The girls are coming home!!!

Tomorrow is the day!!!
All three of our babies are coming home tomorrow. We have to pick them up at noon. You should see our car with all the car seats. It is crazy! They wanted us to take them home today, but Brooke has been in VBS all week and tonight she is having a cook-out and little show. We didn't want her to have to miss it or us going to it. It's our last night with just her and I am going to spend the night in her bed tonight. While I was pregnant we had movie night every Friday and she got to spend the night with me while Troy slept on the couch. She is excited that I can go upstairs now, so I can have a sleep over with her. I know it is going to be a huge adjustment to her when the babies come home. Yesterday she got to go to the hospital and my mom, Troy and I were all feeding the girls and Brooke said, "Everyone has a baby but me." It was so sad. If you do come over or see us out, please acknowledge her first. I know we are going to be a huge spectacle going anywhere with three babies and they will get all the attention. Today we had to bring the car seats and everyone at the hospital seemed to make a comment about having three or pointed and starred.

All three of the girls will come home on apnea monitors. We were trained on them today and I may have to get rushed again by ambulance to the hospital if they go off. Mostly because of how loud they are. I actually had to cover my ears and could not believe they could be so loud. My whole neighborhood is going to know if they go off. It sounds just like a fire alarm and will probably give me a heart attack. They have to keep them on at all times and for about three months. They will be on caffeine for one month to help develop the part of the brain that will help them remember to breathe. Other than that, they are normal little babies. Reagan is still eating very slow, but as long as she is gaining weight it is okay. We'll be in close contact with our pediatrician. Paige and Kara are both 5lbs and Reagan is 4lbs 11oz.

We have our live-in nanny, Bonnie, and she has been great! She is so helpful and is on top of things. Brooke loves having a "nanny". It could be because she loves Mary Poppins or the fact that our neighbors have one. Bonnie is actually sick right now, so she will be staying away this weekend just in case. She has family in Houston that she can stay with. It will just be us figuring things out this weekend and we are actually looking forward to it. We need to learn to take care of the girls first before we can show anyone else how to feed them. It is not as easy as you would think. They (especially Reagan) won't wake up, so we have to do all kinds of tricks that the nurses show us.
We have to be very careful with illness and our babies, so if you have been sick or exposed to any illness please don't come over. We will be washing our hands and Pureling like crazy. We also can't have a lot of children over in the beginning just as a precaution. Please give us a call first if you want to come over. We want to avoid our barking dogs and we can put them outside if we know you will be coming. Also, Sleep is precious around her, so we want to get all that we can. We will be feeding every three hours and it will take an hour or more to get all of them feed. Their feedings times are 6,9, 12, 3, 6, ... You're welcome to help, just give us a call.

My health: I am feeling much better emotionally and physically. Emotionally I was a wreck for a while, but now it's much better. Physically my blood pressure is under control. I am taking medication for it once a day and hopefully I will only have to take it for about three months. I go back to the neurologist at the end of August. I have finished taking the steroid for my face and I have a tiny movement in my cheek today. I pray it goes away soon. This bells palsy is such a pain. It is awful. We had an infant CPR class the other night and I couldn't even blow. I pray that my kids don't need CPR because I can't do it. I just have to laugh about it now. Troy calls me Popeye. I think I will lose my weight fast because it is almost too much trouble to eat. It really feels like I have been to the dentist and am on Novocaine, but with the eye added to it. I can't sip from a straw without drooling down my chin!

Please pray that my bells palsy goes away and that we make it through this weekend. We'll let you know how it goes.

Out of the hospital (again)!

Well, the girls are doing great. They are considered "eaters and growers". Kara & Paige are great eaters. Reagan gets the most food, but she is slow as molasses. If have ever experienced a meal with Brooke she is just the same. We told Brooke she is going to be in charge of feeding Reagan so she can see what we go through. It takes Reagan 30 minutes to have her bottle while the others take only about 10 minutes. Reagan is on a feeding tube and gets the rest of her formula through her tube if she doesn't finish in time. They all have been having apnea (breathing stops for 20 seconds) and bradycardia (heart rate decreases). The neonatologist said this is due to them being born so early and their brain hasn't yet learned to regulate this. He put them on caffeine this week to help stimulate that part of their brain. They will come home on caffeine as well as monitors (for their breathing and heart rate). We have to be prepared that they may come home this week!

