Christian's Story

First we just want to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers, meals, messages, etc....it has really meant a lot to us and really helped us through this time. I just thought I would post more details about his experience for those who were curious as we have only been able to get out bits and pieces due to how quickly this has all unfolded.

While Christian was in the NICU he was having trouble breathing and was diagnosed with a PDA (www.childrens.com/HealthLibrary/HealthLibContent.cfm?pageid=P02395). Basically a hole in his heart needed while in utero but expected to close approximately 72 hours after birth. This caused him to have trouble breathing due to fluid that built up on his lungs, a high heart rate and occasional food intolerance. They treated his symptoms with hopes that it would close on it's own as he grew like his sister's did, but at his last Dr. appointment in mid-December it had not. A procedure to close it was then scheduled for Jan 6th. The plan was to close it with a plug like instrument (Amplatzer) via catheter which is non surgical and a next day check out! I noticed on 12/21 that he was wheezing and he had thrown up two feedings that day. I called his doctor and by the end of the day she had the procedure moved to Wednesday 12/23 at 1 pm. She decided to check him in at Children's Medical Center on Tuesday though to start him on fluids and assure he was not dehydrated for his procedure. At this point we were told he was in heart failure, the last thing any parent wants to hear of course.

Flash forward to Wednesday about 3:30 pm. The doctor came out to let us know everything went perfect! The doctor we chose is considered the best of the best so we knew he was in good hands. Christian then went to recovery and we were able to see our little monkey. He at first seemed to be doing fine aside from a little raspy voice. Shortly after arriving in recovery he developed a fever of 101 and something just wasn't right so they ordered a chest x-ray and gave him tylenol. His fever went away very quickly and everything settled down so well that they even called to cancel the x-ray but it was too late so they went ahead with it. The cardiologist went to view the x-ray and discovered the device had come loose! It was sitting in his right ventrical (I think) and they had to go back in and remove it. Fortunately this was performed within about an hour and the retrieval was successful. He finally got back to his room about midnight, 11 hours after leaving for some rest for his 8 am surgery! Keep in mind our poor little munchkin has now not eaten for over 24 hours! (his last meal was at 8:30 pm on Tuesday) Thankfully he was so tired he rested peacefully all night.

The surgery on 12/24 was just going to be more invasive so that is why we went for the other procedure initially. This one involves about a two-three inch incision on his left side, they go in between two ribs and move his lung to the side then clip off this duct and then put him back together! Again, being at Children's we knew we had the best, but needless to say we were all so worried. He was just a little 8 lb baby put under anesthesia three times in under 24 hours! All went well during surgery and about 2 hours after we were able to see him in ICU. We immediately noticed he was still on a respirator which was supposed to be removed within an hour of the procedure. We were told that he would not start breathing on his own. They did a chest x-ray and there was quite a bit of fluid on his lungs and his right lung would not fully inflate. The doctors increased his lasix at that time and decided to have a respiratory therapist work with him every 3 hours. I can't tell you how heart breaking it was to see our little boy on the respirator. They kept him sedated quite a bit, but at times he would cry (of course no sound coming out) and fight it and there was nothing we could do. On top of all of that, it was Christmas Eve!

Over the next 48+ hours the respiratory therapist worked with him to get the fluid off of his lungs and inflate that right lung. The doctors told me he had been in worse heart failure than originally thought. I shudder to think of what would have happened if we had waited until Jan. 6th. FINALLY on Saturday the 26th they weened him off the respirator. I just thought for sure I would hear a huge scream when it came out, but there was silence...his voice was completely gone! Over the next couple of hours they watched him very close and he was still on CPAP which they continued to ween him off over the next couple of days. (the little oxygen thing that blows air in his nose). The next step was eating. They let him try about 3:30 pm and he did great! He was a little out of practice at first, but he quickly got the coordination down. (no thanks to the feeding therapist, but that is a blog posting of it's own). After that he ate like a horse every 2-3 hours...far more than he ever had! I was thrilled! They kept him under observation for until Monday then moved him to a "regular" room. He continued to eat like a champ and breath great and we FINALLY got to check out on Tuesday...one week after checking in.

