They're Here!!!

It's been a whirlwind of a week since the boys arrived on Father's Day! I'll try to write updates here on the blog during downtime (AKA pumping time!) to keep everyone updated. 

Everyone is happy and doing well so far! Thanks to all for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes! We are so smitten with our baby boys!!!

Cooper Riley

June 21, 2015

4:57 PM

4 pounds, 7 ounces

17.7 inches

Griffin Sawyer

June 21, 2015

4:56 PM

5 pounds, 7 ounces 

18 inches

Willard Joseph IV

June 21, 2015

4:55 PM

5 pounds, 1 ounce

18 inches

Week 33

How far along? 33 weeks, 6 days (June 18, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 45 lbs (no wonder I feel so bloated- +5 pounds in the last week!)

Have you told friends and family? Yes

Maternity clothes? Yup

Sleep: I wish. I'm exhausted this week. Still waking up to use the bathroom at least 3-4 times each night, and then spend quite a bit of time trying to fall back asleep thanks to my itchy body. I've also been hit with bouts of insomnia where I just can't seem to turn my brain off. I'm sure it's because we're getting so close to the finish line, but it makes it tough to stay awake during the day. I've started napping on my lunch breaks in the past week or so, which has been great. Another perk to working from home for the past 5 weeks!

Best moments this week: I was pretty happy when we learned that they weren't going to get steroid shots for the boys' lungs. I'm so happy we've made it this far, and hoping we can hold out for another couple weeks!

Movement: I posted videos this week of them moving around. They're definitely very active these days! As I mentioned last week, it's really easy to pick out where the boys are hanging out based on the shape of my belly. I snapped this picture last weekend- definitely easy to tell where a baby is!

Crackle trying to escape his brothers for some space

Food Cravings: I've been eating lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate milk lately. Again, going for easy things to make. Will has been in charge of doing most of the cooking lately since I can't handle doing much moving around the kitchen these days.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn is still a constant annoyance. And the itching from PUPPPS is constant. I feel like I could scratch my skin off!

Have you started to show yet: I really do wonder if it's possible to get any larger than I already am.

I'm incapable of taking a decent looking picture of my face these days. I haven't worn makeup since I stopped working in the office. 

Tubba Wubba

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor signs: Aside from the "lightning crotch" incident earlier this week, I've not really had any labor signs. I'm noticing contractions more and more, but they are very sporadic and not painful. We're getting so close to the boys' due date that I've been trying to pay closer attention to any "off" feelings that could be labor signs, but so far, haven't had anything out of the ordinary happen.

Belly button in or out? Still flat, but ever so slightly starting to pop 

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm an emotional wreck these days. I cried 3 times before noon on Monday- because I was in so much pain and because Will made a joke while we were waiting on the midwife. He and I kid around all the time, but for whatever reason I just burst into tears when he jokingly called me a wimp. Seriously. I was laughing/crying at the same time, but I seem to have no control over my emotions these days. And I complain constantly. I know I'm doing it, and I know I sound like a whiny baby when I do it, and I'm sure people are tired of hearing it (or reading it if you keep up with me via the blog) but I can't stop myself! So many friends and family have been in touch with me in the past couple weeks to check in on me and I complain to them about how miserable I am. Please know that I truly do appreciate your care and concern and I promise I'll be a happier camper soon!!!

Despite my constant complaining these days, I am feeling grateful that we have gone almost 34 weeks with very few hiccups in this pregnancy. I have read lots of triplet blogs where the mom has been put on hospital bed rest or made multiple trips to labor and delivery early on in their pregnancy to try and stop labor. In the grand scheme of things, I've had a pretty easy pregnancy considering the risks that often go along with carrying multiples. I need to keep that in mind when I'm having rough days (which seem to be more and more frequent lately.)

Weekly Wisdom: Will brought to my attention that I only have 11 work days remaining before the boys are scheduled to arrive. That's crazy!

Milestones: I truly can't believe that we are almost to the 34 week mark! I am so proud that we've made it this far! Even if the boys decide that their time to come is sooner than July 3rd, we're very likely to bring home 3 healthy babies pretty soon after they deliver. That's such a wonderful feeling! 

