Oh Man!

Well, I think that growth spurt they were talking about last week is definitely happening! It's 4am and I woke up to a stomach begging for food. Currently eating a bowl of cereal, hoping I will be able to go back to bed. Might have to start putting granola bars on my bedside table!

Just a few more days until our next ultrasound. Can't wait!

Love, Nellie

17 Week Update!

Hey everyone!

So, we are at 17 weeks. Kind of a weird number, but another number closer to 36, so we'll take it! I got my bloodwork results from last week. They were scanning me for gestational diabetes because with triplets the risk is much higher (as is my pleasantly plump figure). They test twice, once now and then again around 24 weeks (which is when most singleton pregnancies test). Good news! No diabetes here! Let's keep our fingers crossed that it stays that way. The only other thing is that they found that I am a little bit anemic (red blood cell levels are a little low). This, again, isn't too surprising for a triplet pregnancy. My blood volume has doubled to help the wee ladies grow big and strong and sometimes you run out of iron to help make the red blood cells. Anyway, I was started on Iron supplements so that should take care of the problem. Other than that, everything else is pretty much status quo. Waiting for the girls to get big enough so that we can feel them!

We have also motivated into "we need to get ready for these babies!" mode. Nathan has been working on the nursery with building shelves in the closet, taking the bed downstairs, getting ready to paint, etc., while I have been on the phone and computer finding out about day care, home nursing care, and how the heck we are going to be able to afford these three kids! Day care center vs nanny, full time vs part time work, how long can I take off, what if I am on bedrest in a month, what if the babies are in the NICU for 6 weeks, etc. It's all pretty overwhelming, but the more I get educated, the better I feel. I was excited to see that there is a Greater Portland Mother's of Multiples group (Thanks Ellen Reath!) right here and they meet monthly. I joined yesterday and can't wait to go to the first meeting!!

Ok, off to work. Here is the 17 week update and some photos for your enjoyment!!

How your baby's growing: Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. (FYI- our girls were 5 and 6 oz LAST week!) She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

It's a Girl... and Another Girl...and I'm not kidding... Another Girl

I'm really not sure that there is much more to say. I am pretty speechless at this point. haha. Please don't send too much pink!!

All three girls are looking great. They are big and healthy and no sign of any troubles. So, we will be back in 2 weeks to check them out again.

Three girls! Oh My Goodness!!!!

love, Nellie

16 weeks!

As promised, here is the 16 week update. Avocados!

How your baby's growing: Get ready for a growth spurt (Really? I feel like I'm already in one!). In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Back to Reality...

Nathan and I returned from our amazing week in Jackman last night. We had the most wonderful, relaxing, best weather vacation we have had in a while. Sort of sad to come back to the real world, especially when it's 95 and humid outside! I went to Babies-R-Us today just to find some AC...and see if it was possible to fit three car seats in the Jeep Cherokee. Turns out you can, although it will certainly be a tight fit! Now I am hiding down in the basement with the two dogs where it's nice and cool.

I've realized that it's time to start figuring some stuff out, like the nursery, car seats, stroller combos, child care, etc. It's pretty overwhelming, but we have a pretty good network of people that are sending used stuff our way which is great! I figure that I might as well start now because in a matter of months things are going to start getting pretty chaotic around here!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we are back in town. The big 16 week mark is tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates and photos. Wednesday is our next ultrasound. We are hoping to find out genders at that appointment, so definitely stay tuned for that!!

Love to you all...

Nellie

PS- See below for ultrasound pics from last time. I just added them today.

A great ultrasound before our vacation!

Hey everyone!

We just got home from our ultrasound. I will never cease to be amazed at how fast they all are growing. All three of the babies look great!! Still no sign of the previously noted hygroma, which makes us very happy. Each and every one of them is moving like they are auditioning for Saturday Night Fever. I will put the measurements, heart rates and pictures below. Just wanted everyone to know that Nathan and I are headed out of town for about 9 days. We will be back next Sunday. So, probably no updates until we get back. Hope everyone has a good week.

lots of love, Nellie

Baby A: measures 9.25 cm. HR is 153.
Baby B: measures 8.80 cm. HR is 153.
Baby C: measures 8.72 cm. HR is 150.

14 weeks! The Time is Flying By!

Not too much to report today, other than the 14 week babycenter update. I'm happy to report that my energy levels are really starting to improve... and my belly is realy starting to grow. Nathan and I decided that today was the first day that we would start taking weekly pictures of the babies from the outside. I will try to be brave and post them here. :) Lots of love to everyone. Keep thinking positive thoughts that everything will look great at the ultrasound on Friday.

love, Nellie (and Nathan and the Lemons)

How your baby's growing: This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

A Nice Getaway...

