Holy Moly, 30 weeks...

... and it's Nathan's Birthday today!!! It seems as though the number 3 is a lucky number for us this year, and hopefully for a long time to come. Nathan is turning 33 on the day that our 3 girls are 30 weeks along... and check out their weights today, they all reached 3 pounds!! Did I ever mention that my birthday is on 3/3? Once again, I am amazed at how another week has managed to slip by. I had a very uneventful week. Wednesday was my last day at work and thank goodness for that. It was just getting to be too much and my doctor's were strongly encouraging me to stop.

We took our last trip out of town this weekend. Our great friends down in the Boston area get together every year for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving party. We pulled off a full seated turkey dinner. I think it started with maybe 8 of us 4-5 years ago, and this year the group ballooned to 28 people! It was pretty impressive to say the least. Sadly, Nathan came down with the same head/chest cold that I went through and both of us had to retire right after dinner. It was still nice to see everyone!

I had my 30 week ultrasound this morning. Everything continues to look great. We were both excited that all three girls are at least 3 pounds. Fluid levels are good with still no sign of twin/twin transfusion syndrome. My blood pressure went back down to 120/80 which was nice and my doctors continue to be thrilled with how everything is going. Ultrasound results are below, along with my weekly picture, and the babycenter update.

I just want to end with saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HONEY!!!! It's going to be a great year and I love you very very much.

Baby A: Heart rate 149, Femur Length 57 mm, Fetal Wellbeing Assessment 8/8, weighing in at 3 lbs 0 oz (42nd%)

Baby B: Heart rate 148, Femur Length 57.6 mm, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 3 lbs 1 oz (46th%)

Baby C: Heart rate 136, Femur Length 60.2 mm, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 3 lbs 6 oz (59th%)

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

29 Weeks!

Here we are at 29 weeks... one week closer to baby time!! Had a pretty good week overall. I am definitely getting tired more easily these days. Thank goodness tomorrow is my last day of work! We did have another quick trip to the hospital on Sunday night. Same sort of thing that happened last month... contractions coming pretty regularly and often enough to warrant having me checked out. Luckily, everything was just fine. They monitored me for about two hours, ran some tests and then sent me home. My doctors always stress to me that it's better to come in and get sent home than to stay at home when trouble might be brewing.

My ultrasound this morning, confirmed that everything and everyone is still doing great. Unfortunately, no growth updates, as they only do those every two weeks. All three have great heart rates, fluid levels, and cord pressures, and they all got 8/8 on their Fetal Wellbeing Assessments. My doctors continue to be very happy. My blood pressure has leveled off at 130/70 and the swelling in my hands and feet haven't gotten any worse in the last week. They really only flare-up when I have been on my feet too long. I will say that my right hand has a pretty constant tingly feeling. This is likely carpal tunnel from the swelling pressing on the nerves in my wrist. My doctor said he would give me a PT referral. I think I will start with trying to find some wrist braces at CVS and if that doesn't help, I will go see the PT people. It's really pretty mild these days.

Anyway, that's it from here. We will get growth results next week so that will be exciting. I'll be home a LOT starting Thursday, so feel free to stay in touch! :)

Here is the babycenter update and some pics...

Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week he weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is getting bigger to accommodate his growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

28 week Ultrasound Results

Sorry this is a little late, but it takes a while for me to get organized to get the scans in and the results all set. We were really excited about this weeks scan. We were hoping that the girls

would get to 2.5 pounds a piece but we thought we might be a little over ambitious with that. Well, our girls are growers that's for sure! They all gained at least a 1/2 pound, and our little munchkin with the two vessel cord(who normally would be the one who gains the least), gained 11 oz! They are all three above the 50th% for singleton growth, which is actually up from two weeks ago. We couldn't have asked for a better scan. Here are the official results...

Baby A: Heart rate 135, Femur Length 52.1 mm, Fetal Wellbeing Assessment 8/8, weighing in at 2 lbs 7 oz (50th%)

Baby B: Heart rate 128, Femur Length 50.6 mm, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 2 lbs 10 oz (58th%)

Baby C: Heart rate 149, Femur Length 53.2 mm, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 2 lbs 8 oz (52nd%)

All the girls have great amniotic fluid levels, anatomy is normal, umbilical cord pressures are all normal with no sign of Twin-Twin Syndrome. And I'm sure you're all hanging on the edge of your seats... but my cervix is still looking fabulous. It's measuring 4.2 cm. Sadly, this will be the last time that they will look at my cervix. I don't know why, but it's just really comforting to know that the babies have been so well protected from the outside world by my long cervix. However, like the doctors said, eventually it will begin to shorten and we have to accept that.

