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! :)

28 Weeks and 8 pounds of baby! Yahoo!

Well, yesterday was our monthly formal ultrasound appt. (the one where we measure every body part known to man (or baby)! And again, I cannot believe how lucky we have been...I am 28 weeks pregnant and everything is still going so well! I literally hold my breath when Casey, (our favorite sonographer) measures all the baby parts and then inputs all the measurements to come up with the babies' weight....I get so nervous that I didn't eat enough through the month, I didn't get them enough nutrients, etc....but apparently, they're doing ALL RIGHT! She measured Colton first , then Ethan and then Princess Hunter! This is how they stack up at 28 W.

Colton was 2 lbs. 13 oz. (a gain of 1 lb. 6 oz.)
Ethan also weighs 2 lbs. 13 oz. (a gain of 1 lb. 4 oz.)
Hunter weighed in at a dainty 2 lbs. 5 oz. (a gain of 1 lb.)

(Never you worry though, even though Hunter is smaller, she's still right on track! Brian is very thankful that Hunter is dainty like her mommy and not dainty like her daddy! :) I suppose he's got a point there!

And mommy currently weighs in at 138 lbs. (for a total gain of 39 lbs.) :)

Once again, there's Jag, right at my feet! It's as if he's looking up saying "WHOA mom! What happened to your belly??"

This is Brian and Me (with the three babies clearly in tow) at my dad's 60th birthday party!

Below is a shadow box I made for my dad. The hats are the ones we gave him on Christmas as a sign that his deep down wish for a granddaughter had come true. Up to that point he thought he was getting three grandsons....until he opened the small gift box with 2 blue hats AND a PINK ONE! So we snuck those hats out of the box which he keeps safely at his office and made them into a nice display!

All of their hearts looked strong and were beating very well. They are getting so much bigger that it is really hard to get good profile shots anymore! Colton was facing my spine so we couldn't get a look at his lip or palate today. Ethan was still rolled up into a ball, and apparently, those bullies of brothers had their little sister pushed up into the upper left corner of my belly! Man! I'm not worried about her though, she seems like a tough little cookie!

As for the ever lingering question...when will we see these little people in person?? My best answer is that it remains to be seen...My cervix is still nice and thick, the babies still have good fluid in their sacs, I have not yet had a single contraction, the babies seem to be enjoying their cozy belly quarters and my health continues to be very good. Soo.....all we can do is wait! I still absolutely want to make it 30 weeks, and we've been told that the doc will likely not keep them in past 34 or 35 weeks, so maybe we meet in the middle and shoot for 33 weeks?? (Which would be the week of March 23. Though for all my Vail SD friends, it would sure be nice if I delivered them while they're on a 2 week break, so I'll see what I can do! :) Maybe I'll put up a new poll and we can all guess when we think we'll get the green light for Delivery Week! :)

So where are new pictures of the babies you ask?? Ok. Seriously, I contemplated posting the ones we got, (there were 5, I believe.) But honestly, I was very present at the ultrasound and I still cannot figure out what is what in ANY of the pictures! Remember how I said they're getting too big to be recognizable in photo? Well, the lack of posted photos is a testament the truth of that statement. I can just picture all of you and what you'd be doing if I did post them. Heads turned to the right, then to the left, then getting up close to your screens, and then maybe farther away...and STILL having NO clue what you're looking at. So I'll spare you the torture. Instead I'll put up some pics from my dad's 60th birthday party! After all, the babies WERE there! They even played their first game of Pictionary (Ellen DeGeneres style...on easels!!) So fun!

Lookin' like little people! 23W 4D old!

Brian and me (and our sonographer) at UMC....Pretty certain this is the most UN-flattering picture I've posted of myself on this blog yet. Oh well...it is what it is, right??

So at this point, I am still not on official bed rest of any kind. I have put myself on "limited feet rest." (Which to me means, I try to limit the time I spend on my feet each day. )And wow, does it help! I go see my doctor at UMC every 2 weeks for a basic check-up...blood pressure, I pee on a stick to check my glucose level and go through the battery of basic questions..."Any contractions yet?" No... "Any pains?" No....etc. Then we do an ultrasound to make sure all hearts are beating and babies are moving!

