22...If I don't drink enough it can cause contractions, but if I drink sufficient amounts, I have to get up and pee every hour and never feel rested but, if my bladder's really full, I'll have a contraction.  Anyway, that being said, I probably don't drink enough throughout the night so I've started to work on that.  Back to the drama...so the IV went in (after a few attempts...which is odd since I have crazy big veins - this is also why we thought I might have been kind of dehydrated) and while we were waiting on that, one of the other doctors came in and did some physical examination to see if the contractions were causing any cervical changes indicating delivery.  Luckily, the physical examination had good outcomes with everything remaining stable, as well as a negative fetal fibronectin test which tells us that I have less than a 2% chance of going into labor in the next two weeks.  This test is really only valid in singleton pregnancies, but they use it in multiples too simply because it's the best indicator of labor for single babies so they apply the same result to multiples simply because that particular test and multiple gestations haven't been studied enough to have any conclusive evidence.  Once all these tests were done, the attending called the head honcho ObGyn here and told him what was going on.  Pretty much what ever he says goes so that's what we did.  

*On a little side note, we are super lucky to be here in Charleston as we go through all of this.  The head honcho guy here is highly respected not only from his patients, but all of his peers always tell us how fabulous he is and how if he's not the #1 most knowledgeable guy IN THE WORLD about triplets, he's definitely in the top 3.  He does all kinds of research and conferences around the country and literally almost every single book you can buy about multiples has his name either on the cover or he's referenced...like I said, we're super lucky:)*

So the head honcho told them what to do and that was that.  I was immediately given a shot of terbutaline, followed by a change in medicine back to the indocin (the one that can affect their hearts and kidneys...but no need to worry, I'll only be on it for 72 hours), as well as steroid shots (they burn!!) to develop the babies lungs quicker in case anything happens.  Unfortunately, I had to get a booster of steroids today again but all of this craziness will all be worth it in the end!  After all the medicine was administered, I had been on the contraction monitor for about 4 hours.  At this point, they decided it was necessary to do a NST (non-stress test) on the babies to make sure they were responding well to the contractions and not under any stress.  Lately, I've been getting one of these every week and it's always a challenge because we have to get 3 different doppler sensors strapped around my belly and each one has to be picking up a different babies heart beat, as well as the contraction monitor.  Let me just tell you, Baby C is a stinker already...we can hear her moving around like crazy but we can never find her heart beat and when we think we find it, it turns out that it's usually Baby A or Baby B's that we're actually hearing.  After an hour and a half of positioning and repositioning the doppler sensors, 2 doctors, tons of ultrasounds, and 4 nurses, we finally got everything set up and in position.  At this point, I was told not to move and definitely not to tell them that I had to pee because it wasn't happening.  Luckily, they only needed to monitor them for 20 minutes to get a good idea as to how they were responding to the contractions.  As we expected, everything went fine and the babies look great!!  All in all, everything has now stabilized and things are looking good, but it does look like I've bought myself a ticket to stay in the hospital until I deliver (which I honestly don't mind...especially when things like this happen!)

Let's move onward to the good news/random news!!!