As most of you know, our wedding anniversary was this past week (July 30th). Last year, Nathan and I started a new tradition for our anniversary. It started when I surprised him on our anniversary and took the two of us to The Brunswick Inn for a nice evening to start off our summer vacation. We decided at that time that we would take turns finding new and fun places to stay in Maine for our anniversary. Well, it was Nathan's turn this year and we decided we would celebrate it this weekend. He kept the plan secret all the way until just before we left.

I had to work on Saturday, but luckily got home around noon. I had made sure my day at work was not overloaded because Nathan made me promise that I would be finished by 1:30p at the latest... we had a schedule to keep! I spent days trying to figure out what that meant. Anyway, I got home from work to find a stack of papers on the kitchen stove, neatly printed and stapled together. The first page read... "Where are we going? How about here?" I flipped the page and there was a picture of the most magnificent old building with a sprawling lawn that rolled down to the ocean. The next page read... "Great! How do we get there?" I flipped the page to see a picture of a big ferry boat. The next page read... "So that's why we have a schedule, now where is the boat taking us?" I flipped the page to see a map of Chebeague Island, one of the islands off the coast of Portland in Casco Bay and a brochure for the Chebeague Island Inn. I was so taken by his presentation and the idea of getting away from life for even 24 hours that I broke down crying. I think I scared him a bit, but he was reassured when I told him they were tears of joy.

An hour or so later, we were on our way. It was the MOST beautiful day of the Summer so far. Not a cloud in the sky, 85 degrees, cool ocean breeze. We drove downtown and jumped on the Casco Bay Lines and enjoyed a 90 minute ferry ride out to Chebeague Island, stopping at four of the surrounding islands on our way out there. We sat in the sun and really started to unwind to enjoy the rest of our mini-vacation. We arrived at Chebeague around 4p and were picked up by the Inn staff who drove us to the opposite end of the island to the Inn. I could not believe my eyes when we arrived at our destination. I am talking, jaw-dropping beauty. A huge Inn on a hill, with amazing gardens and cascading green lawns down to the ocean below, covered in Adirondack chairs and benches. A wrap-around porch with comfy chairs and the same priceless view. I thought I had seen it all...then we saw our room. It was like a burst of sunlight. It was so pristine with big fluffy bedding and the same gorgeous ocean view out of the big window. I lay down and didn't want to leave. Without a doubt, this was going to be the best night away from home EVER.

After getting settled, we put on our suits and road the complimentary bikes down to the beach where we set up a little wine and cheese picnic and spent an hour or so taking it all in. It's amazing how much we can talk about our life in Maine and how much we love it and how we can't wait to bring the triplets into it, and it never gets old. :) We eventually headed back to the Inn, where we showered and got dressed for dinner. I think my favorite part of the evening was then sitting in two Adirondack chairs, watching the sun slowly approach the horizon, chatting, and people watching.

We eventually made it into the dining room around 8p. I won't go into it, but we had to do a little table shuffling due to an incredibly horrible lounge singer that was poisoning the atmosphere in the main dining room. Thank goodness we spotted a table on the porch that we requested just before our food came and the dining experience was saved. You know? He was the type of entertainer that was so bad that you couldn't carry on any other form of conversation because all you could think about was how you were going cut electricity to the synthesizer he was playing. Once that was over with, we were able to enjoy our meals, which were VERY good I should add.

Sufficiently stuffed, we headed to bed around 9:30p. Yup. No joke. We figure we should be getting as much sleep as possible these days because sleep is not going to come easy in a few months. We tucked ourselves in and ended the night going through the alphabet thinking of baby names that we really liked. A great way to end an amazing day.

I woke up this morning around 6:30a, got dressed and headed downstairs for a cup of decaf, the Sunday paper, and a seat on the porch to watch the fog burn off the ocean. Sadly, the fog never burned off. Nathan eventually made his way downstairs and we had a lovely breakfast. We decided that since it was going to be cold and foggy all day, we would take the 12:00p boat home, knowing it would take another 90 minutes to get back to Portland. We managed to fit in another bike ride down to "the hook" where we wandered the beach a bit and got back just in time to catch a ride to the ferry. The ride home in pea-soup fog was not quite as luxurious as the way out there, but we didn't mind. I think if/when we go again, we will drive up to Falmouth and take the 20 minute ferry directed to the Inn.

Anyway, I am sorry for that really long entry. It probably bored you all to tears, but I just started typing and it all came out. Like I warned you from the beginning, there may be some journal type entries in here, but this is my way to chart our lives during this time since I fear that years from now I won't remember a thing about it!

If ANYONE is looking for a quiet getaway weekend in Maine, may I suggest the Chebeague Island Inn. It was the best experience ever. If we could afford it, we would go all the time! It may have made enough of an impression that we might just make it our new every year anniversary getaway, but that's still undecided. We know there are lots of other cool, hole-in-the-wall places around here that we should check out.

So, 14 weeks is closing in fast and our next ultrasound is only 5 days away! Blog with you soon!!!

Nellie