Kentucky

At 19 weeks pregnant, Ryan and I headed home to Kentucky for one last pre-baby visit to see family and friends.  We opted to drive the 16 hours from Colorado rather than flying.  I was a little concerned that the drive would be really difficult, but Ryan did most of the driving and I was able to nap whenever I got too tired.  We also stopped at a hotel en route, so the trip wasn't as taxing as it had been in the past when had driven through the night.

We arrived in Louisville, KY on Saturday afternoon and spent the evening at Ryan's brother's house watching our favorite team (the Louisville Cardinals) win their game in the Final Four.  The next morning, we had a nice breakfast at Ryan's mom's house, then hit the road for our family baby shower in Lexington, KY.  Fortunately for us, both of our families live with in an hour of each other with his family being in Louisville and mine in Lexington and Versailles.

The family shower was held at my parents' house and was just a low key afternoon with some gifts, cupcakes, and conversation.  We opted to have separate family and friend showers so we could make sure that our families got the attention that they deserved and we were able to hang out with everyone.  This is really important to me because I want the family to be as involved in the lives of the triplets as possible.  I picture our kids learning to swim with their cousins in my brother's backyard pool or all of the girl cousins heading to the ballet to see the Nutcracker together at Christmas.  I want them to be excited when they see their grandparents and would like for it to happen often.  As a child, my family was scattered all over and I only got to see them on rare occasions.  I would like for things to be different for our children if at all possible.  After all, no one understands your world quite like family.

The afternoon was lovely.  The weather was beautiful and it was a welcome change from the snow we had left behind in Colorado.  We received some really lovely things for the babies and it was super fun to see how much my nieces and nephew had grown.  I can't wait until I can see them more often.

Exactly 19 weeks at the family shower.

The view from my parents backyard.  Green grass...oh how I've missed you.

After a couple of days at my parents house (including watching our Cardinals win the championship!) we headed back to Louisville for the rest of our journey.  As soon as we returned to Louisville, we met up with our old neighbors and their darling son for a dinner out.  At only 10 months of age, he was so quiet and polite at the restaurant.  It gave us a little glimmer of hope about being able to take our rascals out to a restaurant some day.  We headed back to their house where we saw their son's superhero bedroom and talked with them about the joys of being new parents.  There's nothing quite like someone who is excited to be parents the way they are.

Thursday night was to be our big cocktail shower hosted by our friend Lindsey.  On Thursday morning, we headed to Toast (possibly my favorite Louisville restaurant) for brunch with Ryan's mom, then they dropped me off for a morning of pampering at the salon.  After I finished getting my hair beautified (thank you Nicole at Joseph's Salon--everyone go see her) and the excess hair removed from my face, I sat down to a book and a glass of lemon water and waited for Ryan to pick me up.  Next thing I know I get a frantic phone call saying, "I'm ok.  I've been in a car accident and I'm really pissed off right now.  You need to call my mom to come get you."

Ryan's mom arrived at the salon quickly and we headed over to the scene of the accident.  Apparently, a line of cars was stopped for a bus to load and unload and a person did not see everyone stopped, rear-ended Ryan and pushed him into the back of a pick-up truck.  When a police officer asked her how fast she was going, she replied, "Whatever the speed limit is."  The officer took that as a reasonable answer with no follow-up question required.  Here is a visual of the aftermath:

We spent the afternoon dealing with the mess of the accident and only barely had enough time left to get ready for our shower that evening.

Unfortunately, in my rush to get ready after the car incident, I forgot to take my camera to the shower, so I don't really have pictures to commemorate the evening.  However, it was everything I imagined my baby shower for my family (me, Ryan, and "the trips" as Ryan wants to call them) would be like.  The event was hosted by Lindsey Ransdell at a restaurant in Louisville called Volare.  It was a low key event catered by the restaurant with desserts provided by Tittles Cake Dots, a company in Louisville owned by one of my sorority sisters.  We had both guys and girls present enjoying cocktails, food, and some live jazz music drifting in from the other room.  It felt more like a cocktail hour than a baby shower.  It was so nice just to sit and talk with everyone and to see some friends we hadn't seen in quite a while.  As a surprise, my best friend Jenny drove from Illinois to make the shower.  It's amazing how when you're really close to someone and you see them again for  the first time in a while, it's like everything just picks up where it left off.  Here are a couple of pics I stole off Facebook from the event.

David, Jay, Ryan, and Mando.

Lindsey, myself, and Jenny.

