False Alarm (Sort of)

It is 4:22 am in Colorado Springs and there is no sleep happening in this lonely hospital room.  I genuinely can't think of a time in my life when I've been more miserable than I am at this moment.  I definitely have preeclampsia, which means my blood pressure is elevated and there is protein in my urine.  This leads to some rather unpleasant secondary symptoms.  For instance, my feet and legs are so swollen that they are completely unrecognizable.  My knees are so fluid-filled that I am unable to bend them and as a result have to be walked to the bathroom like an elderly lady.  I have a round-the-clock headache that is being managed with medication.  Unfortunately, the medication doesn't begin working until about 30 minutes after I take it and begins to wear off approximately 2 hours later.  This would be great if I could take it like candy, but I am only able to have one every 4 hours.  For those math buffs out there, that means that I spend approximately half of my day with an excruciating headache waiting around for medication.

Currently, I am waiting for the clock to hit 6:00 am so I can have blood drawn to determine whether my blood values of various things are high enough to warrant going ahead with a c-section.  So far, they have been borderline, which makes me absolutely miserable, but does not require delivery of the babies.  

Right now, I find myself in this really uncomfortable situation between wanting the babies out in order to regain my own comfort and leaving them in so they can develop just slightly further.  I wish I was one of those absolutely selfless mothers who could sit here and say to myself, "It's all for the babies, so it's worth it."  Really, I'm so absolutely miserable that I don't feel that way at all.  I spend so much of my time laying here with tears of pain in my eyes that it's the only thing that I can think about.  I've known a handful of women with preeclampsia, and all have arrived at the hospital in misery and were immediately delivered.  I'm the first person I know personally  that has had to sit here in this limbo.  I don't recommend it to anyone.  

At this point, the babies have had their steroids and enough time has passed that the steroids should have reached a point of efficacy (48 hours after the last dosage).  The steroids last about two weeks, so if they keep me here at the hospital for that amount of time, they will have to redo that whole process.  Otherwise, we're just waiting for something to get out of control with my own health before then.  Those things include a blood pressure of 160/110 (I'm holding strong at 158/94), an excruciating headache (apparently mine is still considered manageable with medication--not sure I feel that way), or distress for one or more of the babies (of which they are experiencing none).  If you look at the stats, I am borderline on absolutely every single one of them which means that instead of enduring one intense symptom, I have all of them pretty badly.  

I have about 45 minutes left until they come around to draw my blood again.  Until then, I continue my nightly food and water fast just in case they proceed with surgery tomorrow morning.  Usually this requires me to wait until about 10:00 am for a chat with the doctor that says, "I don't think you're at your breaking point just yet."  Then I order food and wait an hour for it to arrive.  Meanwhile, I'm going on about 14 hours without food or liquid intake.  

Maybe I'm just weak, but all I really want is for these babies to be born.  At this stage, their prognosis would be pretty darn good.  Not that it wouldn't be without it's challenges.  Right now, we have no choice but to sit and wait to see what happens.  We will do our best to keep everyone updated, but please don't be offended if we don't respond to every single email and text message. We have a lot going on right now waiting out this emotional roller coaster and we don't always have the answers nor the emotional capacity to answer even when we do.

In the Blink of an Eye

Early Monday morning, I took my specimen into the lab to check for proteinuria and also had my blood drawn.  As you know, these were precautionary measures to find out if I had signs of preeclampsia which can be a life threatening complication of pregnancy.  I called the Maternal Fetal Medicine clinic at 4:30 (just before they closed) and they told me they would call me in the morning with the test results.  All day on Monday, I had been feeling my normal pregnancy ickiness along with a light headache thrown in there to mix things up a little.  I took 650 mg of Tylenol to try to keep the headache at bay, but it did nothing for it.  One of they symptoms they told me to look out for before I left my last appointment was a terrible headache that was not effected by Tylenol.  However, I don't know if I would have defined this headache as anything other than nagging, so I decided not to go in.