I'm the one who is a mess!

I had a pretty low key triplet pregnancy. Never any blood pressure issues even after delivery. I went home from Woman's Hospital on Sunday and was so happy to be able to walk around, sleep and breath! We went to visit the girls in the NICU Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday we were going to go in the evening with Brooke. I took a nap and when I woke up my face felt weird. I knew two people who had Bells Palsy so I was familiar with it (and always so scared I would get it, especially for my wedding). I called the drs office and told the nurse and she wanted me to come in the next morning. Right then our pediatrician called to give me an update about the babies and I told her about it. She told me to go to the emergency room so I could get started on steroids. Troy had gone to HEB with Brooke and our nanny, so my dear friend Rhonda dropped everything and took me to the St. Luke's emergency room in Pearland. When they assessed me, they thought I had had a stroke! My blood pressure was super high, the right side of my face was not working, and I had tingling in my right arm. It was the scariest thing ever! Troy met me at the ER and everything went so fast from there. I had a CAT scan at the ER and then was transported by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital. ahhhh! They said if it was a different time (traffic wise) I would have been life flighted. I think I was in shock. I just lied there on the gurney, not moving, just pretty much freaking out inside and trying to stay calm. My mom, Troy's dad, his grandmother and her pastor were all there when I got to the ICU. I was still trying to keep it together. I was taken down to get a STAT MRI. The MRI took 1 1/2 hours and it was the loudest thing I have ever heard so close to my head. I prayed the entire time. When I got out of the MRI and I was being wheeled by Troy. I just lost it. I was so, so scared. I keep saying, I can't die I have too many children. I cried and cried. The MRI showed nothing, whew! Everything that was done to me was STAT. I had two chest x-rays, tons of blood work, an EKG and ultrasound of my liver, kidneys, and some other organs. All were good. So... I have high blood pressure linked to my pregnancy, Bells Palsy, and the tingling in my arm is pregnancy related (like carpal tunnel). It is mostly in my wrist and fingers when I move a certain way. I stayed one night in the ICU and another night in a regular room for monitoring. My poor husband was going back and forth from one ICU to another visiting me and the babies. FOUR of us in ICU, unbelievable!
I am now on blood pressure medication and have to take a reading of my blood pressure daily. I think today I have taken it six times. It has been good each time. We went to see the babies today and while I was sitting down my legs got really red. It scared me and I went to the nurses station to check my bp again. It was fine. I guess it is a reaction to the medication. Once I elevated them they went back to normal. I am also on a steroid for my face. It feels like I have gone to the dentist and am on Novocaine. It is tough to eat and my right eye gets dry. I can close it though so I don't have to wear a pirate patch. I only have to be on the steroid until Tuesday and I hope that it goes away soon. The side effects of both medications are dizziness and that is not good. Please pray for my blood pressure and face. It can take weeks for the Bells Palsy to go away. We hope the blood pressure is temporary and I will be going back to my OB and neurologist for check ups. My hormones are all out of whack. I just kept crying at the hospital because I could not believe what happened. It was like a nightmare. I just couldn't believe I was in the ICU. St. Luke's is a teaching hospital, so it is like Gray's Anatomy with all the doctors coming in together and I was a blubbering fool. Everything just hit me. I think they were like, "What is wrong with you, you didn't have a stroke." My other diagnosis was anxiety. Well, yes! I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance thinking I had a stroke and just had three children. They did give me medication for my anxiety. So... I am still healing from my c-section, my milk has come in and leaking everywhere (I am not breast feeding), my face is distorted, my blood pressure is high, I still look pregnant and am quite emotional. Other than that, life is good. I didn't have a stroke and my children are doing well and my husband hasn't left me despite how terrible I look. Brooke hasn't noticed my face yet either and kids notice everything! I still have some humor despite it all.
We are trying to get back to normal, a new normal - whatever that may be for us. We are not sure yet, not until the babies get home and I am better.
Please keep our health and our family in your prayers.

They're here!!

Time to meet the Elmore girls!

Brooke got up about 5am to come to the hospital before the surgery. I was so happy to see her. We had a whole waiting room of people at 6:30am who wanted to see the triplets. It was so sweet.

This was on the way to the operating room. I actually walked there.

I was very nervous the day before the c-section, but on Thursday morning I felt great. I had a huge feeling of relief that it was almost over and I was going to meet my baby girls.


Reagan Faith Elmore
7:04am, 4lbs 6oz, 16 inches
Reagan was the only one who needed some oxygen at birth, but she only needed the little hood you can see for an hour. She has had three apnea episodes, but they said it is normal with preemies. All the girls are in incubators until they can regulate their own temperatures and are hooked up to monitors for their heart rate and oxygen. They also have iv solutions because they are not eating the calories they need. Reagan looks just like Brooke as a baby.


This was either Paige or Kara. I didn't get to hold Reagan because she needed oxygen. Troy was running back and forth because as soon as a baby came out they took them across the hall to get evaluated.

Mommy holding Reagan in the NICU. She is so sweet!

Brooke got to celebrate being a Big Sister with a little party. The hospital sent us a sibling cake and juice. Luckily Ella and Jack were there to join the festivities.

Kara on tv! It was quite an experience having all the tv crews and Chronicle at the hospital taking pictures, videos and asking questions. I realized that you probably shouldn't give an interview while being on pain medication and having the high definition television after giving birth to triplets. It did make an overwhelming experience fun and we were so happy to share it with the other couples. I had been corresponding with Stephanie Lacombe for months and Karen Estrada for a few weeks. It was amazing that we all ended up delivering the same day! We got word from the CEO at Woman's Hospital that CBS morning show wanted to interview all of us. We passed on that because one of the moms wasn't feeling too good. A booking agent for Good Morning America left a message for Troy, but we haven't heard back. So crazy!

Kara Grace Elmore

7:05am, 4lbs 7oz, 17 inches

Kara is the only one who hasn't had any apnea episodes, but it took her and Paige until today to have a bowel movement. They couldn't increase their food intake until they went poop and the nurses were going to give them a suppository today. Whew! They didn't have to. Both Kara and Paige are good eaters and wanted more the the 5ml they were getting to eat, but weren't allowed until now. yeah!

Daddy and Kara

It is very hard to tell them apart without their hats on! We haven't seen them right next to each other to compare all of them. We have to hold the girls right next to their incubators because of all the monitors and ivs they are on. You can't see all the cords because they are in their feet or hands.

Mommy and Reagan

Reagan eats very slow and may have to get a feeding tube to help her out on some of her feeds because she took almost 25 minutes to eat 18ml. After about 30 minutes preemies will end up burning calories sucking because it takes so much out of them. We'll see about the feeding tube in the next few days.

Paige Anne Elmore

7:05am, 4lbs 5oz, 17 inches

Paige and Kara are the identical twins are were born at the same time! Paige has had the most apnea episodes, but hasn't had one since 2pm today. They may have to give her and Reagan caffeine if it continues (not Starbucks, it will be by iv). Apnea is where they stop breathing for 20 seconds. The part of the brain that tells the body to breath is not fully developed yet, so it is normal for them to have trouble. It is still scary to me. They babies can't come home until they go a week with no episodes. Right now the estimated time for them to come home is three weeks. We'll just have to wait and see how they do.

Brooke got to visit the girls today! On Wednesdays and Sundays during certain times siblings can visit the NICU. She was very excited. She is touching Kara's leg in this picture.

I got to come home today! I am in a lot of pain from the c-section. They removed the staples today and I walked a lot more. I am rethinking the tummy tuck because of this pain. I'll have to pray that my skin gets really tight on it's own or I forget about this pain in a year. I don't remember my c-section from Brooke hurting this much. At least now that I am not pregnant I can breathe. It was instant as soon as they took Reagan out. I kept taking deep breaths.

It was so hard to leave the girls today and I have been emotional and crying a lot . It is not sad, but a happy cry. I was so scared to get attached to them while pregnant in case something happened and now I just love them so much. I think it is just the relief that everything went so well and all the girls are doing as good as can be expected.

