Everything is Hard

EVERYTHING is hard! My belly and legs are tight and hard to move, while it's hard to get quality sleep or simply trying to get comfortable. Adjusting my sleeping and sitting positions takes so much effort but made easier when Tom is around to assist! He has also been great with getting things done around the house since my time on my feet is so limited and lots of breaks are needed. I've had my last trips to the food store by myself and really all together if I can avoid it. Showering and shaving are challenging but for now I don't need any assistance. 

26 week appointment - all the boys are doing great! They are weighing in at 1lb-11oz, 1lb-14oz and 2lbs. Their heart rates are 130, 138 and 140. It was a bit difficult as usual to get all the measurements because they were moving and changing positions. I had my glucose test which wasn't as bad as people made it sound. The doc said if I didn't hear anything by Thursday of last week then all was good... And no call, yay!! 

Here are a few good 3-D images they were able to get:

Baby A making a fist...

Baby B with his arm up...

Baby B reaching (or blocking Baby A's fist)...

Great, the kids are fighting already! And I feel every punch and kick! Tom always says they are just getting ready to hit the ice. With Tom's birth weight at 9lbs-5oz., we have a feeling that these boys may buck the typical triplet low birth weight trend, but we'll just see what my body does.  

I'm still growing each day! Here is a little visual of my growth day by day. The image on the left shows the typical weight range for a single birth as a pink band, with my weight data as dots (yes, I'm currently 177lbs). The image on the right shows my waist size data, which follows a very similar trend line! Accelerated growth much?  Wowza!

But as this posting is uploaded, we have a milestone alert... I made it to 27 weeks as of Monday (8/24)!!! Now we're practically on-call for when SHTF, but we're ready! We're taking it day by day hoping that the triplets are comfortable in their current living situation for at least another month. Next week marks the official start of the third trimester, so we're in the home stretch!

In The 20's

How far along?  21-24 weeks

Total weight gain?  40 lbs

Wedding rings on or off?  Mostly off but when I can wear them they only fit on my pinky.

Stretch marks?  none

Movement?  Yes, and quite frequently. I have one baby all up in my right rib that kicks and moves like crazy. Also, there are small movements all over inside and out. It's pretty AMAZING!

Maternity clothes?  I got some hand me downs and have purchased some maternity/roomy clothes. Unfortunately, I've grown out of a lot of them. I am almost solely in maxi dresses with lots of stretch. Also, with the help of my scissors I have made a couple pairs of shorts I purchased fit. Basically my wardrobe is pretty limited but light and airy as my belly is super sensitive to fabrics.

Sleep?  I am able to get through most of the night with only a couple potty/stretching wake ups. It's pretty hard to get completely comfortable. I either sleep sitting at an incline or if I'm lucky for a short time on my side. When I sleep sitting up I end up scooting down in my sleep and wake up with mid back pain from baby pressure. Sleeping on my side is very hard because my knees hurt and my belly feels like its being pulled... even with my pregnancy pillow. The most important thing is that I am still getting sleep so I can't complain.

Best moment this week?  The best moments every week are the time I spend in the pool and at the chiropractor. But, the big news in the past few weeks is that my parents house went under contract and they are uprooting their entire life to move to Maryland!! Tom and I could not be more thankful to be able to have them here to help us with the babies!

Symptoms?  I have congested sinuses, stretching in my belly and swelling in my feet and ankles.

Food cravings?  Food aversions? I haven't really had much to speak of during the whole pregnancy.

Gender?  Identical Boys

Labor signs?  None

Happy or moody?  Happy and my laid back self :-)

Belly button in or out?  Officially out starting about 20 weeks.

What I miss?  I miss sushi, Italian subs, summer beers, bikram yoga, being able to move with ease, taking J for walks and cleaning (no I'm not going crazy, I just wish I could get it done).

What I'm looking forward to?  Meeting our boys!!!

Here are a couple good shots the tech got during our ultrasound. See the resemblance? We are going to have 3 little mini Toms running around!!

Baby update... The last couple ultrasounds went well! The fluid levels are good, heart rates have been 138-142 and measurements are all on track. Our next appointment is Monday (8/17) so I will have a full update after that!

xo

K

Keeping It Natural

As many of you know it took us almost 3 years to get pregnant. Wanting to see if there were any unknown medical issues, we eventually visited a fertility specialist in order to ensure there were no fertility issues. The tests all came back indicating that there was nothing wrong with either of us and we were put in the "unexplained" category which was a little frustrating. We decided to give it a bit more time and "kept practicing"  but still nothing. Our next indication was that it's either bad timing, some chemical/physiological imbalance in our bodies, or both. We both discussed the possibility of getting fertility treatments, but were too concerned about the increased risk of complications, among other things, and decided to keep going at it naturally.  Late one night, Tom was perusing the internet and found a great article about getting pregnant using a more homeopathic means which essentially meant ingesting herbs and teas.  With nothing to lose, we decided to try a few of their suggestions. We will never know for sure if this is what did the trick or if it was the many prayers being sent our way... but about 2 months after starting the herbs, we got pregnant...

Oh we got pregnant alright...

I have been asked by a lot of friends what we took, so here it is...

We both took Maca, Tom took it 2-3 times every day and I took it between period and ovulation. I also took Vitex twice a day (or whatever the bottle suggests) everyday and raspberry leaf extract in a small amount of water 2-3 times a day. Just use cold water and not hot tea with raspberry leaf extract. I also drank alfalfa and nettle leaf teas, which is also discussed in the blog (see link below).

http://wellnessmama.com/1326/get-pregnant-naturally/

To facilitate tracking my cycle, I used an app on my phone to note my ovulation as well as the cheap ovulation 20 strip pack from CVS. No need for the fancy ovulation tests! I used those for 2 cycles about a week before I thought I would ovulate. Since I tracked it I had a good idea of when it would happen. Once I got pregnant I stopped taking all! 


I hope our story and magic potion can help someone else get pregnant! It is definitely a stressful process but the biggest thing is to relax and "enjoy" your spouse.