Week 30

How far along? 30 weeks, 5 days (May 27, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 38 lbs. Gulp.

Maternity clothes? I'm actually starting to outgrow some of my outfits...

Sleep: I had one really great night of sleep over the weekend- I actually slept in until 9:30 am! Unfortunately it was a fluke and not the new norm- I'm still not sleeping well.

Best moments this week: Swimming! Our neighborhood pool opened up on Friday, and we headed down there on Saturday afternoon so I could swim float around for a bit. Admittedly the water was COLD, but it felt pretty darn good considering how hot I feel these days. I put a makeshift swimsuit together using an old swim skirt and a very large tankini top. It's not the most attractive thing ever, but it works for now and will hopefully get me through another 4 weeks of post-work/weekend floating in the water. I loved feeling like a "normal" person again when I was in the water- it really felt so great to not have my belly (and everything else) weighing me down for about 30 minutes. However, getting out of the pool felt so strange!!! I felt like there was an extra 100 pounds strapped to my legs as I climbed up the stairs. 

We had an ultrasound yesterday, but it was rather uneventful. They didn't do any growth measurements this time, though the doctor did request that we schedule a growth ultrasound for Monday when we go back for our MFM appointment. We're excited about that as we're anxious to see how much they've grown in the past week! All three boys still have strong heartbeats and look good. This particular ultrasound they were looking for movement and practice breaths from all the boys. Snap and Crackle were not super cooperative, but Pop was really easy going and did everything the tech needed to see. She was able to get a quick profile pic of Pop for us. The other two were not interested in having their pictures taken, though they did eventually do what the tech needed to see.

Our one cooperative little baby boy

Have you told family and friends: Yes 

Movement: All the time. I am attaching yet another video of my moving stomach because I just love it so much and don't want to lose these movies! Will mentioned the other night that he'll miss feeling them move in my belly, and I have to agree- I'll really miss feeling these little guys moving around all the time. They're my constant sidekicks these days, and while I know they will still be with me all the time once they're "out," it won't quite be the same!

Food cravings: Every week I think that I haven't had any cravings, but then I remember random items that I feel compelled to ask Will to pick up at the grocery store. This week it was cherry dump cake. I decided while we were at the store the other day picking up a few essentials that I just needed to make one. I'm glad that's what I was craving because a dump cake is about the most elaborate thing I can handle baking these days! I am starting to really pack on the pounds in the past couple weeks. I really really hope this is because the boys are getting bigger every day!

Anything making you queasy or sick: The heartburn continues...

Have you started to show yet: Yup

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks contractions continue, but not very frequently which is good. However, I am becoming more and more uncomfortable each day. I got really frustrated the other morning because I tried to cook breakfast for us, and it took everything out of me. I was only moving around in the kitchen for about 20-30 minutes, but I was so exhausted afterwards that I took a nap. On Sunday I sat through the entire mass instead of the usual standing/sitting/kneeling routine. Basically any sort of activity leaves me tuckered out. We did very, very little the whole Memorial Day weekend. It's ironic because I am so bored being "stuck" at home all the time, but there is so little that I can handle these days. Physically I'm just not up for doing a whole lot right now. I've mentioned it before, but I'm so fortunate that I can work from home right now, even if I sometimes feel like I'm on house arrest.

In addition to being exhausted all the time, I've developed a fun new pregnancy symptom- carpal tunnel! It's less in my wrists and more in my finger joints- my joints hurt all the time now. I can barely make a fist in the morning! I've been doing lots of wrist rolls to try to combat the puffiness. 

I mentioned to the doctor yesterday that it's become rather painful to stand up these days as I feel a ton of pressure every time I stand and take my first few steps. Usually the pain goes away after I empty my bladder and/or walk around a bit, but that concern prompted him to check my cervix. Thankfully my cervix is still long and closed, but HOLY MOLY!!! I was in even more pain yesterday thanks to that cervix check. Hopefully those aren't a new normal at my upcoming doctor's appointments! 

