29 Weeks

Ok, Ive made it another week. 7 more days and everyone will relax a bit about the trio coming so early. Baby C is still doing well. Her heart rate is strong, and she continues to score perfect 8's on her daily Biophysical Profiles. The doc mentioned today that they dont expect to see a sudden drastic change in her status where an emergency c-section would be necessary. It would be more gradual and be indicated by a change in her heart rate. Also, they plan to check the weights of all three babies a week from today. If it shows that despite the strong heart rate, baby C is not growing, they will schedule me for delivery. So there are a few determining factors. For now she continues to look really good, just small. Baby B is the hog. He is the biggest and has the most fluid. Maybe he knows that boys do statistically worse than premature girls and he's trying to get everything he can while he can. Hmph. Smart kid. Baby A continues to be the laid back and tolerant one down at the bottom of the heap. Her heart rate is always lower and she's always in a lounging position despite being sat on, stepped on, and squashed into a tiny corner. I guess there has to be one like her in there or it just wouldn't work.
I continue to feel perfectly fine. I haven't shown any signs of preterm labor and I'm still not so big that I'm feeling awful. I have tons of contractions during the night, to the point that the nurses come in and ask "are you sure you're not feeling those? You're having like 20 and hour!" I feel them, but its just that tightening feeling. No pain. The doctors have to reassure them that with triplets, and all the activity in there, contractions like that are totally normal. If they start to hurt, though, that means trouble.

Craig continues to work on the nursery at home. There's no hurry, really, because the babies will be in the NICU for 2 months at least, but understandably he wants to get it done. I miss my house and I miss my dogs and I can't believe I've been here 2 weeks already. Again we are so grateful for our many blessings, and for all of your prayers on our behalf. We can't wait until we can introduce our three little ones to everyone:)

Sooner than Later

Well unfortunately the situation is getting worse. Baby C still looks good, heart rate is strong, but her cord flow is more restricted than it was a week ago. We were hoping that it would hold, or at least stay the same for as long as possible, but it looks like delivery will come sooner than we would have hoped. We are praying to last 11 more days- which would put me at 30 weeks gestation. Babies do significantly better at 30 weeks. The docs today told me not to "bet my last dime on that" but we're sure trying. I feel like a ticking time bomb, like any day they could come rushing in to take me in for an emergency C-Section. Its more likely that things will continue in a downward trend until they schedule the C-section. Craig said that he feels like everything will be ok, and that makes me feel much better. He's good like that:)

Its amazing how much love we feel from our friends and family- specifically our Ward family. I have received so many visitors and well wishes and its just a wonderful feeling- like we have so many of you in our corner pulling for us. You all have no idea what that means to us. We love you and we'll keep you posted:) Now I have to go continue incubating....

Hospital Life

If you haven't heard already, Im in the hospital indefinitely because if issues with little baby C- details are on facebook if you want em. I was admitted on Tuesday and Im still here. I will say that I expected it to be worse at this point. I never thought Id get a private room- which apparently was a necessity just to fit the monitors for 3 babies. I have a great view- out 3 big windows, cable, flat screen, dvd player and wifi in my room. Im not sick or on any diet restrictions, so they bring me pretty much whatever I ask for. Seems weird to be hospitalized and offered onion rings, ffries, chips, chicken fingers, pepsi, bacon, etc with meals. The food is ok, I think I just like having so many options.

My daily routine goes as follows: the doc usually comes in between 630 and 730am just to check in and ask if I understand everything and have any questions. Because this is a teaching hospital, I get a different resident about every day, and then there are the big wig- perinatologists and neonatologists that come by a few times a week to ask the same questions. A PCA (patient care attendant) comes in to take Blood pressure and temp and fill my water pitcher- which is kept full at all times, and the nurse for the day shift comes in to see if I need anything and check my heart with the stethoscope. Breakfast, or "nutrition," as they announce themselves, comes between 8 and 830 and then I usually shower and get dressed for the exciting day to come.
Lunch is around 1230, dinner is 530 and in between are the BP and temp checks about every 3 hours. And housekeeping also comes in about 4 times a day. Craig comes in the evenings to hang out with me, and after he leaves I get ready for bed... or should I say sleep, since Im in bed almost all day. The night nurse comes in around 7 to introduce herself and check on me, and then they come in about 3 or 4 times during the night to take BP and temps again, and fill my water.
Oh- and someone comes every 24 hours to give me an ultrasound to make sure all three little ones are looking good. Im hooked to a fetal monitor 24 hrs a day for baby C and they have a 2nd monitor on me for contractions.
Today they added another machine to my list of hook-ups. Its a thing that straps around each calf to prevent blood clots. They inflate and deflate one at a time and I keep them on unless I get up to use the bathroom or shower. No biggie.
Friday evening Craig wheeled me down to tour the NICU, which was a really good experience. My good friend Laawna is a nurse down there and she showed us all the little preemies that might be the same size and age as our babies could be at birth. On one hand it was shocking to see how fragile and tiny they looked. On the other hand, it was good to see what good hands they were in and what a nice facility it was. We are praying for these little ones to hold up until Im at least 30 weeks- which is 2 weeks from tomorrow. The little one is holding steady, but we really won't know for sure until they do the test on her cord flow, and check her growth again. If it shows she's not growing, we'll have to deliver. Until then we just pray and wait. More updates to come- but dinner is on its way!

