God is good!

Today was our appointment with the specialist, at the Prenatal Diagnostic Center... and I am exhausted! Whew. We were told to get there around 12:45 to fill out paperwork, so we go there at 12:30 :) I thought it would be paperwork like I had to fill out when I went to our RE, Dr.S. So not like that at all... I had it finished within 10 minutes.
Our appointment for the ultrasound was at 1pm...we didn't get called back until 1:15ish. I really liked our ultrasound tech, but don't know her name. I thought it was strange that she didn't introduce herself. ANYWAY... I told her about my passing out issues, and she was able to leave me in a sitting position...so that was helpful :)
I have absolutely NO complaints about our ultrasound today...everything went perfectly. I did get a little hot and lightheaded at one point, BUT... after sitting up for a minute or two, we were back to scanning the babies!
Believe it or not... all three babies have turned since Friday. THREE days, and they have completely switched it up in there! Craziness. Eli & Elliana are both breached...
butt's down. :) Elliana is now head up, butt down...and feet to the side...with her face down (Friday, she was head down, feet up... and laying on her back). Eli is face UP, whereas on Friday he was face down. Easton's head (that WAS in my side) is now right under my belly button, and his feet are almost to my back. QUITE interesting... I couldn't help but laugh.
PRAISE is, Eli's kidney is still measuring 6mm...which is what it's been for the past month+. Dr.D (not the Dr.D that I thought we were going to see, we will see her next week) said that it's considered "normal" up to 5mm, but once I hit 30 weeks 7mm is considered normal...so they aren't really concerned about it. He reassured me that it's very common in little boys...saying that boys don't like to pee as much as girls do! :)
So far in this pregnancy, we have been told that fluids are "good", or "normal"... well, today...we were told that fluid levels are "great". That made my day. I asked the girl if me drinking a lot of water would effect that, and she said absolutely! I then told her that I have been drinking close to thirteen 8oz glasses of water per day. Not including milk and anything else that I might drink. Praise the Lord for GREAT fluid levels.
Baby boys are measuring a 29+weeks, due to their legs. Apparently they are going to be tall! Little Elliana is measuring 28w5d I think? It's hard to remember all the numbers, but they said that their growth (and comparison to one another) is wonderful and completely normal. Another huge relief.
Weight. Apparently Mommy isn't the only one that's been gaining a lot of weight. Eli weighs in at 2lb8oz, Easton is 2lb11oz, and Elliana is 2lb4oz (our little dainty girl!).
When meeting with Dr.D, he told us that it's a good thing... but triplet's shouldn't be this big at *not even* 28 weeks!! They totally exceeded the doctor's expectations... and they were genuinely impressed! Another HUGE praise. Chunky Monkey Easton is pushing THREE POUNDS!
OH! The ultrasound tech told us that they generally don't even observe the "practice breathing" of the babies until 30 weeks. We are not 100% sure of Easton & Elliana... but Eli is definitely practicing away :)
Dr.D said that if I make it to 34 weeks and go into labor on my own, they won't try to stop labor. If I were to go into labor before then, they more than likely would try to stop it. We also discussed the steroids before week 34...he said that if it looked like I was going to deliver early, they probably would try to give them to me.
I really liked the doctor, had a good sense of humor...and was very blunt and to the point which I liked. We talked about Eli's kidney, and he mentioned the amniocentesis  testing that they could do... but said that there is risk of preterm labor, especially with triplets. Of course, this wasn't an option anyways...so I promptly told him that I was not interested. He acted like he didn't like offering it anyway, but he said that he has to let people know their options. According to him, everything looked great when it comes to Eli, other than his little kidney. He said that in very rare cases it could mean downs syndrome. Still didn't convince us to have testing.
Appointment with Dr.D was awesome...I really enjoyed it, and left feeling great. We talked with both the ultrasound tech AND the doctor about Lilly, and things that happened. Both of them openly asked questions, which made me smile. They wanted to know what happened...was it a girl or boy, what was her name...ect ect.
NEXT was the not so fun part. Genetic counselor. :( SOOOOO was not happy about that. No one told me anything about having to meet with one. Dr.J was nice enough, but I didn't want to be there... and quite honestly, I didn't want to hear what she had to say. Mainly because of Lilly being still born. Seriously, you probably can see my eye roll from here. She asked us a million and one questions about myself and Clif, then questions about Lilly and what happened with all of that. THEN she did a "family history", starting with Clif & me...then our parents, our siblings, their children (which when I told her I had two older brothers and they each had two kids she was like, your older brother had one girl and one boy, right? Uhhh... I didn't say that... but yes, actually he does). Then she wanted to know about my parents siblings and their children. Really? She had this paper that she was drawing all kinds of lines, circles, squares, and triangles representing my family members. WEIRD. I didn't like it. Then of course, because of my last pregnancy resulting in "fetal demise" they thought it was best that I be tested for all kind of genetic things like blood clots, and LUPUS? Where did that come from. She saw my legs (that a re kind of splotchy, but I am almost positive it's my circulation because of gaining so much weight + not walking around), and made a big deal about that. Okay...well Dr.G looks at my legs and ankles every visit, and nothing has been said. I'll be asking him about that on Friday. She also told us that we might want to think about having the testing done for Eli's kindey... OH, and because Clif's dad died due to a blood clot (dislodged and went to his heart), they think that Clif needs to undergo testing to see if it's genetic. Though, I think that he should for HIS sake...but still. I just didn't like the whole experience. It's like they take your balloon and POP it. Oh well. :)
All in all, it was a great visit...and Clif and I left feeling even better than we already were. We had been so blessed throughout this pregnancy...and we continue to be blessed. :) Thanks for all the prayers going up for our little ones. They are SOOOO appreciated.
God Bless!!

