Because I LOVE Being On Bedrest...

Come on y’all, sing with me (all you LDS’ers will recognize this childhood song… ok, with some adjustments)…

Saturday is a special day,
It’s the day we get ready for bab-ies.
We purge the junk and we set up some shelves
And we call it our clean-the-garage-day.

Yes, Saturday was our project day. Nesting and all, I was intent on cleaning out the storage garage, putting up more storage shelves and generally purging all our unused junk. I mean, we have to have room for baby storage! In four hours we made huge progress and had were starting to wrap it up when I started having some troubling symptoms. Nothing super serious… that is, if I was having a “normal” pregnancy.
But I am not.
And Dr. Peri reminds me at every appointment that my pregnancy is extremely high-risk and I am to call him with questions or concerns of any type.

So after lying on the couch and arguing with myself for a period of time, I finally bit the bullet and called him. Luckily he was on call (I was not looking forward to explaining my history and why I would bother calling with these symptoms to one of his partners). He asked us to meet him at the Labor and Delivery ward of one of the hospitals in town. It had been 10 days since he had seen me and was concerned I may be starting to miscarry as a result of the twins being resorbed over my cervix.

So off we flew.
The charge nurse was expecting me and they got me right into a room.
Dr. Peri showed up a few minutes later.
The ultrasound showed three heartbeats.
We were all very relieved!

The other parameters were also normal.

My symptoms appear to be caused by inflammation which resulted from the loss of the twins. There is no evidence that I am in significant danger of imminent miscarriage, but I am not out of the woods yet. As a precaution, I am on “increased rest” again until my next appointment (Next Wednesday instead of this Wednesday).

After a stern lecture that “rest” means being horizontal, NOT sitting (Gravity is still working on your cervix when you are sitting, he reminded me), we were released to head home.

One important lesson I learned is that the L&D staff at this particular hospital (one of two I have to choose from with Level III NICUs in our area) is fabulous. They were friendly and helpful. An important nugget of information I will consider when deciding between the two hospitals.

Anyway, so went our inaugural (of what will hopefully be VERY, VERY few) trip to the L&D ward. I hope there is some good daytime tv on this week…

P.S. Matt single-handedly completed the project in style. We now have spotless garages, with plenty of storage. Ahhhh, such a relief.

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

10% Sad, 90% Relieved

(11w4d)
The fourth fetus had no heartbeat on the ultrasound today.

I feel a little sad to have lost another fetus, but it wasn't exactly shocking considering it has been behind for weeks now. In a way that some may not understand… I see this as a blessing.
A relief.
We can now focus on the three we have instead of constantly wondering what will happen to the twins and what complications they may cause for the other fetuses.

We have been praying to end up with the number of babies that I can safely carry.
And I believe this is our answer.

We have three thriving fetuses.
(as an aside, I keep wanting to call them "feti"... you know, like cacti...)

They are all measuring a few days ahead and their heartbeats are strong.
They all have nasal bones and normal nuchal translucency measurements(screening tests for Downs, Trisomy 18 and heart defects).
Blood work for screening will not be reliable in our situation (triplets and having just lost two other babies), so we are pleased that they all aced their first exam.

We are thrilled beyond measure.
And very, very grateful.

Dr. Peri thinks all three are girls—80% chance that each is a girl, which means 50% chance we are having three girls (poor, poor Matt-- you can start sending sympathy cards now :-) ). If you can read ultrasounds (and really... who can?) you can tell why he thinks so in the picture of Fetus B...

Fetus A


Fetus B


Fetus C


Because of the location of the twins, I remain at increased risk of miscarriage for another week. I will stay “down” for another couple of days, but by next week I can go back to “normal” triplet pregnancy activity until 20 weeks when I will stop work and be on “increased rest”. We know that by losing the twins, we are at higher risk for preterm labor than normal triplet pregnancies, so I plan on taking it easy.

