Super Belly, Sun and a Stroller! :)

These are the most recent belly pictures as well as a few random ones from the weekend! For some reason, Brian thought we should take my picture from the front and back as well as the side...why do I agree to these things??

31 Weeks 6 Days

I love the fact that I look like I'm trying to contemplate the meaning of life in these "candid" shots Brian takes of me....
Here, once again is SUPER HUSBAND!! He's putting together the AWESOME stroller that was given to us by an assortment of Brian's family's friends and family. (wow...that sounded confusing...) A bunch of people chipped in so that they could all buy us this stroller....what a surprise!! If you are one of those people who chipped in for the stroller, please know how much we appreciate you. Now we can actually TAKE the babies places...at the same time! I'm so excited!

This is Brian checking to make sure we fit through doorways! And we do! Watch out Tucson....here come the Bunch Babies! I love that it's actually a quad stroller because it gives us an extra seat, either for a friend to come along on outings...(Jaxon? Brody? Delaney? The new Chumbler Baby?) or for bags and stuff. Even though on the bottom of the stroller there are already two big compartments for "stuff". SO exciting! I will say, once the babies are born, I'll have to start working out seriously because it is NOT light....I'm trying to imagine myself hoisting it in and out of the Durango. OMG....but then again, as most of you know...I AM freakishly strong! :) Either way, thank you to all who chipped in for this awesome and much needed gift!

Belly Art to celebrate 32 weeks!

Do you see? Do you see what happens when you get bored? To celebrate the babies weekly birthday (32 weeks today woo hoo!!) Brian and I decided to decorate the belly! We had a serious debate about which "medium" to use and as you can see, the stickers won! He is particularly proud of the little pair of blue feet walking across the belly....his idea. :) I liked my purple belly button flower! Either way, here are a couple photos from the pretty belly! I'm also trying desperately to upload a video of the alien babies inside that pretty belly....cross your fingers that it works! It's a short little video, but well worth watching.. :)

Here's the video! It worked! I kid you not...that movement is all baby! Most Ethan, possibly a little of Hunter....it mostly shows movement for the first oh, I don't know, 25 seconds of the video...the last part doesn't show too much movement. :)

Friday the THIRTEENTH...Uugh.

Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but it seemed a little creepy that we had 2 months in a row with Friday the 13ths...that in itself just doesn't seem right. And I don't even think of myself as a terribly superstitious person usually, but that was just a bit much.

(just some random pictures Brian took of me checking out the baby belly)

We were supposed to have a growth ultrasound on the one in February, but I kindly asked if we could reschedule it to the following Monday...you know, just in case. :) Well, as luck (or no luck) would have it, guess when our next growth ultrasound was scheduled for??? Yep! Friday, MARCH 13th...this time, I decided to be a big girl and just go.

Seemed like we were actually having GOOD LUCK...the morning started off with a call from the FedEx Driver who had apparently been trying to deliver our quad stroller. He offered to re-arrange his whole delivery schedule so he could quickly drop it by our house at 7:15 in the morning after Brian told him we had to leave for the hospital a few minutes later. So wouldn't you know it?? Here comes the FedEx man with our new stroller...and first thing in the morning no less! That's pretty lucky!

Then we hopped in the car and headed for UMC all the while listening to JohnJay and Rich and their listeners' weird superstitions....seriously, there are some strange people out there....but we got to UMC, right on time, and entered into that very precarious parking lot I described a few blogs ago. And guess where we found a parking spot?? Right up front! Woo hoo! This day was not so bad after all!

Well, we checked in at UMC and were quickly called back by Susie, the sonographer....Susie? But where was Casey? We were supposed to see Casey...Don't get me wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Susie. She might be one of the nicest, most experienced sonographers there is. But we always see Casey and we'd just seen her the day before and left her with a cheery, "see you at 8:00 tomorrow!" So where was she?? Ok, now my superstitious self is wanting to make a bigger deal about this. But I don't. We follow Susie back to the room and away we go! Time to measure the babies!

I'll say that they were largely cooperative....in a span of 4 weeks here are their current measurements:

COLTON

4 lbs 2 oz. (a gain of 1 lb. 5 oz.)

