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.
Saturday, 26 November 2011
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!
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