17 Weeks Picture and Update

Okay, so here is the 17 week photo. I am still fighting sickness and had just returned home from a basketball game we lost that we should have won. So, disregard the sickie/cranky look on my face. :)

This last week has just been a week of trying to survive. I'm still fighting this cold and still longing for Nyquil, but staying away from it for the good of the babies. Jonathan has improved immensely, so that helps. I feel like I'm finally starting to come out of it.

Today I had another dr.'s appointment and it looks like they will have me coming in weekly from here on out. The ultrasound technician was surprised to see me back again, but the dr. ordered, so I got another quick look at the babies. I just can't hear enough "all three look great and their heartbeats are strong." I find myself grinning each and every time I hear a heartbeat. Next week I will have another quick appointment to check heartbeats and make sure nobody is trying to escape just yet. On February 14th we will have the big 19 week ultrasound that measures all of their organs.

We continue on. :) The heartburn has mostly gone away for now. The nausea too (with only a few exceptions each week). Mainly I just feel stretching, but I don't really see that changing anytime soon.

Thanks for the continued prayers. We realize that God is in control of this pregnancy from start to finish. We trust Him and pray that He allows us to rear these little ones for Him.

To quote a song we used to sing in Sunday School when I was little: "My God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. My God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. The mountains are His, the valleys are His, the stars are His handiwork too. My God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do."

We have seen His hand in allowing me to carry these babies, in providing for us financially and in so many areas. Our God is faithful.

16 Week Ultrasound Pictures

Hey, sorry this is late, but I just got a scanner hooked up again today.

This first picture is of Baby "B" (one of the identical twin boys).





This one might be my favorite so far. This is the two identical twin boys face to face. I love it!






This is also the boys face to face. Not quite as clear, but she was trying to get it.





This is a straight on view of Baby "C" (the other identical twin boy).













These two are side views of Baby "A". She is enjoying her space down low away from the boys. :)

Dr. Appt, A New Sonogram & Cold Fighting

Yesterday I met with the first high risk doctor. They did take my blood pressure three different times and it was high every time. Not sure where that came from...

After that, they did an ultrasound. I was excited. I wanted to see the babies and know everything was okay. The ultrasound tech asked if I wanted to know the gender and I said that we think we already know, but I would love to hear what she thinks. She almost instantly confirmed what we had already been told. As soon as she put the wand over our little girl, she waved. It was so cool. :) It was like her first "hi, Mom!!!" moment. The tech said that everything looked great with the babies. The girl and one of the boys are measuring at 5 ounces. The other boy is measuring at 6 ounces.

Then I waited to see the doctor. She did bring up the point that the risk with twins is much lower than the risk with triplets. I let her know that we would NOT be "selectively reducing" the pregnancy. She said she kind of figured but had to have the conversation with me.

She also had the chat with me about the fact that when I deliver I will be 35 and that makes me "Advanced Maternal Age" (yes, this is what every woman wants to think about - seriously, when did 35 become so old?!?). She said there is like a 1/80 chance that any one of the babies could have a chromosonal issue. She told me about the test that would check on that and it has some risks. I told her that even if the test showed that there was a problem, we wouldn't reduce the pregnancy, so there is no need to take the risks related with the test.

She asked if I was working and I did tell her about coaching basketball. Her answer was that at 20 weeks I need to quit. The good news is that I'll be done with basketball before the 20 weeks hits. So at this point, it looks like I should have no problem finishing the season with the girls. I'm very thankful for that.

They did schedule me for appointments weekly for the next three weeks. The next two will just be quick checkups to make sure everything is staying where it should. The one after that will be the 19 weeks ultrasound that thoroughly checks all the organs on each baby. They told me to plan to be there for a long time that day.

The cold fighting continues around here. Jonathan is still fighting it, though seems to be steadily improving. I have my moments where I can breathe and my moments where I'm choking because I can't breathe. The biggest challenge of it all is making sure I'm still eating. It is hard to be motivated when I can't taste anything, but I know my body needs it for the strength to win this war and the babies need it to continue growing as they should.

I'll try to put up ultrasound pictures soon. There is a cute one that I got yesterday that has the boys face to face. :)

16 Weeks, Picture (on gross sickie day) and Update

Okay, so this picture is the "I am half dead with a killer cold and can't take my beloved Nyquil" version. Try not to judge me too much for the way I look. :)

So we are a week down the road. This week has brought relief from the nausea for the most part. The last few days has also brought relief from the stretching feeling that made it seem like the babies were trying to push out at every side.

Of course, the relief is a blessing and a curse, as Adrian Monk would say. Without those symptoms, my mind goes into overdrive trying to convince myself that something is wrong or that I've lost the babies. This is where trust and faith must come into play.

The last few days have been brutal with a capital "B". Jonathan and I both picked up colds. I have had a hard time breathing. So has Jonathan. I took him to the pediatrician today and he ended up with two breathing treatments. Thankfully it isn't RSV or the Flu.

Tomorrow I see one of the high risk doctors. I'm hoping she will at least use the fetal doppler to find heartbeats. I'm also going to ask if they will schedule the next ultrasound. Hopefully I'm feeling better from the cold and if not, maybe she can verify that I don't have the Flu or something more serious we need to pay attention to.

The next week brings a fairly big game for my girls on Friday night (also homecoming night) and a game next Tuesday. Other than that, it will mostly be rest for Jonathan, Mommy and the Triplets.

Thanks again to those of you who are praying. We take it one day at a time...

15 Weeks Picture & More

Well, today marks another week completed in which God has blessed us and allowed my body to continue carrying our precious triplets. With the ER scare on Friday, I'm especially thankful for that.

Today was the big day we've been waiting for since finding out that there were three babies and not two. We had our first appointment with the USF Health group that handles high risk pregnancy and will be taking care of me from here out.

The good news:
1. The nurse/midwife we had was actually just fine (though we had been warned that she wasn't "ABSOLUTELY horrible".
2. She wasn't at all concerned about my weight or size at this point. My measurement was right one track considering I'm having triplets.
3. She gave me a number to call for nurses during the day or an on-call number for a doctor at night should I have any questions (HUGE switch from "we can't talk to you - go to the ER").
4. She told me to make sure that I always only see the high risk doctors from here on out and not to let them schedule me with a nurse/midwife again.
5. They scheduled me to meet the first high risk doctor next Wednesday and scheduled the next follow up ultrasound for 4 weeks from today.
6. We were able to hear at least one if not two heartbeats today and Mike got to hear it for the first time.
7. I'm optimistic that now that I "am in", that they will provide good care and support for me.
8. They didn't put me on bedrest, so at least for the next little while I get to continue coaching my basketball girls.

The not so great pregnancy side effects:
1. I had the great privilege of throwing up in the doctor's office today (thankfully there was a trash can close).
2. I had the great privilege of throwing up in the bushes outside of the gymnasium where our game was tonight (thankfully I was close to the exit when the wave came and it wasn't during the game I was coaching).
3. Heartburn. Are you serious??? This is for real. It has hit me brutally the last few days no matter what food I eat. Apparently I'll be investing in Tums SOON.

In the end, I would take every single possible negative side effect that can come just for the privilege of continuing to carry these babies. I don't ever want it to come across as complaining. I'm only expressing what I'm going through right now (I'm not a big journaler, but I guess this has become my pregnancy journal that I've exposed all of you to).

For those of you anxiously awaiting the "secret news", here it comes. Keep in mind that the technician is only "mostly" positive that this is accurate and that we will know for sure in 4 weeks, but based on the pictures and the arrows and what they point to, we are "mostly" sure that she is right (and very excited).

So without further ado...

Secrets, Secrets

I'm not really sure how long I'm going to be able to hold the gender secret. I'm very excited and ready to shout it from the mountaintops.