Heartrate: 146 beats per minute

ETHAN

4 lbs. 2 oz. (a gain of 1 lb. 5 oz.)

Heartrate: 143 beats per minute

HUNTER

2 lbs. 10 oz. (a gain of 5 oz.)

Heartrate: 153 beats per minute

So holy moly! Fat little boys we got in there! And a tiny baby girl...was I worried about little Hunter? How could I not be? Susie assured us that her heart was beating fine and she still had good fluid all around her, but that she was just smaller. Again, dainty like her mommy and not like her daddy. :) So I decided not to worry! (I also had a talk with those brothers of hers about the importance of sharing nutrients and food with their sister!) Sheesh! They're not even born yet and already they're hearing the wrath of their kindergarten teacher mommy!

But we left feeling good! Off to our next stop! We went and visited the CCRS (Childrens Clinic for Rehabilitative Services) where we met with a TON of people! The clinic is designed to be a "Team Approach" for children who need special services which could range from orthopedic impairments to Cleft Palates/Lips. (Obviously, that's why we ended up there.) It was a HUGE facility brightly decorated with Disney Characters and Jungle Book stuff everywhere! Very much a kid friendly place! They will be the people who will help us coordinate Colton's surgeries, his speech services if needed, hearing services, nutrition, feeding assistance, even dental and orthodontic care later in life. We left there with a big manual FULL of information, and an even bigger head full of confusion. It was overwhelming, to say the least. One day at a time....take a deep breath!

Off to our next stop! We needed to pick a pediatrician! Well, we polled just about all of our friends with babies or young children and were surprised to find that between all of them, they each go to one of two offices. So we picked the closer one first. Off to Catalina Pediatrics! If first impressions count, then we were already impressed with the exterior and with the doctors! (Brian, not so excited at the number of minivans in the parking lot...he's having anxiety at the idea that we might one day have to be a minivan family) :(

But we went inside and waited until the receptionist was free. In the meantime, Brian says, "I'm going to look around..." and while he does that I decide to be nosy Nellie and ask another mom in there which doctor she sees and what she thinks of the office in general. No sooner than she can start praising the office do I hear - "HONEY, THEY HAVE A DINOSAUR IN THEIR FISH TANK!" Aah, yes. That would be my giant child of a husband. I guess we'd established who will be taking the kids to the doctor's office! Sure enough, there is a giant T-Rex figurine standing at the bottom of a very large fish tank. Well, the woman with whom I'd been speaking confirms Brian's excitement and says, "You know it's a good pediatrician's office when they have dinosaurs in their fish tank.!" Gotta love that!

Anyway, when I was finally able to see the receptionist, I told her why we were there and asked if they were accepting new patients. Then I asked her if they were accepting THREE new patients! :) She smiled and said we are ALWAYS taking new patients and we'd love to have your three! Super. Done deal. Our minds were made. No need to visit the other office. We were perfectly happy here. Don't get me wrong, I have a feeling the other office is just as nice and the doctors are just as good, but sometimes, in the interest of time and energy, you just take what you like first and be done with it! SO WE FOUND A PEDIATRICIAN! Another stroke of good luck on Friday the 13th!!

(We selected Dr. Goldberg who is on the far left)

Well, the office is literally around the corner from my dad's office, so we decided to stop in and say hello! After visiting with dad and Auntie Val for a little while, we decided to eat some lunch and go home! Whew! I know I was tired! Well, it was such a beautiful day out, that Brian had decided once we got home to spend a little time in the fresh air of the front yard and garage and do a little "tinkering around" as he puts it. So while he was just beginning to enjoy his time to himself. I am inside answering the phone.
"Hi Ami?"
"Yes.."
"It's Dr. Maciulla. What are you doing?"
"Um, just resting....why?"
"Well, I was wondering if you could come back to the hospital."

(Now, you need to understand that even though this sounds very serious and alarming to me, Dr. M is STILL making jokes and making light of the situation so as not to scare me...this is why we picked him. :)

"Uh, sure. Why? Is something wrong?"
"I was just looking at your ultrasound from this morning and I'd just like to keep a closer eye on all the babies. I'd like for you to come in so that we can do some monitoring...Since you're getting closer to the end, I think it's time to really watch how everyone's doing in there..."

