The babies decided to wait a week.

Just wanted to post a quick note to say that we had the Amnio done today and the lungs aren't ready so they scheduled a c-section for next Wednesday, November 8th. The Dr. said they put the sample of the amniotic fluid into a machine and it would show up as a number. The number should be between 0 and 140. The higher, the better, and around 100 was good. They only tested one baby which was baby C and it's number was only 35 which isn't even close. We were really disappointed because we really thought we were going to see our babies tomorrow. The Dr. said they will definitely be ready by next week and we are on the schedule for sure. We have to be there at 10 am to get ready for the surgery at noon.

On the plus side, we seem to have some big babies in there. According to the ultrasound today, which could be off, baby C weighs 5 lbs and 2 oz and baby A weighs 6 lbs and 2 oz. They couldn't get a weight on baby B because it was so squished she couldn't measure it's femur bone. In the past it has been almost an identical weight to baby C so I'm guessing that they should still be close. So that is why I have been having so much trouble walking, sitting, rolling over, and getting out of bed lately. It is truly getting painful and I don't plan to venture far from my bed this week. I just hope the time goes fast and I don't totally lose it by next week. I know, I know, it's better for the babies and they will spend less time in the hospital. I just hope I don't go into labor before then and I hope the pain doesn't get much worse. Lots of prayers will be needed this week so keep them coming. Well, I will stop here since I am totally exhausted from our trip today. I'll try and post in a few days and maybe have a picture.

Happy Halloween!!

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to post one last time before tomorrow. We are just doing some last minute things in case we don't come home until the babies are discharged. My nesting instincts are kicking in full force. I got a lot of things done today that I've been wanting to do and it feels good but I am tired. Hopefully I can sleep good tonight.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I hand copied everyone's email address so I can email everyone even if I can't get to my home computer. So if I have emailed you in the past and you don't hear from me but you know someone else got an email, I probably copied it wrong. My apologies in advance. Once I get home and can use my own computer things will be back to normal. Well, except I may have a couple of kids on my lap.

So thanks again for all of the support we've recieved. I know I keep saying that but it has definitely made this whole pregnancy easier. I couln't have done it without all of you.

I'll try to update tomorrow with the results of the amnio. If we can deliver the next day we will stay overnight in Sioux Falls but hopefully I can find internet access.

Keep your fingers crossed!!

33 weeks!!

Here is a photo that was taken last night. My belly is measuring 46 inches and I have gained 39 lbs according to my weight at the clinic yesterday. I think I am growing more down than out lately due to the weight of the babies. Even though I have been eating everything that's not nailed down I haven't gained anything in the past week. I think my own body weight is starting to transfer to the babies. At least I hope they are still gaining. My belly feels heavier every day. There isn't much to report about our appt yesterday with Dr. Benson. He said he was disappointed that he wouldn't get to deliver the babies but he also said he understood, and if it was him he would do the same thing. I felt really bad because they have taken such good care of us and I know it would be really exciting for them to deliver triplets again in Watertown. They delivered a set 7 years ago and the staff all still talks about it. But we are doing what we think is best for our babies. Just in case something went wrong we would much rather be in Sioux Falls then try to transfer there. So hopefully we will make it through this week without any surprises and do the Amnio on Tues next week. My cervix is still closed and Dr. Benson said he is amazed and that it's very rare to still have a closed cervix at 33 weeks with triplets. He also said that if the lungs are mature and nothing unusual happens, the babies might come right home with us after I am discharged. Usually they keep a mom about 4 days after a c-section if there are no complications. That scared me a little to think that we may be bringing 3 babies home at the end of next week. Of course Lance still doesn't see why I am so nervous. He just thinks it will be a piece of cake. So I am just lounging and trying to get comfortable for the next week and hoping that the lungs are mature on Tues.

We took Ashlyn trick-or-treating last Friday evening so I could still participate. We only took her to 4 houses and she made quite a haul. Her pumpkin bucket was full. She loved it, and I'm so glad that I got to share that with her. Thanks to everyone that allowed us to take her early.

2 weeks and counting!!

There is an end in sight, or I guess you could say a beginning. We turned 32 weeks yesterday and saw the Perinatologist in Sioux Falls. He says because the babies appear to be growing well and are healthy we may be able to deliver at 34 weeks. This was a huge relief to both Lance and I because at this point I can barely walk and even getting out of bed is difficult. In 2 weeks, I can't even imagine what it will be like. Here are the weights of the babies:

Baby A - 4 lbs 14 oz (tech said it had a lot of hair on it's head. It is still head down)
Baby B - 4 lbs (flipped head up again)
Baby C- 4 lbs (head is still wedged against my Rt hip)

At the rate they have been growing they should be at least 5 lbs in 2 weeks. So right now we are scheduled for an amnio (they take a really long needle and insert it through my belly to take a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding each baby) on Oct 31 to see if the lungs are mature. If they are, then we will do a c-section sometime that week (the first week in Nov). If they aren't mature I think we will have to wait another week.