Then once a month, we do what is called a formal ultrasound. These appointments generally take a little longer, as we basically move from baby to baby to baby measuring head circumference, belly circumference, femur measurements, arm bone (shoulder to elbow) , look at heart chambers, check blood flow around each cord, look to make sure they are still boys (or girls!) :) etc. From there, they are able to give us a fairly accurate picture of how big each baby is.

So last Friday, we had a formal ultrasound, and it was wonderful! All three babies look great! Colton's cleft palate was a little easier to see, but we are no longer stressed about that. Everything else looks just fine and that is most important! They are MOVERS! It's such fun to watch them turn and somersault, etc. This time, our sonographer was able to capture some really GREAT profile pictures! Which of course, I am going to share with you all! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

COLTON SAMUEL

1 lb. 9 oz.

152 heartbeats per minute!

ETHAN BRADLEY

1 lb. 7 oz.

149 heartbeats per minute

HUNTER OLIVIA

1 lb. 5 oz.

147 heartbeats per minute

(While we watched, Hunter literally folded herself in half! That is her knee joint in front of her nose! )

We're getting BIGGER! :) 19 weeks 4 days old...

Sorry, these have to be my worst "pictures of pictures" ever....I'll try to redo them and make them more "visually appealing!" But for now, here are the Bunch Babies' most recent mug shots! They are 19 weeks and 4 days old in these pictures! Oh and good news everyone! The 3rd crib is in transit and should be here no later than Wed. December 23rd! Hooray!

COLTON SAMUEL, 10 oz.

This is my hand! "Give me five!"

This is Colton's profile..hard to make out, I know....his head is at the bottom right!

ETHAN BRADLEY, 11 oz.
He's the one on the right...That's someone else's head on the left...and someone else's something above! I'm telling you, it's a mixed bag of baby parts in there! Hard to tell what belongs to whom sometimes!

HUNTER OLIVIA, 11 oz.
I love this picture! She's on her back with her feet in the air, pointing with both hands down towards her....well, you know. Almost as if to say, "LOOK! I'm a GIRL!"

Alanis Morrisette said it best....

Hello friends and family! (our fans, as Brian likes to think). It's Saturday, December 20 and wow, what a day it has turned out to be! This blog turned out to be much longer than I had anticipated, but PLEASE READ TO THE END! IT WILL BE WORTH IT, I PROMISE!!!

So I am officially a "stay-at-home mom" now. And frankly, I don't know if I like it! Teaching is all I have known for the past 8 years...I do kindergarten! That's what I do! Now what?? Clean? Bake? (Yeah right...) Ah yes, find a job I can do from home and work on hatching my three little babies! Thursday was my last day of school with my funny little kindergarten friends and when they left, I felt somewhat lost...but also relieved that I would finally have the opportunity to stay home and be off my feet all day, because let me tell ya, this belly isn't gettin' any smaller! To say my back has been aching at the end of the day would be a vast understatement. I felt better about the decision when I went to visit my favorite funny man doctor at UMC later that day and he confirmed the absolute need for me to have ceased working for a while...so for now, I will live out my kindergarten life vicariously through Mary, Michele and Anabelle...I even promised to all their busy work from my couch!

But ahh, I digress. Remember the title of this blog? About Alanis Morissette? And how she said it best? Yes, well, let's get to that. I'm thinking specifically of one song, that I don't hear as often any more, but often enough that it immediately came to mind at about 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday....let's all sing along.

The title is "Ironic"...here are the lyrics...

