17 Weeks!

How Far Along: 17 Weeks!!

How Big are the Babies: The babies are the size of onions, about 5.1 inches and 5.9 ounces! Their skeletons are hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cords are getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints (http://www.thebump.com/).

Weight Gain: Well, hmm....starting weight - 126 lbs., today - 134 lbs.!!

Symptoms: Well, on a GREAT note, I have gone 11 DAYS without taking ONE ZOFRAN!!! Hello, 11 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jumping for joy! No nausea, no vomiting...nothing! One happy girl here!

And how amazing is this, the constipation has gone away completely since I have stopped the zofran! A-----MAZING!!!!! Some backaches which can be bad sometimes, still thirsty, dry eyes and HUNGRY all the time!

Emotions: So happy this week with completing the registries, finding out about my showers and starting the nursery! I'm on cloud nine!

Best Moment of the Week: Registering! I have waited my whole life to be a mommy and finally my dreams are coming true----times 3!!!

Movement: I think Tim and I felt the babies move on the outside for the first time on Sunday at his Mom's house. It was like a wood-pecker in my top right-hand side of my tummy going to town...I turned to Tim and was like, "FEEL THIS"...and his eyes lite up and he said "I FEEL IT!!!!" It went on for about 30 minutes and then stopped! Definitely was strange! Looking forward to feeling them more and more on the outside and not just pushing and prodding on my organs!

Maternity Clothes: Of course. I put on a pair of maternity capris that I got at a yard sale in June and man were they tight on my tummy!! It was not comfy and I though they would be able to last me the next month or so until I needed pants, but I don't think so at this point.

Stretchmarks: No, amen.

Sleep: Still ok, some nights are better than others. Some nights I wake up so thirsty, which makes me have to pee so much more, but I still get my best sleep after Tim leaves for work in the morning because I can roll around in the whole bed.

Food Cravings: Wine, beer...LOL...just the normal stuff, pasta, pickles, bread and butter, oh I did eat a lot of peanut buter and jelly this week, with potato chips and apples. And of course my ice water with lemon, all day long, everyday!

...took out Gender Predictions....

What I Miss: Wine.

What I am Looking Farward to: Seeing the babies this Friday for another OB Appointment and getting moving on the nursery! And cooler weather...having my air-conditioning off, apple pie, apple cider, decorating for fall!

Weekly Wisdom: Put it to God and all things will prevail. 

Questions: ???

And here is my baby bump photos of the week:

Registries!!!!

We have been wanting to start our registries for some time now...we have decided to register at two places because of out-of-town guests, cheaper prices at certain stores and just the logistics of all the stuff we need, I thought it would be easier. But we were waiting to find out the sexes to really get started, even though  have been looking at baby gear and baby stuff for as long as I can remember...I guess ever since I stopped looking at wedding stuff (after the wedding).

So, we have decided to register at Target and Babies R Us!

Some things were clearly cheaper at Target so we registered for those things there, but Target didn't have everything I wanted so we had to do two stores. I really hate that I can't touch and feel things and pick it up and look at it, shopping/registering online, which Target doesn't have much baby supplies and stuff in the store, so it sucks to pick out things online (and not to mention boring and no fun what-so-ever). I guess if I was just having one baby, maybe, but let's be honest I need to look inside a diaper bag, look at compartments and see the sizes, see if it's big enough to pack for three babies...ya know things like that!

So Tim was less then thrilled to go to BuyBuy Baby, Great Beginnings, Babies R Us and Target (we hadn't decided at the time where to register, other than Target) but he sucked it up and got into it, just like when we registered for the wedding. He LOVED registering for the wedding gifts and this baby stuff just intimidated him a little but he really got into it!

Babies R Us was packed with new parents with their little bundles of joy and pregnant mom's to be with not-so-excited hubby's following along. I bet some of the people watching me scan 10 of things (like bottles, nipples, diaper packages, bibs) were thinking, what is that woman doing...but hey, I AM HAVING TRIPLETS! We registered for so many things and hadn't finished yet when our scanner said "registry full"...LOL, so they had to upload it and we begun again loading it up!