We are just hoping that now since we have a plan, I won't go into labor before the 31st. So far I've still been having tons of contractions but my cervix is still holding up well. I have no doubt in my mind that the babies will be healthy and hopefully won't have to spend too much time in the hospital. We are being optimistic and hoping it will be only a couple of weeks. Before they can go home they need to be able to maintain their own tempurature, suck from a breast or bottle on a regular schedule, gain weight, have no infections, be off all medications except vitamins, and be off oxygen. I think that's it but there may be more. The kicks these babies give me remind me of when I was pregnant with Ashlyn, and she is still very strong for her size, so I know they are little fighters.

So please keep us in your thoughts these next 2 weeks as we count down days and watch the clock. I am getting a little nervous but Lance is nothing but excited. I'm not looking forward to having an amnio or surgery but it will be worth it to finally see our babies. We will let you know is anything changes.

32 wk fetus.

Here is another photo from the book I have by Lennart Nilsson. It's called A Child is born. This photo is of a 32 wk fetus which is what our babies will be on Monday. The picture didn't come out as well as I had hoped but you can at least see how cramped they are in there. Now imagine him (if you look close enough you can see that this is a boy baby) to have 2 siblings knocking him around in there.

Ashlyn has added her 2 cents also. The other night I was laying on my side and she climbed up and sat on my belly. The baby on the right rolled onto its side and got stuck there. I had to stand up and push it back because it was very painful.

31 wks 4 days.

We are almost to 32 weeks which was our biggest goal to start with. We will be 32 wks on Monday. My appt with Dr. Benson on Wed. went really well. He did the test on my cervix again and it was still negative which means we should be able to make it at least to 33 1/2 wks. I have still been having a lot of contractions but they don't seem to be doing anything but driving me crazy. My cervix still had not changed. It is still closed.

Dr. Benson has told us that he would feel comfortable delivering the babies at 34 weeks in Watertown but so far we are too scared to take him up on the offer. But we have decided when we see the Dr. in Sioux Falls on Monday we will ask him if he would consider delivering at 34 wks. We feel that Sioux Valley is much more prepared should something go wrong. They also have a very good lactation department to hopefully get me started in the right direction regarding breast feeding. Yes, I do plan to attempt to feed as many as I can. I am not setting my expectations too high but any is better than none. So we will see what the Dr. says. From what I've read 34 wks is considered full term for triplets and I have also received one dose of steroids (I get the other dose today) to help the lungs develop. Usually at 34 wks the lungs are developed on their own but we didn't want to take any chances. The babies should weigh close to 4 lbs now and should be around 5 by then so we feel pretty confident that they would do well if born at 34 wks.

Now I come to the whining section of my post. I will try and keep it to a minimum because I just read about a mom who is 29 wks with triplets and has been in the hospital for 2 months. She can barely breathe and says it is excruciating to even move from the bed to a stretcher for her ultrasounds. They are praying to make it to 32 wks. As for me I am still somewhat mobile. I moved my bed to the pull out sofa in the living room because for some reason it is more comfortable than my own bed, plus I can lay on it all day instead of trying to fit on the sofa itself. It is getting harder to walk due to so much pressure on my pelvis and my hips feel like they are falling off. I actually drove myself to my appt in Milbank yesterday but I think that will be ending soon since it is getting harder to reach the gas and brake because my belly gets in the way. I also think I will be resorting to a wheel chair on outings soon which I have been too embarrassed to do yet. The motorized carts at Wal-Mart have caught my eye a few times but I'm afraid I would run into something, or someone, so I haven't fired one up yet. I told my mom that I hadn't used one yet because I was worried people wouldn't look hard enough and realize I was pregnant, and they would wonder why I was using one. She said, "Oh, I think they can tell". So I don't really have much to complain about but that doesn't mean I won't complain. I found a book that had the weights of everything you gain during pregnancy (placenta, water, baby, uterus, etc.) and I added them all up (I didn't even add the fat) and took it times 3 but used the weights of our babies, not the full term 7.5 lbs. It came up to 33 lbs. I have so far gained a total of 35-40, so basically I am carrying around a 30 plus pound belly. The rest I attribute to water since my ankles and feet are starting to look like tree trunks (and my cheeks must belong to the chipmunks living in them). I do have good days and bad days, though. Some days I even still love being pregnant. Other days I feel like Lance should hide the cutlery (because I would perform my own c-section, not slit my wrists). Actually I can't even mention a DIY c-section to Lance because he would be all too willing to try it. He has told me several times that he has gutted plenty of deer in his life, it can't be much harder than that. My anesthesia options would be either whiskey or biting a stick, or both if I really needed it. I think I have convinced him that the surgical team of 30 or so at Sioux Valley would be much more experienced but that depends on how desperate I get. Right now adding 2 weeks is about all I can handle. If they try and hold off too long I may be sharpening the knives myself.

The babies seem to be getting pretty squished. Usually if I stand up I can feel lots of arms, legs, elbows, knees, and whatever sticking out. I think they are all still head down but we will see for sure on Monday. Baby C still feels most comfortable with it's butt under my rib cage. We are getting anxious to see them and finally see what the sexes are. They still don't have any names but we are the kind of people who like to see them before we name them anyway.

