22 week update

Let me the first to say that this pregnancy is going WAAAAAAAY to fast! Where did the time go??? We have no baby furniture purchased, haven't organized anything, don't have a "nursery" (technically we know where it will be, but it's currently our guest room) & from the looks of our house, you'd never know that in a few months THREE babies will be here causing chaos! Guess we'd better get started .. these babies won't wait for us!

I have been blessed that at each appointment, everything continues to look good - even our OB is surprised at how smoothly things are going (thank you God!!). I've now gained 30 pounds, which according to my OB is on the "low end" for having triplets, so I guess that's a blessing since I (hopefully) have 2-3 more months to go! I just hope it all comes off as easily as it went on!! :) We continue to have at least 3 appointments and ultrasounds each month & each time we get to see & hear the heartbeats of our little ones. The babies are looking great & are super active (although I haven't consistently felt them .. it's starting to be more pronounced so I KNOW it's them .. still such a strange thought for me!). Their personalities are pretty distinct at the appointments so I'm curious to see if that's how they'll be outside the womb!

The babies are almost a pound each & by the end of this week, should be closer to 1.5 lbs and are as long as spaghetti squash (one of my favorite foods)! This week their lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and they're even developing tiny tooth buds beneath their gums. Their eyes have formed, but irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. They also have fine hair (lanugo) that covers their bodies and the deep wrinkles on their skin. The pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is also developing steadily.

Last week the babies started their first day of "school" :) The teacher in me is always looking for new ways to give my babies the "leg up" they need so when my principal told me about a product her daughter used during her pregnancy I wanted to do it too! The "curriculum" is called BabyPlus & is a belt I wear twice a day for an hour each time that plays various percussion beats. The "research" (not sure how scientific it is) is that other noises (ie classical music, etc) is too complex for the babies' brains to process so these sounds vary slightly from my heartbeat (the main noise they hear 24/7) and supposedly it helps stimulate the babies' brains to decipher the difference between my beat & the new sound. Claims include: babies who more readily nurse, have an increased ability to self-sooth, and are alert/responsive/interactive/relaxes as well as later on hitting developmental milestones sooner, enhanced intellectual ability, longer attention spans, improved school readiness, and greater creativity/independence. Who knows if this will even help, but it doesn't hurt and isn't an inconvenience so it's definitely worth a try - after all those claims, how could you not want to try it out??? I do know that when we "have school" I feel the babies move the most - even so much so that I can feel it with my hand! Only time will tell I guess.....

No appointments this week, but the next 3 weeks we will so I plan on resting up while I still can! Hopefully we will get more accomplished around the house & will at least have a crib or something for the babies to sleep in by the time they arrive! :)

high-risk ultrasound

Here are my babies (A, B, C - girl, boy, girl) at their first high risk ultrasound appt.

At 16w4d (Sept 22nd) I had my first high-risk ultrasound with Dr. Mastrobattista. I was told by my OB that it would take about 1.5-2 hours because they measure almost everything in detail to make sure things are ok, find any abnormalities, etc. It was a bit nerve-wracking lying there while they took measurements, pictures, etc & rarely said anything. When the MFM (maternal fetal medicine specialist) came in to discuss the ultrasound, she had few words and just gave me the specifics: baby A (girl) & baby B (boy) were sharing a placenta and baby C (girl) had a 2-vessel umbilical cord. She went on to reassure me that nothing looked out of the ordinary, the babies were measuring on schedule and all body parts, fluids, etc were where they should be and looked great. She did go on to explain that each of those issues ranged from mild to severe. Babies who share a placenta can run the risk of one twin becoming a "donor" & giving all nutrients to the other twin (called twin to twin transfusion syndrome - TTTS), but that is typically only with same gender twins (most instances are with identical twins); however, because my babies involved are of opposite genders, they are obviously fraternal and can't have TTTS so our concern would be to monitor the sizes of the babies & their fluid levels to make sure one doesn't have more than the other. She also explained that the 2-vessel umbilical cord could lead to complications with kidneys or the heart, but that "C" has both kidneys that are functioning properly and her heart has all chambers & is also functioning as it should. There were no concerns with the babies and Dr. Mastrobattista said that everything looked great. We got lots of baseline data to use in follow-up appts and will definitely be monitoring the babies to make sure they develop on schedule.

After this appt, I decided to do some research about what the MFM told me so I could take any and all of my questions to my OB the following week. I didn't want to do too much research and scare myself with only negative information, because that would only raise my stress level (not advised!) and would serve no real purpose. Most of the research I found focused on the positives of each issue so I honestly wasn't too concerned. I wanted to wait & speak with my OB before freaking out - she always gives me plenty of information and answers EVERY question I have ever had.

About a week later I went to my OB with 2 pages of questions. :) She explained that the MFM hadn't seen any of my previous charts because she was only interested in comparing her ultrasounds, but that the MFM sent all information to my OB so she could compare it with previous appts. I first asked the OB about the shared placenta, but she quickly dismissed that and told me that "A" & "B" were NOT sharing a placenta but that they were pressed together and very close (can be mistaken for a shared placenta if no previous ultrasounds were reviewed). That was a bit of a relief because it was the issue I knew the least about (technically, no one really knew anything about it because there have only been a few instances of fraternal twins sharing a placenta - one with boy/girl twins sharing). I then asked about the 2-vessel umbilical cord on "C" and was told that right now everything looks great. An average umbilical cord has 3 vessels (2 arteries bringing nutrients in and 1 vein taking waste out - my baby has 1 artery & 1 vein), but 2-vessel cords are still very common. My OB told me that we will still be monitoring this baby closely to make sure she is growing and at the high risk ultrasounds we will be monitoring the flow through the cord to make sure things are moving as they should. Statistically, she should be the smallest baby, but she's the middle in weight - what a trooper!!!

Overall, I left the OB appt feeling very confident and secure in my doctors. I honestly can't believe how blessed I am. These babies are growing on track and progressing just as they should - they have overcome every obstacle so far and continue to amaze me! I am grateful for all of my appts because it provides more opportunities to see my babies as well as allows my doctors to monitor the progress each time. I look forward to my next high risk appt so we can compare their measurements from the month before and hopefully will not have any more "issues" pop up - but if we do I am confident that Kris, I, and the babies will all overcome it together, as the little family we are!

Please continue to pray that the babies will grow as they should and that they will be protected from anything that may harm them. Also, please pray that I will remain in good health and will remember to rest and take it easy even when I feel I could push myself a bit more. Thank you all for your support, prayers, and encouragement!!