So...that's the basics on our trip back home.  Since then, we've had a couple of uneventful doctor's appointments (thank goodness), but I'll update with some more 3D pics and a long awaited belly pic soon.  To be quite honest, the belly pics don't exactly make me feel glamorous...that's why I've been avoiding them.  But I will suck it up and take one.

Anatomy Scan

Most pregnant ladies (if they are seeing an OB for their care), have an anatomy scan between weeks 18-22 to get a more detailed view of the babies including measurements and development of organ systems.  This is the appointment when most moms find out the genders of their babies if they choose to.  As you know, we've had multiple scans to date and have been fortunate to see our babies about 10 times already.  On March 28th, we had our very own anatomy scan to check on the babies.  This scan was different than any that we have had before.

First of all, I was laying on the table with goo on my belly for just over two hours.  To be honest, it got a little uncomfortable.  Unfortunately, they don't make the exam tables out of memory foam.  As you can imagine, three babies have a lot of parts and a lot of measurements.  The ultrasound tech measured each baby's length, head circumference, mid-section, and leg length to get a composite score that they used to estimate weights.  Baby A was 9 oz (80th percentile), Baby B was 10 oz (90th percentile), and Baby C was 8 oz (70th percentile).  The percentiles are calculated using the same charts that are used for single babies.  The average size of a baby at 18 weeks gestation is 6.7 oz.  That means we have some big babies!  That's great news.  Apparently eating myself into oblivion is benefiting our little ones.  It's very important that our babies be ahead of the curve if at all possible, because at around 28 weeks, they start to run out of space and grow at a slower rate than a single baby (the Fish Bowl Effect). Hopefully we can keep them bigger than average up to that point so they have a head start.  

Other things that they look at during the anatomy scan are the four chambers of the heart, the kidneys, bladder, stomach, brain, spine, and sex organs (still Girl/Boy/Girl).  They also check to make sure each baby has all four limbs and they appear to be developing normally.  Our babies all checked out completely normal with all parts present and accounted for.  They told us that at this point, they could only see major defects in the heart, so at 22 weeks when the hearts are more developed we will have something called a fetal-echo cardiogram to take a closer look at each heart and make sure there are no minor defects.  

Almost every time I see our babies up on the screen, one of them does something sweet that brings a little tear of happiness to my eye.  I'm so in love with all three of them and we haven't even met yet.  While we were there, they took an 3D picture of each of them.  I can't get over how amazing it is to get such a clear visual of each of their little faces this early.  

Baby Girl A.  What a peaceful little face.

Lil Man B.  I feel like I could pick him up out of this picture.

Baby Girl C.  Always covering her face with her hands.

So far, the pregnancy is going about as well as we could possibly hope for.  Keep the thoughts and prayers coming--they are certainly working.  

A Surprise Baby Shower

As of last Sunday I am officially 20 weeks pregnant!  I have so much to catch up on from the last three weeks.  I have been putting it off hoping to get my laptop fixed because it has been running so slow that I can't write a post in less than two hours.  As it turns out, my hard drive is crashing, so I will be updating on Ryan's computer while mine is in rehab.  It feels very unnatural.  I'm oddly attached to my 6-year-old computer.  Anyhow, modified bed rest began on Monday, so, needless to say, I've got some time on my hands.  A lot has happened over the past three weeks, so I was thinking it would be best to update one event at a time, so that I can give each one the time and attention that it deserves over the next few days.

On Sunday, March 24th, I finished up my shift volunteering at the Humane Society and rushed home to meet my husband and head to a friend's house for a late lunch.  My former dental assistant when I was stationed at Peterson AFB recently bought a beautiful new home and her and her husband had used my husband as the realtor for the endeavor.  Since December when the house was purchased, we have been talking about getting together for a meal at her home.  Deana and her husband Dan had invited us over and we were finally available to take them up on the invitation.

After rushing home to pick up Ryan, we were still running about ten minutes late.  The whole way over to Deana and Dan's house I was talking about how I had hoped she hadn't timed lunch to begin right at 2:00.  Deana is a magnificent cook and I didn't want to mess up the timing of the meal by being late.  As we rolled up to her home, there were tons of cars parked on the street.  Ryan said, "Wonder what this is all about."  In my infinite know-it-all wisdom I replied, "Oh, it's March Madness.  Her neighbors are probably just throwing a party to watch all of the basketball games."

