The DeZutter Seven

Happy 1st Birthday!!!!

2006-11-25T09:29:00.000-06:00

Well, we survived the first year of having 5 kids. It should all be downhill from here, right?

There's a video of the triplets birthday party that I am working on, but we've had a sick household for quite awhile and it's been tough to get it uploaded and edited.

Jason is officially walking! WOO HOO Tessa is getting close. Andrew is catching up.

I'll let you enjoy all the pictures. I'll try to write more soon.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The Real Harry Potter??????

SNOW IN OCTOBER!!!!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY NOAH!!!

Andrew

Tessie

Jason

Summer's over - where did it go???

2006-09-24T10:09:00.000-05:00

We are now over 10 months old! Where has this past year gone?

Tyler turned 5 a few weeks ago and Noah turns 3 in a few weeks. The babies are almost 10 1/2 months old! They have both adjusted to going to school very well. Noah had some struggles in the beginning, but he LOVES all the stuff they get to do!!
Tyler and Noah on their first day of school

Jason and Tessa now each have 6 teeth - poor Andrew is still lagging behind with NONE, but his bottom two should be popping thru any day now!

Andrew has been in therapy now for about 4 weeks and he has gone from not being able to get his chest off the ground to CRAWLING!! Woo hoo! Way to go Andrew!!! The therapists say if he keeps up his progress, he will be released from further sessions SOON!!!

Tessa - my only girl - decided to be the first one in the DeZutter household to require stitches - IN HER TONGUE!!!! She fell on a toy and bit her tongue and required 3 stitches and a late night trip to the ER! Go Figure!!!

Tessa and her big brother, Tyler

Tessa and Jason trying to stand

Jason having fun (no wonder he has the nickname "Trouble"

Tyler and Grandpa showing off the fish they caught together

Tyler and Noah in front of Uncle Rich's "race car"

Tyler and Noah at Day Out with Thomas

See how well they listen?(read the sign behind Tyler)

Tessa wants a bath too!

Fun with bouncy chairs and I think Andrew found a Cheerio

Tyler and Noah at Tyler's birthday party

Free Baby Rides!!

All 5 in the tub!

Hundreds of toys and it's the throw rug and the vent they want to play with!

Tessa's wild and crazy hair!!

Grandma took us (Tyler, Noah, and me) to a Waterpark down in Utica, IL in August. Here's some pictures from that trip.

Na ne's new house (according to Noah)

The waterpark

Grandma and the boys

The train that took us to our cabin and to the waterpark

Noah found the easy way to play mini golf (who needs a club!!)

Mom and her two boys

Grandma, Tyler, Noah, my brother Danny, his daughter, Elizabeth, and my sister, Sandy

Up on top of Starved Rock

Fun in the jacuzzi tub!

Havin' fun in the cabin

Our Room

Grandma's room

The downstairs

July Update

2006-07-26T09:23:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

It's been awhile since I posted. The babies are now about 8 1/2 months old!

Jason is a master crawler now. He is attempting to pull himself up on EVERYTHING he can find and try to stand and walk! YIKES! He can go from laying on his belly to a sitting position quite well now too. Jason has two teeth and we are expecting two more any day now. Jason is a very physical baby and reminds me a lot of Tyler, alhtough his looks are starting to favor Noah a bit more. He is definitely the most ticklish of the three. He can also hold his own bottle now.

Tessa is still in the army crawl stage, but she is quick and LOVES LOVES LOVES any toy that Tyler and Noah leave lying around!!! Tessa also likes to babble a lot and has "da da" "ba ba" and even an occasional "ma ma". She is also the leader of the pack as far as teeth go. She has 4 with another 2 starting to make their presence known. Tessa is entranced by anything and everything Tyler does. She will giggle and squeal the moment she sees him and if he plays with her, her belly laughs can be heard throughout the house.

Andrew continues to be a little behind his brother and sister. He can roll and is just now attempting to move himself around a bit. He is scheduled to be evaluated for some physical and occupational therapy in the next week or two to help him catch up to his brother and sister. Right now, they trample all over him. He is a very content little man though, and is just as sweet as can be. He loves to be held and to watch his older brothers too and especially likes it when they tickle him!

All three babies are doing well eating. They are learning how to "self feed" by picking up little pieces of food and getting them to their mouths.

Tyler and Noah continue to amaze me with how well they have adjusted to having three babies around. I think Tyler is going to be especially ecstatic when they start chasing them around. Noah, on the other hand, is going to have a hard time sharing his cars! :-)

Tyler is about to enter his last year of preschool and Noah is starting his first (August 21st). Tyler has also been taking swimming lessons and has just blossomed in the pool. He is like a little fish and even Noah has surprised us with his love for water this year.

Things are running as smoothly as they can in the DeZutter Household and most days are good days!

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Jason getting into trouble

Fun with spaghetti

The boys standing with mommy

Jason and Noah

Tyler and the crew (Andrew on the bottom)

Tyler and Brandi (the Nanny)

Noah showing off his cars and his "mad" face

The Whole Crew

Tessa and Andrew going after the boys toys

After a long walk in the triple jogger

Jason playing with Grandma

Noah holding Tessa and Tyler holding Jason

Tyler, Noah and Brandi showing off their "Cars" tattoos

Andrew

Tyler and Noah with Tessa

Tyler and Noah with Andrew

Tyler and Noah with Jason

Andrew giggling

Tessa stuck under the exersaucer with Andrew above

All Bellies are full

Andrew and Jason sitting

Bathtime Fun

Fun in the Pool

Three Little Monkeys all in a row

Just a few pictures...

2006-06-23T08:20:00.000-05:00

A month of firsts

2006-05-30T21:37:00.000-05:00

We've had so many new things happen in the past month, I don't even know where to start.

Tessa and Jason are rolling all over the place and Jason has even started to crawl here and there - although he goes backwards and not forwards! LOL

Tessa got her first tooth and the first tooth of the bunch.

Andrew can now roll over too and is becoming much more lively. We took him off all his reflux meds and he is doing beautifully!

They are now all eating solid foods and doing wonderful. Jason is a champion eater and can probably put away twice as much as his brother Andrew. Tessa runs a pretty close second.

Jason has held is own bottle on occassion and both Tessa and Jason are doing well learning to hold a sippy cup (with handles) and drinking from that.

We have a new nanny (Brandi) and she is absolutely wonderful too! We couldn't have asked for someone better (okay, we asked over and over, and God finally answered!)

At their 6 month appointment, the boys were 17 lbs 5 ozs (Andrew) and 17 lbs 4 ozs (Jason). They are now over 18 lbs. Tessa was 15 lbs 9 ozs at 6 months and is now over 16 lbs!

Andrew's heart murmur is almost gone! YAY! They all still have blue eyes.

Nanee (Grandma) finally quit smoking! YAY YAY YAY

Grandma and Grandpa (from Florida) are up visiting from Florida and getting their first taste of life with triplets! :-) They are getting lots of smiles and giggles.

Well, I know you all just come to see the pictures...so here's a whole bunch!

Carrie

A House full of Love

2006-04-29T20:32:00.000-05:00

More to come soon!

We have a winner!

2006-04-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

We finally have a winner in the "who will be the first to roll over" contest here at the DeZutter house.

All bets have been placed (just kidding of course) and it was a pretty close race! But that race is officially over as of April 15th, 2006......

The winner is......

Do you really want to know??????

Is the suspense just killing you??????????

Was it Jason? Andrew? Tessa?

You'll find out below! :-)

PRINCESS TESSA!!!

P.S. Auntie Linda, you were right!!!!! :-)

We oughta be in commercials!

