A little scare with Whitney

This morning, my nurse came in to do my daily monitoring for contractions and the babies heartbeats. Normally we monitor the babies heartbeats for 20 minutes, today, they searched for Whitney's heartbeat for over an hour and still could not find it. Granted she is almost always the most difficult to find, but they are usually able to find it within 10 or 20 minutes. My nurse brought in 2 other nurses, which happens sometimes, but they were still unable to find it. They decided to stop searching because all that pressing on my uterus causes contractions. They paged my doctor (well, not my OB, but the one on call) and she ordered for the radiology department to come do a sonogram. They weren't able to get anybody on the phone to come up and we were worried and growing impatient, so Craig called my perinatalogist, Dr. Koster to see if she could come and do a sonogram for us. She was on her way up here and would be here shortly. In the meantime, the nurses came back in with a 4th nurse to try monitoring again. This time, they found Whitney on the other side of my belly. They have never found her on that side so it was surprising to find her there. All the babies were on the right side of my belly and we couldn't believe my belly wasn't bulging on one side from all the babies on one side. It was such a relief to finally find her and know that she was okay. BTW, we did not have a sonogram because they were able to find her.

On another note, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Happy New Year to you! I hope you all have a nice and safe New Year! Have fun bringing in the new year with your family and friends. Me, Craig, Tyler, Hannah, Whitney and Lacy will be celebrating the new year a couple of hours early. :) We will all be sound asleep by midnight I am sure.

A different Christmas, Drama drama drama & 29 week update

Our Christmas was okay...it was different for sure. I didn't go into labor and we had several visitors, so that was the upside. Craig brought Lacy up to spend the day with us. It was nice to have her with us rather than at home by herself. My Mom came by for a quick visit. She brought the babies several little gifts and she brought us some Christmas desserts. Craig's brother and SIL, Kyle and Michaela stopped by also and brought Christmas to us. Craig's parents stopped by and they also brought us some nice Christmas gifts. Our friends John and Angi came by last. It was so nice of them to take time out away from their family to come visit us on Christmas day. Thank you to all of you who came to see us. All in all, I felt fairly decent that day (physically), but it was a more emotionally difficult day and your company helped tremendously.

Christmas day with Lacy.



Let me preface this next portion of the post by saying I not only use this blog to keep you all updated, but also as a journal (public as it may be). Some of the things I say may not be necessarily surface level positive all the time. I try to spare you with all the negative details most of the time, but sometimes I just need to vent. Some things have been VERY stressful lately, aside from the babies. My Mom's health has been a concern along with my worry over my dog. All that being said, let me vent a little about my day yesterday.

My day was going on as normal, then about 1 in the afternoon, the charge nurse came in and advised me that the hospital was doing some remodeling and they had started on the floor I was on. She said they had painted the rooms they wanted to do first and were now ready to paint my room. She literally told me she wanted me moved by the next hour or two! I was pretty upset because obviously I can't pack up my stuff and I had nobody here or planning to be here to help me pack my stuff. She acted like it was no big deal because the nurses would be able to pack my stuff and I would be right there to supervise them. She obviously has never been on the other side of the hospital doors before. Well...my first question to her was, did this other room have a couch. We try to make some kind of arrangements for somebody to watch our dog at least once a week so Craig can at least spend one night with me a week. Not all the rooms have couches, so if this one didn't have one, that would be a problem. Second question I asked was, what about my bed. I recently got a bed that is not older than I am. My first bed was so old and rickety - it squeeked every time I moved it up or down, and it had ancient springs underneath that caused me to sink into a hole in my mattress, and it was killing my back. I can't believe a hospital this nice would have such awful beds for their patients, especially when the patient is staying/living here long term on top of carrying lots and lots of baby(ies). Anyway...after a couple of days of repeatedly telling the nurses I need a better bed, I finally got one. I think I did pretty good not saying anything for the first 3weeks I was here. So, back to my original point... the charge nurse told me that I could keep my bed and that they would wheel me down to my room in the bed. My third question was, how long did you guys know about the painting process and the need to move patients. She said they had known for quite a few weeks, but that the painters just told her they were ready to paint my room next. I was pretty upset because this was just one more thing that I have absolutely NO control over. I told her I didn't want the nurses packing my room and that I would make a few phone calls and see if I could get somebody up here to pack my room. She was cooperative and said that would be fine, but she still wanted me out of my room in the next hour or so. It wasn't that I didn't necessarily trust the nurses, but when you spend any extended length of time in the hospital, you lose ALL privacy and ALL control over EVERYTHING. There is just something about a bunch of people you don't know throwing all your stuff into a bag and treating you like "just a number" rather than respecting you as a human being and respecting your belongings. How do I know they do this??? My friend Jessica, who was here in antepartum with me for many weeks experienced this last week when she went into labor. They were packing up all her stuff within minutes after she went into labor. The nurses had told me that they allow you time to get family up here to pack it for you, but from what I can see, that is not true. Its not like they are full here and in diar need of the rooms...they have several rooms open now. All that being said, I called my MIL, Jami because I knew she had a few days off for the holiday and would probably be the person to be able to get up here the quickest. She was up here within an hour and a half or so and packed up my entire room for me. I had called Craig after calling my MIL and told him the situation and he was more upset than I was. He talked to the charge nurse who was being so pushy that I move rooms RIGHT NOW, and it didn't go over well. He said he wasn't rude to her, but her body language was very rude in return to me and it made for a very awkward situation. Most of you who know me on a more personal level, know I am not the type of person to put up with stuff like this, but there is just something about being on bedrest in a hospital that puts you in a very vulnerable position. I count on these strangers to take care of me and I don't want there to be any bad blood between us. So, I got all moved and I guess on a positive note, I have a new view (not that there is anything to look at), but at least its different. The shower in this room actually works decent as opposed to my old shower, but the door doesn't lock, which gives me no comfort in knowing I have at least a little privacy when I use the restroom. It's just as well though because I have decided to start taking my showers at night so Craig can help me. I guess this will kill two birds with one stone because I will have his help and I won't be worrying about somebody walking in on me as I would if I were taking a shower in the day while Craig isn't here. Craig got here last night and spent the night so he would be here for my appointment this morning. It was still pretty awkward and stressful with the events of the day that had taken place earlier, but it passed, we went to sleep and got up this morning for a brand new day.