Dislodging Themselves

The boys must have gotten the memo that they were hurting their mama because they're doing their best to rotate positions tonight! Whatever they're up to I'm OK with because my pelvic pain has lessened since this little show.

                                         

Or maybe they're just really really excited that Chicago won the Stanley Cup again.

Random Updates

Last night we spent the evening packing diaper bags and getting the nursery baby cam set up. We opted to go with the Dropcam per my brother's recommendation and online reviews. The nice thing is that we can see all three cribs with only one camera! The nursery still isn't finished in terms of decorations, but it's definitely ready for 3 little boys to live there!

Dropcam view

We found the curtains on Wayair.com. They aren't exactly what we wanted, but we got all four panels for the price of one panel at Pottery Barn Kids...and they are close enough!

The maternity photo collage turned out great!

This morning as I was getting ready something went down, down there. I have no idea what exactly happened, but suddenly it was extremely painful to walk, to the point that I was in tears trying to move around. When describing the feeling to my sister this afternoon, I've been informed that the feeling I've been having is termed "lightning crotch"- good to know. Fortunately we had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound scheduled already, so I was able to talk to the midwife about this new issue.

Since walking was pretty much the most painful thing ever, I was given a ride to the doctor via wheelchair. Definitely embarrassing! But also necessary as I'm not sure I could have made the walk from the parking lot to the office. 

Certainly embarrassing being wheeled around the doctor's office by your husband. But also really glad that they had wheelchairs available for use!

We learned at our ultrasound that they will likely not do another growth scan because the boys are so crammed in there that it's hard to make out who is who. But all 3 babies have good heart rates and amniotic fluid so that's good. Like I mentioned in previous posts, I think our days of ultrasound pictures are over so our next photos of the boys should be their first pics of them in the real world! 

After the ultrasound, we met with the midwife, who offered some insight into why I was in so much pain. Snap is sitting breech right now and Crackle is head down, and both are really low, which is likely what is causing the pain I've felt today. The pain could also be from my cervix starting to dialate. But likely, Snap and Crackle are the culprits thanks to how they're currently positioned. Unfortunately she said the pain is not likely to go away between now and the boys' arrival. That's pretty disheartening as it hurts a LOT to move, and we have 18 days to go. But she also said she wouldn't be surprised if we delivered sooner, so maybe I'll get relief soon. 

My cholestasis test results aren't back yet, but the midwife is very confident that I don't need to worry about that condition thanks to my other new symptoms that have shown up in the past week. The awful stomach itching has spread and now pretty much my whole body is covered in an annoying, itchy rash. She said it looks like a textbook case of PUPPPS, which stands for "pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy." The good news is that the rash isn't harmful to me or the boys. The bad news is that the only "cure" to make the rash go away is birthing these babies. The only thing I can do between now and then is to try and manage the itching without absolutely losing my mind! She gave me prescription strength hydrocortisone cream and a higher strength Benadryl to help alleviate the itching, so hopefully that helps. Currently the itching is my worst pregnancy symptom that I'm dealing with as it's inescapable! 

This is what the rash looks like- covering pretty much every part of me right now.

The midwife checked to see if I should get a steroid shot to help the boys lungs grow in the event I go into labor soon, but the MFM doctor didn't think it was necessary. That is a great feeling! They think the boys are developed enough that their lungs should be OK if they were to deliver soon. 

We have 2 more weeks of appointments scheduled, but we'll see if we actually need them! 

3's all around

Will got in a boat day with Cari yesterday and posted this picture on Facebook with the following caption:

Trying to squeeze 3 months into 3 weeks before 3 babies arrive on the 3rd. Apparently 3 is a popular number for me right now... But I am missing Meaghan Mason right now!