The ultrasound tech showed me where each one of the babies are hanging out right now in my belly. So this morning, I could feel in one of those areas, this crazy constant fluttering and I'm sure I was feeling the baby move. It is cool now to be able to think, "Oh, I can feel him/her moving", instead of just, "Oh, I can feel a baby move." Does that makes sense?

So, I have a feeling I will be breaking out this news sooner rather than later. It might just have to be with the caveat that it is still early and maybe she read something wrong.

ER Visit, Ultrasound & More

Wow, what a day was yesterday.

Everything started out okay and then around noon I had some complications that I won't get too specific about in this public forum. I called the doctor's office to tell them what was going on and to ask them what to do. Their answer was that since I haven't been in to see them yet for an introductory appointment (coming on Tuesday), that I would have to go to the ER and just tell them I am a USF patient. Being told to go to the ER started the waterworks. I called Mike and it is amazing that he could understand me while I was crying through telling him what was going on. I asked him where he was on several projects that had to get done and he immediately told me never mind and he would be there with me. What a relief. I hurried around the house getting ready while Jonathan followed me from room to room saying, "mommy crying? mommy sad?". Poor guy. I grabbed some clothes for him and got changed and headed to the car (with him still in his pajamas).

My friend, Julie, immediately volunteered to take Jonathan and even though I told her at first that I thought he would be okay with Mike, she took the extra step to talk to Mike and came to pick him up. What a HUGE blessing that was. At that point, we had no idea that we were about to spend 8 hours in the ER, most of it in a crowded, freezing cold waiting area.

I'm also thankful for the fact that my pastor, David Goforth, came out to pray with us at the hospital. This was a crazy busy week for him with revival services and a guest evangelist in town, but he took the time to drive 45 minutes each way to encourage us and pray with us. What a blessing it is to have a pastor who truly cares for the hurts of the congregation.

In the end, the diagnosis was "threatened miscarriage". They didn't give me any further restrictions that what I've what I have already been under and told me to follow up on Tuesday with my doctor (as already scheduled).

The good news that came out of the day is as follows:

1. I was able to have an ultrasound to see the babies for the first time in almost 6 weeks (though they didn't let Mike come back with me and I'm still mad at myself for not insisting that he had to be there).
2. The ultrasound showed that all three babies are fine and all three heartbeats are strong and I was able to hear the heartbeats for the first time (and cried).
3. The identical twins which were in the same sack and had extra risk because they could wrap each other up in their umbilical cords now have a membrane between them, which means they for sure aren't conjoined in any way and they can't hurt each other with their umbilical cords. They share a placenta, but the tech said that shouldn't be a problem. Praise the Lord for already protecting these two little ones.
4. I was able to see the "suspected" gender of the babies, though we will wait a few more weeks before we announce that until the next ultrasound confirms that the suspected gender is the for sure gender.

So, while I'm not a fan of freezing cold ER, I'm thankful for God's protection and ultimately His peace in a scary situation. The complications have ceased for the mean time and we are thankful for that. God allowed a fearful time to turn into a time of reassurance.

Thank you to those who knew and were praying for us throughout the day. One of my friends reminded me of a verse that I held in my heart all day. It is: Psalm 121:1 "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help."

Stretching

Well, the last two days have brought with them a sometimes intense pain on the lower left hand side of my back. When it first started, in a stroke of pure brilliance (or NOT), I went to WebMD to see what I could find out. Of course, they showed it as a symptom of miscarriage, which left me not only hurting physically but stressing mentally.

I did put a note on facebook looking for a nursery replacement and explained why. After a bunch of my friends explained that it is probably stretching and very common, I mostly stopped stressing.

As I was thinking about that today, I was reminded of countless sermons I have heard through the years about depending on God where we have been asked "what do you do when something goes wrong - run first to your friends or run first to God?" I realized I had bombed this test pretty big yesterday because my first response was to put it on facebook and be comforted by others who said it was normal instead of praying about it, leaving it in His hands and being comforted by the fact that my Sovereign God loves me and wants what is best for me. Ouch. Conviction can sting sometimes. Ever noticed that?