*almost* 27 weeks

At twenty seven weeks...

I am still hanging in there. :) Well, technically I guess I won't be twenty seven weeks until midnight, but whatever. Close enough.

Bed rest last week was rough, I was extremely bored... and very lonely on the days my mom wasn't here organizing everything under the sun.

This week...it really hasn't been that bad. Yet. :) Clif was off yesterday and today, and we've pretty much just spend the days together. He's cleaned and cooked off and on, but for the most part we have just been together. It's been nice.

I feel like a spoiled little brat though... he's been waiting on me, hand and foot. And I have to admit that I've really enjoyed it. Yesterday morning started with waking up around nine (?) and Clif getting up and cooking me scrambled eggs, toast & cantaloupe. YUM! He headed out the the grocery store to pick up a few things that we needed for the house, and stuff to make me lunch and dinner. :) When he returned, he made me fried bologna sandwich & Doritos...sounds pretty plain, but I love fried bologna. OH... and he surprised me with breakfast food to make me breakfast this morning. Bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy. Last night, he grilled hamburgers...topped with sauteed onions (his first ever) with wheat bread, and crinkle cut french fries. Double YUM!

He's been a real sport, watching Lifetime movies and TLC with me. Yesterday he massaged my back and legs for HOURS, literally. :) Laying around all day has taken a toll on my circulation...not to mention just being fat. HA!

Today has been kind of a lazy day too... not really doing much at all. Clif DID cook breakfast (and lunch for me), cleaned the kitchen, attempted mowing our lawn (mower died)...and now we're just sitting around. Again, it's been nice.

We did have a little excitement this afternoon... I heard someone pulling up into our driveway, something rather large. It was the UPS truck. :) Clif went out to get the package, came back in...and it was addressed to me. From, Shutterfly. I have to say that I am extremely impressed with them!! I customized a mug for Clif on Shutterfly.com on Sunday evening...around 6:15. And it came TODAY! It was supposed to be his Father's Day gift (he told me that I wasn't allowed to buy him anything)... but I caved. I loved it so much, I decided (after much convincing from Clif) to let him go ahead and have it today. Pictures to come...it's just your average coffee mug...black, but it has ultrasound pictures of Lilly, Eli, Easton & Elliana. At the bottom it says "Best Daddy Ever!!". I love it...and was so impressed that they got it printed (or whatever you say) and shipped so quickly.

Well...yesterday was the 13th. It's been nineteen months since we lost our Lilly. And ya know, it didn't even occur to me until I was asking Clif the date. *sigh* It always kinda hits me...I don't think that will ever change. But that's okay. I will never look at the number thirteen without thinking of my precious first born daughter.

