Coming to the end of an AMAZING journey!

As we are quickly approaching the end of this pregnancy, I am a ball of emotions. Everyone keeps asking how I am feeling, but it changes about every 10 minutes. I am so excited, but then all of a sudden get overwhelmed and nervous. Then I think about the actual surgery and begin to get myself worked up, only to calm down again thinking about the birth of the babies. Wow! What a roller coaster of emotions!

When I look back at the past 8 months, I am in amazement of everything that has happened so quickly. Al and I are so fortunate to have been blessed with so many wonderful, gracious, and loving family and friends. People have poured love, prayers, and gifts our way in a multitude of ways. I am not sure I will ever get tired of hearing people say they are praying for and thinking about our family. All I can say is, "Wow! What a blessing!"

All in all, I have loved almost every minute of being pregnant. Thankfully, I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy, for which I am grateful. For the most part, I am really going to miss it. I have loved feeling the babies move inside me, and wondering what they look like and what their personalities will be like. If I had to make a prediction, I would say Baby A will be the calm, laid-back girl who follows her brother and sister. Baby B will be a spitting image of his daddy. He will be completely laid-back and easy-going; however, ALWAYS on the go. Baby C will be the instigator of the bunch and definitely be the leader. This is just what I am thinking from having them move around inside me, so it will be interesting to see how close these predictions are. What I have also enjoyed is the anticipation of the big day! I cannot wait to experience the birth of our babies with Al by my side.

There are a few things I will not miss from this pregnancy, that is for sure. I definitely will not miss the inability to sleep. I know everyone will insert a thought here that goes something like, "I don't think you will see sleep for awhile." I do understand this, but what I am talking about is just the ability to roll over from side to side without the feeling that I need a crane to push me, or without the inevitable and unavoidable noises that accompany this, waking Al up almost every time. It will be wonderful to just be able to get out of bed without having to make it a 5 minute process of making sure every body part is where it should be, working, and I am completely balanced. I will also not miss the shortness of breath. It will be so exciting to be able to go up and back down one flight of stairs in less than 5 minutes, something I always took for granted. The last thing I will not miss (however, I think it will haunt me for while) is the freak show that I create when in public. Never have I been pointed at and talked about so much. I know people are just curious, but I am not sure I can hear, "I've never seen a belly so big" or "When are you due? You are huge!" Last weekend, I was walking out of Target and a lady that was coming into the store started saying, "Excuse me, excuse me" quite rudely. I mistakenly looked up to find she was talking to me. She then proceeded to ask if I was having a multiple pregnancy. I quickly affirmed her suspicions and tried to keep walking, but failed at that. She wanted to know how many, which I answered quickly, and once again turned away. Apparently this woman wanted to know everything because she would not leave me alone. I understand people are curious, but do complete strangers really need to know everything? I always think of come-backs I would love to say in my head, but never have the courage, or the meanness to say them, for example:
"How many babies are you having?" Reply: "One very large 15 pound baby, thanks for a
asking."
"Were you due last week?" Reply: "Ohmygosh! Thank you for reminding me that my water did break last week, but I just forgot to go to the hospital!"
"Are the babies natural?" Reply: "Why, no, actually. They are synthetic."
I think I could go on and on about the comments people have made, but I am afraid it will not be much better when I am pushing around a triplet stroller. I am thinking about making a sign to post on the stroller that answers most of the questions people have, but maybe that would be rude, or invite people to ask more questions. I guess we will quickly learn!

In wrapping up this blog, I do want to extend a huge THANK-YOU for all of the help, support, and love everyone has shown us. We truly appreciate everything that has been done to help us with this incredible journey and we are looking forward to the future!!

35 Weeks!

DISCLAIMER: If you are offended by pregnant women's bellies, please do not scroll down! I have posted a couple of pictures with my shirt lifted because so many people seem interested in seeing it. Apparently when people see my bare belly, it looks MUCH larger than with a shirt on, so hopefully I do not make anyone sick.

Friday we hit the 35 week mark!!!