If you would like to come by or call, send me an email so I can give you my new room number.

I made it to 29 weeks! Yeay! My doctor appointment this morning went well. The babies are looking great - they have good fluid around them still, good heartbeats, all their measurements look normal and their weights are ahead of schedule. All are measuring about a week ahead of time.

Baby A (Tyler) - 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Baby B (Hannah) - 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Baby C (Whitney) - 3 lbs. 3 oz.

I don't know where all these babies are fitting because I seriously don't feel big enough to be carrying 9 lbs. 11 oz. of baby and I am not seeing it in my weight gain. As far as everything goes with me, my cervix was longer this time, (32 or 3.2)which is good, but my doctor did see some funneling, which can be a progression to deliver sooner than if it weren't funneling. However, the fact that it is longer than last time is an improvement. Confusing...I know. I am borderline anemic now, so I am now taking iron for that. My contractions are still coming and going all day every day which is to be expected, but they remain under control most of the time. My comfort level is pretty bad. I pretty much have about an hour or two in the morning before my serious discomfort sets in. The longer the day goes on, the more uncomfortable I get. My blood pressure has been a little lower the past few days, but it is still in the "okay" range. My nurses will have me sit up more to make it go up a little more especially before taking my procardia, which can lower the BP even more. Only problem is if I sit up to improve my BP, it causes more contractions.

I made sure to get my pants low enough where my belly size would look more accurate. I think the past few have made it look smaller than it is. Even though I don't feel like I've grown much, I can tell a difference in the picture.



If you look at the right side of my belly, you can probably see it bulging out. This is Hannah. She likes to hang out way far over on my far right by herself. She has been causing me the most discomfort the 28th week. :)



Before Craig left this afternoon, we went by the NICU (I still have wheel chair privileges) and saw my friend Jessica's babies. She was the girl I mentioned earlier that was in antepartum with me, also pregnant with triplets. She had her babies on the 19th and she and the babies are doing great. It was so nice to see them in person and gain comfort in seeing how well taken care of they are. She had her babies at about 30 1/2 weeks and the babies all weighed and still do weigh over 3 pounds. They are so precious.

This is me and Jessica taken several days ago.



This is the highlight of my day...some days but not every day, Craig takes me on a wheelchair tour of the hospital and we usually go down to this huge comfy couch for me to lay on in the lobby. Its funny some of the looks I get from other people.



Eating is so fun!

Christmas carolers

Friday... was probably the most uncomfortable day for me so far. The babies were just pushing and poking me all day long. I just started taking procardia twice a day and yet I still had to have the terb shot to control my contractions more efficiently. I was extremely discouraged and felt like I may deliver these babies any day now. Also, I didn't get to see Craig at all that day due to work scheduling. I didn't get to see him Monday either. :( It is getting easier to not have to see him every day. We are adjusting.

My spirits were lifted when my friends Jennifer and Vickie stopped by. They brought me lunch and some yummy Christmas cookies. Later that afternoon, the Christmas carolers came down the hall singing Christmas carols. I was already somewhat down emotionally and laying in my bed doing nothing when I heard the people singing outside my room. I immediately got upset and started to cry. I got up and opened my door to listen to them for a few seconds before they made their way down the hall. Then, I waved at another antepartum mom, who was standing at her door, she waved back and we both went back to our rooms. It was so nice of them to do such a sweet thing for us.

Saturday....was much better. I didn't have too much pain and discomfort. I did have my normal contractions, but nothing too extreme. Thank goodness because I needed a break. It was a low-key day. I did some reading and computer work while listening to some Christmas music. After Craig got off from work, he came up to the hospital with Lacy. It has been a while since I have seen her. She actually acted like she knew who I was this time. I think maybe she is getting used to the hospital environment. The three of us had a good time watching the football game together. Craig is going to bring Lacy back up to see me on Christmas day--we are looking forward to that.

Sunday...Kevin, Jill and their kiddos are supposed to stop by. We will have Christmas/birthday gifts to give to them. We'll just do an early Christmas with them.

A rough day

Yesterday was a rough day with all the appointments we had and the news we received. We were a little stressed out from the doctor's appointment and I also didn't feel very good physically. I had to have the terb shot last night, so I am now on procardia twice a day. I pretty much figured my doctor would get a little more aggressive with the contractions considering my shortened cervix.

