V.olvos and Car Seats and Strollers, Oh My!

(14w6d)
Oh Happy Day!

I actually wrote this post a few days ago, but it has taken me this long to post.
I plead pregnancy.

But I have good news!

Matt and I have been hoping that (despite the skeptical looks of multiple baby store employees when I mentioned what we wanted...) we will be able to fit three infant car seats in the 2nd row of my V.olvo SUV. For a couple reasons. 1) I really like my car… it is a compact SUV… big enough to haul things around without being monstrous. 2) It is reportedly very safe "like a bank vault". One of the main reasons we bought it initially was for it’s safety record which was a real bonus since we were at the time expecting I would get knocked-up ANY DAY. 3) It is only 2.5 yrs old. We usually keep cars for much longer to get more value out of them. 4) I am REALLY waiting for a plug-in hybrid SUV to come out. That won’t be for another 2 yrs.

So I hauled myself to a local children’s store for a scheduled consultation with their car seat installer. He was mighty skeptical we could do three across in our car. But after some cajoling I convinced him that from my perspective it would be nice to at least TRY to fit the car seats in before heading out to trade in my car for a mom-mobile. So he measured to find the narrowest car seat in the store and we carried three of them out to the car.

What d’ya know… THEY FIT! In fact, we have room for another ½ inch for each seat… meaning I now have a choice of three different car seats! Wow!

Not very exciting news, I know. But for someone who has spent two weeks trying to get this sorted out… it is a breakthrough!

At least with all the decisions we have to make in the next few months… buying a new car won’t be one of them :-)

After several hours of reading reviews, perusing threads on high-order multiples forums and even pushing a few around… I have also come to a conclusion on the stroller I want to order (I had to wait until I knew which car seats were possible before I was able to decide on a stroller). For multiple reasons that I won’t be getting into right now, I have decided on a T.riple Decker. The highlights are that it will fit in the back of my car, and give me the flexibility to leave the house with the little buggers by myself if needed.

Ahhh.
So the big, complicated decisions are now out of the way.
I won’t order the stroller until they are actually born. Alive.
But I feel a bit more relaxed.
Because even if I get put on bedrest tomorrow, the rest of the decisions can be made from my couch.

(No, universe… that is not at all meant to be a hint).

Like Mother Like Fetus

(13w4d)

We had a quick US today.
I will be having these every 2 weeks for the next 6 weeks or so when they will most likely change me to every week.
Everything looks great.
No further word on the sex of the babies-- we may not know for sure until our next "full" ultrasound in four weeks when all of the measurements will be done.

But the babies were a-movin' and a-shakin'.
The superficial exams done on each of them (heartbeats and fluid) were all normal.
They are stacked like pancakes, one on top of the other.

Btw... we have nicknamed the babies.

We had all sorts of choices... Winkin, Blinkin and Nod... Larry, Moe and Curly... Mopsy, Flopsy and Cottontail... Huey, Dewey and Louey.But since the Perinatologists office always labels them A, B and C... we went with an unimaginative, yet convincingly practical choice.... Alpha, Bravo and Charlie.

So here is a shot of Alpha from today....

One thing many may not know about me... but of which my family will be VERY familiar... is that I was a thumbsucker. No, not the year-long phase many children go through. Oh no... I raised thumbsucking to an art form. Mom and Dad, after much cajoling and bribing failed, resorted to using some horrid tasting stuff that was painted on my thumb each night. My response? I just started sucking the other one. When they started painting both? I simply dealt with the nasty stuff and sucked right through it. Oh... and this wasn't when I was four... think more like seven years old when I quit. Yes, I was truly a master thumbsucker.

So I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise...



Sorry, Matt.... this one is definitely MY fault :-)

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

I have been woefully negligent in my posting.
Woefully.

And several of you have reminded me of that fact over the last few days :-)

Truth is... I have been a bit preoccupied with discovering whether or not three infant car seats will truly fit across the second row seat of my Volvo SUV (still unclear. Just not willing to give up my car without a fight! Meeting for a "fitting" with a local store on Thursday), unraveling what type of complicated stroller combination will allow me flexibility without having to tote a stroller around on the car hitch (that's just not how I roll...), attempting to determine whether or not the ancient Nephites might have had access to personal sets of scripture (a fact that one of my Gospel Doctrine class members felt was alluded to near the end of Jacob), researching whether or not a live-in au pair for a year would be a better option for us than a live-out nanny (I'll be needing some help... and as they say... "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"), and preparing Sunday's lesson, while still managing to eat every few hours (including at 3am) and make it to work on time.

(Yes, I am aware that was a terrible-no-good-very-bad-run-on-sentence. Luckily I am safely out of Mr. Goldsmith's reach. Ha!)

Not to mention... I think I got a bit overwhelmed once I started looking pregnant and EVERYONE knew. Not that I mind people know (ummm, it is becoming a little obvious). But after being asked for the 20th time last Sunday... "How are you feeling????" in that wonderful singsong voice we females use to indicate we know what we think might be an exciting secret... I was burnt out! I finally put them all out of their misery and announced it in the "Good News Minute".

As Jennifer sweetly mentioned, a belly picture is in order. Matt actually took one last week... and I failed miserably to post it. No worries... it doesn't look much different. I intend to be wearing this same "outfit" for all following belly pictures to make comparison easier. And if I was TRULY neurotic (which you are all well aware I am...) I would be holding signs indicating how far along I am in the picture. That feature will be added next (ooooo, waiting with baited breath, I'm sure). Now for the disclaimer: No, my bangs are not sticking straight off the left side of my face. Yes, I am aware that is what it looks like... but nope... that would be a shadow. I was having a bad hair day... but not THAT bad of a bad hair day.

13 WEEKS