9 Weeks to Go?!?!

22 Weeks, 5 Days

My babies turned 23 "weeks old" on Tuesday. 24 weeks is a milestone, so I'm told. My brother works at a fancy university with a bunch of fancy doctors who are all at the tops of their fields, so of course he tells them about me from time to time. One of them told him 24 weeks was a big milestone and that every week I could give them in the womb thereafter was a gift to them.

I saw my regular OB this week (I see either my high risk or my OB every Tuesday) and he told me some interesting news. He said he and my Peri had been discussing my pregnancy and were pretty sure that they will take the babies at 32 weeks - not 36 weeks like they had previously told me. That would put the babies being born the last week of August. I asked if we could pleeeeease wait until September 1st, for two reasons:

1) My new insurance doesn't kick in until that day, and....

2) I like sapphires soooooo much better than the peridot and you KNOW I am going to be getting myself some sweet mothers' jewelry (rephrase: my HUSBAND will be getting me some mothers' jewelry, with the help of my carefully placed and incredibly detailed hints).

Don't worry, I only mentioned reason #1 to my dr. Don't want to appear vain or anything! Yes, Dr. G, my delivery date is entirely based upon the jewelry I want to wear.

He said "Well, we can try but you may not have a choice."

It seems they are worried about me developing preeclampsia, since from what he told me, most triplet pregnancies result in the mother developing that at some point. He basically said it would be one of those issues where the babies would be safer on the outside. They took a bunch of blood and I got to do my second, super fun 24-hour urine test. They will run tests to see if I am already developing it (shouldn't be, my blood pressure is fine), and to have a baseline to compare against when I inevitably am tested for it again in the next month or so.

There appears to be a good chance of hospitalization in my future, probably for the last 2 or 3 weeks of the pregnancy. I have no idea what I am going to do with my kids. That will be the beginning of the school year, the busiest time for everybody I know, and especially my husband, who is a teacher.  I know it will all work out, but the unknowns right now are concerning to me.

But, thinking that I may be in the single digits for my "weeks to go" countdown IS a little exciting!  I am growing more tired of being pregnant day by day (yes, I'm complaining. Yes, I know how annoying that is. Sorry. Better written on a blog than me calling you up and moaning and groaning personally. Though my husband, mom, and my best friend have to hear it both ways. They should be sainted for putting up with me.). I am not one of those women that revels in the joy of being pregnant. I hesitate to say that out loud because I've had women in the past make me feel less motherly or feminine because I said that ("Oh, I loved every minute of being pregnant!" Really....you enjoyed throwing up several times a day?). But it's true. I miss being able to walk without pain. My back hates me, my belly itches and wants to tear apart. I miss being able to breathe and eat without it coming back to haunt me. I can't wait to sleep lying down, and without 7 pillows and 2 comforters, again. I long to go a day without coughing (my second pregnancy was the same as this....bad cough for the last 3 months. Went away the minute he was born.). And the scary part is, I know I'm just going to get bigger and more uncomfortable! But, at the same time, I want the babies to stay in there as long as possible so they can be as healthy as possible.

OK, I'm containing the complaining to that paragraph. Let's think positive. What do I like about this pregnancy?

-crickets chirping-

Haha, just kidding.

I like:

• Watching my kids' faces light up when they feel the babies. They get SOOOO excited. 
• Watching my husbands' face light up when HE feels the babies. He always talks to them and I love that.
• Talking to my babies when I'm by myself, and being able to tell which one is kicking me at that moment. I wish I could sing to them but my singing voice hasn't returned since the bronchitis.
• Having friends bring me dinner several times a week. I am so grateful for their help. And for the new menu ideas I am getting from all these wonderful meals.
• Getting to see/hear my babies every single week. For a worrier like me, it's nice to have that confirmation that all is well every 7 days.
• Shopping (online, alas) for all sorts of fun baby stuff and cute baby clothes.
• Having a perfectly good excuse to sit and watch HGTV and the Discovery Channel all day long, and having people applaud me for my laziness!
• Speaking of laziness, I LOVE not doing dishes, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms....
• That I am gaining weight very slowly. I have barely budged in the last month even though the babies are growing ever faster now. I know there's a huge weight gain coming towards the end, but it's been nice to keep it to a minimum this time.
• Though this pregnancy may not bring out the best in me, I've noticed it brings out the best in everybody around me, and that seriously helps me get through every day. So many kindnesses have been shown to us, people have been so loving and concerned. I read triplet mom blogs about how people shun them for carrying three babies, or ask cruel questions, and we haven't had any of that. People make jokes, but I am totally okay with that! I have no problem laughing at myself. But for the most part, people are just concerned and helpful and I am so grateful for that.
• I like that this experience has greatly increased my testimony that the Lord is ever present in our lives, that He watches over me, my family, and these little pre-born babies constantly, and that He trusts me enough to carry three of His precious children. I pray I don't let Him down, now or ever. I am very aware that I am carrying three pieces of heaven in my belly, and even though I am in pain most of the day, there is also this feeling of peace and calm that I have. It's tough to find words for it, but I guess it really is the feeling of heaven inside of me.

Wow, this post was longer than I intended. Will I ever be able to be one of those short, sweet, to the point types? Errr....probably not.

Lastly, here are the 22 week ultrasound pictures. It takes me forever to get around to scanning them! Truthfully they still wouldn't be done if it weren't for my husband!

I feel such love for these boys already! I had a dream during my nap this afternoon where I was holding one of them. Of course they didn't look a thing like either of us or my kids, so it's possible that the dream hospital sent home the wrong boys, but it was a fun dream anyway!

Baby A:

 Baby B:

 Baby C yawning: