talk about a scare...

So my precious Skittle's gave Mommy and Daddy a bit of a scare this afternoon. >.<

Dr G came in, and (you guessed it) I was laying on my left side. Of course my blood pressure was high when they finally called me back. But once again, my urine revealed no protein...so we're good.

He had me roll over on my back so we could take a listen...and a fell. Ouch! I'm sore. Dr G says it's not time to start measuring me yet - BUT that  I have grown considerably in the last two weeks (I should have! I gained five pounds!!!). My uterus is now almost even with my belly button. :) Growing babies. So he took out the doppler - and of course, my heart beat dominated over A,B & C's. We finally heard Baby A's - and possibly Baby B's (

We lucked out and she was between appointments so they hurried me in and up onto the table. Dr G went with me, which at first freaked me out - but then made me feel better. Lights went out, and tada! Three babies (that actually look like babies now!!) and three little beating hearts. Thank you God!! Dr G says that they all appear to be about the same size - and that fluid levels are normal for this stage in pregnancy. Ah, what a relief to see my little ones after four long weeks.

Dr G also set my mind at ease about the blood pressure. It really hasn't been super high - in fact, they say that they don't really worry about the bottom number until it reaches high 90s - into the hundreds. And he also said that it normally doesn't become a problem until the third trimester. :) So I do feel better about that.

All in all - it was a really good appointment (aside from the scare and barely missed melt down!). We go back to see Dr G in two weeks and hopefully two weeks after that we will know the sex of the Skittle's.

Clif seems to think (actually swears) that Baby A is a boy. Only time will tell. When we saw them today - Baby A was punching my insides. CANNOT wait until I can feel that little boxer move!! :)

Well, that's all for now... just wanted to give everyone a quick update on how things went!! Hope everyone has a good rest of the week, and a great weekend.

short & sweet

I am exhausted and it's been a very hectic last few days with work and such :) But I wanted to update and say that my appointment with Dr G went very well yesterday.
He didn't change my blood pressure medication - he was pretty well satisfied with how it had been running. :) Except yesterday. *laugh* Of course, I have "white coat syndrome" when it comes to any type of doctor. So my bp was up a little when we finally were called back. They sent me to the exam room and had me lie on my left side - and literally two minutes later, Dr G came in and took it again. It was perfect. He told me to go ahead and roll over on my back so we could "take a listen" to the babies. When I rolled over - Dr G was like, wow...you've gotten a lot bigger since I saw you last. I just felt like saying - oh thanks!
It was semi difficult to pick up the heart beats, number one because I'm only twelve weeks - and there are three of them in there. And secondly - when he stuck the doppler to my tummy, MY heart beat was super loud. :) We heard Baby B & C pretty good, and A was a little harder to hear because s/he likes to hide down by my pubic bone. I heard a very faint something, and Dr G was very confident that it was the third heart beat. He says that everything looks good... and he wants to see me again in two weeks.
Crazy thing... he showed me where my "fundus" is (the top of the uterus) is. At twelve weeks - it's normally about an inch or two above the pubic bone. MINE is about an inch and a half below my BELLY BUTTON. Really? ha!
Clif and I are so grateful - and praising God for yet another good report. We are so blessed to be given three precious babies.

10w3d

...and exhausted. :)

