One month and two days ago

In an operating room full of people, with a window through which I could see the softly falling snow, I heard my firstborn daughter's cry for the very first time. I knew her voice immediately: it was the unmistakable cry of my baby girl.

Her sisters soon followed, each with an equally vigorous greeting for the world. Marina was 4 lb 9 oz, Leila 5 lb 6 oz and our little Ariana weighed in at 4 lb 7 oz.

As soon as I was out of recovery I was wheeled up to the NICU and got to hold them all for 15 minutes or so before I was taken to my room for the night.

They were healthy and perfect and spent less than 24 hours under observation in the NICU before being moved to the regular newborn nursery on our floor for the duration of my stay. They were quite the celebrities; the first triplets in the collective memories of the nurses who cared for us who all made it to the regular nursery. I was fortunate to have a quick and easy recovery from my c-section and I will always cherish every second of those first four days we spent in the hospital getting to know each other.

So began our journey as a family of five.

I'm finding this parenting gig incredibly intense in the most wonderful ways and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to continue to share our story in this space. My heart is just too tender from growing three sizes and the details feel too personal. However, I didn't want to drop off the face of the planet without letting you know how things turned out. Suffice it to say that having these three babies is the best thing I have ever done and I am so grateful to have the chance to be their mom. Good luck in your own journeys and thank you for stopping by and offering me encouragement and support along the way.

T-1

This was the state of the belly at 34 1/2 weeks, the day of our last prenatal appointment. They had a hard time getting the fetal weight estimates because the babies were so big and intertwined, but it's looking like they might all hit the 5 pound mark; we'll see tomorrow (tomorrow - egad!).

A nice surprise that occurred over the last week is that all the swelling in my legs and feet disappeared, to the tune of a 10 pound weight loss from the water bloat. I've actually felt fantastic the past week and have had the best appetite of my pregnancy, which is ironic as tomorrow I can't eat or drink anything after midnight and my c-section isn't scheduled until after lunch. Hopefully nerves will overcome the hunger and hypoglycemia, otherwise I'm going to be one grouchy mama-to-be.

The babies have been super-active lately, pushing each other around, finding their way under my ribs and being generally entertaining. I can't wait to meet them in person.

33 weeks

Holy moly, there are going to be three tiny babies living in my house very soon! I have to admit that I'm starting to freak out just a little. Up until now it's all been about managing the pregnancy and hitting those all-important viability milestones. At my appointment last week the doctor gave me clear instructions about who and when to call and when to head in to labor and delivery should I go into labor. I gave him a breezy answer about how I don't plan to go into labor before my scheduled c-section date in two weeks and he looked at me in all seriousness and said "you realize you've passed the average delivery date and these babies can come at any time?" I thought that they would try to stop labor before 35 weeks but apparently not, they'll just deliver them. Gulp. He gave me a course of steroids for the babies' lungs just in case.

Overall, things are going great; the babies continue to measure in the upper 70% percentile for size which is awesome, I managed to work until last Friday and now have two weeks off before the delivery (another reason for those babies to stay put) and other than being tired and swollen and suffering with a horrible rash due to PUPPP for over a week now, I feel good. Speaking of PUPPP, it is horrific. It itches like the fire of a 1000 mosquito bites (and I'm allergic), it covers my feet, legs, lower abdomen and the back of my arms and is as hideous to look at as it is itchy. Combine it with the swelling that happens in my legs over the course of a day and it is misery of the highest proportions. I'm on my second prescription steroid cream and while it helps, I still wake up every hour or two at night scratching my skin raw and have to get up and put cold compresses on my skin. The only thing that helped for the two days I was being treated were the intramuscular betamethasone shots I received to help the babies' lungs mature but once that was out of my system the itching came back with a vengeance. I actually made my husband scrub out the bathtub and help me in and out of the bath so I could soak in tepid water which helps relax me so I can at least get to sleep at night. The "good" thing is that it should go away when the babies come out.

Our home renovations are nearly done, we're just waiting for our new bathroom window to be installed. It was very trying having the work done while heavily pregnant and unable to move any boxes around myself, but now that it's over, we love the results and I'm so glad we did it. I cannot imagine going through that with small children around. I'm having a couple of friends come over this weekend to sort through all the baby stuff I've been given and then I might be able to declare us nearly organized.

I have some great belly shots, but I couldn't find the camera cord, so they'll have to wait.

29 weeks and counting down

Time is flying by, I can't believe I will get to meet my babies in just six weeks! It was a huge relief to sail past the 28 week mark with no issues; I finally feel like I am counting down to their arrival rather than up to various milestones. At our most recent appointment they estimated the babies' weights and they are all in the 90th percentile for multiples which is great news. Still no signs of pre-term labor or other health concerns on my part, so that's wonderful. I was so afraid that I'd be on bed rest at this point and although I'm slowing down and getting more tired, I'm grateful that I'm still able to lead my normal life and continue working for the time being.

We spent our winter break having work done on our house which was chaotic but productive. The babies' room is now painted (and free of hideous '60s era wall paper) and we found a dresser that will double as a changing table so now I have somewhere to start putting all the baby clothes that people have been giving me. My long-awaited laundry closet has been built and the rest of the basement painted and carpeted so we now have usable guest room and office space. Next week the bathroom remodels start, but hopefully all will be complete by the end of the month.

My appetite is still not great but I manage to eat at least one decent meal per day. The nausea/food aversion is worst in the morning when nothing appeals and my gag reflex is really strong but I'm usually able to eat by lunch time. In terms of foods that I can enjoy, I am able to eat meat, beans, rice and the like so we've been treating ourselves to Brazilian, Greek and BBQ of late. Too many fresh fruits and vegetables cause me some digestive problems, but I fit in what I can. Sleeping has been challenging as I find it harder to breath even propped up on a pile of pillows, but I generally wake up feeling pretty rested. Still thirsty all the time and loving the icy beverages (rootbeer, seltzer and Gatorade) plus just chewing on ice cubes all day long. I've started noticing a tightening of my belly that must be Braxton-Hicks contractions; they're not painful in any way, but it's odd to see my belly seize up and squeeze around the babies.

Last week we visited a family with 10 month old triplet girls (plus an 11 year-old, a 14 year-old, two greyhounds, a cat and two cockatiels). It was really fun to see them in action and the little girls were lovely. Mom and Dad were really encouraging and supportive and appeared to love their chaotic lives; it was reassuring to see first hand that life with multiples can be fun and rewarding. They gave us a couple of boxes of clothes and three bouncy seats that their girls had grown out of and we also bought their Triple Decker Stroller. Next up, car seats.

24 weeks

Twenty-four weeks and holding strong. Dr. Awesome told me at my last appointment that if my cervix hasn't budged by now, it probably isn't going to open prematurely and took me off the weekly monitoring schedule. Or, as he puts it, the "million dollar ultrasound machine" schedule. Now when I go in every two to three weeks, he checks the babies for movement and heartbeats using the "hundred thousand dollar machine." I don't get to have any more million dollar scans until the babies are big enough to weigh and they start doing the biophysical profiles. While I know this is the best possible news, I'm going to miss those high resolution scans and weekly confirmation that the babes are alive and kicking.

Fortunately, they now let me know on a regular basis that they are alive by kicking the heck out of me. Baby number 3 is the most active (or perhaps just has the most room); her territory is the upper right quadrant of my abdomen. In fact, she is pounding out a little rhythm as I am typing this. I also feel babies 1 & 2, but as they are both on the left side and kind of overlapping, it's harder to distinguish who is responsible for the movement unless it occurs at the very top or bottom of my belly. I've been able to see and feel them from the outside but so far my husband has missed the show.

I had the follow-up appointment with my new cardiologist and my heart is fine, so that's a relief. The new cardiologist was quite the character. I told her that they are all girls and she turned to my husband and said "poor you" to which my husband replied "as long as they all love their daddy." Without missing a beat, she turned to me and said, "oh, they always love the daddy; it's the mommy that they hate." She had a couple of other good lines, we quite liked her. In other pregnancy fun, I'm retaining a fair amount of water and having a lot of swelling in my legs and feet. Still dealing with mild nausea and now reflux and figuring at this point that it's not going away until after the babies are born.

We're still working on setting a price with our contractor so we can get a few improvements done on our house, hopefully they'll be starting work in a week or two. I ordered fabrics for the girls' room and have started to look at baby gear but haven't bought anything yet. I figure that as long as I have it all picked out, we'll have plenty of time to buy things as the time they will be needed draws nearer.

22 weeks

Finally, a belly shot to prove that I am indeed pregnant:

Phew, I'm tired. I just returned from a trip to the west coast to see my family. The babies went crazy on the flights there, kicking and squirming like I had never felt before, must have been the changes in pressure. It was a good trip, but a little more difficult to travel at this stage in pregnancy than I had anticipated (see photo). Airplane seats were uncomfortable, walking through airports dragging my bag was tiring and having to fit into all sorts of unfamiliar compact cars was a challenge. Despite the minor inconveniences, it was fun to show off my bump and I was always mindful that this would be my last solo trip for some time to come, so I tried to get as much quality time as I could with family and friends.

My mom and I took a trip to the most wonderful wool shop where she treated me to gorgeous wool to make sweaters, hats and booties for the babes. She did not, however, approve of my choice of deep plum, mauve and sage green as she is still firmly of the opinion that appropriate colors for babies are white, cream, pale pink and pale blue. Ahem.

Although I somehow managed to gain four pounds this week (!) I am still dealing with background nausea and threw up twice. It's more irritating that incapacitating, but it would be nice to just feel "normal" again. My monitoring appointment on Wednesday turned out to be another fetal survey which was very difficult to get through as I can't lay on my back for more than five minutes without feeling like I'm going to pass out. I had to keep rolling from side to side and sitting up during the exam and wasn't really able to concentrate on watching the babies on the screen because I was so uncomfortable. They all look fantastic and are starting to look pretty darn cute, if I say so myself. Cervix is still holding strong and Dr. Awesome told me everything was looking perfect and that I didn't have to come back for another two weeks.

I did get some sad news: my cardiologist died this week very unexpectedly. It was quite upsetting, even though we'd only met him once, both my husband and I had enjoyed talking to him and felt very comfortable having me in his care. And his poor family, losing him right before the holidays, so very difficult. It was a sobering reminder of how short life is and how precious these three new little lives inside of me truly are.

20 weeks

I just returned from my weekly monitoring appointment. My cervix is still holding strong and all three babes are looking good. I was catching up on some other triplet blogs and realize how different the management of triplet pregnancies is depending on the doctor and the hospital. So many women seem to be put on mandatory bed rest, or are told how much weight to gain or otherwise terrorized into very conservative behaviour without any indications that it is necessary. My doctor, who delivers ~30 sets of triplets per year, has fully informed me of the possible complications of this pregnancy, and monitors me accordingly, but has put no restrictions on my activities. I really appreciate this sort of approach; I know I'm in a high risk category of pregnancy and I feel well taken care of, but no on is trying to instill unnecessary fear in me. Good thing, too, because I am a total worrier and prone to assume the worst.

For example, last Friday I came home from a busy day/week of work and noticed that my ankles were so swollen that I couldn't see my ankle bones. I freaked out, assuming that I was developing congestive heart failure (I am being following by a cardiologist, after all) or pre-eclampsia and was going to die, lose the babies or both. Seriously, I was sobbing uncontrollably. My bewildered but ever rational husband consulted Dr. Google and informed me that this sort of swelling was normal for any pregnancy and managed to calm me down. At my appointment today, I asked Dr. Awesome about it and informed me I had possible courses of action: (1) to ignore it, or (2) to put my feet up and that whichever option I chose, the swelling was only going to get worse as the pregnancy progressed. Can you see why I love Dr. Awesome so much?

Everything else pregnancy-related is going well, I still have loads of energy, good appetite despite the mild lingering nausea and am occaisonally feeling the top two babies move, although it's a lot more pinching and sharp poking than the delightful tickles that most people seem to experience at this point. Still no food cravings (I'm being to think that this cravings business is a convenient excuse to eat a lot of junk food :) although I do enjoy my daily ration of the extruded chick pea snacks that we get at the local Indian grocery.