As we approached the front door, I noticed an odd Dr. Seuss poster on the front door, then the door flew open and Deana said, "I guess the jig is up.  This is a baby shower."  Unbeknownst to me, my coworkers at Peterson AFB had collaborated with my new friends a the USAF Academy to throw me a baby shower.  The most amazing part is that they were able to get my husband in on the secret and he didn't spill the beans.  Ryan is the world's most terrible liar.  I can usually tell he's going to lie before he even opens his mouth.  Hopefully our children get this quality.  It will make our lives much easier.  

Deana was the hostess of the shower and had gone out of her way to make it truly lovely.  Everything was decorated in a Dr. Seuss theme and she made the most beautiful Dr. Seuss themed snack table complete with Hop on Pop Popcorn and Green Eggs and Ham cookies.  We played games and opened gifts.  Three of the girls at the USAF Academy dental clinic, Holly, Chariti, and Lindsey, had gotten together and crafted the most beautiful three-tiered diaper cake filled with washcloth roses and other wonderful baby things.  Everyone was so generous and kind.  The whole shower was completely unexpected and it filled up my heart to know that everyone cared so much.

Hop on Pop Popcorn

Green Eggs and Ham Cookies

Loved the Jello goldfish bowls and the cotton candy Truffula trees!

Later this week, I will update on the various other events that have happened since my last post. The triplet anatomy scan, the trip to Kentucky and the family shower, the car accident, the cocktail shower in Louisville, modified bed rest, and the 20 week doctor's appointment.  Whew!  That's a lot!  Hopefully while on bed rest I can catch up quickly.

17 weeks

Big week here in the Manning household.   We have been making strides toward preparing for modified bed rest.  Only three weeks away!  We've purchased a back pillow to make time spent in bed a little more comfortable and we got one of those breakfast-in-bed lap tables for me to eat meals and write on.  I stocked up on discount section books at Barnes & Noble, and made sure that I had plenty of scrapbooking goodies to keep me busy.  Next on the agenda is a subscription to Netflix and to a website where I can check out audiobooks for when my eyes get tired of reading.  I think I'm ready.  Well, as ready as you can be for spending four months doing absolutely nothing.

I asked Ryan to make me look skinny.  He didn't.

We're also well on our way to having our nursery completed before I go on bed rest and can no longer help.  Now that we know the genders of the babies, things are coming together very quickly.  We have purchased all of the baby bedding, I've been stocking up on clearance and discounted items and collecting coupons like a champion, and we have been able to finish our registry at Target.  The registry was a bit of a challenge.  It's hard enough putting together a registry when you're first time parents, but adding in the triplet factor complicates it further.  Also, it's hard not to think everyone in the aisle is staring at you like you're a greedy pig when you scan 10 3-packs of bottles or three different baby swings.  It kind of makes me want to wear a t-shirt that says, "Don't judge me, I'm having triplets."  But then I would have to add to the shirt, "No, I don't need your advice about the person you knew who had twins in 1976."  and other various disclaimers.  Then, after I got all of the disclaimers on the t-shirt, the font would be too small to read and I'd be back to square one.  I think I will just avoid going out in public from here on out.  Much easier.

The next three weeks are going to be big for us.  We will be trying to complete the nursery during that time period and prepare for bed rest.  Not to mention, we are making our trek back to KY to visit family and friends during the 19th week, just before bed rest begins.  During that time, we will be trying to catch up with all of the fabulous people we have missed and attending a baby shower hosted by the Illustrious Miss Lindsey Ransdell.  So excited.  Ok... so I think I've babbled about as much as I can about the happenings in our lives for the time being.  You're probably wondering what the heck we're having.  Well, on Thursday afternoon we had an ultrasound to make sure that the babies are all doing alright.  They are.  They're hearts are darn near beating in unison and they are all growing big and strong.  They were more active this trip then they've ever been, but our Ultrasound Tech was a rock star and she was able to tell us without a shadow of a doubt what the genders of our little ones are.

This is where each one of the babies are... and what they are!

16 Weeks

This week, we learned a lot about the babies and how my medical care is going to go throughout the pregnancy process.  First of all, we got a lot of test results back.  First is the Cystic Fibrosis screening test.  According to the test, I am not a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis.  This means that our children have very little chance of being born with the disease.  Also, we got the results of the Nuchal Translucency Screening.  This is the test that measures certain markers on the ultrasound and then plugs those numbers along with our ages and genetic histories into an algorithm to determine the risk of our children having chromosomal abnormalities.  According to this testing, Baby A has a 1 in 3,500 chance of being born with Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome), Baby B has a 1 in 6,800 chance and baby C has a 1 in 4,000 chance.  Just to give you some frame of reference, the average risk is 1 in 400, so our babies have a very low chance of being born with Down Syndrome.  Also, all of our babies had a less than 1 in 10,000 chance of having more severe chromosomal abnormalities.  