Sorry there was a delay in these pictures, but unfortunately my computer decided to die on me the other day. It was not recognizing the electrical plug, so I took it to a local computer store and sure enough the cord was bad. Needless to say, they had to order a new cord and it will not be in until Tues. or Wed. Wow! Can I say how dependent I have become on using a computer! Simple things that I would previously had looked up elsewhere, such as a phone book, I now rely on the Internet. How the world has changed!

I am so glad we made it past the weekend, without having babies. Al managed to go to his show in Hillsboro and not have to quickly drive home for the birth of his children. Friday, I went over to another 4th grade teacher's house and sat with my legs in the pool! It felt so good to sit in the sun and chat with other adults! After that, I went to Aunt Connie's house to spend some time with Andrea, Turner, and my beautiful god-daughter Kate. We went swimming in their pool and it felt wonderful! The only problem is that I think it was the reason I had some contractions later that night. I was really worried I would have to go to the hospital, but after laying down for a little bit, I ended up falling asleep and the contractions passed.

Needless to say, I think between the sun and swimming on Friday, I overdid it and was exhausted on Sat. I laid in the recliner almost all day with absolutely NO energy. Thankfully, my mom came up and was around to help do stuff. Sunday, was much better. Mom and I got up, went to church, ran some last minute errands, and had lunch. We then came back and I got a nap in before Al came home. We were fortunate enough to see Al's dad and grandparents, but we did not make it home to see mine :( Next year, Father's Day should be a lot more exciting!

Now, we are just playing the waiting game. We are very excited for whenever the babies decide to make their appearance!!

I know...the stretch marks are not so pretty! Al made a comment that even my stretch marks have stretch marks! You can also see that the babies must really prefer my right side. Even from the beginning, my belly has been quite lopsided. I guess it's the small price to pay for such miracles :) (oh, and no, it does not hurt like everyone thinks it looks like it does...my body has just adjusted and is used to carrying around the extra weight. But I do have to say, that I am excited about feeling lighter!)

If you noticed the lovely yellow bowl in the last two pictures, you can see the catastrophe that has hit our house. Unfortunately, the other day, our only bathtub/shower in the house had decided to start leaking!!! Great timing :( For the time being, until it is fixed, we are taking showers in our camper, and let me tell you...they do not make camper showers with pregnant ladies in mind! I cannot really turn around without my belly hitting either the wall or the shower curtain. Oh, the pleasures of living in an old house!

GREAT appointment!!

Our family had fantastic reports at all 3 appointments this morning! We started off at MFM for an ultrasound to see approximately how much each baby weighs. To do this, they measure the size of each babies' head and stomach, and the length of one upper arm and leg bone. Baby A came in at 5 lbs., 7 oz. (this is actually larger than the normal for 34 w 6d)! The ultrasound tech commented that she has quite the belly on her :) Baby B was the smallest, weighing in at 4 lbs., 11 oz. (a little smaller than normal), and Baby C weighed 5 lbs. even (almost on track). When I found out we were expecting triplets and I had done a lot of reading, I was just praying to have the babies all weigh 4 lbs. Wow! They have completely surpassed that and are doing much better than I ever expected, for which I am very grateful! They also measured the amount of amniotic fluid in each sac. They are looking for at least 2 cm of fluid, and the babies had 3 cm, 3 cm, and 5 cm, so no worries there.

The next appointment was the non-stress test. Ususally the babies are VERY active; however, typically I do the appointment in the afternoon. I think because it was morning, they were a little more sluggish, so they had to be woken with a little buzzer/vibrator and then later poked, so they could measure movement in correlation with heartrates. Even though it took a little longer, all babies did pass once again.