Belly Button in or out? I am beginning to wonder if I'm going to be lucky and not have a belly button that pops out. 30 weeks and it's still very flat, but not popped out!

Wedding rings on or off? Off 

Happy or Moody most of the time: It's been an up and down week. I'm so tired of being pregnant but I don't want to admit that to myself for fear of jinxing what has, so far, been a really stable pregnancy. Admitting that I'm tired of being pregnant makes me feel guilty, like I'm wishing the boys would get here already. Which is SO NOT the case! But I've been just feeling blah this past week, due in large part to all the issues I just mentioned under labor signs. Today in particular I've felt ready to burst into tears since I woke up. For no reason, in particular, just because I fancy a good cry, I guess. 

Weekly Wisdom: I've definitely had moments in the past week where I physically don't know if I can handle another 4 1/2 weeks of feeling so miserable. But I give me and the boys little pep talks- we can do this!!! All too soon I'll have to reference this blog to remember how I was feeling at this particular point in the pregnancy. It is so worth it to be to sacrifice my comfort now so that the boys can continue to stay healthy with me! 

And really, the end of June will be here before we know it! It's time to really start prepping for their arrival! Maybe my nesting instincts will kick in soon...I keep waiting but I don't feel like they've arrived yet! Thankfully Will has had the bug hit him in the past week. His baby prep work continued this week with assembling our double stroller. It's all ready- just waiting for a couple baby boys to fill it up! 

The boys' new ride...for 2/3 of them, at least!

And ready for when they're older and out of their infant seats!

Thank God for Will- I don't give him a lot of credit on the blog, but he has really done a huge job of taking over ALL of the household duties since I've been pregnant. And he's been stuck doing most of the baby-stuff assembly on his own, too. And he does it all without complaining (I do enough of that for the both of us!) I don't know what I'd do without him!!

Milestones: We hit 30 weeks! It is so crazy to actually be at this point. It felt like such a lofty goal when we first learned we were having triplets. 30 weeks just sounds super pregnant. Which I suppose is fitting since that's exactly how I feel these days!

Busy babies

One of our favorite evening activities right now is feeling for kicks and movement from the boys. They seem to be more active at night, though they've been pretty busy all day today. Will can't always see my stomach move as well as I can, so maybe the movement is more obvious to me than it is to the naked eye.  I can't believe I'm actually going to post a video of my bare belly, but I want to make sure I have some video of my belly jumping around saved. At any rate, please excuse my fuzzy, stretch marked belly and keep your eye on the right side! Pop was apparently doing his evening aerobics routine. :)

Week 29

How far along? 29 weeks, 5 days (May 20, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 33 lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Yup.

Sleep: Not great. I'm so tired, but just can't get comfortable. My hips have been hurting more and more at night especially, I'm guessing from the pressure of laying on my sides. I finally gave up around 4:45 this morning. I'm sure that will hurt me later today, but at least I can nap a bit if I need to since I'm at home.

Best moments this week: We had another MFM check in this week, this time with a new doctor on the team. She was great, and we got a quick peek at all the boys- heartbeats are looking good and they were all moving around nicely. Whew! We learned who would likely be delivering the boys via c-section sometime that last week of June. We don't have a definite delivery date yet, but we're getting closer to nailing down the boys' birthday! Hopefully we will have a chance to meet with the delivery doctor before our c-section date. We've been assured that he is great, but would like to meet with him in person for peace of mind.

I'm also relieved to have the car seats installed and another chunk of baby proofing done around the house, thanks to Will. It's definitely early to worry about baby gates and plugging outlets, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll be pretty busy once the boys are mobile, so we'd rather get everything done ahead of time!

Have you told family and friends: Yes 

Movement: Lots and lots of it!

Food cravings: I am enjoying all foods right now, hence the 3 lb weight gain over the past week! The boys must be going through another growth spurt because I've been starving lately!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I am really looking forward to no longer having heart burn 24/7

Have you started to show yet: Good grief, I am enormous. 

