OB Appointment and Sonogram Photos - 17w3d

Today we had our our appointment with the OB once again. I think it seems like forever between appointments when I am standing there making my next appointment but then it literally flies by and I am already back in the office!

I was so excited to see how much the babies have grown since two weeks ago! It always blows my mind!

Tim was able to make this appointment and I was so happy to have him there, he hasn't missed but one, but he wasn't sure if he could make it due to being so busy at work, but he did.

I had my blood pressure taken, which was normal. My weight was 133.5 lbs...very good. And I did my urine sample, as I do every time to check the sugar. And then I went into the sonogram room and layed down.

First the sonographer checked my cervix. It has gone down/shortened, and the doctors are getting a little worried. 6 weeks ago my cervix was 4.7, then 4 weeks ago it was 3.8, 2 weeks ago it was 3.6 and now it was 3.4. The doctor said that if it gets to 3.0, my time of bed rest will begin. I am on strict orders not to lift anything heavier then my purse, no long walking, and LAY down and put my feet up, level with my heart every chance I can get. No sitting and no walking unless necessary. If I am sitting on the couch, that's not good enough, I need to be laying on my side and having my feet up. Also, this will help with the swelling that will most likely come in the future weeks.

Then the nurse came in and asked me if I was having any problems with urinating or pain/burning when using the bathroom, ect. I said, "no problems at all," and she explained that there was some white blood cells in my urine and that might be a start of a uurinary track infection or kidney infection, both which would be horrible. But good news is, is that I have no symptoms what-so-ever, and I did another sample at the end of my visit (2 hours later) and they are sending it out to the lab before starting me on antibiotitics.

After I was told about this, and having to lay flat on my back, I felt very hot suddenly and tried to get comfortable but couldn't. The nurse kept asking if I was ok, and I tried but I finally had to ask her to stop because I was going to get sick. Within 15 second I was head-over the trash can, sweating and turning bright red. I had some cereal for breakfast and I guess the milk didn't quite sit with me and then having to lay on my back, it was just too much for me! I was so scared, just with the news of my urine and my cervix, I get so panicked, so quick...and there's no stopping it.

After the little episode was over, the nurse was sooo sweet and thank God Tim was there, I felt so much better and they had me lie on my side instead of my back, which the doctor said he won't make me do ever again, amen! He said, I shouldn't worry about getting sick, it's a daily occurrence there and because I am measuring so large, my body is just reacting to the huge demand these babies are putting on me, and sometimes it will all catch-up when I least expect it. I was more mad that I was feeling fine, haven't take a zofran in weeks and then boom, all of the sudden...there I was, right over the trash can again! Eww!

I guess I still get a little shocked when I see 3 babies up there on the big-screen and realize that it's my belly that those 3 babies are in! It just blows my mind! I don't think I will get used to it, even after giving birth, it will take awhile at home with them before I realize that they aren't going anywhere!

So, I am measuring...10 WEEKS AHEAD OF WHAT I ACTUALLY AM!!!! The doctor said if I was carrying one baby, I would be 27-28 weeks right now! Holy FAT WHALE!!! That shocked me!

And the nurse went through each baby, checking the heart-rates, genders and lobes of the brain, along with blood flow of the umbilical cords. The heart rates were 154 (baby A), 146 (baby B) and 148 (baby C). All brains looked great (hopefully smart little one's in there) and all the blood flow with each of them looked great! They are all 7 ounces each (which is a lot more than thebump.com states for week 17).

So, back when the nurse was taking my blood pressure and weight, she asked me if I knew the sexes and I said yes, two twin girls and one boy. So she started with Baby A and confirmed both Baby A and Baby B are still prefect little girls. She went to Baby C and then asked us who was it that told us that it was a boy, and I literally jumped off the table and said "WHY"???? I told her who and she said that she was not seeing that it was a boy. I looked at Tim and now he looked like he was now going to get sick. She looked and looked and said, "looks like a girl to me"...WHAT??? She said she would check the sonogram photos from last time and have the doctor check too, but to her it was a girl. I was devastated, to be honest, in complete disbelief.

We waited forever for my doctor to come back in and the whole time Tim and I were so nervous!! I was screaming at my tummy, that if there is a Jackson in there, he better show his stuff and make us aware, because I was not leaving until I knew what Baby C was!!

The doctor finally came in and looked and looked. He showed us comparisons between Baby A and Baby B, with Baby C and sure enough there is NO PENIS. None, what-so-ever. All of the girls looks exactly the same between the legs and it was so clear! Even the doctor said, if this is a boy, he will be laughed at in the locker room, so you better hope it's not a boy! He said a penis would look like a rocket-ship and clearly there was no such rocket-ship on any angle of our Baby C for the 30 minutes the doctor looked!

We were shocked to say the least, we didn't even want to talk about it, really. It's hard. But I have allowed myself one day to grieve what never was and I am TOTALLY blessed to have three beautiful little girls in my belly. However, I will wait until the next appointment on Sept. 27th to really believe that they are all girls. That's when I'll have the gender anatomy scan and will completely confirm gender, but even now at 17 weeks, my doctor was completely sure there would be a penis if a penis was meant to be. He also said that in the very beginning of gender, the clitoris can be very swollen and look like the start of a little penis, but really it's not. I guess that is the price you pay for trying to find out earlier, even if the nurse (who used to be a doctor) tells you that she is 100% positive of the baby's gender! Boo!

The doctor asked if we had names picked out and when we told him, he said his oldest daughter is a Madelynn...and then he says that her name is Madelynn Christine....our name too! I almost died! How cool is that!? He loved Claire and Natalee (Baby C's real name now).

We did get some really good photos of the babies and I was so happy to get profiles of their faces. (even though my camera cost me almost $1000 bucks, I still get blurry photos of these sonogram photos...makes me so mad!)

Baby C - Natalee

Natalee's "big feet" as the dr. said

See the arrow...the three lines...proving it's another girl! 

Same thing...proving those three lines means a girl!

Baby A - Madelynn

Madelynn

Baby B - Claire

Claire