Just thought I'd post this update about Rhys. Alot of people already know that he has been through a lot in his little life thus far. But, that kid is one tough cookie!
His latest battle is a urinary tract infection that he became ill with right before Christmas. It has taken awhile for the antibiotics to kick in, but he is finally starting to show signs of improvement. However, he still has some pretty major tummy issues which may be another infection, or may be complications from when he was sick the first time (in early December) with necrotizing enterocolitis.
Due to all this, he has required two blood transfusions over the past two days. This was complicated because it was very difficult to get and maintain IV access on him. Poor guy has had more IVs in the past week than you can imagine. His veins are weak and small and all the medication is very irritating, so the IVs do not last very long. He has had a few IVs done in his scalp which has resulted in the need to shave little bits of hair from his head. Well, the poor guy is starting to resemble Caillou at this point. He basically has no hair left on the top and either side of his head. The back has been left untouched, causing him to look as though he has a very severe baby mullet. I had to run to the gift shop to buy him a cute hat because I think he was feeling self conscious!
Last night, the surgeon came to give him a central line. This is basically a catheter that travels through his veins straight to his heart. Central lines are more permanent than regular IVs are. This is the second time he has had a central line so it's old news for tough guy Rhys. He took the procedure like a champ as he does with most of the things that are done to him. His only complaint is that he is damn hungry and nobody is feeding him!!!! (He has to keep an empty digestive system until they can figure out what his problem is).
The complaining about being hungry is actually very good news. Over Christmas, he was basically acting like a limp noodle. He didn`t care about anything and very rarely cried or put a fuss up, even when he was being poked with needles. He has definitely become a lot more like his old feisty self over the past day or so. This is good news. It is puzzling though, because all his lab work and tests show that he is indeed a very sick boy, but yet, he is acting so much better.
We are hoping that the blood transfusions do the trick and he makes a full recovery. He has a lot of catching up to do to get to where his big brother is! Garrett is doing very well. He is starting to act more like a term baby, waking up to eat on his own, and learning to breastfeed! He is 4 lbs 12.5 ounces already!
Thank you to everyone who continues to think of our boys and send us their well wishes and prayers. It is so comforting to know that Garrett and Rhys have so many people that are rooting for them!!!
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Monday, 26 December 2011
Merry Christmas from the NICU
The NICU staff are truly amazing people. I've never seen a group of people more dedicated to their jobs, who sincerely LOVE all the babies they take care of, and their mommy's and daddy's too! On a daily basis, we marvel at what great care our boys are getting and of how much love they receive from the staff. All the little "extra" things they do to make the babies more comfortable, or to make the parents feel more at home, are so appreciated.
Christmas Eve was a particularly special day. All the babies got these amazing gift bags filled with all kinds of great stuff. These bags were HUGE and I was blown away by the amount of effort it must have taken for the staff to organize it all. In our bags, were stuffed toys, handmade quilts and blankets (each baby got three), and best of all: pictures!!!!! The staff did a Christmas photo shoot with each baby to give to the parents. We got a framed photo of each baby, and then a cd with the all the photos on it.
Oh my goodness. When we got home and looked at the cd, I couldn't believe it. You won't either. It seems impossible that any baby could be as cute as ours are.
Just a warning: what follows is so ridiculously adorable that it may drive you to do something silly, like for example: get pregnant (in an attempt to create a child as cute as mine are). Or, if not, you may just call me up and ask if you can come cuddle mine for awhile. Anyways, the point is, I have never seen anything quite so heart melting in my life as these pictures. I'm sure you will agree:
These pictures were so welcome on a day that was actually pretty crappy for us. Rhys was extremely sick in the days leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve he was at his worst and it was very stressful and upsetting for Mark and I. He was very close to being intubated and on a ventilator and they weren't exactly sure what was wrong with him (and therefore unsure of how to treat him). These pictures totally lifted our spirits. We had a good laugh at some of them. The nurse that took the pictures warned us "Garrett didn't like the camera". She was right! Most of Garrett's pictures seem to look as if he has just been awoken the morning after a really awesome Christmas party where too many cocktails were consumed. Like this one for example:
Rhys on the other hand, seemed to be out to prove he was indeed a baby model. Every picture of him was downright perfect. Like this one:
Don't we make the cutest children ever???? :-)
Sorry for all the bragging, but these pictures really made my day. It was such a great idea for the staff to do this for all the parents and really proves how dedicated they are to making life a bit more bearable for the NICU families, especially during the holidays.
I will post more about Christmas later on. But just wanted to get these pictures up so everyone can enjoy the adorable-ness!!!!
Christmas Eve was a particularly special day. All the babies got these amazing gift bags filled with all kinds of great stuff. These bags were HUGE and I was blown away by the amount of effort it must have taken for the staff to organize it all. In our bags, were stuffed toys, handmade quilts and blankets (each baby got three), and best of all: pictures!!!!! The staff did a Christmas photo shoot with each baby to give to the parents. We got a framed photo of each baby, and then a cd with the all the photos on it.
Oh my goodness. When we got home and looked at the cd, I couldn't believe it. You won't either. It seems impossible that any baby could be as cute as ours are.
Just a warning: what follows is so ridiculously adorable that it may drive you to do something silly, like for example: get pregnant (in an attempt to create a child as cute as mine are). Or, if not, you may just call me up and ask if you can come cuddle mine for awhile. Anyways, the point is, I have never seen anything quite so heart melting in my life as these pictures. I'm sure you will agree:
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| Garrett |
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| Rhys |
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| My favourite. The definition of "precious". Rhys on the left, Garrett on the right. I love how they are holding hands and looking at each other. I wish I could have been there to see this. I have been eagerly awaiting when the brothers can be together again :-) |
These pictures were so welcome on a day that was actually pretty crappy for us. Rhys was extremely sick in the days leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve he was at his worst and it was very stressful and upsetting for Mark and I. He was very close to being intubated and on a ventilator and they weren't exactly sure what was wrong with him (and therefore unsure of how to treat him). These pictures totally lifted our spirits. We had a good laugh at some of them. The nurse that took the pictures warned us "Garrett didn't like the camera". She was right! Most of Garrett's pictures seem to look as if he has just been awoken the morning after a really awesome Christmas party where too many cocktails were consumed. Like this one for example:
Rhys on the other hand, seemed to be out to prove he was indeed a baby model. Every picture of him was downright perfect. Like this one:
Don't we make the cutest children ever???? :-)
Sorry for all the bragging, but these pictures really made my day. It was such a great idea for the staff to do this for all the parents and really proves how dedicated they are to making life a bit more bearable for the NICU families, especially during the holidays.
I will post more about Christmas later on. But just wanted to get these pictures up so everyone can enjoy the adorable-ness!!!!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
My boys
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Almost forgot....the belly!!
I meant to post this picture as well, but I forgot.
Alot of people were wondering how big I was at the end. This is the last picture I have of me pregnant. I was 31 weeks and 4 days.
Brace yourself.....
Yes, my belly was it's own planet. It was so big that it actually became Rylen's new favourite hiding place. I couldn't see him at all when he stood underneath it.
And, in case you are wondering, I did end up getting stretch marks. Not too many though, and they only appeared in the last two weeks or so.
As big as I was, now that I look at the boys, I have a hard time believing that they all fit in there! They must have been jam packed in there. I wonder if they miss each other now that they are out and separated. I can't wait until we can get Rhys and Garrett cuddling together (that's a big NO in the NICU where they are even bigger germophobes than I am... and for good reason!)
I wonder if I posted a pic of what my belly looks like now, if I would get a free tummy tuck like Kate Gosselin did???? Hmmm...nope. Don't think that even that would be incentive enough for me to post that for all to see. Plus, I don't think I could fit a tummy tuck into my busy schedule. :-)
Alot of people were wondering how big I was at the end. This is the last picture I have of me pregnant. I was 31 weeks and 4 days.
Brace yourself.....
And, in case you are wondering, I did end up getting stretch marks. Not too many though, and they only appeared in the last two weeks or so.
As big as I was, now that I look at the boys, I have a hard time believing that they all fit in there! They must have been jam packed in there. I wonder if they miss each other now that they are out and separated. I can't wait until we can get Rhys and Garrett cuddling together (that's a big NO in the NICU where they are even bigger germophobes than I am... and for good reason!)