Today is January 1st and he continues to thrive and we are so thankful. He is still working to get his voice back and his incision is still healing but he is breathing and eating sooo much better! Today we celebrated our first Christmas with them and we were all so thankful he is "fixed"! He is a big smiler and I swear he is trying to tell us how much better he feels. It was so hard to see him struggle to breath before...now he is so much more peaceful and comfortable!

I will finally draw this to a close, but I have to say our Children's experience overall was mediocre at best. I hate to say this but I expected so much more....again, a whole other blog on it's own.

Well, thank you all again, we are so extremely happy to have our baby boy home and healthy!

Happy Holidays!

Love,

Jennifer and Shelby

Just some pics...

I mean that is all you really want, right?

Campbell and the mohawk Aunt Sarah gave him
Katherine Just chillin!

Christian playing with his Gator!

Campbell with the remote

Katherine sleeping

Christian, Happy Baby!

Two month photos with their bears!

So I have been harassed about not updating my blog...sorry! Here are some reasons why!

Daily Checklist:
21 bottles feeding AND cleaning
77+ oz of formula
21-24 diapers
6-9 outfits
9-12 bibs
9-12 burp cloths
3-6 blankets
1-2 loads of laundry
4-6 hours of sleep for mama

But endless amounts of cuteness!!! It makes it all worth it.

Everyone is doing great. They are starting to be more alert and seem to be recognizing their mama! My sister came in for Thanksgiving and ate up all of their sweetness! She was a big help with feeding and holding them, it was lots of fun. They had a great first Thanksgiving and look forward to participating in all of the fun eating next year!

My mom heads back to work on Monday after 4 weeks off. :( She was a HUGE help and I will miss her dearly!

Oh the pics go Katherine, Christian and Campbell from top to bottom!

Love,
Jennifer and Shelby

One month Photos

So I am determined to take a picture each month by their bears that were given to us to show how much they grow. I did take these on 10/24 but am just now posting them! Just looking at these I can't believe how much they have grown already! On Wednesday they weighed the following: Katerine, 8 lbs 11 oz; Campbell, 8 lbs 8 oz; Christian, 7 lbs 3 oz. Can you believe Katherine out weighs her brothers?

Christian is doing very well. The cardiologist actually took his feeding tube out and told me I was over feeding him! She said let the boy eat when he wants and don't force him to take more. YAY! I was just following the orders of the neonatologist, but we were actually hurting him. He did not gain any weight in 6 days so that is why we ended up at the cardiologist. She said his body was having to work so hard to digest his food that he was burning more calories than he took in! Poor kiddo. She also altered his meds to help him from breathing so hard, we go back Tuesday for a follow up. If he still does not gain weight we might have to do surgery to close his PDA. I am hoping this is not the case. Will keep you posted.

Other than that we are just hanging out and making it through each day! They are good babies I have to say. I actually get more sleep now than I did when I was pregnant! Funny! My mom started a 4 week leave of absence this week so I am so excited about that. She helps me get things done and it gives me freedom to go to the gym, run errands, etc.

Hope everyone is well!

Love,

Jen & Shelby

TOGETHER AGAIN!

As of this Monday, November 2nd, the Trio was reunited! Christian was the last to come home and we are all thrilled! He still has some "stuff" to deal with, but he will be fine. He has a heart murmur, which they call a PDA...I am not a medical person so don't ask me what that stands for...something long and complicated. This causes fluid to build up on his lungs, which makes his breathing rapid which makes him wear out fast and unable to take all of his meals on the bottle. He came home on a feeding tube so half of his feedings are given through it when he is tired. He is on medication to help drain the fluid and we have noticed a big improvement in his ability to bottle feed, but not enough for him to grow. We follow up with the cardiologist in two weeks and will go from there. A possible surgery is in his future, but we are hoping the murmur closes on it's own. So pray for him!

Today was my due date, crazy! They are all getting so big, I could not imagine if they were still in my tummy....I would have been big enough to cover two zip codes! HA HA! I am just so happy they are all home and doing great. They are all good babies over all so I can't complain. It is crazy and tiring when they are all hungry at the same time, but we deal with it!!!

Hope everyone is doing great!

Love,
Jen and Shelby

Campbell is home!!!

We are so excited to have 2 of 3 home! Campbell came home on 10/22 and he has been so good. (The pic above is from the hospital, need to download my new pics!) Two is really not much harder than one since I can feed them both at the same time. Adding the 3rd is going to be a challenge, although we cannot wait to get Christian home!!! Maybe I can figure out how to grow an extra set of hands before then. I really am so lucky, Campbell and Katherine are such good babies. They just eat and go right to sleep, Campbell has been in his own bed since night #1! When I put them down they just grunt back and forth for a bit, like "I am over here!" It is cute. Even when they are awake they are just content with looking around. Sammie has been good. When they do cry to eat he is so anxious to see what the problem is and give them kisses.

Christian is still at the NICU, he is progressing, but slowly. They just have to constantly remind me that he should not even be born yet! They have said the Christian is actually "normal', they other 2 are just ahead of the game. They have started putting a "thickener" in his milk to see if that helps. They said sometimes the milk goes down too quick and it is scary to them so this will help slow it down. We will see!

Love,
Jennifer and Shelby

I know, I am so bad at this...

(I just love these little Duckie outfits, had to post this pic!)

I haven't posted in forever, 2 weeks to be exact. So sorry! Life is so crazy! Here is a quick run down of what has been going on...in no particular order.
1. Aunt Sarah came in from Montana to visit, we hung out at the hospital all day with the Trio! It was love at first sight, but who can't love these little babes?
2. Katherine came home on 10/15!!! Let the sleepless nights begin!
3. I learned Katherine does not like being by herself, I knew that co-bedding would come back to bite me.
4. Justice, the trio's half sister, came in and met Katherine! Since you have to be 18 to go into the NICU she was not able to meet the boys...but hopefully soon!
5. Sammie LOVES Katherine. He lays next to her, sniffs her and gives her kisses when he can sneak by me.
6. Katherine had her first trip to the pediatrician on 10/19. She isn't supposed to be born yet and she is already in the 5th percentile! I had some BIG babies!
7. Campbell will likely be home Wednesday or Thursday!
8. Not sure about Christian, he is still struggling a bit. They found some fluid on his lungs, I hope once they get rid of that he will progress quickly to join everyone else. It is going to absolutely kill me to have him at the hospital all by himself! :( Pray for him!!!
9. Katherine was home to help celebrate my Dad's birthday, that was special. Having babies helps you to save money on gifts, all you have to do is let them hold your baby and all is forgiven!!!
10. I had my 2 week follow up appointment and got my driver's license back...woo hoo! I also lost 48 lbs in 2 weeks, even better!!!
11. I got so much cool stuff for all my showers, but never took the time to learn how they "operate"! I had to use the hospital bottles for the first 48 hours Katherine was home since I never learned to use my Dr Brown bottles! I also had to call Shelby so he could explain to me over the phone how to get the car seat off the base. Learn this BEFORE your baby comes!!!
12. I have the greatest family and friends. Everyone has been so helpful by bringing dinners, checking on us and helping us while we have kids in two locations! Can't wait to have everyone under one roof!!!

Well, that is the past 2 weeks in a nutshell!!

Love,
Jen and Shelby

10.4.09 Update on the Trips!

Hello! Sorry I have not posted more often. I have been spending as much time at the NICU as I can and I am typically wiped out when I get home! As I recover more I think this will change. I do feel better each day, but being on bed rest for 9 weeks did not help either. I am so weak and have NO endurance! I was running 12-15 miles a week when I got pregnant, now I am thrilled when I walk all the way to the NICU and NOT have to take a wheel chair! It's the small victories.