2006-04-11T16:41:00.000-05:00

Clearly Tessa is bored and Andrew doesn't like what they were talking about!

On our way to our commercial audition!

Noah insisting that his butt is not showing and his pants ARE pulled up!

Jason and Andrew just chillin'

Noah helping give Andrew a bath!

Tyler and Noah being silly!

Our friend, Sammy, practicing to be a big brother (and doing a good job with Andrew)

SHHHHHHH!!!!!

Noah helping give Tessa a bath

Andrew and Jason checking each other out!

Andrew wearing something besides a sleeper!

Look at that big tummy on Tessa!

Andrew and Tessa just hanging around

Jason showing off his Tommy Hilfiger shirt

Wow! Here we are - the triplets are already 5 months old! Where has the time gone? Oh, wait, I know....to feeding, changing, and burping these babies! LOL

At about 4 1/2 months old, the babies stats were as follows:

Andrew was 15 lbs 10 ounces and 26 1/4 inches long
Jason was 15 lbs 5 ounces and 26 inches long (no fair since he was still a little sick, I think he's just as heavy! LOL)
And wee little Tessa isn't so little anymore - she was 13 lbs 8 ounces and 25 inches long!

All of them are meeting their milestones - we've got giggles, smiles, and grabbing of objects. They seem to especially like my hair and necklace in particular. We even think Andrew may have rolled over once, but we're not sure (it was in the middle of the night right after we got home from his bout with pneumonia, so I can't be positive I didn't flip him on his belly at some point in the night). So, technically, the race is still on. Andrew and Jason can get about 1/2 way over, but just can't figure out how to make that final leg toss to get all the way over. All three of them are starting to make attempts at holding their bottles. For anyone that thinks feeding one baby is hard, try doing it times 3 (you're welcome here anytime LOL)....it takes so much time and effort to move their hands and get the bottle in before they get them back there! LOL It's quite comical actually. They are all doing well at holding their heads up and are also trying to sit up! These babies want to MOVE!!!!

We've finally gotten some warmer weather and have started putting something on the trips besides sleepers. Tessa actually got dressed up in a girlie girl outfit for the first time EVER! Unfortunately, she spit up on it before I could get a picture!

Our big news is that the triplets might be in a commercial for a restuarant called Old Country Buffet. They are doing a commercial with a play on words...something to the effect of "why have one when you can have multiples?". We were contacted by a casting company and took them down for an audition (where everyone was ooohhing and ahhhing on how cute they were). Of course, they were on their best behavior and were giving smiles and giggles all around! There is a call back next week for the final decision. And the commercial will actually be shot on May 1st. We all know the DeZutter trips are cute enough for the big screen - does the rest of the world???????

Stay tuned for the next update!

Have a wonderful Easter!

Quick Update (sorry, no pictures)

2006-03-22T21:56:00.000-06:00

After three long days in the hospital, Andrew is finally back home with us. He had a pretty severe bout of pneumonia, but with agressive treatment and lots of prayers, he has fought back and is now home with all his siblings once again. We still have a pretty agressive treatment schedule for him over the next few days, but he is our little trooper!

Jason and Tessa are struggling with the same nasty virus that put Andrew in the hospital, but we are agressively treating them with steroids, nebulizer treatments, and antibiotics to keep it at bay. Hopefully, they will not follow in Andrew's footsteps and end up in the hospital.

Noah and Tyler have also been sick, but seemed to fair much better than their younger siblings.

On a silly note, Andrew was constantly referred to as "oh, he's one of the triplets! How exciting!" I think everyone that came in contact with us while we were in the hospital knew our story! LOL News certainly does travel fast! :-)

Thank you to all who have prayed for them (and us) during the last week. We could not survive these valleys without you lifting us up in prayer.

Smiles and more....

2006-03-10T20:25:00.000-06:00

Jason

Tessa sleeping

Andrew smiling at grandpa

Tyler and Noah lovin on Andrew

Tessa telling Tyler to pay attention!

Noah, Andrew, Jason, and Tessa

Noah feeding Jason

Tyler serious about feeding Tessa

Tessa and Jason

Andrew in the basket

Noah lovin on Andrew

Jason smiling at the puppies in his swing!

My....look at how we've grown!!!

2006-03-02T18:54:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the long time between updates. It has been a little rough to get onto the computer for any length of time lately! I can't imagine why!

The triplets are growing by leaps and bounds! They are now 3 1/2 months old, and sleeping for about 7-9 hours at night (oh, what a blessing that is!). The boys are close to - if not over - 15 lbs (we'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks) and "little" Tessa is now around 12-13 lbs!

We've started getting lots of smiles and even a few giggles from the crowd! How rewarding they are. As you can see, Tessa is still the little reigning princess around here and gets fawned over quite a bit! Her brothers are still madly in love with her (and she is in love with them too!)

Hopefully, now that they are sleeping a little bit better, I can get on to update a little more frequently.

One new year, two months old, 3 helpers, 4 long weeks, and 5 sick kids!

2006-01-24T09:32:00.000-06:00

January started off quite on the downside for us. The triplets ended up getting a cold - nothing major, but it made feeding times difficult. Then Tyler got pretty sick, then Noah, then the triplets....we had a scare with a nasty virus called RSV which can easily attack preemie babies and put them in a life threatening situation. Thankfully, all the babies (including my two older ones) are finally getting over all this sickness! It's only taken a month - and it's seemed like a very long month! Because of this virus, we had to basically put ourselves in quarantine and not let anyone in to help (except my niece Felicia, my dad - who was our saviour at night with the boys and stayed with us for 3 weeks, and now my aunt for a month).

The babies are growing like weeds and as you can see, their brothers still adore them (Tyler and Tessa especially! :-D) At their two month check up last week, the stats were:

Andrew weighing in at 11 lbs 3 ozs and 23 inches long
Jason weighing in at 10 lbs 10 ozs and 22 1/2 inches long
and Princess Tessa weighing in at 9 lbs exactly and 22 inches long.

They all barely missed doubling their birth weights by less than a lb!!!!

Just thought I'd drop a quick update with some new pictures. It's been quite hectic here and I'm going to try and get a shower while I can! :-)

Goodbye 2005....Hello 2006!

2005-12-31T22:15:00.000-06:00

As 2005 comes to a close, I find it hard not to reflect on what a year this has been for our family.

We went from discussing a 3rd child, to deciding 2 was enough, to finding out God had other plans for our family, and to discovering we would be adding 3 more to our family. Then came the pregnancy - probably some of the worst days of my life so far. It was a very long and difficult pregnancy, but the three beautiful, healthy babies that resulted were definitely worth it.

I struggled with so many things this year - especially my faith. In the beginning of the pregnancy, I often wondered, "why me, God?" "Why did you ruin my *perfect life* by doing this to me?" As the pregnancy progressed, I was blessed with so many revelations, about myself, about my life, and about some of the most amazing and wonderful people I never would have met had it not been for this pregnancy. I learned so many important lessons about what God has given me, and truly, can now say I am blessed by God. He has given me 3 new incredible gifts to the 2 I already had, and I truly cannot ask for more. The days are long, the nights even longer, but I cannot imagine my life without them and consider myself one of the luckiest people around.

When we moved here two years ago, God definitely knew he had big plans for us! Thankfully, He surrounded us with wonderful neighbors, found us a great little church, and connected us with the *right* people to love and support us through this pregnancy and beyond. For that, we are eternally greatful.

Since Tyler's surgery in September and a few "life lessons" for mom and dad, his health has drastically improved, he's gone through a major growth spurt and we've all managed to understand Tyler's spirit and work to better help all of us get along!