19 weeks

Still feeling great with the exception of the occaisonal mild GI upset and a strange taste in my mouth that will not go away. I'm in full time maternity clothes now and loving every inch of my baby bump: my husband says it grows bigger every day and is just as enamoured with it as I am. He loves to say hello to his girls and we've spent many an early morning talking about potential names and wondering just who these babies are. Friday night I was knitting on the sofa and definitely felt baby #3 (top right) move and called him in, but of course it's still too early to feel anything from the outside. It was pretty amazing; it felt just like I was being lightly tickled from the inside. There have been a few other times I thought I felt some movement, but wasn't sure until this most recent occaison. I was told I would feel movement later than usual becasue the positions of all three placentas are on the anterior of my uterus, providing an extra layer of insulation between me and the babes. Yup, they are already locked in their rooms with the doors closed :)

It was a beautiful weekend here. Sunday we went for breakfast at our favorite diner and then managed to get out later in the day for a walk in the woods. It was much harder than the last hike we did, but I just took it slow and accepted a little help up the steeper parts from my husband. We came across a family with two little girls and my husband commented that he couldn't wait to hear his three calling "Daddy, Daddy." So sweet.

Hopefully I'll be able to make a trip out to see my family in the next couple of weeks, but I would really like to get an H1N1 vaccination before I travel. Unfortunately, due to the limited supply, I haven't yet reached the top of the priority list at my doctor's office. I'm torn, I really don't think I'm in any greater danger getting on an airplane that I am going about my daily life at home, but my husband is feeling very protective and doesn't want me to take any chances. We'll see what they say when I go in for my weekly ultrasound tomorrow.

Care to join the sorority?

There are currently four members, though I'm the only one who seems to have any actual responsibility, you could call me the house mother. For the other three it's just party, party, party and non-stop skinny-dipping. No alcohol allowed and we haven't finalized our name, though ABC is what we're going with for now. My husband is feeling a wee bit left out and really, who can blame him? It's not like he took to his bed in despair (it was just a short nap) or expressed any misgivings about missing out on the full experience of parenthood (?) or suggested there might be a fourth child in our future (when Hell freezes over) or anything like that. He's already rising to the occasion; calling out "where are my girls?" whenever he enters the room and banning cheerleading in favor of soccer and music lessons.

Three perfect baby girls, can you believe it?

18 weeks

It's hard to believe I have summitted the half-way mark in this pregnancy. I just stopped feeling horrible all the time, my bump has only been getting attention from strangers for a couple of weeks, how can I been on the downward slope already? It reminds me of one of my friends who had her second son at 30 weeks lamenting "I was barely pregnant." At least in my situation, I know the numbers going in and have some time to prepare for our three little premies. And nesting I am. We have a call in to a contractor to have a few long-standing items on our wish list taken care of. Upgrading our basement bathroom to accomodate my MIL when she comes for an extended stay to help with the babies, stuff like that. Nothing that absolutely has to happen, but things that will make life more comfortable with a house full of people.

Overall, I've been feeling great. Lots of energy, good appetite and the desire to plan meals and cook again. Still some lingering nausea (Saturday was bad) but I'm definitely having more good days than bad. There was an incident last night involving too much tofu eggplant stir-fry (the stuff is crack to me) that I am still paying for, but I can't blame pregnancy for that one. I went to yoga last week for the first time in many moons and it was hilarious. So much harder to negotiate poses with an unyielding baby bump, I must have looked ridiculous. Regardless, it felt so good to stretch that I'm heading back this week for more.

I've submitted to maternity pants even though they don't quite stay up yet because my regular pants are just too uncomfortable. Underwear was a challenge until I discovered the GAP hipsters and they are just right. It was horrifying to discover how many truly ugly and ill-fitting maternity undies are out there, and how much they cost. And I'm not even talking about the maternity thongs which, in my opinion, are just plain ridiculous.

Tomorrow is our first fetal survey; the ultrasound where they will take a look at all the organs and see how our little babes are developing. I say first fetal survey because, at my monitoring appointment last week, the ultrasound technician was of the opinion that the babies would still be too small to see everything this week. Fingers crossed that we'll at least learn the sexes; the suspense is killing me. Plus, people are offering us all sorts of baby items and I don't want to accept a bag full of pink frilly clothes if we are having all boys. I don't have any sort of feeling about who is hanging out in there, but I was at a "Ladies Night Out" event last week and had a tarot reading in which the psychic told me I was having two boys and a girl. We shall see (and soon, I hope).