• We had a growth ultrasound done last Monday which showed that all 3 babies weigh in between 2 and 2.4 pounds which is great!  They are in the 40-50th percentile for singleton pregnancies which is awesome for triplets at this gestation.  This is generally the point though that multiples start to deviate a little from single pregnancies simply because the space starts getting super limited...it's like a fishbowl effect.
• The babies look really good for their gestational age.  They are practicing their breathing in there by inhaling amniotic fluid and their heart rates are responding well to their movements...just like adults, we want to see the babies' heart rates increase by 10 beats per minute for about 10 seconds which they all seem to be doing.  It just makes me so happy to see little miracles like this happening and it blows my mind that it's all in this giant belly of mine!
• We're 27 weeks 4 days today (Monday) and there's no doubt in my mind that we'll make it to Thursday and get to 28 weeks which is a huge milestone as far as the babies' lung development goes.
• I'm huge...I gained 8 pounds in a week and have gained about 45 pounds total.  I know some people gain this much with one baby, but I managed to do it before I even his my 3rd trimester when the weight really starts to pack on.  This is what the doctors want though and what studies have shown is the best for the babies:)  That what I tell myself when I have to drink 2 boosts/ensures a day (which I will never drink after this!!!).
• Eating has become a chore...I have to do it but I just don't have room in my squished stomach nor do I feel hungry to eat everything I need to eat.  I have to remind myself to eat some meals simply because I'm not hungry.  
• I don't fit in most of my maternity clothes anymore so my mom had to go out and buy me extra large maternity clothes just to fit over my belly.  
• Every time I leave the room people say the funniest things... for instance one lady yelled at us and said I better hurry up and get back inside because I was about to pop...she could just tell!  I get all kinds of strange looks when I get wheeled outside to the park/garden area and just sit there with Brian (or whoever will take me for that matter) like nothing is going on.  In fact, one nurse today said I should probably just go to labor and delivery, but I told her that we're not ready for that yet.  I told 2 of my doctors about all the stares and comments I get when I go outside and they told me to make something up....something like "I'm part of an experiment...we're trying to see how long I can stay pregnant.  Currently I'm 45 weeks and we're aiming for 50."  I think that's what I'm going to say next time just to see what they say!  I'll let you know...
• I'm getting kind of tired of hospital food...it's good but limited so food from the outside world is fantastic.
• I'm getting kind of tired in general...I know...I know...apparently this it nothing compared to what I will go through when the babies arrive but let me tell you, sleep in the hospital is hard to come by.  I have medicine delivered throughout the night, I have to pee all the time, things get going early around here, and when I'm not eating or hooked up to the monitor, the janitors come in to clean, room service comes and knocks on my door to pick up used trays, my sheets have to get changed, and of course, there's always the welcomed visit from friends, doctors, and family.  
• It's funny when I read the "What to Expect When You're Pregnant" stuff on my phone for the 28th week of pregnancy for a single pregnancy...it says my uterus should be about 3 inches above my pressure cooker belly button... mine is literally in my ribs.  It also says I should have gained about 17-24 pounds...clearly I blew that out of the water.  
• The babies use my bladder as a trampoline and I'm pretty sure they are having a boxing match in there constantly...it wiggles my whole belly!
• I don't have any stretch marks!!
• I really miss sleeping on my stomach
• I've been in the hospital for 6 weeks this upcoming Friday.
• We're still just taking week by week at this point...their rate of survival is now at about 90% which is good but still not ideal.  The longer they stay in there the better so I'll just continue to be a human incubator.
• I can't make heads or tails of the ultrasounds anymore.  Every time I see them, I just see a cluster of arms, legs and heads and I can't tell which one belongs to who.  Oh well!
• I can't breathe...I get winded from doing just about everything.
• My ab muscles are useless...I can't get up from laying down without using the rails on the side of the bed.
• I no longer have a belly button...it popped out about a month ago really.
• I'm in serious nesting mood but can't do anything at home!  We're so glad our parents have been able to help out and set up some of the baby stuff!
• I finally got to see Vida!!  Brian's dad brought her to the garden outside and I was so excited and happy I got teary eyed:)

That's all I can really think of right now...sorry for the novel but it's good for me to get it all out there to look back over later!  Hope you all enjoyed it and maybe learned a little something!

Nice day outside.

Brian made our 3 year anniversary special by dressing up, bringing me roses, and bringing me dinner!

27 weeks pregnant

Big Milestone

As some of you may know, I've spent the last 3 weeks at the wonderful Resort MUSC...or in other words, on hospital bed rest.  I'll spare you some of the details, but basically what prompted this was a check up appointment at the doctor where they realized I was having contractions every 4-6 minutes that I wasn't feeling.  It just so happens that it was Friday the 13th... just our luck huh?  Anyway, having contractions that close together along with a couple of other symptoms qualified me for preterm labor, so I was admitted to the hospital immediately for observation, evaluation, and medication.  I was immediately given fluids as standard procedure as well as a shot of terbutaline and then a powerful dose of a medication called indocin.  The hope was that the concoction of medicine and rest would calm the contractions enough to buy us many more weeks of pregnancy.  Luckily, my body responded well to the medicine and the contractions calmed down after about 2 days.  The first week was kinda scary and unpredictable.  The doctors don't want to tell you everything's going to be ok when they just don't know...unfortunately, for pregnancy, there's no rhyme or reason to why things happen the way they do sometimes.  There was not a definite prognosis that they could give us, so we just took it day by day.  Sitting here thinking about all the uncertainty could definitely drive you crazy and we just wanted the doctors to say "ok, everything's under control, you'll be able to hold on for another 10 weeks now," but that's just not the case!  Instead, they were constantly monitoring and checking me for any signs of change, which was nerve racking too because they would tell me that my next check up would be 2 days from now, so for those 2 days, I would just worry about what the results would be!  Luckily, we know that we have a great team of doctors and nurses working with us...they have all been so wonderful and comforting!  We are also super blessed to have such wonderful families...my mom and dad were able to come and help take care of things at the house and Vida for the first week I was in here, and then Brian's dad has been able to come and stay at our house for the past week and a half, again to help with Vida and just normal everyday household stuff.  I must say I've been super blessed too with a wonderful husband who has spent nights in the the hospital with me as well as comes to hang out with me everyday after work...if I'm lucky he brings me a good dinner too:)  

Ok...back to my hospital stay.  A lot of people have asked me some questions so I figured I'd answer them here!