I wonder if I posted a pic of what my belly looks like now, if I would get a free tummy tuck like Kate Gosselin did???? Hmmm...nope. Don't think that even that would be incentive enough for me to post that for all to see. Plus, I don't think I could fit a tummy tuck into my busy schedule. :-)
Friday, 16 December 2011
Finally!!! An update....
Well, it's been ages since I posted. I've been so busy. Most of you know by now that our babies were born on November 30 at exactly 32 weeks gestation. Not everyone knows the details, so I will do a brief summary of what has happened over the last few weeks:
On November 29 at supper time I went into the hospital because I was just feeling "not right" all day. I didn't really have anything specific wrong with me, but I just felt unwell and very anxious. I mentioned in my last post that I had this fear that I would somehow "overlook" signs and symptoms of labor and end up delivering my babies in the toilet at home. I was kind of joking, but kind of not. I really was a little bit worried about this! Anyways, I got checked out at the hospital by some very nice nurses and doctor who humoured me and took my vague symptoms seriously despite the fact that I was not contracting at all and had basically ZERO signs of labor. I was 1-2 cm and sent home totally reassured that all was well.
Well, these boys of mine must have been counting down to the "32 week" milestone! Because at pretty much exactly midnight on November 30 (32 weeks on the dot!) I woke up and started having contractions. They were quite mild at first, so I wandered around the kitchen timing them for about an hour. At 1:30am I woke up Mark and told him that we should probably prepare to go back to the hospital. While I waited for him to get ready, the contractions got a bit stronger. But still manageable. On the way to the hospital, I do remember thinking "maybe this is the night" but then quickly decided that no, I was likely just anxious again and maybe I'd be admitted but definitely would not be having babies.
Well imagine my surprise when at the hospital I turned out to be fully dilated! Apparently my superstar cervix had finally decided it had enough of holding babies in! I don't fully remember all that happened, because it was so fast! But I was whisked off to the OR quicker than you an imagine and prepped for a c-section under general anaesthesia. I was completely unconscious for the entire thing, which contrary to what some people think, is probably the WORST way to give birth. But, for me, it was the safest thing to do given the situation. I am so grateful for the entire team of doctors and nurses that helped to safely deliver my babies so quickly.
So, our little miracles were born!
Baby A is Garrett Benjamin, born at 3:30, weighing 3 lbs 13 oz.
Baby B is our angel, Benjamin Mark, born at 3:32, weighing 2 lbs, 1 oz.
Baby C is Rhys William, born at 3:33, weighing 4 lbs, 9 oz!
I have to thank three very special nurses: Bonnie, Mia and Candice for their AMAZING care. Our family was so fortunate to have these special ladies look after us during our very unique and difficult birth experience. If you guys are reading this, please know that you made such an impact on our experience and gave us some very positive memories to look back on. Your gentle care of Ben was so comforting to us. Thank you.
Rhys and Garrett have been in the NICU since birth and likely will be for several more weeks. Garrett seems to be out to show Rhys that he is indeed the "big brother" as he has been making progress very quickly. He is disconnected from most of his tubes and monitors and just has a heart monitor and feeding tube in place. He is starting to be able to breastfeed and tolerating his tube feeds well. He is also gaining weight! As of today he is 3 lbs, 14.5 oz.
Rhys on the other hand, had a major setback on Dec 6. He was diagnosed with a bowel infection called "necrotizing enterocolitis" which is common in preemies, and can be very serious. It was a very stressful and scary day or so as we did not know what the outcome might be. Thankfully, he had great care by an amazing team of doctors and nurses and is on the road to recovery. He was not able to eat for a week, but as of yesterday is slowly starting up his feeds again. As a result, he is quite a bit behind Garrett, but hopefully he can catch up quickly.
Basically our lives revolve around NICU, and Rylen. Trying to find a balance between being there for the babies and spending time with Rylen is quite difficult. There isn't time for much else, which is why this blog post is so late! Thankfully I have a superstar husband and great parents to help share the load with.
Alot of people have wondered what our "daily routine" is like. The NICU environment is pretty much a mystery unless you have experienced it yourself! Basically, when I am there, I go back and forth between both babies, and pump breast milk in between. If I am not careful, I can get stuck in there all day without eating, drinking, or peeing! I have to really watch the clock to remind myself to take a break. Parents are encouraged to do as much care as possible for your babies. So, at feeding times, I change their diapers, do mouth care, take their temperature and a few other things, and then often I cuddle them skin to skin (kangaroo care). The idea is to only handle the babies at feeding times and get everything done all at once so they have as much time as possible to rest and grow. Rhys and Garrett are not on the same feeding schedule so by the time I am done with one, it's the other one's turn! I have been spending most of my day there, and sometimes my parents watch Rylen while Mark is with me, or else Mark and I switch off around supper time and I go home while he stays with the babies. It's a lot busier than I envisioned it being, but I'm happy to have the opportunity to do so much for my babies despite the fact that they are in the hospital. The NICU staff are fantastic and we are amazed everyday at the technology that is used and the intensity of the care they receive. So thankful we live in Canada where I will not be getting a giant bill for their stay! (Garrett is totally busting their diaper budget. Seriously, the kid poops more than you can imagine. And he likes to do it in a clean diaper. So in other words, each diaper change involves 3-4 diapers and like 20 minutes of sitting there waiting for him to finally finish)
One of the biggest downfalls of a c-section while unconscious, is that you miss everything! It is a very strange feeling to "fall asleep" pregnant and wake up not pregnant anymore. And, the biggest thing that I found unsettling is that my babies were gone without me ever having seen them or hear them cry. The first time I went into the NICU to see them, I remember thinking " any of these kids could be mine" I totally relied on Mark and the staff to tell me which babies were my sons. Not a nice feeling at all. A complete opposite feeling from when I had Rylen, who never left my sight after the birth. Anyways, it took a little bit of time (mostly for all the narcotics to wear off), but eventually I fell in love with my little men and quickly got to know their little quirks and personalities. It's funny, but because Garrett is a lot tinier than Rhys, alot of people assume he is the "little brother", as in the younger one. But really, he is a whole 3 minutes older! As a result we now refer to these guys as "The Little Big Brother" (Garrett) and " The Big Little Brother" (Rhys) or "Little Big and Big Little" for short. I wonder if those nicknames will stick? Maybe they will even out in size eventually? I can't wait for everyone to see how adorable they are. We don't have many great pictures yet, especially because they have been hooked up to so many tubes and stuff that it's hard to get a good look at their faces. But really, they are so cute and cuddly and we are totally smitten with them. They don't look anything alike each other and their size difference is so apparent that all my fears of mixing them up are completely gone.
On November 29 at supper time I went into the hospital because I was just feeling "not right" all day. I didn't really have anything specific wrong with me, but I just felt unwell and very anxious. I mentioned in my last post that I had this fear that I would somehow "overlook" signs and symptoms of labor and end up delivering my babies in the toilet at home. I was kind of joking, but kind of not. I really was a little bit worried about this! Anyways, I got checked out at the hospital by some very nice nurses and doctor who humoured me and took my vague symptoms seriously despite the fact that I was not contracting at all and had basically ZERO signs of labor. I was 1-2 cm and sent home totally reassured that all was well.
Well, these boys of mine must have been counting down to the "32 week" milestone! Because at pretty much exactly midnight on November 30 (32 weeks on the dot!) I woke up and started having contractions. They were quite mild at first, so I wandered around the kitchen timing them for about an hour. At 1:30am I woke up Mark and told him that we should probably prepare to go back to the hospital. While I waited for him to get ready, the contractions got a bit stronger. But still manageable. On the way to the hospital, I do remember thinking "maybe this is the night" but then quickly decided that no, I was likely just anxious again and maybe I'd be admitted but definitely would not be having babies.
Well imagine my surprise when at the hospital I turned out to be fully dilated! Apparently my superstar cervix had finally decided it had enough of holding babies in! I don't fully remember all that happened, because it was so fast! But I was whisked off to the OR quicker than you an imagine and prepped for a c-section under general anaesthesia. I was completely unconscious for the entire thing, which contrary to what some people think, is probably the WORST way to give birth. But, for me, it was the safest thing to do given the situation. I am so grateful for the entire team of doctors and nurses that helped to safely deliver my babies so quickly.
