What a Day!

February 25, 2008 - 22 weeks 5 days

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PAUL! He received a wonderful present today at the doctor's office. All of the babies are doing well. Here are the stats:

Baby a -

Heartbeat 150

Measuring 22 weeks 6 days

Weight 1 pound 4 ounces

68th percentile

Baby b -

Heartbeat 158

Measuring 22 weeks 4 days

Weight 1 pound 5 ounces

75th percentile

Baby c -

Heartbeat 140

Measuring 22 weeks 3 days

Weight 1 pound 4 ounces

69th percentile

We do have a new problem. Babies b and c have too much fluid in their amniotic sacs. The normal range is 2-8. Baby b has 8.5 and baby c has 9.6. There could be several reasons for this, one of the main reasons being gestational diabetes. I asked the doctor if I should start on a diet for that and he said to wait until my next appointment (which is March 10th).

Then on to measuring the cervix. Boy, was I nervous! The ultrasound tech measured my cervix and said that it was 1.7 and it looked like it had gone passed the stitch (exactly what we didn't want to happen). She went to get the doctor and I was mentally preparing myself to spend the rest of my time being pregnant in a hospital bed away from home. The worst part was that I hadn't said a proper good bye to Daisy. However, we held it together. Dr. Nugent came in and measured it again and said that he measured it at 2.2 (only .14 difference from last time). WOW! Were we relieved!

Now, I am back at home in the same place I have been for the last 34 days and HAPPY to be here with three healthy babies!

Again, thank you for all of your prayers, calls, e-mails, visits, food, good wishes, etc. I have not been very good at returning people's calls. I am sorry about that. I am just trying to take one day at a time.

This past Saturday we had another baby shower in Canton. Thank you to everyone that attended and for the generous gifts. Also, a big thank you to the event planners: Karen, Carol, Sue, Angie and Fran. From what I hear and have seen in pictures, it was truly wonderful (as are all of you).

Thank God!

February 12, 2008 - 20 weeks 6 days

We just returned home from the doctor's office and we are thanking God for two things. First, that we made it home in one piece. The roads are terrible and it took us an hour and a half to get home. Second, my cervix has thinned a bit more, but nothing to be too concerned about. Today Dr. Nugent measured my cervix at 2.34. He also said that last week it was actually measured at 2.43 (oops!). He said we are "rock steady" and do not need to come back until the 25th of February (which is Paul's birthday), unless we wanted to. So, we have a week off! He told me to continue what I have been doing...which is nothing. Tomorrow we will be 21 weeks. Our current goal is to make it to 33 weeks. That would be spectacular!

This morning there was a little battle going on inside my belly. We can't have fighting already! First, I felt the left side kick and then the right and it went back and forth like that for several minutes. I suppose they are fighting for the limited space they have available.

This past weekend, we had our very first baby shower. It was in Grand Rapids and I wasn't able to make it, but Paul was there (with a few wingmen). Thank you to everyone that helped with the shower and to those who attended. So many thoughtful people and wonderful gifts. Once again, we are so fortunate to be surrounded by loved ones.

Thank You!

February 6th -20 Weeks

Paul and I wanted to thank everyone for their support and prayers over the last year! We are so blessed to have so many people love us and care about us. What amazing family and friends we have. Thank you!

As we continue to have countless doctor appointments, we decided to create a blog to keep you all informed about our precious triplets.

This month is bittersweet for us. We are remembering where we were with the loss of our son last February and rejoicing in the progress of our triplets this year!

I am going to backtrack just a bit... (read from the bottom up)

Today we went to triage because I was having a crazy pain in my cervix area and some clear fluid leaking. It turns out (or so the doctors guessed) that baby a is sitting directly on my bladder. Paul got to see the kids on the ultrasound machine and said they were the best views yet!

Monday, February 4th - 19 weeks 5 days

Today we visited Reena again, but didn't get the good news we were hoping for. My cervix is opening again. It went from 3 cm to 2.6 cm. There is nothing we can do about it but PRAY, PRAY, PRAY that it doesn't go past the stitch. The doctor said if the thinning is due to the weight of the triplets, there is a good chance that the cerclage will hold. But if the thinning is due to inflammation in the uterus, the cerclage will not help and there is nothing that they can do to treat that. We are staying positive that God is going to watch over these precious gifts and keep them growing inside of me for three more months.

Monday, January 28th - 18 weeks 5 days

Today we went to see our favorite ultrasound tech, Reena. She was able to tell us that baby a was another BOY! So we are having two boys and a girl! The babies seem to be wonderful! They are growing on schedule. Here are the stats:

Baby a - 143 heartbeat 10 oz. Measuring 19 weeks 1 day

Baby b - 149 heartbeat 9 oz. Measuring 18 weeks 3 days

Bbaby c - 143 heartbeat 9 oz. Measuring 18 weeks 4 days

My cervix is still at 3 cm. What a happy appointment! Keep growing babies!

Wednesday, January 23rd - 18 weeks




We went to the doctor for a routine check up and my cervix had thinned from 3 cm to .6 cm. Who would have guessed that me being so tall would have a short cervix? The doctor immediately sent us up to triage and before we knew it they had me upside down (t-bird position) in bed and scheduled for surgery. I had an emergency rescue cerclage. Boy,was that scary for both of us! They wouldn't let Paul go in with me and I had to have my first spinal. Bright lights and cold room! During the hour and a half surgery I was awake and shaking like crazy from the anesthesia. They had to blow up a balloon in my cervix to move baby a away from the cervix (I guess he was ready to meet us). Then they stitched me up to 3 cm. All went well and we had to stay in the hospital for four days. It was there that we found out that baby b was a girl and baby c was a boy. Baby a was shy and squished by its brother and sister. It was at this time that I was put on strict bedrest. I can come down the steps in the morning and go up the stairs at night. I am allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and shower a couple of times a week (using my highly fashionable shower chair).

During this week is when I started feeling the babies move. Mostly, baby b (girl). She is always moving around. The boys don't move as much but they are on the left side of my stomach and don't have as much room to move around.