We had our NICU tour and that was very good for both of us to see the ins and outs of the NICU. The lady giving us the tour talked to a couple of parents who were there at the time and they gave us permission to see a couple of babies that were born at 28 weeks (which is where we are currently). It was encouraging to see these babies because they weren't as small as I thought. I just wish I would have thought to ask how much the babies weighed at birth. That way we could compare them to how much ours weigh now.

The neonatalogist finally came to talk to us around 5pm. He gave us a quick overview of the NICU and answered any questions we had. Also, Dr. Koster told us the NICU was full, which didn't comfort me one bit considering my cervix is shortening and it seems our babies may come sooner than expected. I did talk to Dr. Nivens and the neonatalogist about this and the neonatalogist told us the NICU was currently not full, but this was the fullest the NICU has EVER been. I asked about the probability of our babies being sent to another hospital and they both said it is highly unlikely because babies go home all the time. But, if it is full, he said they would probably be sent to Presby Dallas, Medical City or Medical Center of Plano. They all have level 3 NICU's, but we would rather them be here. This morning, my nurse said they closed the NICU last night because they got a set of twins. Hopefully, our babies will stay put for a while and we won't have to deal with this added stress of them being sent to another hospital.

28 weeks - good and bad news

Before I start with today, I'll give you a quick update of the past few days. My SIL, Lisa and two of her little ones, Victoria and Leah, came by to see me Monday. They brought me some nice little snacks and we also let the kids open their Christmas gifts up here at the hospital so I could watch them open their gifts from me and Craig.



Tuesday, Craig took me down to the lobby for my exciting wheelchair outing and I managed to leave my cell phone on the couch where we were sitting. Thank God an honest man found my phone and called Craig to come get it. I can't believe I forgot my phone...that is just not like me, but then again, I was a little preoccupied with contractions.

Wednesday, my friend Jodi brought us dinner. We had a good time visiting with her. I keep forgetting to take pictures of my visitors...I guess I am already getting the mommy brain. :)

On a good note, today marks 28 weeks, which is a huge milestone for the babies. My belly really doesn't look any bigger to me, but the babies are growing.



We took a better shot of the baby monitoring and contraction monitoring that I do every day.



Today, we had our doctor's appointment. Craig was able to come this time, which I am very thankful for because it was not the best appointment I've had. The good news is, the babies all look great, they still have good fluid and good heart rates. The cord doppler measurement for Tyler's heart was a little off, but she said it is nothing to worry about because he is still getting enough blood flow and his placenta still looks fine. The bad news is my cervical length has shortened quite a bit since last week. It is now 2.5 or 2.6. Koster wants to set a new goal for 30 weeks rather than 35 or 36 weeks. Thirty weeks would put me at January 3rd. Obviously, if I can go longer, we will...they won't be wheeling me to the OR at 30 weeks just because it is 30 weeks. Thirty weeks is just our new goal.

Later this afternoon, we are having our NICU tour and consultation. I will update you on that in a couple of days. Thanks for all your prayers and please continue to pray that these babies will stay put for at least a few more weeks.

2 week anniversary

Today marks the two week anniversary of my stay here at the hospital. Considering I haven't had the babies yet, I am going to assume the FFN test was a false positive. It does give me a lot of comfort and relief to have made it to this day. I know each day and week is still a big deal to get through, which is still very stressful, but at least I got through these first two weeks. We aren't doing anymore of those tests because it will not effect whether I go home or not. I am okay with that because I think knowing the results of future FFN tests will only stress me out more (if it is positive of course). I think it will be better to try to just take it one day at a time. The other day when Craig and my Mom were here, I started singing an old song to them..."One day at a time, sweet Jesus."

One day at a time sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from you.
Just give me the strength
To do everyday what I have to do.
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine.
Lord help me today, show me the way
One day at a time.

Also, the other day, during one of my wheel chair trips around the hospital, we went in the gift shop just to look around. We saw some knick-knack plaques that had the first few lines of the Serenity Prayer on them. I told Craig we needed to get that and put it on my bedside table where I could read all day long. :)

The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Yesterday was a pretty quiet day, which was good for me because I just needed some time to rest. I had a sleepless night Saturday night and got up at 5 am Sunday morning. My day was about the same as most days...contractions off and on throughout the day, followed by increased contractions in the evening and a Terbutaline shot. I have to say, I am beginning to get used to getting that shot every day...or almost every day. It still makes me feel yukky, but I'm getting used to the routine. I think my doctor is about to change my Procardia dosage to twice a day though, so that may decrease the frequency of my terb shots.

Craig's parents stopped by yesterday for a quick visit. They had been out at our house helping with chores since Craig worked all weekend. They came by and we just visited some and watched the pitiful Cowboys game together. They also brought Craig his birthday present up here for him to open.



That is about all for now. I will update you soon.

Happy Birthday Craig

Friday was a busy day. Nothing out of the ordinary was going on with me or the babies. It just seemed like the day went by fast. I did have to have the turb shot to help bring my contractions under control, but that is nothing new. :)

Lisa and Jennifer stopped by and brought me lunch, snacks, reading material and birthday cake for Craig so I could surprise him with it for his birthday on Saturday. I guess I fell down on the job again and forgot to take their picture. :(

That evening, John and Angi brought us dinner, dessert and a Christmas poinsetta. We thank you all again for coming to visit and bringing us food and things. We feel very loved and blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family.