On another note, the rest of my body is starting to rebel a little bit. I noticed in the last week that my hands have been getting a little stiff from some swelling and my feet are going down the same road. My feet were always the only part of my body that was skinny and now I have chubby feet!! At the end of the day, the cankles are out in full force. Oh, and don't forget the stretch marks that have started on my lower abdomen. ugh! I am entering the unattractive stage of pregnancy. Along with that, my blood pressure was up a little bit. I have normally been under 120/70 and this week I was 140/80. That's still nice and manageable and they are not too concerned, but they want to keep a close eye on it. I have no other signs of hypertension, like headaches, protein in urine, etc. They also think that it's time for me to stop working. That's been hard to take, as we were hoping that I would at least be able to work through November. However, whatever the doctors say, I will do. The plan is to work this week and next week and then be done. Looks like it's time to finally get our wedding album done! :)

Anyway, that's the update for this week. I am now on weekly ultrasounds and doctor visits, so there will be many more updates to come.

Also, I wanted to say a special thanks to Patti, Nathan's mom. She came up here for a few days this week and made some BEAUTIFUL curtains for the girls' room. Once we get the curtain rods set up, I will take a picture so you all can see. Thanks, Patti!

Until next time...

Nellie

A little side note...

Back in May of this year, my dear husband gathered some buddies and decided to give our pink tiled and Formica counter topped kitchen an overhaul. He chose a weekend when I was not home and made it a total surprise. We got new butcher-block counter tops, a gorgeous farmers sink, a new fancy drawer-style dishwasher and repainted cabinets. I came home to find this surprise and was SO excited! It was gorgeous. The only thing missing was the back splash. We picked out some beautiful tile online and then waited for the perfect time to install it... and waited...and waited. :) With these three little ladies on the way, we knew we couldn't put it off any longer! Well, we made a deal with Shiloh, our neighbor down the street, and he came and put in the tile. It's finally done!! And it's so gorgeous!! Thank you to my honey for my new kitchen.

PS- you can enlarge the photos if you click on them.

28 Weeks!

We made it to our next milestone! Yippee!! I have read on some websites that triplets making it to 28 weeks have between 90-98% chance at survival. Sounds good to me!! No major updates from the last week. I will say that I have learned how to control these contractions a little better. I had a few more than usual the other morning. Just so they could see, I went into my perinatologists office to be monitored for an hour or so. Of course, I didn't have one contraction while I was there. Oh well. I did have a nice conversation with my doctor that told me not to worry, that the contractions were normal, that I was doing amazingly well and that he fully expected that I would go 36 weeks. That was really nice to hear.

We have an ultrasound this morning. Can't wait to see how those little munchkins are growing. Nathan's mom, Patti, is here and will get to come and check it out for the first time. After today, we go to weekly ultrasounds. It's nice to be able to watch the girls grow throughout this pregnancy. It's very comforting to be able to see how well they doing and I am happy that we get to see it every week now! I have been told that this is the last week they will look at my cervix length. That scared me a little bit because I didn't understand why they didn't care about it anymore. It has always been very comforting that my cervix has stayed so strong with all this extra weight on it. The doctors claim that at this point, my cervix probably will begin to shorten which is normal and they only need to look if we have issues. I just have to trust them, as they have done amazing with this whole process and they know what they are doing.

Anyway, here is the babycenter.com update and some new pics of the buddah belly. The girls were feeling shy this morning, so I kept them covered. Lots of love to everyone! I will post our ultrasound results later this morning or tonight. We are hoping that the girls are 2.5 pounds a piece! Nathan has been great about making my baby growing protein shakes every day!!

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

27 Weeks!!!

Here we are again, one week further down the road. Only one more week until our next big milestone!!! No pictures this week, but I think that it's more impressive when you only see me every two weeks anyway. :) No big updates on me or the babies this week. I did have a wonderful shower this weekend put on by Mom and Nancy. Thank you so much to everyone who traveled from near and far to take part in such a special afternoon. I have such an amazing group of women in my life who have been so supportive through all of this. I can't wait for my girls to meet all of you!!

Below is the babycenter update. I promise to be better with pictures and more info next week.

Love to you all!!

Nellie

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle