Merry Christmas!

So for those of you that are not on my mailing list, here's a copy of our Christmas card.  We wanted to wish you a very merry Christmas!  

We hope your day is filled with family friends and love. 

Back in the Saddle

Well, I have had my ups and downs in the last ten weeks that's for sure.  Just a little warning here, I am going on a bit of an emotional rant here and it's gonna' be a long one.  Prepare yourselves. 

I have been diving in head first with my family.  I feel as though I have been making up for lost time.  I have always been a super hands on and involved Mom.  The last couple of months in this pregnancy I was basically absent.  I was doing the bare minimum and relying on my family so much.  I know it's probably my hormones talking, but I have felt such guilt over this.  I missed my sons first day of Kindergarten and that was so important to me.  I will never get that day back.  My Wonderful Hubby did skype me in to the boys first day of school from my hospital room, but it was not the same as being there.  It was really sweet though.  After hanging up, I promptly had a melt down right in front of my doctor.  I'm talking ugly cry complete with snorting like a pig people.  

Anyway, I know I did a wonderful thing.  I am absolutely proud of what I accomplished.  Given the circumstances I did the best I could and I gave it my all.  Rationally I know this.  My irrational side makes me feel guilty though.  Guilty for not being there when i was needed for my family. So, to compensate for this guilt, I have been spending a lot of time volunteering in the boys classrooms, taking them on special Mommy and Son outings and I even joined the PTA for goodness sake!  All I can say is that I am really trying to enjoy them as much as I can.  I am keeping really busy and i feel like time is flying.  I am trying to take in every moment because I know all to well that I will never get these moments back either.  I have come to have a new appreciation for my kids through this process.

I have also been trying to really take better care of my Husband.  He took such good care of me through this pregnancy.   I can not tell you how grateful I am to have him.  He cooked cleaned, grocery shopped, took care of the kiddos, listened to an emotional and very pregnant wife's whining and worked his butt off everyday to bring home the bacon.  I have guilt over this too.  So, ya, I have to make up for some lost time here too.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be physically able to care for my family again, but I am really having trouble getting back into the swing of things.  I have also gotten used to having a housekeeper and not having to worry about things like making dinner or working out.  I am weaning off of my housekeeper, and slowly getting back into cooking. I am also starting to workout again and let me just say, I am outta' shape!  I gained 38 pounds total and with in 3 weeks of having them, I lost 60.  I had some serious trouble fitting food into my belly and although I felt I was always eating, the babies were eating more.  As crazy as that is, I am now left with some serious toning to do.  Needless to say, I'm feeling some pressure lately.  Everyday I am wondering how I am going to keep up with these expectations I have put on myself. 

Through all of this, I am also trying to wean off of pumping for the triplets.  Unfortunately, this also means weaning off my new addiction to cupcakes too!  As crazy as this sounds, I'm a little sad to be done pumping because it's the last physical evidence that I just finished doing this fantastic journey.  Maybe this is partly "the blues" that so many women struggle with.  I don't know, but luckily I am a pretty positive person and I am positive it will get better and I'll soon be back to normal.

As for the bambinos, it's now been ten weeks since my little surro  babes were born. TEN!!!  I can't believe it.  They are continuing to do fantastic.  They are putting on the pounds.  Caitlin has pulled ahead of the pack on weight.  {I think she is storing it all in her chubby cheeks.}  Little miss Kelsie has already doubled her birth weight.  Riley is steadily packing the pounds on as well, but he better watch out for these girls!  I still get updates all the time and I can't tell you how much I enjoy all of the updates and pictures.  

The triplets were peas in a pod for Halloween.  Both appropriate and adorable don't you think?

I see these pictures and I am so grateful to think that I helped do that. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I have learned so much from this experience.  I am still learning. 

So, that's my really looong and brutally honest update.  I warned you.   Luckily my rational side is telling me that yes, it's been really hard getting back into the swing of things, but it will get easier.  Anyway, I feel better already just getting all that out. 

Thanks for listening.  :)

One whole month...already?!?!

Happy birthday Caitlin, Kelsie and Riley!  I can not believe it has already been a whole month since these three precious bundles were brought into the world.  So much has happened in this month. 
All three babies were released from the NICU and brought home.  They are seriously thriving in their new environment.    I can't help take a little credit for this because I am pumping and shipping breast milk. They are starting to get the chubby cheeks and double chins that change their looks so much.  (Why can't this look cute on all of us adults?)  

I am not, however, getting up with them all night long for round the clock feedings times three.  I'm also not changing 30 diapers a day!  No, the real credit goes to their parents. They are truly embracing parenthood and loving this precious time with their babies.  I get updates and pictures a few times a week and I love hearing all of the news.  It warms my heart to hear what good parents they are and to know that these babies are a part of such a loving home.  

This right here is the whole reason I became a surrogate.  Seeing and hearing all about this family I helped create is wonderful.  When people ask me why I did this, they automatically assume it was about the money.  It's hard to put my feelings into words on the subject, but it is about so much more.  I have gotten so much more.  I know it's hard to understand, especially for those who have not been a surrogate, but all I can say is my heart feels happy.

Can you believe they all fit in my belly?!?!  I still have a hard time believing it!

Caitlin, Kelsie, and Riley

I just had to share...

Birth Story...

I have been thinking over and over how tho start this post.    I know I haven't updated in a while so I will try and pick up where I left off with a quick update on the past few weeks.  Just a warning though...this is going to be a long post so grab a cup of coffee and settle in for a while.  

I last posted at about 31 weeks and at this point we were beginning to do the non-stress tests on the babies.  I went in once a week and the babies continued to pass with flying colors.  Each one was "practice breathing", very active, and their heart rates were always right on target.  I always left the hospital with a smile on my face knowing that these little buns were baking so beautifully in my oven.