As far as the babies go, they are doing better each day. All 3 are now above their birth weights, the largest one (Campbell) is still just under 5.5 lbs. They look so big to me, but then I see a "normal" new born and they look tiny again! All 3 are being given 2 of the 8 feedings by bottle. They eat as much as they can then they put the rest in the feeding tube if needed. As with their mama, they are just building up their strength and endurance to take all 8 feedings from the bottle! They were actually moved up to the 7th floor this week. The NICU got full and they were in the best shape of all the babies so they got promoted! I am thrilled with every step they make as I am anxious to get them home. I know I should be enjoying this time and resting up, but I can't explain how it pains me to leave them behind each day I leave the NICU. I know they are watched around the clock, but it is not by me and I can't stand that.

They really are starting to develop little personalities. They are more alert close to their feeding time. I think Campbell is going to be the "tough guy" and Katherine seems to be really laid back and content with life. Christian is definitely going to be the "baby" of the family. He certainly acts like the youngest! Today we got a good laugh because Katherine was so hungry she was trying to suck on everything that came near her. This included Christian's blanket, his fingers, her sleeve and her blanket....Christian tried to suck on her head later so he paid her back. Campbell got his thumb in his mouth briefly, I guess we will see if he gets that coordination down.

Well, that is about all to report at this time! Nothing too exciting, except they get cuter each and every day!

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Love,

Jennifer and Shelby

The Trio Update!

The babies are all doing great. They are still in the NICU, but have come a long way since their birth almost a week ago! They all have their feeding tubes in their noses now. This gives them more freedom to suck on their pacifiers. This is the main thing keeping them from coming home. The doctors and nurses are working to train their strength and coordination to eat from a bottle. Yesterday Katherine got to try the bottle. She did great! She got 7 cc's down, she is an overachiever for her first feeding! Typically preemies get 1-2 on their first go and tend to choke on it, she did not! I told her to tell her brothers how yummy it was so we can get them to try soon!

Campbell and Christian are now co-bedding. They look so content! Before they each had to have their own bed so they could sit under warmers since they are still learning to regulate their own body temps. Katherine should be joining them soon. She has had a little tougher time, but we put socks on her yesterday so maybe this will help. Her little toes are always cold!

I have been home since Monday. It was so hard to leave the kiddos behind, but I know they are in good hands. I realized once I got home that I still have a lot of recovery to do, I am in no shape to take care of a baby much less 3 right now!!! I am trying to get to the NICU daily for several hours. I have just been warned by all the nurses and doctors to be sure and not wear myself out! It is just so hard to stay away from them.

We will post another update later in the week!

Thanks for all of your support, prayers, phone calls, texts, etc....!

Love,
Jennifer and Shelby

THE TRIO IS HERE!

What a crazy couple days. We actually ended up checking into the hospital Wednesday night because we thought my water broke (well, somone's water anyway)! It turned out to be a false alarm, but they let me stay since I had to be back 8 hours later anyway. I think they also felt bad making me move again, I was VERY miserable at this point and was contracting regularly.

The next morning, September 24th, 2009 at our scheduled 9:30 am C-section our 3 little angels entered this world...very quickly I might say!

Baby "A" was born at 9:59 am.
This is Campbell Joseph, 5 lbs 7 oz, 18 inches

Baby "B" was born at 10:00 am.
This is Katherine Emma, 5 lbs 4 oz, 18 inches

Baby "C" was born at 10:00 am
This is Christian Michael, 4 lbs 9 oz, 16.5 inches

They were cleaned up very quickly, said hi to mom and dad then were whisked away to the NICU...without any immediate concerns I might add. After I was "put back together" and spent an hour in recovery they wheeled me into the NICU to check on them. They all needed some extent of breathing assistance at first, but were all taken off as of Friday! As of now they are all ONLY on feeding tubes while they are developing the strength and coordination to suckle. I spent the whole first day in and out of consciousness so I relied on Dad, Nana Jo and Papa to keep an eye on them and give me updates. I did not see them again until Friday afternoon, but came in at the right time...I was the first to be there when they were ready to be held! I just could not believe how big they were! I mean I really had 15 lbs and 4 oz of baby in my belly? Crazy!