Belly Pics

Ok all you whiners, I finally broke down. I'll even post a few that I hate just so you can see a slight progression. I have a few earlier ones on my phone that Craig will have to help me get on the computer later.
Jan 16 (18 weeks)

Feb 16, (23 weeks)
Feb 23, (24 weeks)




I have been feeling great. I commented to a friend that I feel even better physically than I did a few weeks ago. Maybe my body is just adjusting better, maybe the wee ones were going through a growth spurt (although isn't the entire 35 weeks one giant growth spurt?) Anyway, I can't complain much. Current symptoms include: extremely greasy complexion and hair- although my skin in general is very soft, which is good, (but seriously you could coat a giant skillet with what I blot off of my face every hour) horrible breakouts, and I thought prenatal vitamins were supposed to be great for hair and nails?? My fingernails have NEVER been this flimsy and bendy. I can't even get a good scratch with them because they bend so much. I don't have any cravings and the heartburn continues to worsen each week, it seems. Like Juno said, "the heartburn radiates in my kneecaps." Sleeping is....well, I have good nights and bad nights. I just have to be creative with pillows and be sure to take my Zantac each night or I don't stand a chance. My weight gain has been respectable, not too little not too much- according to my doc. Although it seems to me like it has all accumulated in my fat face. I guess it could be worse, but it is a little difficult to hide. If only I were a Muslim...


I am almost 25 weeks and am now having weekly ultrasounds and progesterone injections. Its all about the cervix. There has been a slight change, but nothing that anyone is worrying about at this point. If is shortens out much more than they'll probably talk about some modified bedrest, but so far so good.

Will someone tell me what kind of car to get? We've narrowed it down to 3, then 2, then added another back to 3, then.... blah blah blah. Here's the short version: We don't need a huge car because Craig has the truck and we'll take that anywhere that we need to lug baby gear to. Also, we dont want 2 gas guzzlers. We've looked at the Subaru Outback, KIA Sorrento and, most recently the new Honda Pilot. You get the most for the money with the Pilot, but its bigger than we need, and the gas mileage isn't as good. The KIA is our favorite all around, BUT for what they;'re asking for it (fully loaded, granted) we can get the Pilot (but not quite fully loaded, but then its a Honda vs a KIA). Then we go back to the gas issue and I dont really want something that big. The Pilot would last us longer, because it seats 8, but again, we dont need an 8 seater right now. If we got the KIA we'd just upgrade to something bigger in a few years- then at that point, maybe we'd get rid of Craig's truck and have a smaller car and a bigger family car. Again, trying to avoid having 2 trucks. And yes, we can fit three car seats across the back seat- we've done all the measuring- which is our plan. I have no intentions of climbing in and out of a vehicle to get one car seat out of the back. Ok, lets hear it:

I love having baby things cluttering the house. Its fun seeing the car seats, strollers, etc all over the place. It still amazes me what is yet to come. Speaking of what is yet to come, they are moving all over the place- relatively speaking. They're considerate enough not to keep me up all night, and no one has had the hiccups yet, but they are definitely little kickers and nudgers! Baby C moves the most with the big boy coming in a close 2nd. Little girl-A is the most chill down there at the bottom. I wonder if their personalities will follow suit when they're born. Thank you so much everyone who has so graciously donated or lent us baby gear, clothes, etc. I have no idea how we would get everything we need without that. We are so grateful to all of you.

Its amazing how different I feel after 2 or 3 hours of shopping/errand running compared to normal. I now know when it feels like after I've been on my feet too long and I try to be sensitive to that. Doesn't help with the contractions, that's for sure. I guess until further notice I continue to work and do most things that I normally would around the house. We're hoping for delivery around mid May- which would be 35 weeks. Most common for triplets is between 30 and 33 weeks, so we'd be blessed to make it to 35.