How far along are you?  

I'll be 25 weeks tomorrow which is a huge milestone!  The first 2 weeks in here were very nerve racking in that the hospital leaves it up to the parents between 23 and 25 weeks as to whether or not you want to resuscitate the babies due to the simple fact that babies born at that gestational age are technically considered viable, although there are many complications, long term and short term, that are probable.  At 25 weeks, the hospital is required to do what they can to keep the babies alive so that takes the burden off of me and Brian.

What have you been doing to occupy your time?

Believe it or not, I have a pretty full day most times...here's what my daily schedule looks like.

6:30 - Generally, around this time there is a doctor that comes in a wakes me up from my beauty sleep just to make sure that everything went smoothly throughout the night

8:30ish - wake up, brush teeth, get dressed, order my breakfast 

9:00 - 9:30 - Sometime in this time frame, my breakfast usually arrives, my nurse comes in to give me my medications, and the tech comes in to take my blood pressure, oxygen level, pulse and temperature. 

10:15 - I finally finish breakfast...it takes a while to eat a lot with such a big belly!!  

10:30 - Doctors come in to do their rounds and make sure everything is going ok and to discuss any important appointments/milestones coming up that I need to be aware of.

10:30 - 11:45 - After I eat and talk to the doctors, the nurse comes back in to hook me up to the contraction monitor for an hour.  During this time, I really can't move a whole lot, so I just lay here and watch TV or read.  

11:45 - Most days around this time, I have my nurse tech come in to change my sheets while I take a shower.  

12:30 - Order lunch

1:00 - 2:00 - Eat lunch

2:00 - 5:00 - This is generally my nap time, reading time, free time really.

5:00 - 10:00 - Brian comes to keep me company and we eat dinner together.

11:00 - Go to bed

12:00 - Get woken up to take my medicine and day is done!

Now that's a day that I don't have any appointments, such as an ultra sound (I get about 4 a week), fetal fibronectin tests, glucose tests, EKGs done on the babies, dietary/nutrition consultations, and NICU consultations.  

I've been a good patient so they gave me outside privileges, so someone can take me outside in a wheelchair.  The best part about it is when we get back in the elevator, everyone thinks I'm in labor and they ask me if it's a boy or a girl...you should see their face when I say, "Actually, it's 2 girls and 1 boy."

Any major hiccups? 

Aside from the babies having the hiccups sometimes, we have had one minor speed bump.  Medications used to stop preterm labor are called tocolytics... although they are not manufactured for that purpose specifically.  Tocolytics generally are used to treat something completely different than preterm labor but have an off label effective use of stoping contractions.  Not many drug companies produce drugs that they can say are 100% safe to use during pregnancy since not many people agree allow their unborn child to be the subject of a science experiment.  Through advancements in medicine though, doctors and scientists have come to realize that the use of many of these drugs have secondary effects on slowing contractions.  The first medicine I was on was called Indocin...it's an NSAID so it's kind of like Advil but it's generally used to treat patients with arthritis.  Consequently, it also does something with prostaglandins which are a big component in contractions.  The drug does have down sides though...it can close the ductus arteriosis between the babies heart and lungs (this closes after birth but shouldn't close while still in my belly) and it can decrease their urine output, which then decreases their amniotic fluid which is essential for lung development as well a many other things.  Luckily, both of these side effects are reversible.  Fortunately, the first 2 weeks on the drug went smoothly...a pediatric cardiologist came down to my room every week to to an EKG on all the babies' hearts to make sure the ductus wasn't closing and an ultra sound specialist would come to check all the fluids of the babies to make sure that wasn't decreasing.  Unfortunately, last Thursday, they saw that Baby B's fluid was low, so I had to quit taking it.  With in 48 hours of stopping the drug, my contractions were back, so the doctors checked the fluid again and it had gone back up...so they gave me indocin again for 48 hours until they checked the fluid again...and it was low.  At this point they started looking into other options...I am now on a blood pressure medicine called Procardia which can be secondarily used to slow/stop contractions...it has no real side effects on the babies but some people don't tolerate the drug itself well.  I, luckily, don't have any of the dizziness, dropped blood pressure or headaches that can be associated with it and it seems to work just as well!

What else...???