Noah is a typical 2 year old - sassy and wanting to do everything on his own! His speech is truly amazing - he talks just as well as Tyler does now.

Both boys are doing amazingly well with their three new siblings. There are bumps in the road, but this house now has so much love we are overflowing.

I hope I can someday repay all that has been given to me - through friendship, support, donations, prayers, love, faith, guidance and most of all, His Grace and Love above all else.

I do not know what God has in store for our family in 2006, but I do know I trust Him more now than ever before. For now, I wish you peace, love, happiness, and grace in 2006.

One month old already!!!

2005-12-15T22:47:00.000-06:00

Sorry about not getting new pictures up sooner. I was having trouble getting them uploaded to the site for awhile and I still don't know why. I can't add more than a handful of pictures even now, without losing stuff, so I put some of the cutest ones up just to entice everyone, and the rest can be seen here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CbNmzRw5ZMY2&notag=1

There are a few pictures of when Dan and the boys (and Felicia too!) went to cut down our Christmas tree. The rest are from the last week or so. Noah is in love with Tessa and that's Tyler and Noah checking out Andrew who is definitely checking out Tyler and Noah. Jason was conked out for those shots, but he's a ham...he'll be in the next batch!

They are one month old already! Where has the time gone? Oh, yeah, to lost sleep! Ha ha!! We are all surviving and just chugging along. Tyler and Noah are adapting very well to their three little siblings and they continue to be very good helpers. Whenever one of the babies cries, Noah runs over to whoever is closest and says "Hurry, your baby is crying! Go get him/her!" They both love to hug and kiss the babies a lot! Tyler is an expert at calming crying babies by rubbing their heads or "bouncing" them in their bouncies! He is so proud when they stop crying!

We are looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas as a family of 7, although it still feels like a dream!

The babies have all been doing well. God blessed us with three very calm and easy babies so far. Let's hope and pray it continues. As of today, Andrew is 7 lbs 13 ozs (up from 6 lbs 1 oz at birth). Jason is 7 lbs 6 ozs (up from 5 lbs 8 ozs at birth). And Tessa is up to 6 lbs 9 ozs (up from 4 lbs 12 ozs at birth). Typically, they like to see a gain of 1 lb per month for babies in their first 6 months of life...so the trio is already exceeding expectations!

Keep checking back...I'll update as often as I can!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled with triple blessings from God! :-)

Snuggled up for comfort!

2005-11-29T20:10:00.000-06:00

Here's the trio at 2 weeks old....all snuggled up for comfort! Tessa and Jason wiggled their way over to Andrew...just like they were in the womb! So cute!

Also, here's a picture of big brother Tyler helping take care of Jason! He takes his job very seriously!

Ahhhhh....what a difference a week makes!

2005-11-23T18:17:00.000-06:00

"Peanut" Tessa
"Moose Brother #1" - Andrew
"Moose Brother #2" - Jason
Me - one week postpartum

Here's just a few pictures to wet your appetite....two of me just one week later. Yes, I can actually fit into a few pairs of my jeans already! WOO HOO BABY!!!

Would you believe it's been one week already since Andrew, Jason, and Tessa joined our family and nearly doubled us in size? It's hard to believe that those 3 babies fit into my stomach a week ago!

It has been a wonderful and long week, but we are all settling in very nicely. Tyler and Noah are doing wonderfully with the babies and especially love their baby sister, Tessa! All they ever want to do is hold Tessa, feed Tessa, get Tessa's diaper, lay with Tessa....it's really quite cute! Daddy is quite smitten with little "Peanut" Tessa too. I, of course, being the typical woman, am madly in love with my "Moose Brothers", Andrew and Jason.

Nursing is going wonderfully, and we are well on our way to being exclusively breastfed triplets! Hopefully, in another week or two, I will be able to feed and pump as well so that others can help and I can get some rest. The babies all had to be on the bilirubin lights for a couple of days due to jaundice. We are lucky enough to get a home health care nurse coming out to the house so we don't have to drag the triplets out every day and wait the wait that comes with hospitals! As of today, the babies have recovered about 3-4 ounces of what they lost and should easily catch up to their birthweights by the two week mark (a benchmark the pediatricians like to set).

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! We have a lot to be thankful for this year!

Here are some new pictures - Days 3 and 4

2005-11-21T21:12:00.000-06:00

Newest pictures of the triplets. The first picture is labeled wrong, but I don't have enough time to go and fix it....it is Tessa and Jason. The rest are all labeled so you can see who's who!

Hope you enjoy!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CbNmzRw5ZMXK

Day #2

2005-11-17T23:04:00.000-06:00

Day #2 and all is well. Carrie is up and about. The highlight of her day was the shower she got to take about noon today. The doctor said if she could get around and keep some food down, then she could do it. She is healing well.

The babies are all doing great. They have all been breastfeeding well. Jason has already proven to be the hog of the bunch - he latches on and won't let go for a long time. The hardest part is keeping them awake while eating. Between shots, vitals, blood tests, etc., the babies are quite exhausted.

Tyler and Noah have visited the hospital twice now and are thrilled with their new brothers and sister. They constantly want to hold them and Tyler is very eager to feed them bottles. They will make excellent big brothers.

The doctor indicated that Carrie should come home on Sunday. As of now, the pediatricians have indiciated the babies will all come home with her (yikes). There are only two concerns. Tessa's bilirubin levels are a bit high so she has a chance for jaundice (jaundice usually shows up in preemies at 4-6 days). This would likely mean she has to stay a couple extra days under the lights. Andrew also has a small heart murmur - this is very common in newborns and will likely clear up in a couple days. It has to do with the transition from being in a liquid enviornment to a breathing envoronment.

Thank you all for the encouraging notes of congratulations!

2005-11-16T20:54:00.000-06:00

We are happy to announce the arrival of the DeZutter triplets.

Born on Wed 11/16/06

Please welcome:

Andrew Case (formerly known as Baby A) who weighed in at 6lbs 1oz and is 19 inches long at 9:38am

Jason Richard (formerly known as Baby C) who weighed in at 5 lbs 8 oz and is 18 inches long at 9:40 am

and

Tessa Marlene (formerly known as Baby B) who weighed in at 4lbs 11 oz and is 17 1/2 inches long at 9:41 am

Mom and babies are are doing well and resting at Lutheran General in Park Ridge, IL.

Tyler, Noah and Daddy are all excited to be bringing everyone home soon.

Thank you for all your well wishes, prayers, and blessings. You have no idea what it has meant to our family.

Last post before the babies arrive!!

2005-11-15T09:00:00.000-06:00

Well, we are just under 24 hours now before the triplets arrive via scheduled c-section at 9:00 Wednesday morning at Lutheran General Hospital! I suddenly feel like I have so much to do and so much to prepare for! I feel like this huge weight is about to be lifted off my shoulders and I can't wait to feel "normal" again! I know it's going to be a lot of work when these babies come home, but at least I will be "me" again and not this strange woman who can barely walk across the street to visit her neighbors without losing her breath and needing a 3 hour nap afterwards.

Final stats on me, as of Monday's dr visit, were a total of 33 lbs gained, blood pressure was stable, no real swelling, babies were all still moving around in there well. Got to see them all breathing and pushing on each other. Dr says it's a very good possibiltiy that all 3 will be coming home with us when I get released. YIKES! WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?????!! I am not too sure about that, but am trying not to lean one way or another and just go with the flow instead (I think we are going to have minor issues like jaundice and or feeding issues that will cause them to remain a few more days, but that's okay. I can deal with that).