Troy just called to check on them in the NICU. I can't talk to the nurses because I will start crying. I couldn't sleep this morning and I called to check on them at 3:30am. I found out they still hadn't pooped and cried because I was so worried. Then when Troy got to the hospital today he went to check on them and told me they did poop and I cried because I was so happy. I am just a mess and all over poop!

All the girls got good reports tonight AND they all pooped at 9pm. I didn't cry for this one. None of them had any apnea episodes and Reagan ate her 18ml in only 10 minutes.

We'll keep you updated and thank you for all your continued prayers and support.

Troy and I are over the moon with our four girls.

Tomorrow is the day!

Here is the last belly picture you will see. After this, no one will see my belly or touch it (unless I get that tummy tuck and I'll have to show it off :)

It always cracks me up to look at my shorts like this! It is so funny looking.

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I just can't believe it is already here. I am so ready, but scared too. I am going to get up at 3am to take a shower so we can leave by 4am. Luckily, I don't sleep. We have to be at the hospital at 4:30am. The c-section is scheduled for 6:30am.

If all goes well, the babies should be in the NICU for about two weeks, but we have no way of really knowing until they are born.

I want to say thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, brought dinners, helped with errands, house stuff and taking care of Brooke over the past six months. There is no way we could of survived this without the help and support from our friends and family. We love you all and thank you all so much!!!!

Please pray for us that all goes smoothly tomorrow with the c-section and delivery with no complications. I pray we have three healthy girls and I have a quick recovery. I am ready to be a mom and wife again.

We'll post pictures and an update as soon as we can.

Love,

Troy, Heather and Brooke

Change of plans

We went to the doctor today and the c-section date has CHANGED!!!!

It is now next Thursday!!!! June 11th at 6:30am.

Our 9 year anniversary is the day before, June 10th, so we will get three wonderful presents.

The c-section should be very quick and over by 7am. Troy and I have to be there at 4:30am to get prepped and get my ivs started. The nurse said that Troy should be able to wheel the babies by the waiting room on the way to the NICU, so everyone can see them.

The babies weighed 4.3, 4.4, and 4.3lbs.

I had to have a steroid shot today to help develop the babies lungs faster and Troy has to give me one more shot tomorrow. Lungs are the last thing to develop in fetal growth. I also had to do all the pre-op blood work for the c-section at the hospital. It seems like all I do is either get blood drawn or get shots, but it is okay because they are almost here.

I am excited, but freaking out a little bit. After all this time, it is finally here! I tried to hold in my tears, but they came anyway. I'm sure I'll have buckets full next Thursday.

Please keep us all in your prayers. We are about to endeavor in uncharted waters and have no idea what to expect. I just hope and pray that the babies and I have no complications, they are all healthy and I have a quick recovery.

32 weeks & 2 days

We are still on for Friday, June 12th. That is next Friday!

I went to the doctor last Thursday and everything looked great. The babies are 3.14, 4.0 and 3.15lbs. Dr. Kirshon is very pleased at how close their weights are and called me a champ for making it this far without being in the hospital. I only have 1 week and 4 days left!!!! My cervix has shorten a bit, but he wasn't too worried about it. I still have my cerclage and will bleed if it shortens a lot. If that happens the babies will be coming that day.

We (or I should say Troy) are getting everything ready. We have realized that we have so much stuff! We need a bigger house or at least more closet space. We have gotten rid of all that we can and our attic is maxed out. Mostly it is Brooke's old stuff that we will eventually need. Troy worked all weekend on the room for our nanny! We found a great girl who lives outside of Austin who will be a live-in. It will be a new experience for us, but are excited to have the help.

My next appt. is this Wednesday and I promise to update the blog that day.

These will be the girls NICU hats. Thanks to April, www.themonogramminglady.com. I heard it is hard to tell them apart in pictures in the hospital, so now each girl has a color.

R for red/Reagan, P for pink/Paige and Kara gets purple.
Brooke had her End of the Year Show at Sagemont in gymnastics. Bubba brought her flowers and was so proud!

Brooke in action!