I also had weekly check ups with my OB.  They continued to go really well.  My Doctor  thought for sure we were going to make it all the way to 36 weeks.  One thing we all know though about pregnancy though is that things can change with the blink of an eye.

So Tuesday (8-23) I went in for a regular check up with my OB and everything looked great.  I felt a little "different", but was assured my blood pressure and labs looked great.  I thought I was just doing to much and not resting enough.   I was pregnant with three babies after all.  So we left it with that.

The next day was supposed to be my kids first day of school and my 6 year was turning 7.  Mind you,  I had given the triplets strict instructions to stay in my belly until I got my kiddos through their first day of school.  Control freak much?  Anyway, my best laid plans veered off track for sure.  A rail car with a huge tank of propane caught fire Tuesday afternoon and my son's birthday wish came true.  Not only was the first day of school cancelled, the entire first week was cancelled as well.  A lot of families were evacuated from their homes.  There was talk of evacuation in our neighborhood too, but luckily it was just talk.

So we went ahead with a few small birthday plans and had a good day.  That night, (Wednesday) My legs and feet morphed into one long, puffy extension out of my hips and I could barely bend them at the ankle or the knee.  I was feeling concerned about this, but knowing I had another non-stress test in the morning, I went to bed and got as good nights sleep as I could.

Thursday morning, my legs did not look any better and were actually quite painful.  I went to the Non-stress test expecting nothing but the predictable since I had just been to my OB 2 days before.  So first thing they do is check your weight and I had gained 6 pounds in 6 days!!!  I had only gained about 31 pounds so far with this pregnancy so this was a complete shock.  I saw the look on the nurses face and watched her eyes linger on my swollen feet.  I kinda' knew what was coming when she said, "Why don't we check your urine?"  (For those who don't know, they check urine for protein which is a possible sign of pre-eclampsia.)

We went into the fetal testing room and she got on the phone to call my doctor.  I heard her say it was a 4+ on the protein and my doctor asked to talk to me.  She handed me the phone and my doctor told me they were sending me over to labor and delivery for further testing.  I of course, being hormonal and all, started to cry and as soon as I left the office I called my hubby.  He called my IP’s for me and took them by surprise. 

My hubby came to the hospital to meet me and told me that A was driving to Sac as we speak.  When A got there, he said S was jumping on a plane and would also be there shortly.  I of course felt really bad because what if this was nothing?  I didn’t want to be an inconvenience for nothing but further testing.  Anyway, I’m so glad they listened to their intuition and got here when they did.   So the Docs ran some labs, did an ultrasound and some fetal monitoring.   They came back and said I was definitely checking in.  It looked like pre-eclampsia and the only cure for that is delivery.  So much for all of my well laid plans…

Everyone could tell I was a bit disappointed with the turn of events.  I knew at this point that I would surly miss the first day of kindergarten for my 5 year old and the first day of 2nd grade for my 7 year old.  Again…control freak much?  This situation was clearly out of my control though.   So the Docs came up with a plan and we went ahead with it.  They were giving me a dose of betamethosone (a shot to develop the babies lungs quickly) right away (Thursday).  They were giving me another dose 24 hours later as long as I held stable (Friday).  Then Saturday morning if all still looked good, was delivery day. 

So, I got the first dose and checked in to the hospital.  They continued to monitor my labs and with each new blood draw, my stats continued to detereriorate.  I also started having scattered contractions.  They started me on Magnesium sulfate (awful stuff) because it was clear things were going down hill fast and I was developing HELLP syndrome also. (Scary stuff!)  

IP's and my Hubby told them to get over to the hospital ASAP.  My husband barely made it.  He was literally suiting up while we were wheeling the bed away.  Everything felt so rushed and crazy.  

The doctors had assembled an army of doctors to quickly "catch and assess" the babies as they were delivered and another small army on hand in the delivery room itself.  Unfortunately, I was only allowed my husband to be with me because of the number of people needed and the size of the OR itself.  In case you were wondering there were 13 people in the OR including my Husband and I.    

The delivery went as well as we could have expected.  The babies were delivered with in one minute of each other and were whisked away so quickly I didn't even get to see them.  I heard their sweet little wails as they were pulled from their warm and cozy oven and couldn't help but smile. 

I, on the other hand, had lost almost 2 liters of blood and my platelet count went down extremely low.  So low, they did not even feel comfortable removing my spinal block for fear that I would not be able to clot properly.  I had to have a blood transfusion and a platelet transfusion.  While receiving the transfusions in the recovery room, the nurse checked my incision, urine output and bedding.  She immediately called my Doctor back in and gave everyone else non necessary the boot.  To my surprise my OB happened to be in the hospital and was at my side.  So were the two doctors that delivered the babies and the pernatologist I had been seeing too.  I felt so well taken care of and touched that all of these doctors that helped so much through out this journey were there to help in my time of need.  Things got a little more chaotic as they explained I was losing more blood and a lot of clots.  They decided to give me something to dialate my cervix a bit to extract the clots.   Luckily I was still numb from the waist down and they were quick and efficient.  I stayed in the recovery suite for a while before checking into my room just to be sure everything was going ok.  The anesthesiologist explained that until my platelets were on the rise again I would have to leave the catheter in my back and that it could be a couple days.  

Meanwhile, the waiting room was full of my worried family and friends.  I had no idea who was there and not, but come to find out A wouldn't leave the waiting room to follow the babies until I was deemed out of the woods.  I couldn't believe it.  I was so very touched. It was a scary ordeal for sure, but I can't explain the calm I felt in the midst of all of the chaos.  I just know everything was going to be ok.

The babies were all doing really well.  They needed a little help with feedings, oxygen and IV's, but they are truly beating the odds for triplets.  I am so proud to have delivered these little fighters into this world.  

Are you ready for the final stats? 

It was 2 girls and 1 boy as expected, but no one expected them to be quite so big.