Thought that I would update on everything going on. Things with me and babies seem to be going really well. I'm still experiencing some morning sickness... but it has slowed down. If in the event that I feel like I'm going to hurl, I can normally take a Zofran and feel semi-human.
Blood pressure has been doing really good with the medication. I went to Kroger last night and walked around for right at thirty minutes, and when I came out of the store I took my blood pressure in the truck, and it was 127/80. Needless to say - that made me smile! It's also helped (a lot) with the anxiety that I've been experiencing thus far with this pregnancy. Of course, nothing is going to take away all my worries... and they won't be gone until the triplets are here in our arms. But it's nice to have a little relief.
I currently am dealing with a head cold/sinus thing...which stinks. I called my nurse yesterday to give her some information about my FMLA, and also asked her if there was anything that I could take for my cold. I had a list of safe over the counter drugs that I can take - BUT - I happened to think, since I'm on the Labatelol, I might should ASK them before I take anything. And sure enough... I could have taken Tylenol Cold...but... they took it off the market, for some off unknown reason :( She told me that I could take Sudafed, but as soon as she told me that...Dr G was at her side, writing a note saying that Sudafed causes hyper tension. Wanna know what I can take? Nothing. Well...almost nothing. They said that I can use saline nose spray. Um... I think not. So I get to suffer and wait it out. Ha! Okay, it's not THAT bad... but it's still uncomfortable, and it makes sleeping a chore. I can't breath through my nose 80% of the time, so every morning for the last 4-5 days, I have woken up to a bloody top lip :( It's been splitting and re-splitting every night. Even with chapstick!
Okay, enough whining. :) Today I have had a little more energy than usual. And I stress a little. But it's been nice. I had to work eight forty five to twelve today, then I met my parents for lunch. After lunch I headed to Wal*Mart to pick up some needed supplies (like brownie mix to surprise Clif with!). I finally got home around two, and put a roast (with carrots & potatoes) on the stove, loaded the dishwasher, and started a load of laundry. I feel rather accomplished, considering I haven't d one any real cooking or cleaning in about a month now.
Now...all that aside, I guess there is somewhere I haven't really ventured lately. How's the grief aspect of everything? How are we holding up?
I'd say...honestly, that most days we are okay. I don't think there is a single day that we don't talk about Lilly. I mean, even today we met up with one of my friends in WalMart & were talking about cribs, and baby birth weights... and we openly talked about Lilly's birth weight of 5lb9.5oz. And that was fine. It felt normal?
I won't lie...I know that it's going to be tough. I actually dread going to the hospital on delivery day. But only because of the bittersweet experience I had the last time I was there. But I know that God is there, and that He will hold my hand all the way :)
God is teaching us many things with this pregnancy, already. Clif and I are different with one another... in a good way. He's always looking out for me, and meets my every need. God is teaching me trust... in a whole new way. It's so hard trusting Someone else with the lives of my three babies. But then again, I'm not in control at all. But He is completely. He is teaching us to pray all over again... in a whole new way. I know that I have said this for what may seem a million times, but Clif and I are incredibly blessed.. And we know that. And there hasn't been a day that has gone by since early January that we don't thank Him for what He has given us.
I hope and pray that each and every one of you have a wonderful weekend. Filled with love, happiness, and joy.

i am blessed :)

I cannot believe how I have absolutely NO energy. I'm telling you... it's all I can do to make it through eight hours of work, and make it home in one piece. :) Seriously exhausted. By the time I hit the door and eat dinner, I am passed out on the couch for the rest of the night.
I have literally been asleep by eight o'clock every night for like the last two or three weeks. It's kind of ridiculous. But I'd say it's fairly normal. I remember being tired during my first trimester with Lilly... but this is a whole new world of tired.
Please continue to pray for us, as the news of TRIPLETS is still sinking in. It's actually a LOT to swallow, which I'm sure that you can understand. I'm not scared. And I'm not even really super nervous. Just...excited? I don't know how to express the emotions that I've been feeling. I am a little anxious about the months to come.
Will I be able to keep them inside my womb long enough for them to be born healthy? How long will I be able to work? Will I be able to keep my job, despite being out on leave for (more than likely) MONTHS on end? What about insurance?
But ya know what? For once in my life... I'm not stressing about this stuff. That's right... me not stressing. Which is hard for ME to even believe.
I really believe that God has this whole situation in His hands... and that everything will go according to His perfect plan.
I don't know what this pregnancy will bring. I don't know what twists and turns our lives may take over these next few months. But (again), for once, I'm not worried about it. I'm trying with everything that I am to TRUST Him with everything concerning this pregnancy.
Speaking of... please pray for me, physically. Not only being pregnant with triplets... but having the PCOS and symptoms that come along with the territory.
What exactly am I talking about? My blood pressure. It hasn't been super high, and it's been "within normal limits" BUT it's still higher than I would like. :) But I'm not the one that controls that, huh? It actually spiked over last weekend. My bp normally runs 120s over 70s-80s. Well, over the weekend it went up to mid-high 130s over mid-high 80s. I called Dr G's office on Monday (for the second time in less that two weeks!!) and talked to the nurse about my bp. I have my parents bp machine - so I have been able to keep a close watch on it. I told her what it had been reading, and she said that since it's "within normal limits" that they weren't going to do anything at that point and time. Dr G was on vacation this week, so she consulted with the nurse Practitioner, and they decided that I will be fine until my appointment on Monday. Yup, that's right... I have an appointment on Valentine's day :) Aw.
Nurse Jill also  told me that depending on what my blood pressure is when I go in on Monday - he might put me on medication for it. Or he might want to hold off for a little while. :) I'm really hoping that he will just put me on a low dosage (as long as it's safe), just for peace of mind.
I haven't done much walking around for a week now. Mostly sitting, people doing things for me. :) Clif and I DID manage to cook dinner, a team effort, the night before last. It was the first time my kitchen has been cooked in for almost three weeks. The smell of food just makes me want to throw my guts up. Ha!
As for the morning sickness, or I guess I should say evening sickness, it's gotten a lot better. I still have my nauseous moments... but for the most part, it's gone. Last week was a really bad week though - and I ended up calling Dr G's office to express some concerns. One being the morning sickness, and another being really bad lower back pain. The back pain, I was told, is because my uterus is expanding at a crazy rate. Hm. I guess I really hadn't thought about that. Nurse Jill was like, well... you have to think. With one baby, your uterus is the size of a grapefruit at this point. And you have THREE babies in there! Made me feel better. Dr G said to take tylenol and use a heating pad when I needed. As for the morning sickness, they called me in Zofran, aka, the miracle drug.
I also expressed my concerns to Jill... just about BEING pregnant. I told her that my last pregnancy resulted in a still birth at almost 41 weeks... and that every little symptom, every little ache or pain... anything that I notice that's different... it worries me. She told me that she wished that she could tell me that I wouldn't worry, and that it would get better - but she couldn't. She said that she has been through a very similar situation, and that she was on edge her whole pregnancy with her (live, healthy) son.
I try and take comfort in knowing that I grow babies well. They like to stay inside me, and they stay fairly healthy. Oh, and Clif and I make pretty babies... if I do say so myself. :) I'm really just trying to keep my chin up, and my heart in sync with His. I know and believe that He will take care of us. And any time I start to doubt those words... Clif is right there reminding me.
I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband, a wonderful family, three beautiful babies growing inside me, and most importantly... a loving God.
I am blessed.

