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 :-)

Preview from our photo shoot

Mini Mark

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.

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!

My four little pumpkins

We went to the Meandher Creek Pumpkin Patch this weekend. While Rylen and Mark rode the Pumpkin Train (over and over again) I passed the time creating my own little pumpkin family.

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.... :-)

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).

Eww, the zoo stinks!!!!

Go JETS Go!

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!)

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!

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!

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!!!

Our beloved Ridgeline