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor Signs: Some Braxton hicks last night, but no painful contractions, thank goodness. The lack of labor signs does NOT mean I am not feeling pregnant! I'm so uncomfortable!!! I just can't find any position to sit or lay comfortably for any long period of time. This makes it especially hard when trying to get comfortable for work. My laptop doesn't even fit on my lap if I'm sitting up in my recliner or on the couch- I have to create a makeshift desk using a pillow. Breathing is becoming more and more labored- I just can't seem to get a full breathe of air which sucks! It becomes painful to stand for any stretch of time- even just a few minutes exhausts me. I already mentioned my achy hips and general exhaustion. And in order to sit upright, I have to spread my legs to accommodate my massive belly. I'm sure I'm a sight for sore eyes. 

All that complaining aside, I am so hopeful that we all hang in there and make it to 35 weeks. Better me be miserable and huge and uncomfortable than the boys spend extra time in the NICU! Although I do shudder to think about how much bigger I can actually get! Seeing myself day-in and day-out, I don't realize how much I've been expanding until I see photos of myself either next to others or with some other point of reference (like the watermelon picture I posted the other day). Will took a not-suitable-for-the-blog (my shirt was not covering my belly- hello, back fat and STRETCH MARKS!!!) photo of me last night while I was stretching out my back. It is almost shocking to see my belly without the cover of clothes. It's so B.I.G.

Belly Button in or out? I think we're getting ever-so-closer to an outie. I can't see my belly button anymore(!) but Will has been keeping a dutiful (and slightly horrified) eye on it and inspects it each night. As of last night the bottom half is starting to poke out. 

Wedding rings on or off? All rings are off. I actually tried to put them on a couple days ago, just to see if they would still fit since I took them off before I really needed to. Ha! They didn't even come close to going on my finger! Definitely won't be wearing any rings for awhile. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: I think I've been in pretty good spirits lately. Definitely have my moments of moodiness, generally coinciding with when I am famished and need to eat!

Weekly Wisdom: Trying to keep up with my evening neighborhood walk at least a few times a week. I'm sure our neighbors think we're walking at night to try and induce labor, when in fact I'm walking to try and keep them in! We have met more neighbors in the past couple weeks than we have in the almost 2 years we've been living here. It's amazing how a gigantic pregnant belly can lead to a greeting of "you must be ready to pop any day now!" and then the mention of triplets turns it into a full-blown conversation. I think the whole cul-de-sac is excited for the triplets' arrival!

Milestones: It felt really great to hear the MFM doctor say that if the boys were to arrive at this point, they would more than likely survive and be far less likely to have long-term health issues. She also warned us that should we make it to 35 weeks and deliver sometime in that last week of June, we have a good chance of bringing the boys home with us when I am discharged! How amazing that would be!! And slightly terrifying, if we're being honest...but mostly amazing! Keep saying prayers that the babies and I have 5 1/2 more weeks together!

Prepping

Will has been working hard today to get the house and car ready for the boys' arrivals! He got all three car seats installed this morning and we went to the Sheriff's office over my lunch break to get them inspected and make sure they were properly installed. We (but really Will) passed with flying colors! The inspector was pretty impressed with the install job, and Will was pretty proud of himself. It's so strange to see the car set up for babies!!

Motivated by the car seat kudos, Will moved on to baby proofing the stairs. We are halfway there- he got the bottom gate installed but the top gate will be trickier since we don't have two spindles at the top of the stairs. We may have to do some drilling with that gate. 

Little by little the house is starting to look more like little people live here!!

Week 28

How far along? 28 weeks, 4 days (May 12, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 30 lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Yup.

Sleep: I think I'm starting to see a pattern to my sleep habits. It seems I can't sleep in one spot more than 2 nights in a row before I get very uncomfortable. I spent Saturday and Sunday night with Will at "his" place (AKA- the guest bedroom where he's been sleeping since January) and I slept pretty well both nights. I tried to sleep up there again last night and woke up around 1:30 and just couldn't find a comfortable position so I ended up moving to the glider in the boys' room, where I slept comfortably until 6:00 am. I guess I'll move back down to "my" room tonight and see if my theory holds true.