My asthma has worsened since the pregnancy began, so my medication has been increased and I have seen some improvement. I have been downplaying my symptoms for the last four weeks although Matt and multiple friends have mentioned my breathing wasn’t right. I have now had a change in focus. My goal is no longer to be on the lowest possible amount of medication (on the off chance that the medication may cause problems with babies). My focus now is to be breathing well so that the babies get all the oxygen they need, and to be on as much medication as needed to keep me out of the hospital. So I have started to become more aggressive and I am seeing results.

All right… back to daytime tv…

Too Much of a Lazy Thing

I am finding that being forced to sit on the couch or in the recliner reading novels, editing photos and watching tv/movies is in many ways very similar to being told to eat massive amounts of high calorie foods that you have spent years training yourself to avoid.

Both sound fabulous on the surface.
Both get old very, very quickly.

There are projects around the house that I very much want to complete prior to being put on “real” bedrest. These include (but oh, no… are not limited to) organization of the garage, installing new shelves, purging of the articles that have been stored in the room which will become the nursery, and the culling through and paring down of my pictures and keepsakes from childhood. And it can be frustrating to feel all right… and be stuck at home… but be unable to tackle any of these tasks. So instead I find myself making long lists of projects to be completed and purchases to be made.

For example, a few weeks ago I started digitalizing the pictures I have of my childhood. The process includes a lot of bending and lifting, both of which I am not to do for the next week or so. Before the babies come, I hope to complete keepsake books of my childhood, and one covering Mr. Sassy’s childhood. I also intend to complete books covering our marriage, including separate books for each of our major trips. Yes, I have massive amounts of work to complete. But I am well aware that if these projects are not completed before the babies arrive… it will be years before I will likely be able to work on them.

I am hoping to at least finish the book on our Africa trip that I have started, since all of the pictures are already digitalized and only need editing and organizing into the book. And if I get REALLY bored, I might even be able to finish the book on our Iceland and China trips.

One can always dream…

I did leave the house long enough today to buy a dozen K.rispy K.reme donuts.
And on Monday I intend to visit the local C.innabon to buy several cinnamon rolls…
But otherwise I have added back in several fruits and veggies a day. In many ways I am trying to follow Dr. Luke’s diet(a specialized diet for women having twins, triplets or quads)… but just getting extra calories in since I am behind.

I have been watching a steady diet of “J.on and K.ate plus 8” episodes, and documentaries. I watched an interesting two hour special on the assassination of MLK Jr which had many details of which I was previously not aware. I have also managed to fit in a few foreign language films… good for my german. I have not yet stooped to daytime court shows or soap operas. But then again… I suppose it is just a matter of time.

The best part of this weekend (besides, of course, that it is General Conference weekend which means 1) I wasn't scheduled to teach Gospel Doctrine so I didn't have to run around to find a substitute and 2) It is a pajama sunday anyway!)?

There is an IndyCar race tomorrow. :-)

And Then There Were... Four

The ultrasound this afternoon showed "just" four heartbeats.
Runt is no longer with us.

It isn't exactly a surprise, but feels like a small loss nonetheless.
A bittersweet loss as it appears that having "only" four fetuses may increase the chances of survival of the remaining babies.
The other twin is still behind, but is hanging in there.
The other three look "beautiful" per Dr. Peri. We are grateful for that!

Dr. Peri has put me on "increased rest" until my ultrasound next week which essentially means I will be on a steady diet of novels and daytime tv. As I remain 15-20 lb. behind the weight gain I should have for quads at this point... I will continue trying to shove as much food down as possible. I haven't totally given up on veggies, fruits and whole grains, but I try to add as many calories to it as possible. For example, I had a taco salad today and had beef, sour cream, guacamole added in addition to lots of cheese and then also ate the tortilla bowl. I can't seem to choke down more than a hamburger every few days, so I am having to be creative. I also added B.oost nutrition shakes not only to give me protein and calories, but also vitamins and minerals.

Just waiting to see where this rollercoaster drops us off...