So, our little miracles were born!
Baby A is Garrett Benjamin, born at 3:30, weighing 3 lbs 13 oz.
Baby B is our angel, Benjamin Mark, born at 3:32, weighing 2 lbs, 1 oz.
Baby C is Rhys William, born at 3:33, weighing 4 lbs, 9 oz!
I have to thank three very special nurses: Bonnie, Mia and Candice for their AMAZING care. Our family was so fortunate to have these special ladies look after us during our very unique and difficult birth experience. If you guys are reading this, please know that you made such an impact on our experience and gave us some very positive memories to look back on. Your gentle care of Ben was so comforting to us. Thank you.
Rhys and Garrett have been in the NICU since birth and likely will be for several more weeks. Garrett seems to be out to show Rhys that he is indeed the "big brother" as he has been making progress very quickly. He is disconnected from most of his tubes and monitors and just has a heart monitor and feeding tube in place. He is starting to be able to breastfeed and tolerating his tube feeds well. He is also gaining weight! As of today he is 3 lbs, 14.5 oz.
Rhys on the other hand, had a major setback on Dec 6. He was diagnosed with a bowel infection called "necrotizing enterocolitis" which is common in preemies, and can be very serious. It was a very stressful and scary day or so as we did not know what the outcome might be. Thankfully, he had great care by an amazing team of doctors and nurses and is on the road to recovery. He was not able to eat for a week, but as of yesterday is slowly starting up his feeds again. As a result, he is quite a bit behind Garrett, but hopefully he can catch up quickly.
Basically our lives revolve around NICU, and Rylen. Trying to find a balance between being there for the babies and spending time with Rylen is quite difficult. There isn't time for much else, which is why this blog post is so late! Thankfully I have a superstar husband and great parents to help share the load with.
Alot of people have wondered what our "daily routine" is like. The NICU environment is pretty much a mystery unless you have experienced it yourself! Basically, when I am there, I go back and forth between both babies, and pump breast milk in between. If I am not careful, I can get stuck in there all day without eating, drinking, or peeing! I have to really watch the clock to remind myself to take a break. Parents are encouraged to do as much care as possible for your babies. So, at feeding times, I change their diapers, do mouth care, take their temperature and a few other things, and then often I cuddle them skin to skin (kangaroo care). The idea is to only handle the babies at feeding times and get everything done all at once so they have as much time as possible to rest and grow. Rhys and Garrett are not on the same feeding schedule so by the time I am done with one, it's the other one's turn! I have been spending most of my day there, and sometimes my parents watch Rylen while Mark is with me, or else Mark and I switch off around supper time and I go home while he stays with the babies. It's a lot busier than I envisioned it being, but I'm happy to have the opportunity to do so much for my babies despite the fact that they are in the hospital. The NICU staff are fantastic and we are amazed everyday at the technology that is used and the intensity of the care they receive. So thankful we live in Canada where I will not be getting a giant bill for their stay! (Garrett is totally busting their diaper budget. Seriously, the kid poops more than you can imagine. And he likes to do it in a clean diaper. So in other words, each diaper change involves 3-4 diapers and like 20 minutes of sitting there waiting for him to finally finish)
One of the biggest downfalls of a c-section while unconscious, is that you miss everything! It is a very strange feeling to "fall asleep" pregnant and wake up not pregnant anymore. And, the biggest thing that I found unsettling is that my babies were gone without me ever having seen them or hear them cry. The first time I went into the NICU to see them, I remember thinking " any of these kids could be mine" I totally relied on Mark and the staff to tell me which babies were my sons. Not a nice feeling at all. A complete opposite feeling from when I had Rylen, who never left my sight after the birth. Anyways, it took a little bit of time (mostly for all the narcotics to wear off), but eventually I fell in love with my little men and quickly got to know their little quirks and personalities. It's funny, but because Garrett is a lot tinier than Rhys, alot of people assume he is the "little brother", as in the younger one. But really, he is a whole 3 minutes older! As a result we now refer to these guys as "The Little Big Brother" (Garrett) and " The Big Little Brother" (Rhys) or "Little Big and Big Little" for short. I wonder if those nicknames will stick? Maybe they will even out in size eventually? I can't wait for everyone to see how adorable they are. We don't have many great pictures yet, especially because they have been hooked up to so many tubes and stuff that it's hard to get a good look at their faces. But really, they are so cute and cuddly and we are totally smitten with them. They don't look anything alike each other and their size difference is so apparent that all my fears of mixing them up are completely gone.
 |
| Rhys, on CPAP |
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| Garrett right after delivery |
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| Garrett, on ventilator for a few hours |
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| Garrett in the "tanning salon" :-) |
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| Garrett "kangaroo-ing" with Mommy |
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| Garrett |
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| Rhys |
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| Rhys "kangaroo-ing" with Daddy |
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| Rylen holding Garrett and singing him Twinkle Twinkle. Precious. |
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| Rhys |
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| Garrett |
Saturday, 26 November 2011
31 weeks
Today I am 31 weeks and 2 days. My belly measures at 44 weeks and has a circumference of 55 inches. I did the circumference at the suggestion of my sister in law Irene, who thought that I may want to look back one day and remember exactly how huge I was! As you can imagine, I am pretty uncomfortable! But, the longer these guys stay in, the better, so that's what I focus on ( I did ask the doctor today when I could get an epidural..I think he thought I was referring to how early in labor I could get one, but I was actually referring to how early in pregnancy. I would love one right about now!!!!!)
Quite a few things have happened since I last posted. First of all, at 29 weeks I had a labor scare and went to the hospital in Brandon to get assessed. Turns out I was contracting, but not really in labor. I think I was just really over-analyzing what was going on and totally stressed myself out thinking I was going to deliver preemie babies in the toilet at home or something! I have been overly worried about everything since we got the news about Baby B. But, it made me feel better to get checked out. They gave me some good drugs, and as a result I managed to sleep for 5 hours straight. (which I think is a world record or something for a pregnant lady)
As a result of all this, and the fact that winter has officially arrived, we decided to relocate to Winnipeg. Our doctor agreed and we all feel much better that we are close by should anything happen.
We had a fetal assessment last Thursday which went well. My cervix is still long and holding the boys in there good.
So, that's the latest news! Thank you for all the words of encouragement and comfort that have been extended to us. We are lucky to have such a great group of family and friends in our lives.
Quite a few things have happened since I last posted. First of all, at 29 weeks I had a labor scare and went to the hospital in Brandon to get assessed. Turns out I was contracting, but not really in labor. I think I was just really over-analyzing what was going on and totally stressed myself out thinking I was going to deliver preemie babies in the toilet at home or something! I have been overly worried about everything since we got the news about Baby B. But, it made me feel better to get checked out. They gave me some good drugs, and as a result I managed to sleep for 5 hours straight. (which I think is a world record or something for a pregnant lady)
As a result of all this, and the fact that winter has officially arrived, we decided to relocate to Winnipeg. Our doctor agreed and we all feel much better that we are close by should anything happen.
We had a fetal assessment last Thursday which went well. My cervix is still long and holding the boys in there good.
So, that's the latest news! Thank you for all the words of encouragement and comfort that have been extended to us. We are lucky to have such a great group of family and friends in our lives.
Sunday, 13 November 2011
29 weeks and sad news...
I just wanted to post this, to let everyone know that we received some very sad news at our last fetal assessment on November 7.
Suddenly, and without warning, we lost one of our precious baby boys due to Twin to Twin Transfusion. The news was a shock to say the least considering there wasn't any signs of this happening. Apparently it is also quite rare to happen this late in pregnancy.
The baby that died was one of the identical twins (Baby B). His twin brother is so far doing okay, but due to what happened, there is a risk that he may have suffered a "stroke". In a few weeks I have to go for an MRI so they can zoom in on his little brain and look for any damage.
Our singleton is doing great. Growing well and absolutely no complications at all. We are so thankful for this.
Mark and I are doing okay. We are in the unusual position of being very sad, but very thankful and grateful (for our remaining two babies) at the same time. We are worried about our Baby A, but the doctor told us he is "quite optimistic" about the outcome as he is so far showing zero signs of anything wrong.
I know this isn't my usual upbeat happy post, and I debated whether to even continue with the blog. But I know that people are following and using this for updates so I figured I will continue. Hopefully from here on out it is good news only!
Mark and I thank everyone for all their kind thoughts, prayers and gestures. Once again we are reminded of how lucky we are to have great family and friends.
Next appointment is Thursday the 17th! Will update then!
p.s. My cervix is still "unusually long" (the doctors words, not mine!) which is another piece of good news! :-)
Suddenly, and without warning, we lost one of our precious baby boys due to Twin to Twin Transfusion. The news was a shock to say the least considering there wasn't any signs of this happening. Apparently it is also quite rare to happen this late in pregnancy.
The baby that died was one of the identical twins (Baby B). His twin brother is so far doing okay, but due to what happened, there is a risk that he may have suffered a "stroke". In a few weeks I have to go for an MRI so they can zoom in on his little brain and look for any damage.
Our singleton is doing great. Growing well and absolutely no complications at all. We are so thankful for this.
Mark and I are doing okay. We are in the unusual position of being very sad, but very thankful and grateful (for our remaining two babies) at the same time. We are worried about our Baby A, but the doctor told us he is "quite optimistic" about the outcome as he is so far showing zero signs of anything wrong.
I know this isn't my usual upbeat happy post, and I debated whether to even continue with the blog. But I know that people are following and using this for updates so I figured I will continue. Hopefully from here on out it is good news only!
Mark and I thank everyone for all their kind thoughts, prayers and gestures. Once again we are reminded of how lucky we are to have great family and friends.
Next appointment is Thursday the 17th! Will update then!
p.s. My cervix is still "unusually long" (the doctors words, not mine!) which is another piece of good news! :-)
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
28 weeks!
I kept meaning to post my 27 week update, but never got around to it. Funny, how you can be off work, child at daycare three days a week, and still don't get around doing anything productive! House is still messy, To Do list is still a mile long....I have been resting alot so I guess that counts. And growing three boys. That's a big thing too :-)
Anyways, I am 28 weeks today! Yippee! It's kind of an important milestone, as if the babies were born at this gestation there would likely be a good outcome! But that's not going to happen, because apparently my body is doing exceptionally well with this multiple pregnancy and I haven't had any signs of preterm labor or any complications. My blood pressure is good. I don't have gestational diabetes. I haven't had any contractions and my cervix is in tip top shape! WARNING: TOO MUCH INFORMATION TO FOLLOW: (They measure the length of my cervix by ultrasound at each fetal assessment, and I have to brag a bit here, but my cervix is extremely long. And it has not at all shortened since the very beginning! Never has there been a person so proud of their cervix as me! Haha! Forget the fact that I need a hoyer lift to get out of bed, and that very likely by the end of this pregnancy the fire department may need to use the jaws of life to get me out of the house. No, I don't look pretty at this stage of pregnancy, but I DO have the world's best cervix!!!!!!)
Okay, enough of that. Some people reading this are probably either disgusted, think I'm very strange, or googling "cervix" to find out what the heck it is. Keep in mind I'm a nurse so all this anatomy talk is nothing to me. I don't get grossed out. And I incorrectly assume others don't as well, so I apologize.
Onto the babies: at the last assessment they weighed over 2 lbs each which was a gain of over half a pound in two weeks! Great news! They are all roughly the same size and doing very well. Boy A is still head down, Boy B has flipped to breech and Boy C is still stuck at the top transverse. They are starting to look more like "real" babies on the ultrasound. You can see some baby fat starting to accumulate and they look a little less "alien" like. It's always so nice to see them on the screen, although I am finding the whole ultrasound process a tad uncomfortable. I have to lay mostly on my back which is not a comfortable position for me. I feel as though there is an elephant on my chest and I get quite short of breath.
Speaking of being uncomfortable, I have officially surpassed the size I was when I was pregnant with Rylen at 40 weeks. My maternity clothes are starting to not fit well and my belly button is poking out (something that never happened with Rylen). My abdominal muscles feel as though someone is playing tug of war with them and it takes me roughly 10-15 minutes to roll over in bed (haha, maybe not quite, but close!) On the upside, still no stretch marks! Thanks Mom for the great genes!
Our next fetal assessment is on Monday November 7. I can't wait to see how the boys are doing!
In other news:
1. We got another fish. (This one is named Fishie) He is still alive after 4 days so this is good. We are well on our way to breaking our record which was 6 days for the last one.
2. Rylen had a blast on his first Halloween trick or treating. He was dressed as a little army guy, but if you asked him what his costume was he said "I look like Mark". Yes, we are apparently on a first name basis around here....
3. We had a maternity photo shoot tonight by the wonderful Cynthia Korman (cynthiakorman.ca)! My belly barely fit in her studio but we managed :-)
Anyways, I am 28 weeks today! Yippee! It's kind of an important milestone, as if the babies were born at this gestation there would likely be a good outcome! But that's not going to happen, because apparently my body is doing exceptionally well with this multiple pregnancy and I haven't had any signs of preterm labor or any complications. My blood pressure is good. I don't have gestational diabetes. I haven't had any contractions and my cervix is in tip top shape! WARNING: TOO MUCH INFORMATION TO FOLLOW: (They measure the length of my cervix by ultrasound at each fetal assessment, and I have to brag a bit here, but my cervix is extremely long. And it has not at all shortened since the very beginning! Never has there been a person so proud of their cervix as me! Haha! Forget the fact that I need a hoyer lift to get out of bed, and that very likely by the end of this pregnancy the fire department may need to use the jaws of life to get me out of the house. No, I don't look pretty at this stage of pregnancy, but I DO have the world's best cervix!!!!!!)
Okay, enough of that. Some people reading this are probably either disgusted, think I'm very strange, or googling "cervix" to find out what the heck it is. Keep in mind I'm a nurse so all this anatomy talk is nothing to me. I don't get grossed out. And I incorrectly assume others don't as well, so I apologize.
Onto the babies: at the last assessment they weighed over 2 lbs each which was a gain of over half a pound in two weeks! Great news! They are all roughly the same size and doing very well. Boy A is still head down, Boy B has flipped to breech and Boy C is still stuck at the top transverse. They are starting to look more like "real" babies on the ultrasound. You can see some baby fat starting to accumulate and they look a little less "alien" like. It's always so nice to see them on the screen, although I am finding the whole ultrasound process a tad uncomfortable. I have to lay mostly on my back which is not a comfortable position for me. I feel as though there is an elephant on my chest and I get quite short of breath.
Speaking of being uncomfortable, I have officially surpassed the size I was when I was pregnant with Rylen at 40 weeks. My maternity clothes are starting to not fit well and my belly button is poking out (something that never happened with Rylen). My abdominal muscles feel as though someone is playing tug of war with them and it takes me roughly 10-15 minutes to roll over in bed (haha, maybe not quite, but close!) On the upside, still no stretch marks! Thanks Mom for the great genes!
Our next fetal assessment is on Monday November 7. I can't wait to see how the boys are doing!
In other news:
1. We got another fish. (This one is named Fishie) He is still alive after 4 days so this is good. We are well on our way to breaking our record which was 6 days for the last one.
2. Rylen had a blast on his first Halloween trick or treating. He was dressed as a little army guy, but if you asked him what his costume was he said "I look like Mark". Yes, we are apparently on a first name basis around here....
3. We had a maternity photo shoot tonight by the wonderful Cynthia Korman (cynthiakorman.ca)! My belly barely fit in her studio but we managed :-)
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| Preview from our photo shoot |
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| Mini Mark |
Thursday, 20 October 2011
26 Weeks and The Fish
So, I'm 26 weeks, and look like I'm 46 weeks (in my opinion). But still no stretch marks! WOO HOO! We have another fetal assessment on Monday so I will have more news then. But I don't need the fetal assessment to confirm that these kids are growing like crazy and moving around tons too!
In other news, we acquired a new family member last week. A fish. For Rylen, as he is fascinated by fish, every time he sees an aquarium or fish tank he can spend hours if we let him, just watching and talking to the fish.