Tyler is very excited. He woke me up this morning, hugging my belly and saying "Only one more day and the babies will be out! I'm ready, mom!" Isn't that just so sweet? He keeps talking about all the things he has to "teach" them, just like he did with Noah. Awwwww! Our house now officially looks like a baby gear factory with 3 of everything sitting around! LOL

Dan will be making a post sometime Wednesday afternoon when he gets home from the hospital. Hopefully, he will have the first pictures of the babies for everyone to see!

Here is the last shot of me pregnant - EVER! All my maternity clothes are already out of my closet and packed away. I refuse to wear them even one more day! I am in a big old sweatshirt and sweatpants today, and plan to be that way on the way to the hospital tomorrow morning at 6:30 am...UGH.

Thanks for all your support, all your prayers, and your friendship, love, and pick me ups when I needed them most! I may have carried these babies, but without you, I never would have made it this far! Thank you!

God Bless you all.

4 more days - don't think I am going to make it!

2005-11-12T13:45:00.000-06:00

Sorry for not posting any updates....

am feeling pretty crappy....I had some pretty severe leg/hip pain on Thursday and Friday which was making my foot go numb. I even got stuck in the bathtub and Dan had to come and rescue me! LOL They gave me some narcotic drug to help me rest. It certainly does help me rest, but boy it knocks me out - AND gives me major contractions, so I have basically been laying in bed.

Because of the drugs, they want to see me one more time on monday to make sure the babies are still moving (they are).

I can't move, I feel like crap, every part of my body aches, Noah threw up this morning (although both boys are on antibiotics already), both boys woke up at 6:15, and the drugs make me feel like I am in fog.....ugh....how the heck am I supposed to survive 4 more days???????????????? (yeah, this is just me whining and complaining!!)

I think these 4 days are the hardest of my life so far!

8 more days - Not that I'm counting

2005-11-08T16:13:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update from my dr appointment from yesterday....

I went from measuring 45 weeks last week, to 53 this week! HOLY COW- Yeah, I'd say those babies are growing. I feel like it's all just baby parts now.

Everything else was good. Minimal swelling, I gained 1 1/2 lbs (finally got over the 30 lb mark!), which I am convinced is all baby at this point. BP was good too and babies were squirming. Can't really see much at this stage because they are so squished. I think the coolest thing is still seeing all 3 of their heads kinda smooshed together. It's like they are bonding and chatting about stuff already!

I am still having contractions at about the same time every night. My back gets really sore and I have contractions for about 2-3 hours after dinner, then everything settles down again.

I got all my paperwork for my c-section today and wow, it just made it so real! We have to be there at 7:00 am, and the c-section will be at 9:00 am, so we should have babies by like 9:01!

Just for kicks....pictures from when I was full term with Noah

2005-11-07T11:48:00.000-06:00

I found some pictures of when I was full term with Noah...now that puts the belly in perspective. He was a big baby at 23 inches and 9 lbs 4 ounces!

34 weeks 1 day - some new pictures - 10 days to go!

2005-11-06T09:25:00.000-06:00

Here's some new pictures of my big old belly. We added a basketball so you can get some reference as to how big my belly actually is!

Babies are all doing well. No new updates. I go to the dr twice a week, but basically, it's just to make sure they are all still moving around in there and a 5 minute visit with the dr. I am meeting all the other dr's now (just in case) as mine has been on vacation the last week. I have two more appointments this week and then that's it until my c-section on the 16th.

I have been absolutely miserable and exhausted this past week especially. You have no idea how ready I am to meet these babies and get my body back. I have an ear infection in my right ear now and had a yeast infection (which has thankfully cleared up). Just another day in the life of a triplet pregnancy! ;-)

I think my favorite picture is the one of Tyler. That's basically him standing against my legs trying to see over my belly!

Baby Weights - 32 weeks 5 days

2005-10-27T22:36:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update.....had the measurement ultrasound today.

Baby A - boy on the bottom is a big beast at an estimated 4 lbs 10 ozs. Measuring about 34 weeks.

Baby B - girl on the right is the "tiny" one at exactly 4 lbs. Measuring right at 33 weeks.

Baby C - boy on the left is right in the middle at 4 lbs 2 ozs. Measuring right about 33 weeks (and 1 day).

All are doing well and doc said they are "very big for triplets" and are doing extremely well. He is very pleased with our progress. Says we could easily have 5-6 lbers if we make it to the c-section date!

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox for winning the World Series! Go Sox! You Rule!

Mark your calendars!!!

2005-10-24T21:29:00.000-05:00

Had another appointment today. Everything is going well. Babies were all moving around well, breathing, and the little hearts were beating away. Funny thing is, I think they are quietest when I go to the dr. They kick and punch and beat me up all the way there, but once I lay down for that ultrasound, they seem to like to fall asleep!

Weight is about 27-28 lbs total. My belly is so big that I had to stand on the scale backwards because I kept bumping the scale! LOL I am measuring 46 weeks, which I guess isn't too bad considering I look like a beached whale (and feel like one too!). Blood pressure is good at 120/70. No real swelling going on (my feet are a little swollen, but with three babies pressing down, I can understand why) and my cervix is still holding between a 1 and a 2.

I got to make our final 5 appointments.....can you believe it? I go again on Thursday to get measurements on the babies. After that, I have 4 more appointments and then the c-section on November 16th at 9:00 am!!!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!! Also got the news there will be no more cervix checks until that last appointment before the c-section! There is a God, LOL! I hate those things more than anything!!

I also don't have to check my blood sugar anymore, just maintain the diet I am on now. Woo Hoo.

Let's see, what else? Oh, if I make it to my schedulced c-section, I will be 35 weeks and 4 days. Dr says there is a 50/50 chance of each baby coming home with us at the end of my 4 days there, or a 1 in 8/9 chance all 3 babies will make it home without any extended NICU time! WOW! That's both exciting and scarey all at once. Dr also said he still doesn't believe I'm going to make it that far, but what does he know!? Certainly, he doesn't know how stubborn I am! ;-D

My ear infection is not completely cleared up and I also have a cold. Dr said I will probably not get rid of the ear infection completely until after I give birth (that bites) because of all the other stuff that is going on in my body, it's having a hard time healing the ear. I keep seeing the ENT about once a week or so, just to keep it in check and keep me on horse pills of antibiotics. I guess things could be worse, though.

3 more weeks....that's it. Mark your calendars. I'll be back on Thursday with updates on how big they think the babies are!!

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures (31-32 weeks)

2005-10-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

Several of you have asked for updated pictures, so here you go...

http://dezutter.shutterfly.com/action/

You can also view them by clicking on the link to the right underneath links

31 weeks 3 days.......can you see the light?

2005-10-18T15:46:00.000-05:00

I can!!!

Everything is still going well. I am still at about one plus centimeters dialated - no real change. Didn't gain any weight since last time...still holding at 24-25 lbs for the entire pregnancy.

I also have a little more freedom and don't have to be on "complete" bedrest. I am allowed to get up and move around, sit and eat dinner, go outside and enjoy the weather, etc. Just no marathons, and no trips around the block...not that I could waddle that far anyway. LOL

I only have a few pictures which I will try to scan tomorrow. They did not measure for weights or anything like that today - it was just a quickie appointment to make sure everyone was still hanging on inside and doing well.

I also no longer have to test my blood sugar 4 times a day...just in the mornings because we have been able to control things with diet. YAY

We go back again on Monday for another "quickie" apointment and then again on Friday for measurements and heart tones, growth, etc. Then we get to pick my c-section date! :D

Right now, we have a tentative date of November 15th for my c-section. I will be 35 weeks 3 days at that point. Wow, 28 days left to go. Less than a month. 4 weeks away.....wow, where has the time gone.

Check back in a day or two.....I've been working on a special update to my blog and hope you will all enjoy it.

Thanks as always for all the love and support you have shown us during this pregnancy. It means more than you can ever know.

Update on my ear infection!

2005-10-13T15:02:00.000-05:00

I have an inner AND an outer ear infection. My ear is swollen shut, and I MAY have a perforated eardrum....they can't tell because the outer part of my ear is so swollen they couldn't even get the tools in there to see. They are going on the assumption that the eardrum burst.

So, now I am on Augmentin 800 mg 3 times a day - can you say "ripping my stomach to shreds?", plus antibiotic drops for my ears PLUS steroid drops. They put a wic (Sp?) in my ear (which hurt like heck when they put it in) to absorb the drops because my ear was so swollen the drops wouldn't go in. Then they packed my ear with something else to keep the drugs from leaking out. UGH...it was very painful, but they said I should see great improvement in the next two days. If I don't see improvement by Saturday, I have to go back THAT DAY. They are worried about the infection spreading to other parts of my body and affecting the babies - and it could also prompt preterm labor.

Oh, and they also told me I have a deviated septum which probably *helped* make my ear infection worse.

30 week update! Can you believe it?

2005-10-06T18:47:00.000-05:00

Here it is, the big 30 week update! Can you believe we've made it this far? I am currently 29 weeks 5 days.

Everything is looking great with the babies.

Baby A (boy) is measuring 30 weeks 5 days and estimated weight is 3 lbs 8 ounces.

Baby B (girl) is measuring 30 weeks 2 days and estimated weight is 3 lbs 2 ounces.

Baby C (boy) is measuring 30 weeks exactly and estimated weight is also 3 lbs 2 ounces.

It's hard to believe I have almost 10 lbs of baby inside of me already! Holy Cow! I am up to 24 lbs total now, partly because of the cooler weather and more clothes on than during the summer and partly because of the steroid shots I received.

I have an ear infection in my left ear (of course it has to be in the left ear, because that's the one I am supposed to sleep on all the time!). *sigh* And now have antibiotics to take for the next ten days. My ear is killing me too!

I have ultrasound pictures, just a few, as they are getting too big to fit into the screen. We have profile shots of all 3 and then the tech was able to get one picture of *almost* all three heads in the same shot (you can't see all 3 full heads, but you can see them all butting up against each other).

I also have updated belly pictures - taken today. My belly is measuring at 43 weeks compared to a singleton pregnancy. Yikes! You also get to see all my lovely stretch marks.

I've also included some pictures of Tyler and Noah's new bunkbeds and are new hardwood floors. Pictures of Tyler and Noah blowing out their birthday cake the other day are there, as well as pictures of the nursery in progress. The colors are in there and painted (lavender on the top, greenish/yellow on the bottom, light blue ceiling - border to follow).

I go back to the dr in 12 days for the next appointment, then after that it will be twice weekly until the babies make their entrance.

All pictures can be found by clicking on the link to the right.

6 weeks and counting.

Happy 2nd Birthday Noah!!

2005-10-04T18:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday my sweet angel! I can't believe you are two today!!

Noah had a wonderful birthday walking around singing happy birthday to everyone but himself!!!

Felicia made him a cake and some cookies - she is such a Godsend.

We took a few pictures with our newly fixed camera which arrived just today (perfect timing), but we don't have the whole computer set up yet, so you'll have to wait in suspense a few more days.

Home Sweet Home

2005-10-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the blackout - we were basically without internet access for the past week and a half. We had new floors put in the three kids bedrooms and the living room and dining room and everything was a disaster around here. We also had to spend 3 days at our neighbor's house (thanks again, Debbie and Bryan), so it was total chaos.

Tyler had his follow up appointment with the dr on Saturday (following surgery). Everything looks great - throat, nose, and ears! YAY! Dr said the biopsy on Tyler's tonsils showed they were "pretty infected" and "full of bacteria" so "it was a good thing we took them out". That makes us feel so much better about putting him thru surgery. He is back to school today, and of course, it was a difficult transition as he has been home with me AND daddy for over a week.

Hopefully, all these changes will help us get thru the winter without being sick for 3 months! Hopefully, this will let Tyler sleep better, and we can all rest more comfortably.

Good news is, a friend of my brother's came and painted the nursery for us (thanks, Ken), and we were able to get a lot of that room situated and taken care of. We have to put some kind of closet system in, and put up a border or something, but that's pretty much it.

Bad news is, we all seem to have caught colds around here (so far, daddy and Noah seem to have gotten it the worst). That hasn't helped with all these transitions, but we're still plowing thru.

Already got the bills for my 5 day hospital stay a few weeks ago, as well as Tyler's surgery. Let's just say it was quite a shocker and thank God for insurance. Between Tyler and I, we managed to *spend* almost $20,000 at the local hospitals! It doesn't surprise me about Tyler's surgery, but the fact that 5 days in the hospital for me, for basically laying in bed and having people bring me food, monitor me twice a day for contractions, and bring me a prenatal vitamin and my other medicine cost over $2000 a DAY!!! I can't even imagine what the babies hospital stay is going to cost! YIKES! I am now working with a case worker at our insurance company to make sure everything we can possibly get covered will be covered.

Tyler and Noah are now sharing a room with bunk beds (thanks, Theresa for mentioning Kid's Furniture to us!) and are having a ball. Tyler thinks it is very cool to get to "climb the ladder like the firemen do" and he and Noah spend lots of time giggling together. They are really becoming quite the little buddies as Noah grows up and can do more things with Tyler. It's really quite cute.

We received a wonderful box of goodies from Maria Nelson's neighbor and are thrilled and awed by the generosity of others. God is wonderful and has blessed us so much. Thank you to everyone who has come into our lives and helped us and been there for us. We really do appreciate it more than you can imagine. There is no way we would be able to survive this pregnancy (and subsequent craziness that will surely insue here!) without all of you.

I have no new baby news. I have a dr appointment this Thursday and will be just shy of 30 weeks (wow, where has the time gone?). My belly is HUGE and I am very uncomfortable these days.

Unfortunately, I have no new pictures to share with you. During our moving of things, Tyler got a hold of our camera and dropped it, so it had to be sent in for repairs (thank goodness for warranties!). As soon as the camera comes back, I will be sure to get some new belly shots, pics of the nursery and Tyler and Noah's new bunk beds.

Will update again soon.

Updates on Tyler's surgery and my dr appointment

2005-09-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

Tyler had his tonsilectomy yesterday and all went extremely well. Dr Petchenik was very pleased with the outcome and I can already notice a difference in his breathing (he slept better last night than he has in MONTHS AND MONTHS). He is eating and drinking and even gets up for small bursts of energy (Usually when the Tylenol with Codeine kicks in LOL) for about 10-15 minutes at a time. He doesn't do much except maybe play with his trains, but it's a lot better than we were expecting.

He isn't talking much today and you can tell it hurts him to swallow, but he's been an amazing little guy through it all.

I had my follow up dr appointment today after being released on Saturday and the good news is.....

I am still the same! YAY!! I cm dilated and about 75 percent effaced. No changes, so I am still home! YAY!!! I don't go back to the dr (barring any complications) until October 6th for another detailed US looking at the babies growth and all the usual stuff. You cannot know how relieved I am to hear this (being in the hospital for an extended amount of time was and is my biggest fear). Next time I hit the dr's office, I will be just shy of 30 weeks. WOW! Where has the time gone? Soon, we're going to have 3 screaming, crying babies around here and we'll be pulling our hair out!

Thanks, as always, for all the prayers and well wishes. It certainly does mean a lot!

Volunteers and anyone interested in helping

2005-09-19T19:22:00.000-05:00

I know there are several people who have offerred to help when things got rough, and well, that times has come.