Caitlin~ 4lbs. 14 oz.  18" long

Kelsie~ 3lbs.  11 oz.  17" long

Riley~ 5lbs.  4 oz.  17" long

Is it just me or was that  a whole lotta baby in my belly? 

Through out this whole experience, I have felt so well cared for and so lucky to have so many people who love and care about me.  I made it to 33.6 weeks which I have to say beat a lot of  expectations.  It has been such a whirlwind of a ride, but worth every second of it.  I remember waking up almost every morning and having to remind myself it was triplets.  Now I look at these sweet babies and think how utterly impossible it is to have delivered them.  It still is, and probably always will be truly unbelievable.  Even given all of the discomfort, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.   We beat so many odds in this process and I can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment looking back.  I was not on bed rest or hospitalized like so many thought I would be at the end and I have so many people who care about me to thank for that.  I especially could not have done this with out the support of my husband.  He is a remarkable man and I think this journey has brought us even closer.  The support I felt from all of my family and friends was and is more than I can describe with words.  

The Triplets are here!!!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet for now...

Last Friday August 26th, 2011, I delivered three little bundles of joy.  We are all doing really well.  The babies continue to amaze everyone with how well they are adjusting to this outside world.  It's so wonderful to see....

No worries, I am working on the details of the whole story, but just thought you might want to know. 

Have a great weekend!  =)

Belly pic 31 weeks

Alright folks, here it is.  This is the 31 week belly pic.  Oh and yes, I am aware that I look like a vampire with my pale, pasty skin.  I avoid the summer heat and sun like I will burn to a crisp in 60 seconds.  Unless I am in transit from one air conditioned venue to another, or taking a belly pic, you will not see me outside.

Due to the size of this belly of mine...

I am now sleeping with 4-5 pillows in various propped spots all over my body ever night.

I can no longer do the Macarena, or any other dance that involves actually moving or bending of the belly.

I can not paint my own toes.  Shout out to my sister Beckie for "Shellac-ing" them for me. **By the way, if you haven't tried Shellac yet, I HIGHLY recommend it.

I breath and grunt like I am lifting 100 pounds of rice just rolling over in bed.

I can no longer sit like a lady.  It really is physically impossible.

I can not reach my right hand to my left hip and vice versa.

I have turned the stove on a few times with no hands...the belly did it.

I can not see my feet and cankles jiggling as I walk...but I can feel it though! 

 My 5 year old hits his head on my belly AT LEAST twice a day.  He's at just the right height.  Luckily he thinks this is funny.

Ok, so enough about the belly.  

Happy Monday everybody!

31 weeks!

I know I've been pretty quiet lately, but quiet is good when you're 31 weeks pregnant with triplets!  I have been so busy getting all of my ducks in a row lately, blogging has been simmering on the back burner.  Sorry!!!

What have I been doing you ask?  Well, between doctor appointments, ultrasounds, two busy boys on summer vacation and just life in general, I have been trying to prepare and plan for the next few weeks.  I know there is really no such thing as "planning" when it comes to having babies, but I have to try!  Not to mention, my kids are also getting ready to go back to school and everything is sort of coming to a head at once.  Oh, and I am so dang tired lately, I feel mighty proud to just get out of the house and grab a gallon of milk. 

So, In the past couple of weeks, I have managed to get my hospital bag packed, bought back to school clothes, school supplies, and had an ultrasound, a hospital tour and 2 doctor appointments.  This may not sound like much, but believe me when I say these were HUGE hurdles for me.  Unfortunately, I think grocery shopping is off my list of things to do.  I can't really stand, lift and walk for any real length of time anymore.  So I either have them delivered or my awesome Mom does the shopping for me.  {Thanks Mom!}

At my last OB appointment, my doctor was so thrilled with my progress it was contagious.  I waddled my way in there feeling bleh, and left with a smile on my face.  She's "tentatively" scheduling the delivery for September 13th.  {Remember Lucky 13?}  My doctor has complete faith in me {and my cervix} to hold out until then.  Woo-hoo! So that's my new goal...36 weeks.

Anyway, that's what's going on with me...as for the wee ones, they are doing awesome.  They are growing so quickly and getting so strong it is always so amazing to see and feel them move around.  The ultrasound showed just how great they are doing and it's so reassuring.  My IP's are busily preparing for their arrival.  They've had a few baby showers and they have so many friends and family members that are anxiously awaiting the arrival of these little peanuts,  I love knowing these babies are being born into a family that already loves them so much.

I don't have a belly pic tonight, but soon I promise!  So I leave you with this...the cause for my sleepless nights.  It was on a pamphlet at the doctors office and it cracked me up. Imagine three little ones bouncing on your bladder!  I'm up every hour almost to the minute...

Okay, so that was REALLY long winded.  

I guess maybe if I updated more often, I wouldn't have to write a book. Ha!

28 weeks and counting...

 

Well, as you may have guessed I've had a few doctor appointments since my last post. Luckily there is not anything really to report there. My run of the mill check up was last week and what could be better than a nice boring check up right? The babies are all doing great and although I may not feel great, the doc tells me I am doing fabulous. Actually I think her exact words to describe me were "Rock Star". She is always so excited with the progress not to mention just the simple fact that I am still pregnant and up and around.

I am also now seeing a Perinatologist.  This is a doctor reserved for those with high risk pregnancies and complications.  She will also be performing my ultrasounds from here on out.  She has always been consulting with my Doctor, now that I have the complication of the Gestational Diabetes, I was the one consulting with her.  She too was very impressed with how things have played out so far with this pregnancy.  She said if things keep up like this, she sees no reason why I shouldn't make it to 34 or maybe even 36 weeks!  That's only 6-8 weeks left.  Wow, times flying!  

We also talked a lot about diabetes and she did toy around with the idea of putting me on insulin, but ultimately said she wouldn't be doing that.  She may put me on a pill every morning before breakfast, but I can handle that.  Just keep the needles away!