An old man turned ninety-eight, He won the lottery and died the next day
Its a black fly in your chardonnay
Its a death row pardon two minutes too late
Isnt it ironic... dont you think?
Chorus:
Its like rain on your wedding day
Its a free ride when you've already paid
Its the good advice that you just didnt take
Who wouldve thought... it figures
Mr. play it safe was afraid to fly.
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye.
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
Well isnt this nice...And isnt it ironic... dont you think?
Repeat chorus
Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everythings okay and everythings going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everythings gone wrong and everything blows upIn your face
A traffic jam when youre already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
Its like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
Its meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isnt it ironic... dont you think? A little too ironic... and yeah I really do think...
Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

So I'm sure you're now asking, "Ok Ami, how exactly does this song apply to you?" Ahh, let me tell you. And if you happen to be standing up right now, please, I'll give you a minute to go ahead and find your seat.....Ok, good. Let's continue. This Wednesday, at school I was absolutely blessed by my 2 kindergarten classes and the Cottonwood Staff with three separate BABY SHOWERS! So adorably decorated with BLUE, BLUE and more BLUE! We received over 2,700 diapers to get Brian and I started on our stinky journey with the 3 Bunch Boys. The generosity people showed was just overwhelming! People making handmade, personalized gifts for little Colton, Ethan and Hunter.... blankets, t-shirts, picture frames, necklaces, etc.) I was just so moved....(The 4th picture down shows the personalized gifts....)

And then we went to another formal ultrasound yesterday at 1:30...(formal meaning they measure every body part, find the weight, etc.) And my goodness, those are 3 very busy boys I've got in there! Let's just say they lost their hard earned title as being "very cooperative little boys!" When you want to see a face, they show you a butt, when you need an arm bone, they give you a leg! Ahh, boys.

And then we received some momentarily scary news...you know that feeling when the sonographer leaves the room abruptly and comes back with the doctor and they both peer at the screen? Yes, that's what happened. My heart immediately sank...what was wrong? What are we looking at? Turns out, Baby A (Colton) likely has a bilateral cleft lip and palate. (Bilateral meaning both sides of the nose...Whew! Ok, that I can handle! Apparently all babies start out with cleft palates and lips and they eventually fuse, but in Colton's case, they have not yet. But that is a problem that is easily fixed with surgery and one which can be done early on. It will no doubt make my heart skip a beat when we see it for the first time, but that's ok. He's our baby boy and we love him more than we knew we could already. So please include Colton specifically in your prayers. Thankfully, other than that, everything looks just fine with all three babies!

They weigh 10 oz., 11 oz., and 11oz. ("Big heads and big bellies", she said!) Hmm....my finger is pointing at Brian right now! (I took the credit for the ears we saw on one of the babies...he owned up to the big head and belly part.)

So anyway, we thought we were wrapping things up at our ultrasound, when the sonographer asked us, "So do you have names picked out yet?" "Of course we do!" I say..."Colton, Ethan and Hunter!" She liked our choices! And then, she made another quick look at each baby and as she got to Baby C, and did that same kind of "paused.." look at the screen, my heart started beating quickly again. "Oh God...more bad news." I thought.

And then she says calmly, I think Baby C is a Girl."........

WHAT?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN C IS A GIRL?? He can't be a girl! I just had 3 baby showers 2 days ago and got so much stuff for three BOYS!!" (Now do you see where Alanis Morrisette's 'Ironic' comes in???) Just for confirmation, we called Dr. Funny Man back in and yes, all 4 of agreed that C's parts do NOT look like A and B's parts. As Dr. M. put it, "Well, either she's a girl, or a very disappointing boy." hee hee...Now I'm gonna be honest, this WAS the original "Perfect Scenario" for us....2 boys and a girl. But when you get your heart set on 3 boys and you plan everything for 3 boys, (and you HOT GLUE letters to your babies' nursery saying "BABY BOYS") , it takes a moment to re-adjust. I looked at Brian, and said "Am I happy about this?" And the obvious answer from him was "YOU BET!" OMG! A girl!!

To everyone who gave us baby boy stuff, I want you to know that not one bit of it will go to waste! We'll obviously be making some "readjustments" to the nursery, etc. and the name thing is a topic that keeps coming up....Originally, we were going to call a baby girl Berklea or Olivia...but we have so many cute things already made for Hunter....(and it would feel kind of strange to have Hunter sort of disappear....SOOoo...