I am still in more pain than I ever thought, but am making progress. We continue to check in on them as much as possible, but we are even limited on when we can see and hold them while in the NICU. They expect them to be home in about 2 weeks, but they are progressing even faster than they imagined! I can't really tell who they look like yet, hoping to figure that out soon.

I will update again soon and promise to post pics! I am having trouble with downloading pics right now...sorry!!! Internet is a little slow here. If you have Facebook, there are pics on there! Oh, here is a link my Dad sent, hope you can see this!
http://beta.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=302790419210%3A471022641

Love,
Jennifer and Shelby

The latest news and my Top 10 list!

So today we set a C-section date! This Thursday....YAY! Our little Trio will be born on 9/24. We are both very excited, especially me. My body is saying, IT'S TIME! It is literally falling apart. In fact, I am wondering how I am going to make it to Thursday. This Thursday will be 34 weeks and the babies are all doing great. They will all weigh around 5 lbs (that's 15 lbs of baby folks!) and we cannot wait to meet them! Today the tech told us it looks like the girl (Katherine) has lots of hair! YAY! Bows, bows and more bows! We will definitely get everyone updates and photos as soon as we can. And yes, I promise to take a photo of my GI-NORMOUS belly right before going to the hospital.

I have been thinking about all the things I have missed doing over the last 34 weeks and especially the last 9 weeks while on bed rest. I decided to make the TOP 10 REASONS I CAN'T WAIT TO BE UN-PREGNANT!

10. I can't wait to be able to walk normal!
9. I am so looking forward to running/working out again.
8. Bending over! Any pregnant lady knows how hard this is!
7. NOT having to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes.
6. Not having to shower with my old lady shower seat.
5. Getting kicked! As this can be neat at times, the bigger they get the more it hurts. AND they LOVE to PARTY every night from about 1-3 am!
4. Margarita's!
3. Sleeping while actually lying down.
2. Sleeping in my own bed...I have been on the couch for MONTHS!
1. Getting my waistline back...eventually!

I am so just happy that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We will be in touch!

Love,
Jennifer and Shelby

We have Three 4 Up WOGS!

So it is just a family joke since we are in the chicken business. A WOG is a whole chicken (without giblets) and they are classified by weight. My dad keeps saying I am having Three 4 up WOGS and I am welcome to take some home from the plant to practice diapering and such. :) NO THANKS!

Anyway, on Wednesday I went to my high risk doctor and everything looked great. The babies all weighed over 4 lbs and looked good. I seem to be hanging in there too, although I told him I though 9/9/09 would be a pretty cool birth date. He looked at me like I had two heads and said, "but that is TODAY???" I guess that is a NO? He really wants me to get to 34 weeks and then he is going to be pretty much over me. At this point even if I went into labor they would not try and stop it. He just said with two more weeks it could really help with any breathing or feeding issues. OK, I guess I am in! I am really trying to hang in there, but "it is just hard and I do not like doing things that are hard!" (That is a direct quote from my sister!) I now start seeing my high risk doctor every week to make sure no one goes into distress, if so, they will do an immediate C-section. Now that they are getting big they don't want them to run out of room!

I go back to my regular doctor on Monday, I will post any updates then. As for now, I am SOOOO happy it is Football season! Lots more to watch on the weekend. Although, I have the ONLY husband in the world that does not like sports. Doesn't he realize that other guys would kill for a girl like me? So, GO CATS and GEAUX TIGERS!

DON'T FORGET.....FLU SHOTS PEOPLE!!!! :)

Love,
Jen and Shelby

....and released!!!

I get to go home! They checked me all out today and everything is stable even with a slight improvement with my cervix. Good stuff! I am 31 weeks tomorrow which is huge....they are happy with the growth of the babies and how I am holding up...considering it is 3 babies and all. We will all breath a sigh of relief at 32 weeks and at 34 if I cry hard enough they may take them out. I will just have to see just how miserable I am. I know the longer the better, but this is tough! I did get two rounds of steroids to help with the lungs in case they surprise us all and change our time line plans. The steroids should last a couple weeks so that makes us all feel better. They will measure them again on Wednesday so I will have a better idea of their estimated weight. So good reports all around! I have to say my stay here at Medical City was great!!! The staff here is great and the food isn't so bad. If any of you out there end up in my shoes, not such a bad gig. I just wish Sammie could come with me and they would have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming!!!