Tah Dah! She has a little Shawn Johnson body.

Brooke and her best buddy Ella.

Zaida and Runa came to visit from Colorado for some testing at MD Anderson. Troy picked them up from the Ronald McDonald House to spend the day with us. It was great to see them. Brooke is dressed up in her 1 year old Halloween costume. She was a Hershey Kiss. She likes to put the costume on and pass out real Hershey kisses! She is so crazy! She looks more like a flashy Pope than a kiss.

Troy bought Brooke a slip n slide and everyone had a lot of fun with it.

I think Troy had more fun than anyone and he popped it in less than an hour doing all kinds of spins and tricks. It was great entertainment!

31 weeks! (less than 3 weeks to go!)

I just have until June 12th! I can do it!!! There is an end in sight. I go to the doctor this Thursday and I hope that the babies are 4lbs. Their growth will slow down now because they are so tight inside. They are running out of room to grow and so am I.

My 3 hour glucose test did not go so well. Troy took me last Monday at 8am after fasting all night. I wasn't able to eat until noon. More than 12 hours with no food for any pregnant lady is not good, not to mention one with three babies inside of her. I had to get my blood taken and then drink the sugary drink when I got there. I was supposed to stay at the lab the entire three hours, but after sitting up in a chair in the waiting room for about 20 minutes my back started to get knots. The girls that worked there were so sweet and let me lie on an examining table. It was hard as a rock and I used my books as a pillow, but it was much better than the chair. Troy and Brooke dropped me off and then he left to go eat breakfast with Brooke and drop her off at school. The girls at the lab said I could leave and just be back each hour, so Troy and I drove around Friendswood and came back each hour. I failed two of the hours (borderline) and passed the other two, so now I have gestational diabetes. I have to monitor my diet (only proteins, veggies and limited carbs & fruits) and prick my finger four times a day to check my blood sugar level. No more sweets and if you know me, you know that is a tough one. It's all I had left. I can do it- only three weeks. I am just tired of monitoring for contractions, pricking my finger, drinking a gallon of water daily, and even taking my three vitamins each day. I do feel blessed because it could be much worse. I'm ready for my life to be back, but I don't want the girls to come before their time. I want them to be as healthy as can be. I'm starting to get excited and nervous too. We will be bringing three babies home! THREE! ahhh!

My sweet family!

Troy has been a single parent for the past five months and has done a great job keeping up with everything on top of working. He does a great job taking care of his girls.

Brooke wanted to be in my belly picture.

Here's a close up... There is no more belly button, lots of veins and some new stretch marks. You can also see a ring around the belly from my XL shorts being too tight and making a line around my belly. Ouch!

Me and my Boo! I love her so much!!

Babies are getting big!

This is baby C, Kara Grace. I couldn't figure out how to turn the scan, so just pretend she is lying down. The object in front of her face is a leg and foot, but it is not her own. The poor dear kept getting kicked in her face by one of her sisters during the ultrasound. Can you imagine how crowded it is in there?

Here's the good news!!!

The girls are all over 3lbs. Whoa hoo!

Reagan Faith 3lb 3oz (a)

Paige Anne 3lbs 2oz (b)

Kara Grace 3lbs 6oz (c)

Dr. Kirshon is thinking that either one or all could be five pounds at birth. That is great, but just crazy. Fifteen pounds of baby in my belly. ouch! He also said I should lose about 20lbs at delivery due to their weights, the placentas and all the fluid. yeah! I will be able to breath!

My cervix looks good, blood pressure was normal (106/68), and no signs of preeclampsia. I do have to take a three hour glucose test because mine was a little high at the last appt. I won't be able to eat after midnight until almost noon on Monday. ahhh!

Here is the BIG news.... ..

My C-section is scheduled!!!!!

Friday, June 12th at 6pm

There will be a party in the waiting room at Woman's Hospital for all who want to attend :)

We couldn't get the early morning slot, so we'd have to either wait until Monday or do Friday evening. I thought Friday would be better for anyone who wants to come in town, or come after work. Plus, it will be easier over a weekend with Brooke. I'll be in the hospital for at least three nights. Here's the kicker, I can't eat for 8 hours before the procedure! I can't go two hours without eating now. I'll be so excited and nervous that day that I'll make it. The glucose test on Monday will be my own test to see if I can make it without eating.