(CRAP. This is more Friday the 13th like....)

"Ok, sure. When should I be there?"
"Well, go ahead and go to LabCorp first and have your blood drawn and then just come down from there."
"Ok. I'm on my way."

(so here's the thing....in retrospect, I'm now pretty sure that Dr. M. made no specific mention of wanting me to come in just to monitor Hunter. But when he mentioned the ultrasound, that's what I attributed it to....and that's what had me so upset...I was already worried about our little girl and this was just confirming that for me...I now realize he said ALL the babies.)

So with tears in my eyes and a little fear, I have to go out and tell Brian who has JUST begun to enjoy the sunshine that I need to go back to the Lab and the Hospital. :( Well, being the rock that he is, and sensing my sadness, he simply closes the garage door and says, "no problem. Let me change my shirt and we'll go!"

There is nothing exciting I can report about LabCorp. Nothing. It's the most god-awful boring place to sit and wait. Which we did. For an hour until it was my turn to have my blood drawn. But then we were off to UMC.

Checked in...made small talk with Yolanda, the Unit Coordinator about the poor quality of the mattresses on the beds at the hospital and then we waited. Normally, we would not have to wait, but in this case, with triplets, they needed to reserve 2 beds side by side, as that is the only way they could have 2 monitors side by side. (We really didn't need the 2nd bed, just the 2nd monitor because only 2 heartbeats fit on a monitor.) So we roamed around downstairs in the cafeteria and found a MUCH better coke room that people can wait in while they're at the hospital. (Particularly for my brother in law Emilio!) We're always looking out for him! Finally it was our turn!

(Brian and Me in the "new" Coke Room)

(here's the new Coke Room)

So basically, I was there for an NST (Non-Stress-Test). They strap one monitor for each baby onto my belly, plus one to monitor contractions. The first feat is getting the baby to hold still long enough to get a "read" on its heartbeat. So that took a few minutes. We couldn't get started immediately because poor Colton had the hiccups for a solid minute or two! Finally, all three babies heartbeats were reading and I was just lying there trying not to move!

These are the 2 monitors we needed...Hunter's heartrate is being monitored on the one on the left, and Ethan, Colton's and my contractions are on the right monitor)

They have to get a solid 20 minute reading per baby, (which is usually easy with one baby, but with multiples, they kick eachother out of position and roll around which can cause the monitor to lose track of the heartbeat. ) But our babies were SO cooperative! They stayed on their readings for an hour! And all three heartrates fell within the normal range! Go babies! Go babies! As for me, I hear my nurse, Tempest, (the one who also has triplets) call out to me from behind the curtain, "Ami, What's with all these contractions?? If it were just for the babies, you'd be home by now! But we might need to examine you to make sure you're not going into pre-term labor...." (great...my mind immediately flashes to the partially packed bags I have at home...) Well, fortunately, Dr. Maciulla wanders in and takes a look at the screen. He determines that I'm ok to go home. These contractions aren't severe enough yet and so I can go home! YAY! (He also reminds me that as we get closer, he won't be as tolerant...) :)

So anyway, the plan is to do these NSTs twice a week until I deliver! Woo hoo! What fun! Enjoy these (incredibly unflattering) pictures of my hot NST pose!

(I'm too sexy for my 4 monitors...too sexy for my monitors...)

Am I seriously still pregnant??

Ok, first of all, HOORAY for 31 weeks 2 days! That is a big feat in my world...and frankly, it's kind of the push behind this next blog entry....But first, let's take a little walk down memory lane....

Finding out we were pregnant with triplets was probably the most memorable day in my life. Unfortunately, that excitement and hope were literally immediately dampened with the "suggestion" that we not attempt to carry three babies. It was too dangerous...we could lose one or all of the babies....I'm too small...we could lose me...there are too many problems that can occur...etc. "Gee! What a way to kill our spirit! I understand the need for the medical profession to offer that opinion to us, but seriously could it have waited even until the next appt.??

Anyway, after 6 more weeks of sheer agony trying to figure out what the "right" decision to make was (despite the fact that with every beat of those three tiny hearts, the decision seemed to be making itself clearer and clearer to us.) I'm telling you, it's the worst kind of battle...your head vs. your heart. Well, obviously our hearts won. Whatever risks might come along with carrying triplets were ok with us. These three babies were put in our lives for a reason and who were we to decide any differently?

Back when all three babies could fit on the same screen....how precious are they??

So we braced ourselves for every "possible complication" in the book. (And there are quite a few, let me tell ya!) And then we began living one day at a time. Setting small, attainable goals for the pregnancy.

Getting past the first trimester?... Check!
Getting to week 20?.... Check!
Getting to week 27? ....Check!
Mom gaining weight?... Check! (45 pounds to date, by the way!)
Babies gaining weight? ....Check!
Mom's blood pressure in tact and ok?.... Check!
No stretch marks?.... Check! (Sorry, I had to throw that one in!)
Passed my glucose and all other blood work tests?....Check!
Get to week 30 and watch Dr. M. do a cartwheel?...Check!
(Well, he said he'd do it...we're still waiting.)

Literally, I have been blessed with an amazing triplet pregnancy.I have had no reason to complain.

Until now. Now I want to complain. Just a little. :) I am 31 weeks and 2 days pregnant and I now, I am tired. My body is tired. At my checkup last Thursday, Dr. Maciulla looks at me with admiration at how well I'm still doing and says, "How are you still pregnant???" Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me!! "BECAUSE YOU WON'T TAKE THESE BABIES OUT" I say! :) Now don't misunderstand me, I fully understand that the longer these babies can stay inside, the better off they will be. I do not want to harm them in any way. So we discuss the upcoming "delivery" whenever that shall be, and we decide that it would be a good time for me to start taking steroids....That's right, me and A-Rod! Except these steroids, he promises, will NOT make the babies or me look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Instead they will help complete the maturation process of the babies' lungs, should they be born early...(which they obviously will.) So I'm totally game for that! Whatever can be done to help those babies breathe on their own is a blessing. "So how do we do this," I ask?

"Well, unfortunately," says Dr. M. "it's a series of 4 shots in the butt." (pause, pause, pause...I think he was waiting for me to freak out.) Seriously? Just 4? Piece of cake...shots in the butt, as you'll all recall are old hat for us. The unfortunate part is that it's 4 shots, 12 hours apart, EACH.

Which meant the very next morning at 9:00, Friday, off I marched to UMC for shot #1. Then again at 9:00 that night. Again, 9:00 Saturday morning, and finally, 9:00 Saturday night. Aside from the benefits of the shot, several other good and interesting things came from these outings:

1. The first nurse to give me shot #1 ALSO has triplets (2 Boys and a girl) which she delivered at UMC, with Dr. M. at 34 weeks....coincidence? Who knows.... :) So it was fun to talk to her!

2. Brian discovered that Jimmy Johns, a local gourmet sandwich shop and some Barbecue Joint (the name is escaping me) delivers to UMC! Yahoo! Good information to know when you expect to be at the hospital for a while....

3. And weird of all weirdness...the night of shot #2, I check in and the very friendly Unit Coordinator, Abigail, runs my paperwork and hands it to the nurse in the next room..."Ok, you can go in now" she says! So in we go! The nurse hands me the paperwork and says check the label up top and make sure it's the right patient...I quickly scan the paperwork....Patient Name: BUNCH, AMY. "Yep! It looks good to me! Unless you care that my name is spelled A-M-I, not AMY" I say. "No prob says the nurse! We'll just make that change when we're done." Super! Well, good thing my trained observer of a husband was with me this time. Just as I'm getting ready to show night nurse #2 my bull tattoo, I hear Brian say, most inquisitively, "Um, should this be her birthdate?" To which the nurse replies, "Yes....is it not?" And now Brian, a little too excitedly I believe, says, "NOT EVEN CLOSE!" lol...This girl was born in 1986! Isn't he sweet? So anyway, he goes back out to try and clear things up and lo and behold, THERE IS ANOTHER AMY BUNCH in UMC, in the LABOR & DELIVERY wing right now!! Is that weird or what??

So anyhoo...just thought I'd share those coincidences! So the shots went very well....but unfortunately they make you have contractions...uugh. So to counter that, I'm also taking a medicine which stops contractions, and also lowers my blood pressure....super! And I don't think I mentioned that at the last appt. I was also encouraged to take an additional Iron Supplement to boost my red blood cell count or something. Well, Iron makes you constipated apparently, so with that I get to ALSO take a product which they disguise with a neat name called "Colase". Yeah, I now know that Colase is really a STOOL SOFTENER. ( i prefer the much more adult friendly term, Poopie softener). And TWICE a day, no less! So that brings my daily pill intake now to 7 pills a day! Yes!

L to R: Prenatal Vitamin, 2 poopie softeners, 1 Iron Supplement, 3 Nifedipine...

Well I don't know if it was a combination of all that, or just being 31 weeks pregnant, but Monday, for the first time in 31 weeks, felt like the beginning of the end for me. My ankles rivaled the great Redwood Tree Trunks...
I woke literally every hour to go pee and could not go back to sleep in between because of this, my friend the elephant, who has decided to take up residence on either my spine or my lungs when I'm trying to sleep! My belly felt like it added another 10 pounds overnight and it hurt...basically, for the first time, I felt miserable.

It was the first time I questioned whether or not I could make it to 34 weeks. So putting myself on bed rest wasn't even hard. Every ounce of my body ached and hurt and I couldn't take a deep breath....Poor Brian, god love, him practically carried me up the stairs to bed that night and the next as I cried uncontrollably trying to get comfortable....He even rearranged our living room and brought down one of the glider chairs in the hopes that maybe that would be a more comfortable place to spend the days...(and it has been). He has even unconsciously learned to push me up while in a deep slumber, when he senses my struggle in the middle of the night, trying to get get out of bed to go pee! Thank God for him...he is my knight for sure!

So let's end this on a positive note. I feel better today! A little more like my old self. I'm thinking we can make it a little farther once again...So please keep praying for me...pray that that elephant finds his way out of my bedroom and back to his own jungle! Cuz I've got babies to cook! :)

Just keep waiting...just keep waiting..

Ok, it's been a while. Time to play catch up again. So what's one to do while she waits for her babies to say they want out?? Well...here are just a few things that have been going on in our world!

1. AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE: My nesting has turned into a mild case of "what if I suddenly go into labor" panic which has caused me to start making Brian a list of the items that will need to come along with us to the hospital. I've taped it to the laundry room door, so it cannot be missed. Of course, my plan is to have all of the items already bagged and ready to go at a moment's notice so he WON'T have to think about it, but I know full well, that sometimes the best way to make God laugh is to tell him your plan. :) So I'm just covering my bases! I seriously even took a picture of the items that would still need to be added to the bag, even after I had packed it! OCD anyone? And I want to hear no chuckles...even my good friend Heather Chumbler suggested I bring the "getting ready items" such as hairdryers, etc.

2. BABY BOOK BONANZA: One of the other items on that list, (which I must thank my good friends Nicole, Anabelle and Heather for helping me compile) are their baby books so that their little tiny hand and footprints can be forever imprinted in their books! So last night, I sat on the couch, and began filling out the baby books. Let me tell ya, the first one was FUN! Second one, a bit redundant, but still fun. The third one, ok, I'm not gonna lie, kind of tedious!(A bit like teaching half day kindergarten...except this time, I have to do everything three times, not just two!) As I filled out their books I kept having flash forwards of enrolling my little trio in kindergarten and filling out three sets of enrollment paperwork, or going to the doctor's office and filling out three sets of patient information packets, etc. But even still, I LOVE IT! I cannot believe I am going to have three babies soon! I am so excited to meet them and get to know them and their personalities!

3. FLOATING: Well, I can't really call the next section "swimming" because I'd fear the references to the "Free Willy" movies of some years ago...so we'll more accurately call it "floating". Dr. M. has repeatedly suggested that one of the best things I can do for my back is float in a pool. Well, the pool is only about 40 degrees or so (not my idea of a relaxing float) so instead, my mom and dad graciously heat their jacuzzi to somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 degrees...(bath water, if you will). And I just go float! It's the only place where my body is weightless..and let me tell you, it feels wonderful! Until I have to get out....then it seriously feels like 9 pounds of brick just suddenly attaches itself to my waist. :) As you can see, Piper also enjoys the days we go float!

4. WAITING FOR DINNER: The next section I just find absolutely hilarious. Pregnant people like food. Yes? Yes. So not too long ago, Brian was in Phoenix and his mom sent him home with a frozen tater-tot casserole she'd made for us. Yum! Well Brian and I are not "Rachael Ray type cooks" where ya can just throw things together and figure out how to make it work and cook it so you don't get food poisoning, etc. Nope. Not us. We need explicit directions. So at about 8:30 that night, Brian and I decide to heat the casserole which was such a lifesaver because neither of us felt like cooking. "Put it in the oven for at least 45 minutes at 350 degrees." That's what Brian remembered. Sounds good to me! Well, long story short, it may have been more frozen that any of us thought, because seriously about 2 hours later, we were finally eating it! (It was pushing 11:00 at night!!) But when you're waiting for something you really, really want it feels SO much longer and all three of us were just sitting in the kitchen waiting for some sign of "done-ness." Let me tell ya, it was the tastiest dinner we'd ever eaten at 11:00 at night!

5. A TREAT FOR MY TOES: Finally, knowing that I cannot reach my own feet, my good friend Jen Corbelli took me out the other day and treated my toes and feet to a pedicure! A much needed one! It doesn't show up as well in the photos, but if you look closely, you will see that my toes are an AB pattern of Pink-Blue - Pink - Blue - Pink, etc. I'm really hoping they last until it's time to go to the hospital! I may have to go to Walgreens and buy myself some blue polish to do some touch-ups if need be! Either way, it was a very relaxing way to spend an hour...thanks Jen!!

Last week's belly...29W 6D :)

Touring Baby-Land at UMC!

Hello! So last night my sister Mary, my Mom, Brian and I (with 3 babies heavily in tow) set off for UMC to take the highly anticipated (and somewhat dreaded) Labor and Delivery tour! Don't get me wrong, being informed is GOOD, but having to now BE informed means that D-Day is drawing closer! And I'm not gonna lie, I am getting nervous!

So I took as many pictures as I could remember to take, but lets' be honest, remembering ANYthing these days is not my strong suit! All in all, everyone agreed that the tour was worthwhile and definitely not a waste of an hour and a half, BUT...let's just say that we were the oddballs in the group. Including us, there were 5 "families" there for the tour...not surprisingly, they were each only having ONE baby at a time! :) What a concept! And then there was us...

But let's just start at the beginning...for those who may end up coming to visit when babies are born...start by getting your self to UMC. (On Campbell, just North of Speedway). As you approach a small intersection light, (but just before you actually get to it) turn left so that you are driving right into the main entrance. If the picture below is what you see, then you went to the right spot!

After that you'll make a quick left and look for the parking booth attendant station up to the right...you'll need to get a ticket and let me offer you this advice, KEEP YOUR TICKET WITH YOU and GET IT STAMPED somewhere in the hospital!! Because when it's time for you to leave, if you don't get it stamped, you WILL have to pay or the "parking man" (thats a nicer version than what I usually call him) will NOT let you past his booth! Even if you have no money! And yes, I speak from experience!! But if you got your ticket stamped, then it's FREE! So remember that...Now, you have to find parking in what is a very precarious parking lot...If you can help it, drive the smallest car you own...you can park on the top level or drive down the ramps to find a spot. Wherever you end up, just walk out of the parking garage and go right up to the main entrance doors that you were looking at when you turned left into UMC.

I'll be on the 8th floor, to actually deliver the babies, (8th floor is where Labor and Delivery and the NICU are, )

but apparently the Maternity Ward and the "waiting room" (or the "Coke room") is on the 7th floor. (Those who will admit to having seen the movie "Knocked Up" may better understand the reference to the "Coke Room". ) Basically, if you're lost, just call out for my brother in law Emilio....that's definitely where he will be! So the 7th floor is where you would want to go. Plus, that's also where I'll stay for the few days following the C-Section. You can stand around and look at other people's babies in the regular Newborn Nursery if the blinds happen to be open. It's just a few feet from the "coke room".

I still don't have all the answers yet about how many people can visit our BABIES at one time...all I know so far is that no children are allowed and you can only enter the NICU with either Brian or me. So don't just plan on showing up till I get some more info on that for ya! (Unless you're there to visit just ME because then the regulations are much more relaxed! )Anyhoodle...let's talk about the tour...

As I have mentioned before, I am having a C-Section. Period. End of story. Not up for discussion. So the part of the tour that included information on "laboring..." really didn't apply to us. I started to feel like that annoying student in your class that won't stop asking questions and trying to make everything all about HER! For instance, the tour would go something like this:

Tour Guide: And you'll begin your laboring process in an LDR room. Which stands for Labor, Delivery and Recovery. You can expect it to take anywhere from 13 to 24 hours...

Me: Excuse me, knowing that I will not be "laboring" per se, where will I have my babies?

Tour Guide: Well, they'll have everything already set up for you so you won't be in these rooms.

Me: Ok, thanks.

Tour Guide: (To group) Now, after you deliver your babies, they will take them right over to here to check them out (in the same room, one isolette for baby, literally only feet from mom's bed.) and then hand the baby back to you.

Me: Excuse me, will I get to see MY babies after they're born or will they be immediately whisked off to the NICU?

Tour Guide: That's a good question...your babies will not be in the same room with you... :(

Tour Guide: (To Group) Make sure on discharge day, that you have seen the Birth Certificate Lady and filled out all the right paperwork...

Me: Now, do mean on the day that MOM gets discharged or the baby, because our babies will be staying longer than I will....

Ok so you kinda get the idea right?...the tour goes on, and don't get me wrong, I find it all very fascinating, just not necessarily 100% applicable to US! She showed us all kinds of nifty things that I found just generally interestering, but in my head I'm wondering why we even bothered. I wanted to ask so many other questions, but I decided against it after I realized that our family was literally the only ones asking questions and we were asking ones our tour guide didn't necessarily have the answers for.

For instance, she showed us the monitor "moms" wear on their belly that gives a reading of baby's heartbeat while in labor and I wanted to know if theoretically, I would wear 3 of those? She showed us the nasal aspirator (or booger catcher as I prefer to call it) and told us that each new mom would be shown how to use it appropriately and would then get to take it home. I wanted to know if we would get to take home 3 of them! (My mom was wondering the same thing! She mouthed the question to me from across the room!) :) Good, at least it wasn't just me...She talked about the heartbeat monitors that the nurses watch constantly in the nursing station and showed us what each line means and where to look for the baby's heartrate. I wanted to know if all three babies of ours would be on the same screen or would we take up 3 different screens entirely? Anyway...you get the idea. So many questions still lingered in my brain, but I decided against asking all of them for fear she might snap at me! (Brian, God bless him, looked at it entirely different. He says he thinks she was feeling bad that she didn't have more answers for us, particularly since we were the ones with the most questions!)

She DID show us the outside of the NICU and made a point to show that to us, which was nice!

She also told us that we could schedule a tour of JUST the NICU if we wanted to. (HELLO?? Why didn't someone tell us that earlier?!) So we're going to try and do that soon...

So anyway, it was a fun night...my favorite part was stopping in front of the regular Newborn Nursery and looking at the babies. In fact, there, in front of us, were three little babies, each in their own little bassinets...nothing spectacular really until we realized that OH MY GOSH, that is going to be US! All three of those babies will be ours! Wow! Simply amazing!

So that's all for this entry I think...Keep your fingers crossed that those babies will keep on cooking! A few more weeks is all we need! :)

And don't worry, if I should suddenly go into labor, I will make sure that I post a quick blog to let you all know! (Or maybe I should teach Brian or my mom or Mary how to do it...) Either way, I won't let you down!

Seriously...I have no shame :)

See what happens when you're prohibited from doing anything substantial?? YOU DRAW ALL OVER YOUR YOURSELF!! Kinda reminds me of the 8th dwarf...Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, Doc, Sneezy, Bashful, and....BELLY! I think I miss kindergarten.... :)