Saturday was Craig's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY! Due to the bad weather, Craig had to work, so we weren't able to spend much time together on his special day.

My friend Megan stopped by to visit. She is pregnant with twins!



My mom stopped by and brought the cutest little stockings for each of the babies. She also brought a cute little snowman stocking and a globe with an angel inside. She said she wanted us to have the angel to represent the angel that is watching over me and the babies during this time. Bring on the water works please! :)



Craig brought Lacy up to see me again. We try to do that once a week. I think she enjoys it. Craig brought his birthday gift and card from me up to the hospital so he could open it in front of me. Luckily, I had already bought it, so I didn't have to have somebody else buy it for me to give to him. I just had to have his Mom wrap it for me so he could open it. We also had a little birthday cake and I sang Craig happy birthday. Not the ideal way to celebrate a birthday, but we make sacrifices...that is what it is all about.





Chris and Amy also came by with their niece, Lindsey. They live in Tyler, which is no short trip. It was good to see them. Thanks for coming by. Lindsey was so cute and I can't believe how calm she was with Lacy.

27 weeks - What a long day, but a day of good reports.

My day started at 4:30 this morning being woke up to start my glucose test. The lab woman took my first draw of blood and came back with my glucose drink an hour later. After drinking that drink, I got so shaky and nauseous. It was awful - much worse than the initial one blood draw glucose test. An hour after drinking it, they came back to draw my blood again and did this two more times every hour for a total of four blood draws. My arms look like I am a drug addict. I finished the testing around 9 am and I finally got to eat breakfast and felt much better. My results came in and the test was negative, so no gestational diabetes! Yeay!

I went to see Dr. Koster today for what I thought was just a quick check on the babies and a cervical check. Turns out, she does growth checks on her inpatients every two weeks rather than every three like we had been doing. This threw a kink into our plans because Craig had arranged to take next Thursday off in order to be here for that appointment. He is still going to come up here and go to the appointment next week and we are going to do a NICU tour and possibly another NICU consultation when he is here. Anyway...the babies growth...they all looked very good and are growing like crazy! I couldn't believe how much they had grown in the past two weeks. Their weights are:

Baby A (Tyler) - 2 pounds 10 ounces (our little chunk - very feisty and not cooperative with the monitoring)

Baby B (Hannah) - 2 pounds 6 ounces (not too far behind. She is our "good" child because she doesn't kick me too much and always cooperates when the monitoring starts)

Baby C (Whitney) - 2 pounds 4 ounces (I am surprised she is the smallest because I feel her kicking me more than anybody. Also our feisty child.)

A total of about 7 1/2 pounds of baby. That is a lot of baby! Also, I was so relieved to know that my cervix is still holding strong at 3.3 cm. Yeay for that! Sorry, I can't put pictures of the sonos on here anymore because I don't have a scanner here at the hospital and Craig just doesn't have time to do it at home. :(

After all that, I came back to the room and went straight to bed. I was exhausted! I postponed lunch and everything. :) It was a good thing I got that nap in because my afternoon was so busy!

One of the NICU nurses stopped by to talk to me about the NICU procedures and everything. She talked to me for over an hour! I had no idea they would cover so much information which is why they are coming back to talk to Craig. It was SO much information! My brain was on overload!

I had a couple of pleasant surprise visitors this afternoon. Kim from church dropped by to visit and Dr. Goldstein (my fertility doctor) also came by. He had heard I was here, so he thought he would drop by. It was nice to see both of them. I keep forgetting to get everyone's picture when they come visit. :( I can't get consistent. Oh well...at least I have it noted on here for future reference even if I don't get the pictures taken.

Our friends Heath and Carla from church also stopped by and brought us Abuelos for dinner. Yum!! I love Abuelos! They stayed and ate dinner with us. Well... I made them go ahead and eat without me. I couldn't eat when they got here because I had just had another Terbutaline shot for out of control contractions (first time in a few days) and wasn't feeling well. It was nice to catch up with them as well.



A couple of charge nurses came in to talk to me some too to make sure my nurses are doing what they are supposed to be doing. I like most of the nurses I have had but I don't think all of them monitor me as closely as they should be. Like this afternoon, my contractions had been getting out of control a bit this evening (as I mentioned earlier). I asked my nurse to get the monitor so I could be monitored and she asked "why?" in a way that made me feel like she didn't want to be bothered with it because she was about to go home. Maybe she was concerned and that is why she asked why, but it didn't seem that way. We began the monitoring and it started picking up contractions every minute or so for about 10 minutes and she hadn't even come back in here to do something about it. I had to call out for her. I'll explain...the nurses don't stay in my room during the monitoring, they are however, supposed to watch from their monitor at the desk and I am not supposed to go that long having contractions without getting a Terbutaline shot. I understand that they have other patients, but it seems every time I have her, it takes her a while to respond and when I have another nurse, this doesn't happen. So, needless to say, I was a little irritated. Now, after talking to the charge nurses, they are going to try to get me a different nurse. Okay, enough of that...sorry I rambled on and on.

My 27 week belly shot. Yeay! Another week down!

