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?

I Had a Dream...

So, I had a dream a few nights ago...let me tell you all about it. I dreamed we had three girls. I guess with all the talk over the weekend at the shower, this was on my mind quite a bit. We will find out very soon--May 11th is my ultrasound. That is less than two weeks away. I have also had some panic thoughts on the health of these babies. We were told the ultrasound would be three hours long. I keep thinking about how I will be worrying about each one until they tell me they ALL have ten fingers and toes, normal kidneys, four chamber hearts, stomachs, normal measurements and head size and normal anatomy elsewhere. That is three hours of worrying. Once we know all this, the future ultrasounds will be easier.

I have been feeling the babies move quite a bit. I felt them for the first time a few weeks ago--really early. It was around 12 weeks. Especially in the last week or so, I have felt them move a few times a day. I think I am only feeling two of them and their little kicks are in the same place that the doctor heard the heartbeats at my last checkup. The third one we think (poor little thing) is behind the other two since that heartbeat was faint at the last check up. In the last few days I have noticed the kicks are moving up so these little rascals are getter bigger (as is my belly!) I can't believe I am just about 17 weeks. Since most with triplets deliver around 32 weeks, I might be past the half-way point. Just seems odd to think that. Two other things in this pregnancy I have noticed that have been different from my first one. I have had a few braxton hicks contractions. These started at 16 weeks. I called the nurse and she told me to slow down and if I get more than 5 in a hour to call back. I have only had a few at a time and some days I don't have any. I had these when I was pregnant with Jack, but I remember I was around 20 weeks or so. I have slowed down, basically because my back has started hurting again. Again, I noticed this around 16 weeks. Some days it is hard to walk by the end of the day. Reminds me of my good old gymnastics days--except I can't take flexeril or any other goodies. My back pain began later in my first pregnancy, but I remember going to physical therapy by 28 weeks. I was heavier with my first pregnancy and attributed that to the back pain. When I called the nurse last week, she thought it was because of the way my uterus sits on my pelvis. Anyway, at least I don't have to go to 40 weeks.

I thought it would be fun for everyone to guess what the genders of the babies are before the ultrasound. Let me give you a little bit more information. I dreamed Jack was a girl too before he was born. So my 'mother's intuition' on these things is not so good. I really thought I was having a girl with Jack. I am also about 90% wrong when I guess the genders of other people's babies--seriously. Whatever I guess, that person ends up having the opposite. When my sister-in-law came to visit last month we checked out the Chinese calendar. It told me I had a 50/50 chance of having a boy or girl. Nice. That really helps. Not that the calendar is always right, it too told me I would have a girl with Jack. Go figure. Finally, my friend Sarah, who is a math teacher, did all the percentages for me and I will list them below:

87.5% chance of having at least one boy
87.5% chance of having at least one girl
37.5% chance of having two boys and one girl
37.5% chance of having two girls and one boy
12.5% chance of having three boys
12.5% chance of having three girls

As for my guess, I think I am going to stick with the mother's intuition--three girls. (I wouldn't be surprised if I have 3 boys because of this guess)

If you have a few minutes in the next few weeks, please say a few prayers the babies are healthy.

Two Tired Boys

I couldn't resist...sorry John

Baby(ies) Shower

On Saturday, my family put together a baby shower for us. It was so nice and unexpected since this is my second pregnancy. I guess when you have multiples, everything "normal" is not so normal anymore. Saturday was a beautiful day and it was so nice to be surrounded by friends and family. The generosity, love, and support was amazing! These babies are so lucky to have such wonderful people in their lives.

My good friend Sarah and her daughter, Abby, from Ohio were able to make the trip and we were so thankful to see and visit with them. Jack and Abby played all the time together last year before we moved, and it was nice to see them picking up right where they left off--with one major difference...they both don't stop talking!!

Here are Abby and Jack playing together before the shower

My Mother, of course, really made a perfect cake! Can you believe this entire cake is made from scratch??

Everything was edible on this cake, except the babies. I kept those and thought they would be really cute on their cakes at their first birthday. The pea pod is made out of fondant, a type of icing. I think my mom is in the wrong profession! She really has a talent.

Shower at the Frazier's house

Two cousins--Noah and Jack
This was the best picture I could get of them together. As they get older, I wonder how much trouble they will get into?

Thank you everyone for spending the day with me and all the prayers, thoughts and wonderful gifts. John and I are so blessed to have all you a part of our lives.