Someone gave Mark a little fish tank suitable for a beta fish. So, off Mark and Rylen went to get his new pet. The lady at the pet shop told Mark that beta fish are super easy to take care of and very kid friendly. She assured us that "they can even live out of water!" Well, Mark was sold. What could possibly go wrong?
Although Rylen was super excited about the fish and would not stop talking about him, or looking at him, for some reason he did not want to name him. So we just called him "Fish" or "Fishie".
We got Fish last Wednesday. The first day he swam around his little tank (and I use the word "tank" loosely....it was more a "cubicle") like it was a fancy 5 star fish palace...seriously he was so excited!
The rules were (according to the lady at the pet store) that the fish would die if anyone stuck their fingers in the tank, or soap, chemicals, people food, etc got in there. She gave us a "procedure" for cleaning the tank to ensure the proper balance of bacteria and whatever else to keep the fish alive (I think she mentioned all of this after Fish was already purchased with understanding that "they are so easy to look after"). We taught Rylen that he was not allowed to touch the fish, only look at him and talk to him. He did pretty good after a few "tests" to see if we meant business (with his finger hovering just over the surface of the water, saying "can I touch? can I touch?" with a mischievous smile on his face).
Anyways, after the first night, I personally felt that Fish became depressed. He seemed a lot more lethargic and wouldn't eat his "supper" that Rylen fed him nightly (maybe it had something to do with the super loud two year old, with his face millimeters from the water yelling "SUPPER TIME!") Or maybe the novelty of his new cubicle wore off. He realized it was not the 5 star accommodation that he originally thought. I'm not sure. Either way, he became less active.
I'm sure you can see what's coming....
Sadly, today, we discovered the Fish is no longer with us. We found him floating perfectly vertical in the water with his little mouth and nose (do they fish have noses?) right at the surface.
Now, there are a few possible causes of death:
1. He froze to death. (This is Mark's theory based on the fact that his pregnant wife insists on sleeping with the windows wide open resulting in temperatures of 59 degrees in the morning. I think this might be his "subtle" way of letting me know that he's freezing his a** off at night and would like me to please turn the heat on!)
2. Someone's fingers ended up in the water ( I think we all know who that someone is)
3. Mark killed it when he cleaned the cubicle/tank yesterday by not following the "procedure". (My theory, mostly because I am disputing the "freezing to death" theory)
Anyways, we aren't sure what happened. But it is slightly alarming to us that we cannot keep a fish alive for a week and here we are expecting triplets.
Tomorrow we will likely have another fish (Rylen has not noticed that Fish has disappeared, so we can sneakily replace him). Hopefully this next one lasts a bit longer than a week. A month at least! Surely we can keep a fish alive for a month!
Feel free to post "fish care" tips/advice!
In other news, we acquired a new family member last week. A fish. For Rylen, as he is fascinated by fish, every time he sees an aquarium or fish tank he can spend hours if we let him, just watching and talking to the fish.
Someone gave Mark a little fish tank suitable for a beta fish. So, off Mark and Rylen went to get his new pet. The lady at the pet shop told Mark that beta fish are super easy to take care of and very kid friendly. She assured us that "they can even live out of water!" Well, Mark was sold. What could possibly go wrong?
Although Rylen was super excited about the fish and would not stop talking about him, or looking at him, for some reason he did not want to name him. So we just called him "Fish" or "Fishie".
We got Fish last Wednesday. The first day he swam around his little tank (and I use the word "tank" loosely....it was more a "cubicle") like it was a fancy 5 star fish palace...seriously he was so excited!
The rules were (according to the lady at the pet store) that the fish would die if anyone stuck their fingers in the tank, or soap, chemicals, people food, etc got in there. She gave us a "procedure" for cleaning the tank to ensure the proper balance of bacteria and whatever else to keep the fish alive (I think she mentioned all of this after Fish was already purchased with understanding that "they are so easy to look after"). We taught Rylen that he was not allowed to touch the fish, only look at him and talk to him. He did pretty good after a few "tests" to see if we meant business (with his finger hovering just over the surface of the water, saying "can I touch? can I touch?" with a mischievous smile on his face).
Anyways, after the first night, I personally felt that Fish became depressed. He seemed a lot more lethargic and wouldn't eat his "supper" that Rylen fed him nightly (maybe it had something to do with the super loud two year old, with his face millimeters from the water yelling "SUPPER TIME!") Or maybe the novelty of his new cubicle wore off. He realized it was not the 5 star accommodation that he originally thought. I'm not sure. Either way, he became less active.
I'm sure you can see what's coming....
Sadly, today, we discovered the Fish is no longer with us. We found him floating perfectly vertical in the water with his little mouth and nose (do they fish have noses?) right at the surface.
Now, there are a few possible causes of death:
1. He froze to death. (This is Mark's theory based on the fact that his pregnant wife insists on sleeping with the windows wide open resulting in temperatures of 59 degrees in the morning. I think this might be his "subtle" way of letting me know that he's freezing his a** off at night and would like me to please turn the heat on!)
2. Someone's fingers ended up in the water ( I think we all know who that someone is)
3. Mark killed it when he cleaned the cubicle/tank yesterday by not following the "procedure". (My theory, mostly because I am disputing the "freezing to death" theory)
Anyways, we aren't sure what happened. But it is slightly alarming to us that we cannot keep a fish alive for a week and here we are expecting triplets.
Now before you call the authorities ("Seriously they are having triplets and they can't even manage a FISH!") ,keep in mind that we have managed to keep our 2.5 year old alive and well and relatively unscathed for this long. See? Isn't he cute?
So, are kids easier to raise than fish? One would think not, but apparently in our household this is the case! Thank goodness we already have Rylen as living proof we can be decent parents, otherwise this whole fish thing would be a major confidence killer!
Tomorrow we will likely have another fish (Rylen has not noticed that Fish has disappeared, so we can sneakily replace him). Hopefully this next one lasts a bit longer than a week. A month at least! Surely we can keep a fish alive for a month!
Feel free to post "fish care" tips/advice!
Monday, 17 October 2011
My four little pumpkins
Before we left, Rylen also picked out a Mommy and Daddy pumpkin.
He then proceeded to throw the little pumpkins out of the wagon and on the ground. He seemed quite adamant that he did not want them in the wagon.
I really hope that wasn't a sign of what is to come.... :-)
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
25 Weeks
25 weeks today! Time is flying by. It is hard to believe that for sure in 10 weeks or less (hopefully not too much less) I will be a mom to four boys under the age of three. Okay, just saying that gives me shivers.
We had our fetal assessment on Friday and it went awesome. All the babes are growing very well (they are the size of 23 week babies) and yes, they are all STILL boys. Hahaha, perhaps they are sick of me asking, because this time I went home with three distinct pictures of the....ummm...."parts". Kind of a funny thing to have a picture of. Maybe they will fight later on when they are older about whose fetus parts were larger? I'm not sure how boys minds work...I can see it happening though!
Boy A and C weigh approximately 1 pound 6 oz, and Boy B weighs 1 lb 5 oz. But C is the "tallest", with the longest femur length. I feel sorry for C because he has four legs kicking him all the time. The way they are positioned, is A and B (my identicals) are head down, straight up and down. Boy C makes a "t" across the top...he is transverse. So he has four legs in his belly. Poor guy. And if he wants to fight back, all he can do is punch his brothers' legs. Not very effective defense if you ask me.
I am so interested to see how these guys interact as they grow up. I wonder if the identicals will have a special bond compared to the three of them together. I really, really hope that Rylen develops a special bond with one of them (the singleton maybe?) so that he can have a best buddy too.
On another note, I am feeling well. Probably the best I have felt all pregnancy actually! We had a great Thanksgiving weekend, took Rylen to the zoo and he had a blast playing in the leaves in the park. I hope I continue to feel well because I sure am enjoying fall and the cooler weather (the heat this summer killed me).
We had our fetal assessment on Friday and it went awesome. All the babes are growing very well (they are the size of 23 week babies) and yes, they are all STILL boys. Hahaha, perhaps they are sick of me asking, because this time I went home with three distinct pictures of the....ummm...."parts". Kind of a funny thing to have a picture of. Maybe they will fight later on when they are older about whose fetus parts were larger? I'm not sure how boys minds work...I can see it happening though!