I just need prayers that the babies stay healthy and I keep them in until the 12th. I had a scheduled c-section with Brooke and the little one showed up a week early (my water broke), so no one was at the hospital to welcome her until after she was born.

It is getting really exciting and I feel much better. Now, it is time to get to work on organizing all my stuff. We no longer have a study downstairs. That room is now nursery #2. It has all the baby equipment and it is full of swings, bouncies, etc. It looks like we are opening up a day care. I have to get everything organized and put away because they are coming! yeah!

29 weeks!!! Happy Mother's Day!

I made it another week, so I am 29 weeks and that means only five more to go!

I am feeling much better and vow to have a better week. Last week was tough emotionally-lots of tears, but this week will be much better. It is so hard to be cheerful when you are extremely uncomfortable, in pain, lonely and sleep deprived. I go to the doctor on Wednesday and that gets me out of the house :) :) :). I'm hoping my girls will have hit the 3lb mark.

Our goal is 4lbs!!!

I get an email each Saturday when my week changes and this week it said each baby should be about 15.5 inches from head to heel. Ok, now if you do the math that is (15.5 X 3= 46.5 inches). That is almost FOUR FEET !!! FOUR FEET of babies are IN MY BELLY! You wouldn't believe what that feels like when they are rolling around in here. Four feet! By the end of this pregnancy I could have the length of myself in my belly.

Check out this BELLY!

Everyone who sees me in person says my belly is much bigger than in the pictures. Gravity is starting to pull it down, either that or the four feet of babies. I think I am going to have a raffle or a BBQ benefit afterward to raise money for a tummy tuck! Maybe I will have a bake sale. I can't wait to be able to run and exercise again, but there is no amount of exercise or weight loss that will get rid of the extra skin! I have been researching it. It is not pretty. The pictures on-line are scary! I possibly can have insurance pay for some of it if I have muscle separation (which is common). Some girls had 6-7 inches of muscle that did not come back together! It causes severe back pain and hernias. Great! Well, I might be buying their clothes at Goodwill, so I can save up. j/j :)

Happy Mother's Day!!
Troy made me a delicious steak and King Crab Legs!!! It was so yummy! I also had salad and even sat outside. It was so nice! (Look at my little Brooke in the background).

NANNY & SLEEP
We have a night nanny lined up that will help for the first two months. It is SO, SO expensive so we want to have her as little as possible. She has worked with triplets before and will teach us how to feed all three, get them on a schedule, bathe all three, etc., etc. We will also be able to sleep! What is that? I actually don't think I sleep anymore. I think I just rest in between going to the restroom and rolling from side to side. I know it is getting close to morning when I hear the birds chirping (it is still dark outside). The sun starts coming up next and then Troy is getting ready to go to work. I have it all down. Once I hear those birds, I think here comes morning...and I don't think I have slept. Some days I am really groggy, but others days I am used to it. I tried Tylenol PM the other night, but I was still up half the night. Maybe I need a bigger dose now that I weigh so much more. Hmmm. It's a thought.

LOOKING FOR A DAY NANNY:
We are looking for someone to help with the babies in the fall (maybe by August). I really don't know what to expect having three babies and a 4 yr old, so I don't know if it will be full time or part-time. Hopefully part-time. Please let me know if you know anyone. Brooke will be going to Pre-school Tuesday - Friday at the Methodist Church and I can't imagine getting her ready and me ready along with three babies feed, ready and in car seats by 8:30am. I have to pick Brooke up at 2pm. I will be here during the day, so I just need a helper. Eventually, I want to be able to get out a couple hours a day to go to the gym and run errands. I need someone to help with the babies and do light housework while they are napping (washing bottles, laundry, picking up). Mondays Brooke doesn't have school, so I would love that to be our day and take her on an outing. The person would have to be able to stick to a schedule, keep things organized, like to stay busy and of course be trustworthy, love children and be responsible. Let me know if you know anyone.

28 weeks! Only six more to go!!!!!!