That night, I was laying on the bed after eating the lovely meal Ryan had made for me (homemade pizza with pineapple and pepperoni--yum!), and noticed that my heart was racing.  I took my blood pressure and found it to be 139/79 with a pulse of 98 which are all elevated values for me.  However, they were similar to what the doctors had found on Thursday at my appointment, so I again decided I would not go in.  Lastly, I started getting ready for bed.  I put on my sexy pregnancy lingerie which consists of a pair of granny panties and an XXXL t-shirt.  I sat down to put some lotion on the parts of my legs I could reach and realized that my legs had been mysteriously replaced by reddish brown tree trunks.  I rushed over to the full length mirror to check out my legs and they looked like they had been drawn and colored by a child with no distinguishable ankles, calves, or knees and a splotchy reddish color all over.  It was time to go get this mess checked out by a professional.  

We packed up what we could quickly and left for the Labor and Delivery unit of the hospital.  The nurse checked my swelling, hooked up a blood pressure monitor and pulse oximeter on me then set up dopplers to monitor each of the babies' heartbeats. As usual, the babies were fantastic.  I, on the other hand, was a mess.  The nurse went to check on my lab results from the earlier that day and found that I did, in fact, have levels of protein in my urine that were indicative of preeclampsia.   Also, while I was waiting for the nurse to get the test results, my blood pressure soared to 161/102.  That was enough to earn me an admission into the hospital.  

They wheeled me down to the birth center where they began preparing me for my hospital stay.  They began by placing an IV to make sure that I was getting plenty of fluids.  The next step was to begin a magnesium sulfate drip.  Preeclampsia, by definition, is a precursor to eclampsia (seizures) and magnesium sulfate is designed to prevent seizures.  They began with a loading dose of the medication, which is simply a higher dosage to get it into my system more quickly.  It took over my body like a fire, beginning at the IV site and coursing it's way through my limbs and trunk.  After the magnesium had gotten it's start, they did a betamethasone shot in my right bum.  Betamethasone is a corticosteroid that is designed to mature the babies' lungs more quickly in the case of pre-term delivery.  The shot stung like crazy and took me right back to my IVF days.  I was just glad someone else was doing it for me and all I had to do was grin and bear it through the pain.  Finally, they placed a catheter to make sure that I stayed put in my bed.  I don't recommend this.  It hurts.

The magnesium sulfate is meant to keep anything from happening to me while we wait for the babies to get the necessary dosages of steroids so that they have a fighting chance if they debut early.  Things that could happen to me at this stage include seizures, ischemia, and resulting brain damage.  Turns out the headache I'm feeling is a sign that the swelling that I am visualizing on my feet and legs is beginning in my brain.  As far as the babies go, they need two steroid shots 24 hours apart prior to delivery.  At this point, they've had both.  They had one on Monday night at midnight and one last night at midnight.  As for me, I'm on the magnesium sulfate until midnight tonight, then we'll see what happens.  They can't leave me on it because long term usage can lead to failure of multiple organ symptoms.  Tonight, we'll see if my symptoms stabilize or if they go crazy.  If my blood pressure sky rockets or my headache intensifies and is not manageable with relatively mild medications, they will check my protein levels in the the morning and make the call about whether or not to deliver the babies via c-section mid-morning tomorrow.  If things stabilize tonight, then I will be in for a stay at the hospital until things do change for the worse.  Unfortunately, the only known "cure" for preeclampsia is delivery of the babies.

Over the past day and a half, I've had multiple blood draws to check for protein and other various things.  I wear a blood pressure cuff constantly and it monitors my BP every 15 minutes. They come around with headache medication every 4 hours.  I have had multiple checks of my lady parts.  I've chatted with the doctor on several occasions.  I suppose the silver lining in this whole event is that we have had multiple ultrasounds and dopplers on the babies and they are all fantastic.  Better than that, really.  They are ahead in development.  They are practicing their breathing.  They are big.  Their hearts are strong.  In fact, in the last ultrasound that we had they were all head up and it looked like they were putting their heads together and facing each other.  I think they're plotting against me to get out.  Either way, it looks like the Manning triplets will be here sooner rather than later.  We'll keep you updated on the event.  

