10 Weeks Plus

Last Sunday, we took the first baby bump picture at exactly 10 weeks.  I've actually grown since then, but we'll take another picture tomorrow when I hit 11 weeks.  

Right now I'm at that awkward stage where I look like I might be pregnant, or I might be chubby and carry all of my weight in the middle.  

I've expanded so much that I no longer fit into my pre-pregnancy pants.  I'm actually wearing maternity jeans in the picture.  Last Saturday, we headed to the Motherhood Maternity outlet in Castle Rock, CO to stock up on maternity clothes.  I actually came away with a pretty cute wardrobe.  I spent a long time there trying on clothes with the little velcro bump they give you to help you choose sizes.  They let me use two bumps to simulate the monster I will be in a few months.  I bought all of my shirts in a large and, although I am drowning in them now, I am sure that I will be happy I did.  It was tough to find things that would fit around the shoulders and still allow for a huge belly in the future.  As far as the jeans, I just got two pairs and I'm sure I will have to go back for more in the future. The jeans that I got were a size medium because I wasn't ready for that I-just-pooped-my-pants look that a size large provided.  This isn't everything, but here's a sneak peak of the wardrobe:

We also picked up our baby monitor this week.  Several weeks ago, I found a monitor to which you could attach multiple cameras.  By happenstance, I found two cameras on clearance for $30 (normally $100), so it was just a matter of waiting for the monitor to go on sale.  This week, we walked into Target and the monitor had been marked down $60, so we jumped at it.  It's really great.  Now we have a monitor and three cameras so we will be able to watch each of the babies in their cribs.  The cameras all zoom and pan 180 degrees around the room.  We set them up today and Ryan has been having fun spying on all of our animals.  We can also talk through the cameras, so if we see the dogs doing something we don't like we can tell them "no" from a completely different room.  It's super fun.  

We are starting to get past the fear a little bit and have fun with the idea that we are having triplets.  I am researching and bargain shopping like crazy.  We've started talking about how we're going to set up the nursery and where we are going to put things around the house.  I am hoping to have the nursery complete by the time I hit 20 weeks just in case I have to go on bed rest.  I know that seems early, but if I'm not prepared I will go absolutely insane.  Not to mention, Ryan isn't excited about the idea of doing the whole thing by himself.  And he shouldn't have to.  We're a team.  That's why I can't wait to be a parent with him.  

Triplet Logistics

I can always tell it's been too long between posts when I get a Facebook message from my Louisville neighbor Lynne asking what's going on with the mini Mannings.  It's just the kick in the pants I need to sit down and write a post.  It's been an eventful couple of weeks.  We've figured out a lot of triplet logistics and made our first visit to the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists at Memorial Hospital here in Colorado Springs.

As far as the daycare thing goes, we have a few leads.  The fact of the matter is that we are going to have to shell out a couple thousand dollars a month and we will have to compromise on some of the things that we wanted.  A nanny or fancy daycare is out of the question due to financial constraints.  That means I'm probably going to have to let go of the cloth diaper dream.  Most of the affordable day care centers won't do cloth diapers.  I am still holding out hope that we will find someone that will.  But, we do have a few options and are hoping to have something nailed down by the end of the month.

We made our first trip to the car dealership to look around.  We were thinking a van would probably be the way to go.  We began by looking at a brand new version of the #1 selling mini van in America, the Toyota Sienna.  Let me assure you that I am understating things when I say, I HATED IT.  The sheer size of the vehicle gave me anxiety.  It's like driving around a living room.  Not to mention, the average 18-20 MPG was really upsetting.  Currently, we drive a Prius that averages 48-50 MPG.  I had no idea that I would have such an aversion to it until we got inside of one.  It's not that I think I'm too cool for a van; that problem could be solved with a big fancy SUV.  It's that I hate really large vehicles.  They make me feel uncomfortable.  

This realization sent me on a frantic research mission to find car seats that fit three across in a vehicle.  If I'm not willing to drive a car big enough for a third row, that means that we have to be able to fit all of the kiddos in one row.  It wasn't easy to find them, but there are car seats that are designed to be much slimmer and that will fit three in a row in a car.  Thank goodness.  Yes, I realize that it will be a challenge to get to the center seat, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.  Now it's just a matter of finding a vehicle with enough storage space to put all of the baby things in.  I think we've found our perfect match in the Prius V.  It has the width for three car seats and 34.3 cubic feet of storage (that's only 4.8 less than a van!).  So, we are probably going to save for a few months and go that route.  I would like to take this moment to add a quick disclaimer.  My feeling about large vehicles is in no way a judgment on all of my amazing mom friends that have them, it is simply a personal preference.  

On Wednesday, we headed to Memorial Hospital to the Maternal Fetal Medicine department for my very first visit with the perinatologist.  Yay!  I'm no longer a reproductive medicine patient!  I'm a future mom!  This place was super fancy with a lot of amazing technology.  They started off with an ultrasound to make sure everyone was doing ok.  The change in a week and a half was astonishing.  All three babies were doing well with their development being right on track and their heartbeats nice and strong.  They actually looked like little babies!  They were even flapping their little arms and kicking their tiny legs.  Absolutely breathtaking.  We go back on February 27th for a very long appointment with lots of testing.  That will be the longest that I've gone without seeing the babies on the ultrasound.  It makes me a little nervous, but now that my belly is growing by the day, I have another indicator of how they're doing.  Tomorrow marks the 10 week point, and I will start taking weekly belly pictures.  I'll also try my best to blog a little more frequently so the posts aren't quite so long.  Here's a sneak peak of our little angels.  

Baby A didn't want to get in a good position for pictures.

Baby B was moving so much all the pics were blurry.

Baby C is our photogenic child.