Best moments this week: As always, any time we get to see the boys is a great moment. I had an ultrasound today and got to see all 3 boys moving around, with good amounts of fluid, and growing steadily. That's the best gift this birthday mama could ask for! Cari was a last second pinch-hitter for Will at the ultrasound today since he wasn't able to come to this appointment. It was a real treat for her to see the babies in "real" time, even though they were all being stubborn. We didn't get any cute profile pictures today. But, per usual, the boys had no trouble at all showing off their man parts. We have plenty of photographic evidence of their male anatomy. It's a good thing we decided to find out their genders because even to an untrained eye like mine, their anatomy is pretty easy to spot during the ultrasounds! 

Our boys also have super long arms, which makes me assume that they'll take after their Uncle Shaughn. All three of them have arms measuring 2-3 weeks ahead of their developmental ages! Our little monkeys. :)

The boys are all continuing to grow well- Snap and Pop (babies A and C) are both currently weighing in around 2 lbs, 11 oz (27th percentile) and Crackle is weighing in around 2 lbs, 13 oz (41st percentile). Which means they have all grown about 8-9 oz in the past 2 weeks! I hope they continue growing at this pace for the next 6 weeks! 

In other best moments of the week, we have names chosen!! At least first names! I've been hounding Will for several weeks now about nailing down names for these kids. We've gone back and forth about what we both like for awhile now, but in the past few days I've really been feeling the urge to just know our babies' names! Even last night, as I was sitting in the glider in their room before bed, I was nagging Will about making a decision. Little did I know that he had already decided! Will gave me my birthday card this morning and inside he wrote a sweet note and referenced the Rice Krispies by their first names. Cue the waterworks! I was bawling as I read the card and saw their names written down for the first time. Like big fat tears rolling down my face crying. Probably a little overly dramatic, but hey, I'm pregnant so it's OK. I love the names we've chosen and can't wait to share them with family and friends when the boys arrive in a few weeks. So exciting!!! (And no, no one is going to be filled in on the names ahead of time! We're keeping them a secret from EVERYONE!!!)

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Movement: Constantly. Lately, in addition to sporadic kicks, I can feel their whole bodies turning or stretching or re-positioning or something. It's such a bizarre feeling! Like little aliens taking over my belly. Will has felt it, too, and his face is hilarious as he reacts to feeling them. It's like he's horrified and fascinated by it at the same time! :)

Food cravings: Per yesterday's post- watermelon. I had a birthday lunch with my team after my ultrasound today...they got me a watermelon for my birthday. Those ladies know me so well. :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Terrible heartburn again today, this round courtesy of the onions on my salad at lunch.

Have you started to show yet: Yup

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor Signs: Thankfully none. I've been feeling really good the past few days. This whole working-from-home thing should be a good thing for me. I feel far less tired since I'm able to sleep in an extra hour+ in the mornings. And I am soooo happy to not have to drive in morning and evening rush hour traffic.  

Belly Button in or out? Still hanging in the flat zone, I'm just waiting for it to pop! 

Wedding rings on or off? All rings are off

Happy or Moody most of the time: I "celebrated" my first Mother's Day on Sunday, today's my 33rd birthday, I got to see the babies this morning, we have names picked out, I am working from home now, I'm officially in the third trimester, and my sweet husband has been showering me with cards and affection all week. Life is good!

Weekly Wisdom: Taking Dr. Ransom's advice from last week and have been making a point to get up every hour and do a lap or two around the house so I don't clot from sitting around at home. 

Milestones: Hello, 3rd trimester! I'm thrilled we've made it this far, and hope that the babies keep growing and my body keeps handling this pregnancy for another 5-6 weeks!!

Cravings

I've craved fresh fruit this whole pregnancy, but watermelon tops the list of my favorite things right now. It's a very expensive craving to have in the middle of winter! Thank goodness watermelon season is upon us! 