So, the report for the last two days is that I'm stretching. Thankfully it isn't just physical.

14 Weeks, Picture & More

Happy Tuesday! We are now officially 14 weeks. With that comes a new picture (sorry about the light shirt and light background combo). I actually am down a little over a pound this week, so I've only gained 4 pounds since the start of the pregnancy. I really am trying to eat and do regularly, but I'm still having sickness, so it doesn't surprise me that I was down over a pound.

The big highlight is that we are now down to less than a week until I go to see the nurse/midwife. I'm already prepping myself to be firm about wanting an ultrasound/sonogram even if they aren't planning on giving me one.

The thing I've noticed the most this week is that I totally feel like I'm going to explode. My sides ache. My back has started hurting a little. I keep thinking that I can't possibly get any bigger, but I know that I will get a lot bigger.

And the biggest thing...I'm still pregnant! God has blessed us! This is the farthest we've ever made it and I'm praying He allows us to meet these precious little ones. I'm in awe that God would choose us and give us this privilege. Yes, there are already moments of sheer exhaustion. Yes, I've spent more time huddled around a toilet in the last 12 weeks than I think I have my whole life. Yes, finding a comfortable position to sleep in is already uncomfortable. Yes, there are so many more things about pregnancy that aren't bright and chipper, but I am SOOO thankful for it.

The verses that come to mind for me when I think of that are the following:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

It has always been hard for me to put that "taking pleasure in infirmities" part and apply it to my life. I mean really, how many of us fall and break our ankle and think, "YES!!! I am so excited about that!!!", (without being sarcastic)? We don't generally like to have infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions or distresses. I, for one, don't like feeling weak. However, when God brings things into our lives that are out of our control, we have the option of how to respond to it. I already find myself asking for strength and peace far more often than ever before. I recognize that I can't do this in my own strength, but how many times in regular day to day activities have I been willing to do that? So often we get this self sufficient attitude - like "I got this" and it doesn't require us to rely on God.

So, in this pregnancy, I'm already seeing that the weakness physically is growing me spiritually. And, I continue to be beyond thankful for every single pregnancy symptom. This is what I've prayed and dreamed of. My God is doing exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think.

And on a completely side note, I would like to publically just praise the Lord for His provision for Mike's company lately. We have been praying for God to build his business and there have been several big jobs that have come in this week. We are thankful for Jehovah Jireh - Our God Provides!

Countdown

I will have more comments later tonight after I have a 14 week picture, but for now, I thought I would let you know that we are down to only 7 more days until I can get in to see the nurse/midwife.

For now, I must psych myself up to get ready for practice then revival services, so I'll keep this short.

Longer post to come later tonight...

Doing Better Today

Hey Everyone,

Today is a better day. I have started the countdown to seeing the nurse/midwife and the magic number is now 12 days.

Yesterday I was able to get some good rest and a great reminder from Mike that if God wants us to have these babies, there is nothing that will stop it. If He doesn't, there is nothing we can do to keep them. Of course, we still need to be responsible and use the brains He has given us, but I've been working pretty hard to protect myself and the babies and not overdo things. There is great comfort in knowing that He has a perfect plan.

What an encouragement so many of you have been to me. From sharing your experiences, to giving me tips on how to make things work once the babies come, to praying for us diligently. We couldn't do this without you.

Thanks

Thanks to so many of you who have commented and left reassuring comments about having gone through cramps, understanding the scaryness of the whole thing and continuing to pray for God's peace for me.

After everything yesterday, I woke up today with no sickness or weird feelings, my tummy felt flatter than it has in weeks and I was down 2 pounds on the scale. So, I started my morning mentally freaking out that maybe I lost the babies.

One of my sisters called and I had told her about that and in the midst of our conversation, I suddenly had to cut her off to go be sick in the bathroom. :) I smile because it was just funny that here minutes earlier I was complaining about not being sick and wondering what that meant and it was like God said, "Okay, you asked for it..."