Questions and Comments

First of all, my sis-in-law demanded (yes demanded) that I go and create a baby registry, so that's what I'm doing. My problem is that I literally look at everything and say "I don't need that." We're trying to assemble used gear as much as possible so I don't see the point in asking anyone to go pay money for these things. Things I do see needing are the basics: bottles (I read I'll need about 6 per baby to start), diapers (who knows how many), onezies, clothes, socks, crib sheets etc. Basically, it makes for a boring registry. That said, Im counting on experienced moms to tell me what I need. My first question is what the heck kind of bottles do I get? There are hundreds, and they can't all be the same. Im going to try and breastfeed as much as humanly possible, but lets face it, there's no way I'll be able to keep up with three hungry little mouths. So , Moms, which are best? Playtex drop-ins are up there in popularity, and so are Avents. They both seem to have their pros and cons. The idea of liners vs constantly washing bottles definately gets my attention. I need to go with what's most convenient for me, and what will work best with babies going back and forth from bottle to breast. So? Which is it then?

Secondly, I got all the material for the crib bedding today! Even the shipment from Australia arrived:) Now I just need a coordinating fabric for the dust ruffles- that will all be the same- and Im good to go!This is for the girls' cribs.
The frogs are for the boy. The green frogs actually match the green in the tulips- which was the point- but it looks totally different online. They'll all have matching dust ruffles, and I'll add some red somewhere with the frogs to tie them all together. I think Im leaning towards a green wall. Like my friend Kaipo said, the red accents will pop with the lime green better then if it were the other way around. I saw a photo of a bright green wall with pure white furniture and trim and I just loved the way it looked.
Oh here it is!
I think one green wall will be plenty. now if I can just manage to keep it looking too Christmas-y.

Pregnancy still going well. My biggest complaint lately is rib pain. It feels like someone has a blowtorch under my right ribcage. Can't seem to do anything to alleviate the dull, and sometimes not so dull- ache. No sitting position is comfortable. My best chance is standing or lying flat. Anyway its a minor complaint, considering. Im sure it'll get worse and I keep telling myself that- hoping it wont be as bad as Im expecting.

Ok, Moms, need that advice now:)..

Catching up. Again.

Im sick of Craig saying "So, how's that blog coming?" So I am surrendering to the post. It just gets so overwhelming when there is so much to cover. I'll try to sum up, but don't hold your breath--.. I had to run in the other room and change the channel from American Idol. Its the early audition round, and my ears were starting to bleed.
Quickly- For Thanksgiving we went to Seattle to visit Craig's brother and sister-in-law and we had a great time. We visited the Space Needle, and the famous fish market and it was great to see Kent and Stephanie's new baby girl, Melanie:) (wish I had a picture of her now.) We also had family photos taken.

Here are the nephews! Hi guys!

-The Museum of Flight in Washington.


Top of the Space Needle. Have to do it once, right?


One of our family pics. See the triplets? There's Melanie! I do have a pic of her:)

We came home for a week, and I was miserable with a terrible cold that I couldn't really take anything for. Vicks vapo-rub and Ricolas did SQUAT.

Then we went to Hawaii for what was likely to be the last vacation we take for a very, very...very long time. If you've never been, its truly a faaaaaaaaaaaantastic place. It was actually the first vacation Craig and I have taken alone since our Honeymoon (and we dont even have kids yet;) so it was really nice to be able to take a trip like that again. Thanks Steve and Linda for making that happen:)
We did everything- witnessed the "Big Swell" on the North Shore and the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Classic that only happens about once every five years. We were on the beach at 6:30am with 35,000 other onlookers and Craig took about a million pictures. (why can't I fix the italics??)
These were two from the contest. Kid takes a nice photo, doesn't he:)



We also visited the Polynesian Cultural Center- where we did everything from learning how to weave strips of grass, to attending a Luau, and Craig made fire by rubbing sticks together. My man!


We went snorkling at Hanauma Bay nature preserve and it was beautiful.
Bah! And I thought I was showing then.
Ok, the photo above is obviously better, and also equally as obviously-not taken by me.

The trip was wonderful. We rented a Mustang convertible and spent a lot of time just cruising around from one side of the island to the other. The weather was ideal- low 80's, not a cloudy day or a drop of rain, and there was a perfect, constant breeze. The fresh pineapple is...well, it makes me drool just thinking about it. And I think I had a Hawaiian Shaved Ice every day that we were there. It is one of thee best treat on earth. The passion fruit/lychee/guava combo is my favorite. THAT, I did get a picture of.
mmmmmmmm. I miss you, shaved ice. We will be together again soon.

Also one of my favorite parts of the North Sore are the Shrimp Shacks. They are literally like old, piece of crap- RV's parked on the roadside with picnic tables outside. The shrimp are plentiful and tasty!
We were so happy just to be there, and we still dream of days when we can afford to live there. Don't worry, that will be never.

Ok, moving on...

