26 Week pics!

Yikes. How much bigger am I going to get?

Oh well.. things are actually going really well this week. I had a level 2 on Monday and my cervix has grown! Almost back to 4cm! And... the babies all have hit 2 pounds now! I am so thrilled with this! They are 2 lbs, 2.1lbs and 2.2lbs! No wonder I am huge.

My Ob was happy with me yesterday too. He felt the cervix and concurred, I am doing great. I had to do the 1 hour GD test yesterday. After a weekend full of brownies.. humm..

The babies movement has progressed from just kicking to full on wrestling matches. They never stop!! But that is certainly better than the alternative! Go baby boys!!

I Have a Nursery In MY House!!!!!!!!!

I honestly thought I would never see the day. Never. There is a bedroom across from mine and Jeff's that is now painted the most beautiful color of light blue my eyes have ever seen! This is a pic of the nursery in progress...



Ever since the day we moved into this house, that room was going to be the nursery. Then.. it was going to be nothing. Or just stay the guest room. Forever. But now.. finally.. it is going to be a nursery! To THREE babies!

Jeff painted it last weekend. Last night, our cousins were over and we all went out to dinner and cousin Scott so graciously helped Jeff carry up one of the cribs and the changing table. Jeff will start working on putting them together in the next day or so. We're both thrilled!

This week was largely uneventful. I saw the MFM/Peri on Monday. They did an internal and checked my cervix. He said it was fine. Still long and closed, although he also said it was softening. ugh. Even that scares the bejesus out of me. I talked to him about a variety of little issues/complaints I've been having such as: nose bleeds, trouble sleeping, pelvic/pubic bone pressure and the newest... movements. I felt the babies move for the first time at about 17.5 weeks. Then.. I didn't really feel to much until 19 weeks. Since then, I have no peace! In the last week or so, they have progressed from kicking and pushing to full on flipping and flopping. It is non stop. Jeff and I will just sit and watch my stomach move. It's really amazing. They are having a wrestling match, water polo, gymnastics.. something crazy is going on in my tummy!

This is all great of course. Active babies = healthy strong babies. However.. the twins sit very low on me and when they are engaged in this behavior, I literally feel like someone is about to fall out of me. It's scary! Every time I go to the bathroom, I think I am going to hit a foot or a hand! Gross I know.. but so true! They are NUTS IN THERE.

So I am trying to hold out until Monday. Monday I have another level 2 u/s and they will check my cervix again. Tuesday I see Dr. V. He will check for everything else. I am trying not to panic, but to rather be greatful for knowing that they are ok in there. Or at least.. I know their little hearts are still beating cause I sure know they are moving!

Unfortunately, I need to be selective now with when I go to Triage at Labor and Delivery. As of July 1st, they started charging it like an ER visit of which I have a freakin $75 copay. So I now owe the hospital for two of those and $250 for when I got admitted. This sucks and I can't let the money affect my decisions where the babies are concerned. But I'd be lying if I said the money wasn't going to be a factor from here on out. Ugh... I just hope my little guys can hang on for another 8 weeks.

Just Hangin Around..

Last Sunday was our last shower. Shower #4! Jeff's mom threw it up in Midland so it was convenient for his friends and family. It was not without some drama. But nothing involving his mother ever is. The shower itself was really nice. If only MIL would just learn to shut up and say nothing when she can't think of anything good to say. I could go on and on about her, but it's sooo not worth it. I just know I don't ever want to put my husband in the horrid position both my brothers are in thanks to the ignorant bitches they married (not that they aren't big boys and aren't at fault of their own) so Jeff and I just don't talk about it.

That said, we got great stuff! All three of our pack and plays!!! 3 Rain Forest jumparoo's (two are going back to the store), the final high chair, boppy.. lot's of goodies. Of course we still need a bunch of stuff. The unfortunate thing with having triplets are all the things you need multiples of. So instead of having a completed registry.. we have 3 pack and plays, high chairs.. you get my drift. Now onto finishing all my thank you's. I have already done them all from the first three showers except for a few where people sent me things and didn't make the showers. I have some addressing hunting to do. Let me tell you what a joy it's been to write out all these thank you's with carpo tunnel!

In baby news.. some significant news!

We had another level 2 u/s on Monday, the 11th. In the 13 days between this one and my last one, the babies have each gained 7 ounces!!! EACH!! They now all weigh 1lb 8 ounces!!! GO BABIES!!!!! Not only that, since they all weigh the same, there are no signs of Twin to Twin Syndrome in my identical twins! YEAH!!!! I have almost 5 pounds of baby in me already! If they cook as long as they should, I am will NOT be having small babies! Of course all this points to HEALTHY babies!

As for mom.. I actually LOST 2 pounds when I saw my Ob on Tuesday. I was like huh????? They gained a pound and a half and I lost 2??? How??? I did not fair as well at the u/s as the babies. My cervix went from 4cm to 3.58 in one week. Boo. I am still in the normal range, but I really do not want this to be a pattern. I hope there are no more decreases for a good few weeks now. I was exactly 24 weeks to the day when I went to the Ob and I was measuring 37 week! ACK!! I knew I was huge but geesh!!

Anyway.. I have been really hanging around the house for the most part. Glad the Olympics have been on to keep me company. I imagine that my babes will some day be in them too. LOL. One will be the next Michael Phelps, one will be a beach volleyball stud, and the third a track and field superstar! Hopefully they are all taller than Jeff and I. LOL

My Boys

I wanted to take some time to really remember what is happening to me. Not the bad scary stuff which is what I feel like I can only focus on. The hospital premature labor shit. No. I want to remember the good things.