29 Weeks (Fat Feet and Sausage Fingers)

Over the last week or so my symptoms have increased dramatically.  If I stand for more than 10 minutes, my fingers and hands swell and turn bright red.  Moving too much brings on contractions.  I've had to give up piano because my fingers are so sore and swollen that it's more frustrating than soothing.  Breathing feels like a workout.  Every joint in my body is aches.  Getting up from a sitting position or readjusting in the bed causes me to groan and lose my breath, which stinks because I have to get up every 20 minutes or so to go to the bathroom.  I can't eat more than a couple of handfuls of food in a sitting.  I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep because I can't breathe and I'm sore.  So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm starting to feel like I'm pregnant with triplets.

This past Thursday I had a doctor's appointment that left me feeling completely deflated.  It's not that things are going horribly with the pregnancy right now; I'm just not the triplet mom rock star they told me I was for the longest time.  It's like being an A student and all of a sudden getting back a big paper with a B- on it.  It's not like I failed, but I'm still not particularly happy. Let me preface this by saying that according to the ultrasound the babies are fantastic.  They are perfectly happy in there leaching all of mommy's resources and leaving me a hot mess.

Of course, the doctors and nurses noticed the swelling at the appointment.  It's pretty amazing.  Also, they took my blood pressure and it was significantly elevated.  It went from 96/68 at my first appointment to 140/80 on Thursday.  This caused them to worry about preeclampsia (more commonly known as hypertension of pregnancy).  Oh...skip to the next paragraph now if you don't like medical stuff or details about lady parts and pregnancy.   Preeclampsia is usually diagnosed using three factors:  fluid retention, elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine.  Since I definitely have the first two symptoms, they checked my urine for protein.  Unfortunately,  I was too well-hydrated and, therefore, it was too dilute for them to detect any protein.  Don't worry, the protein check is not over yet.  I get the joy of doing a 24-hour collection beginning Sunday morning.  I have to collect every drop of urine I produce for a 24-hour period and submit it for testing.  Fun.  They will also do a blood test on Monday morning to check for additional protein.  Finally, just to be on the extra safe side they did a Fetal Fibronectin Test and checked my cervix.  Fetal Fibronectin is a protein that is released when the amniotic sac begins to detach from the wall of the uterus.  If it is detected, there is a 40% chance you will go into labor in the next two weeks.  If not, there is a less than 2% chance of labor beginning.  Fortunately, that test came back negative.  I probably won't be going into labor in the very near future, but that does not eliminate the risk of preeclampsia which can lead to emergency delivery of the babies if it progresses to a certain point.  Finally, the cervix check revealed that my cervix was not dilated, but it had softened and shortened.  This earned more strict bed rest than I had previously.  I'm not particularly excited about that one.

I should have more information about my risk for preeclampsia on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.  In the mean time, I will be "enjoying" more strict bed rest.  Next week we will have a growth scan to make sure the babies are growing at an appropriate rate and they will give us the estimated weights.  Last check, each weighed over 2 lbs with our boy being the biggest.  We've also just about finished the nursery, so that will be coming soon.  Until then, here is a long awaited picture of the bump.  I'm currently measuring almost 42 weeks and carrying an extra 47 lbs.  I am currently larger than the average full term mother and I still have 7 weeks to go (if we're very lucky).

29 Weeks with the Manning Trio

What's New?

So...what's new with the Mannings these days?  To be honest, not a whole lot.  Since we returned from KY, I've basically been hanging around the house while Ryan's been at work.  Once a week we head to the doctor's office for an ultrasound and a brief chat with the perinatologist.  The last three appointments have been very repetitive.  They start by taking a quick peek at the babies via ultrasound. Each time the babies have been big and squirmy with nice strong heartbeats.  We won't get another measurement or weight estimation until May 30th, but each time the doctor comes in to review the ultrasound pics, he comments that the babies are very big, even according to single baby standards.