Pregnancy week 26 was *mostly* uneventful. I did have to call the doctor the day before my appointment about the cramping, but I'm still 99.9% sure that it's ligament pain. It comes and goes...some days without it happening at all. Last night, I think I had my first run in with sciatic nerve pain.

Laugh if you will, but because I never experienced contractions during my pregnancy with Lilly... I'm not sure what to expect. SO I think that every little pain is a contraction. :) I probably was up on my feet a total of twenty minutes yesterday (including my shower, excluding my trips to the potty). Laying around on the couch has definitely taken it's toll on my back. I went to get up to pee as Clif was grilling last night, and I got this shooting pain in my lower back that was quick to spread down my left leg. Kinda pressure-y, but not really in my tummy. Weird. Walking around definitely helped, and it only happened the once. After asking Dr.Google about sciatic nerve pain, I was pretty sure that's what I had just experienced.

Oh, got a call from the specialists office yesterday and scheduled my first two appointments. They couldn't fit me in this week (I will still be seeing a doctor at Dr.G's practice & getting an ultrasound this Friday at 9:30)...so my first appointment is Monday afternoon at 12:45. They scheduled me for a two hour ultrasound for the first appointment...it will be a full detail ultrasound. FUN stuff. From there on out we will having weekly, one hour ultrasounds. :)

I kinda started freaking when I head "prenatal diagnostic center"... but I quickly calmed when I heard that several friends and acquaintances have been there as well. I actually thought that I would have been going there all along...seeings how I thought that I would be considered a "high risk" pregnancy. So yeah. :) We'll have lots to update about in the coming week...appointment with Dr.F on Friday, appointment on Monday with Dr.D, and more than likely another appointment with Dr.G on Thursday...followed by my second appointment with Dr.D on the 28th. Whew.

Okay Aleisha, happy now?? :) My best friend texted me this afternoon and informed me that I needed to blog so she would have something to read!

Update #2

Whew...what an eventful couple of hours. Geez. :)

This morning I got a call on my cell phone. Let me just say that I'm really bad about answering the phone when I don't recognize the number. SO I had forgotten that I ignored a call this morning until around 11:30. I decided to check my messages...and it was my doctor. NOT my nurse... my doctor.

Dr.G has only ever called me one time. It was the day after Lilly's funeral...and I had broken out in a rash all over my stomach, and he called to check on me. So it startled me when I heard his voice on my voice mail. He said that it was NOT an emergency, but to call him as soon as I could. He had been talking to a specialist at the prenatal center, and he wanted to discuss a few options with me.

So I immediately call, and of course he is with a patient. And so is my nurse. :( I told the receptionist to have him call me, that he had left a message for me to call him.  That was at 11:45. I've been sitting around all afternoon thinking about what in the world these "options" might be. FINALLY, Dr.G called me at 1:30. :)

He said that he has been emailing with Dr.D all day. She's a specialist that has dealt with a number of multiple pregnancies. Dr.G had been telling her about my blood pressure problems, and things about my pregnancy with Lilly...and how it ended. He also told her that I am having weekly ultrasounds to keep an eye on fluids, and to check heart rates. Dr.D suggested that she start seeing me for weekly ultrasounds instead of having them done at Dr.G's office (even though we love you, Miss V!). Dr.D can do a much more in depth ultrasound that she said will take a good amount of time. Apparently their equipment is a lot more high tech than what Dr.G's office has. They also have a Doppler-type thing that can check the blood flow in the umbilical cord.

Dr.G assured me that they didn't see anything wrong with my ultrasound yesterday, but that he was thrilled that Dr.D had offered to take over the ultrasounds. He says that IF problems do arise, that Dr.D would be able to track them a lot better than Miss V. :)

Needless to say, my doctor just went WAY up on my "liked-doctor" list. I love that he is taking the extra time to get the best care possible for me and my little ones. :) He also asked Dr.D about delivery, and she says that with the weekly ultrasounds - if a problem arises, they will be able to tell if they should go ahead and take the babies. If not, I would more than likely go into labor on my own. Either way... I couldn't be happier with TWO doctors looking out for me now.

I'm waiting on my nurse, J, to call with my referral and appointment. SO looking forward to meeting this doctor...AND getting to see my little one's in depth EVERY SINGLE week. VERY exciting. I hope we get pictures!! :)

I know I already updated once today, but I had to share!! We are so blessed...