Our church, Alpine Chapel, in Lake Zurich, is coordinating efforts to bring us meals 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) so Dan doesn't stress too much.

Recently, there was another church member who had twin baby girls at 24 weeks (I posted about them in an earlier blog) and they have been coordinating meals for her and her husband. In order to not confuse the two families, they are looking for separate volunteers to keep the two of our families well fed and as stress free as possible.

If you read our blog and are interested in helping, please contact either Michelle Wilkes (she is coordinating and has been a Godsend to us) at smwilkes@earthlink.net or Debbie Mangurten (our neighbor and WONDERFUL helper who we are very grateful for) at weaver3480@sbcglobal.net so they can add you to the list and get things coordinated for us.

We are also looking for any preemie clothes and especially girl's clothes if anyone knows of any.

As always, we feel very blessed by all the prayers and help God has given us through friends and strangers who have touched our hearts. You will never know what it means to us.

Things are going well and I am obediently following dr's orders and laying around all day long.

Thanks as always. God bless all you faithful prayer warriors and friends.

27 weeks 1 day - a few days in the hospital and back home

2005-09-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for the prayers. I am home from the hospital as of Saturday afternoon. I am on anti-contraction medicine (nifedipine, which basically sucks) for the remainder of the pregnancy and if I progress further than 1 cm at any time in the near future, I will be in the hospital for the duration of the pregnancy.

They are no longer predicting me going to 36 weeks - it's still possible, but not likely. They will be thrilled if I make it to 30-32 weeks, and in heaven if I make it to 34. I got two steroid shots (those were some of the nastiest shots I've ever had to endure!!! YIKES!!!!) for the babies lungs and they said there is a very good survival rate without long term effects if the babies are born in the near future. They would just have a very long stay in the NICU - basically, they'd be there until they would be 38 weeks or so, which would be the beginning of December.I am still 1 cm dilated and about 80-90 percent effaced. They are not sure whether this is the beginning of true labor or if it is because I've been there done that twice already. Dr said I could walk around for months at 1 cm, or I could end up going tomorrow...there's no way to know. So, I am on very strict bedrest. I am allowed up for bathroom, 1 shower a day, and if I need to get myself some food. I am allowed up and down the stairs 2-3 times a day maximum, but obviously, the less the better.I'm praying that things hold out until after Tyler's surgery next week at the very earliest. we would obviously like to go further, but you just never know.

My stay in the hospital was very difficult on both Tyler and myself. There is a big part of me that feels I am neglecting Tyler and Noah even though I am in the hospital for the health of the babies. It's a double edged sword and very hard to come to terms with. The coming weeks are going to be difficult on the entire family, so if you could keep us in your prayers, we'd appreciate it.

I am now on weekly visits to the dr and go again on Thursday. I'll post as soon as I can, but Tyler's surgery is Wednesday, so I'm sure he'll be a handful.

In the Hospital

2005-09-13T16:52:00.000-05:00

It's the DH posting this time. Carrie was one cm dialated at the doctor's visit today so he admitted her to the hospital for monitoring. She doesn't think she is having any contractions, but they want to keep her on a monitor for a while to check. They are also giving her some sort of anti-contraction drug and a steroid (to help develop the babies's lungs) as precautionary measures. They will keep her until at least Friday morning. If she is able to come home after that, she will be on complete bed rest.

Happy 4th Birthday Tyler!!!

2005-09-09T09:07:00.000-05:00

Today is Tyler's 4th birthday! He was such a big boy - fighting back the tears - as we marched in to school with his goodies! The class pretty much mobbed him when he walked in the door because he was holding the cookies! LOL

We are going to his favorite restaurant for dinner - the Choo Choo restaurant. The deliver your food on a choo choo train! It's like an old 50's diner, with a train that runs around a track and delivers your food. He and Noah love it!

We've also finally decided that it is time for Tyler to have his tonsils removed. The surgery is scheduled for September 21st - very early in the morning. A visit with the ENT yesterday confirmed his tonsils are now covering about 75-85 percent of his throat, which is most likely causing several of his sleep issues, not to mention when he gets sick! They will probably also remove most of his adnoids, and will also look at reinserting tubes in his ears (we've been fortunate since April 2004, he has had only one ear infection and that was just about 3 weeks ago). The dr thinks we might not have to do that, but will look closer at them once he is sedated and make the decision then. Please pray this helps him breathe, sleep, and be more healthy.

In baby news -

No news is good news, right? I don't have a dr appointment until Tuesday afternoon, but I'm still here and the babies are still kicking the heck out of my belly. Tomorrow will be 26 weeks. Our chances of survival without any major complications are increasing every day. At most, we have 10 more weeks to go! I'll have a more detailed updated come Tuesday.

Oh, and we think we may have decided on some names! Shhhhhhh, I'm not telling yet!!!! ;0D

My energy level seems to be going downhill rapidly, as does my brain cell count! LOL

Please pray for Lisa Chan-Chamorro, her husband and her two twin babies. She went into labor this morning as one of the twin baby’s water bag broke. They are not sure if the baby will be born today, tomorrow, or next week. If the babies are born this week they have a 5% chance of survival--if they wait until next week it is 50%. She is at Evanston Northwest Hospital. She is 24 weeks along. Please pray the babies can survive. Pray also for strength for Lisa and Tom, as they are exhausted.

Please also pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

24 week belly shots

2005-08-27T21:40:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh, look at those stretch marks!!!! Don't worry - that is my shirt tucked up, not my bra! LOL I know they're not the best, but it's the best I can do right now.

24 weeks - the edge of viability

2005-08-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

I had my 24 week appointment yesterday.

My blood pressure was 80/50...I wish I knew why it goes so low during my pregnancies. One of these days I'm going to walk in and they are going to tell me I'm dead! LOL I have officially gained 13 1/2 lbs...whoopee! My cervix length has shortened by about 2 cm, but since I am still over 2 cm they are not worried. I was a *fingertip* dialated, but this was a different dr - a female - since my regular dr was on vacation (how dare him! LOL). She said it could be the difference in the size of their hands (man vs women, etc). I am not experiencing any cramping, contractions, bleeding, or anything else, plus I've carried 2 BIG healthy babies to term, so that is why they're not worried. I also started my glucose monitoring (Yippee! NOT), and so far so good. I'm not worried about it at all. I'll do what I've got to do for me and the babies.

I was lucky to get to see the babies on the US, as this was supposed to be a quick visit. But, they wanted to get measurements on the babies to make sure we were progressing normally. So, I have a lot of pics to scan in again. Be patient. I'll get them up soon. Big old beach ball belly pics will be up too (Dan took the camera today).

Baby A - Boy, was measuring at about 1 lb 8 ozs ("chunky") and is still laying at the bottom of my pelvis - his head is actually pressing on my cervix, so that's probably what caused the shortening. He is in the 42nd percentile compared to a singleton pregnancy.

Baby B - Girl, was measuring in at about 1 lb 5 ozs (the smallest of the bunch), and is waaaaaay over to my right side now. She doesn't move nearly as the big guy down in my pelvis. She is measuring in the 33rd percentile.

Baby C - Boy, is right smack in the middle and is about 1 lb 6 ozs. Funny thing is, babies A and B are all scrunched up, and the middle guy was stretched out as far as he could be - his feet kicking his brother, and his hands and head pushing on his sister! LOL His measurements put him in about the 37th percentile.

All their Choriod Plexus cysts are gone! YAY! We got to see all 4 chambers of their hearts and the blood flowing in and out - very cool!