Day 9

The past few days have been getting better and better. Tuesday, I made a couple of crafts, it was fun but I have to admit it made me feel like a child. I made a snowman picture frame "for Dad" and I made a couple of beaded bracelets. I thought I would save those for our two girls.

I had a couple of visitors Tuesday: my SIL, Jill and my niece and nephew, Haidyn and Caleb. I also got a visit from someone at my in laws church. It makes us feel so special that they take the time to come by and visit me. This was the second person to visit me from their church. I also went down to visit my friend Jessica in her room. She is also having triplets (two girls and a boy) and is about 2 1/2 weeks ahead of me. It was nice to be able to go down there and visit for about an hour or so.





I got one of those trapeze things to go over my bed and it has been so wonderful to have! It makes it so much easier to get out of bed. The nurses keep teasing me telling me they better not come in here and find me hanging from it!



I decided to take on the challenge of learning to knit today (Wednesday). It really wasn't too difficult. I knit my first of three hats for the babies. I am proud of it! :)



Wednesday, I went to my first relaxation therapy session. This is offered to the ladies here to help make their stay more enjoyable and relaxing. It lasts about 20 minutes. They have you lay on the bed with a heated massage pad, they put a heat pack behind your neck, have aromatherapy and play relaxing music and nature sounds.

Marcy came by to visit and she brought us some yummy soup and corn bread. It was so good! And the perfect weather for it. Thank you so much for the dinner and the "mommy goodies" and magazines.

I better get to bed. I get to start my 3 hour glucose blood draws at 6 a.m. I also have my weekly appointment with Dr. Koster. It will be a busy morning. I am looking forward to it and am anxiously waiting the results of both. I will keep you updated.

YEAY!! 27 WEEKS TOMORROW!

A better day

I felt better today. It was pretty much uneventful. I didn't blog yesterday mostly because I didn't have much new to report. I did have to have another Terbutaline shot yesterday afternoon to control my out of control contractions. When I talked to my doctor about it today, she said if I continue to need the shot every day, she will increase my Procardia pill to twice a day. Good news is I didn't need to have one today.

My 3 hour glucose test is going to be Thursday morning. Between now and then, I have to change my diet a bit to eating mainly just carbs. My nurses and dietitian don't understand this, but I am just trusting that my doctor knows what she is doing. I think she is trying to see just how my body processes different types of sugars. Thursday is going to be a busy day. I also have another doctor appointment Thursday morning to check the babies and everything. I am anxiously waiting for that appointment.

In the next day or so, I am getting one of those trapeze things put over my bed to help me get in and out of bed. I am looking forward to this as it is so hard to get out of these beds a hundred times a day to use the restroom.

My doctors decided not to do anymore FFN tests on me because they said even if I pass it, I will not be going home. At first I wanted to have it done in hopes that I would pass it and have more peace of mind that the babies will not be born in the next 2 weeks, but if I fail it again, it will just cause me to worry more. And since the test is only 40% (roughly) accurate if positive, we agreed with the doctors not to do it.

These are just some pictures of me and my favorite day nurse (so far) and a picture of how many monitors it takes to monitor all these babies and contractions simultaneously.

Day 6

Today was an okay day... It was one of those days that was a little difficult for me emotionally. I have my good days and I have my bad days. Nothing much happened today until Craig got here late this afternoon. He took me for a stroll around the hospital, then we went back to my room.

Craig's brother Kyle and his wife Michaela stopped by to visit and give Craig his birthday gifts since we missed the family monthly birthday party today. We had a nice visit.

After they left, I had the nurses put the monitor on because I felt like I was having more than my normal contractions. And sure enough...I was having too many contractions (probably 5 or 6 in a 30 minute period). I knew what was coming next...more Terbutaline. After getting the shot, my contractions stopped for which we are very thankful, but it sure left me feeling jittery and wired.

I had a nice surprise with more visitors this evening. Our friends, Elizabeth and Tamara came to visit. I was glad to have more company especially after the day I had. It helped get my mind off of things.

I really appreciate everyone that stopped by today. Sorry I forgot to take your picture! :) I am going to try to remember to take everyone's picture, so I will have it on my blog for the future when I look back at it.

Day 5

Today was a pretty good day. I did my usual...get up, order and eat breakfast, take my medicine and have my vital signs read, have my much anticipated shower, watch a little t.v., check my emails and do some reading.

Nivens came by to see me and I asked her if she would order the relaxation therapy and crafts/social time that is given once a week or so. So, now I can look forward to doing that every week or so! I can't wait!

I didn't have any monitoring done until late this afternoon, but all went well with the babies and the contractions. Thank goodness! I didn't have to have any more Terbutaline today. That stuff makes me so jittery and shaky! Not fun at all!!

Once Craig got here tonight, we just stayed in my room rather than taking a stroll around the hospital. He took me out last night and it was so nice to actually step foot outside my hospital room for the first time in 4 days. Anyway, he brought Lacy up here to see me today, which was why we stayed in the room. It was fine though because I haven't seen Lacy in 5 days and I enjoyed seeing her. All the nurses loved her, but Craig did say he got a couple of nasty looks from people coming into the hospital with her.









My brother Les and his wife Kim also came by so visit me tonight. We had a good time talking and laughing and listening to Les sing different songs. :) He loves to sing!