I truly believe that each day of this pregnancy is meant to test and build my reliance on Him. Some days I win that battle and other days I seriously lose, but I'm reminded that I serve an amazing God, Who has done already above and beyond what we could ask or think. He will continue to be amazing no matter what His plan is for us and for these babies. And I hope that in the end, I will be a stronger, more faithful Christian because of what these days bring.

13 Weeks: Picture, Thoughts, Fears & What Comforts Me

Picture:
Yes, here indeed is the new picture. I walked past a mirror tonight and thought, "I look about 7 months along, not 13 weeks." In the end, I know that exterior size doesn't matter and it is all about the health of the babies. I've now gained 5.2 pounds since before I was pregnant.

Thoughts:
I am thankful for maternity clothes. I am thankful for some kind friends who have passed some along so I didn't have to go out and buy all new maternity clothes. I like the fact that maternity clothes make you look pregnant instead of my regular clothes which just make me look fat.

I'm not thrilled with my new doctor's office. I called them today to let them know that I'm having some cramping and to see if there is any possibility to get in (for the first time) sooner than 2 weeks from now. They said no. They weren't even really that kind about it as they shot me down. They also scheduled my first appointment for a nurse/midwife, which a friend of mine who has been there explained probably means I'm not getting a sonogram at my first appointment.

Fears:
The aforementioned cramps of today, though not extreme, did effectively scare me. That combined with the fact that I don't know how long it will take to get the next sonogram after they told me I'm high risk and would need to be monitored closely sent me nearly into a flood of tears today.

Beyond fearing what could be happening now with the babies, I have to work hard not to fear about what is to come. I admit that the whole thing is still pretty overwhelming. C-section, the probability of 3 premature babies and NICU can be scary enough, but then my mind continues on to the fact of trying to figure out how I'm going to take care of Jonathan AND three babies at the same time. I'm beyond thankful that God has answered our prayers and has given us these three precious little ones, but all the things that could go wrong combined with the question of how in the world I'm going to do this, combined with fear that I'm not awesome enough to pull off taking care of three babies at the same time can sometimes be a lot to dwell on.

What Comforts Me:

"For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

"In the multitude of my thoughts within me, Thy comforts delight my soul." Psalm 94:19

I know that God is in control. I know that there is nothing I can do to control the outcome of this pregnancy (other than the basic "Resting, drinking water and etc"). I know that He loves me and He loves the precious little ones I'm carrying. I have to be willing to trust Him if things go smoothly as well as if they don't.

My husband is an amazing support system for me. He balances me in a perfect way that could have only been planned by God. When I'm stressed, he keeps me grounded and reminds me of the things I know. As I go through my emotional ups and downs, he remains steady and loves me throughout each plummet and rise.

Knowledge that others are praying for me and for the babies also helps. Thank you to so many of you who fall in that group and who have held us up in prayer.

Finally - An Appointment Date

So yesterday I called the USF high risk doctor's office to schedule an appointment. The lady on the phone told me that I am registered but that they can't schedule an appointment until my doctor's office sends my medical records. I told them that my doctor's office told me last week that they had confirmed receipt of medical records and that I would be getting a phone call within 24-48 hours. They said (in a kind of rude tone), "well we don't have anything and we can't do anything until your doctor's office sends it to us."

So yesterday afternoon I called my doctor's office and had to leave a message. No one returned my call.

So this morning Mike and I and Jonathan went to sit in my doctor's office to get some answers. When the lady who has been working on this met with us, she told us that she called USF today and they told her that they left a voicemail with me on the 22nd (DID NOT) asking me to return the call to schedule an appointment. She told them that I called yesterday and they didn't seem to know anything about that. They let her schedule the next available appointment for me.

So (yes, this is the 4th paragraph starting with the same word) we now officially have an appointment for January 17th to go see the high risk doctor. After this 3 weeks of waiting adventure, I am lacking a little in the belief that they are overly competent, but hopefully they will prove this was a fluke.