Boy A and C weigh approximately 1 pound 6 oz, and Boy B weighs 1 lb 5 oz. But C is the "tallest", with the longest femur length. I feel sorry for C because he has four legs kicking him all the time. The way they are positioned, is A and B (my identicals) are head down, straight up and down. Boy C makes a "t" across the top...he is transverse. So he has four legs in his belly. Poor guy. And if he wants to fight back, all he can do is punch his brothers' legs. Not very effective defense if you ask me.
I am so interested to see how these guys interact as they grow up. I wonder if the identicals will have a special bond compared to the three of them together. I really, really hope that Rylen develops a special bond with one of them (the singleton maybe?) so that he can have a best buddy too.
On another note, I am feeling well. Probably the best I have felt all pregnancy actually! We had a great Thanksgiving weekend, took Rylen to the zoo and he had a blast playing in the leaves in the park. I hope I continue to feel well because I sure am enjoying fall and the cooler weather (the heat this summer killed me).
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| Eww, the zoo stinks!!!! |
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| Go JETS Go! |
Thursday, 6 October 2011
24 weeks...
And measuring.....37 weeks!
Disturbing picture to follow. (I realize that depending on what I wear I either look really huge or just "bigger than normal" I guess. I think this particular picture might be slightly misleading due to the form fittedness of the tank top...or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better!)
Disturbing picture to follow. (I realize that depending on what I wear I either look really huge or just "bigger than normal" I guess. I think this particular picture might be slightly misleading due to the form fittedness of the tank top...or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better!)
I don't even want to know how big I'll be at the end. On the upside, I feel pretty good and these babes are apparently growing like weeds!
I have another fetal assessment tomorrow. I am curious what their estimated weights are! Will keep everyone posted!
Monday, 3 October 2011
And the winner is....
Part of the reason it has taken me so long to get this blog up and running, is because I couldn't come up with a title! And you need a title right?
Coming up with a blog title is almost as hard as naming three new baby boys! Almost...but not quite. The good thing is, I can change it at any time.
But for now, my title is: All Mommy Wanted Was a Backrub.... and this title is courtesy of my good friend Derek who suggested it via Facebook. I thought it was halarious and very "tongue in cheek". While technically not true (we did plan for this pregnancy...just didn't think we were getting three for the price of one!) I think it's a good laugh. I may change it later if I feel something else become more appropriate (or if any elderly family members don't get it and need too much of a detailed explanation...)
But for now....thanks Derek! You win the grand prize of diaper duty and midnight feeds! There are plenty of babies to go around so we'll need all the hands we can get!
Coming up with a blog title is almost as hard as naming three new baby boys! Almost...but not quite. The good thing is, I can change it at any time.
But for now, my title is: All Mommy Wanted Was a Backrub.... and this title is courtesy of my good friend Derek who suggested it via Facebook. I thought it was halarious and very "tongue in cheek". While technically not true (we did plan for this pregnancy...just didn't think we were getting three for the price of one!) I think it's a good laugh. I may change it later if I feel something else become more appropriate (or if any elderly family members don't get it and need too much of a detailed explanation...)
But for now....thanks Derek! You win the grand prize of diaper duty and midnight feeds! There are plenty of babies to go around so we'll need all the hands we can get!
Sunday, 2 October 2011
23 weeks
Well, now that we are mostly up to date, my plan is to start posting weekly, or as often as something interesting happens.
I just reread my post about finding out the news, and I am amazed at how much our mindset has changed. We definitely no longer see this as a negative thing. The shock is mostly worn off. We are both actually quite excited to be having triplets, and I am actually very happy that they are all boys!
In the past few weeks, we have started organizing our lives to accomodate three new babies.
First, we had to find a vehicle to accomodate all these kids and carseats. It was a long search (did you know alot of vans do not have the tether anchors for caresats in their back row???) but finally we found the Honda Odyssey and traded in our beloved truck for it. I apparently am very sentimental about everything, so this was quite upsetting for me. So much so, that we actually took a family picture in front of the truck right before we drove it to the lot. Once I got the new van, I was in love with it. Vans truly are the most family friendly vehicle out there. Rylen loves that he can get in and out of his carseat on his own (with the help of a stepping stool....so cute!)
I also am done working now. My last shift was Aug 29, I was 19 weeks. The doctor said I am suppposed to be "resting", but with a 2 year old at home that isn't the easiest. Being off work was hard at first, I really didn't want to be. But Mark was totally against me working because he saw how tired I was after a shift and he is feeling very protective of these little guys inside of me. I had to remind myself that I have a different job now: to keep growing these babies as long as I can! Now that I have been off for awhile it just seems normal. I miss my coworkers like crazy, but am enjoying being able to get organized around the house and take a nap everyday (who doesn't like naps??)
My new favorite reality show is Making Room for Multiples on TLC. Although, not very realistic at times (the last one I watched, the crazy mom took her 3 year old triplets and newborn twins grocery shopping by herself, pushing a cart, and pulling the stroller.....OMG) it does help to see how crazy everyone's house is once the babies come home and makes me feel so lucky to have lots of great support around and a husband who actually knows how to change a diaper!
Rylen now knows there are three babies in there....well sort of. When asked how many, he just starts counting, and I think we have stopped him at three so many times that it is just habit for him to say "one, two, three". He likes to kiss my belly and is learning that he is only allowed to wrestle with Daddy, not Mommy.
As far as I go, I am feeling alright. I have good days and bad days. I get tired easily but the last few weeks the pain in my pelvis and groin has been a little bit better. I am taking iron supplements which has really increased my energy level. This came at a great time, because Mark has been on exercise in Shilo for a week and a bit (he has to sleep there, cannot come home) so I have been on my own with Rylen. I feel similar to how I did at the end of pregnancy with Rylen, except I have awhile left to go with these guys. It scares me a bit, I can't imagine how I will look and feel at the end of this pregnancy (OMG, I googled: Triplet Bellies and just about fainted).
The days go by so fast and I am excited and nervous that in potentially 10 weeks (but hopefully longer) our family will be doubling in size!!!
I just reread my post about finding out the news, and I am amazed at how much our mindset has changed. We definitely no longer see this as a negative thing. The shock is mostly worn off. We are both actually quite excited to be having triplets, and I am actually very happy that they are all boys!
In the past few weeks, we have started organizing our lives to accomodate three new babies.
First, we had to find a vehicle to accomodate all these kids and carseats. It was a long search (did you know alot of vans do not have the tether anchors for caresats in their back row???) but finally we found the Honda Odyssey and traded in our beloved truck for it. I apparently am very sentimental about everything, so this was quite upsetting for me. So much so, that we actually took a family picture in front of the truck right before we drove it to the lot. Once I got the new van, I was in love with it. Vans truly are the most family friendly vehicle out there. Rylen loves that he can get in and out of his carseat on his own (with the help of a stepping stool....so cute!)
I also am done working now. My last shift was Aug 29, I was 19 weeks. The doctor said I am suppposed to be "resting", but with a 2 year old at home that isn't the easiest. Being off work was hard at first, I really didn't want to be. But Mark was totally against me working because he saw how tired I was after a shift and he is feeling very protective of these little guys inside of me. I had to remind myself that I have a different job now: to keep growing these babies as long as I can! Now that I have been off for awhile it just seems normal. I miss my coworkers like crazy, but am enjoying being able to get organized around the house and take a nap everyday (who doesn't like naps??)
My new favorite reality show is Making Room for Multiples on TLC. Although, not very realistic at times (the last one I watched, the crazy mom took her 3 year old triplets and newborn twins grocery shopping by herself, pushing a cart, and pulling the stroller.....OMG) it does help to see how crazy everyone's house is once the babies come home and makes me feel so lucky to have lots of great support around and a husband who actually knows how to change a diaper!
Rylen now knows there are three babies in there....well sort of. When asked how many, he just starts counting, and I think we have stopped him at three so many times that it is just habit for him to say "one, two, three". He likes to kiss my belly and is learning that he is only allowed to wrestle with Daddy, not Mommy.