Sweet of him to say that he missed me! I'm sure that my morning cry fest before he left for the day had a little bit to do with that. There are some days that I just can't handle it. The "giant belly, overheated, painful when the babies move, constant itching, no comfortable position to sit or lay in, painful every time I get up to walk somewhere, and never ending exhausted" feelings have been really overwhelming in the past week or so. I often shed a frustrated tear or two in the middle of the night when trying to roll over or having to get up again to go to the bathroom. But I had a morning break down yesterday that Will had to deal with. I just don't know how much longer I can last. 21 days seems so close, but at the same time it feels like an eternity away when I know that these issues are just going to keep getting worse. Will keeps reminding me that at this point in the game it's 90% mental. And he's been urging me to soak in and enjoy when I feel the boys move (even if it's painful!) as this is likely the only time I'm going to experience that feeling. So I'm trying hard to overpower my crappy emotions with positive ones. But admittedly, it's tough.

At any rate, I sure do miss the boat! It's a bummer that I won't be able to have any boat time this summer, but very happy that we have the pool so I get a little relief. Admittedly, Will has had to do some convincing lately to get me to put on my suit and join him after I get off work for the day. But I'm always glad on days that I go. So, thanks to my hubby for taking care of me, yet again!

That tangent was not the actual intention of this post, though! I was struck by how many 3's are swirling around us right now:

• I'm 33 years old
• Will is the youngest of 3 kids
• He's also Will the 3rd
• I'm officially 33 weeks pregnant today
• We're having 3 babies
• They're due to arrive on July 3rd
• 3 weeks to go

Week 32

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How far along? 32 weeks, 5 days (June 10, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 40 lbs

Have you told friends and family? Yes

Maternity clothes? Yes, but very limited selection of what still fits me!

Sleep: Not much. I’m still dealing with the usual issues of multiple bathroom trips, sore hips, knees, and finger joints, and heartburn. Add to that a new gross pregnancy issue: drooling when I sleep. Has anyone else had this problem? I wake up to a wet pillow and it is so disgusting!

Best moments this week: All 3 boys passed their BPP ultrasound yesterday, and all three have heartbeats in the 140’s, which is always great news. Unfortunately we weren’t given any pictures to share. In all honesty, Will and I had trouble making out who was who yesterday. Either the boys weren’t being very cooperative or the ultrasound tech wasn’t going out of her way to show us their faces. She did mention that it looks like Crackle is starting to try and worm his way into Pop’s space. So those 2 boys were a jumbled mess. I’m sure the fact that they’re getting bigger and bigger every day means that new ultrasound pictures to share will be less and less likely.

We also finally got our maternity photos delivered today! I’ll post some pictures of the nursery once we decide where we are going to hang the photos.

Movement: They’ve been particularly active in the past couple days. It’s very easy now to feel where a baby is just by touching my belly. Or even looking at it- my stomach now shifts in shape depending on where the babies are hanging out. Some of their rolls are becoming super uncomfortable and almost painful because I feel like my stomach is going to burst open.

Food Cravings: None lately. Eating ANYTHING at this point gives me awful heartburn (to the point of vomit in my mouth) so I’m not super interested in eating these days. I also don’t much feel like cooking anymore so I opt for the easiest thing to eat vs. what I probably should be eating…

Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn- do I complain about heartburn enough? The other thing that’s getting to me these days is the ITCHING. I am constantly scratching my belly these days. The stretch marks are out of control itchy and it’s gotten particularly bad in the past week. The marks are getting darker in color and are raised up now. I talked to the doctor about the itchiness at my appointment yesterday. Unfortunately there’s not much that can be done to alleviate the irritation. Basically his explanation was that I’m pregnant…with triplets…and in my 3^rd trimester. Stretch marks are going to happen and the itching will probably get worse over the next couple weeks as the boys keep growing. Not great news, but he DID say that scratching doesn’t hurt anything, so that makes me feel better.

One potential issue he mentioned about the itching is that there’s a slight chance that I could be developing pregnancy cholestasis, which is when your bile excretion from the liver is interrupted and leads to a build up of bile in the mom. It’s thought to be brought on by pregnancy hormones, and for whatever reason women carrying multiples have a higher chance of developing this condition. One of the symptoms is extreme itchiness which is why the doctor had me come in today for a blood test to rule this out. Will and I aren’t too worried about this as usually the itching is severe and centered on the palms or your hands and soles of the feet…and the majority of my itching is on my stomach. There are no long-term health risks associated with the condition for the mom, and the itching goes away within a few days of delivering the babies. He did mention that there is a slight increased risk of stillborn births in women who have cholestatis, though they’re not sure why. Admittedly not what you want to hear, but that is worse case scenario. Even if I were to have the condition, they typically recommend delivering the baby around 38 weeks…we’ll be ahead of that by at least 2 weeks.