Mike asked if there was concern that I've already gone three weeks since the last appointment and it will be three weeks until the next appointment. They were the ones who told me I'm high risk and would need to be monitored much more often. She said that it should be okay as long as I'm not having complications and that if I do start to have them to call and try to get in sooner.

At least we have a date on the calendar. I'll be 15 weeks at that point. Thanks to those of you who have been praying that we would be able to get this scheduled.

As Promised, The Pictures Begin

Well, in two hours, I will officially hit my 12 week mark, so I will start posting my weekly picture for those of you who care.

Yes, I do realize that "normal" people aren't showing nearly this much at 12 weeks, but I am comforted by the fact that those people normally aren't carrying triplets. I've now gained 3.6 pounds since the start of the pregnancy.

We are still waiting to get into the high risk doctor. Tomorrow marks three weeks since my regular OB/GYN told me that I'm high risk and will need extra monitoring, but she couldn't help me since she doesn't deal with triplets. So, tomorrow I'll be on the phone with the new high risk doctor's office to say, "What up? Any chance we can get an appointment on the books?!"

Still sick, still loving that, still praising God for this pregnancy and for the potential to meet these three precious babies, still scared to death about all ramifications related to having triplets, still working to trust our God Who knows what we can handle and has chosen this for us.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Thankful for Sickness

Today has been a crummy day. The only good part about the morning was my sweet husband making breakfast for Jonathan and I before he had to leave for work. As I was sitting on the couch having a pity party for myself about how horrible I felt, I thought, "Man, if only Mike were home today - I could just go back to bed and not have to worry about what Jonathan could do to himself or other things if I crash for awhile." Then, literally about 15 minutes later, the door unlocked and my man came to the rescue. He didn't even know how horrible I felt. He figured that most of his clients were partying or closed today, so if he got a call for a job, he could go in, but in the mean time, he might as well be home with us.

I cried. I told him how horrible I felt and how glad I was that he was home. And just like that, my man, my gift from God, took over. He stayed out in the living room with little man so that I could go lie down. I crashed for almost two hours. Then, I got up and was able to get ready for the day in a leisurely fashion, knowing he had it all under control.

Then came the sickness. It was my own fault for not eating something the moment I got back up out of bed. But you know what, as I was huddling over the toilet, I found myself thanking God.

Last night I was struggling to sleep. Mike asked me what was wrong and I told him that I was nervous about losing the babies because this week I came to the date on the calendar that I could stop giving myself shots. During the last two pregnancies, stopping the shot was what induced the miscarriages to get started. Of course, I remind myself that the babies were already gone at that point, but it didn't stop this from being a rough week for me of worrying about if at any moment the miscarriage would start again.

So you see, being sick this morning was indeed a blessing. Sickness means there are still babies there. While I continue to work on trusting the Lord with this pregnancy and not spending all of my time worried about it, it is so comforting that He allows the sickness to help in the process. I'm praying that at some point I'll be able to hand that burden and that stress over to Him and NOT take it back to worry on some more.

I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."

Great Conversation with Jonathan

So today Jonathan was looking over my shoulder and saw the picture of the ultrasound. As I scrolled down he said, "where Mommy's babies" and I scrolled back up and showed him on the screen and then pointed to my tummy. I told him that they would be his babies too. He said, "NO!" I said, yes, Mommy loves the babies and you are going to love them too.

He said, "No, I can't love babies!!"

Should be a fun adventure.

The Waiting Game

For now, we are waiting. Waiting to be referred from my normal OB/GYN to a high risk doctor. Waiting to get the next sonogram to know that everything is still okay and the number is still 3, with no more or no less. Waiting for the sickness to subside (though I refuse to complain about it because it lets me know that there is something still going on - I'm actually very thankful for the sickness).

The verse I'm clinging to during this time is: Psalm 62:5 "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."