Thanks so much for all the e-mails, prayers, calls and visits. Will update after my appointment Wednesday or earlier if anything unexpected happens. HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Love,
Jen and Shelby

It was inevitable...

Here is a photo of me right before I have to be admitted into the hospital on Monday. I AM GINORMOUS!!! I am here for sure until Wednesday and on Wednesday they will determine my fate from there. My cervix just got too thin, anything below a 20 is considered the "red zone" and I measured at an 18 today. I guess the boluder I have been carrying around got a little too heavy! They also did an FFN test and I tested positive. FFN is some test that shows if some protein is present in your body that often shows up about 2 weeks prior to your body going into labor. I know I am full of scientific details, but what can I say? I sell chicken!!! :) I doesn't guarantee I will go into labor, it just helps determine the next course of action. I was given a steroid shot today and will get another one tomorrow. This will help develop the baby's lungs if they were to insist on coming here pretty soon!!! I am 30 weeks and 5 days today so we are doing pretty good considering the size of the litter! Obviously, the longer they hang with me the better!

I am doing OK, I had a feeling this was coming so I was mentally prepared. I just feel bad for my little Sammie, he was loving bed rest!!! All the nurses have been really nice though and I am loving room service!!!!

Will keep everyone updated, but it is just a sit and wait now. OH, I should add to make sure and get your flu shot!!! My pediatrician is insisting that I only allow visitors who have had their flu shot once the babies are here since they will be preemies!

Love,

Jen and Shelby

Crazy day, but all is well

Lots going on today! I was having little contractions all weekend so I called my doctor today. He figured they were Braxton Hicks, but did not want to chance it so he had me come in. They checked me all out and I passed all my tests! YAY! My cervix has shorted a little bit more, I am tinkering on the edge of "hospitalization", but happy to be home still. I am 3 days from 30 weeks so I am about to hit a HUGE milestone! I cannot wait to be in the "30's", I feel like I have been in the "20's" for a year! I just had this terrible feeling that my luck had run out and I would be sleeping at Medical City tonight, but we are all hanging in there! They also looked at the babies for awhile, so that was fun. They were very active and all looked great.

I am also battling the insurance company on the pump my high risk doctor perscribed at my last visit. They will not approve it for home use! I asked them which was cheaper, home pump or 3 babies in the NICU because I go into labor too early? They are fools. Anyway, my doctor gave me an oral med to take in the meantime so I am at least on something. I can't say I am sad about the pump due to my fear of needles, but I still want to do what is best for the TRIO!

That is it for now, I go back next Monday and will be keeping my bum on the couch until then!

Baby Doctor Day

Well, today I went to the doctor, it is always a treat getting out of the house! Anyway, everything is fine and staying stable, each baby is weighing about 3 lbs and growing right on track! If I have 9 lbs of baby, why have I gained 40??? UGH! The doctor did decide to have a pump put into my stomach so I can receive some medicine that will keep me from having contractions. I have not felt any, but it is more of a precaution. Some medical group is going to come in and "install" it. EWWWW. As this may not sound like a huge deal, for those of you that know how squeamish I am, knows this is a VERY big deal! Just his description of it made me a bit light headed. I know it is just a tiny needle, but still, IT IS A NEEDLE! I can't stand shots, getting blood drawn, heck I can't even HEAR about people's injuries without getting light headed. How am I supposed to carry this thing around when it is connected to my tummy. YUCK! Oh well, I guess anything to keep these babies in longer. This will be the one of MANY sacrifices that I am going to make over their lifetime! Tomorrow I am 29 weeks so I am getting closer. I will be so happy to get to 30 weeks, I feel like I have been in the 20's for a year!

Update and Bed Rest Buddy!