As far as I go, I am feeling alright. I have good days and bad days. I get tired easily but the last few weeks the pain in my pelvis and groin has been a little bit better. I am taking iron supplements which has really increased my energy level. This came at a great time, because Mark has been on exercise in Shilo for a week and a bit (he has to sleep there, cannot come home) so I have been on my own with Rylen. I feel similar to how I did at the end of pregnancy with Rylen, except I have awhile left to go with these guys. It scares me a bit, I can't imagine how I will look and feel at the end of this pregnancy (OMG, I googled: Triplet Bellies and just about fainted).
The days go by so fast and I am excited and nervous that in potentially 10 weeks (but hopefully longer) our family will be doubling in size!!!
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| Our beloved Ridgeline |
Monday, 26 September 2011
17 weeks and the life changing news!
At 17 weeks we found out we were having triplets!
What happened was that my triple screen bloodwork came back with "an elevated AFP" which basically means that there were certain risk factors that were present which warranted further investigation. One of the things that was a potential worry for the baby was Spina Bifida.
But, there are other reasons that AFP can be elevated, one of which is more than one baby! I knew this, but even so, I never dreamed that boring old Mark and I would ever have something so crazy happen to us! We were more convinced that something was wrong with the baby and we were worried like crazy.
We got referred for genetic counselling in Winnipeg. We did a family history and medical history with the very nice genetic counsellor and she kept asking us questions about fertility drugs and stuff but even then it didn't dawn on us that everyone else was suspecting a multiple pregnancy except us!
Finally we went in for the ultrasound, TERRIFIED about what news we would get. I immediately saw two "blobs" (ie: heads) on the screen but denial was still flowing strong and it wasn't until the nurse spelled it out for me that I believed it: TWO babies.
"Okay, I can do twins" I thought. (Even though, several times, Mark and I have joked that twins would be a nightmare and how on earth would we ever handle TWO Rylen's?????)
And then she moved the wand a bit more and exclaimed "Oh! What's that!? There's another one! TRIPLETS!".
The rest I don't remember. I think I was hysterical. I think I thought I was dreaming. I was laughing and shaking and crying. Someone really should have slapped me or something.
Mark was in shock also, kept asking "How did this happen? Did we try too hard?"
We then asked for a refresher lesson in how triplets get made because we honestly could not comprehend how this occurred! For those who don't know, basically I lay eggs like a hen (Mark's words, not mine) and released two eggs, both got fertilized and then one split into two babies: voila! So in the end we ended up with two identical twins plus a single baby who just decided to join the party apparently :-)
Anyways, then followed a 2 hour long ultrasound where they tried to get the anatomy of all three babies. The whole time, I kept thinking that this was crazy and could not really be happening. People kept coming in to "see" them on the screen and congratulating us. The genetic counsellor revealed that she suspected multiples since all my levels on my blood work were so high (three babies produce three times the hormones, proteins etc...) I half expected a tv crew to pop in there was so much fuss made of us!
The nurse asked if we wanted to know the gender. Mark and I have always liked a good surprise and had discussed before hand that we didn't want to know. Well, we figured we had enough surprise for awhile and I also said logically "if they are all boys, I need to get my head around that, because we are NOT doing this again!" So, the nurse started looking for boy/girl parts....
One boy....
Two boys......
and.....
THREE boys.
Seriously. I was so mad at Mark. I think I may even have swatted him. All those babies and he couldn't even have given me one girl? Honestly. He was just as upset with me for "laying too many eggs". Oh, what the nurse must have thought of us and our craziness.
The nurse tried to reassure me that I could always try for a girl later.
Hahhahahaa, that was halarious. (I think we both laughed hysterically at that.)
The awesome thing is that all three boys were healthy and growing well. We were so relieved as we had been so scared that something was seriously wrong. And, I love boys. They are so crazy and fun and lively. I never did think I'd be a mom of girls, just didn't think it was in the cards for me (although I hoped). So, the shock of being a mom to four boys wore off quick. I got over it fast. But the whole THREE BABIES thing....well that took longer.....
We went home, completely shell shocked and thinking random crazy thoughts all the way home:
"What are we going to name them?"
"When are you booking your vasectomy?"
"Imagine this happened on a one night stand??
"OMG,OMG, OMG"
"Is this a dream?"
"Which one of our parents are we going to force retirement upon?"
"Maybe one will turn into a girl...."
"Is it possible for one to change into a girl??? That's creepy.."
"Poor Rylen"
"How did this happen again???"
"We should buy a lottery ticket" (which we did)
Anyways, the next two weeks were full of many emotions. People asked how I felt and I'm ashamed now to admit to some of the things I was feeling. But, I will be honest and not sugar coat this for the benefit of any other moms out there that may be reading and feeling the same things:
I felt:
terrified,
overwhelmed,
panicked,
amazed,
out of control,
angry, (after all, I didn't choose this, nobody asked me if it was a good idea or not!!!)
happy they were healthy,
scared for us, our marriage and for Rylen
scared for our bank account!
scared for what my body is going to have to endure
intense longing to only have ONE baby in there
over protective of Rylen ( I was convinced we had just ruined his life by making him a big brother x 3)
and at times I felt like the world was ending. You know, the "WHY ME???" feeling.
Basically I was in bed with a migraine and cried for two days.
I later read in a book, that when a mom finds out she is expecting multiples, she goes through the five stages of grief. I would totally agree with this. It is so shocking and so life changing that your whole world gets shaken.
It was hard to accept everyone's well wishes and congratulations, knowing that most of them were thinking "I'm so glad it's not us". That being said, I also knew that there are couples out there that would give anything to be in our shoes, to just have one baby would be a miracle for them, and here we are blessed so effortlessly with three at once. Life isn't fair.
I am so happy to say that now that a few weeks has passed, and we have slowly gotten used to the reality of triplets, that we are feeling much better about things. Mark got to that point sooner than I did, but we are both now excited, thrilled, amazed, happy, and confident that we can do this!!!!! We feel lucky, and I am so amazed at my body and how it can grow three little babies and still somewhat function normally (for now anyways!) We are so thankful that all the babies are healthy and feel so fortunate that we are going to have the large family that other people dream of. We are also blown away by the generosity of all the people in our lives who have offerred help, encouragement and well wishes. We really are very lucky people.
We looked up the odds for conceiving triplets naturally: 1 in 8100. Wow!
We are looking forward to meeting these little guys and have started organizing our life to accomodate our new family which will be doubling in size! We now see the triplets as a very welcome enhancement to our lives and my sadness for Rylen has disapeared. I think he will be an awesome big brother and will one day love having three little brothers to boss around and play with.
I still ask at each ultrasound, "are they still all boys??" I don't know why. It would actually complicate things more if one was a girl (room sharing, clothes etc...) At the last visit the nurse gave me a very explicit view of "the parts" which my boys were showing off so modestly for the whole word to see. Yes, they are definitely all boys.
And I love them so much already. :-)
What happened was that my triple screen bloodwork came back with "an elevated AFP" which basically means that there were certain risk factors that were present which warranted further investigation. One of the things that was a potential worry for the baby was Spina Bifida.
But, there are other reasons that AFP can be elevated, one of which is more than one baby! I knew this, but even so, I never dreamed that boring old Mark and I would ever have something so crazy happen to us! We were more convinced that something was wrong with the baby and we were worried like crazy.
We got referred for genetic counselling in Winnipeg. We did a family history and medical history with the very nice genetic counsellor and she kept asking us questions about fertility drugs and stuff but even then it didn't dawn on us that everyone else was suspecting a multiple pregnancy except us!
Finally we went in for the ultrasound, TERRIFIED about what news we would get. I immediately saw two "blobs" (ie: heads) on the screen but denial was still flowing strong and it wasn't until the nurse spelled it out for me that I believed it: TWO babies.
"Okay, I can do twins" I thought. (Even though, several times, Mark and I have joked that twins would be a nightmare and how on earth would we ever handle TWO Rylen's?????)
And then she moved the wand a bit more and exclaimed "Oh! What's that!? There's another one! TRIPLETS!".
The rest I don't remember. I think I was hysterical. I think I thought I was dreaming. I was laughing and shaking and crying. Someone really should have slapped me or something.