I am glad to say that we finally finished it and kept it as budget friendly as possible, because I am always looking for good deals and ways to save, even if other's will be buying some of these things...I want people to get a good deal and know that I spent a lot of time researching where things were the cheapest! For example, the car seats that we have decided on for the girls are $114.00 dollars at Babies R Us and $80.99 at Target! Umm, hello! Also, the snap-and-go strollers were almost $15.00 dollars a piece MORE at Babies R Us than at Target!

I did a little research about some things, but to be honest, everyone has a "favorite" bottle, binki, nipple, breast pump, car seat, and frankly, something works for everyone, so I didn't feel it was necessary to have the best of the best, but more what works for us, our babies and what I have seen work for the families that I have nannied and babysat. I don't need Dr. Brown's bottles, a $250.00 dollar infant car seat or a $500 dollar crib...just all unnecessary in my eyes! I wouldn't have considered these things even if we were just having one baby. It just isn't me!

It's really difficult because we need to put all the babies in one room and even though the room looks big empty, when we started measuring for the super over-sized cribs, things got tight, quick!! I was worried, and still am that everything isn't going to fit, but we have come up with some good ideas to fit everything (which will be discussed in the Nursery part-one post...coming soon). So originally the cribs I wanted, would just barely fit but logistically if we wanted to turn the cribs (long-ways out), we wouldn't have been able to (see below to understand) so we changed the cribs to another, but there is one that is cute too and it's 3.5 inches shorter in lenght..and cheaper, so we'll go with that one! I didn't care for the crib too much plain, but there was a photo of it all decorated in a nursery and it was super cute!

Also, I did not want the cheesy themed bedroom set...ya know the ones that come in a big bag...just not me. I like simple and elegant, so even though I have picked lilac and light blue for the bumpers and the walls, the bumpers might change...just don't know at this point.

This is the one I originally wanted:

Or this one:

But, here are some of the things we registered for:

The cribs will be this:

Madelynn and Claire's car seats (which I hate pink, but there are NO purple ones made by Graco, oh well):

Jackson's car seat:

High chairs (conserving space):

The pack-n-play:

The swings (2):

Glider (not super happy with this but oh well):

Bathtub:

Bumpers:

Strollers:

Baby A, B and C - Names!!!!

A while back I gave the names we had been thinking about, in this post, but honestly we hadn't put a whole lot of thought into it since we didn't know the sexes yet, and struggling over finding the prefect names, didn't seem like a reasonable way to spend our time. No arguing over names when we didn't even know what was in my belly! However, we did love all those names, but when from the moments after we found out that we were having, TWO PRINCESSES and A PRINCE...they had names immediately and are no longer Baby A, B and C to us!

 

So their names are as followed:

 

Madelynn Christine (Baby A)

Claire Elizabeth (Baby B)

Jackson Timothy (Baby C)

16 Weeks/4 Months!!!

Wow, FOUR months...where is the time going?! Tomorrow is September...amen for Fall coming but..wow, theses babies will be here before we know it! Our September is packed full of stuff and October is looking the same way, so time is going to fly by! Whahoo!

How Far Along: 16 Weeks/4 Months!

How Big are the Babies: The babies are the size of avocados (yummmmy), about 4.6 inches and 3.5 ounces each! Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in each baby's ears mean the little one's can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming (thebump.com).

Weight Gain: Starting weight 126 lbs - currently 129.5 lbs.

Symptoms: Let's see this week, I have been pretty lucky! I have managed to make it full days without any zofran!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! I cannot tell you how happy I am to feel normal again, for the most part, and not be gaging at every smell or sight of something. I know I might have bad days in the future where I will need it, and I can't get too excited for anything because before I know it, I'm sure I'll be addicted to it once again, but for now I am praising God and thanking him for these "normal" days!