The good thing about this is that they don't recommend that I have any further testing such as an amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS).  This is good news for me because I would have refused those tests anyhow.  With any invasive testing, there is risk of harm to the babies, and that risk increases with multiples.  I wasn't willing to do that.  In my opinion, there are only two reasons to have further testing done.  One is so that you can be prepared by knowing exactly what you may be dealing with when your child is born.  My thought on this is that no one can ever be truly prepared to raise a child with special needs and, like all parenting, you will figure out what works for you and your family when the child arrives. The second reason is to determine whether or not you would want to terminate the pregnancy.  As far as we're concerned, this is not an option. 

Lastly, we got back all of my blood testing and it was 100% normal.  This is good because it means I don't need any additional treatments or medications at this time.  In addition to all of these test results, we had an ultrasound this week.  The ultrasound wasn't meant to do anything specific, only to make sure that the babies were all alright.  They most certainly were.  They are all measuring right on track, their heart beats are strong and healthy, and they were moving around like crazy.  This time, they were more developed so we were able to see them a little more clearly.  As far as gender goes, Baby A and Baby B were happy to share, but Baby C had its legs wound up tightly and wasn't willing to put on a show.  Compared to the gender predictions we received at the last ultrasound, one was the same and the other was different.  As soon as we know the genders of all three babies, we will announce them all together.  

So what's in store for momma?  Things are starting to change for me as the pregnancy progresses.  This week, I go on half days at work which should help me get some rest that I've been desperately needing.  I was informed at my last appointment that I will be having ultrasounds every two weeks beginning at 16 weeks (that's this week), and that I will be going to the doctor every week beginning at 20 weeks.  Also, beginning 20 weeks I will begin modified bed rest.  Still not totally clear on what that means other than I won't be able to work or leave the house much.  I'm sure I'll have more details on it as the time draws near.  I'm also sure that it's going to be a tough time for me; I just have to keep the goal of three healthy babies in mind.  Next on the agenda is an ultrasound on Thursday and we are hoping that Baby C "opens up" about what he or she is.    

15 Weeks

As I write this post, Ryan is beginning construction on Crib #3.  The babies' room is feeling smaller by the minute.  It is going to be cozy in here for sure.  This weekend has been all about collecting the big ticket items for the triplets.  On Friday night, we went to the Moms of Multiples sale for the Denver, CO group.  Unfortunately, because of the impending blizzard, it wasn't quite as fortuitous as we might have hoped.

The sale was initially scheduled for all day Saturday.  However, when I got home from work and got on their website to print out the New Mom's pass so I could shop a little earlier, they put up a message that said they were beginning the sale on Friday night due to the blizzard that was supposed to hit later in the evening.  Unfortunately, it was going to take us about 45 minutes to get there and the doors opened in about an hour.  By the time we got our stuff together and headed out, we were about 20 minutes late for the opening of the doors.  That meant that some of the bigger items like strollers and car seats were pretty picked over by the time we got inside.

It wasn't a total loss, though.  We managed to find three Pack n Plays so the babies have a place to sleep when we travel home to visit the grandparents, a Chicco Keyfit 30 infant car seat, three Boppy pillows with various covers, a bouncy seat, a playmat, and several Dr. Brown's bottles.  Things got a little crazy when we got in line.  The line was super long and we had more items than we could carry, so I carried the small things, and Ryan leap frogged the three Pack n Plays, the car seat, and the bouncy chair all the way up the line.  Poor guy was absolutely worn out when we finally made it to the cash register to check out.  While he was doing this, he said, "This is how our lives are going to feel from now on, huh?"  I think he's right.  We'll always have just a little bit more to deal with than the next person.

Isis kitty inspecting all of our gently used treasures.

Saturday, we ordered our convertible car seats (3 Diono Radians) at a huge discount and I found a gently used Chicco double stroller on Craigslist.  Our plan is to have a double and a single stroller for when we're together and to have a double stroller and wear one baby when we have them on our own.  I have friends who don't even own strollers, and if they can wear their babies all the time, I figure I can wear one of mine from time to time.  We'll see how it goes.

Today we picked up the Craigslist stroller and then went to get the cribs that we ordered a few weeks ago.  Things are starting to come together.  As far as big items go, all we need is two infant car seats and a single stroller.  We're hoping that on Wednesday we will know the genders of the babies for sure so we can pull everything together before I go on modified bed rest at 22 weeks.