Let me just say, it felt really good to get such great feed back from the doctors.  I have been trying really hard to balance my family and this pregnancy and it gets harder day by day.  A little recognition felt really good.  I definitely have my list of discomforts and complaints, but I try to stay on the positive side for my own sanity.  The GD has been really tough on me.  I am having some MAJOR sugar cravings lately.  I was making my kids PB&J yesterday and it took all my will power not to grab a spoonful of jelly and eat it. Craziness!  I used to be tempted more by the PB.  I am keeping on the diet, although grudgingly,  I know it's best for me and the wee ones in my belly.

On the subject of the wee ones, they are packing some punch these days!  I swear 3-4am is a Kung Fu match time most mornings.  I'm not talking about little flutters either, theses are some roundhouse kicks!  Needless to say they are growing stronger every day and here's my belly pic to prove it...Enjoy!

28 weeks

The Run Down

Alrighty, so I had my class to learn about Gestational Diabetes today.  There were four of us in the class and let me just say, everyone looked a bit grumpy to start off with and it didn't get too much better as the 2 hours went by.  There were 3 different teachers there each to discuss different aspects of GD.  One talked mainly about portion control, one talked about menu panning and the other taught us how to use our new equipment.  All three had to basically give the pregos a good diet smack-down.  Our Q&A went something like this:

Them:  "Raise your hand if you drink juice."
Us: Raising our hands meekly.
Them:  "No more juice.  Big No No ladies."
Them:  " Raise your hand if you eat cake, frosting, ice cream etc..."
Us:  Raising our  meek little hands again with scowls on our face.
Them:  " No more sugary sweets."
Them:  "Raise your hand if your hands if you eat cereal in the morning"
Us:  Raising our hands again looking a little perplexed, but knowing what's coming next.
Them:  " No more cereal for breakfast."

You get the idea...the cereal one hit particularly hard for me as I have been eating cereal for breakfast almost every day since I can remember.  Needless t say none of us were too happy about the Q&A portion of our teaching.  It reminded me of a Seinfeld I saw years ago with "The Soup Nazi". 

 

I won't bore you all of the details, but here's the bare bones.  The dietitian wants me to eat 2700 calories a day.  Yikes!!! That is a LOT of food!  Now, I don't know if I can physically do that, especially minus any kind of junk food, total heartburn and 3 babies squishing my stomach into a thin pancake at the top of my uterus, but I have to try.  I also have to test my blood sugar before and 1 hour after every meal.  I have to track my blood glucose number and fax the weeks worth of data to the doctor every Wednesday.  If there is any reason for concern they will put me on meds {pill or injections depending}.  I definitely want to avoid this so I will be a good little patient and listen to orders...even though what I really want is Ben and Jerry's.  

So do the babies.  Don't ask me how I know, I just do.

I have a few more appointments coming up soon so I'll post on that soon.  But for now, that's the dealio.  I leave you with my 25 week belly pic.  Have a great 4th!!!

25 weeks

Update time...

Well the ultrasound went really well.  It was a measly 2 hours instead of 3. {thank goodness!} Everything looked great! Babies A & C {the girls} are estimated at about 1 lb 11 oz. and Baby B {the boy} is estimated to be 1 lb. 14 oz.  Quite the bruiser already!  They were all really active and I even got to see Baby C yawn.  I didn't even know that was possible!  Baby B and C are breech at this point and poor Baby A has the bottom bunk, laying across my hips.  So not too much to report there.

I did my dreaded glucose tolerance test and all the other labs yesterday.  All the "other labs" turned out great and normal.  The glucose test, not so much.  Apparently I have developed Gestational Diabetes.    When my doctor told me, I have to admit I was in a bit of shock and then I started thinking wait a minute... I am not obese.  I eat healthy.  I talk care of myself.  I have never had this with previous pregnancies.  I don't get it.  The doctor assured me that it was nothing I did, in fact she was kind of expecting this.  What?  She said,  it is caused by a hormone released by the placenta.  Obviously with three placentas my odds were much greater in developing GD.   It made me feel,a little better knowing I didn't do anything to cause this.  Still not happy, but a little better.  

I just found out last night so I don't know too much about my personal case and how exactly it will be handled.  I do know that the doc ordered a class for me to take and a consult with the fetal health specialist and nutritionist to go over how to manage everything.  I will also have to be testing my blood sugar throughout the day with a little finger prick machine and keep a log of the numbers to bring with me to the doctor.  Then, depending on the trend, I will manage it through diet, pill and/or insulin injections.   I sooo thought I was done with injections...

This does explain a lot as to how I have been feeling lately though.  Usually when I'm hungry my tummy's rumbling and I may get a little crabby.  Lately though it feels like my entire body is weak.  Like I don't want to hold the phone to my ear weak.  So I eat something and depending on what I eat, I feel better or worse.  I've been noticing if I have a handful of cashews or a protein shake made with blueberries, I feel better.  If I grab an apple or some crackers, I feel worse.  Good to know there is a reason behind it and I can start to plan my meals accordingly now.   

I don't really know too much else about it, but I do know {based on my Google research} there are a slew of things that can happen if not managed properly.  I won't get into all the nitty gritty now.  I'm just gonna' take it one day at a time and hopefully I can get a handle on this quickly.    In the middle of all this, I'm just so thankful the babies are continuing to grow and develop every day. 

24 Weeks!!!

Well this week is a big milestone in pregnancy.  This week marks the week of viability.  I had a check up today and my OB and I had a quick little celebration with some Ya-hoos, sighs of relief and some big smiles.  We quickly got back to business though and set the next mile stone at 32 weeks.  This happens to be the "average" week of delivery for triplets.  

Lucky for me all looked good today.  The babies were squirming around as usual.  My cervix is still in great shape.  My Doc even went so far as to say I have an "awesome uterus".  All good news.  We will now have check ups every 2 weeks because lets face it people, pregnant women and the summer heat just don't mix.  I'm glad she is keeping a close eye on things though, it really gives me peace of mind knowing all is well.