Still constipated, back aches that are sooo horrible, sleeping a lot (like this morning, went to bed last night at 9:30 and woke up today at 11:00am!!!!! I HAVE never done that in my life!), peeing a lot, eating a lot more, thirsty (still can't believe how thirsty I can be when I drink 2L of water a day), dry eyes (I feel like my contacts are just going to fall out of my eyes sometimes, but I read that it's a completely normal symptom for right now at week 16) and acne (which I am hoping will go away sooooon)!

Emotions: Fine, this week in regard to the babies! Was so excited to find out who was in there and now the fun begins of decorating and registering! I can barely stand myself!! EKKK!

Best Moment of the Week: Hands down, finding out that we're having TWO princesses and A prince!!!!

Movement: At random times I feel instant pushing or hard kicks into my other organs/bladder. Haven't seen it yet though, but cannot wait.

Maternity Clothes: Of course, everything I wear is maternity, I bought a pair of jeans at Motherhood by Maternity or Maternity by Motherhood (which ever it is, I can't ever remember) and I love them, even though I only have tried them on, too hot here for awhile for pants! I want this dress that's there to wear to a wedding I am going to in October and to wear to my shower (whenever that is). It was $30 bucks, and honestly I didn't want to spend that much money on a dress I might wear 2-3 times!

Stretchmarks: None! :)

Sleep: Going great with my Melatonin, expect for peeing every hour, but that is manageable.

Food Cravings: Every time I see the IHOP commercial, I am dying. The food just looks so yummy to me. I stare at the blueberry pie topping on the pancakes and I dream of just opening a can and taking a spoon to it...which I guarantee the next time I am at the grocery store I will be getting a can, or maybe I'll just make a pie...hmm...definitely going to make a blueberry pie today..Tim's favorite, he'll be stoked!  Yum!! Other than that, water with lemon of course.

Oh and I forgot to write about my anemia in the OB Appointment post. I am still anemic, even after taking the Iron supplement and so the OB said it's more important to eat a hamburger or a steak every day. Someting about the supplement only providing me with a very small amount of absorbable iron, where the red meat, a person gets more like 90% of the absorbable iron. So hamburgers and steak it is for me! YUMMM!

Gender Predictions: We know, we know...and I think the whole world knows at this point! Two girls and a boy!

What I Miss: Wine.

What I am Looking Forward to: Registering this weekend! EKKK!

Weekly Wisdom: I can't think anymore.

Questions: See one line above.

Ok, here is my baby bump photos for this week. I really feel bigger this week, especially up towards my ribs. Also, getting very hard and round all over the tummy, makes me happy!

Here I am the first night of injections for IVF

Here I am at 4w1d...when we found out we were pregnant...little did I know there were 3 in there, and that wasn't just bloating!!!

This one is at 8 weeks/2 months...two weeks after we found out there was triplets in my tummy!

Here I am at 12 weeks/3 months!

And now...my BIG belly! (please excuse my messy hair and no makeup)

OB Appointment and Sonogram Photos - 15w3d

This weeks appointment with the OB was really short, well, compared to our normal routine at the OB. We waited and waited for our favorite sonographer, and then still wasn't able to get her. We had this other lady who used to be an OB doctor in Argentina, and she was nice, but not as nice as the other lady.  

I was so afraid that she wouldn't be able to find the genders and I had tried so hard to not get my hopes up, but of course it was so hard! I was so giddy, pulling up my shirt, and was pleading with her to please find out for us, and she said of course she would try her best, and most likely she could find out for us! I was stoked and Tim was so nervous. He just didn't want to have them all be girls or all be boys. I had drank a large glass of OJ on the way so I was hoping they would all cooperate. After about two minutes of looking at Baby B, one of the twins, she said, "oh, it's a baby girl, twin girls!" I was soooooo HAPPY! I almost cried! My sweet baby girls, identical at that! My shopping buddies, cooking buddies, sweet little tutu's and hair bows...YAY, two pretty little girls! Cheerleaders, dancers, basketball players or whatever they want to be! I was tickled to death!!!! Tim was so happy, we were holding hands the whole time, and he just kept squeezing my hand and smiling! Daddy's little girls...wrapped around his fingers already, just in the way he treats their Momma already!

