Showing off my Baby Bump on my birthday at 20w3d!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Update at 20 weeks...
We are officially 20 weeks!!! Woo Hoo!!! We had an ultrasound last week at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees and it was really nice, b/c we had Chuck’s Mommy with us. She is the first one to see the babies on the ultrasound machine, besides Chuck and me. It was really great to have her there sharing in the joy of our babies to be. Three weeks ago we started the anatomy scans. At that time I was 17 weeks, it was too early to see all the anatomy of the babies, so last week was part 2 of the anatomy scans. We got to see the faces, spines, kidneys, hands and the chambers of the hearts on all the babies. It is pretty amazing what you can see. At one point the sonographer was really pushing on my belly trying to get a clear image of Baby A’s face and while doing so she commented that she could feel Baby A kicking. I was pretty jealous, b/c I have only felt flutters and I’m sure Chuck was pretty sad too, b/c he hasn’t felt any movement yet. Anyway, we were also able to confirm that we will be having 2 girls and 1 boy!!! Baby A is a GIRL, Baby B is a BOY & Baby C is a GIRL!!! Yippee!!! I know what everyone is wondering now… do we have any names picked out? Baby B, our little BOY… will be the IV… he will be named after his Daddy – Charles Henry. As for the girls, we have just started looking at names.
Some things aren’t easy to write about… whether it is finding the right wording or it is difficult emotionally… so please excuse me… if this isn’t easy to read. After each ultrasound at Virtua, you are asked to wait patiently for any amount of time in this small waiting room while the doctor reviews your ultrasound images. Then the doctor will come review the ultrasound results with you and answer any questions… this is all pretty routine. Chuck and I are pretty use to the doctors coming in and saying… “Everything looks perfect. We will see you in 3 weeks.” You breathe a sigh of relief and exit the room. At this week’s visit Chuck really needed to step out of the waiting room for a few minutes. Before he was able to return the doctor came in to discuss the ultrasound. This time unfortunately, I didn’t hear… “Everything looks perfect. We will see you in 3 weeks.”… no, I was told other news.
Let me say this… it is still really early in the pregnancy and things may look like something that is later to be discovered to be nothing… but anyway, on with it. Baby A has what looks like a Duplicated Renal Collecting System on one of her kidneys. I refuse to Google this medical term, so I’m only reiterating the things the doctor told me about it. A kidney is suppose to have only 1 collecting system and Baby A has 2 on 1 of her kidneys. After she is born, this can cause infections and also is usually associated with an abnormally shaped uterus and some other things. The doctors aren’t overly concerned and are going to keep checking on this over the next couple of visits. If it continues to look like she has Duplicated Renal Collecting System, then they will refer us to a Pediatric Urologist.
During the anatomy scans they take several hundred images so that they can pass the anatomy of the babies as healthy or normal… this is my own wording. I was also informed at this week’s visit that over the last 2 ultrasounds, while doing the anatomy scans, they weren’t able to get good enough images of the hearts to be able to pass Baby A and C’s hearts. What does this mean? We are schedule on the October 7th to get an echocardiogram on both Baby A and C. I am praying that from this they will be able to pass both of the girls’ hearts.
Chuck and I are both nervous for all of our babies, but I think we handled the news fairly well. Honestly, I feel more stressed now and really want to cry out, but I know that isn’t healthy for me and the babies. I told Chuck this week… we have to think positive, if we want positive things to happen… so that is what I’m trying to do. And of course I have prayer!
On to other things… Chuck and I had our first baby class this past weekend called Baby Basics. We learned a ton from the nurse instructor about caring for a baby… plus, from the Pediatrician and Car Seat Tech they had available for questions. We also celebrated my 26th birthday over the weekend, which was great. Chuck and I spent the day together on Saturday… then Sunday we celebrated over dinner with my family. I received many online and mail birthday wishes… it was wonderful! My in-laws gave me a GC to a spa to pamper myself… so Chuck took me today, so I could get a pampering pedicure and I shared with Chuck, so he could get an overdue massage.
We don’t have any doctors or ultrasounds during this week, but I have a strong feeling that it will be the last free week. I’m trying to get this and that done… while I have time and energy. I’m finding it more and more difficult to get around. I’m so lucky to have Chuck, b/c I rely on him frequently. The first 2 full weeks of October we have 3 doctors and 2 classes… and that is as of now… I hope there isn’t reason to have more. I’m going to try to post more frequently… and hopefully that will cut down on the length of my posts. I hope you enjoyed reading our story… and please come back to see more!
~ Mommy-2-3-Peas
Some things aren’t easy to write about… whether it is finding the right wording or it is difficult emotionally… so please excuse me… if this isn’t easy to read. After each ultrasound at Virtua, you are asked to wait patiently for any amount of time in this small waiting room while the doctor reviews your ultrasound images. Then the doctor will come review the ultrasound results with you and answer any questions… this is all pretty routine. Chuck and I are pretty use to the doctors coming in and saying… “Everything looks perfect. We will see you in 3 weeks.” You breathe a sigh of relief and exit the room. At this week’s visit Chuck really needed to step out of the waiting room for a few minutes. Before he was able to return the doctor came in to discuss the ultrasound. This time unfortunately, I didn’t hear… “Everything looks perfect. We will see you in 3 weeks.”… no, I was told other news.
Let me say this… it is still really early in the pregnancy and things may look like something that is later to be discovered to be nothing… but anyway, on with it. Baby A has what looks like a Duplicated Renal Collecting System on one of her kidneys. I refuse to Google this medical term, so I’m only reiterating the things the doctor told me about it. A kidney is suppose to have only 1 collecting system and Baby A has 2 on 1 of her kidneys. After she is born, this can cause infections and also is usually associated with an abnormally shaped uterus and some other things. The doctors aren’t overly concerned and are going to keep checking on this over the next couple of visits. If it continues to look like she has Duplicated Renal Collecting System, then they will refer us to a Pediatric Urologist.
During the anatomy scans they take several hundred images so that they can pass the anatomy of the babies as healthy or normal… this is my own wording. I was also informed at this week’s visit that over the last 2 ultrasounds, while doing the anatomy scans, they weren’t able to get good enough images of the hearts to be able to pass Baby A and C’s hearts. What does this mean? We are schedule on the October 7th to get an echocardiogram on both Baby A and C. I am praying that from this they will be able to pass both of the girls’ hearts.
Chuck and I are both nervous for all of our babies, but I think we handled the news fairly well. Honestly, I feel more stressed now and really want to cry out, but I know that isn’t healthy for me and the babies. I told Chuck this week… we have to think positive, if we want positive things to happen… so that is what I’m trying to do. And of course I have prayer!
On to other things… Chuck and I had our first baby class this past weekend called Baby Basics. We learned a ton from the nurse instructor about caring for a baby… plus, from the Pediatrician and Car Seat Tech they had available for questions. We also celebrated my 26th birthday over the weekend, which was great. Chuck and I spent the day together on Saturday… then Sunday we celebrated over dinner with my family. I received many online and mail birthday wishes… it was wonderful! My in-laws gave me a GC to a spa to pamper myself… so Chuck took me today, so I could get a pampering pedicure and I shared with Chuck, so he could get an overdue massage.
We don’t have any doctors or ultrasounds during this week, but I have a strong feeling that it will be the last free week. I’m trying to get this and that done… while I have time and energy. I’m finding it more and more difficult to get around. I’m so lucky to have Chuck, b/c I rely on him frequently. The first 2 full weeks of October we have 3 doctors and 2 classes… and that is as of now… I hope there isn’t reason to have more. I’m going to try to post more frequently… and hopefully that will cut down on the length of my posts. I hope you enjoyed reading our story… and please come back to see more!
~ Mommy-2-3-Peas
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Mommy at 19 weeks...
I'm wearing a t-shirt that my friend, Joyce, got me that says...
3 peas in a pod...
it is starting to get tighter and tighter... lol... here I'm 19 weeks!
Daddy & Mommy...
Chuck and I on our way to a friend of the family's wedding...
on September 12... at that time... I was 18 weeks!
Babies at 16w6d...
At our 16w6d ultrasound on September 2, our sonographer took a guess at the babies genders. The little PEAS are... Baby A is a GIRL, Baby B is a BOY and Baby C is a GIRL!!!
We were just so thrilled!!! We celebrated that weekend, by buying each baby a little gender specific sleep 'n play.
Here are their profile shots... so cute!!!
They also measured right on scheduled... and had terrific heartbeats!
We were just so thrilled!!! We celebrated that weekend, by buying each baby a little gender specific sleep 'n play.
Here are their profile shots... so cute!!!
They also measured right on scheduled... and had terrific heartbeats!
Babies Room...
Cribs x 3... were bought at Babies R Us... the collection is by Baby Italia - Eastside Lifestyle Collection in Cinnamon... we received a multiples discount of 10% for purchasing 3.
Dresser/Changing Table Combo... we purchased 1 of these, so we didn't receive the multiples discount... but we had a 15% off coupon.
Chifferobe... again we only purchased 1 of these, but thankfully we had another 15% off coupon.
We also received an additional 10% off the whole purchase, b/c a credit card was opened.
Also, a few days after we purchased this furniture with my parents, Chuck and I were visiting my in-laws and they had a flyer from Babies R Us that said... if you purchased one of these cribs you get a free mattress... and sure enough our crib was right there. When we were purchasing, no one at the store mentioned the promotion. My mother-in-law, Kim and her sister, Danne... were actually going to the store, so they asked the manager if they would still honor the promotion. Fortunately, the manager said he would if we returned with the receipt that same day. We were thrilled to save even more... we got 3 mattresses valued at 360 bucks total for free! Woo Hoo!
Originally I wanted to do a safari theme, but then I saw this set and I just fell in love. The babies have been nicknamed A, B, C or 1, 2, 3; so I thought it was really cool that this set had everything ABC's and 123's, plus the animals. I was really sad, b/c Babies R Us had discontinued this bedding set and didn't have all the pieces in stock. Chuck knew how much I really loved this set, so he was able to find a website http://www.babysupermall.com/... that had all the pieces we wanted, in the quantities we needed... already discounted... and we were still able to talk them into an additional 5% off the whole order, not just the multiple pieces... and free shipping too, so we saved a ton off this purchase too.
I'm really proud of the room we are making for the babies... and I'm really pleased that we have been able to get such beautiful pieces at such awesome prices too. I can't wait until I can post the room complete. Check back soon!!!
~Mommy-2-3-Peas
Our story from 15-19 weeks...
Once I was laid off work, I split my time up between getting things in order around the house and kicking my feet up. Around 15 weeks, I started to get some energy back, which was wonderful! My doctor visits actually slowed down too. We have been seeing the OB every 4 weeks and the specialist every 3 weeks (all that will change again soon). Chuck and I decided to have some garage sales over 2 weekends (unfortunately it rained for both), but we did make some extra cash. Chuck finished his 2 summer session courses at the college. I’m pleased to say that my hubby still has his 4.0. He had a couple weeks off between his courses finishing and starting again… which was a blessing! He is taking 1 course this semester, b/c we just don’t know when and where we will have doctor appointments and ultrasounds, baby classes and really we have no idea of when the babies will arrive.
Around mid-August I started trying to talk with our mortgage company for assistance on a different payment amount, I made the bad decision to just call customer service. The only assistance they offered was get another job, ask your friends or family for financial support and the poor list went on. When I wasn’t happy with those answers, they came back at me saying we would just go into foreclosure, if we couldn’t pay our monthly payment. Needless to say… I was crying when I hung the phone up. My not-so-emotional hubby called around and finally got someone with some brains and we are about to start a 3 month trial period on October 1 with a modified payment amount. I’m hoping and praying that we will be able to make the modified payments.
We decided with everything going on – 3 babies on the way, only 1 income sooner than expected, mortgage exceeding our limits, increase in healthcare and traveling cost, etc… that financially we just couldn’t wait any longer to move in with my parents (our original plan was to wait until the Malaga house sold). With the help of our good friends, Mike and Erika, we were able to move our bed and daily necessities on September 1. It is wonderful to be so close to my family again. They are such a wonderful support system. At the same time though, it is really hard not having much of your own space. It is great to be here and we are 100% grateful to my family for opening their home to us once again. It is not the most ideal situation as you could imagine, but it is the best one for me and my family to be.
My folks decided that they wanted to do the nursery top to bottom for the babies, so over the last couple of months we have all worked together to pick out some amazing nursery furniture and also the bedding and décor theme for the room. The furniture arrived just a couple weeks ago and Chuck put all 3 cribs together with no pieces left over… (just kidding). The bedding arrived just last week… everything is still a work in progress… but it’s really starting to come together now.
