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.

We're all falling apart around here

I took the small cat to the vet last night for his thyroid re-check (he's been on medication for 4 years for hyperthyroidism) and casually mentioned that I didn't think he was seeing very well these days, and also that he seemed really needy and whiney. So, I really shouldn't have been surprised when Dr. Sarah checked him out and agreed that, yes, he's pretty much blind and that it is probably very confusing and upsetting to him, hence the constant demands for attention. She says he can see shadows, but not much else, and that it's likely the consequence of senile changes in his brain due to advanced age (he's 17). Poor little guy, he's always been such an outgoing and friendly cat, it's hard to see him decline like this. He's always been really great with kids, it's sad to think that he might not be around to play with our hypothetical future children.

CD1(-5ish) and counting down to the next IUI cycle. I'm going to meet with the anesthesiologist at my clinic next week to talk about some of my concerns regarding sedation so that I am prepared in case we need to convert this cycle. I've had conscious sedation in the past for medical procedures and h-a-t-e-d it; I woke up crying hysterically and it was very upsetting. Hopefully he/she can address my fears and I can figure out how to deal with the sedation/retrieval process if we have to go there.