I am already behind on my blog and I don't even have the trio yet! Not a good sign! Anyway, I went to the doctor today, I have actually been twice since my last post! I am staying "stable" I guess. Things are still the same so bed rest still seems to be a successful treatment in my case. I have to admit my feet are starting to swell, oh no! I am really bummed about that, hoping it will magically go away. I am still a bit stir crazy, but got permission to go to the lake this upcoming weekend to get a change of scenery! YAY! Last weekend I also went to the pool twice to help get some relief from all this weight! The only thing that sucks is that when you get out of the pool, it feels TWICE as heavy, UGH! Thanks to everyone who has come by to visit and brought lunch or dinner! It is always great to have visitors, I feel more connected to the outside world!

I also have to give a shout out to my bed rest buddy, SAMMIE! He is the best bed rest companion and he takes it VERY seriously as you can see from the photo. He has been doing some serious resting to help motivate me to stay on track I guess? He is a great snuggler and it would be super lonely without him! Only problem seems to be he is now back to hating his crate. When we went to the doctor today he went crazy, before I went on bed rest he would actually walk into the crate on his own. UH OH!


I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Stir Crazy!

So I am getting a little stir crazy! I just try to remind myself that this is still better than being at the hospital! This week several people dropped by to visit, so that has been helpful. They have all been armed with goodies of some sort...Mexican food, cookies, ice cream or books and magazines! I am very thankful for the company, it definitely helps pass the time and helps keep me from going crazy! Of course my bed rest is timed with Shelby's busiest time at work! He gets home as soon as he can, but he has had to work all weekend and late every night. :( Mr. Sammie has been a great bed rest buddy though, he is taking this VERY seriously.

This week we took the plunge and got our "kid car"! No, we did not get a minivan, I am just not ready to take that plunge...we got a GMC Acadia! We love it! I decided our coolness factor is already going to take a big hit with these kiddos, taking the ultimate parent plunge into minivan land was too much for me! :) I am quite sure it is in our future at some point though!

Not much to report on the babies right now. They are moving like crazy, I can tell you that much! I go back to the doctor on Wednesday, so I will have an update then.

This week my goal is to add pics to my blog, I need to make it a little less boring???
Have a good week!

High Risk Doctor Day

Today I had a doctor appointment and everything looked great! I am holding up, thank goodness, I guess bed rest is working! They measured the babies and estimated their weights:

Baby A - Campbell Joseph is about 2 lbs 8 oz
Baby B - Christian Michael is about 2 lbs 2 oz
Baby C - Katherine Emma is about 2 lbs 3 oz

I hope I remembered these right, I don't want to be a horrible mom already?

Knowing I am still stable after a week on bed rest makes me feel much better. I am glad all the sitting around has been worth it. I would have been devastated if I got worse after all of this miserable laying around! Yes, laying around is misery! Laying on the couch because you want to vs. because you have to is two totally different things!!!

26 weeks and counting!!!

I gave in!

So here we go, I started a blog. I swore I would never do this, but there is so much to share these days and it is hard to keep up! Thank goodness for Facebook and e-mail, those have helped me spread the word with any updates up to this point.

I guess I should start by saying the main reason we are starting this is because we are having triplets! I am sure this is old news to everyone, but you never know. We are expecting 2 boys and a girl on November 5th. I have to laugh as I type November 5th because there is NO freaking way I will last that long. Today is July 29th, 2009...one day shy of 26 weeks and I am one week into bed rest. The weight of these kiddos have opened my cervix more than my doctors are comfortable with so sitting all day every day is my newest prescription. Bed rest is in no way shape or form fun, but truly it was getting hard to move around. Part of me is glad I am forced to sit, just walking to get a drink of water practically calls for a nap these days! I am measuring about 8 weeks ahead of myself, so if that tells you anything...I am huge! We are really excited to meet this litter of ours, but know the longer they stay in the better! I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep them there!

I have a doctor appointment Thursday morning, so I will update everyone on the progress. I now have to go to the doctor weekly to make sure everyone is doing good. As of now I seem to be the only one suffering...well, probably Shelby too since he has to do EVERYTHING now, and I am not what most would term as "low maintenance"......at least all the babies look good and are growing on target! I just hope to stay home and out of the hospital!!!

Pray for us!