Graduation Day! Hooray!

Well, today was a big day in the Bunch Household! We officially had our last appointment at our Fertility (oh yeah, IN-fertility) Doctor's office! (And I am oddly a little sad about that!) Although I would say it's safe to say, we have moved to the FERTILITY side of that fence now! :) We have graduated from the first trimester and will now be placed into another doctor(s) care so that we can grow and hatch these babies the best we can! Oh my goodness! I feel like we just got dumped on a stranded island to fend for ourselves! As annoying as it was at times having to go their office sometimes twice a week, I grew to find it somewhat comforting...But we got one last look at our little "alphabet" on their ultrasound machine (yes...it was back to the wand)....and the babies were almost too big for their screen! Aaahh! 57 mm...little chunkers! (Which equates to about 2 inches!) The pictures are very dark this week so I'm not going to post them, but they are doing well! I am, however, posting the three Babies' diplomas certifying their graduation from the first trimester! Ok, so they're not from the Doctor's office like I had imagined, but they came from the heart....the heart of their Auntie Kristen! I will be sure to keep them in a safe place! And now, let's talk about the really good news....NO MORE SHOTS!! Did you hear that? NO MORE SHOTS! Auntie Val?? Anabelle?? You're off the hook! Woo hoo! Mom, you can officially start EATING your fruit again and quit poking it all to death! Your call to duty never came...But thanks for being ready at a moment's notice. :) I hope you can all feel good about yourselves knowing that you contributed to the positive growth of three tiny babies! And now, the rest of you, I'd like you to all go do a shot for me! (The kind you can drink, not the kind that pokes!) :) So anyway, folks, that's all for tonight!

Bye Bye skinny jeans...

So, after much resistance and constant prodding from my loving husband to go buy new pants, I finally gave in. I honestly couldn't stand the rubber band loop thing anymore! When you work with kids all day and you're up and down, moving around, you have to constantly be worrying that no one will notice that though you managed to essentially "button" (aka rubber band loop) your pants, the zipper still won't stay up. So...I finally gave in last night. I took myself to Old Navy and bought some NEW pants! Pants that I can button! Two of them were simply a size or two bigger than I'd normally wear, but the jeans, ahh, the jeans....I really had to give in here. I bought maternity jeans. I don't know why I was so embarrassed, but I had already folded the jeans (hiding the atrocious blue belly band) and pulled out the price tag for the cashier, so that she would hopefully not unfold them and see that little tiny me was buying maternity jeans!! I felt like I was buying my first training bra or something...which I probably ought to look into next....but anyway...The irony, as I saw it when I was taking pictures of my "old" jeans and my "new" jeans were the labels sewn inside each waistband....Guess which ones are called "TYTE JEANS" and which are called "S T R E T C H"...Anyway, that's how I celebrated graduating from the first trimester!

Was it or wasn't it a weenie?

This is the picture I was talking about when I refer to the Brady Bunch in the blog entry...

Baby A is on the bottom looking up,

Baby B is top left and is lying perpendicular to the other two, which is why you only really see his head and little hands,

and Baby C is top right looking down.

Ok, sorry Brian and I couldn't help ourselves. Coming up with the title for this blog entry was difficult as there were so many possibilities! So here's the latest dish...Yes, I know we only had an ultrasound 4 days ago, but when you're pregnant with multiples you get the luxury of having everyone else wanting to constantly see and check on your babies too! So here we are 4 days later with MORE pictures! Now, you know that saying, "it's the little things in life that make us happy?" Well, here's my little "thing" for the day. I know, you're thinking it has something to do with my 3 tiny babies, but nope. (well, in a roundabout way, I guess it does). I got to go to a new doctor today and there was a new ultrasound tech and there was a BELLY ULTRASOUND MACHINE! Did you hear that?? For the first time in almost 3 years, I got a belly ultrasound!! (In the past few years, I've probably had 100 ultrasounds, ALL of which were done transvaginally. ) Those who have had one of those, you know what I'm talking about. You never forget your reaction when you see that magic "wand" the first time and ask yourself, "they're putting that WHERE?!" But you lose your modesty after about the 30th time, and at the 85th time, you wonder why you even bother with the paper "sheet" to cover up with...So anyway, as Brian and I walk into this dimly lit room, (not expecting to have an ultrasound today, by the way) the tech says, "Well, before you meet with the doctor, we're going to do an ultrasound." Ok! So we were wrong! So as I'm preparing to undress from the waist down as I always do, I quickly do a scan of the equipment...hmm....no wand. "So, what kind of ultrasounds do we do here?" I ask coyly. "Just unbutton your pants and pull the top down of your pants down just a little so we can see you belly" she says. YES!!! I was So excited! I told you, it's the little things that make me happy.
But, just when I thought things couldn't get any better, I was wrong. The babies... When you look at your babies from the top view, it's a WHOLE different experience! Let me put it this way, you know the opening scene of the Brady Bunch? Where the entire family is in their own "box" and they're looking up and down and side to side at each other? Well, that's what it looked like! You could easily see all three sacs at the same time, and all three babies in each of their sacs. And they were waving and kicking and turning and jumping the entire time! Imagine bunk beds, if you will. Baby A is on the Bottom Bunk and Babies B and C are both on the top bunk. I swear they were talking to each other! They are the cutest little munchkins I have ever seen. They all measured the perfect size. A is a tiny bit bigger, but all three babies looked great and healthy at this point. "I see nothing about these babies that causes any red flags", the tech said. :) Smile. And no, Brian and I are no professionals at this by any means, but as the appt. ended, we got into the car and he looked at me and said, "I think I saw a weenie." "Oh my gosh!! I totally thought I saw a weenie too!" I said...So the question for the day is, "was it or wasn't it a weenie?" I guess we'll have to wait and see....I hope you enjoy these photos as much as we do....till next time. :)