I am looking forward to tomorrow night, because Craig is going to spend the night with me.

26 weeks! Day 4 - a better day

Today seemed to be the best day at the hospital so far. I started my day off to a good start by sleeping in later than I have so far (7:30 a.m.). I had my appointment with Dr. Koster this morning and the babies all look great and my cervix still looks great. It was such a treat to get to step foot outside of my room for the first time in 4 days!



My mom visited Wednesday and brought us some yummy homemade vegetable beef soup.

I also had three visitors today with the addition of Craig of course. Craig's mom visited me this morning for just a few minutes. She was working and couldn't stay long. She brought me a little gift for my spiritual birthday. Then, my friend Angi stopped by with her daughter and she brought me lunch. It was so good, Angi! Thanks! A little later, my SIL, Michaela and her son Michael stopped by and brought me lots of goodies. They brought a little Christmas tree for my room and decorated it for me. She also brought me some magazines and a crochet "how-to" book along with some yarn etc. to crochet with.





I am also 26 weeks today. Each week that we get through is a milestone in our book. Hopefully these babies will stay put for several more weeks.



I got my doctor to change my monitoring. Monitoring the babies twice a day for 20 minutes is so exhausting for me. It takes forever for the nurses to get the babies heart beats because they move so much. Plus, with all the pushing they do to my belly to get their heart beats, I wouldn't be surprised if the monitoring causes contractions. So, now they are only doing the monitoring once a day (that is for the babies only). They will still do the monitoring for contractions twice a day if not more.

I also got her to approve pet therapy for me which means Craig can bring our dog up here to see me. I was very surprised to find out that the hospital allows this. All we have to do is provide proof of her shot records.

I also got her to give me wheel chair privileges so I can now leave my room for an hour each day. Of course, that is if my contractions and everything else are still doing well.

Maybe I spoke too soon about having a better day. Just before I started this post, I felt like I was having contractions every couple of minutes. I kept watching the clock for about 30 minutes and called my nurse. She hooked me up to the monitor and my contractions were just a few minutes apart. Within about 10 minutes of monitoring, she came in here and gave me Terbutaline. It is a more fast acting drug to control contractions. Let's hope and pray it works so I don't have to start magnesium.

I have a couple of pictures to post and I will try to do that if my contractions get under control.

Day 3 nothing much

Today, I seemed to be getting into the swings moreso. My emotional state was better, but my physical discomfort was worse than yesterday. The twice daily monitoring is killer. It takes forever for the nurses to get all the babies hooked up and keeping them on their monitors is the real chore. They are so active! It is an exhausting experience every day...exhausting to me and the nurses. I think the babies actually enjoy torturing us this way. LOL :) :)

My contractions are holding steady. I am still having them but no where near the 10 per hour that my doctors say is my limit. I am having a cervical check again tomorrow. I think Thursdays are going to be my day. I am looking forward to getting out of this room and of course to seeing the sono and cervical results.

They pushed back my second glucose test because the steroid shots that were given to me when admitted could give a false reading of my glucose test results. They have pushed them back a week to give the steroids time to work through my system. I will be doing the test next week some time.

My mom brought Craig and I dinner tonight. We had some yummy vegetable beef soup with corn bread. It was good... I love home cookin!

That is about all I have to report today...nothing much just a few updates. I will keep you updated on everything.

Day 2

Day 2 was pretty rough quite honestly. Still trying to get settled in and get into the swing of things. I had several emotional upsets, but I am sure that is all very normal considering what is going on.

They came in to monitor the babies and my contractions in the morning and evening and will continue to do that unless something changes for the worse, then I would get closer monitoring and possibly a different dose or kind of medicines to better control the contractions. Yesterday, I did show to be having a few contractions during the time they monitored (about 20 minutes), so they weren't super concerned about that. I believe my doctor has said they don't want to see more than 10 an hour.

My doctor came in to see me yesterday afternoon and we had a nice talk. She is so sweet, personable and patient. I just love her. She listened to me and answered all my questions which made me much more at ease with a lot of things. Then, she told me that I had failed my glucose test. :( She wants me on a certain diet today and maybe tomorrow, then they will do the second test the following morning. This is the 3 hour test where they take blood once every three hours to see how my body is breaking down the sugars in my system. I haven't been diagnosed with gestational diabetes yet; this test will be the determining factor. If I am diabetic, I will have to change my diet and possibly receive insulin shots every day. Hopefully this test will come back negative as Nivens said only 15% of people fail the second test. If I do have it, then hopefully it will just be for the duration of the pregnancy and I will not have any problems with it afterwards.

Again, a HUGE thanks to everyone for praying for us and thanks to so many of you who have offered to help. All the things you do for us, help us tremendously.

Back in the hospital

Yesterday afternoon I was re-admitted to the hospital. I had an OB appointment yesterday morning. It seemed to go okay although I was monitored for contractions and it was picking a few up. Nivens didn't seem too concerned about them alone because at that point everything else seemed to be going well. The babies heart rates etc. all looked good.

I did have a glucose test and a FFN (the test that detects whether delivery will occur in the next 2 weeks). I don't have the results from the glucose test yet, but I got a call from Nivens yesterday afternoon with the results from the FFN and unfortunately, it came back positive. She told me this test isn't as accurate (maybe 40)when it reads positive as it is when it reads negative (maybe 99%). We are hoping the test is wrong and that the babies will stay put for a while.