Talk about dysfunctional ovaries!!

I am exhausted. Seriously, that doctors appointment really wiped me out. Clif and I arrived at 9:45 and checked in. They had to make copies of the book (not exaggerating) that I had to fill out, my insurance card, AND they had to collect more information from me. My heart was beating out of my chest, I was so nervous/anxious about it all.
Now let me just stop here and say that this particular doctors office could send the infertile woman into a state of depression with their magazine collection. Since I was so worked up about being there, I thought that I would pass the time until my appointment with reading a magazine. WRONG. The only magazines that they had were for women who were already pregnant. Seriously. So that's a little messed up that you have all these hopeful women coming into your office who are coming to see you to try and get pregnant and all you have for them to read are magazine full of stuff they won't need to know until AFTER conception? Really?!
Moving on. I met Dr S' nurse, whose name I don't remember. She was really nice, and put me at ease about meeting Dr S. She wasn't too sympathetic when I told her Lilly was stillborn - but then again, some people just don't know how to take it when I tell them. So that's okay.
Next we met Dr S. I really like him, he seems to be genuinely concerned about us and our situation. We went over the basics. How old we are, how long we've been trying to get pregnant, any treatments that I've been through...he asked about my previous pregnancy. That's where it got a little hairy. He asked if I had ever had any surgeries other than my c-section. I told him no, and that's when he asked why I had a c-section. He didn't know. Maybe they don't put stuff like that in your charts. I mean, what are they going to say?? She carried the baby full term plus 4 days and her child is dead? I don't know. Anyways, so I had to tell him (Clif was right there for me, but I did the talking). I had to explain to him that our daughter had died. That we had missed her by less than three hours. It was hard. I cried...a lot. Hardly even making sense to myself, let alone the doctor.
He was very sympathetic, which was nice. He kept apologizing that he didn't know. He was really sweet. He asked questions about the time leading up to November 13th.
After talking for a while he decided that he wanted to do a pelvic exam and a ultrasound (and not the jelly on the belly kind either).<---sorry, that may be a little TMI. Oh well. I wish that I could have captured Clif's expression on camera when he saw what they were doing the ultrasound with. :) It was priceless.
Finally I got dressed and headed back to Dr S office to talk about our game plan. He said that the pelvic exam was normal, but when he did the ultrasound he found that I have tiny cysts all over both ovaries. I've been diagnosed with PCOS (poly cystic ovary syndrome). Fun stuff.
I've been asked several times if I had it, but the answer has always been no. Until today.
Dr S is the first person who actually explained PCOS to me. He said that each cyst has a small follicle inside (an egg). Since eggs mature and release when ovulation occurs, and I do not ovulate... I am left with these cysts.
So, the game plan. We are waiting until August 1st to see if I start my cycle on my own. If I don't, I will take a pregnancy test and then start provera to start the cycle. I will go back and see Dr S during days 1-4. He will do another ultrasound to see if I have a maturing egg. If I do, he is going to want to give me a shot (ovulation induction??) to force my body to release the egg and ovulate. Next...they want me to go back and they will manually fertilize my eggs. I believe he is also going to put me on another round of Clomid. I am still learning all the lingo, but is this called IUI??
Please begin to pray that this first try will be a "go". It'll use up 3-4 of my 5 paid visits. :) We're trusting God with all of this...
Still looking up!!