Baby C (above)

Baby B (above)

Baby A (above)

A belly full of babies!

This is my 11 week, 1 day belly pic!Ok, so maybe it's getting a little bigger....whatever. And I even threw up once today! Not bad! Aside from that, clearly my posture could use a little work. Who knew? It's so rare that we take pictures of ourselves from a side view...i'll work on that this week. :)

11 Weeks, 1 day....A belly full of babies indeed!

Also, for your pure entertainment, I have included some pictures of my Auntie Val, who stepped up to the plate to give me my shots while my hubby was away trying to "catch" an Elk as we like to say! As I mention in the entry below this one, giving the shots has gotten MUCH harder! Poor Auntie gets that inch and a half needle in and then has to try with all her Popeye strength to actually depress the plunger, even switching hands in between, because it's so hard and tiring. I know she feels bad for me and my bum, but I always felt much worse for her...So as you can see, she resorted to simply playing "darts" on my butt. Fortunately she has pretty good aim! She gets points for resourcefulness no doubt! And just so we're clear, this pregnancy seems to have given my family new reason to lovingly mock the "slightly larger appetite" I seem to have. So I'd just like to include this picture of my mom's after dinner treat...a bowl of coffee ice cream, with fresh strawberries, bananas, walnuts AND chocolate syrup!! Maybe she's just having sympathy desserts with me, right?? :)

This picture should have posted after the next one, but I uploaded them in the wrong order! This is Auntie taking the needle out AFTER she threw the dart!

And THIS is the actual dart throwing episode! Look at that bravery on my face....and look at the pure enjoyment on hers....hey, I don't think that's very nice. :)
And This is the dessert I speak of above.... :)

Almost Graduation....

11 WEEKS, 1 DAY old

This is Baby C. He is lying on his back, looking up. His head is on the left and his little body goes over the the right. You can maybe see a little right hand near the head....

This is Baby B. (below) He is looking down. His head appears on the left side and his little body is over on the right with his little legs curled up in the"fetal position." Ahhh... seems so appropriate now!
This is Baby A. (below) He is looking down also, but his head is on the right side and his body is over to the left. Could be a little hand there near the face...This is how he landed after a few twirls... :)
And now, my weekly saga.....

Ok, so as the nurse as the doctor's office puts it, I'm SO close to graduating! At a fertility clinic, (or is it an IN-fertility clinic?) graduation is roughly 12 weeks! Completion of the first trimester! Woo hoo! In my excitement and pride I can't help but wonder if I'll get a diploma? Or three? Will I miss coming in for weekly ultrasounds? Will I miss handing over my arm every week so that my favorite nurse can ever so lovingly take my blood? Will I miss the fact that when I go to their office, I really think I'm their favorite patient because they all know us by name? (Really, that just means we had a VERY hard time getting pregnant, but let me roll with it...) Either way, graduation is near, and right now I'm think I'm going to graduate with honors!