Thursday I have another Level 2 ultrasound and if all is well there, I can wait another 4 weeks before my next one. Yay!

Friday I have the dreaded blood glucose test and a bunch of other labs along with it.  I have to admit the blood glucose test always freaks me out.  For those who are not familiar with the test, let me break it down for you.  I have to fast the night before and then go to the lab for the 3 hour test.  First, I will have my blood drawn.  Then I have to drink some syrupy, sugary drink and have my blood drawn in 1 hour.  As if this was not enough, I have one more draw at the three hour mark.   bleh.  

For those of you who don't really care about breakfast you'd breeze right through this.  For me, I am always starving in the morning.  Now of course pregnant, it's even worse!  I feed myself before feeding my kids almost every morning.  {Luckily they don't really care about breakfast.}  There are many mornings though when these little munchkins in my belly wake me up at 5-6 in the morning which then gets my tummy rumbling and I have to get a small bite before going back to sleep.  So ya, the thought of starvation in the morning gives me some anxiety for sure.

Anyway, all is looking good.  I'll update with all of the other stuff soon! I'll leave you with a 24 week belly pic...courtesy of my 6 year old. 

Belly Pix...Finally!

I'm just going to get right to it.  Here's the latest belly pix with a little explanation.  First of all, yes, I am in the same shirt as the last belly pic.  Don't worry i washed it.  It is one of my favorite shirts, not to mention a lot of my shirts are getting too short and this one stretches forever.  I'm just not the type to go around letting this big 'ol belly catch a breeze.  If you are that type, no offense.  You are very brave.  So anyway, this one was taken at 22.5 weeks along.

This one I took the very next morning{22.6 weeks}.  Morning being the reason for this headless pregnant woman in the picture.  Is it just me or does my belly look bigger?  Maybe it's the shirt?  I also measured my belly and I am now 44 inches around! 

In other news, there's not too much to report.  The babies are WAY more active.  They have been exercising A LOT between midnight and 1am almost nightly.  Their movements are definitely getting a stronger and more vigorous.  A little harder to ignore, but I sure do try!  It usually starts with one squirmy baby who then wakes up the next before going to back to sleep and the torch then gets passed to the other one before they are all asleep again.  I just hope they get this out of their system now so night feedings go smoothly for their parents.  Oh, and they have been getting the hiccups lately too.  :)

As for me, 22 weeks has hit hard and I am slowing down once again.  Routine things are getting more difficult.   Lately anything that falls on the floor or is in need of attention below my knee will just have to wait.  I've come up with a couple solutions though, Toes need to be painted-pedicure. A spill on the floor-call in the dog.  Toys on the floor- allowance for the kids for doing their chores.  I'm sure I'll come up with a few more solutions as I grow, but being a Mom you've gotta be creative right?  

I also have to say, my family has been really supportive through all of this.  I am so lucky to have them.  I am still in good spirits.  I really feel like it would be so easy to focus on the discomfort, but I think that would just make me miserable and being positive (for me) is the best way to cope.  It allows me to still be there for my kids and my husband as much as I can be.  So that's my game plan for now.  I have another week until my next doc appointment and ultrasound.  I should have more to report then!

The 20 week Ultrasound

So, I'll start with the fun stuff.  I went in for the big 20 week ultrasound last week.  My IP's got to come out and visit too!  The ultrasound took about 2 1/2 hours and I had to do a lot of rolling and moving to keep things going along.  Laying on my back for that long is very uncomfortable.  It was so amazing to see how much these babies have grown in 4 weeks!  It was also wonderful to see their parents glued to the screen and hanging on to their every movement.  All three babies still look great and are right on target.  They are each about 10 inches long now.  I guess that means I have about 30 inches of baby in me!  Wow!  Thank goodness we did not have any surprises this time.  The count is still the same and it is still 2 girls and 1 very active boy.  

I also had another check up with my OB and everything looked good there too.  I have to admit I was a little nervous because I have been having the occasional Braxton Hicks.  I know this is normal with pregnancy, but apparently should not be taken lightly with triplets.  Lucky for me though my cervix was still just fine.  In fact, everything looked so good, the Doc said I could go another 4 weeks until the next check up and ultrasound.  Woo hoo!  After that I will be going in for both bi-weekly.

I do have to apologize.  I have been so bad about blogging lately, but I have a really good excuse.  I am carrying triplets and I'm tired!  It seems like every time I sit down and have a free moment, my eyes start to get really droopy and before I know it I'm out.  I usually just cat nap for a few and feel much better.  I really didn't think there would be THAT much difference from carrying one baby to carrying three.  I know, I know wishful thinking and very naive on my part.  I am a can do kind of person though.  As it turns out, there are a lot of differences.  For instance, you know that extreme fatigue you get in the first trimester?  It never stops.  In fact it gets worse!  I find myself planning my days with a couple of breaks in the middle for cat naps.  It's crazy how much energy these three munchkins are using up.  

So to help combat the fatigue, I have had to limit myself to one, maybe two "things to do" in a day besides the usual feeding and caring for my two busy boys.  Yesterday, my project of the day was laundry.  Today, I went on a field trip with my sons preschool to the fire station.  I felt pretty good after wards so I pushed the limit and went to the grocery store.  Whew!  Let's just say, the my little hiney is glued to the recliner.  It's gonna' take some thing really good to pry me off of here.

Well, that's the long and short of it.  I'm still hanging in there.   I'll post some pix soon!

*UPDATE*
Here's some pix of the wee ones.
Baby A (girl) Top
Baby B (boy) Middle
Baby C (girl) Bottom

 

18 week belly pix

Well, I am now almost 19 weeks!  I can't believe how fast time is flying.  I feel like the babies have definitely gone through a growth spurt because all of a sudden I am HUGE!  Unfortunately, I am really starting to feel some of the lovely discomforts that go along with it.  I am still up and around, although I do tire easily.  Just walking up the stairs, I am out of breath and winded.  I think I'm going to need one o those stair chairs.by the end of this!   Ha!

