17 months

Happy 17 months to us!  Mommy decided to celebrate our milestone "birthday" by FINALLY taking us to visit the doctors who took such great care of us while we were growing inside mommy's belly!  We also got to ride facing FORWARD for the first time in our BIG KID car seats (yes, I know the suggestion is 2yrs, but we met all the legal requirements & if we're rear facing in these, it's more of a danger for mommy/daddy so we get to benefit from it & turn around to see everything from a whole new view!)

Here we are at the hospital where mommy spent many hours looking at us, hearing our strong heartbeats, seeing us in a million ultrasounds as well as jumping in a helicopter to deliver us downtown!

 Dr. Schmidt is the wonderful OBGYN who has taken care of mommy for many years & was so good at helping mommy determine all the appropriate blood work to have done before attempting to get pregnant then the whole 29wks we were in her tummy! :)

Miss Christina on the left was the poor nurse who had to search for our 3 individual heartbeats at EVERY appt ... boy did we give her a run for her money!

Dr. Haddad, the RE is actually next door so of course we HAD to stop by & show him what "he" created :)  We owe him SOOOOOO much - he has created our perfect, little family & for that, we couldn't be more thankful!  Mommy likes to call us her "gifts from God, with a little help from Haddad" ... silly mommy!

Miss Vanessa & Miss Maribel helped mommy with meds, ultrasounds & everything before/during our existence....

Dr. Wang happened to be in the office that day.  He was the FIRST person to literally "meet" us - he took our cell samples & sent them off for PGD testing. {reminder:  out of the 19 eggs that were taken from mommy, 18 of them were fertilized, but after the PGD testing only 3 were "genetically sound" enough to be used & that was US - whoo hoo!!!}

WHEW!  What a long day ... we are SO thankful for the doctors who cared for us and watched out for our mommy.  It's so hard to believe that we were just little embryos floating around a petri dish , but God's ultimate plan was in place & we are so glad to be a part of it (not to mention how grateful we are that he let mommy & daddy take care of us)!!!

 

~ Alyssa, Brandon & Cassandra

Mother's Day reflection

Mother's Day .. what a special day & one I never understood until I was blessed with my three little miracles.  They are my world & my heart BURSTS with love for each of them daily!  I am still in shock when I think about how fortunate I am to have these THREE little angels in my life and how they absolutely complete our family!  Looking at pictures from last year, make me tear up ... they were so LITTLE!  

family pic 2011

This year has been so special - I love watching my little angels grow and develop their STRONG personalities.  This Mother's Day we celebrated by going out to dinner {our first solo date night since the babies came home from the hospital} on Saturday night while Auntie M & Uncle J babysat!  Sunday was a FULL day - church, BBQ lunch & swimming!  During the church service, I couldn't help but focus on my new favorite passage - the Proverbs 31 woman.  Growing up, my mom would tell my brother & I that all she wanted was for us to "call her blessed" & would speak about these verses with such a passion, but I never really "got it" ... that is, until I became a mother.  Reading the verses about The Wife of Noble Character is so convicting & challenges me to become a better wife, mother, friend, daughter... daily!  What I wouldn't give for my husband & children to describe me like "her":

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:28-30

family pic 2012

daddy wrangling the babies (plus cousin m) & their balloons

at least i look good here :)

After PM nap, we decided to go to the pool for a little dip.  Wish I could say it was relaxing, but with 4 toddlers, it was anything but!

all the cherry babies

1:1 ratio ... such a busy crew!

Where did my baby boy go???

Brandon's first official haircut was done by daddy & was too traumatic for mommy so this time it was decided to have an outsider do it (plus, it would be awfully hard for mommy to yell at her favorite stylist)!  We made a day out of it & my little prince was such a rock star!

brought the choo choo to keep everyone entertained & strapped in

what a BIG boy staying still

such a stud!

mommy also brought mcdonalds to help bribe us

miss stephanie's so amazing!!!

mommy's extensions needed to be fixed so we made the most of the trip :)

supportive sister!

what a big helper holding the spray bottle!

almost done!

"ta da"

:)

Afterwards, we decided to venture out to Hobby Lobby for a few craft items.  Of course we were total show stoppers & even had a first "I've seen these babies on Facebook" comment from a stranger.... Hmmm guess it's time to edit the privacy settings :)

When we got home, I took my little guy outside for some "after" pictures.  I was BEYOND shocked at how big he looked in them.... Needless to say, mommy cried all day at how quickly her baby grew up - how can 16 months look SO big??? 

Miss Stephanie gave me a faux hawk - such a stud!

tee hee hee i'm growing up & there's nothing you can do about it mommy!!!

triplets, triplets, quads .... oh my!!

Today was one of our busier days to date & boy is mommy tired!  We had our follow-up eye appt to see how our eyes are developing (ROP - retinopathy of prematurity - is a concern that most preemies face, especially if they are low in birth weight, which basically means the eye isn't developing as it should).  We were told to plan to be in the office for about 2 hrs because the babies would need to have their eyes dilated  & that alone is a 30min process.  Mommy's day started even earlier - our Choo Choo needed to be loaded, clothes picked out, diaper bag packed with treats/toys/etc, lunch packed & just about anything else we'd need to entertain us!  (sidenote .... if this is any indication of how packing lunches will be when the babies are in school, they'll be eating in the cafeteria EVERY day!!!) :)

in the parking garage on our way to the appt

cass was our helper, holding the lunch :)

in one part of the waiting room at the eye dr

a

b

c

the children's waiting room

We received some great news & were told that their eyes were "developing wonderfully" and that they'd see us in "3-5 years" :)  Thank you Lord for continuing to bless us & protect our growing little miracles!!!!

our last appt here EVER .. thank goodness! (we're only here b/c they took care of us in the NICU)

my littles

such a stud .. look at those shoes!

waiting in the room before getting dilated

my little prince hamming it up for mommy!

After the eye appt, we decided to go to the NICU.  A few months ago, through one of my MOMs (mothers of multiples) groups, I met a woman pregnant with triplets named Fauna.  About 4-5wks ago, she had her little miracles at 23wks (if I remember correctly, it was 23w5d) & they  have been on the all too familiar rollercoaster ride that is NICU life.  Fauna came out to say hi & officially meet me & the angels before she started her day of kangaroo care, pumping, etc :)  She is such a strong woman & her little fighters have been through so much already - we pray for them constanly & hope that they will grow strong enough to go home with their mommy & daddy soon!

can't wait until we can have the other 3 in this picture!

In this hospital the NICU is on 2 floors - 7 & 8.  The more severe cases are on the 7th floor & that was where we were at the longest.  The 8th floor is for less severe cases & for those who are closer to going home.  We had our favorites from each level & I still keep in touch with a few of them! I was introduced to a grandmother of spontaneous triplet girls who got my info so I could be a support system for her daughter & share our experiences & the lessons we've learned these past 16 months!

goofing around

oh we LOOOOOOVE mrs teresa!!!!

 Most people assume that I meet all other MOMs through my multiples groups, but often I find them through word-of-mouth.  One of those wonderful women is the lovely & talented, Mrs. Amber Bell.  We've been in contact through our blogs as well as Facebook, but once she was recently admitted to the same hospital that I delivered the babies in, I decided to make an effort & meet this lovely lady in person! :)  She is currently 26 (almost 27!!!) weeks pregnant with QUADS (3 girls & a boy) - yes, you read that correctly .. whoo hoo, someone who will have more babies at once than me! ;) (as my brother-in-law put it ... "someone who will make you feel normal" :)  yep that's a wonderful feeling - so many people make us feel like triplets are "freaks" when obviously we know that's not the truth so it's nice to connect with other higher order multiples & recognize that it is "normal" to have a life like we do!"

Without going into too much detail ... I'm sure we terrified poor Amber!  For a crew that is so accustomed to their routine, we aren't on our best behavior when a nap is missed & we are stretched to our limit with dilated eyes, being stuck in a wagon for hours, etc.  The babies were wild to say the least & looking back, I have become "that mom" with "those babies" sighhhhhh  Poor, sweet Amber on bedrest was subjected to screaming/fussy babies throwing food/sippy cups/books/etc all over the place.  Don't even get me started on the dirty diapers ... thanks children for embarassing mommy (the first of many I'm sure!) :)  

in front of Mrs. Bell's "quad squad" door

oh yes, there are SEVEN babies in the picture!  (we should have taken one with both mommies, but the cameras were only taken out at the end so it was a bit of an afterthought)

brandon kept staring at her tummy like, "WOAH!!!"  (oh little man, if only you could have seen just how BIG your mommy's tummy was .....)

Everyone was so exhausted from our busy morning that they all passed out before we exited the parking garage....  What a blessing it was to be able to connect with these ladies, encourage those who are going through similar situations as us & to continue to succeed in the daily struggles of a preemie (even if they're 16 months old!).