Will bought me a whole, full size (and affordable) watermelon today. I couldn't wait to cut it up...and also couldn't help but notice that my belly dwarfs the whole watermelon. 

Yowza. Another visual reminder of just  how much these boys are growing (and how enormous I'm getting each week)!

Baby Registries and Final Shopping Trips

Being first-time parents we have been pretty clueless about what we actually need to have vs. what would be nice to have in order to raise babies. We've been assembling our list of necessities from online checklists and talking to other parents. However, the one thing that most parents and online lists don't take into account is that we have 3 times the number of babies to prep for! It's been especially hard to figure out what we need to triple up on vs. what we can share amongst the babies. For the most part our registries just asked for 3 of everything, our thought being that we can leave some of the bigger items (swings, activity jumpers, etc...) boxed up, try one out to see how many babies like it, and then determine if we really need to keep all three items or if we can get away with sharing.

I've been fortunate to be in touch with some other triplet moms who have been a wealth of information for us as we enter into this new world of multiples parenting. A former co-worker of mine from Chicago and his wife just had triplets about a year ago. Thank goodness for Facebook, otherwise I never would have known that I had access to a couple who were only a year ahead of where we are now! I reached out to his wife and she was extremely helpful in telling us where we should invest in having three of something vs. what we could share.

We were extremely grateful that our friends and family have helped prepare us for parenthood by spoiling our kiddos with clothes, books, toys, strollers, swings, and more diapers and wipes than I can ever imagine needing (but positive we will go through in no time at all!). But even after the 2 showers that were hosted for us, and the incredible generosity of our friends and family, we still had a LOT of things to purchase for the triplets.

Will's dad generously offered to take us shopping yesterday so we could finish up the majority of our shopping list for the boys. I think he enjoyed walking through Babies-R-Us and kept remarking about how much has changed since he was raising his kids 30+ years ago. The baby industry has certainly grown since Will was an infant! I think we all particularly liked reminiscing in the toy aisle. Yes, there were lots of new, modern toys, but there were also a lot of the same, simple toys that Will and I played with when we were young. It's sometimes nice to see that even in a world that is so technologically advanced, kids still like wooden puzzles and that ball pop mower thing.

We walked up and down each aisle and by the end of our trip, had 4 carts full of necessities to finish prepping for the boys' arrivals! We can't thank Willard enough for helping us check off the majority of our must-have items from our registry. There are still a few items left on our list that we need to get in the coming weeks, but this particular trip went a very long way in helping us feel ready to welcome the boys home in a couple months.

It's fitting that Willard currently looks like Santa Claus because we felt like it was Christmas yesterday for the boys!

We still haven't quite gotten used to the stares from people who are wondering why on earth we are buying so. much. stuff.

Continuing to love the Acadia- it fit all of our big box items AND 3 adults!

We're almost ready!

Maternity Photos!

I debated back and forth about whether I wanted to take professional maternity photos. On one hand, this is my first (and quite possibly my only) pregnancy, and so I thought it would be nice to have professional shots to document the occasion. But on the other hand, what does one actually do with maternity photos?? They're not necessarily something we'd look to hang all over the house, so was it really worth spending the money to have them taken?

In the end, I decided to go for it. I figured it would be better to take them and not use them rather than regret not having any nice photo mementos from the pregnancy. I opted to have them taken earlier in the pregnancy, back in March just after we learned their genders (around 22 weeks), as opposed to the 28-30 week range, when most women typically take their pictures. I wanted to document my belly while it was still relatively small and not freakishly large (as it very much is now!)

The same photographer who shot our wedding,  Krista of Krista Lee Photography, took the photos for us. It was really great to work with her again, and she and her assistant were SO EXCITED that we are expecting triplets! It was fun to reminisce about our wedding day with them while taking our maternity shots- who would have thought we'd be using the same photographer to capture another momentous occasion in our lives?!  Krista is really talented and takes some adorable kid photos, so I look forward to bringing the boys down to her studio for some of their baby pictures.