After having the house in Malaga on the market for over 2 months now - 1 open house and a handful of showings… we decided this week to lower the price another 10k. We are hoping that this brings more activity to the house. Our Realtor is going to have another open house with the new listing price over the next week or so. In order for Chuck and I to not be really financially strained (especially after the babies are here), we have to get this house sold.
I’m sure I have left out a lot of small, but important things that have happened over the last 2 months. I apologize if this isn’t easy to read, but I think I have summed up the last 2 months. If you have any questions, please leave a comment... and we will be sure to answer back. Chuck and I are pretty open people… probably more so then anyone would like or perhaps more than we should. I hope you've enjoyed reading our story and continue to do so.
~Mommy-2-3-Peas
Around mid-August I started trying to talk with our mortgage company for assistance on a different payment amount, I made the bad decision to just call customer service. The only assistance they offered was get another job, ask your friends or family for financial support and the poor list went on. When I wasn’t happy with those answers, they came back at me saying we would just go into foreclosure, if we couldn’t pay our monthly payment. Needless to say… I was crying when I hung the phone up. My not-so-emotional hubby called around and finally got someone with some brains and we are about to start a 3 month trial period on October 1 with a modified payment amount. I’m hoping and praying that we will be able to make the modified payments.
We decided with everything going on – 3 babies on the way, only 1 income sooner than expected, mortgage exceeding our limits, increase in healthcare and traveling cost, etc… that financially we just couldn’t wait any longer to move in with my parents (our original plan was to wait until the Malaga house sold). With the help of our good friends, Mike and Erika, we were able to move our bed and daily necessities on September 1. It is wonderful to be so close to my family again. They are such a wonderful support system. At the same time though, it is really hard not having much of your own space. It is great to be here and we are 100% grateful to my family for opening their home to us once again. It is not the most ideal situation as you could imagine, but it is the best one for me and my family to be.
My folks decided that they wanted to do the nursery top to bottom for the babies, so over the last couple of months we have all worked together to pick out some amazing nursery furniture and also the bedding and décor theme for the room. The furniture arrived just a couple weeks ago and Chuck put all 3 cribs together with no pieces left over… (just kidding). The bedding arrived just last week… everything is still a work in progress… but it’s really starting to come together now.
After having the house in Malaga on the market for over 2 months now - 1 open house and a handful of showings… we decided this week to lower the price another 10k. We are hoping that this brings more activity to the house. Our Realtor is going to have another open house with the new listing price over the next week or so. In order for Chuck and I to not be really financially strained (especially after the babies are here), we have to get this house sold.
I’m sure I have left out a lot of small, but important things that have happened over the last 2 months. I apologize if this isn’t easy to read, but I think I have summed up the last 2 months. If you have any questions, please leave a comment... and we will be sure to answer back. Chuck and I are pretty open people… probably more so then anyone would like or perhaps more than we should. I hope you've enjoyed reading our story and continue to do so.
~Mommy-2-3-Peas
Babies at 14w1d...
Here are the babies at 14w1d... all babies measured right on schedule and had beautiful heartbeats!
Our story from 10-14 weeks...
I was a little over 10 weeks the last time I posted… and now here I am 20 weeks pregnant w/ Triplets! And I’m still feeling pretty awesome… Yippee!!!
I really want to update everyone on what has been happening with Chuck and I over the last 2 months, so I’m going to break this up into a couple of posts. We were pretty overwhelmed for a few weeks there – things were happening that weren’t so easy to write about in the moment and after so long it seemed more like a job to even consider posting a new entry. I know there are a few people that are really interested in what has been happening… so I’m going to try my best to make up for the last 2 months and I apologize for any inconvenience.