I feel them kick all the time. It really is the most miraculous thing that has ever happened to me. I feel them constantly. They are already letting me they are with me at all times. Giving me some peace of mind in this crazy race to the finish line I call a healthy delivery.

They are already developing personalities.

Alex, my fraternal guy is camped out on top of the other two. He lays just below my breasts really. By like 2 inches or so. I have nick named him Alex "the worm" Johnson. He is all over the place all the time! I will look down at my stomach and I can see where his little butt is sticking up! My stomach will look like I am the Hunchback of Notre Dame! Last night, I just sat and felt him flipping over and over again for like 20 minutes. It was amazing! He is always on top and yet, I could seriously see him moving last night and it was like he was trying to invade Nate and Ben's space by moving down as far as he could go. I told Jeff... there is a rumble for turf going on in there! Alex will be the ring leader. The instigator. The one who will stand up for his brothers. The one who won't let me forget he is here!

Nate gives Alex a run for his money! Nate lays on the bottom left. His head (or feet, which ever way he's facing on a particular day) lay next to Alex's head. I can just picture them in there having a fist fight and pushing each other out of each others space! Not only does he defend his space, he also makes his presance known! If try to lay on my left side, Nate has something to say about it for sure! I lay on my left and I get the crap kicked out of me! He HATES it when I try to lay like that. As if he's saying... get off me mom! You're squishing me! He will not be a wallflower that's for sure. He will always let me know when something is not right and speak up and he will be heard!

Ben is my quiet one. Just when I wonder how he is doing in there and that I haven't felt him kick for awhile... wham. He let's me know he's still there. As if to say.. don't worry mom. I am ok. All is good in here and they haven't pushed me out yet! Ben lays next to Nate on the lower right of my tummy. He also does not care for me trying to lay on my side. When I do.. I feel him kicking and then he'll stop as if to say.. ok I get it. Mom needs to sleep. And then I will lay there until the guilt gets to me and I can't squish him anymore. He is my peaceful baby. He will be the momma's boy, I just know it!

In a nutshell.. I adore these monkeys. I feel like I've known them all my life already. I can't wait for them to get here so we can start our lives together.

But I beg all 3 of them to just stay in the belly for another 10 weeks!!!

In and Out of the Hospital

So it happened.. got admitted to the hospital.

I woke up about 2am Sunday morning and felt unbelievably 'tight' and short of breath. My stomach just felt rock hard. Earlier that day I had been having some sharp pains here and there but I was attributing that to gas and my lack of being able to go to the bathroom (sorry tmi).

Well, Sunday morning I still did not feel right at all. Still couldn't go to the bathrooms.. on and on. I called my Dr. and told him I was going in to Triage at L&D. He agreed and told me to get my butt up there. Sure enough, once hooked up to the monitors, I was contracting like crazy, but with no pattern. They manually checked my cervix and it did seem long and closed and I wasn't dialted. But.. then they gave me that FFN test for pre term labor and it was totally positive. So, I got admitted immediately.

They pumped me full of procardia to stop the contractions and kept me in bed. Yesterday I got a level 2 u/s yesterday to measure my cervix officially and it was still 4cm. So we were all happy.. but the contractions hadn't totally stopped.

Then I had a surprise..I have been b!tching for weeks about this carpo tunnel and my Dr. wanted me to see an orthopedic surgeon. Well, I just hadn't had a chance. Guess who pops in my room yesterday afternoon? The ortho dr! So at that point, they shoot both my wrists up with cortisone for the carpo tunnel. Ok.. I am a baby.. but that did NOT feel good. So they decided to monitor me one more night and watch me for any side effects on the cortisone shots. I am home now. Contractions have way slowed. My right hand is much better but still tingling and my left is only slightly better. But they said it could take a few days or not work at all. I am totally exhausted and my nerves are shot to shit. I had a few hysterical moments Sunday and monday which I am sure didn't help me.

These boys better cooperate with me for at least another 7 weeks!!

22 weeks 4 days

That is what I am today. That and a bit sad. Jeff is up North without me for the weekend for a wedding of friends of ours. The whole group will be there of course. Except me. Me who cannot walk much farther than from my house to the car without getting winded. I cried this morning when he left. Of course I am so thankful for these babies and can't wait for them to be here. And they need to stay where they are for at least 12 more weeks. But to some extent, I now feel like a prisoner in my own body.

Jeff was really sweet about it and reminded me that I have bigger and better things to be doing today. Cooking our babies. My head knows this, it really does. But I can still be bummed out right? My day consisted of a couple moves from my bed to the couch and I did go out to CVS to pick up my folplex and Pad Thai for dinner. So I did leave the house for about 30 minutes.

I guess I should also update that we had our Detroit shower last Sunday. Kim threw it for us and it was just soooo wonderful! The food, the company, the gifts. All of it was just perfect. We got so many great things that we need. I think I am going to park in the basement tomorrow and start going through it. I know that will help get me back in the baby excitment mood again instead of being depressed about the fun things I am missing out on this summer.

I ended up in the hospital again this past Monday so that's been the cause of me taking it extremely easy now. I am not on bedrest per say. I was having a ton of pressure in my vaginal area so I was terrified that my cervix was going to crap. I got checked a million times and again on Tuesday. It was still long but a bit softer. So.. I am now the proud owner of Procardia, a preterm labor drug. The babies, however.. looked fabulous! They all weigh over a pound now! 3 more to go boys!

oh.. and the best note of all? I am DONE DONE DONE with work and do not have to go back there for a good 8 months! YAHOOO!!!!!!!!