We ended up ordering a collage of some of these shots to put up in the nursery, and got a framed picture of Will and me that we plan to hang in our room. I'm so glad we decided to take the shots, and glad we got to work with Krista again!

And as an added bonus, we are FINALLY going to have a wedding album created! We fell in love with a company who makes beautiful wedding albums while we were wedding planning, and opted to not have Krista make an album for us following our wedding as we wanted to work with that particular company. We learned, though, that the company will only work with professional photographers, so we just never got around to having an album made. When we met with Krista a couple weeks ago to review the shots and pick out our products, we noticed that she has started working with that company! WOOHOO! So we're simultaneously working on wedding and maternity shots at the same time. But I'm so happy that we'll finally have a nice album to display, and that we'll actually get it done before the boys come...and before our 3rd anniversary!

Here are a few of our favorite shots from our shoot!

Week 27

How far along? 27 weeks, 5 days (May 6, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 30 lbs. 

Maternity clothes? Yup.

Sleep: I'm sleeping better, but still not great. I started on the couch last night, where I slept really soundly until about 9:30, then switched to the bed. Didn't sleep so well in the bed, so I went back to the couch around 2:00 am and slept wonderfully until my alarm went off. Maybe I should just start sleeping all night on the couch! 

Best moments this week: The best moments each week are when we get to see the boys via ultrasound. Going to the doctor's office every week can be a pain, but I love that we get weekly glimpses of the boys. Seeing their hearts beating and the three of them being active (even when I can physically feel them being active) is so comforting!

We also got digital copies of our maternity photos this week, which is exciting. 

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Movement: Often. 

Food cravings: I picked out corn dogs at the grocery store this week, which was random. I can't remember the last time I ate, let alone craved, a corn dog.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn. 

Have you started to show yet: See picture from last post- I'm ginormous.

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor Signs: I had a REALLY rough day yesterday. I slept really poorly the night before and was exhausted, like 1st trimester exhausted, and could barely keep my eyes open. I've read that extreme tiredness can hit again with full force in the 3rd trimester...I definitely believe that now! On top of that, I was contracting every time I got up to walk anywhere, and couldn't get comfortable to save my life. I was literally to the point of tears trying to find a comfortable position to sit in while I was at the office. I finally called it a day around noon and ended up working from home the rest of the afternoon. I had a 2:00 pm phone meeting and decided just after 1:00 pm to to lay down for a bit to try and rest. I set my alarm for 1:45 pm and it woke me up from a DEEP sleep...my pillow was covered in drool! Yikes! Guess I really did need the rest. I was pretty miserable but thankfully, I got a lot of rest last night and feel 1000% better today!

Belly Button in or out? It's ever so slightly out, but mostly flat. I have a feeling it will officially pop any day now. 

Wedding rings on or off? All rings are off

Happy or Moody most of the time: I have been up and down this week, per my explanation above. Overall, though, I've been pretty even-keeled.

Weekly Wisdom: I am down to my final 2 days in the office before I start working from home until the boys' arrival. The MFM doc reiterated that even though I should be taking it easy, I still need to move around as much as I can, to avoid blood clots. I'm sure I'll miss working and conversing with my work colleagues on a daily basis. But I am more than ready to be done in the office for awhile. I just can't get comfortable at work. Plus I am tiring more easily during the day. It will be nice to have some extra time in the morning to sleep in since I won't have to be up by 5:00 am. And I'll be able to rest throughout the day when I need to, something I can't do at the office. 

Milestones: Just 2 days shy of reaching the 3rd trimester, and that important 28 week developmental goal that we discussed with the NICU doctor several weeks ago. Only 6-7 weeks to go!

Big Ol' Belly!!!

Mom snapped this picture of Will and me this afternoon before she and Dad headed back to Decatur. I don't feel like I look that big when I look at my reflection, but holy cow, do I look enormous in pictures!!