As of right now, I am still working a regular schedule, but should be scaling back to half days beginning on March 18th.  I am definitely ready for it.  The long days are absolutely wearing me down.   I basically come home from work, take a nap, eat dinner with Ryan, watch TV (aka sleep in front of the television), then go to bed by 9:00 or 9:30.  It's pitiful how absolutely worthless I am in the evenings.  Realistically, I know it's only going to get more difficult as the pregnancy progresses, but hopefully scaling back at work will help me to manage it.

14 Weeks

Posts have been scarce lately because I'm getting over an illness.  Recently, I caught a virus that, for a normal person, would have been no big deal.  Unfortunately, my immune system isn't much to brag about these days as my body is super busy growing these babies.  I spent a week laid up in bed or on the couch with a horrible cough, sore throat, and congestion.  I couldn't sleep through the cough, speak through the sore throat, or breathe properly with the congestion.  This kind of thing has been going around at work, but for most people it only lasts a couple of days.  It took me a full 9 days to function again.  Around day four things got a little scary because I started to run a low grade fever.  Normally, I would just consider that my body doing it's thing to get me healthy.  Unfortunately, with a high risk pregnancy it's a little more complicated than that.  I had to monitor my temperature every two hours to make sure it didn't get over a certain point.  If it had, I would have been admitted to the hospital.  Thank goodness it didn't come to that.

The good news is, I'm healthy now.  So let's talk about these little munchkins.  First of all, my belly is growing by the day.  Normal clothing is absolutely out of the question.  I can't even fit into most of my hoodies anymore.  It's amazing to think that at this point some women with singletons aren't even showing yet.  Here's a visual:

On Wednesday, we went to the perinatologist for a visit.  It was about a three hour appointment.  We began with vitals and a weigh-in.  I've gained about 18 pounds so far.  They recommend that I gain 36 pounds by 24 weeks.  The reason for that is that these babies take a lot of calories and as they grow, it will become impossible for me to take in the calories they require, so I will need to have stores. And the calories need to be balanced and nutritious; I can't just eat a whole pizza and a bag of Oreos every day. Currently, I'm eating nearly 3000 calories per day.  I still am not putting on weight quite fast enough.  After a lifetime focusing on decreasing calories and wanting the number on the scale to go down, it's crazy to be disappointed that I'm not gaining enough weight.  But I'll do anything it takes to grow big healthy babies.  I'll deal with my own vanity later.

Also at this visit, we met with a genetic counselor and discussed our family histories.  For the most part, we're pretty lucky.  No major genetic abnormalities in either of our families.  Because we are both of Northern European descent, they did want us to get screened for Cystic Fibrosis.  They are screening me first to see if I'm a carrier.  If so, then they will test Ryan and if we're both carriers then our children have a 25% chance of contracting Cystic Fibrosis.  We should get the results sometime in the coming week.

The next test was an ultrasound known as a Nuchal Translucency scan (NT scan).  What they do is measure specific markers including fluid at the base of the neck and the nasal bone to determine risk of chromosomal abnormality.   All of the measurements for our babies were amazing.  They came out better than average.  Also, the heart rates were really good and they looked very healthy.  Baby A's heartbeat was 152 bpm, Baby B was 147 bpm, and Baby C was 154 bpm.  They took an educated guess at genders, but we won't be ready to share until we get confirmation at our next visit on March 13th.  We're certainly not confident enough to go out and buy pink or blue baby things just yet.

I was hooked up to the ultrasound for quite some time as they got all of the measurements for each baby.  It's amazing how they've all developed little personalities even in utero and they're consistent from visit to visit.  Baby A is our shy baby who is always turning away from the camera and covering the face with the hands.  Baby B is our wild child.  Baby B constantly flips and turns and stands on it's head.  It's really fun to watch, but really difficult to get a decent picture.  Baby C is our chill baby who just lays and relaxes with slow controlled movements.  We always get beautiful pictures of Baby C.  It will be interesting to see if any of these personality traits continue after they're born.

Right now we're just busy trying to prepare for our little bundles of joy.  We have one crib set up and the other two are on order.  Their room is going to be a crowded place, for sure.  We've got most of our registry done, although we haven't published it just yet.  We've almost nailed down daycare and should have that ready to go by the end of next week.  Next weekend we're headed to a sale by the Moms of Multiples in Colorado and are hoping to collect some of the big ticket items.  I would say we're definitely starting to feel more in control of our situation.  On a fun note, I recently purchased the diaper bag that I'm planning to carry and I love it!  It's huge with lots of pockets and I can't wait to use it.  Here it is!