28 weeks was actually Saturday, but I am just getting to updating my blog. I haven't felt very good in the past few days both physically and emotionally. I usually wake up feeling good, but Saturday I woke up with cramping and had contractions right away. I took a shower in the morning and packed my bag just in case. I am very uncomfortable, have a hard time breathing, and my ribs ache from my stomach pulling on them. It is just going to get harder and harder over the next six weeks. I haven't gotten much sleep and yesterday I had a headache all day and was nauseous. By the end of the night Troy was looking up symptoms for preeclampsia. I talked to a nurse and I had to monitor again. I didn't have blurred vision, so that was good and means I probably don't have preeclampsia. Whew! It must have been exhaustion.
Today is a new day!! I slept better last night and actually feel really, really good today. It is amazing what a few nights of no sleep can do to your body, but it is also amazing what a decent night sleep can do for you body and mood. It certainly gets hard lying on the couch all day, but it is also really tough being alone all day. It makes the day go by so slow. Please send me an email or pictures of what you are doing. It doesn't bother me at all, in fact, it makes me feel better and more connected. I need to hear about other things beside the Swine Flu or what is on The View, Ellen or Oprah.

On a really good note...
We went to the doctor last Thursday. The babies are doing great and really growing beautifully! I feel so blessed that all three are growing equally, are healthy, and I haven't had any complications.
Their weights are: A (Reagan) 2.8lbs, B (Paige) 2.10lbs, and C (Kara) 2.7lbs

I still have to keep them cooking because right now they would have between a 90-95% survival rate which is wonderful, but I want a solid 100%.

Dr. Kirshon was really pleased and said he was amazed at how well the girls are growing and especially that they are so close in size. Usually one triplet is much smaller and can even stop growing. If all continues to go well I will potentially have a c-section at Woman's Hospital on Friday, June 12th. I will know more at each appointment. He is hoping for around 4lbs each. That would be wonderful!! I go back next Wednesday and we'll see how they have grown.

I am starting to worry about Brooke and our adjustment of adding three additional babies to our house. I am very excited about the babies and I know that Brooke will be a big help and will be just fine, but it is just going to be such a big change. She has been the center of our world and my baby for 41/2 years. Our family unit is getting ready for a huge change. I know some of my friends who cried when they were having their second babies. Not because they were unhappy, but because everything they they knew was about to change. I am starting to feel that way, but I am not adding one more baby to Brooke's world, but three! I know in my heart it will fine, but my heart aches for her. At the doctor on Thursday I had to get a glucose test. Troy, Brooke and I were in the lab and while the lady was taking my blood she said, "She sure is going to be neglected." Right in front of Brooke! What??? Troy was upset and said, "No she will not." I was just stunned. People say the most inappropriate things. I know that they don't mean to hurt your feelings and lots of times don't know what to say when they learn you are having triplets, but many things are hurtful. We don't need to hear again that it could be worse, it could be eight or how are you going to do it, I couldn't or too bad you won't have one boy. We feel like God chose us to have these babies and it is an honor to carry them, no matter how hard it is. I know that He will provide for us and already has put so many people in our life to help out through this journey. I already have lots of angels who bring us dinner and care for Brooke. I know we will have more once these little girls are born. I wouldn't have been able to make it through the past five months on this couch if it wasn't for prayer and trusting in God's plan for our lives.

It is going to be crazy around here when they are born, but it will be wonderful too. I am looking forward to it!

I will add some pictures on the next update. The ultrasound pictures didn't look great this time. They look so adorable on the screen, but if they are moving when the picture is taken then their nose looks really wide or they look alienish. I will also put a picture of my belly. It is getting HUGE! I can't bend over at all. If I attempt to, I look like a giraffe trying to get a drink at their watering hole if you have ever seen it. They spread their legs very wide and then bend over. My XL maternity yoga shorts are leaving a ring around my belly! I figured out why the skin around my belly and below hurts so bad... stretch marks!!! I got a mirror to see under my belly and there they were! Whew! It burns so bad. Brooke likes to rub stretch cream or oil all over my belly (and then we do hers).
Have a great Cinco de Mayo!