17 weeks

Our first monitoring appointment last Wednesday went perfectly. The babies looked great, they are all measuring the same and keeping pace with their gestational age. The ultrasound technician tried to determine their sexes, but 2/3 were non-compliant and the technician only took a quick peek at the third so I'm waiting for further confirmation before I'll believe it. My cervix hasn't changed and all of my vitals were normal so I was in and out of the office in short order. I also had my cardiologist appointment where baseline data were collected, again all normal. I'll go back for follow-up in a couple of months and have an echo-cardiogram done. The number of ultrasounds that I'll have accumulated of my various body parts by the time the babies get here is quite astounding. Still having more good days with less nausea and I've regained my nearly normal pre-pregnancy appetite. My beacon of hope through these past 11 weeks of feeling craptastic has been the knowledge that I would once again be interested in eating lobster (my absolute favorite treat) and I think I'm nearly lobster ready, so progress is definitely being made.

We celebrated our friends' son's third birthday on Saturday which was lots of fun. They are expecting their second son in three weeks and the mom looks and feels fantastic, which was encouraging. Also at the party were a couple with a 5 1/2 week old baby boy who I was able to snuggle with for a good long time (I may have monopolized him just a little). He was so tiny and still at that floppy newborn stage but starting to make eye contact and smile. He is a very relaxed baby, hopefully some of his easy-going vibes made their way to my little ones when I was holding him. I had a bit of a shock when I realized that at 9.5 pounds, he was twice as big as our babies will be when they are born - yikes.

I'm starting to buy a few maternity items and went out to try on a few things yesterday but I'm still at that intermediate stage with the maternity stuff is way too big but I need the longer shirts and lower waists to accommodate my bump. On the home front, we're discussing which room to turn into the nursery. My husband has already turned into super-protective dad and is adamant that the babies are going to sleep in our room because "anything can happen with babies" and he's convinced he won't be able to sleep if they're not right next to us. He's very sweet, but really, it's not like they're going to spontaneously combust.

16 weeks

After 3 days of feeling pretty darn good in the nausea department, I celebrated the 16 week milestone by losing my breakfast a mere 30 minutes after consuming it. I think I have to resign myself to the reality that, unlike the start when I was fine one day and sick as a dog the next, there is going to be no clearly defined end to my morning sickness. It really is getting better, my food repertoire is steadily increasing, my husband no longer has to make coffee in the garage and I'm down to a few mints or pieces of gum per day. I'm just so sick of being sick and fussy about food, I wish I'd wake up one morning and feel normal again.

On Saturday I braved the rain to go look for a fall/winter coat (since I can't zip or button any of the ones in my closet) and headed to a local Gap maternity. It was pretty disappointing, they had only a fraction of the items on their website and no coats. I did pick up a pair of maternity jeans and a sweater that were on sale, but despite my impressive bump (my husband is in awe) it's really too soon for me to wear them. I'm still good with my one size up from usual jeans and long T-shirts. My husband has repeatedly offered to buy me a poncho for the winter and I may have to take him up on it. Ponchos are in again, right?

In other pregnancy news, it's a lot harder to bend over to tie my shoes than it used to be; my mid-section feels rather firm and unyielding. Maybe it's the skin stretching or just the change of seasons and dry air, but my belly is also really itchy. And why did no one warn me about the congestion and snoring? Twice I've woken up to find my husband has defected to the guest bed, even the cats don't want to sleep in the same room as me.

I start my weekly monitoring appointments on Wednesday and can't wait to get another peek at the babies. The appointment with the cardiologist I'm less excited about, but I'm having my husband come with me for moral support so it shouldn't be too bad.

15 weeks

Not much new on the pregnancy progression front; still growing a belly, still nauseous and pukey but eating better (relatively speaking) and easily winded. As in, I walk up one flight of stairs and am huffing and puffing in the most embarassing way. I'm ready for activation of my second trimester super powers any time but they are still MIA. Was I supposed to fill out a form or something?

People have been saying weird things to me. More than one coworker has heard about my pregnancy and approached with with congratulations, which is very nice until they get to the follow-up questions. Just this morning, in fact, I ran into a colleague in our cafeteria who was giddy with excitement (why are 50+ year-old woman so excited about pregnancy? I find it odd and somewhat disturbing). After the usual "how are you feeling, how far along" questions, her manner became very serious and she said "you're going to need help, you know" followed by "there's no way I could do it." To which I replied "no shit, Sherlock yes, we'll probably need a hand" and "I really don't have a choice WTF? seriously?."

It's like people think I'm sitting around eating sushi and soft cheese with a glass of wine while ordering baby Uggs and silver rattles online. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way offended by such comments, I just can't imagine that anyone who knows of our situation would think we were doing anything other than obsessively running through our options and trying to prepare for the parenting tsunami heading our way. Trust me, people who have never been pregnant with triplets, this scares me way more than it does you.

14 weeks

Let's see, where were we? Oh yes, I was still feeling incredibly icky and waking up nauseous and pukey in the middle of the night. Last week was pretty rough and I ended up staying home from work on Friday because I woke up sick at 2 am and then 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep. It was so worth a sick day; I slept all morning and then had another nap in the afternoon and felt somewhat refreshed by the evening. It takes a lot of energy to put on a happy face and charge through my day pretending I'm not on the verge of vomiting in front of my coworkers, truly it does.

The weekend went pretty well, I woke up feeling nearly normal on Saturday so we headed out to the Sear's outlet to buy a new refrigerator. Our current fridge was old when we bought the house, the door handle falls off constantly and it's definitely not big enough for a family of five, especially when we have visitors. We found my dream refrigerator (French door, bottom freezer) for 45% off retail price so we bought it and it was delivered the next day. As with most items at the outlet, it is brand new but with some visible damage: fortunately this one just has a few dents that aren't really visible and some scraping on the freezer door handle that we will doctor with some touch-up paint. It is beautiful (I keep sneaking into the kitchen to gaze upon its loveliness) and so much quieter than our old one, which now lives in the garage as our overflow cold storage.

I don't want to jinx things, but I *may* *possibly* be feeling better. Still fussy about foods, still mildly nauseous most of the time, but I managed to go to the grocery store on Monday and actually buy ingredients for a few dinners; actual meal planning, it's progress. Today I enjoyed a cup of black tea for the first time in 7 weeks and managed to go 4 hours without eating anything with no negative ramifications. I've got my fingers crossed, but I'm not declaring myself out of the woods yet.

There has been progress in the baby belly; there is really no hiding the fact that I am pregnant at this point. It's really sensitive, I don't even like my husband touching it. I think I'm at 4-5 pounds for weight gain at this point, but our scale is kind of fickle so I'm not positive. We have been having fun thinking about names, although my husband is not taking the process as seriously as he should. For three girls, he suggested we use the ABC theme and celebrate our three nationalities with America, Bosnia and Canada and he thinks it would be hilarious to have three boys named Jeremiah, Jedediah and Jebediah. All I have to say about that is that the nurses in the hospital will be under strict instructions not to let him near the birth certificates.

13 weeks

Hi there babies, it's me, Mom.

Remember me, the owner of the uterus where you are currently hosting your wild house party? I'm delighted that you are making yourselves at home, but do you think you could quit with the secreting of whatever toxins or other chemicals that are making me sick? I imagine it's hilarity akin to riding a really awesome roller coaster when I throw up, but it's time to stop, OK? Mommy doesn't like emptying the contents of her stomach and spending every waking minute trying not to throw up is tiring and inconvenient. And what's with the middle of the night vomiting, don't you guys have thumbs to suck or something to keep yourselves entertained while I sleep? Really, it's only polite.

I promise you that once you get to the other side and start breathing air with the rest of us, I'm not going to question your diet or lifestyle choices. But Mommy is not a vegetarian and she'd appreciate being able to have a steak or a pork chop once in a while. She'd also appreciate a little more leniency with the fresh fruit and vegetables and she'd really, really like to be able to have a chai latte sometime in the next 22 weeks. Trust me, it's never too soon to have open minds, which is something you might want to consider if you have any leanings towards tattoos or body piercings in your futures. Pay it forward, you won't regret it.