We are at the very edge of viability right now. At 24 weeks, the babies would have about a 10-40 percent chance of survival, but could have lifelong serious medical problems. From what I have read, it varies depending on boy vs girl (girls mature faster even in utero! :^D), whether or not they can get a round or two of steriods to help lung growth in before delievery, and weight of the babies when they are born (the bigger the better, obviously). We've made it to our *first* goal. Hopefully, things will continue to go well, and we can kiss 24 weeks goodbye with no major complications.

Chances for Survival

Completed weeks of gestation at birth Survival
21 weeks and less 0%
22 weeks <<1%
23 weeks 5-25%
24 weeks 10-40%
25 weeks 50-80%
26 weeks 80-90%
27 weeks >90%
30 weeks >95%
34 weeks >98%

A baby’s chances for survival increases 3-4% per day between 23 and 24 weeks of gestation and about 2-3% per day between 24 and 26 weeks of gestation. After 26 weeks the rate of survival increase at a much slower rate because survival is high already.

We are struggling with names and have not been able to come up with any names, so if anyone wants to throw some names out there, we'd be appreciative. You never know, you might get the honor of naming one of our babies! :-D

Tyler started preschool this week and is absolutely loving it. He gets so excited on school days (3 days a week) that he is bugging us to get out the door before 8 am! His teacher, Miss Nicole says he is doing beautifully. We are very grateful we were able to get him into the preschool we did. I think it is doing wonders for him to be around kids his own age and to get to play without mommy, Noah, Felicia, or daddy having to tag along. He is also learning how to write more and more of his letters and color in the lines.

Tyler is having trouble with his right ear and is now on antibiotic drops to help cure whatever is going on in his ear. It is not classified as an ear infection because he has the tubes in and that is allowing drainage, but it has had this awful smell coming from it - YUCK). We also go back to the ENT on September 8th to discuss removal of his adnoids and tonsils as we still cannot get his allergies under control. If you only knew how much we have spent on all different kinds of allergy meds. We are also getting about 80 percent of the floors done the last week of September and getting rid of all that carpet. We're hoping that helps him too before winter and all the sickness hits again.

Noah is adjusting well too. He doesn't like to go outside without Tyler and refuses to go the park. He has cried when we have dropped Tyler off because he wants to stay and play too (isn't that just too cute?). All day long, he walks around asking "where'd Tyler go?" and "Tyler at school! Me go too!". He is very content to sit in the house and play with Felicia though, so that is a good thing. I know he will adjust to not having Tyler around and will eventually venture outside to explore without Tyler. This is really the first time Tyler has not been around for Noah to tag along with, and all Noah knows is to do what Tyler does! :-D Noah has also learned to count up to 11 (he skips 4, but keeps going to 11, then starts going back down to 10 LOL). He also knows about 8 letters by site (thanks to Grandma Carrie, his favorite letter is T - Tiger from the www.starfall.com site!).

Our neighbors gave us their old computer for the boys (thanks Brian and Deb!) and my mom gave us a computer cart (thanks Mom). They have had a wonderful time (especially on rainy days) playing many of their computer games. Of course, Tyler is basically stuck on Thomas and Firefighters, but Noah loves to do coloring, the letter train and Reader Rabbit. It is very cute to watch Tyler help Noah and *teach* him letters while they play on the computer.

Tyler's birthday is fast approaching and he couldn't be more excited about his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese on the 10th.

I am very grateful to God for all he has given us - from our children, to our family and friends, to the wonderful church and neighborhood he brought us to.

We are and will continue to say prayers for all those who are in need.

I think that is all for now.

22 weeks

2005-08-12T21:32:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the time seems like it is flying, but most times, it seems like this is taking forever!

We had our 22 week check up today. No new U/S pics as it was just a quick check to see that all 3 babies were moving and still had heartbeats (which they did). My cervix is still long and closed (4.1 cm) and doc said everything was still "perfect". He said to continue what we are doing as it seems to be working. YAY! It's hard to believe when we started this journey, we were told bedrest at 18-20 weeks... I could have been on complete bedrest for a month already! Praise God for his grace! I don't think I could have handled complete bedrest - YET!

I have bursts of energy these days, but then usually pay the price afterwards because I get REALLY tired, REALLY easy. But all in all, I can't complain (well, I can, but usually no one listens! :^D).

I actually lost 2 lbs from 2 weeks ago, and my blood pressure was 96/58. No protein or sugars in my urine! YAY!

Next appointment is August 26th. I'll be 24 weeks by then. That is the very "edge of viability". The babies have something like a 50/50 shot of living if they are born at that time. Although the chances of them having some serious medical issues would be even higher, they could survive with lots of medical intervention and turn out perfectly normal. The success rate without major medical issues jumps to 90 percent at 28 weeks, so we're still just chugging along.

Basically, we are at the point where they cannot do anything to *save* my pregnancy except try to stop any preterm labor symptoms I may develop. They cannot do a cerclage (a surgical stitch on the cervix to keep it closed) now as it poses more risk to preterm labor than benefits of keeping the babies in, so please continue to pray that God wants these babies to stay in for a lot longer.

Tyler and my mom got to go to the dr with me today. Tyler has been very concerned that the dr's aren't hurting me when I go and he was so thrilled to see the special tv and the camera (the U/S wand) that looks inside my belly. He asked lots of questions as to what they were doing, which I think is just so sweet! This was the very first live U/S my mom got to see, so she was pretty amazed too.

We also went looking at - UGH - conversion vans this past week. They are just SOOOOO big. We've looked at several different LARGE vehicles (Ford Excursion, Chevy Yukon, etc) and have pretty much decided a conversion van is the best way to go. They are actually very nicely done on the inside...but geesh, they are just sooooo big. *sigh*

One thing I keep forgetting to mention is Tyler has insisted one baby goes in his room in a crib so he can wake up in the middle of the night and feed it and change it. Then Noah gets a baby in his room and mommy and daddy get one in their room. He is growing up so quickly!

That's all for now! :^D

U/S pictures

2005-08-06T23:55:00.000-05:00

Since there are 21 ultrasound pictures from my 20 week appointment, I am just going to include a link to the photo album instead of trying to list them all here and clutter up the blog.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CbNmzRw5ZMUk

You can see belly shots below.

Pics and US

2005-08-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I am still scanning in pictures, seems our scanner has decided to only let me do two scans at a time before closing the program (stupid technology) so it's a slow process.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of my belly at 20 weeks.

I promise to have the US pics done and posted by the end of the weekend. It was a very long week. To make a really long story short, we had to find and buy two used cars because we sold our Nissan Pathfinder last Friday and my niece (who is watching the boys) also needed a car to get back and forth (we were without her for a couple of days, which made it very crazy for us all.)

20 week appointment (16 Weeks to go! YAY!)

2005-07-28T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hi! We had our 20 week appointment today. I am actually 19 weeks 5 days. I have about 25 different ultrasound pictures to scan in, so you'll have to bear with me (that will probably take a few days).

I'll start with the stats: blood pressure was great at 92/68. I've gained a total of 10 lbs now, give or take a pound. Cerix length was still long and closed at 3.52 cm. I am now measuring at 28 weeks (compared to a singleton pregnancy), and I look about 8 months pregnant (I'll have Dan take a side view of my beach ball belly over the weekend so you can see!).

Good news is, still no more bedrest than what I've been doing myself (which is moderate bedrest). YAY! As long as my stats continue to hold, we will continue to go every two weeks until about 30 weeks. Obviously, if any problems arise, we'll go more, but that's the plan for now.

Now, on to baby info....

Baby A is located at the bottom, across the opening of my uterus. Baby A is a BOY! He is measuring at 20weeks 1 day, a little ahead of schedule. This strikes me as ironic because he is on the bottom and you'd think he was being squished by his brother and sister. According to U/S measurements, he is 12 oz.

