Left - Asher, Middle - Gabriel, Right - Trinity
1st Ultrasound (7 1/2 wks) day we found out!
So, What’s it Like Having Triplets? – Part 1 Pregnancy
I get this question ALL THE TIME. I try to think of different answers to give people. Some examples are…
It’s cool. It’s fun. Sometimes crazy. We’ve never had just one baby, so to us this is natural.
My husband said one night…”Man, it would be boring to just have one baby.” To us this is true in a way. We are used to the business of having three that it would be weird to just have to take care of one baby.
Many times we get responses from people (after they find out we have triplets, and even while I was pregnant with them) of…
“better you than me.” “oh my goodness, what are you going to do?” “How did you react when you found out?” “Did you guys want triplets?”
I honestly do believe that God does not give you more than you can handle…if you are relying completely on HIM that is. It is Christ who gives us strength. When Chris and I first found out (about 7 1/2 weeks along) we were overjoyed. Our doctor thought we were either in shock or nuts. One or the other. He apparently never had anyone respond as we did. Especially two young not makin’ a whole lot of money peeps. Usually when people hear the news of only Twins they are in the room crying – and not tears of joy. So needless to say we shocked him a bit. I like shocking people.
So, the next thing we know I am being whisked into another room where the brand spankin’ new beefy ultrasound machine is that can display up to quads, and everyone in the office is taking turns cramming into our small room. It was quite the ordeal.
Needless to say that instead of keeping the pregnancy a secret for a while (wanted to make sure everything was ok since so early) my husband was on the phone with everyone on his call list before we even left the drs office.
Soon everyone at work knows (probably from my happy husband running all over the building showing anyone who would look the ultrasound pic). I then had everyone in the building talking, coming to my desk, stopping me in the hall, helping my carry things, walking places for me so I didn’t have to. It was pretty sweet.
I, never being pregnant before really didn’t know what to expect, so it was just a normal pregnancy to me. I could feel them all three kick and punch and roll when I was further along. I did have heartburn which I had never experienced before. This was the worst!!! I tried ever over the counter drug…poppin’ tums like candy…nothing worked.
I had to set up a cot at work in the lactation room to rest twice per day…had to get my horizontal time to take off the pressure. No more stairs…only the elevator. No more Zumba or walking miles a day. I had to eat as much as possible. And I’m not joking….like 4000 calories, over 100 sumod grams of fat and carbs, tons of protein. This was especially hard for someone who had all day sickness till like week 16…morning sickness my butt!!!
Week 24 I believe was when I started my bedrest at home. Everything going great. One morning (1st day of wk 28) I wake up with a bit more tightness than usual in my abdomen (if you can call it that at this point…more like in my large over sized beach ball) so I called Northwest in B’ville to page the doctor on call. He calls and advises me to go ahead and meet him at the hospital so he can check me out. So at 5:30am I tell my husband, who is doing his hair for work, that he needs to take me to NW. Yeah, he was freakin’ a little. I assured him I was fine and just going because the dr thought I should come in and get checked out.
So there we are at NW at 6am on Monday March 18, 2008. I get hooked up to 5 different monitors….3 for the babies heartbeats one for mine and one for contractions. The dr looks at me and says…”are you feeling any contractions….” I reply…”nope”…..”well, you’re having several every couple minutes”….he shows me the contractions print out. I’m like “well, I don’t feel them….it just feels tight as usual as there is not a whole lot of room in there.” So I am placed on Magnesium and some other stuff to stop the contractions. Come to find out I am dilated to a 2.
About 45 minutes after that I am being flown down to UAMS in LR. Pretty crazy…glad I called the dr. HA!!! Note to all you preg women….listen to that inner voice. By the time I get to UAMS I am dilated to a 3.
So my husband and one of his friends, Richard drive down to meet me.
The first day and a half were horrible. No food…only ice chips….not even water. Catheter… that was an experience.
I am at UAMS until I have them a couple weeks later on April 3, 2008 (end of wk 30). It really wasn’t all that bad after the first day and a half….free cable….nurses to wait on me hand and foot…food brought to me every couple hours…fresh linens each day…flowers. Until the last week….that was the worst pain I had ever been in. I could seriously stretch no more. Besides that, the only thing that really stunk was not being able to see my husband but on the weekends as he had to work. Oh yeah, and getting woke up before the butt crack of dawn so I could have mine and the babies vitals taken.
Afterbirth…to be continued….
If you have any questions about triplet pregnancy or raising triplets, just post a comment and I will do my best to answer!