Love,

Mom

Just another pregnant woman

I had my first real OB appointment yesterday with Dr. Awesome and Nurse B. It was so nice to walk into a waiting room full of pregnant women and feel like I belonged. Granted, I have a big old red sticker in my file reminding everyone of our high risk triplet status, but for the first time no one treated me like the fertility treatment failure that I have felt like up to now. Very refreshing. I was there for about an hour and half and came away feeling like I have a plan and an idea as to what the next few weeks are going to look like. Starting in October I will have weekly ultrasounds to check the length of my cervix. According to Dr. Awesome, if it doesn't start to shorten by 23 weeks it is unlikely to do so and I will graduate to bi-weekly appointments until my scheduled c-section after 35 weeks or I go into labor, whichever comes first. On average, triplet pregnancies last 32 weeks, but I fully intend to be one of those data points on the high end of the curve. Dr. Awesome told me that if I make it to 35 weeks I'll get to take the babies home with me, so that's my plan and I'm sticking to it. Other important events in October will be the big anatomy (and hopefully gender-revealing) ultrasound and a consulation with a cardiologist. The last one is not so fun, but Dr. Awesome has observed an increased incidence of cardiomyopathy in women of advanced maternal age with high order multiples and monitors all of his triplet moms who are over the age of 35.

Yesterday I told my manager that I was pregnant and he was thrilled for me, even after his eyes widened when I got to the triplet part. He also told me he'd been wondering for the last week or so because I have been "standing like a pregnant woman." My husband's supervisor said his wife asked him if I was pregnant after we saw them socially a couple of weeks ago, so I guess I'm definitely showing. So much for me thinking I was still incognito; the whole office is probably speculating about me and I'm the only one out of the loop. I won't be able to hide it much longer, I'm totally growing a baby belly and can no longer button any of my pants. This morning I had to resort to the elastic band trick to keep my jeans on. Thank heavens leggings, baggy tops and chunky sweaters are in style, hopefully I can get away without having to buy maternity clothes for a while longer.

In other news, I am cautiously optimistic that the nausea may be abating. I'm eating better (less frequently and healthier foods) and the horrible taste in my mouth is noticeably less horrible. Cinnamint Orbit is still my best friend, along with Hot Tamales, cinnamon Altoids and Genmaicha. I still shudder at the thought of a big hunk of meat, but I've been able to enjoy some juicy falling-off-the-bone roast chicken and homemade turkey curry meatball soup. My husband and I joined a gym last night and are planning to go swimming 3-4 times per week for as long as my doctor says it's ok (currently I have no restrictions). Bed rest is a real possibility at some point during the next 23 weeks, and I'd like to maintain as much muscle tone as possible in preparation (also because I'll be having major abdominal surgery).

Consultations & decisions

We had our triplet pregnancy consultation yesterday. It was a full day affair, starting with the nuchal translucency ultrasound and an opportunity to spend 20 minutes watching our little fetuses flip and stretch in their individual condos. They were all sleeping when the technician started, but soon woke up and started wriggling. One was curled up on his/her back with fists next to the face. Freaking adorable, I tell you. The results showed no indication of potential abnormalities which reduces my overall risk by 70% which was the best possible outcome.

After a lunch break we went back and spent an hour with the genetic counsellor. She was wonderful, and gave us lots of good information. I was surprised/disappointed to find out that they won't do either CVS or amniocentesis for all three fetuses as the risk of total pregnancy loss is too high. They will test 2/3 which didn't make much sense to us since we were hoping to get definitive information on whether there were abnormalities present that would warrant doing reduction. Next, we met with the doctor who gave us additional reality checks. I was hoping he would consider my specific circumstances and give me an indication of whether or not I was a good candidate for carrying this pregnancy, but he said in his 16 years of experience with multiples, there is no way to judge whether or not someone will have a good or bad outcome. Lots of statistics about risks due to prematurity, it was quite sobering.

After going home and talking it through, we decided that based on the information we have and our good NT results, we will go forward with the pregnancy. I'm still terrified, but it does feel like the right decision for us. My first prenatal appointment will be next week. Our practice delivers 25-30 sets of triplets per year and their average gestational age is 32 weeks. I'm hoping to get to the magical 35 weeks when the babies come home with you from the hospital, which gives us a due date range from the end of January to the middle of February. Which means they have a chance of being born on my 40th birthday, Groundhog Day or Valentine's Day. Hmm...

I have to admit that I am starting to doubt that the second trimester will bring me any relief from the nausea, which seems to be intensifying, especially in the puking department. Seriously, it is really difficult to cope. Twice, I have thrown up so violently that I got nose bleeds - I could actually feel a capillary pop. I wish I was exaggerating, I really do. The only things that get me through the day are eating regularly (although I have zero enjoyment of doing so and never feel hungry) and chewing gum constantly. Sometimes I even go to sleep with a mint in my mouth although I know it's not the greatest idea, it being a choking hazard and all, but you do what you have to do.