Currently, I'm having no contractions and showing no signs of pre-term labor which is the biggest danger at this point.  Today I am 26 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  As of 24 weeks, the babies were considered viable.  Viability means that if they are born, they have a genuine chance at survival with significant medical intervention, but also with significant risk of long term complication.  Our next big milestone is 28 weeks, at which time the babies have over a 90% chance of survival and a decreased risk of long term complications.  Even so, they will be in for a long Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay if they decide to come at that time.  Overall, we're shooting for 35-36 weeks or full term for triplets and our best shot at bringing our babies home with us after they are born. At this stage of the game, every week is a huge success.

Last week we experienced the closest that we've had to a complication with the pregnancy thus far.  Wednesday, I went in for a 1-hour glucose tolerance test to determine whether or not I had gestational diabetes.  On Thursday, I received the news that I had failed my one hour test by a mere 10 points and would be required to take a three-hour glucose test to confirm a diagnosis.  In triplet pregnancies, gestational diabetes occurs about 40% of the time.  To prepare for the three-hour test, I had to begin with 12 hours of fasting.  I start to feel ill after 3 hours of fasting, so by the time I arrived at the hospital for the test, I was quite light-headed and nauseated.  After waiting 45 minutes to complete registration, I made a pit-stop at the women's restroom to vomit prior to beginning the test.  Making a lady pregnant with triplets wait over 12 hours to eat is just mean.  When I arrived at the lab, the nurse noticed how pale and shaky I was and offered me a bed to lie in during the test.  They began by taking my blood for a baseline glucose level which they found to be extremely low.  Afterward I had 10 minutes to consume a syrupy orange drink that was meant to drive my blood sugar up so they could monitor how quickly my body was able to process it.  It was a genuine struggle to keep the liquid down, but after a couple of dry heaves and some deep breathing, I managed to finish it and rest again.  Every hour for three hours they came in and drew blood.  After the last sample was taken, I was able to leave and eat.  At this point, it had been about 16 hours since I had consumed any food.  I drove shakily to meet my husband for lunch where I felt too sick to eat anything significant.  (I would normally have had him pick me up, but we are currently sharing a vehicle after our most recent car accident.)  On Monday afternoon, I received the call that everything was absolutely normal and I did not have gestational diabetes.  While that is excellent news, I can't help feeling like I endured that miserable test for nothing.

So far, all of my symptoms have been pretty normal.  Trouble sleeping, heartburn, swollen feet and hands, sore lower back, stiff fingers, difficulty moving, etc.  These symptoms are pretty run of the mill for many ladies toward the end of their singleton pregnancies.  However, those ladies know they are in the home stretch and it can't get too much worse.  Unfortunately for me, I still potentially have another 9 weeks and 4 days left and I'm only going to get larger and more uncomfortable.  As far as size is concerned, I am currently the equivalent of a lady who is about 40 weeks pregnant.  When I look at my swollen belly in the mirror, it's hard to imagine that I can possibly get any larger.  So far I've put on about 43 lbs and the docs are expecting me to gain 60-70 lbs total if I carry the little ones to full term.  On Thursday, we have a growth scan so we can learn how much each of our babies weigh.  For now, we're going in every week for and ultrasound, so we've seen that the babies are healthy and we've gotten some cute pictures.  Here are some of the pictures we've gotten of the sweet Manning triplets.

Baby Girl A looking right at us with her brother's head right beside her.  I've never seen an ultrasound with eyes open.  Something about this picture is absolutely haunting.  

Little Man B next to one of his sisters (Baby A).  I think he looks like Ryan.  Ryan thinks I'm crazy.

Sweet little girl C is difficult to get a clear picture of because she is always rolling around with her knees pulled up around her ears.  She's my little yoga girl.  

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.