After getting those results, Koster wanted to see me for a cervical check and my cervix has shortened quite a bit (for me that is). My cervix is still considered long, but for me, it is short because my cervix has consistently been very long. My doctors aren't concerned that it is too short, they are more concerned by how much it has changed in the past week. Koster thinks the fluid around the babies might be partly to blame for the shortening cervix because of the added weight it brings. She says they have good fluid, not too much, but this may be part of the cause. We were told I would be admitted, which we somewhat wanted to do anyway just to have close monitoring.

I got settled in and they immediately started monitoring my contractions. They were pretty frequent, so they gave me more procardia. I had my first steroid shot last night. This is to help speed up the babies lung development in the event they are born in the near future. My contractions really hadn't slowed down after several hours of monitoring, so they were going to give me tributilene (sp)but my heart rate was too high so they didn't give it to me. Some time in the middle of the night my contractions slowed enough to take me off the monitor and not need to go the next step of taking tributilene.

It is Tuesday morning now and not much has happened yet except I had my 2nd and final round of the steroid shot. They haven't been in yet to monitor the contractions or the babies and I haven't seen my doctors yet, so I don't know much as far as where everything currently stands. I will try to update you tonight and give you daily updates.

We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers, emails and phone calls. Please continue to pray that these babies will stay put for a while longer and that everything will go smoothly.

Maternity pictures etc.

I don't have anything new to report, but I thought I would share some pictures with you. A few of them are just random, but some are maternity pictures we had taken by my SIL, Jill.





These were taken last Saturday before the hospital excursion. Craig got the strollers put together and put the carseats in them. I think he got a little overwhelmed just seeing them put together. He was practically speechless. About all he could say was, "MAN!"



We got a hospital bed to borrow, so we put it in the living room. I think it will help me be much more comfortable. Our living room is a wreck, with furniture all over the place, but I don't care... All I care about right now is being as comfortable as possible. Oh and check out my support hose! Aren't they cute??? Hopefully, they will serve their purpose and prevent any blood clots in my legs from forming from all this laying around. :)

These are some of my favorites of the maternity pictures. They haven't been cropped or edited yet, so some of them aren't perfect. But, if any of you are interested in having my SIL do pictures for you, I can give you her info.

25 week update & the final decision on the names!

Wednesday we had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Koster and everything went great. My cervix is doing great at 4.0 cm! The babies look wonderful and are all measuring about a week ahead. They all have excellent fluid around them, great heart rates and all their measurements are right on track. I was so anxious to have their measurements done again because I knew they must have been in the middle of a big growth spurt based on the amount of growing I had done in the past week.

Baby A (boy) - HR 144 BPM, weight 1 pound 13 ounces
Baby B (girl) - HR 165 BPM, weight 1 pound 12 ounces
Baby C (girl) - HR 141 BPM, weight 1 pound 14 ounces

I can't believe they all weigh almost 2 pounds! I have almost 6 pounds of baby in me! It's crazy how rapidly they are all growing. I have sono pictures, but I can't scan them right now because of the bedrest restrictions. Either Craig will do it later, or we will set up the scanner in the living room with the laptop so I can do it. I will try to get them on here soon.



We got a little clarification regarding the bedrest and I am so glad we asked because Koster's response encouraged me tremendously. We asked if I could get out of the house any for Christmas or church and she said it was fine to go to someone's house as long as I stay off my feet. Also, she said church would be okay because we have the wheel chair. I still can't do anything around the house or anywhere for that matter, but I am so excited to hear that I can leave my house from time to time. Especially with Christmas being near, I don't want to be cooped up here during this time. Of course, all of this is subject to change if my contractions come back stronger or my cervix shortens, I could wind up in the hospital again.

On a different note... we made the final decision on the names of the babies. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.



Their first and middle names are:

Tyler Craig
Hannah Michelle
Whitney Nicole

We are so excited to have their names picked out and the nursery finally complete.

My home away from home...the hospital

Our Thanksgiving went great and we were having a wonderful weekend until Saturday night. I wasn't feeling very well; my belly was very tight and I was having shooting pains in my back. We called the doctor and she advised us to come in just to check things out. So, we headed to the hospital at 10:30 pm and when we got there, they hooked me up to monitors to check the babies heart rates and to check for contractions. The monitoring process was very difficult to accomplish because the babies are still so small, they can still move around a lot. The goal is to monitor them all simultaneously for 20 minutes, which is virtually impossible. After they got all the monitors in place, we saw that the babies looked fine but I was definitely having contractions every 3-5 minutes! They told me I had to stay the night for monitoring, gave me procardia to help control the contractions and ambien to help me sleep as well as relax my uterus. And man was the ambien great! It was so nice to be relaxed enough to sleep deeply for a change.

The next morning, we were moved from labor and delivery to the anti-partum area. My contractions had gone from every 3-5 minutes to about every 8 minutes. My doctors were glad to see the medicine working, but wanted to see the contractions further apart, so in the early afternoon, we were told we would be staying a second night. Throughout the day Sunday, my contractions got much better, only coming every 20, 30 minutes...and occasionally an hour or more apart. Later that afternoon, I was wheeled over to Koster's office for a sonogram and cervical check. Everything looked great, so we were told that if everything continued to go well with the contractions for the duration of the day and night, we would go home on Monday on complete bedrest.