I think I'm going to set up a new blog to document our pregnancy. I'd like to be able to print out the blog as a memento for the kids and don't really want all the IF stuff included. Not that I won't tell them, but I don't think it fits into a baby book. I'll keep updating here until I do so.

Holy, holy, we're having babies!

10x10

10 weeks

(of pregnancy under my belt)

10 months

(since our first appointment with the clinic)

10 minutes

(time spent by our RE giving us the news of our triplet pregnancy)

(yes, I am bitter, she didn't even say "congratulations")

10 hours

(tminimum amount of sleep I need per day right now)

10x per day

(number of times I need to eat to keep the nausea at bay)

10 litres

(estimated volume of gas filling my intestines)

(no weight gain, but can barely button my pants)

10 Google searches

(made by my husband on topic of "triplets and older women")

10 pages

(in packet of introductory information sent by my prospective MFM clinic)

10 pages

(of introductory packet dedicated to topic of selective reduction)

(not even a paragraph of it was on prenatal information)

(WTF?)

10 thousand questions

(to which I have no answers)

Thanks for the supportive comments on my last post. We are muddling through and counting the days until our first appointment with our MFM practice next week.

Worries

Internets, I'm worried about being pregnant with triplets. About the genetic screening we plan to have done, what the results will be and the decisions we will make thereafter. About having a difficult pregnancy, about the possibility of bed rest and how my husband will do everything wrong while I'm incapacitated. That I will gain a ton of weight on top of the 20 extra pounds I didn't manage to lose before getting pregnant (truth be told, I didn't try very hard) and develop gestational diabetes which I am already predisposed to on my mother's side. That my job will suffer and I won't be able to recover from being off for so long.

About having babies in the middle of freaking winter in New England and having to figure out how to get them into the car parked on our ski slope driveway. Also, the fact that I don't think we can fit three car seats into either of our cars. Or three cribs into our designated baby room (do they make double deckers?) That we have no family nearby who can help us. That my husband's mother will move in with us and take over my house and I'll hate it.

That we will have premature 3 pound babies with health issues that will follow them their whole lives. That I won't be able to nurse three babies and give them the start I want to. That I will be so overwhelmed with three infants and no sleep and having my mother-in-law living with us that I will resent them all and secretly wish for a different life.

Or that this pregnancy will end and we will have no babies and I know I don't want to go through this again and then we will be childless and get a dog and go on great vacations and continue to be everyone's favorite aunt and uncle and for the rest of our livesalways wonder "what if?"

9 weeks

I'm officially nine weeks along and am crossing my fingers that the morning sickness begins to ease up soon. We had a pretty good weekend (i.e. no puking or near-puking encounters) although we did nothing but sit inside with the air conditioning on. I left the house once to go to Whole Foods where I filled my cart with Vitamin water, vitamin B6, Preggie Pop Drops and some other herbal concoction that is supposed to help with pregnancy-related nausea. Thumbs up for the Vitamin water, I am finally getting enough fluids. For some reason plain water and seltzer taste just aweful to me, and I don't want all the sugar that comes with soda and juice so the Vitamin water is a happy compromise. I'm making a conscious effort to each more which does seem to help.

My husband has been hilarious about the possibility of having triplets, coming up with all sorts of scenarios, some more realistic than others. He's excited that he'll be able to organize 2-on-2 soccer games (I'll be sitting on the sidelines drinking lemonade). However, he thinks we should forgo cribs in favor of just lining up the babies on the bed in our spare room. When I suggested that they might wiggle their way off the bed, he said we'd wrap them up like cocoons so they couldn't move. I mentioned wanting to use cloth diapers (we estimated we'd have 27,000 diaper changes by the time they're potty-trained) and he was adamant that "single use" diapers are the greatest invention since babies themselves. When I expressed my worry about the logistics of taking three kids somewhere, he told me he'd design a carrier for three babies with two on the front and one on the back and that he'd be sure to rotate them so they all got equal time in each spot. It's pretty funny, even if he clearly has no real concept of what small babies are like.

I'm not putting a due date ticker on the blog yet. Our likely gestational time is somewhere around 34 weeks which puts us at the end of January/beginning of February. Once we get a bit further along and accumulate more evidence that things are going well I might put one up.