She then went to Baby C, the singleton, and Tim was so scared it would be another girl! She looked around for a few minutes, (ok, probably more like a few seconds, but it seemed like forever) and then she said, "oh it's definitely a boy!" Tim almost died, he was ready to jump up and down, he was so happy! We joked about all of our hopes an dreams for that little guy...a super-bowl quarterback, the pitcher for the Phillie's, a professional skiier...something he can do to take care of his Momma and Daddy! I am so happy my future entails lots of basketball, baseball and football games! Tim's hunting and fishing buddy, my Momma's boy!

There are just so many wonderful things about having two girls and a boy! I am so excited! Not to mention, I was completely right from the moment we found out it was triplets. My scientific analysis/research stated two girls and a boy were predicted and my instincts were dead on! She went back and forth to make sure she was one hundred percent positive on them all and she said no doubt, two girls and a boy!

The sonographer checked the heartbeats, which were all normal, ranging from 145 to 154. And like I said, it was a quick sonogram, so she didn't get great photos or do a lot of measuring this time but she said next appointment will be long and the one after that, the gender anatomy one will be realllllly long, like a half of a day! Say, whattt?? Just because there is so much to measure on each of them, she said do not be in a rush!

I did have my cervix checked and her and the doctor were so happy at how perfect everything was looking. It is super long and tightly closed. She said that I am looking great for no bed rest for awhile and no need for a cerlage. She is almost a hundred percent positive that I will not need the cerlage. She made me cough a couple of times and push to see if the cervix would move or open up any and it didn't budge, so she was very happy! So, I am moving along perfectly!

My blood pressure wasn't as low as it had been either which was good and my weight was 129.5....so a total of 3.5 pounds gained at almost half-way through (they are counting "mid-way" for me at 17 weeks). Not the best, but they are not worried at all! The doctor said it's fine and my weight will start to creep up each week!

So, here are the sonogram photos for this time, they aren't so good...the babies are just getting bigger so getting a photo of just one of them, without an arm or leg or knee or head in the picture is difficult. They were swimming all over each other and moving their mouths, open and closed constantly, like they were sucking on something (guess I better get some binkis ready).

As, I said before, they aren't very good, plus my camera was having issues tonight!

Baby C - Our son! (with one of the twins feet in the top of the photo, which looks like a smiley face)

Baby A - Our daughter!

Baby B - Our daughter, with her sister's head sneaking in!

The girls, one profile, one looking right at us.

I had to buy something....

Let's be honest...I could NOT wait to buy something little for these little peanuts in my belly the moment I found out what they were. I searched around for the prefect little gift for them after my sonogram and finally after a few places I found something I just loved. And, not to mention when buying three of something, a sale was something I was looking for too. (Note--I apologize to anyone and everyone for the rest of my life in buying gifts for our three...buying for three is a big commitment! And not to mention they will be Christmas babies!) Ya know, $5 bucks, then becomes $15 bucks and so on. It's hard but I guess I better get used to it for the rest of my life.

Still, I could resist buying something on the day I found out what they were! I haven't bought anything, except at yard-sales, so I was due to go out and splurge a little, even if I did get a good sale and a used a $10 dollar off coupon!

So, here's what I got!

I LOVE these little things! I hate pink, so when I saw they had purple, along with the adorable little boy one, I COULD NOT resist!!!

SOOOO excited to announce....

...that we are having....

...momma's instincts were right on....

....our family is complete....

...so we're adding to our family....

TWO princesses and A prince!!!!!

******************************

We are beyond elated! I was dying when the sonographer said Baby B was a GIRL, so we knew we had identical twin GIRLS and then she finally got Baby C to cooperate and she was 100% positive that he is a BOY! Tim almost died. We are sooooo happy! She checked them all a few times to be 100% positive that it's two girls and a boy! It is exactly what I have though since the very first day we found out they were triplets!

Their names (completely confirmed) will be released late next week! And a whole report on the sonogram will be out soon too!