We had several visitors that day...Craig's parents stopped by, my mom came by and my brother and his wife came by. It was so nice to have visitors; it doesn't take long to start feeling like you are in a prison in the hospital.

Monday, they did more monitoring and Nivens came by to talk to me; the babies were still doing great as well as my contractions, so I was discharged around noon that day. My doctors now want to see me twice a week, once to Koster and once to Nivens office. I can't drive anymore, so we will have to line people up to help us get me to all these doctor's appointments. Now, I am home on complete bedrest. About the only thing I can do is take a shower and get up for bathroom breaks.

Ever since we got home, Craig has been working like crazy researching which laptop would be best for our needs. He found one and has been working on getting everything set up so I could have something to help maintain my sanity and to keep me connected to the outside world. It has been very busy for him these past 5 days taking care of me. He goes back to work tomorrow (Thursday) and I am sure he is ready to get back to work to get a break...a much needed break.

The whole experience was very scary. I freaked out a little when they told me I was having so many contractions even though I was prepared for this and knew it was very normal with a triplet pregnancy. Being in the hospital wasn't fun, but in a way, I am glad it happened because by watching the monitors and seeing when I was having a contraction, helped me have a better understanding of what a contraction feels like. These are pre-term contractions, so they are not painful and very difficult to detect. Being in the hospital also helped give me peace of mind regarding the whole hospital experience. I have been very worried about being in the hospital, having the c-section etc, but now I have a better understanding of what kind of care I will be getting and it helped me tremendously.

Thank you to all of you who called and came by and thank you for offering to help with chores, running errands and providing meals during this time. We appreciate your help and prayers!

Happy Viability - 24 weeks!

As of Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), we officially reached viability. What a nice way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day! I can definitely tell that these babies are growing very rapidly this week. I have gained 8 pounds in the past week!!! I have a much bigger appetite and have been feeling my ligaments stretching. I think I forgot to mention in my last post, but at my 23 week appointment, Nivens said I look I am about 35 weeks pregnant! The babies are kicking up a storm! :) It is funny... I'll talk to them and get on to them when they kick me. :) Mommyhood is kicking in already I guess.



My next appointment with Nivens is Monday and I have my first glucose test. Please pray that all goes well with that. Then, we have our next growth check with Koster on Wednesday.

We had our CPR class the other night and it was a very good class. I liked how we got so much hands on experience with the dolls, rather than just watching a video or listening to them tell us how to do it. We learned CPR and the Heimlich on infants, children and adults. We also discussed different safety measures and had a quick lesson on carseats. I feel so much better about knowing what to do in case of an emergency.

We had a nice Thanksgiving at our house this year. My Mom, two brothers, their wives and kids came over. We had yummy food and just enjoyed each others company visiting and watching the football game. Lacy really enjoyed the day also; she got to play with her little cousins, (Bear and Kodiak) Les & Kim's dogs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello all! Last week was pretty much the same...uneventful, which is good. I didn't do too much all week and the babies are still doing great.

We had maternity pictures taken. My brother, sister in law and their three kids came out to our house to take some shots of us. Thanks so much Kevin and Jill! It was fun playing "dress-up" and getting my picture taken, but very tiring at the same time. All the outfit changes and the awkward pose positions... :) I will try to post a few pictures on here when I get them.

My sister in law, Michaela came over one day to clean our house and visit. It was nice to have some girl time and visit for a while, and to have my house cleaned! THANK YOU MICHAELA! I could have never done it by myself.

My last doctor appointment went well. All four of us are doing wonderful. I got a little light-headed and queezy from laying on my back for so long getting my sonogram. The sonographer takes FOREVER. I didn't pass out though, so that was good. :) This week the babies weighed in at:

1 pound 6 ounces for baby boy A
1 pound 5 ounces for baby girl B
1 pound 5 ounces for baby girl C

I was glad to see our girls catching up to our son.



This is my newest eating station - my "high chair". Eating is becoming so difficult with my belly getting so big. This way, I can basically just shovel the food right into my mouth. LOL



We finished up the second half of our child birth classes this past weekend. It was much more informative than the first one was. We had a couple with 7 month old twins come in and talk to us and answer any of our questions. It was helpful to hear their story, watch them with their babies and ask questions, but it was also very overwhelming! We also took a tour of the hospital...we got to see the NICU, the nursery, the birthing rooms (for those delivering vaginally) and the recovery rooms. It was encouraging to see the hospital rooms and areas where we will be spending quite some time and to see how everything works. It was also kind of weird taking the tour because me and one other triplet mom were wheeled around the tour in wheel chairs. I felt silly, but I needed it after sitting in one position all day and walking around the hospital that late in the day would have been very hard for me.

Now, we just have one class left...the CPR and child safety class. I am really looking forward to this class because I know it will give me more peace of mind to know that I have some clue as to how to save my children's life if need be. Craig is already trained on all this stuff and goes through periodic training for his job. But, he will be coming with me anyway...never hurts to have a refresher course.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We are so thankful and blessed to have our three precious, healthy babies growing so well, and to have such wonderful family and friends supporting us. We hope you have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.