Pregnancy. I turned 18 weeks on Monday and everything is going beautifully. We had our extremely thorough ultrasound last week and found out that we are having two girls and a boy. We couldn't be happier:) We have had names picked out for a while, but we made a last minute switch when I casually brought up a name to Craig just to see how he would react, and HE LIKED IT. So (drum roll) since I can't see your faces react to the news: Lyla, Scarlet, and Porter. Craig picked Porter and I picked the girls' names with no opposition from Dad. Don't quote me on the spellings yet, though.
So far the trio is as healthy as we can know at this point. We are blessed that they all have separate sacs and their own placentas so we can already rule out many complications that can arise when that isn't the case- like one being significantly larger than the other, for example. They're all about 7 oz at this point and I am barely starting to feel them move. Symptomly speaking (?) it has been smooooth sailing. I can only wonder what lies ahead that it should be so easy up to this point. I am still stuffed up every day, and its the worst at night, but a humidifier has helped a lot. I just get that problem- when you breathe out of your mouth all night and you wake up choking and trying to moisten your mouth to no avail- feeling like your tongue is going to split from the dryness. Also, I broke my perfect record. I threw up. Actually, I do a lot, but its always the first thing in the morning and due to phlegm from the sinus crap- which always triggers the gag reflex. Luckily its only dry heaves and only bothers me when I first wake up. It is weird, though, but I don't care. Beats being nauseous all day for sure.
Its becoming increasingly difficult to bend over, put on shoes, etc. I need to invest in a good pair of slip-ons pretty quick. But getting dressed every morning is fun because I have this great, new accessory! I get so excited every time I look at it because its like the best Christmas present in the world that I get to carry around all day every day- constantly reminding me of the gift we're getting come this spring. AND, it keeps getting bigger! Now, If I can just keep my skin from splitting open. At friends' suggestion I picked up some Bag Balm. It works well, but its pretty stinky.
Now comes the agonizing task of decorating the nursery. Im making all the crib bedding because there's no way in you know where that Im spending more for the bedding that the cribs themselves. I found plenty of fabric that I like, all modern/contemporary themes (no "baby" stuff) but I can't for the life of me settle on a color scheme. Gender neutral is killer. All the furniture will be white, and I want to do bright colors- probably one bright wall- red or apple green or tangerine or something, and then some cool mod prints for the bedding and curtains. I just can't decide on colors, mostly because I would be happy with multiple combinations. And I love Chinese lanterns- I'd like to get one to hang over each crib. Ooh, this is fun:) Anyway, suggestions are welcome. Just don't say anything that has anything to do with characters, or anything that comes with a matching wallpaper border. That's not me.

I continue to wonder what I have done to deserve such blessings, and I still can't imagine all that lies ahead. I hope I am doing my job in expressing gratitude, and I hope I will be worthy to care for the three special little spirits that are waiting for us. More updates to come!

ps- thank you so much to everyone who has offered donations. We're taking almost anything we can get!

Dreams, phlegm, and force feeding

I hear that pregnant women have weird and very vivid dreams. I, however, have always had weird and vivid dreams. Ask Craig, he thinks I have the mind of a crazy person. Being pregnant hasn't really changed my dreaming...style. Last night, for example, I dreamed that Michael J Fox was my boyfriend and we were having lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. I remember carrying my tray through the line, only, I don't remember what we had. The only strange part was that he went through the line ahead of me and didn't pay. Heh. Jerk.
The night before I had a dream that Gwen Stafani and I became good friends. She wanted to do something different with the band, and decided that the "something different" was to make me the other lead singer. Nothing weird about that! Wait- she lived in a crappy apartment complex, so that was a little weird.

Phlegm. I have been having sinus issues, usually in the mornings, which means that I sneeze a lot, have a runny nose and, consequently, have a constant presence of phlegm in my throat. Its impossible to ignore and the second I think about it, I gag. Its most annoying. I does help if I chew minty gum, I don't know why, maybe because its a distraction. I hate having an overactive gag reflex in the mornings. And why is it just in the mornings? I swear, its largely psychological.

My appetite is still pathetic, do any of you Moms out there (especially of multiples) suggest a point when I should start drinking protein drinks? I'm almost 10 weeks, think now is unnecessarily too soon? I don't feel the need to pack on the pounds yet, I just want to make sure the little ones are getting what they need. I do eat something for every meal, the portions are just puny and many dinners (and lunches) are tomato soup and crackers. The other night I had a generous handful of green olives and a small bowl of cottage cheese for dinner. Mmmmm, green olives:) Not terrible, I got my protein! The saturday before I had a bowl of cereal at noon and a cup of soup at 8. Could have been why I had a headache that day. Today for lunch I aimed for a baked potato and cup of chili. I only ate the potato. Chili was too oniony for me. The potato was a decent size, so I don't feel bad. You all have to know something, this is such a new feeling for me. For years I longed for my appetite to be taken away- as healthy as it normally is. And now when I'm allowed, and encouraged to eat like a cow, I have to force myself. I have to admit... its lovely.