Thank you to everyone for their warm wishes and congrats! We are so excited to go out and celebrate tonight with my family!

We feel beyond blessed in this life, and give all of our glory to God for providing us with so many wonderful blessings! God is so good!

15 Weeks!!

How Far Along: 15 Weeks!!

How Big are the Babies: The babies are the size of navel oranges, about 4.0 inches and 2.5 ounces each!  Continuing the march towards normal proportions, the babies legs now out measure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints on each of them. Each fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

Weight Gain: Starting weight - 126 lbs., currently - 129 lbs.

Symptoms: Let's see this week, nausea, vomiting (can't actually remember if I did or not), peeing a lot, CONSTIPATION, eating a lot more, tired (however, I am noticing more energy), ACNE (which I have NEVER had in my life until now) and still feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest sometimes, especially at night, and problems with my gums (which I read is normal for right now).

Emotions: Starting to get excited about meeting these little people! And some other upcoming things that have our life turned around right now. Change is not always bad!

Best Moment of the Week: Getting a part-time job until I am either on bed rest or can't take standing on my feet for very long, which ever comes first (it's a dog/cat sitting company). But super fun to be out of the house and making some money too!

Movement: None this week, other than my tummy growling! My tummy is super hard now and after I eat, it looks a little oblong or weirdly distorted.

Maternity Clothes: Of course!

Stretchmarks: None.

Sleep: Well, I must report that I am sleeping much better, even without my sleeping pill!! Amen, God heard my prayers. I am however, taking the Melatonin each night which is allowing me to get some good hours in between visits to the bathroom. It was really rough the first few nights without the Melatonin, but since my OB said it was ok, I started it and man does it help! I feel so much better about taking something that is natural vs. not. I don't think I will ever go back to my sleeping pill. God has give me the strenght and I am pushing through!

Food Cravings: Pickles (of course), cookies (had t0 even open the bag while grocery shopping and eat a few before paying), salad with blue cheese dressing (almost every night), peanut butter (it has never tasted so good, especially with some juicy apples) and of course water with lemon in it!

Gender Predictions: I'll be so happy to take this question out soon!!!! Still thinking two girls and a boy but I have moments when I think they may be all girls, and some people think that too! We will see in less than than a few days, hopefully...and hopefully, with the cooperation of my children.

What I Miss: Nothing, except that glass of wine!

What I am Looking Forward to: It's a secret! But of course, also Friday morning appointment when they said we will most likely find out the genders, but I am not getting my hopes up in fear of these little stubborn peanuts not cooperating on the one day they need to! We will see! I have not decided how to tell everyone yet or if we are going to keep it a secret for a few days...whom I kidding though...I can't keep anything big a secret!!!!!!

Weekly Wisdom: I hate girls that say, "Oh, I want a baby so bad" but yet have no clue about babies. This girl followed that statement with, "is it like mandatory to go to the doctor when your pregnant" and "what do they do, just give you vitamins" and "I don't have health insurance" and "I just want the little socks, I'm actually afraid of children" oh and, "No, I've never babysat, I don't want to even touch a newborn, I might hurt them"...Ummm, HELLO, YOU SHOULD NOT BE HAVING CHILDREN! So hard to keep my mouth shut!! I just laughed, instead.

Questions: None.

And here is my tummy this week...

My First Baby Gift!

Last night I went to babysit a family that I have become closer with over the past few months; they have three beautiful children. When I first walked in, the oldest son, who is 5, said, "I will be careful with you," as he put his hand on my belly. Sooo sweet!

Then the other little boy says, "we have something for you," and runs away. He brings back this little outfit that I almost melted at, and says, "this is for your babies".

I was so touched! My first real/new baby gift! It was so nice of them! I will not get used to people just buying me things, however, it is so wonderful and I am so grateful!

Let's hope there's a girl in there somewhere!!!

Tim was asleep when I came home so I cannot wait to show him this little newborn outfit when he gets home today! It's crazy to think but our babies probably won't even fit into newborn clothing when they are born, preemie is more likely going to be what they are wearing for the first few weeks, since they will be so small.

