Sisters For Jack

I had another doctor's appointment and ultrasound. These are going to starting happening frequently now that I have passed 20 weeks. I always feel good after a check-up when I know everything is well. The babies are growing well, I am doing fine and the doctors are pleased with everything.

I saw a different doctor today and he was impressive. He reviewed all the signs of preterm labor and shared with me some stories of other women with triplets. After checking me out, he gave me the thumbs-up. No signs of preterm labor, good blood pressure (90/68), cervix, weight gain and measurements. He suggested I start to slow down my activity at 24 weeks. No bed rest, he stressed, but he thought it would be good to limit some of my activities. Making dinner is fine, he said, but spending the day at Six Flags would not be a good idea past 24 weeks. So, thanks to my family, we are going to have different groups of people come up to help us out starting at 24 weeks--which is only 3 weeks away! We are so blessed to have such wonderful family members to offer up their time, effort and energy to help us out during this these summer months.

Now, on to the babies. The ultrasound went well. They were able to get all the pictures they couldn't get two weeks ago and everything looked fine. The babies are really growing well. I have almost 3# of baby! Between the three of them, they have put on 12 oz in two weeks! Amazing how they fit in there. During the ultrasound I would keep seeing one baby's legs, arms or booty moving into another baby's territory. They sure are going to like to be close together when they come out. The tech also rechecked the genders and was able to see Baby A this time. Three little girls. This is hard for me to grasp. I guess since I had a boy first, I kept thinking these were boys too. It is hard not to compare pregnancies. I didn't really picture myself with girls. In fact, today I called Baby B a "he" to my sister on the phone. I have to get used to this for sure.

The ultrasound tech didn't give us very good pictures. All the babies were lying face down with their spines up so you have to use your imagination to see them. You can see a profile of their faces pointing down.

Baby A: The biggest today at 15 oz (two weeks ago she weighed 10 oz). She is in the 55th percentile.
Heart Rate: 143
Measurements: 21 weeks, 3 days (By dates, I am 20 weeks, 5 days)
Still head down and ready to go first
Her head is to the right of this picture-face down


Baby B: The smallest baby and always has been. Today she weighed 12 oz. (Two weeks ago her weight was 9 oz) She is a little firecracker though, see my comment on Baby C below. She is in the 36th percentile.
Heart Rate: 139
Measurements: 20 weeks, 2 days
Her head is to the left of this picture-face down


Baby C: 14 oz (Two weeks ago she weighed 10 oz). She is in the 52nd percentile.
Heart Rate: 150
Measurements: 21 weeks, 0 days
This poor little girl has her sister's (baby B) rear and legs moving in all different directions near her head and body. She also sits the highest up in my belly and even into my rib cage.
Her head is to the left of this picture-face down

Next appointment is two weeks away, Monday, June 8th. No ultrasound will be done at this time. From here on out I go every two weeks for a doctor's appointment and every 4 weeks for an ultrasound. I am hoping to make it another 11 weeks at least--32 weeks is great and anything thereafter will be even better. We are so thankful for the great care at Northwestern and all the special doctors and nurses that are making this pregnancy as easy as possible. And, to all our family and friends who have lent helping hands with Jack and projects around the house. Thanks doesn't cover it, we are truly blessed.

Memorial Day Parade

We spent Memorial Day weekend with Mimi and Papa. It was so nice to see them and they are such a big help when they come to visit. Jack loves to play with his Mimi and she keeps him occupied for hours! And Papa can fix or build anything! Papa and John went to work and did some major projects around the house. We are trying to get ready for the arrival of the babies and this requires anything that will give us more space and organization. Papa and John built new shelves in the garage to store all our toys, bikes, garden equipment and strollers and anything else we have laying in the garage. Mimi planted some new flowers outside that look so nice. Papa and John organized our closets. Now each closet has two hanging bars so we doubled our closet space. This was necessary so we could empty a closet for the babies. We also purchased a second refrigerator (much needed considering we are going to be a family of six) that the two boys were able to carry down to the basement. We finally got a fan in our room which I am hoping helps me sleep better! Finally, we bought a toy storage shelf for the playroom that turned out so nice. I have so much more room for toys now, I was able to get out all of the baby toys I had packed away in the basement. These have now become Jack's favorite toys to play with--go figure. We are thankful to have them come visit and help as always.

On Monday, we went to Western Springs Memorial Day Parade with some friends. Jack and his friends loved to see the fire trucks, military and flags and especially the baseball teams handing out suckers!

Jack, JJ and Danny eating suckers

Derek, Ethan and Michelle
Jack and Me



Watching the Parade. Jack loved to clap his hands for the military and wave his flag

Jack, JJ and Danny

20 Weeks

After many requests, here is a belly picture. So, for all of you out there that are wondering what a mom pregnant with triplets looks like, here I am at 20 weeks.

I have really noticed a "pop" out in the last two weeks. It seems like I am growing overnight! I have been feeling the babies move both on the inside and outside now. These little stinkers love to kick, especially Baby C which is above my belly button and up into my rib cage. Ouch! I am carrying these babies so much higher than I did with Jack. Maybe the old wives tale is right in saying you carry low for boys and high for girls? I have noticed some of my morning sickness is starting to go away. I have days where I feel better part of the day. Sleep is becoming an issue again. No more sleeping on my stomach! I guess God is preparing me for the sleepless nights the next few years! 20 weeks is the half way point in a normal pregnancy, but I am already passed my half way point. Next ultrasound and doctor's appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday. Every two weeks from here on out I'll be making the trip downtown.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Landscape

We have been working on our landscape this year. When we moved in to the house last fall, it had to go. No one had done much to the house in quite a few years. Last fall, we ripped out all the existing landscape (if you can call it that). This spring we planted our landscape and added mulch and flowers. Here are a few pictures.

