Pregnancy Week 23

The biggest thing that occurred this week is that we finally settled on a name! Actually, we have it narrowed down to two names.

During the first couple of months of my pregnancy, I was totally stuck on the name Sam. I tried convincing Davey, but he wasn't feeling it. So then a couple of months ago, I finally gave up on the name Samuel, and I fell in love with the name Ben. Davey wasn't feeling that either.

So a few days ago I said, "Ok, we have to sit down and figure out a name for this baby."

To which he replied, "I like the name Samuel."


To which I replied, "WHAT?!?! That's the name I loved at the beginning!!!"

"Well, it's sort of grown on me now," he said.


I was so happy! Then I paused and said, "Well crap. Now I have 2 names that I love- Sam, and Ben. What are we going to do?"

Davey said that he loves both names also, and wasn't sure which he liked more.

So we decided we're going to wait until we meet him to decide. :) Will he look like a Sam or a Ben I wonder? We both think that Eli could have been a Ben, and Joey could have been a Sam, but not vice versa. Isn't it funny how names work like that?


Facts and Symptoms

- I felt great this week! Fatigue was minimal, and aside from achey bones from my pelvis widening, I didn't have any cramping or pressure to speak of.

- I'm not sure how much the baby weighs this week- babycenter.com says he should weigh just over a pound, but last week he weighed a pound so who knows.

- He should be measuring around 11 inches long now. (again, he's measuring a bit bigger, so this is just a general size for babies the 23rd week)

- Sam/Ben is very jumpy when it comes to loud noises. Especially Davey's voice. :)

- With my ever expanding belly, my balance is a bit messed up. I have to be careful how I step- I find myself tipping over and having to grab onto the wall every now and then. :)

- I'm optimistically cautious at this point. I feel very certain that things will go perfectly until week 37, but also know from experience that things can change very quickly. Some of you may remember that it was week 24 (to the day) that I woke up in the middle of the night hemorraging. That was the beginning of a very scary few weeks for me, which included blood transfusions, the doctors trying to figure out why I hemorraged (eventually discovered one of the placentas tore away from the uterine wall) and being worried about when I would deliver. And just after things finally calmed down and we all thought I was going to be fine, I delivered at 26 weeks 2 days. I of course know all of this was due to the fact I was carrying triplets, but that worry is still in the back of my mind.

- For the most part (like 90% of me) I know that everything will be fine. :)

4 Cute Kids

Amazed that I got all 4 of them to not only sit still, but also look at the camera?


Yeah. Me too. :)





This one we even got a few smiles. :)




Aren't they cute? I sure think so. :)


Rowan's hair was pulled back into a ponytail (her first!), that's why all you can see is her bangs. Going to take me a while to get used to seeing her face without her hair down, but I'm so excited we can pull it back now.


The weather is gorgeous, I just love this time of year. I step outside and feel the cool air, and smell the Fall air and think, "ahh...pumpkin patch weather." :) I LOVE this time of year.


Remember our trip last year to the pumpkin patch? We had so much fun.





Kay Kay


Joey


Eli



Rowan






The kids have all grown so much this year. Can't wait to go back and take some more photos of them. :)

Maybe Let it out an Inch or so...

*****Update*****

The seamstress said she could let it out an inch, that's all the extra material there is in the seams to work with. That will work for now, but not sure about 5 weeks from now. Crap. Ashley told me I could wear a shawl, and no one would know that I wasn't zipped all the way in the back. ;o)








As many of you know, my little sister, Ashley, is getting married in October. October 24th to be exact. And I'm very proud to be her chosen maid of honor. :)

Waaaay back in December (it was December wasn't it?) we went dress shopping. And since I knew I'd be losing a bunch of weight, I ordered my dress almost 2 sizes smaller. I was confident that by summer, I'd fit into that dress.

And I did! It fit me beautifully. When I tried it on in April, I was going to have to have the top taken in a bit even because of all the weight I had lost. So yep, I did fit into that dress like I said I would.


Did being the operative word here.


I tried the dress on yesterday, at 22 weeks 2 days pregnant, and it's a bit snug. At least in one part of the dress it is. It fits me beautifully on top, and even fits around the widest part of my belly with room to spare. But there is a seam at the very top of my tummy that just can't accomodate my extra..ahem..girth.

So I'm taking it to a seamstress today, and have my fingers crossed that she can let it out a bit at the top of my belly. And considering I'll be 27 weeks pregnant by then, she may want to let it out 2 inches.



(I Googled to find that dress alteration image at the top, this isn't my seamstress or the bridesmaids dress lol)

He's All Boy.

Thinking about getting this printed and hang it up in the house somewhere. :)

Pregnancy Week 22

Just a belly shot this week, as I've already filled you in on everything that's gone on this week in my last few posts. :)

I have had a major growth spurt the last couple of weeks. And by "I" I of course mean the little guy. ;o)



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Appt Update, and more Due Date Confusion :p

Well my appt went well today. Didn't find out a whole lot, but no news is usually good news. Dr. P is totally on board with delivering at 37 weeks.


We brought up the due date confusion, and he said that they won't change the due date now- that the earlier ultrasounds are a better indicator of how far along you are than the later ones. Which that's true, they are. So he said he probably is just a big baby. Some babies are born at 6 pounds full term, others at 12 pounds.

So this afternoon I sat down and tried to figure out just where they came up with the Jan. 23rd due date. Because when you calculate it based on my last period, I am due Jan. 18th, not the 23rd.

So I went back and looked at all of my ultrasounds, and how far along it said I was. (I've had 5 ultrasounds already, just in case anyone is keeping track, lol)

- U/S on May 26, I was measruing 6W1D. Which would put my due date at January 18th.

- U/S on June 10, I was measruing 8W2D. Almost right on track, measuring just one day ahead of schedule.

-U/S on August 10th is where they changed my due date. I should have measured 16W 1D, but measured 15W 3D. This is where the discrepencey lies.

-U/S on August 25th, I was measuring 18w 3D, also measuring 5 days behind schedule.

-U/S September 14th (in Springfield yesterday) I measured 23W.


If you go off of my first 2 ultrasounds (which they should for determining due dates) I am due January 18th. And if you base yesterday's ultrasound off of the first 2, the baby is only measuring a week ahead of schedule instead of almost 2 weeks ahead like they thought.


So to make a long (and very confusing) story short, I think my due date is January 18th. Which would make me 22 weeks today.


Why does all of this matter? Because with them delivering me at 37 weeks, we need to know when I'll be 37 weeks. We don't want to go a week early if we can avoid it, and we can't risk going a week later.


So when will this little guy be born? Well, no later than December 27th. But depending on his size, it could be a smidgen earlier.


Hope I didn't confuse you too much. ;o)

Appt Update..and a New Due Date?

First off, the appt went great! We actually saw a female doctor today, and she was really sweet. The nurse came in and did the ultrasound first, then the doctor came in to talk with us.

She said that my cervix looks great, measuring 4.5cm long. Woo-hoo! That's the longest it's been so far this pregnancy! She told me that I am no more at risk for preterm delivery than any other woman pregnant with a singleton. She said what she thinks happened with my triplet pregnancy was 2 things: the placental abruption I had (the placenta tore away from the wall some and I hemorraged) at 24 weeks, combined with the fact that I was measuring full-term when I delivered at 26 weeks is probably why I went into labor. She said that I do not have cervical incompetence, because all throughout my triplet pregnancy my cervix was great, up until the day I delivered.

So she said as far as that goes, this will be treated as a run-of-the-mill singleton pregnancy. Yay!

She said that the baby looks fantastic, but she said she was confused about the due date that Dr. P's office in Decatur had down for me, which is January 23rd. Also, to add to the confusion, according to Dr. P, I am 21w 2d pregnant today, which would actually make me due January 26th, not the 23rd.

And this is where it gets really confusing...according to my ultrasound today, I am actually 23 weeks pregnant! The baby is measuring 1lb 1oz, and is the size of a 23-week baby.

So I have an appt with Dr. P in Decatur in the morning, and hopefully we'll be able to determine just when my due date is.

This due date confusion is all so funny to me, because over the last couple of weeks I've been telling Davey, "My uterus should just be to my belly button..it's already almost 2 inches past my belly button!" Well, this explains why. LOL!