I am still amazed that we have made it this far without any major problems. We are very grateful and are hoping that it will continue. Dr. Benson said at my last appt that he was worried since I have been so "lucky" that eventually my luck would run out. I wouldn't call it luck, myself. I feel it has more to do with all the love, prayer, and support we have been surrounded by. So thank you, once again for helping to keep our babies healthy and strong.

Ashlyn and her cousins.

Here is a picture of Ashlyn and 2 of her cousins. Then one on the left is Kayla (my sister, Sarah's little girl) who was born just 10 hours before Ashlyn. They are pretty good buddies, most of the time. They also like to fight and steal each other's toys. The one on the right is Abigail (my brother, Patrick's little girl). She lives in Colorado and Ashlyn can't wait to see her again at Christmas. They all had fun together at Grandma's house.

30 wks 4 days.

Here are 2 new belly pics. One is a side view and one is from the front. I don't think I even look pregnant from the front. Just chubby. But from the side, I could easily hide a large oak tree. Don't worry, you can crack all the jokes you want, I won't get offended. Sometimes you just have to laugh.

First of all I just wanted to post an update from our last appt which was Monday the 2nd. Everything looked really good. No change in my cervix. Babies were all active and had grown a lot since our last visit.

Baby A is still head down right over my cervix and weighed 3 lbs 12 oz. We got a picture of it's foot which you can see in the top right corner. I think if you click on them you can enlarge them to see more clearly.


Baby B is also head down again and had it's feet over it's head. It weighed 3 lbs 1 oz. We got a good profile of it which you can see to the right.

Baby C managed to flip to head down position also and was looking directly at my right hip. It also has its little butt wedged under my right rib cage which is pretty painful. Ashlyn did the exact same thing so there must be a nice pocket there. We were unable to get a picture of this baby because of it's position but it weighed 3 lbs 2 oz.

As of today I've gained a total of 35 lbs and my belly circumference is about 45 inches. I'm still retaining water, some days are worse than others. I had bought a cheap ring I could wear in place of my wedding ring which was getting too small. I got a size bigger and now that one doesn't fit either. Guess I'll just go ringless for a few more weeks.

We tried to get the Dr. to let us set a date for the c-section but he wouldn't commit to anything. He is still hoping for 36 wks which is Nov. 13 but he thinks I may go sooner because of the problems I've been having. I am 30 wks and 4 days today and they say that is good and any further we get now is like a bonus. Especially if we can get the steroid shots to develop the lungs in time. I guess there is a certain window before birth that works best.

Now with all that said we got to spend another lovely night in the hospital on Wed night. Ashlyn was sick with stomach flu on Tues night. I was really careful to wash my hands really good after cleaning her up but I must have been already exposed to it because I got sick on Wed morning. All of the vomiting increased my contractions so the Dr. wanted me to come in to try and stop it so I wouldn't break my water. I was given so many medications I can hardly remember what they all were. I finally stopped throwing up at 9:00 that evening and the contractions, which had been 2-3 min apart when we got there, slowed to 5-6 min. So I spent the rest of the night getting no sleep due to the uncomfortable bed and extremely dry mouth. He checked my cervix again in the morning and still no change so we were able to go home. If my water breaks, I have any bleeding, or my contractions worsen we are to come back. Since I have basically slept from the time we got home until this morning, I am starting to feel better and the contractions are hardly noticeable anymore. I think the only thing saving us is that baby A, although the head is right on my cervix, is turned enough so that the head is not engaged in my pelvis. If that happens I think I will actually start to dilate. Lets hope that doesn't happen for a few more weeks.

There is a battle going on between Watertown hospital and Sioux Valley. Both want us to deliver in their hospital. They both have very good points but we are not quite sure which way to go. Sioux Valley wants us because they have just built a new NICU with a special triplet room and they haven't had triplets yet since it was opened. They seem a lot more high tech and we really loved what we saw on our tours. I think the babies would have exceptional care there. Watertown hasn't delivered triplets for 9 years or so and I think it would be exciting for them. Dr. Benson says he would feel very comfortable delivering them there if we get past 34 weeks. Although he has been a great Dr. and we love the staff there, it's tough after seeing Sioux Valley and how much more prepared they are for multiples. Also it would be nice to not have to travel all the way to Sioux Falls and Watertown is much closer. We've decided to not worry ourselves about it and just wait and see when the time comes. We feel that the right choice will be clear when the time comes.

So anyway the babies are still doing fine and growing like weeds. If the keep this up I think they will be 5 lbs by 34 wks. They still move a lot and some days it almost drives me crazy but I will miss them when they are out. They were very active at the hospital. I think they could hear all the other babies and wanted to come out and play. There were 12 babies and 3 more on the way when we left. The babies have been pretty calm since we got home I think they are catching up on sleep just like mommy. Speaking of I think its time to go back to bed. I am still exhausted. I will update any new info that I get and my next appt is with Dr. Benson on Wed the 11th. I'll try to remember to have Lance take another belly photo tonight.

Take care everyone and thanks for the prayer.