We have another MFM appointment scheduled on Monday and will hopefully have the test results back by then. They have also scheduled another ultrasound for Monday to make sure everything looks good with the boys. If the blood work comes back positive, they’ll have us come in twice a week for ultrasounds to make sure everything is good with the boys up until delivery date. As much as I’m writing about this, we truly aren’t too worried about this potential hiccup. We’re confident that my blood work will come back fine. Doesn’t hurt to have some extra prayers, though! Keep thinking positive thoughts!

Have you started to show yet: Like I said, clothing selections are becoming more and more limited and stretch marks are getting deeper and deeper.

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor signs: Braxton hicks continue but are still not painful. I’m definitely starting to run low on patience and tolerance from being so uncomfortable all the time. I’m to the point where I just feel achy all day long. Today is the first day in the 5 weeks that I’ve been working from home that I worked from bed so I could lay down. I just could not find a comfortable position! I’ve felt a bit “off” all day, though. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.

Belly button in or out? Still flat

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or Moody most of the time: Overall feeling OK most days, but it’s definitely hard to not let my mood be affected when I’m so freaking uncomfortable 24/7. Will has to deal with the majority of my complaining so hats off to him for putting up with me!

Weekly Wisdom: A couple different people this week have advised me to enjoy some silent downtime and take advantage of peace and quiet, as those days are going to be gone before we know it!

Milestones: The average gestation for triplets to deliver is 32 weeks. We’re just a day away from passing that HUGE milestone! It’s hard to believe we only have 23 days (or less!) to go before we’re PARENTS!

Eviction Notice

The boys have been given their notice- we officially have a delivery date! Unless they decide they want to make an entrance sooner, we're scheduled for a c-section on July 3rd. Woohoo!!!

31 days to go...the countdown begins.

Week 31

How far along? 31 weeks, 4 days (June 2, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 37 lbs. 


Have you told family and friends: Yes

Maternity clothes? Yup

Sleep: I miss getting a full, solid night of sleep! Imagine having a 30 pound weight strapped to your stomach like a gigantic balloon, then try to find a comfortable position for sleeping (but only on your sides). Next, try to change positions and roll to your other side. Or try to sit up and swing your legs over the side of the bed to use the bathroom for the 4th time in the middle of the night. Add to that terrible hip and lower back pain, swollen knee and finger joints that hurt to bend, and heartburn that is burning your esophagus constantly. That's pretty much how my nights feel these days. 

Best moments this week: Per usual, the best part of each week for me is when we get to see the boys on ultrasound. They did a growth ultrasound yesterday and we were shocked by how much they've grown in the past few weeks! Snap is weighing in at 3 lb., 12 oz.; Crackle is 3 lb., 14 oz.; and Pop is a whopping 4 lb., 3 oz.! So far they are still measuring at a "normal" range for a singleton pregnancy. Even the ultrasound tech was impressed by how well they're all growing! They may slow down in growth as they run out of space, but the tech did say that it's amazing how much a uterus can stretch to accommodate everyone. So I currently have 11 lb.. 15 oz. of baby in my belly, PLUS 3 placentas, and amniotic fluid. No wonder I've been so uncomfortable! Will and I were thrilled by this news, though. I'm so, so happy that they're continuing to grow like weeds. Our little chunky monkeys! :)

We had a MFM appointment yesterday as well, and met with a midwife on the team. She put in a request to have our c-section scheduled on July 3rd. This is pretty significant for a couple reasons. First, if you look back at some of my very first blog posts, July 3rd was our goal date from the very beginning. I will be exactly 36 weeks along by that point. It was a lofty goal back then to try and make it to 36 weeks, so I'm thrilled that it is potentially a reality now! Second, they've continued to push the delivery date back from 34 to 35 to now 36 weeks, which shows just how well me and the boys are holding up! While the request was made for July 3rd, I'm sure in reality we'll be scheduled earlier in the week since that Friday is the observed date for the 4th of July this year. I somehow doubt that they would be interested in paying 15+ people holiday hours to come in for a c-section if they could schedule it one day earlier. At any rate, it's great to at least have a date in mind as we are on the final stretch. I know it certainly helps me keep myself motivated! 