Baby B is a girl and is located on the right side of my stomach. She is definitely a fighter. She was kicking Baby C in the head during the ultrasound! I guess she's practicing for when she has to compete with 4 brothers! She is measuring dead on at 19 weeks 5 days. According to U/S measurments, she is 11 oz.

Baby C is the other boy and is located WAAAAAAAAAAAAY over on the left side of my stomach. He's actually the one that is being squished (mainly by his sister). He is the *smallest* of the three - measuring at 19 weeks 3 days. According to U/S measurements, he is 11 oz as well.

All three babies have Choriod Plexus Cysts on their brains. Basically, it is a fluid filled sac which holds fluid that will eventually protect the spinal cord and a portion of the brain. There is no danger of the children being brain damaged, as it is not in a part of the brain that controls anything in our bodies. Normally, this would be a marker for Trisonomy 18, but since we had the amnioscentisis and already know they have 46 healthy chromosomes, there is no worry. The ultrasound tech said it's more common to see these in multiple pregnancies and that it could actually be a hereditary thing because all three had them. They usually disappear by 23-24 weeks gestation.

All three babies are basically measuring at the same rate, and right on schedule which is VERY GOOD news.

In other news, Tyler starts school on August 22nd. He is very excited and tells me he's going to take the bus and tell the bus driver where his school is. I still can't believe he is going to be 4 in another month.

Noah is continuing to grow and his speech is absolutely incredible. If you heard him talk, you would never guess he is only 22 months old. He speaks very clearly and speaks full sentences and is very vocal about what he likes and dislikes.

Both boys have taken to my neice, Felicia, very well. Every morning, they ask if she is coming, and are very excited when she gets here. They have taken it upon themselves to explore every park in the Buffalo Grove area before the summer is over.

One last thing...we decided to start monitoring my blood sugar at about 24 weeks. I had glucose intolerance (not full blown gestational diabetes) with Noah and had to monitor myself then, which was no big deal. And I really didn't want to have to sit thru the 3 hour test at the dr's office after fasting all night (ugh, remember those days???). So, I talked to my dr, and since I am caring triplets, there's a higher chance for me to have intolerance again, and possibly gestational diabetes, we opted to just start monitoring then (my choice). If my numbers hold for a few weeks, and there are no indications of problems, we'll cut it down or even stop it. Pricking my finger and watching what I eat is a much nicer alternative to me than trying to down that stupid drink and sit there for 3 hours.
As for me, I'm just happy I am still not on bedrest! YAY FOR ME!

Chicken Pox

2005-07-20T00:05:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems as though Noah DOES in fact have *breakthru* chicken pox. He only had about 10 pox total, and half of them have broken open and are starting to crust over. There are 3 on his ankle which are pus filled (ewww, I know). The dr's are not "convinced" it is chicken pox - it could also be another type of viral infection that just "looks like" chicken pox, but I am pretty convinced it's chicken pox. Noah has started scratching at them as well. Poor little guy is handling it like a trooper though. Thankfully, because of the vaccine, it is a very mild case and should clear up completely within 7 days. He had no new blisters or bumps today, so that's the good news.

I am *in the safe* zone as far as the babies are concerned (at least according to my peri). They may do a blood test on me at our next visit to confirm I have the antibodies necessary, but at this point it is too late to do anything anyway - as, if it is indeed chicken pox, I have already been exposed. Bummer. The only reason we are concerned in the least is because I did not get the pox until I was 24 years old, and had a mild case, so I may not have developed enough antibodies to stop a repeat infection. :-( Only time will tell. We hope and pray the babies are safe.

Other than that, we're still chugging along. 18 weeks 3 days.

Ugh...Noah and Chicken Pox

2005-07-18T19:17:00.000-05:00

Noah *may* have a case of *breakthru* chicken pox (he had the vaccine when he was 12 months old). UGH! Just so not what we need in this house. He may not develop a full blown case with oozing blisters and all due to the vaccine, but he also could! He may also have some sort of infection going on. We have to monitor him (and me *sob*) for the next 2-3 days to see if he develops any more bumps or starts oozing or has a fever! Please pray that it is something minor and NOT Chicken Pox (I know, chicken pox usually aren't a major thing, but with me being pregnant, there are more risks involved to ME!) or an infection (which I could also get).

Why is it I can never just *sail* thru my pregnancies the easy way?

17 weeks 5 days - Halfway there!!

2005-07-14T16:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I am two days early posting this, but we've essentially made it to the halfway mark - 18 weeks....now it's only 18 weeks (or perhaps less) until these three babies are here.

Good news is...can it be??????.....I'm afraid to type it as if to jinx myself, but the spotting/bleeding has stopped!!! FINALLY! It's been two days (the last time I spotted was right before the dr appt on Tuesday). SHHHHHHH, don't tell!!!

The allergy medicine is working well, and one of my dear friends gave me a body pillow, so I am finally getting some much needed rest at night, which has helped tremendously!

Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the US pictures from Tuesday...I know I took them out of my purse and that Dan sat on them, but I can't for the life of me figure out where I left them! (I blame pregnancy brain). As soon as I find them, I'll get them scanned in.

Oh, and the throwing up is down to about once or twice a week (depends mostly on what I eat).

July 12, 2005 - 17 weeks 3 days

2005-07-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

The highlight of last week was attending our neighbor's daughter's wedding reception! It was beautiful, as was she, but it took it's toll on me, even though we only stayed for a few hours. It took me a few days to recover completely, but considering this was probably my last outing for awhile, we decided to go and enjoy as much as we could.

We had another appointment today - 17 weeks and counting. All looked good! :-D Babies are all still swimming around (although they were all curled into little balls like they were sleeping, awwwwwww). We also found out the final results of the amnio - 2 boys and 1 girl - all with 46 HEALTHY chromosomes! YAY! Of course, that doesn't mean we are free and clear of any problems, but it sure does take a load off our minds.

My belly is measuring at 19 weeks, rather than the 17 1/2 weeks we are at. Blood pressure was good too at 120/70, and I've gained a whopping 4 lbs with this pregnancy (less than I did with both boys by this stage - go figure!). My cervix is still long and closed, and I had a cervical length of 3.68 cm. Dr says as long as those numbers hold and I don't have to go on complete bedrest! YAY!!

Most days I spend the morning in bed, and get up and shower around 10-11 am, while my neice, Felicia takes the boys to the park. I come down, have lunch with them, and hang out downstairs while they play in the pool in the backyard or hang out with the neighborhood kids out in front. Other than short trips to Walmart and Target, and quickie stops for lunch, I am pretty much housebound which sucks! :-( Some days, I feel like I can barely function, some days, I feel pretty good, although my energy falls pretty quickly. I think I've suffered thru a few small bouts of depression here and there, but for the most part we are all surviving. I've also been suffering with some terrible allergies and haven't been sleeping well most nights, but I've gotten the go ahead to take some allergy meds so I can sleep! YAY!!

Tyler now wants to call the babies - Tyler, Noah, and Daddy because those are good names! LOL Any name suggestions would be appreciated as we are still working on them. Some names we have tossed around are Andrew Case (this was almost Noah's name), Jack (Dan's pick not mine), Caden (not a real winner with anyone), Aidan, and for the girl - Sarah, Marlene, and Jenna.

We have three more ultrasounds pics which I'll scan in sometime tomorrow, if I feel up to it.

Sorry to those who have sent emails. I have not been on top of my game, and have not been responding much as I am pretty tired.

Next appointment is July 28th, when we will get an in depth US for each baby.