• I've gained about 7 pounds since being in here and I'm expected to gain about 20 more.
• My room is like a freezer box because I'm my own incubator.
• Hospital food is pretty good although I'm getting tired of it.
• Doctors are all pretty positive about everything especially since I've been stable for the past 3 weeks
• I feel like I'm in a college dorm room...minus the loft beds.
• I'm starting to be known as "The Princess at the end of the hall" because I told the doctors I had medical students coming in to wake me up at 4:30 in the morning just to ask me how I was feeling...I understand they are just doing their job but seriously??  One of the residents though that was ridiculous so he posted a sign outside my door saying not to other me between 11pm and 7am, unless it's for medicine:)
• I feel pretty caught up on all my trashy reality TV
• I have a view out my window...kind of...I can at least see the sky and what the weather is like.
• I can wear my own clothes...I don't have to be in a hospital gown all the time.
• I sleep great for the most part.
• I don't have stretch marks.
• The babies kick around like crazy and it wiggles my whole belly when they do.
• I miss Vida like crazy:(
• As far as my attitude/sanity towards all this...I figure there's two ways I can look at this:
• I can complain a lot and hate staying in this small little room and cry all the time (don't get me wrong, I have cried...more because I feel helpless than because of the fact I'm on bed rest)
• Or I can be positive about it and realize that although I'm limited as to what I can do, I can have a good attitude with all the nurses and doctors, and know that I'm in here for the health of my babies.  I chose this route:)

24 weeks...google what a singleton pregnant person should look like at 24 weeks 

The "Princess" warning sign on my door.

That's all the pictures for now...we'll try to take some more and put more up!  Thanks to everyone who has been thinking about us and praying for us!  We truly appreciate all the blessings!

My life being pregnant with Triplets

Ok, ok so a lot of people have been asking to see pictures of my "baby bump", and let me just tell you...I flew past the category of having a cute baby bump about 4 weeks ago...I'm now at the "She's about to Pop" phase of my pregnancy and I'm only 22 weeks.  Let me remind you that as a person who is 22 weeks pregnant with triplets, I appear as if I'm 33-34 weeks pregnant with one baby...crazy I know!  That being said, here's a little update at to what's going on with me lately...and of course I'll put some "She's about to pop baby bump" pictures at the end:)

Friday, March 16 - we found out the gender of the babies!!!

Monday, April 2 - I went in for a check-up to find out that the stress of three babies has finally taken it's toll on my body...I was put on modified bed rest at home.  I can still get up and do my normal hygiene things like brush my teeth, wash my face, shower, etc., as well as make my meals when no one is here to help me, but other than that, I need to try to be sitting down or lying down resting to relieve the pressure of the weight of 3 babies!

Wednesday, April 4 - I went in to the doctor again because I was freaking out about Braxton Hicks...which I've learned technically isn't a medical term.  The doctors told me that contractions are contractions, it just depends if they facilitating labor or not and sometimes you can't tell unless you go to the doctor and they monitor you.  Luckily, my condition was more or less the same as it was on Monday. I'm so lucky the doctors here are so accommodating and proactive.  I've seen a few different doctors and they all tell me to come in whenever I feel like I need to since my pregnancy is so much different that most!  I felt like such a hypochondriac going in there for contractions but they were so reassuring that it's ok to come in for ANYTHING that makes me worry or feel uncomfortable...better safe than sorry!

Friday, April 6 (Crazy week so far!!!) - Well this was a fun day...I woke up around 6 not feeling well at all and decided it must be acid indigestion/heartburn (which I still think it was).  I chewed some Tums and sat up right for a little bit and drank some water to see if it would go away.  I thought I was kind of feeling better, so Brian left for work and I told him I'd call him if I needed him.  Of course, about 20 minutes after he left, I started throwing up.  I threw up all day, unable to hold down any kind of fluid...not even water!  So I called the doctor and they called in a prescription for an anti-nausea medicine that would keep me from throwing up...the unfortunate thing was that I couldn't get to the pharmacy to get the medicine so I had to wait for Brian to get off work to get it.  Luckily, he was able to get off a little early and get my medicine, but by the time he got home, I was having some pretty serious contractions, so I took my anti-nausea medicine, got a bag of necessities together, and told Brian to take me to the hospital.  We drove down to MUSC's Labor and Delivery department and they checked me in right away and let me tell you, I felt like death.  The anti-nausea medicine made me all loopy and exhausted, not to mention the nurse said she hadn't seen someone so dehydrated in a long time.  They immediately hooked me up to an IV and gave me 2 liters of fluid over a period of about and hour and a half.  Additionally, they hooked me up to a contraction monitor and saw that I was having pretty severe contractions about every 2-4 minutes.  These contractions were caused mainly by being super dehydrated, although the doctor decided to give me some medication to help relax the muscles as well.  At that point, the doctor decided that she wanted me to stay the night so they could monitor me and make sure everything was going to settle down.  I was completely fine with that as I was already almost asleep in the exam room.  When they took me to my hospital room, they gave me 2 more liters of fluid and I was out for the count.  It was quite a scary experience but I'm so glad we went in that night!!  I was released the next day and felt much, much better!

Monday, April 9 - Back to the doctor for a check up...babies all look good and healthy!  I'm still on bed rest orders to keep anything from changing too fast!

Friday, April 13 - We have a 3 hour long ultra sound appointment, followed by a doctor visit and evaluation...I'll update you on this later!

Finally...here are some questions people keep asking me!

How Far Along: 22 weeks

Size of babies:  8 inches, 1 pound 

Weight gain: 30 pounds...that's right!!  I've gained 30 pounds which is right on track for Triplets!  I have to gain a few more pounds before I hit the 24 week mark but then I'm good to go!

Maternity Clothes: I've been wearing maternity clothes exclusively since 12 weeks which means my wardrobe is slightly limited so don't judge me!  Haha!  I mainly live in the same 3 pairs of sweatpants and t-shirts.

Gender: 2 girls and a boy

Stretchmarks: None yet!  I feel like a greased pig with the lotion and Coco Butter I've been putting on. 

Movement: Yes! Lots of moving and you can definitely feel the babies on the outside!

Sleep: Good for the most part!  I went through a rough patch which I attribute to heartburn but nothing a little Pepcid AC didn't fix.  I do get up a few times to go to the bathroom but that's expected I guess!

Symptoms: Some contractions randomly, heartburn, tired

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, being able to trim and paint my toenails, being able to shave my legs in less than 20 minutes.

Cravings: None really...I'll eat anything!

Best Moment this week: Brian being able to feel the babies move!

What I am looking forward to:  Not being on bed rest...I'm setting 2 week goals and at the end of every two weeks, I buy myself something that I want that deals with the babies:)

20 weeks pregnant

And the verdict is....

2 Girls and a Boy!!

On March 16 (18 weeks, 1 day pregnant), Brian and I went to a 3 hour long ultra sound appointment followed by a doctors visit to check on the status of all the babies.  At this appointment, we were also able to find out the sex of all the babies which like I said above, is 2 girls and a boy.  Obviously, we would have been happy with anything, but I'm not gonna lie, I think we were both excited to see that there is a mix in there.  The funny thing was that when the ultra sound tech started the ultra sound, she tried to look at Baby A first to determine the sex, but he/she didn't want to cooperate so she moved on to Baby B.  Baby B cooperated and is a GIRL!!  Then she moved on to Baby C and after a few minutes, we were able to get a good view and see that Baby C is a GIRL too!!  This is the point where Brian started to sweat I think...I also think he said something along the lines of, "Well, that's two weddings!".  Haha!  Since there's so many babies in there, I sometimes get confused at which one I'm looking at on the screen...it really is like a cluster of babies in there and it's super easy to get lost and not know which one is which!  Anyway, like I said, I get kind of confused about what baby is where, so when the ultra sound tech went back to Baby B, when I thought she was looking at Baby A, I looked at the screen, noticed it was a girl, then looked at Brian and said, "It's 3 girls!".  I seriously think he almost passed out...he was convinced that there had to be at least one boy in there!  Fortunately, the ultra sound girl heard me and interrupted saying "No, no, no!  This is Baby B...there's still hope for a boy!".  Luckily, this time Baby A decided to cooperate and wiggled around so we could get a good look and what do ya know...it is a BOY!  Here's some pictures from the ultra sound!

Hand in front of his face!

 That's better!  It looks like his head has a whole in it which is kinda true...that's partly where the soft spot is and partly because he was pushed up against the uterine wall.

 All the organs and a good spine for Baby A!

 Baby B - Little Girl!

B

 Baby C being shy...

All 3 have wonderful looking 4 chambered hearts!

All three of our little babies...at this point there were all about 9 ounces and about 6 inches from crown to rump!

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!!

Clark Griswold makes his appearance!

This Christmas, we decided it was time that we bite the bullet and buy a legit Christmas tree instead of our three-foot tall one that we've been using the past 2 years.  In addition, Brian decided that we needed to really decorate the outside of our house and this is what we got...

Our tree!

We also went to a "Tacky Christmas Sweater Party" in which Brian picked out the following for....

We took home first place for best dressed couple!!