Lastly, was the appointment with Dr. Kanios. She is very pleased about how everything is progressing. My blood pressure has been great the whole pregnancy, with today's being 119/74. According to Dr. Luke, one of the leading nutritionist for multiple pregnancies, she recommends mothers expecting triplets to gain between 60-75 lbs. To date, I have gained just a little over 60 lbs., which is perfect! I will feel like a new woman when I get all this extra weight off of me (which reminds me of a funny phone call...the other day, my brother called and asked if I ever just tipped over forward because there is so much weight in my belly. Sorry to disappoint him, but I just don't think it works quite like that :) Dr. Kanios also measured my belly, which is somewhat subjective. If I were to be having one baby, my belly would be measuring the size of going 46 weeks! When I got home, I had the nerve to measure around my belly, and I have a very attractive 48 inch waistline.

All in all, we are very blessed to be doing so well. Needless to say, I think everyone was very surprised to see us today, including the ultrasound tech who said she had never measured triplets this far along. Tomorrow makes 35 weeks, so whenever they decide to appear, we would be ok with (except this weekend, since Al still is planning on going to Hillsboro for work :(

Addicted

Recently my aunt and some cousins have taught me the world of shopping at Rite Aid using coupons. At first, I thought they were nuts and I wasn't really sure it was something for me, but after a couple of weeks and A LOT of help, I am getting much better at finding the deals. It was taking me FOREVER at first to calculate everything, but I am learning and can definitely see the benefits in it. In fact, because I love anything to do with math, it seems like a weekly challenge to see what bargains I can get. With this being said, my main goal has been to stock up on diapers at a low cost. When we first announced we were expecting triplets, many people commented that we would not be able to afford diapers; however, between the many generous people who attended baby showers and Al's diaper party, and my coupon shopping, I am doing very well in my diaper supply, in fact, I think I have enough size 3 diapers to last (if I remember right, Jody, who thankfully counted all sizes 2, 3, and 4)... we have somewhere around 2,800 size 3 diapers!!! Thank goodness Grandma is letting us store those at her house!

Last weeks bargains included everything in the picture below:

(The retail price for one is listed behind each item)
2 Mega-packs Huggies diapers (almost equivalent of 4 packs) 17.99

2 packs Pampers baby wipes 3.69

2 bottles of Listerine 5.49

3 packs Duracell batteries 8.99

2 packs Carefree liners 1.59

1 bottle Blink eyedrops 10.49

1 Gillette razor 9.99

How much would you guess that I paid for all of this??? Before I spill my exciting purchase, the value of all of these items at full price is $104.97 (not including tax). After all of my coupons and online single check rebates, I paid a full $6.18 for EVERYTHING (not including tax again). I would say it was definitely worth it!!!

This week, I purchased the following:

2 packs Huggies diapers

2 bottles Old Spice body wash (if Al does not like these, they will be donated)

Guessing time? How much did I pay for all four items? If you guessed $1.98, you would be right!!!

Who says I can't diaper 3 babies for a reasonable price? You just have to be a smart shopper :)

Rubber Ducky, You're the One!!

We celebrated Becky's baby shower today with a rubber ducky theme, and everything went very well. For a meal, we served a brunch, with an egg/sausage casserole, an egg/ham casserole, a peach French toast casserole, assorted muffins, a fruit salad, and beverages, including OJ, milk, and coffee punch. It was so nice because we had almost everything ready the night before, so all we had to do was put the dishes in the oven and set the food out.

The theme worked really nicely as the little kids seemed to love playing with the little rubber ducks we had sitting around.

The morning went very well and everyone was so generous! Becky and Ben have a very good start on getting the nursery ready. While Becky opened gifts, our cousin, Nicole, helped her open the presents that had bows on :)

Here are some great pictures of some of the people who were there. From left to right, Dani (my brother Mike's girlfriend), me, Becky, and mom.
Whenever Becky or I are home, this is a typical event - Mom trying to feel her grandbabies move. She insists that the babies kick on her cue, but I'm not convinced yet.

Becky and her mother-in-law, Adele.
Here are Becky's sisters-in-law, from left to right , Jen and her baby, Shelby, Becky, Emily, and Janene.

34 Weeks Milestone!!!

Friday we hit the 34 week milestone!! This was my original goal when we found out we were having triplets, so I am very happy and excited about making it this far.

I had a doctor's appointment this week and another non-stress test, but both went beautifully. There were no concerns and both the doctor and nurses are amazed at how smoothly everything is going. At this point, I am ok with the babies coming at any time. Everybody comments on how miserable I am, but I truly am doing quite well. The hardest part is rolling over and standing up from a sitting position. Other than that, I do not feel bad at all. Luckily, the medicine that my doctor gave me has made my rash almost completely disappear. It occasionally seems to flare up and I start to itch a little, but it seems to be mostly under control - thank goodness! As this journey continues, I am getting more and more excited knowing that the babies will be here in less than 17 days! How exciting :)

Bigger Than I Thought!

I went to my parent's house this past weekend to visit and help get things ready for my sister's baby shower next weekend. I have not seen Becky for several weeks, so it was surprising to see her belly has grown so much! She is about 3 1/2 weeks behind me in her pregnancy with one baby. I don't think I have a very good perspective of how large my belly is, because when I look at her, I feel like we are the same size. Everyone thought I was crazy, and now after actually seeing the pictures, I realize how absurd I was! I guess it's a good thing that I don't feel TOO big! This is us...me, at 33 weeks, Becky at 30.

We did not plan on wearing outfits that look so similar, but both showed up wearing these tanks. I guess we still think alike! :)

So I Feel Like....

A bump on a log....literally! I walked outside to talk to Al and had to take a break, so I sat on these logs. I was then complaining to Al that I couldn't wait until I at least had the energy to do more than walk out to the mailbox and back without taking a ten minute break when I got in the house. I told him that I am really beginning to feel like just a bump on a log...then I realized that at that moment, I literally was a bump on a log. I thought it was funny, but Al just shook his head.

Today officially makes 33 weeks!! One more week and I will have met my original goal of 34 weeks. When the PUPPPS rash started, I was getting more and more ready for this pregnancy to be over, but since visiting the doctor yesterday, who gave me some medicine to counteract the rash, I am feeling much better and now think I can happily keep growing. My hands do still itch, but hopefully that will go away. My non-stress test went very well yesterday with all of the babies passing with flying colors. During the 30 minute test, I did have 4 mild contractions. The nurse was not too concerned because they are not painful yet. I can feel my stomach tightening, but it does not hurt at all. These seem to be coming more frequently, but nothing is regular or painful. My biggest worry right now is that Al will not be close when I do have to go into the hospital. Tomorrow, he has work obligations in Zanesville and Columbus, and the weekend of June 19-20 he has to be in Hillsboro. If something happens before these events, he wouldn't go, but if not, he does need to attend these events. I guess if anything major happens, who ever is home at that time may be getting a call to take me to the hospital while Al flies home! Let's just pray we do not have to worry about that!

PUPPPS = Miserable Susie :(

It seems that I have developed pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy, also known as PUPPPS. This is a hormonal rash that happens only in about 1 out of 160 pregnancies; however much more prevalent when carrying multiples. It started on Thursday with just itchiness, but by Friday evening, a rash became present. I had called the doctors Friday morning and was instructed to put Eucerin cream on to help ease the itch, but if a rash developed, then I was to use Calamine Lotion and call on Tuesday. Throughout the weekend, the rash has continued to spread and increase in irritation. The rash looks like little pimples and has now shown up on my belly, hands and arms, thighs, and I believe will soon show up on my feet, as they have started to itch. The worst place by far is my fingers, as it is on the knuckles and even in between fingers, making it uncomfortable to bend my fingers. I went to the doctor today, who confirmed it to be PUPPPS and she prescribed me a cream to try, in addition to Benadryl. If that does not help, they may have me use a steroid pack when I go back on Thursday for my normal weekly check. The doctor compared the feeling to having poison ivy. I have to say this is the first time I have truly been unbearably uncomfortable during this pregnancy, so I cannot complain too much. Unfortunately, the cure for this rash is....delivery! Between the medicines and oatmeal baths, I hope that I can keep the scratching to a minimum and endure this for a couple more weeks. My C-section is exactly 4 weeks from today. While I am not keen on going that long, I would like to make it to at least 34 weeks.