The doctor in Springfield was going to check into my records to see if I was cut vertically on my uterus. My scar on my belly is vertical, but there is a chance that they cut my uterus horizontally when they delivered the babies. I highly doubt that they did that, but we'll see.

If I was cut vertically on my uterus, then the game plan is to do an amnio at 37 weeks. If the babies lungs are developed, we will deliver that day.

So if I am in fact 23 weeks pregnant, and I deliver at 37 weeks, guess what day that falls on?


Christmas Eve. :)


I'm hoping we can hold off until the day after Christmas, but that will be something we'll discuss tomorrow with Dr. P.

I'll update again tomorrow afternoon!

Maternal/Fetal Specialist Tomorrow..

Tomorrow is my long awaited appointment with the Perinatologist. I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Thankfully my appointment is in the morning, so I won't have to wait around all day thinking about it. My appt is at 10:00am, but it's in Springfield so I have to leave here at 7:30am.

I'll try updating the blog tomorrow afternoon or evening and let you know what I found out. Think good thoughts for us!!

Pregnancy Week 21

I think I've succumed to the fact that every single week is going to go quickly with this pregnancy. I know...it only took 5 months for me to realize this, right? I think years from now when I look back, the one thing I'm going to remember about this pregnancy is how fast it flew by. Every single week it just hits me, and I'm like, another week?? Already???

Please beware that I may still start out every single weekly update with, "Whew this week went by so fast." ;o)


Week 21 Facts and Symptoms

- As far as facts and symptoms go, this week is kind of boring.

- The baby is 10 1/2 inches long this week, and weighs 3/4 of a pound. Can't believe he weighs almost a pound now!

- We'll be having an extensive ultrasound done on Monday, so we'll find out exactly how much he weighs and how long he is. Also how his heart, organs, and brain look.

- I'm very excited about my appt on Monday. Though a little anxious because it's with a doctor I've never seen before. Hope he's a nice guy. With Davey there things tend to get a little tense if the doctor is a jerk. If you know Davey at all, you know he isn't afraid to say what's on his mind, especially if he doesn't like how his wife or kids are being treated. :p So let's just hope he's a nice, knowledgeable guy, k? K. :)

- I've had some acid reflux at night, not too horrible yet. Hoping it doesn't get bad.

- We still haven't decided on a name. Everyone I know calls him baby Ben. Everyone except Davey! I told him to come up with a name that he likes, but he hasn't yet. So I told him if he doesn't come up with one by the time he's born, his name will be Benjamin. :p I would like for us to agree on a name though. We'll see what happens.

Update from an M.I.A. Blogger

I feel so horrible that I haven't blogged lately. I'm so sorry guys! Is anyone even still reading? I don't blame ya if you're not!!


The main reason is just that I'm so busy. I don't know how my life has become busier than it was a few months ago, but it most definitely has. I get up at 6:45 to start getting Kadence ready, and get her on the bus by 7:15. Sometimes the babies are up by that time, if not, they're all up by 8 for sure.

Then my day is just a blur of feeding kids, playing with kids, cleaning, doing laundry, putting kids down for their nap, (I typically rest or take a nap when they do), then when they get up it's time for Kadence to get home. I get the kids up from their nap, give them a snack, try to entertain them until about 5 when I start cooking supper. We eat supper, then we almost always go outside and play until about 7:30. We come back in, the kids all watch a DVD together for a half an hour or so, every other night I give them a bath, then we start getting ready for bed.

By that point, I'm exhauted. I relax for a bit, then am in bed by 10:30-11:30. And then it starts all over again the next day. ;o)


But life is good. :)


Kadence is doing wonderful in school, and is loving it. :) I think her teacher loves her too! Kadence said yesterday a little boy was chasing her, and both her and the little boy got in trouble by one of the teacher's helpers. Her teacher said to the little boy, "Did you get my sweet little girl in trouble??" I got such a kick out of that. :)

The babies are all doing great too! Well...aside from this tummy virus that we're dealing with right now. It's been awful. I think the worst of it is over though, thank goodness. So far just Eli, Joe and Rowan have had it. Keeping our fingers crossed that the rest of us don't get it. As far as talking goes, Rowan is definitely talking the most. She can repeat almost anything that you say, (usually she repeats the last word you say) and can say 3-4 word sentences (though she doesn't do that a whole lot yet). She can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and can almost sing the entire ABC song. She is so much like her big sister it's scary. :) The boys are talking much more now too, though are still a couple of months behind Rowan I'd say. But they're boys. And they'll get there. We're not concerned about them at all. The trio spends most of their day fighting, screaming and arguing. I spend most of my day refereeing. They are most definitely 2, and you can imagine how it is with 3 2-year-olds living under the same roof. With 1 2-year-old, you have the screaming and the tantrums. Kadence was 2 once, so I've been the mommy to a singleton 2-year-old. This is an entirely different ballgame in that they all want what the other one has, or they scream when one of them touches them when they don't want to be touched, or they hit each other over the head with a toy for no apparent reason. It's like friggin' WW3 in here every single day I swear. Especially in the afternoon. Afternoons are the worst. But sometimes they get along too, and that's the fun thing to watch when you have triplets. They have built in buddies. As much as they fight, the rest of the day they're playing, laughing and giggling together. Having triplets is definitely a unique experience, and I'm so glad I get to be a part of it. :)


This little guy in my belly is growing like a little weed. By next week he should weigh a pound! I think he is the most active baby I've ever had. He starts kicking, and sometimes he's awake for 2 hours. 2 hours!! Is it strange that I'm already getting after him for things? "Buddy! Calm down in there and go to sleep! Give Mommy a break!!" LOL. My appt with the Maternal/Fetal specialist is on Monday, and I'll give a full update that evening.


On top of everything, we're also remodeling the kitchen. I've saved up some money from some photography sessions, and decided I wanted to spend it on a big project rather than it all dwindle away and not even know where it went. (which happens so very often) Nothing too major, minor things like paint, curtains and new light fixtures. The biggest thing we're doing is putting in new countertops- which is HUGE to us! We're all caught up on everything until they come in. I can't wait to see it all completed!! I'm going to go shopping for some new decor for the kitchen (pictures for the walls, candles, etc) soon too. I'll share the before and after pictures when it's all done!

Speaking of pictures, I think I have some wedding photos I promised I'd share with you. ;o) I'll get those posted today or tomorrow!

And with everything we're taking out of the kitchen, Davey is incorporating it into his gun room/reloading room. :) So we're inadvertently being "green", when really we're just cheap. ;o) He's been busy cleaning the storage room, garage and his current gun room, he tore down a wall, and he's clearing out space for all the new (used) countertops/shelving for his room. So he gets a room remodel too, and it's the best kind- Free!!

Progression of a Pregnant Belly

Just for fun, you can see how my belly has grown over the past 20 weeks. :)

Pregnancy Week 20

20 weeks!! I can't believe it!! Now when I tell people how far along I am, I feel like I'm VERY pregnant. :) At 20 weeks I am well over halfway there. I'm still not sure when they'll decide to deliver me, but my appointment with the Perinatologist is next Monday, and I find myself being excited about that appointment rather than anxious. I can't wait to see what their opinion is on my risks for preterm delivery and possible uterine rupture. They also should tell me at what week I am going to deliver, which is exciting for me. :)

20 Weeks Facts and Symptoms

- I've been feeling great this week, no more pains or pressure. (fingers crossed)

- I have been getting tired in the middle of the day and whether I have time for a nap or not, I always try to lay down for at least 15 minutes to get a little rest.

- The baby has periods of being awake and asleep now. Rather than just a random kick here and there, he will wake up and stay up for 30-45 minutes at a time and wiggle and kick the whole time. Then he falls back asleep and sleeps for hours most times.

- By week 20, the baby weighs around 10.5 ounces and is 10 inches long! Starting at week 20 they measure a baby from it's head to it's toes, and no longer from it's head to it's rump.

- I find it absolutely mind-boggling that the triplets were only 13-inches long when they were born.

- My appt. with my regular OB is next Tuesday, so maybe we'll have an actual date set for delivery!