Today, Brian and I once again saw three tiny acrobats...er, babies. I'm trying to decide what it is I eat in the day that makes them so wiggly! Maybe there is something to this whole "health food" kick everybody talks about....sheesh. Who knew? Now, just so we're clear, when I refer to these little critters, I will refer to them as 'he'. That does not mean they are all 'he'. We just don't know yet, and I don't feel it's very motherly to refer to my tiny babies as "he-shes" . So there they are: A- who was so excited to see us that he was sort of doing flips! And then B...in a slightly more precarious position but still extremely photogenic. And little C. (Who is not really little C anymore) was squirming away. I think maybe he just feels sad that he always gets his picture taken last. Ah, sibling rivalry...But there they are. Ready to graduate themselves. All 42 mm and looking good!

But, we're never without torment and conflict in our lives...and so here it is. Sadly, the bigger they get, the more threat they cause to eachother. Unfortunately, my uterus is not huge. ("Beautiful" maybe, right Charlotte?, but not huge.) And that is not a warm, cozy environment for 3 babies. Sure it's fine when they're the size of small limes, but not as cozy when they grow into small kittens. So, the stress has not left us yet and likely will not ever.



Either way, they are the cutest little babies I have ever seen...and I'll be honest, when I leave the exam room and go up front to make my appt. for the following week, I can't help but "accidentally-on purpose" wave my 3 pictures around for all the others in the waiting room to see. I'm really not trying to flaunt it...(ok, maybe I am a little) but hey-I did my time in that waiting room too. I got so good at being an "infertility" patient that I could tell what every patient was doing just by the bag, or the box or the calendar they walked out of the exam rooms with. I knew what drugs they were taking and I knew why! I knew what it meant when they had to schedule their appointments a week, 2 days or 2 weeks out...And I was SO jealous when I saw women with their doting husbands in tow, coming back into the waiting room, all smiles, "accidentally-on purpose" flaunting THEIR newest baby pictures!... So by golly, it's our turn! We earned those babies and we want the world to see them!



And now, for the silver lining!!! My shots have decreased dosage!! I still have to have one every day, (BOOooo) but we're down to only a half of a 'cc' of Progesterone now! Yay! For all my shot-givers, (Brian, Auntie Val, Anabelle, and my mom who practices all the time with a syringe and whatever piece of fruit is nearby in case she's ever called to duty) that is a HUGE victory! Because as you'll see in the next set of pictures, there is so much buildup and scar tissue and progesterone in my 'cheeks' that actually pushing in the plunger on the syringe has gotten so difficult, you'd think there was super glue on the tip of it, preventing it from actually leaving the syringe!! So now there's half as much to TRY and inject! Yay! Cel-e-bra-tion time! Come on!

My 10 Week, 3 Day old belly!

This is my 10W, 3D old belly. :)

This picture below shows Babies A & B
This picture below is Baby C (for those who have been cheering for him/her!)
This picture was an attempt at getting all three to say "cheese" together

So, as you can see, I opted for some looser-fitting pants this time. I don't know if my belly is much bigger this week than last, but my babies certainly are! They are all growing as they are supposed to! And little Baby C trumped the others and went from being the runt to the big dog! My mom says he must be closer to my intake valve and gets all the nutrients from the food I eat first! :)



Either way, this week's ultrasound was absolutely Amazing. (I have watched ABC's "The Bachelor" for far too many seasons and am going to use the word 'Amazing' just as they do...) But it really was! The babies were actually moving! You could see their wiggling arms and legs! Which, after the fact made a lot of sense. Think about it. Where were those babies the night before??? That's right, they were dancing to the beat of the New Kids On the Block!! And they were still dancing the next day! :) This time, there is one picture of Babies A & B and a second picture of Baby C, and a third picture which barely shows all 3 sacs.

MISERY in a bottle...

So, just when I thought there was light at the end of the tunnel and I was heading into my final week of shots, I was given a prescription for another 4 vials of Progesterone (which conveniently goes right along with 40 more syringes....uuugh...So, my misery continues. I thought I'd take a picture of my "Progesterone Pyramid" and some syringes so others can wallow in my misery too!

Cracker Barrel, Shots and New Kids on the Block!

L to R: Nicole, Jill and Mary Bottom Pic: L to R: Ami, Sarah & Anabelle


That would be me, mixing my drugs in the Cracker Barrel! Classy, I know!

And that would be be um...my butt! And a syringe in Anabelle's hand! Aah!