I had fun picking out flowers for my pots

Hard to tell from this picture, but the landscape is such an improvement. If I can find an old picture, I'll post it next to this one.

Spring is Here!

The weather is finally getting nice and we have been spending so much time outside lately. Here are a few pictures of Jack and his friends at the zoo and the park.

The three boys waiting to ride the carousel at the zoo

The Carousel is a favorite of Jack's when we go to the zoo

Playing at the park
Down the slide

HEALTHY BABIES!

We had our big ultrasound today and we are so thankful the babies are healthy. We have to go back in two weeks for a few more pictures because of the way the babies were laying. We missed a few pictures of baby A and B's hearts and Baby Cs arms and legs. The doctor assured me this happens all the time because it is hard to get all the babies to cooperate in one sitting (this might sound familiar in the next few years!) The ultrasound, itself, took over one hour and the doctor had to review the pictures and then we got some more. I also had a doctor's appointment after this. Measurements of the babies were great and they are all growing well and are where they should be for their age.

The US tech tried to get a picture of all three. They are so big, it was hard to capture all three in one frame. Here is Baby C's bladder/abdomen, Baby B's top of head, and Baby A's thorax

Baby A

HR is 139 BPM

Measured 19 weeks, one day

10 oz (56th percentile)

Due date Oct. 4, 2009

This one is closest to the cervix and head is down right now. The ringleader, this one would come out first. Also the one with the legs crossed and the gender is not certain. The tech gave us a 70% guess. More on that later.

Baby B

Laying across my abdomen, near the belly button level

HR 155BPM

9 0z (46th percentile)

Measured 18 weeks, 4 days

Due date Oct. 8, 2009

John and I saw this baby and guessed the gender correctly. This one also is the most photogenic at the moment. We got the best pictures!

Baby C
Laying across my abdomen above my belly button
HR 149 BPM
Measured 19 weeks, one day
10 oz (57th percentile)
Due date Oct. 4, 2009
John and I saw this one and guessed the gender wrong

By dates, I am 18 weeks, 4 days, due Oct. 8, 2009. My due date will not change, it is based on dates, even though A and C are slightly bigger than B it will stay Oct. 8. The doctor said these are not big differences and they will monitor the growth of each baby every 2-4 weeks by ultrasound. I also had my cervix checked (5cm--the longest it can be) and am showing no signs of preterm labor. My blood pressure and weight gain were good. I can't believe I have almost two pounds of baby in my belly already! I asked the doctor again about fraternal vs. identical and she thought by the way the sacs and placentas were placed, they would most likely be fraternal. They can analyze the placentas after delivery to determine for sure if they look similar after birth. The good news is, they all have separate sacs and placentas and the placentas are in good position.
And so...for the genders of these children. If the tech is right on the guess of Baby A, all three are the same gender...and my motherly intuition would be right...3 girls. We should know A's gender for sure at the next ultrasound in two weeks, but for now, B and C are both girls and the tech's guess on Baby A (at 70%) was a girl as well.
If Jack grows up with three sisters, he is bound to make an excellent husband!
Thank you everyone for your prayers, we couldn't be happier to have healthy children.

Mother's Day

Our Family on Mother's Day--2009

Jack made me a mother's day card and kept telling me Happy Mother's Day all day!

We had a beautiful Mother's Day. We were able to spend the day with my sister--who lives in Texas--and her husband. Sarah is 28 weeks pregnant with her first baby and was in town for a baby shower. It was nice to spend the day with my sister who will soon be a new mother too!

Sarah and Laura

Mimi's Pretty House--High Up in the Sky

We spent a long weekend in Destin, FL with Mimi and Papa and Aunt Mary. The condo was a friend of the family's and it was beautiful! I think it is the middle building pictured below. Jack kept calling it, "Mimi's pretty house, high in the sky." It was cute. The condo was on the 14th floor and the views of the beach were beautiful. The weather was perfect, 80-85 degrees and sunny except the last day it rained (we almost didn't make it back to Chicago).

View from the balconyMore views from the condo

Jack's first airplane trip. He loved to look out the window and see the "big airplanes"

The pool at the condo. We pretty much had this to ourselves. The water temperature was 85 degrees...like bath water

Jack and Papa take a break at the pool

Mimi and Aunt Mary sit with Jack on the steps

This water faucet was Jack's favorite game. He would fill up his bucket, water the flowers, and wash his toys

Plus, when he got thirsty, he could get a drink from it!

John showing off to me. Nice form!

The Scudder Family on the beach. In just a few short months, the size of our family will double in size. I am 17.5 weeks pregnant with the triplets.

Jack loved to be on Dad's shoulders when he got tired of walking on the sand

Venturing into the ocean

This is as far as John made it into the ocean this trip. Actually this is farther than he normally gets!

Jack loved the sand. It was one big sandbox to him. And he could throw the sand anywhere he wanted!

Aunt Mary, Mimi, Mama and Jack enjoying the ocean

This was a fun place to visit. The bar was called Rum Runners. It is hard to tell in the picture, but there were two guys taking requests to play any song on the piano. They would sing the songs too. It was amazing how many songs they knew! They were really good and fun to listen to.

Jack is trying to negotiate a piece of watermelon gum from Aunt Mary. The watermelon gum became a staple for Jack on this trip. We had to stop by Walgreens for some more when Aunt Mary ran out.

This was an outdoor band we listened to for a while one night. They had musical instruments for the kids and Jack had a blast playing and dancing and jumping.

The trip was a nice break for all of us. Hopefully we can return in a few years with the babies--life will be interesting then, but we all need a vacation, right?