On another note, and someone doing something so nice for me...I joined the Montgomery County Parents of Multiples, which has sooo many services and resources for parents, it's such a lifesaver and I haven't even begun! A bunch of other Moms Of Multiples (MOMS) recommended a book about triplets that I wasn't able to find anywhere so on the "Lender Library" through MOM's I asked if I could borrow it and not only did the lady say yes, she insisted in bringing it to my house, even after assuring her I could pick it up. She wouldn't listen, and said this is what she does as being in charge of the Lender Library! Ok, then! Sooo nice, again!

I think I could get used to all this, but of course thanking God everyday for his strenght, wisdom, guidance, love, support to help me carry these babies day after day. I couldn't do it without my love for God. I trust him and he knows my needs. These small tokens are so appreciated and just reassure me that God is listening to my every need.

14 Weeks!

Ok, right now, I just had to say that I am shoveling mac n cheese in my mouth like it's the first time I have eaten in a year...I guess my hunger is really staring to come back. Wait, I know it's starting to come back and that excites me to no end! I want to fatten theses little peanuts up!!!

How Far Along: 14 Weeks!!

How Big are the Babies: The babies are the size of lemons, (something I can't get enough of right now either!) about 3.4 inches and 1.5 oz. Your adorable little fetuses are busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over their body's for warmth.

Weight Gain: Starting weight - 126 lbs., currently - 129 lbs.

Symptoms: Let's see this week, nausea, vomiting (1x), NOT sleeping, peeing a lot, CONSTIPATION, eating a lot more, tired (however, I am noticing more energy), ACNE (which I have NEVER had in my life until now) and still feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest sometimes, especailly at night.

Emotions: Confused this week, related to finances though. What's new, right?!?!

--took out: something funny that happened this week--

Best Moment of the Week: Hmm, starting our registries and watching all these movies about babies, C-sections, ect. that I got from the library!

Movement: Nothing I can say this week, I just feel a lot of pressure in my tummy and it's getting bigger and harder by the day! I swear I can feel their "sacs" sometimes when I'm laying down, like a big bloated tumor in my stomach, I guess that's due to the small areas that they have since there are three, plus all my organs and such!

Maternity Clothes: Of course, except my bathing suit still.

Stretchmarks: None. :)

Sleep: Gee, do we even need to go there, since I wrote a whole post about it yesterday! NOT sleeping, end of story.

Food Cravings: Everthing and anything. I got to enjoy two really great meals out this week (thanks to my MIL) and it was so apprecaited! I get sick of eating the same stuff in the house and it was so nice to 1) not have to plan what to eat, 2) have someone else make it for me 3) eat something different and 4) be treated to dinner! It couldn't get any better! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!! As for craving anything, hmm, salad with blue cheese dressing I have been eating everynight and also orange jello with crushed pineapple in it, I can't get enough of either! AND, water with lemon in it is my new favorite thing in the world.

Gender Predictions: I'll be so happy to take this question out soon!!!! Still thinking two girls and a boy but I have moments when I think they may be all girls, and some people think that too! We will see in less than two weeks...hopefully, with the cooperation of my children.

What I Miss: Working, and not being bored. Making money. Being out of the house. The winter weather. Snow. Oh, and SLEEP!!!!

What I am Looking Forward To: Seeing family this weekend in Dover and going to the State BBQ Championship (I mean, can it get any better for a pregnant woman???)!

Weekly Wisdom: Trust in the Lord. He hears, whether you may think so or not, He always hears.

Questions: Why are breast pumps so much darn money!? Ugh! I would love to get that Medela one that is hands-free since, let's be honest, I will need my two hands plus some for a long time to come with three babies, but it's a whooping $379.99!!!!! Even the one under it is still $279.99. I don't want to buy one used either, not going to happen, unless I know the person that is, but still a maybe. What a rip off!!!

And here is the baby bump photo (taken on Monday)...I'm EXPANDING and there isn't any stoppin' it!!!!!!