Ok, so if you read the blog entry prior to this one, then you remember the dilemma I was having regarding how to smuggle 1 1/2 inch syringes into the New Kids on the Block Concert so that I could have a shot at 9:30! Well, call us wussies, but we decided that seeing the concert was more important than seeing the Glendale Jail Facilities and so, we opted to do the shot a little early at the Cracker Barrel (where we decided to eat prior to the big show!) Trust me, eating eggs and hashbrown casserole before a 9:30 pm concert , was itself, quite weird. But as it turns out, having 3 friends and yourself in the handicapped stall of a restaurant is definitely weirder! But, we were troopers! Into the stall we marched, closed the door, and thus began our conversation, which undoubtedly, if heard by any other innocent pee-ers would leave no doubt that we were trying to figure out how to do illegal drugs....I believe it went something like this.

Ami: "Ok, Anabelle, do you see the crack?" (I'm referring to my butt crack so as to guide her to the right spot to inject.)

Anabelle: "Yeah, but what are we going to do with the syringe after we're done? Do we leave it here?"

Ami: "No, I'll take it home with me... Just go ahead and shoot me ...Mary, can you hold the vial"

Mary: "Are we throwing this vial away now?"

Ami: "No, put it back in my purse."

Sarah: "Oh crap, it's bleeding."

So you get the idea....sounds like a real drug party! But the good news is, Anabelle did a fantastic job on her second injection ever! I am very proud of her! And the best part was, at 9:30, we could just keep "HANGING TOUGH" with the NKOTB! Woo hoo! So I'm attaching some pictures of the shot fiesta as well as our New Kids Concert pics....I have to say, it was better this year than it was 17 years ago! (Now, on a side note, I'm sorry to disappoint those of you have may have thought I was an angel...(ha ha)...I DO have a tattoo on my butt. It's a Taurus Bull (that's my sign) with a green Cancer symbol between the horns (that's Brian's sign...) So, I'm sorry to frighten you, but I told you back in the picture of the leggings that I knew this blog would somehow become more about my butt than my belly and there you have it! :) I have to say, the tattoo makes an excellent target or "bulls eye" for 50% of my shots! It's the perfect location! Just look past my "bull" and look at the needle in Anabelle's hand!! Much more frightening than the tattoo! :)

Let's do SHOTS!!!

So talk about a dilemma...To help keep this pregnancy, I still have to have Nightly Progesterone shots in the you-know-what for a few more weeks....(bringing my total to over 2 and a half months of shots!!) Well, you see, there's this New Kids On the Block Concert- in Phoenix- (I know, I know, I'm 31 and YES, I'm going BACK to the NKOTB!) But I'm not ashamed! So anyway, the thought recently occurred to me that when 9:30 pm strikes, I will be in the midst of thousands of screaming girls, without my very rehearsed husband to give me my shot!! But unfortunately, I can't go without. So it was up to one of the 5 girls I'm going with to step up to the plate and stick an inch and a half needle in my butt! Now, to their credit, MOST of them said they would do it...if they had to. Well, Anabelle won! Tonight she even came over to practice!! And certainly that moment was not to go without being captured forever on film! So here it is...my butt again for all to see, Brian standing by, teaching, Anabelle ready to throw darts at my butt and BP standing back with the camera! And kudos to Anabelle! She did a GREAT job! She is now up there with Auntie Val as a substitute shot-giver! Oh the things we do for the ones we care about!

Many of you have asked....

Does having triplets make you show sooner? I don't really think so, but here's my 9W 1D belly pic. I'll have to go find a nice picture of me in a bikini from San Diego this summer to compare... All I know is that I'm thoroughly embarrassed to be posting a picture of my butt in LEGGINGS! But frankly, right now, that's about the comfiest thing I can wear! No buttons, no zippers and I can roll the waist down as far as I want! :) So get used to it! I'm sure that too will become gigantic!

Another Day of Beating Hearts!

Here are pictures of (from Top to Bottom) Baby C, Baby B and Baby A!

Another day has come and gone! Another week has come and gone! We're 9 weeks and 1 day today! Another ultrasound provided a spectacular glimpse of our 3 little babies and their strong little heartbeats! They are all growing bigger each day! (A millimeter smaller maybe than they should be, but normal for multiples). The Dr. is very pleased with our progress and is very pleased with how the babies are growing! On the other hand, he is still very concerned and unsure that I can carry three babies. (I tend to want to disagree with him...) I feel like what was a blessing all my life to be petite and small, is now my curse. I would give anything to be as big as he thinks I should be! My heart aches at the thought of not having all three babies...so time will tell. Please continue to pray for our strength and peace of mind with whatever happens....

3 Roses for 3 babies

These are the BEAUTIFUL flowers my super husband brought to me at work the day after we found out we were having triplets. Note the 3 red roses...1 for each baby. :)

The first photo of the three black blob babies!

This is our first ultrasound photo at 6 weeks
when we saw all three munchkins!