I am one of those "doer" kinds of people so it  does make it difficult when mentally I know I can do something.  I also am the type of person that does not typically ask for help.  Problem is, by the end of the night I just feel ex-haus-ted.  So, I promised the hubby I would take on less and take it easy so we can have some of our family time back. 

So, I am working on a few things, but overall I am in good spirits.  I feel like I am doing pretty darn good for carrying three wee ones in my belly.  It's not easy, but it'll be worth it!

I leave you now with my most recent belly pic...

18.4 weeks

Belly Pix

Quick update, I don't really have anything new to report.  I am still feeling pretty good.  The babies are getting to be quite active which is always very reassuring.  It's always so cool to feel at this stage.  My biggest complaint right now is allergies.  I find myself craving a Zirtec most days and of course it has been forbidden. uugghh...

I, of course, also have some of the aches and pains that go along with being oh, say 8 months pregnant which is how big I feel lately.  I can't quite explain it, but although my belly may not be out as far as I was at 8 months with my boys, it just feels so compact and full.  It's getting pretty comical actually when I try to do stuff around here and I find myself grunting or sighing with the effort.

I have to say though, I am enjoying this time with my boys and husband.  Allergies or not I can't help but be outside with the rug-rats in this beautiful spring weather.  I know this summer will prove to be challenging, so I am enjoying today...

Just a quick disclaimer, I have enlisted the kiddos to take belly pix for me so they may be blurred or looking up, but you get the idea...

So by popular demand, the belly pix.

About 12 weeks.  {Photo courtesy of Ty.  4 years old}

About 15 weeks  {Photo courtesy of Aaron. 6 years old}

About 16 1/2 weeks.  {photo courtesy of hubby.  32 years old}

Triple Loop Part 2

Fast forward three weeks. I had my first appointment with my local OB, Dr. N.  All was looking good.  A few days later, her nurse calls me and says that Dr. N received the records from Dr. S and she was not happy with the lack of information she received.  She ordered a full ultrasound to be done ASAP.

So I went and got the ultrasound a few days later.  I knew almost immediately I was about to be thrown for another loop.  I was looking at the screen and thinking there must be something wrong my eyes.  I was seeing three heads.  The techs jaw dropped and I watched her move her wand around looking for heartbeats.  By this time I was getting the shakes and holding my breath.  The tech put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Sweetie, you are not carrying twins.  You are carrying triplets.  Just breathe." 
I asked her if she was sure because I had had two in office ultrasounds from two different doctors saying otherwise.  She was very sure.  She had even checked the heartbeats before she told me.  When she placed the camera on Baby C, it was waving at the camera.  Almost as if saying "Hi!".  Once again all my mind could say was WOW!!! 
I was there for about two hours while she did all of her measurements just trying to make sense of all of this.  I was such a mix of emotions.  I would go into shock and forget to breathe for a bit, then I would stare in amazement at what I was seeing on the screen and then I would start to worry about all of the "what ifs" that go along with a high risk pregnancy.

I thought I was in shock the first time I was told I was carrying triplets, but this was unbelievable.  Here I was at 15 and a half weeks just finding this news out.  I just kept thinking, "I can't believe I have to tell my IP's this news again."  I was so nervous to tell them.  I don't quite know why I felt so nervous or what I expected them to say.  Regardless, I knew that we were in this together and that I was about to rock their world's even more so than mine had just been rocked.
I called them that evening after I had talked with my husband and we had our little freak out session.  The response was quite similar to my own.  Speechless.  We talked for quite a while and when we were getting off the phone I told A how nervous I was to tell them they were expecting triplets {again}.  As we were getting off the phone A said I am hanging up with a smile on my face.  I knew that things would be OK and everything would work out.  It may not be exactly how we planned, but the babies are healthy, I feel pretty good at the moment, my IP's are excited and looking forward to meeting their babies.

I told you this one would be long...but I do have one more little snippet of news for you.  The tech said with about 90% certainty...Baby A is a girl, Baby B is a boy and Baby C {AKA Houdini} is another girl.   

My IP's are supper exited.
So that's all for now folks.  Let's all hope it's smooth sailing from here on out. 

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend.  :)

A Triple loop in the surrogacy roller coaster Part 1

Ok, this is going to be a long post so bare with me here.  I'm going to start at the very beginning...Hopefully it's not too confusing.  

So remember when I had a little scare?  Well I have a confession.  Two days after that ultrasound, when I landed in the ER,  I was told that I was carrying triplets.  This was such a complete and utter shock and we all {my IP's and hubby and I} agreed that it was a good idea to keep it quiet for the time being.  You never know what will happen and odds are not all three would stay with us. This news definitely explained a whole lot regarding the spotting/bleeding, but not quite what I was expecting to hear two days after being confirmed pregnant with twins.

Sooo we all {A, S, hubby and I} went down to LA a few days later for the 6 week ultrasound.  Dr. S {IVF doctor} confirmed that I was in fact carrying triplets and that all three had heartbeats.  One was a little smaller than the other two but looked pretty good also.  All I could say was Wow!  I was a bit overwhelmed but I had a feeling things would work out exactly how they were supposed to.

One of the biggest obstacles in our way was the surrogacy insurance.  It has a clause in there that cancels your policy if you are expecting more than twins.  This is HUGE!  There are so many unknowns with pregnancy in general but with triplets...you get the idea.  So we all came to decision to take it one day at a time and see where this crazy road would lead us.

Two weeks later, A and I went down to LA again to have our 8 week ultrasound.  Dr. S did his thing and quickly told us that it looked like Baby C had stopped growing and he could not find a heartbeat.  This was very bittersweet.  On one hand we knew that everything happens for a reason and that this would give Babies A and B a better chance.  On the other hand it was just sad.  Very bittersweet.  So as we left there I selfishly felt a sense of relief because I knew how hard it would be to carry three, but in seeing how much it had upset A I felt really sad too.  I knew I had done everything in my power to keep the babies safe, but as a surrogate, I also feel a certain sense of responsibility for this precious bundle I am carrying.  I am carrying someones hopes, dreams and future in my womb. 

Another two weeks went by and A and I went down to LA for another ultrasound with Dr. S.  This one was pretty uneventful and we were told that the twins looked great and were developing perfectly.  At the end of the ultrasound, almost as an after thought , A asked if Dr. S was going to check to see if Baby C was "absorbed".  The doc said there was no point...

  Insurance had been reinstated and my care transferred to a local OB.  So on we went with plans for the twins.

Oh, Happy Day!

I have finally had my first appointment with my local OB we will call her Dr. N.  First of all, let me just say that we clicked instantly.  I am very happy with my choice.  It was a little scary going off some random bio online, but I got lucky.

So no we get to the nitty grtitty...

Dr. N did an ultrasound and the babies are looking great!  They are wiggling and squirming and growing right on track.  One of them even had it's thumb in it's mouth...so cool!

I am still barely spotting, but she is not concerned.  My cervix is closed and there appears to be no active bleeding so she let me get off bed rest.  She told me to "Get on with your life."  YA-HOO!!!  You don't have to tell me twice!  I can not even begin to explain how thrilled I was to hear her point of view on this.  I love spring and watching it all go on from inside is no fun at all.

So of course, I'm not running marathons or anything, and I am still taking it easy, but hey, I can play with my kids more, volunteer in their class and even take a walk if I want to.  Maybe even do a little Spring Cleaning if I am inclined.  {Believe it or not, I have been itchin' to clean out some cabinets.} 

My belly is getting quite big.  I actually tried to squeeze through a space between the wall and the dinning room table the other day with my son standing there and I belly bumped his head up against the wall.  Yikes, sorry honey!  I didn't realize just how big it was getting. 

Anyway, overall a great week and I am feeling great and looking forward to getting out in the sunshine before it's summer and a billion degrees outside.

10 week Ultrasound

So I flew down to L.A. late Tuesday evening for my 10 week ultrasound.  I didn't get into my room until 9pm and I was starving {as usual}so I ordered room service.  I am almost ashamed to say this, but I at a bacon cheese burger while watching The Biggest Loser. Ha!

When I was done I set my tray outside the door and...oh crap!  I locked myself out!  I had just washed my face and had my hair all clipped and put up out of my face.  I was wearing sweatpants, no shoes, and a t shirt I like to sleep in.  Lookin' good Heidi!  Thank goodness I still had on my bra!  Seeing how I had no phone, my only choice was to go down to the lobby and try to get them to let me in.  So they asked my name and room number which I promptly gave.  Then they asked for the address on file with the credit card used to pay for the room.  Well seeing how it was not my card that did the paying, I didn't know the address.  Fan-tas-tic. To my complete and utter mortification, they called security and I had to be escorted back up to my room and show them my ID.  Talk about embarrassing! 

Anyway, on to the ultrasound.  The babies are looking great and measure at 11 weeks.  They are already quite advanced for their age. :) We got to see them moving and wiggling all around and can I just say how awesome that was?  I just think ultrasounds are so amazing!  So all is well with the little bambinos...

Dr. S also said that it looked like a lot of the pooling that he had seen previously in my uterus was absorbed.  YAY!  So this means there may be light at the end of the tunnel sooner than later.  I am still on bed rest until  spotting stops completely, but I have now graduated from the IVF doctor to a regular OB in town.  That will be nice to not have to travel so much.  So now on to the daunting task of picking the best hospital and Doctor I can in a hurry.  Anyone in the Sacramento area have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Cause for celebration

I Had my last injection last night!!!  Ya-hoo!!!  I have had almost 100 injections this year and that's not even counting blood draws.  Yikes! I can not even tell you how thrilled I am to be done with those things.   I have welts, bruises and giant knots on both sides of my rumpus and when searching for a "good spot", I found that there were none!  I also had adhesive spots all over the place from band-aides.  That was always fun to scrub off...

Did I mention how happy I am to have those behind me? 

As for me, I go in for yet another ultrasound this week and I am hoping for some good news.  I am still spotting and still on bed rest.  uuuggghhh... I do feel like it has slowed down which I am taking as a good sign.  On that note, I leave you with this funny...I'll update soon!

8 week Ultrasound

Well I had the privilege of spending my birthday yesterday flying to LA and back for my 8 week ultrasound.  The babies are measuring at about 8 weeks 5 days and looking great!  They each are about the size of a Lima bean.  It is always so wonderful to see and hear those little heartbeats.  

Me, on the other hand,  well, I am still on bed rest.  bleh.  The doc could still see a pooling of fluid in my uterus and until I stop spotting, I am parked.   I go in for another ultrasound in two weeks and I hope, hope, hope, things will be back to normal by then.  I am also really starting to show which surprised me for this early on.  I guess it's time to bring out the old maternity clothes. 

So that's all the news about me, but I did come across kind of a sad story in Surro news this week.  Rest assured, there is a happy ending.  This story really puts the spotlight on the need for educating people regarding surrogacy.  This kind of thing should not be happening. 

Click here for the full article.

No one ever told me...

Well, things have been a little rough around here lately. The bleeding/spotting has continued and now I am hearing from everyone my Mom, that it really is quite normal with IVF.  Top that with the fact that there is more than one in there, and ya, that's extra normal.  Hearing someone tell you that bleeding while pregnant is completely normal goes against everything I have learned thus far about being pregnant.  It just feels wrong, but the babies have had 3 ultrasounds so far and they look great!  

