Good Morning Little Beans

Baby A

Baby B--you can really make him/her out. See the head, back, and little rump! The little circle by his/her back is the yolk sack. If you look at two weeks ago the yolk sacs were twice the size of them.

Baby C

Yesterday was our second ultrasound. It was so very cool. They are starting to look like little babies. Additionally, we heard all three of their heartbeats. I thought I would cry, but I think I was so relieved all three were growing and doing well, that I just absorbed what I was hearing. We recorded Baby B's heartbeat. I've tried to get it to upload, but so far no sucess.

I'm still having minor morning sickness. It comes in waves. Friday was the worst it has been. I was sick on and off all day. Crackers and sprite were a beautiful thing. I've gained 4lbs, but I think since I lost 7lbs or so, that really that isn't too bad. Today we are 8w5d. Yesterday each of the babies were measuring 19-20mm. That's an inch!

We played the heartbeat for the animals. Kieran was fascinated by it. She kept trying to figure out where it was coming from. I worry she is going to have the hardest time. She's so spoiled and so tempermental.

As Dr. Nash said yesterday...i'm so glad we proceeded with this.

Week 8 Babies: will be about 8-11 mm CR by the end of the week (uhm..we have super babies. They were 19-20 mm). The baby's hind brain is clearly visible. This week the baby's gonads will become either testes or ovaries. And spontaneous movement begins! Elbows appear and the process of ossification (hardening of the bones) begins. Toe rays become present, almost ready for you to count!

I will be 9 weeks on thursday. Stay tuned.

End of the week...

We've known now for a week that we are having triplets. Most days it doesn't seem real. That being said, some of those "symptoms" I was so worried about have started. Everyday between 1-3 is torture to stay awake. I ended up coming home and taking a nap every evening. I've also been having some morning sickness. Except it is all day sickness. It comes in waves. Not too terrible. I've been sucking on mints or eating goldfish crackers. They seem to help.

Every once in a while I have those funny little thoughts that creep into my head. Are they okay in there? Do we still have 3 little hearts beating away? Are they growing like they are suposed to? I keep telling Derek I need a little window into my uterus so I can see what is happening. I assume this is normal, but I do tend to just worry about the most bizarre things on a good day.

We did make our first purchase for the babies. Diapers :) Baby's R Us was having a deal where you buy 2 boxes of diapers and get a $20 giftcard. Buying them at Baby's R Us probably made the diapers a little more expensive than had I bought them at Bj's or Sam's, but I did the math and we still came out about $15 ahead. I figure we should stock up on these practical things. We can always return them if the babies are allergic to them or they grow out of them too fast.

This week the babies: Will develop their second set of kidneys! Their hand plates develop. And their little genital tubercles forms. By the end of the week they will be 7-9mm long! That's almost an entire centimeter.

Pictures

My Meds

The earliest baby pictures you will ever see. Look at those chubby cheeks :)

Baby A

Baby B (although this is really just his/her sac)

Baby C

How do you make a baby?

Well, if you are Derek and myself this is what you do.

1. Give yourself injections one-two times a day.

2. Take a day off work so that a physician can remove your eggs with a giant needle.

3. Obtain a specimen from your husband.

4. Have an embryologist inject one of your husbands sperm into each of your eggs.

5. Wait for the embryologist to call and tell you that you have acheived fertilization.

6. Take Valium and go transfer embryos back into the womb.

7. Stay on strict bedrest for 3 days to give your little embryos every chance to implant.

8. Wait for 11 days before you go have your blood drawn to find out if indeed you are pregnant. Meanwhile, doing everything in your power not to pee on a stick, because you are very good

at playing the what-if-game. And trying to remain cool so your husband doesn't kill you for

worrying too much.

9. Get your blood drawn

10. Convince yourself that the blood test is going to be negative. Because if I think it is negative

Maybe it will be positive.

11. Sob when the phone rings with your lab results.

12. Have your husband answer the phone because you are far too hysterical to possibly talk to

your favorite nurse.

13. Listen to the nurse on speaker phone say "It's good news". Then start crying and

hyperventilating all at the same time.

14. Learn your first beta is 176.

15. Watch all of the color drain from your husband's face as he says "what if it is too positive"

16. Get second beta two days later

17. It's 307. Schedule your first ultrasound.

18. Wait...a very LONG two and a half weeks for the ultrasound.

19. Wait.....

20. The weekend before your ultrasound panic because you don't have any "sypmtoms". I

mean all of the books tell you that you should be vomitting, have super sore boobs, and

such. Realize that okay, maybe I am a little emotional. That is a symptom. Cry.

21. Go to your ultrasound. All the while praying there is just one in there. We aren't greedy.

22. Listen to the doctor count. One gestational sac...two gestational sacs...oh wait, there are

three gestational sacs. Each one with a little baby and a heartbeat.

23. Laugh hysterically. Triplets!

24. Tell your friends and family and listen to all of them say "Holy Shit!" or "Your kidding?"

25. Reality sets in. You don't sleep. Holy crap...I am having 3 babies! How am I going

to ever do this.

26. Remind yourself to breathe. God had given us an amazing gift. We will be fine.

The Journey Begins

It has never been a secret Derek and I have wanted children. It has also never been a secret that having a child has been a real struggle for us. Like thousands of other couples, we struggle with infertility. So, our journey begins....

January 2008 we met Dr. Nash. He is a very pragmatic physician. Very much to the point and very good at laying out options while still being kind. I supose physicians in his field see a lot of joy and a lot of heartache, so they give lots of facts and figures rather than instilling hope.

From March to July of 2008 we tried Clomid with IUI. With no sucess. Dr. Nash sat us down and said, look you guys are going to need IVF with ICSI. Well, that ended our parenting dreams. We thought about adoption, but decided it best to just stop for the time being. Let life run it's course. So we did.

St. Patty's Day 2009: I lost my job. I was laid off. This turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to us. Sounds strange...well, Akron Children's came calling. All of our prayers had been answered. My new health insurance has IVF coverage. It was meant to be. God did this. For the first time in my life I felt His presence surround us. It is here the fun begins.