32 weeks

Yesterday we had our 32 week growth ultrasound and I was shocked.  A is now 4 pounds 0 ounces, B is 4 pounds 6 ounces and C is 3 pounds 12 ounces.  That means I'm carrying more than 12 pounds of babies!  The girls have each gained a little over a pound in the last 4 weeks, and little Mark has gained almost 2 pounds!  The babies are looking great from what we could see.  It gets harder to see them every time because they're just so big now.  We didn't get to see any faces because of their positions, but I'm sure they are still adorable!  I have 1 more ultrasound scheduled at 35 weeks.  I was convinced that I wouldn't need that appointment because I thought surely I would have them before then, but my doctor has other ideas.  We went over the delivery stuff yesterday and I had to sign all these papers.  I was reading all of the risks associated with a c-section and told Mark, "I don't want to do this.  We can just leave them in there."  She said that since I'm doing so well and the babies are growing, she will schedule my C-section between 35 weeks and 36 weeks.  I was not happy about that.  In my mind, I was going to deliver at 34 weeks.  It took me a few hours but I realized I can go 4 more weeks.  If they are born at 36 weeks, they could possibly come home with me and not have to stay in the NICU.  That's scary, but exciting!  So unless I go into preterm labor before then, they will be born sometime between September 27 and October 4.

This was my belly last week.  We haven't taken a 32 week picture yet, but it's definitely grown since this picture!

This was one day last week.  Sometimes I look down at my belly and freak out because its so weird.  It is never round anymore, but sometimes it's just really off!  This is how they are usually positioned.  C is doing whatever she wants and poking out near the middle, B is completely on my right side kicking me in the ribs, and A is underneath them.  

Every morning I watch Make Room For Multiples on TLC.  It's a 30 minute show that follows a woman carrying multiples through her delivery and the first few weeks of the babies' lives.  A lot of times it's about triplets and I love it!  I love seeing real women who are going through the same thing I'm going through.  Of course we all have different experiences, but at least they're similar most of the time.  It also makes me realize how lucky I am to be this far along and still be able to do things.  Some women are on hospitalized bed rest for months, or they have other children that they have to take care of while being pregnant with triplets.  I can't even imagine having to take care of other kids right now!  I don't ever have energy and can't even concentrate enough to read a book.  That show makes me feel fortunate to be in this situation, even when I think it can't get any worse!

I've been having more contractions and lots of pressure, but that's because my uterus is so heavy.  Sometimes it's hard to get out of the bed to go to the bathroom so I have to wake Mark up to help me.  I'm getting better at doing it by myself, but there are still times when I just can't.  We went to the hospital last week because I was having very painful contractions.  They set up all these dopplers and bands around my belly and she was using wash rags to try to keep the babies from moving too much.  It was like a circus act watching her do it all.  This was the final result:

(By the way, I know, I look really great in this picture.  You really don't have to tell me.) It turned out to be nothing, and the contractions slowed down on their own, but the doctor that I saw that day said that I need to constantly drink water to make sure I'm not having contractions due to dehydration.  Not only that, but I have to make sure my bladder is always empty because a full bladder can cause contractions.  So I'm sure if there was a camera in my house, it would show me making circles around the house every 30 minutes.  I stay in the living room during the day, so I sit down and drink a glass of water, get up and go to the bathroom, stop in the kitchen on my way back to the living room to get another glass of water, and repeat this about 30 times during the day.  It's fun!  I also have what I call "baby bruises" all over my belly.  I started having these really tender spots a couple of weeks ago so I asked the doctor and she said that they're totally superficial and they're basically just bruises on the inside from the babies kicking me constantly.  They don't bug me too much, but when one of the babies kicks one of the spots, it gets pretty uncomfortable.  Other than that, I'm just REALLY tired!  I thought I was exhausted during the first trimester, but that was nothing compared to this, and I'm sure this is nothing compared to how I'll feel once they're actually born, but we'll make it work!  I am so excited to have them all here and home with us.  I'm looking forward to evenings and weekends when it's just the 5 of us!

After our tour of the NICU 2 weeks ago, I was getting really nervous about the day of the delivery.  The nurse who gave us the tour said that regardless of the babies' health, they will be taken to the NICU immediately after birth.  I didn't like that.  I was under the impression that if they were breathing fine and doing ok, they could stay in my room with me, so when she said that, I got really nervous.  I asked my doctor yesterday and she said that it isn't true.  If they're doing ok at birth they can stay with me!  I'm just very nervous about what will happen that day.  I know I'm having a c-section, but I don't like that I don't know for sure if the babies will be with me or not.  I've spent every second with them for the past 7 months and I don't want them to just be gone, and then I'm left laying on a table having surgery.  That thought was what made me say, "ok, I can make it to 35 weeks if it means the babies can stay with me."  If the babies do have to go to the NICU, Mark will go with them while the doctors finish up with me, then after 12 hours, my doctor said that I would be able to go to the NICU in a wheelchair to see them.  I just hope it all works out and they can stay with me.

Mark got this dry erase board and he updates it every morning.  It is a countdown to 35 weeks and every day I get more and more anxious!  Sometimes he writes inspirational/motivational/funny things.  It keeps me entertained!

This is what it looks like today

We are all ready for the babies to get here, so lately we haven't been doing much to prepare.  We've pretty much done everything that we needed to do.  Now, Mark is making a movie for the babies.  I bought a video camera a few weeks ago to record the babies once they're born, but Mark carries it all around the house with him and records me.  He took it to our appointment yesterday, and records my belly anytime it does anything weird.  I'm sure the video will be great, but I just don't like when my face is on camera.  At the beginning of the pregnancy we read that it's common for women pregnant with multiples to have swollen faces and bags under their eyes.  I have both of these, so I don't like my face being on camera.

When we found out that we were having triplets we learned that a man Mark went to high school with had triplets.  Although they live out of town, he and his wife have been a big help throughout our pregnancy.  They have shared their story with us and answer all of our questions.  It's so nice to have people who have experienced this and now have 3 healthy kids.  They recently came to visit with their triplets and wow, it looks like a lot of work, but so much fun!  They are 2 1/2 now and each have their own little personalities.  It was very exciting to actually see them and to talk to their parents.  They have been such a big help!

That's all for now.  Hopefully I will know sometime today when my c-section is scheduled!