In the Stars

from my 2011 Horoscope --- "Your legendary tenacity and patience is truly about to pay off in spades this year Taurus. After a long and arduous 12 years, your luck is returning with a fabulous vengeance."

30 Week Belly

Today is 30 weeks! The babies are stronger than ever and are really moving around in there ... a bizarre feeling for sure. Happy New Year to everyone! So far this will be the most eventful new year in both of our lives.

Close Monitoring

Tomorrow is week 30! It's amazing how the tone in the doctor's office has changed since we've made it past the scary period. The doctors are so happy with me and comment on the pregnancy being "rock solid" or say that I've "cruised through". So reassuring since it's tough carrying these 3 babies at this point. Now we just see how long I can last ... ideally for 5 more weeks (goal = week 35)!

For now I go in once a week for office visits and biophysical profiles
where they measure breathing, movement, muscle tone, heart rate, & amniotic fluid for each baby.

From week 32 on I will go in twice a week for non-stress tests.

I also continue to monitor at home on a daily basis including: # of contractions per hour with special equipment we're hooked up with, my blood pressure, and baby movements per 2 hours (goal being 10).

They are really keeping a close eye on these Joneses!

28 Week Ultrasound

This past Friday I had my 28 week ultrasound. All looks good for all three babies.
Baby Boy "A" = 2 lb 11 oz
Baby Boy "B" = 2 lb 10 oz
Baby Girl "C" = 2 lb 9 oz
Baby Boy "B" was not facing the right direction for a glamour shot, but here are some pics from the appointment.

Ice, Ice Baby

Okay, this is a bit of a strange entry, but I felt the need to share my newly developed love of ice. Yes, ice. I'm not sure what it is about my 3rd trimester that has made me fall in love with frozen water, but I can't live without it. When I was in the lab waiting room with my mom, she brought me a glass of ice water and I kept raving to her about the special ice they had there. She laughed at me and continued to go back for more as it was keeping me happy. Well, that's about all for now...I've got to get back to my tall glass of seltzer with ice.

28 Weeks Belly

From here on out I think I am pushing beyond what a singleton pregnancy is like at full term. My tummy continues to grow and is really making basic movement more an more difficult. Both boys are sitting very low and I hurt my back Friday night simply rolling over. The doc thinks it was a slipped disc, but I'm keeping still and using a heating pad. I just keep telling myself "I'm growing because they're growing...which is a very good thing".

False Alarm!

Yeah! I passed my 3 hour glucose test and don't have gestational diabetes after all. The nurse said "good job, now treat yourself to a cookie." :) A great way to start off my day!

Pre Clean-up

I just found this picture that Kreg took after the baby shower. WOW. To appreciate the progress we've made look about 6 posts down.

Baby Bedding

All the cribs are up and the skirts and bumpers are on.

NOW it's real.

After a battery of blood tests, multitude of ultrasounds, plethora of internal kicks, and not to mention an amazing growing belly, somehow it took buying a minivan to make it all VERY REAL. Yes, we did it. We pulled the trigger and are now proud owners of a Honda Odyssey with all the bells and whistles so I still feel "kinda cool". Kreg likes it too and is having a good time learning how to use the hands-free features so he can feel like a space-age dad. When we were driving yesterday he said, "I really feel like going on a nice road-trip now" .... ummmm, sorry honey, but not for a while.

Knit 1, Purl 2

Yesterday my mother-in-law and her friend Verna came over to give my mom, sister, and I a knitting lesson. We figured that this might be a nice activity for me since I'm supposed to be nice and calm. Well, it's not the easiest thing to do, but we made progress. We'll see how this goes!! Thanks Lita & Verna!

Because it's cute ...

Man, did we clean house...

My mom came over and really did a number on my house. THANKS MOM! I feel back to normal again and festive too! We put out a small number of Christmas decorations to bring in the holiday cheer without creating too much work for the future. Ahhhhh... it's another "Hilltown Lodge" Christmas.

Delicous Glucola

Last Friday I drank some delicious glucola for my glucose screening and yesterday I got news from the docs that I did not pass the test. Yes, did not! My blood sugar was too high and I need to go in for a 3 hour glucose test to see if I have developed gestational diabetes. GRRRRR... The doc reassured me that it's not related to my "self-confessed" sweet tooth, but caused by elevated hormones from the triplet pregnancy (created by the three placentas). We will see.

Bed Rest

If I look pained in this picture, it's because I am. Well, not actually in physical pain (thank god), but the pain of boredom was striking me. Today is my second Monday on bed rest and I plan my seated sessions throughout the home. Ready for my thrilling day so far?

First Session = kitchen table finishing up thank you notes
Second Session = recliner chair in front room reading chapters on NICU and How to Cope the First Few Months with Multiples in my book
Third Session = Computer work; posting items on ebay, checking my emails, etc.
Fourth Session = Couch watching TV and eating lunch (the picture) leading into re-writing my list of things to do (most I can't do myself) in all sorts of categories (computer, nursery, outdoors, shopping, attic)

Needless to say - open for visitors!!

26 Week Belly

... and growing!!

A Grandpop Shower!!

The sweetest thing happened last night ... my dad's church choir friends threw him a surprise Grandpop Baby Shower! He was apparently very confused by the whole situation at first and did not know what was going on. When he realized that everyone pulled the event together for him and his soon-to-be grandkids he was shocked and a tad emotional. Thank you to everyone in the choir. The Heidelberg Community has been very special to our family all of my life and we really appreciate your support during this exciting time.