Alex, Nick, and Logan celebrated their first Christmas this year. 
In fact they celebrated it three times! On December 23, Tiffany took the boys to Decatur to celebrate with the Krehers and associated families (Tiffany’s mom’s family). Christmas Eve was spent with the Benningtons at our house. And then it was back down to Decatur on Christmas Day to open presents at Brandon & Carol’s as well as dinner at Matt’s.
Needless to say, it was a busy time for Tiff & I as we spent a lot of time cleaning, wrapping presents, cooking, cleaning up after cooking, getting the boys ready, driving, etc. etc. It kind of got frustrating because by the time we had time to sit down and enjoy time with the boys, Tiffany & I were exhausted! For their part, the boys pretty much slept through events. When they were awake, dad managed to slip Nick a bit of wine on his pacifier and Alex some cranberry sauce. And Grandpa Brandon tried feeding Logan some of Grandma’s mashed potatoes, much to the consternation of mom…
The boys got lots of clothes and toys that they’ll be able to use over the next year, including some of the following…
- Personalized blocks from April and Jon including their full name, birthdate, birth weight and length.
- A giggly face toy
- Activity center from Uncle Brandon (some assembly required)
- 2007 Coin Set from the U.S. Mint: http://catalog.usmint.gov/wcsstore/ConsumerDirect/images/catalog/en_US/U07_popup.jpg
Momma's Boys 
This is one of dad's favorites - Alex's Pumpkin Pirate Posse Pose
Well, that was a week ago and we’re now at 34 weeks (and it’s October)!!! The doctor came in and took me off the medication to stop the contractions. Basically we’re back to the wait-and-see game. It’s up to the boys (and how much more my uterus can take) on when it’s birthing time.
The past week has been rather uneventful. We had one scare earlier last week when the contractions got closer together, but after a quick exam, everything was fine. They turned up the meds over night, but I was back to normal by morning. Otherwise, they monitor the babies once a day now and contractions 3 times daily. I am on “bed rest with bathroom privileges” so I at least get to take a shower each day! I even got a facial yesterday!! They have a volunteer that comes around once a month to this floor to give complementary facials. That was a nice escape from the boredom.
Thanks to all the great visitors that have stopped by and called!! That helps pass the time too. Adam has been great bringing me my TV shows on VHS or downloading them from TIVO onto the laptop. They don’t have internet access here, so I’m definitely behind on my email (and of course this blog)! But, we’re hanging in there. We’ll try to keep updates a little more regular for you (reading this blog).
Here are some more pictures. The first is at 33 weeks (when I went into the hospital). The second is at 34 weeks.
We had our doctor appointment at Maternal Fetal in
Since the doctor would like for us to get to at least 34 weeks, they started giving me Magnesium Sulfate to stop the contractions. They also gave me a steroid injection to help stimulate the babies’ lung development (just in case). Now they will monitor the babies’ heart rates and my contractions daily. The average delivery of triplets is between 32 and 34 weeks and we’re at 33. Everyone at the hospital was saying “Wow – we can’t believe you’ve made it this long. That’s awesome!”
Oh well, I guess at 31 ½ weeks, pregnant with triplets, no mom is going to like the pictures taken of her. So, here’s more. The first one is about 29 weeks and the second one is 31 weeks.
Just 5 more weeks to go (or longer, but at least 5)! That will put us at 36 weeks and that’s the marker for when the doctors can deliver here in Bloomington. So far the boys are behaving themselves. I can only assume they are growing since my belly grows about 1-2 inches each week! This weekend they let Brandon, and my mom and dad to feel them kick. Typically, they quit kicking as soon as I say to someone “come feel, they’re kicking”. This weekend, they weren’t quite as shy. It could have had something to do with all the sugar I had this weekend too! Whatever works!
The good news… the boys are growing just right. They all weighed in at 3 lbs 1 oz or 3 lbs 2 ozs. That’s over 9 lbs of baby!!! They’ve all gained about a pound in 3 weeks. That’s a good sign. The bigger they are, the less chances for problems later!
Even mom measured well today! The cervix measurement was back up to where they like to see it. Although, the funny part of getting that measurement is while they were watching the cervix to make sure it didn’t change, Baby A literally punched at the cervix. They thought it was so funny that they took pictures. Unfortunately we didn’t get that one, but I guess they really are “knocking at the door” to get out. Just wait until October boys!! The doctor today even seemed positive that if we keep up like we are, we might make it to the point that we can deliver here in Bloomington. That would be awesome if the babies didn’t need special NICU care. We have to double check with our pediatrician (which we’re still picking) to see how far along we need to be before they’ll agree to deliver here in town.
Other than that, they said to keep up the bed rest. That gets easier each day. The bigger they get the more energy it takes to do the simple things. Even eating a meal tuckers me out! How sad is that?! Otherwise, I can’t complain too much. If I stand for too long, my back starts to hurt, but it could be so much worse! I can’t see my belly button (or toes) and getting out of comfy chairs takes a little longer, but again, 9 lbs of baby – and growing!!!