Soon after I posted my last entry, I started to get extremely fatigued. It didn’t take much for me to get wore out and fast. I worked with my boss to reduce my hours and days… but it was still very difficult for me to work 5-6 hour workdays 3 to 4 days a week. Chuck and I were starting to get very uneasy with the OB office. We would get mixed opinions from the different doctors and NPs from the office on how often I should be seen by them and the specialist. The doctors at the OB office would openly admit that they didn't like to work with our specialist. Around 12 weeks, I was having a lot of spotting and occasional bleeding w/ cramping. The OB office was very casual about everything I was going through… Chuck and I didn’t think it was so casual or normal, especially with Triplets. We weren’t looking for special treatment, b/c we were Triplets… but they were looking at our pregnancy as if it were a Singleton… and we weren’t we are a Triplet pregnancy. Chuck and I learned early on that things aren’t the same with a Triplet pregnancy as a Singleton pregnancy – that’s not to say that Singletons are a walk in the park. I ended up having to go to the ER… where everything turned out to be okay. I had a bleed from the placenta attaching to the uterus. After this incident and the way the OB office handle it from start to finish, we knew we had to change offices. Now we have a terrific OB office that was recommended by many family members and friends. This office has done nothing but exceed our expectations from the start. I feel really comfortable being under their care now.
Between weeks 10 to 14 I was having a lot of unexpected doctor appointments - OB, specialist and primary. Every week it was something different! I would have a pregnancy related incident one week that would put me on bedrest for a few days and the next week I would have a sinus infection and a fever, so I was in bed for that. All of this was out of my control. I was never out on bedrest long enough for disability to kick in, so it was really taking a toll on me and Chuck’s financial situation (honestly, like most… we were already strained financially), and it was also taking a toll on my working relationships. Around 14 weeks, I had a talk with work and they decided to lay me off. I worked my last day on August 17. I try to stay in contact with my co-workers. I stop in here and there every few weeks. I loved working for the company and miss everyone tremendously. I hope to maybe return PT after babies are here. Time will tell! Everything happens for a reason! I was really blessed to meet so many amazing people working there. I really miss working, but I know that it is best for everyone involved… especially the babies growing inside me.
~Mommy-2-3-Peas
I really want to update everyone on what has been happening with Chuck and I over the last 2 months, so I’m going to break this up into a couple of posts. We were pretty overwhelmed for a few weeks there – things were happening that weren’t so easy to write about in the moment and after so long it seemed more like a job to even consider posting a new entry. I know there are a few people that are really interested in what has been happening… so I’m going to try my best to make up for the last 2 months and I apologize for any inconvenience.
Soon after I posted my last entry, I started to get extremely fatigued. It didn’t take much for me to get wore out and fast. I worked with my boss to reduce my hours and days… but it was still very difficult for me to work 5-6 hour workdays 3 to 4 days a week. Chuck and I were starting to get very uneasy with the OB office. We would get mixed opinions from the different doctors and NPs from the office on how often I should be seen by them and the specialist. The doctors at the OB office would openly admit that they didn't like to work with our specialist. Around 12 weeks, I was having a lot of spotting and occasional bleeding w/ cramping. The OB office was very casual about everything I was going through… Chuck and I didn’t think it was so casual or normal, especially with Triplets. We weren’t looking for special treatment, b/c we were Triplets… but they were looking at our pregnancy as if it were a Singleton… and we weren’t we are a Triplet pregnancy. Chuck and I learned early on that things aren’t the same with a Triplet pregnancy as a Singleton pregnancy – that’s not to say that Singletons are a walk in the park. I ended up having to go to the ER… where everything turned out to be okay. I had a bleed from the placenta attaching to the uterus. After this incident and the way the OB office handle it from start to finish, we knew we had to change offices. Now we have a terrific OB office that was recommended by many family members and friends. This office has done nothing but exceed our expectations from the start. I feel really comfortable being under their care now.
Between weeks 10 to 14 I was having a lot of unexpected doctor appointments - OB, specialist and primary. Every week it was something different! I would have a pregnancy related incident one week that would put me on bedrest for a few days and the next week I would have a sinus infection and a fever, so I was in bed for that. All of this was out of my control. I was never out on bedrest long enough for disability to kick in, so it was really taking a toll on me and Chuck’s financial situation (honestly, like most… we were already strained financially), and it was also taking a toll on my working relationships. Around 14 weeks, I had a talk with work and they decided to lay me off. I worked my last day on August 17. I try to stay in contact with my co-workers. I stop in here and there every few weeks. I loved working for the company and miss everyone tremendously. I hope to maybe return PT after babies are here. Time will tell! Everything happens for a reason! I was really blessed to meet so many amazing people working there. I really miss working, but I know that it is best for everyone involved… especially the babies growing inside me.
~Mommy-2-3-Peas
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