Stay tuned...starting next Tuesday we'll begin the weekly picture updates so you can see how the babies are growing. I feel huge, but I've only gained 2 pounds. Maybe I'll be one of those weird people who lose weight during pregnancy. I did read something yesterday that said I should be eating 5000 calories a day. WHAT? I'm drinking as much water and milk as I can get my body to take. I've said goodbye to Mountain Dew for the time being (though I can have up to 8 ounces of caffeine a day, so I might splurge for special events).

One day at a time...

Second Sonogram - THREE HEARTBEATS!!!

At 9 weeks, we went in to my regular OB/GYN to transfer care to their office from The Reproductive Medicine Group (who helped us with the IVF). They started out by giving me a typical pregnancy test. The nurse came back to tell me that there was a faint line showing that I was pregnant. WHAT???!!! I was 9 weeks pregnant with twins. That line should have been marker thick. And thus began my freaking out. Next she went to take my blood pressure, which surprisingly (or not) was a little high. Of course, I was freaking out! By the time I got into the room with Mike, I dissolved into tears. I told him about the test and that I thought maybe I had lost the babies already. I pulled myself together as best I could and the doctor came in.

She started the sonogram and told us right away about seeing one heartbeat. Oh yay! At least one is still there! Then she showed us the second heartbeat. We were both so relieved. Mike came over and kissed me and we had the one moment of euphoria that I hadn't lost them after all and once again we hit a new record in how long I'd carried them.

Then she said, "well...I bet you wonder why I just said well..." And at that moment, she moved it enough that I could see on the screen, 1, 2, 3 babies. She showed us the third heartbeat. We were now having TRIPLETS!!! I instantly thought of that Chase commercial where the husband comes in to see that the wife has set up three cribs and he faints.

The doctor then proceeded to tell us this makes me high risk. We will have to have a c-section. We have to deliver at Tampa General because it is the only hospital in the area prepared to deal with triplets. I'll have to get a new doctor because her practice doesn't handle triplets. Two of the babies, the identical twins, are in the same sack, so there is danger of them entangling each other up in their umbilical cords as they grow.

Suffice it to say that by the time we left, I was excited, overwhelmed, scared to death and all the emotions that you can imagine come with going from twins to triplets. I thought of the fact that God doesn't give us more than we can handle and I found myself thinking, "really??? You think I can handle this???" I will tell you one thing for sure - if my husband was not so super awesome when it comes to being a daddy and helping out with everything, I would be super stressed.

So for now our motto is "one day at a time." I try not to stress about losing them early (though I sometimes do). I try not to stress about bedrest (though I sometimes do). I try not to stress about NICU or them coming way too early (though I sometimes do). The thing that comforts me the most in all of this is the fact that we didn't end up having triplets because we were irresponsible and put 52 eggs in hoping that some would take. We knew that we could handle twins if God allowed both eggs to attach and for there to be any more, God, the Giver of Life, would have to split them. He chose to do that with one of them. So, He will give us the strength to deal with triplets.

First Sonogram - HEARTBEATS!!!

We got in the room for the sonogram and told Mike that this might be all or nothing. I didn't think I could go through it again. The emotional wear and tear with IVF is more than I ever imagined it would be. I was crying before the sonogram even started. And then, thankfully, the awesome technician (hope that's the right word for her job) who was giving me the sonogram (and had been through every other one with me), mercifully and quickly said, "I see a heartbeat." I immediately started crying. Could it be true? Was God's answer to my prayer finally "yes" instead of "no" or "wait"? Then she saw the second heartbeat. She turned the monitor so we could see those precious little squishies on the screen. While she finished doing her measuring of the babies, I heard Mike's cell phone start making noise. Yep, he was texting a bunch of people the exciting news. TWO HEARTBEATS!!!

Cloud 9. That is where I was. Beaming. Excited. Thrilled that God had answered our prayers. We decided to wait until the next day to make it "facebook public". After all, what better thing to be thankful for than the fact that God had blessed us with the privilege of seeing our two babies' heartbeats?