In the mean time, I have to stay on bed rest until the bleeding stops.  It has only been about 2 weeks and  I am ready to be a Mom to my boys again and a wife to my Hubby.  I am tired of laying around. {never thought I would be saying that! ha.}  Oh, top that loveliness with a two day migraine, a trip to the ER, and morning sickness and what can I say?  I'm feeling a bit beat up lately. Please don't misunderstand...I am still thrilled to be a part in growing these little babies, I just would like to enjoy the journey a bit more is all.

I went into this thinking that my pregnancies were always relatively uneventful.  I knew there was a possibility for bed rest {especially with more than one baby} but I did not expect that until the end.  I was completely unprepared for this.  So the purpose of this post is not just for me to whine and feel sorry for myself, but to let you know that this is a real possibility and apparently completely normal.  

Crazy as it sounds.

A little scare...

Monday afternoon I started spotting and I of course, being the hormonal mess that I am, freaked out just a bit.  I called the Doctor's office and they assured me that for some reason there is a higher instance of spotting and bleeding with IVF versus traditional pregnancies done the old fashioned way.  This made me feel somewhat better.  Oh, and my blood type is negative so I could just be attacking the baby(ies) and need a RhoGam shot to help calm things down.  Great!  I am no stranger to the RhoGam shot.  I had one with each of my pregnancies but usually not until later.  So feeling a little bit better still.  A shot to fix everything.  I could handle that.  Then she said we want to get you here for an ultrasound just to be sure.  The nurse also said there was no way we could detect a heartbeat this early, but they needed to see what was going on in there.  And I'm back to freaking out again.  The nurse told me to stay calm and stay off my feet.  Just relax. 

So I get to LA for the ultrasound and Dr. S tells me that we should see a sac, but that because I am only 5.3 weeks along, we will not see heartbeat and it may be too soon to see anything in the sac.  So he does the Ultrasound.  He gets really excited and tells me that he sees one sac...oh, wait two sacs.  {I'm thinkin' stop right there mister!}  Thankfully he did.  So I am pregnant with twins! Yay! He also said they looked really good and I am thrilled, as are my IP's.

Then he starts zooming in on the little gummy bears and says, "I can't believe it!  I can see the heartbeat on this one!  Wow!  That's a great sign!"  Then upon closer inspection he sees the other one, and it's little heart was beating too!  We were all shocked and excited!  He said he is not worried about the spotting after seeing how strong they are.  So he told me he suspected the Rh factor to be the culprit for the spotting and they gave me the RhoGam shot and sent me merrily on my way.

Whew!  I can not tell you how relieved I was walking out of that office yesterday.  As a surrogate you feel such a sense of responsibility carrying another persons dream {or dreams} around.  I was so glad things looked good.  So I am watching the laundry pile and toys scatter from the couch today.  Taking it easy...doctors orders.

The boys are loving this whole Mommy on the couch thing.  They keep coming up and laying with me, bringing me books to read to them and chattering away about this and that.  It makes me think that maybe I need to slow it down a bit in general.  I am always running here there and everywhere, I pace when I talk on the phone and there is always much to be done around here.  Some days I think hmmm...I don't think I have sat down today.  Looks like I need to make that more of a priority.   

So that's the long and short of it.  We had a little scare, but all is well now.   I have my next ultrasound on Valentine's day.  I can't wait to hang with my IP's again!  I am most excited to see their faces when they see their little bambinos for the first time.  :)

Surro Mammas Lunch

I went to lunch today with some local surro-mammas and we had a blast.  It ended up being a 5 hour lunch but as the saying goes...time flies when your having fun.  I had a great time ladies!

On the way home I couldn't help thinking how important it is to have a good support system when going through this process.  Who better to be your sounding board than someone who has walked in your shoes, down that same path as you?  

I'm telling ya', all that girl gab is better than therapy in some ways...

Good times.

Drumroll please...

Well, the results are in.  The nurse called this morning and said,  "Congratulations...you are VERY pregnant!"  

My BETA came back with a whopping 797!!!  All I can say is WOW!!!  

I think I am still in a bit of shock.   I am feeling a lot of things all at once.  On one hand I am really excited, happy and relieved that it worked, but on the other I am really anxious and nervous about the road ahead. I am still trying to wrap my head around it.  Nothing like hearing you are probably carrying 2-3 babies to wake you up in the morning right?  My hands were shaking and I felt like I was going to throw up.  Whether it was morning sickness or just plain shock, i don't know.  What I do know is that I am going to try and take this one step at a time and try, try, try to be patient until our first ultrasound.  By the way, we are scheduled to have that on Valentines day.  :)

My IP's are also feeling a bit shell shocked.  Here I am worried about how I am going to make it through the next 9 months, they have a lifetime to think about.   I'm sure that has gotta be a bit overwhelming...

So, I'm curious what other Surro Mammas came in on there first BETA.  I just want to see if there is any kind of rhyme or reason to the number or if everyone is different.  If you don't mind sharing, I would love to hear.  If you don't want to post it on my comments, you can email me too.  { h.grosser@sbcglobal.net }

Well that's all for now,  I've gotta go relax.  It's been a long morning.

I wasn't gonna' do this but...

Well, I was going to wait until I had my BETA on Saturday, but what can I say?  I'm feeling positive.  Excuse the pun.  Ha.I simply can't hold it in!  I did the old POAS test {well 4 actually} and each day my little pink line gets darker.  I am VERY optimistic that all of those sticky vibes worked.  Thanks y'all! 

So, not only are my lines getting darker, but all the symptoms are there too.  From the sore boobs to the nausea, I've got my bases covered.  I haven't felt this way since hmmm, last time I was pregnant!  Not to mention, I was in bed with lights out at 8:45 last night. That does not happen unless I am on my death bed.  

I will keep you posted on my progress Saturday, but I will be shocked if I don't have good news to report.  With that I bid you all a goodnight,  I am sooo ready to hit the hay as they say.  :)