We are realistic and understand that there's still quite a bit of time left and that anything could happen between now and our hopeful due date. But we're keeping a positive attitude that the boys will live up to their nicknames and we'll have a few firecracker July birthday babies!

Movement: There are definitely more defined moments of quiet and activity now. But they've been staying fairly active. Will had a really nice "session" with them last night- they were all over the place! We celebrated Will's dad's birthday on Sunday evening and Will's sisters Sue and Cari were both able to feel the boys jiggling around. As did our niece and nephew Avery and Luke. Luke is convinced that they'll be soccer players and can't wait to show them how to play, so he was excited to feel how well they kick. Avery was not so impressed...as soon as she felt one of them move, she pulled her hand away really fast and was done. I think it may have creeped her out a bit. :)

Food cravings: Definitely getting to the point where it's tough to eat a lot. I get full very easily and just don't feel as hungry these days. I'm still making myself eat, though. Gotta keep the boys on their weight-gain plan! I haven't had many cravings lately- mainly just eating to get the boys nutrients.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Since I'm so full these days, the heartburn has continued to be horrendous. I actually woke up last night with vomit in my mouth. Gag. I will NOT miss this part of pregnancy! 

Have you started to show yet: I think my stomach may be named a new planet soon. The sonographer pretty much uses an entire bottle of gel on me at each ultrasound. Yesterday she put it on in the shape of a smiley face, and Will took a picture of me laying there covered in goop before the ultrasound began. OH MY LORD. I haven't seen myself from that angle before. I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing how large I am in pictures- the belly is out of control gigantic!! And also covered in stretch marks. Needless to say, it was NOT an attractive photo, which is why I won't be sharing it on here. :)

And speaking of stretch marks, I am about to claw my skin off on my stomach. My skin is SO ITCHY all of the time now! If anyone has any tips on how to alleviate the itch of stretching skin, please let me know! I'll try anything!

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor Signs: Braxton hicks contractions have continued, but they are sporadic and not painful. I'm hyper-vigilant about any out-of-the-ordinary symptoms or labor signs at this point, but so far all is good!

Belly Button in or out? It's flat and itchy

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am feeling much better this week than I was last week. I still have moments where I get super irritated, but most of my hormonal moments are now stemming from being so damn uncomfortable all the time. I'm trying so hard to stay positive and soak in the last weeks of this pregnancy as they very well could be the only time I'll ever experience these feelings. Plus I feel like the more positive my attitude is, the less likely I am to be stressed, which means I'm less likely to go into pre-term labor. So happy thoughts, all around!

Weekly Wisdom: As mentioned above, I'm trying to take time to enjoy these final weeks of pregnancy. And, taking some time to enjoy our final days as a couple! It's crazy to think how much our lives are going to change in just a few short weeks. Will and I are so accustomed to being free to do whatever we want, go wherever we want, be lazy whenever we want, and travel wherever we want. Obviously my pregnancy has already put a big damper on that, but our world is about to be rocked! In the best way possible- we can't wait! We had some friends out to the house for a Final Supper of sorts on Saturday night. It's been awhile since we've socialized with folks- it was so nice to have one more night of adult company before our lives are dictated by babies' schedules! 

Milestones: I think the babies win for big milestones this week. Keep growing, boys!

Some pictures from yesterday's 31 week ultrasound (I love that the sonographer labeled their pictures with their nicknames!):

Snap continues to be the one who looks directly at the "camera". At least now he looks cute and less like Skeletor!

Crackle wanted all the photo attention this week- we got a few shots of him 

Crackle profile shot #2

And Crackle's foot! He's invading Snap's space in this picture- apparently that other blob is Snap's hand or some other body part...

Pop's profile shot. He was really hard to get to as he's currently folded over on himself in the very top right part of my stomach. How he's positioned can't possibly be comfortable for him...but it must be working out OK as he's our biggest boy! It looks like he is giving duck lips in this picture. :)