We had a great turn out from family and friends, probably about 25-30 people all together. It was a lot of fun. As usual at a shower, we played some games. This time, I totally kicked butt!! You had to name the children of the TV show (or movie) listed. Seems all those hours watching TV pays off sometimes! There was also great food (thanks Barb for all your fancy dishes!) and cake – always cake. There were actually two cakes, one we ate, and one mom and Angela made out of diapers. Very cute!
Again, there were tons of great gifts. Mattie, Chloe and Sydney were all a big help moving the gifts for me. Sydney even liked one of the toys so much, she carried it around the rest of the party (and wasn’t very happy about giving it back, but eventually we convenced her to share with her cousins).
Mom even got some practice holding two babies – Sydney and Eric.
Once it was all done, the gifts were loaded into the new mini-van. Here’s Sydney taking one back (and still holding onto the giraffe).
Thanks again to everyone who was able to come to the shower and for all the great gifts. And of course a big thanks to Mom, Angela, Dad, Brandon and Barb for all the help planning and preparing!
Now that the party is over, bed rest begins. My first week of bed rest started the day after the shower. Now it’s been two months and I still don’t know what I do every day to fill the day up (Adam can’t figure it out either!). Some days are more productive than others. I’ve had a few visitors, and that helps pass the days along. Brandon came up and brought his PlayStation 2. Now it seems I’m addicted to Lego Star Wars. We tried playing one of the other games, but it stressed me out too much! Video games are not my specialty, especially if they are more complicated. I like the ones with only a few buttons/controls! Of course, before we could start playing the games, we went out and got a new TV. Adam and I had been talking about getting a bigger TV ever since we got a new entertainment center last year. Now we have a new 42-inch LCD TV. Very nice for movies and games, but just reminds us that we don’t have digital cable yet. Jennifer and Derek came over one weekend for a visit. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but for the first time, the guys won the game! I still think the babies were sabotaging the girl’s team. Although we did come back from over half way behind on the board to within one space before the end!! Another weekend, Lauren, Brian, John and Amy came by and we played Killer Bunnies. Sounds like an odd game, and maybe it is a little odd, but it’s really fun. Thanks to everyone who’s kept me company!
On July 12th, we had another dr. appointment and another baby class, both in Peoria. Everything with the doctor appointment went well. They reconfirmed that they were all boys and they each weighted 1 lb 3 ozs. The class we attended that evening was specifically for multiples. Everyone there (about 5 other couples) was expecting twins. The class was taught by two moms that had twins, so we got their perspective on how to handle the multiples, from coping with extended time in the NICU to dealing with two (or more) babies at home. We also got a tour of the nurseries and NICU. Each husband got to push around his pregnant wife in a wheelchair – a caravan through the hospital and of course the elevators were fun. It’s amazing how many wheelchairs you can fit in them at once! We got to see the little babies in the NICU through the windows, and believe me when I say little – they were tiny!! It’s kinda scary to see them so small and hooked up to so many machines. They also showed us the delivery rooms, although we didn’t see the surgical suite which is where they’ll do the C-section. No big – I can wait to see that!
August 8th we had another appointment with the Maternal Fetal group to measure the babies, but this time here in Bloomington. Seems once a month they have a “clinic” here in Bloomington. Sounded great since we wouldn’t have to drive all the way to Peoria. Problem was, the machine was definitely a portable machine. It was about the size of my laptop. We weren’t able to see the screen while she was looking at the babies and it couldn’t print out pictures either. The good news is that the boys are still growing like they should. Baby A and Baby C were about 1 lb 13 ozs and Baby B was 2 lbs 1 oz. Yeah, that’s 6 lbs of baby!! No wonder I look so huge!!! Adam needs longer arms :)
The following week, at my weekly appointment here in Bloomington, they did get a couple of quick pics of the babies. Baby C wasn’t participating very well for a face pic, but we did get one of all three heads in one frame (the first picture).
Mid-August, Adam took his annual trip to Gen Con over in Indianapolis. For the past few years I have been going with him to the gaming convention (“The Best Four Days In Gaming” is their motto). Unfortunately, I couldn’t go with him this year so we were both kinda bummed. But he seemed to have a good time and brought the boys back some toys! While he was out of town, I went to an ice cream/dessert party thrown by some friends from the Minonk VillageAires – Donna and Dick Leonard. They have had the party each year for a while now out on their awesome deck, but this year they threw in a twist. They invited everyone to bring diapers, etc for the boys! I was blown away by the generosity of the group! Again, the boys are way too spoiled and they’re not even out yet. Thanks Donna and Dick for thinking of us and thanks to everyone who brought something. We are fortunate to be blessed with such great people in our lives!
Well, that’s about it for July and August. Being on bed rest isn’t too exciting, but at least we go out once a week for dinner or a movie or something. Adam has been awesome taking care of the 4 of us. I know it’s frustrating for me to not be able to lift things or do as much, but it is worse for Adam… He’s the one that has to do it all! Love you honey!!
We just went to the doctor again today and they measured the babies. I’ll type that up now and post it soon. I’ll let you get through this entry first. Besides, if I start posting in real time, you all might get your hopes up that it will continue that way! Stay tuned… more to come!