Mark was in shock also, kept asking "How did this happen? Did we try too hard?"
We then asked for a refresher lesson in how triplets get made because we honestly could not comprehend how this occurred! For those who don't know, basically I lay eggs like a hen (Mark's words, not mine) and released two eggs, both got fertilized and then one split into two babies: voila! So in the end we ended up with two identical twins plus a single baby who just decided to join the party apparently :-)
Anyways, then followed a 2 hour long ultrasound where they tried to get the anatomy of all three babies. The whole time, I kept thinking that this was crazy and could not really be happening. People kept coming in to "see" them on the screen and congratulating us. The genetic counsellor revealed that she suspected multiples since all my levels on my blood work were so high (three babies produce three times the hormones, proteins etc...) I half expected a tv crew to pop in there was so much fuss made of us!
The nurse asked if we wanted to know the gender. Mark and I have always liked a good surprise and had discussed before hand that we didn't want to know. Well, we figured we had enough surprise for awhile and I also said logically "if they are all boys, I need to get my head around that, because we are NOT doing this again!" So, the nurse started looking for boy/girl parts....
One boy....
Two boys......
and.....
THREE boys.
Seriously. I was so mad at Mark. I think I may even have swatted him. All those babies and he couldn't even have given me one girl? Honestly. He was just as upset with me for "laying too many eggs". Oh, what the nurse must have thought of us and our craziness.
The nurse tried to reassure me that I could always try for a girl later.
Hahhahahaa, that was halarious. (I think we both laughed hysterically at that.)
The awesome thing is that all three boys were healthy and growing well. We were so relieved as we had been so scared that something was seriously wrong. And, I love boys. They are so crazy and fun and lively. I never did think I'd be a mom of girls, just didn't think it was in the cards for me (although I hoped). So, the shock of being a mom to four boys wore off quick. I got over it fast. But the whole THREE BABIES thing....well that took longer.....
We went home, completely shell shocked and thinking random crazy thoughts all the way home:
"What are we going to name them?"
"When are you booking your vasectomy?"
"Imagine this happened on a one night stand??
"OMG,OMG, OMG"
"Is this a dream?"
"Which one of our parents are we going to force retirement upon?"
"Maybe one will turn into a girl...."
"Is it possible for one to change into a girl??? That's creepy.."
"Poor Rylen"
"How did this happen again???"
"We should buy a lottery ticket" (which we did)
Anyways, the next two weeks were full of many emotions. People asked how I felt and I'm ashamed now to admit to some of the things I was feeling. But, I will be honest and not sugar coat this for the benefit of any other moms out there that may be reading and feeling the same things:
I felt:
terrified,
overwhelmed,
panicked,
amazed,
out of control,
angry, (after all, I didn't choose this, nobody asked me if it was a good idea or not!!!)
happy they were healthy,
scared for us, our marriage and for Rylen
scared for our bank account!
scared for what my body is going to have to endure
intense longing to only have ONE baby in there
over protective of Rylen ( I was convinced we had just ruined his life by making him a big brother x 3)
and at times I felt like the world was ending. You know, the "WHY ME???" feeling.
Basically I was in bed with a migraine and cried for two days.
I later read in a book, that when a mom finds out she is expecting multiples, she goes through the five stages of grief. I would totally agree with this. It is so shocking and so life changing that your whole world gets shaken.
It was hard to accept everyone's well wishes and congratulations, knowing that most of them were thinking "I'm so glad it's not us". That being said, I also knew that there are couples out there that would give anything to be in our shoes, to just have one baby would be a miracle for them, and here we are blessed so effortlessly with three at once. Life isn't fair.
I am so happy to say that now that a few weeks has passed, and we have slowly gotten used to the reality of triplets, that we are feeling much better about things. Mark got to that point sooner than I did, but we are both now excited, thrilled, amazed, happy, and confident that we can do this!!!!! We feel lucky, and I am so amazed at my body and how it can grow three little babies and still somewhat function normally (for now anyways!) We are so thankful that all the babies are healthy and feel so fortunate that we are going to have the large family that other people dream of. We are also blown away by the generosity of all the people in our lives who have offerred help, encouragement and well wishes. We really are very lucky people.
We looked up the odds for conceiving triplets naturally: 1 in 8100. Wow!
We are looking forward to meeting these little guys and have started organizing our life to accomodate our new family which will be doubling in size! We now see the triplets as a very welcome enhancement to our lives and my sadness for Rylen has disapeared. I think he will be an awesome big brother and will one day love having three little brothers to boss around and play with.
I still ask at each ultrasound, "are they still all boys??" I don't know why. It would actually complicate things more if one was a girl (room sharing, clothes etc...) At the last visit the nurse gave me a very explicit view of "the parts" which my boys were showing off so modestly for the whole word to see. Yes, they are definitely all boys.
And I love them so much already. :-)
 |
| 17 weeks, getting bigger rapidly! |
 |
| Our new and expanded family photo gallery (I think we will need to choose a bigger wall) |
 |
| We posted the ultrasound pictures for a good dose of reality every day while we were trying to get our heads around the news. Mark said he felt like he was dreaming and it helped him to look at the pictures all the time. |
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
16 weeks...
Here I am 16 weeks pregnant and blissfully unaware of what is happening inside of me! Everyone asks me if I suspected multiples, and the answer is NO! We did joke about it a time or two because I felt that I was showing early (I was 7 weeks when I started to get a belly) but of course, with a second pregnancy that is normal!
I was less nauseated this time than when I was pregnant with Rylen (and funny enough, extreme nausea is a sign of multiples). But the exhaustion was awful. Like, I have never felt that physically and mentally drained in my whole life. I kept thinking I was being a big baby about things, and blaming the tiredness on the fact that I have a very active and rambunctious 2 year old to look after. I suppose that should maybe have been a clue that something was different, but I honestly did not ever suspect that there was more than one baby in there! We don't have a family history of multiples and we did not use fertility drugs (something everyone wants to know!).
In fact, at one of my appointments, my wonderful midwife Kari even said "I think there's only one in there, you aren't measuring any bigger than usual". Apparently my boys were hiding out somewhere. Either that or I have an unusually roomy uterus.
The day we took this picture I was actually feeling really good. My energy level had returned a bit and I was excited for the rest of the pregnancy, hoping that I was done with all the annoying early pregnancy discomforts. We were busy discussing names (focusing on girl names of course) and making plans for our future with two children. I told Mark that I didn't think I'd be done at two kids, but he thought that maybe it was a good idea (perhaps my extreme exhaustion had more of an effect on him? He really was basically single parenting while I napped 24/7).
Wow, how different our life was just a few weeks ago...
First Post
Well here I am blogging! Never thought it would happen. Pregnancy brain x 3 is not making me very computer literate at the moment.
I guess I should start with why I'm blogging. There are a few reasons. Firstly, I would love to accurately document this AMAZING adventure in my life, which is, that I am expecting triplets! (More on that in a bit...)
Second, due to the first reason, I am looking for an easy way to keep friends and family informed on what is going on in my world and with this very unique pregnancy! I have had people tell me that they are following my Facebook updates closely, so I figure this would be a more in depth way of sharing our experience with everyone!
And third, since I have found out my news, I have been online ALOT trying to connect with other moms of triplets. I have come across a few blogs which I have found very helpful and informative. So I guess I am hoping to return the favor for others that may end up in my shoes. I have found that there is alot of stuff out there about twins, but not so much about triplets!
So, here we go. I hope everyone enjoys!
I guess I should start with why I'm blogging. There are a few reasons. Firstly, I would love to accurately document this AMAZING adventure in my life, which is, that I am expecting triplets! (More on that in a bit...)
Second, due to the first reason, I am looking for an easy way to keep friends and family informed on what is going on in my world and with this very unique pregnancy! I have had people tell me that they are following my Facebook updates closely, so I figure this would be a more in depth way of sharing our experience with everyone!
And third, since I have found out my news, I have been online ALOT trying to connect with other moms of triplets. I have come across a few blogs which I have found very helpful and informative. So I guess I am hoping to return the favor for others that may end up in my shoes. I have found that there is alot of stuff out there about twins, but not so much about triplets!
So, here we go. I hope everyone enjoys!
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