Though I cannot confirm with 100% certainty just yet, (and I would not recommend having anything embroidered just yet) I believe, we will call our new Baby Girl

Hunter Olivia Bunch

We realize it's more of a boy name, but in the time span of 1 day, we have recalled the famous supermodel Hunter Tylo, as well as about 6 separate friends who each have female friends named Hunter. Hmm? It is kind of cute, we think. And frankly, as she grows up, if she decides she hates being called Hunter, she can go by Olivia instead :) But for now, I think we've just introduced the world to our baby girl Hunter. :) (Much like Baby Girl Chandler for all my F*R*I*E*N*D*S watching friends!)

So go ahead, take a day to absorb that, and tomorrow I'll put up some ultrasound photos! Take care!

3 DUDES & a DIVA for a Mom!

Well, this has been a BIG day in the Bunch household! Went to our first "formal" ultrasound (yes, the other 80 were informal :) )where we measured all their heads, their arm bones, leg bones, brains, etc. and thus far, everything looks GREAT! No red flags, nothing to be alarmed about! Yay! Very exciting! But if you didn't get it from the title of today's blog, the most exciting news is of course, I remain the PRINCESS of my household, as Brian and I are having THREE BOYS! That's right! What do they say? Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails? Well, we're gonna have lots of that! As you can all imagine, Brian is elated and very proud! (Mainly proud that his sons' penises are already SO visible at 15W 4D.... :) But I am also VERY excited! Up until just recently in fact, I was the only one, out of 52 voters who voted that the babies would be 3 boys! Hmm....is that a mother's intuition or what? Anyhoo...I am going to spend the next few months online learning how to play football, soccer, baseball, how to hunt, build tree houses, dig for earth worms in the backyard, catch frogs, ride skateboards, etc. And I couldn't be more excited! So for all my friends with boys, (Dawn Ball, my fellow mother of 3 boys, you in particular) please feel free to send me boy tips! So finally, the planning can really begin....for those who are wondering, the names we are going with are A.) Colton Samuel B.)Ethan Bradley and C.)Hunter Jackson (Oh and both babies A and B weigh 5 ounces and Baby C weighs 6 ounces! ) Hmm...I just had a thought, does this mean I should stop calling them A, B, and C? Now that they can have real people names?? Hmm...something to think about. So anyway, our lives are about to change, dramatically! And as I look to the future, I chuckle at the thought of my loving brute of a husband toting his 3 triplet boys into the bathroom at Disneyland, and teaching them how to pee in a toilet, and ahh, the three weddings that I will NOT have to pay for..... :) Life is Good. :) So anyway, I'm sure there's more I'm missing and I will probably come back and add more later, but I just wanted to get this up and running for all to enjoy with us!

This is Baby A's uhh, "member"... (ok, actually I THINK this is the picture of the penis. I'm not positive.) We literally had about 50 pictures taken and she didn't print all of them...but A was definitely a boy!) I tried to upload his profile picture but it would only let me upload 5 pictures at a time! Bummer!!

Below is Baby B's profile and below that is his "twig." Look to the image on the left, it's the little "stick" thingy between the two bigger knees or whatever those are!"

And there's no mistaking this one for sure! This is Baby C's profile and below that is his little butt, 2 legs and his dinker! Poor kid! That picture is sure to surface later on in life!

Sometimes it's good to be boring.

Ok, so we went for our 2nd appt. today at our UMC doctor! And yes, rest assured everyone, the 2nd visit was every bit as entertaining as the first! The Dr. saw us coming down the hallway, and puts both of his hands over his eyes as if to say, "Oh god, them again." To which I responded... "We're baaack!" And as he sees Brian, (he called him the bear last week, remember) he calmly and quietly says to a nurse who was sitting outside the sonogram room, "Don't turn around. It's behind you." :) Obviously all of this was in jest. How could he NOT be happy to see us and our 3 sac circus act? (Which, we are quickly realizing we are!) We checked in at the front desk and the woman said, "Oh yeah, you're the ones with the triplets! Marybeth, look, they're the ones with triplets!" But we're cool with it! After all, we were as surprised as anyone when this "turn of events" came our way!

So anyway, here's the weekly scoop! Everything looks great! The babies, though we actually did not get a measurement are CLEARLY bigger than last week. (Which was likely apparent to anyone who has seen ME in the past few days! My belly seems to have taken on a life of its own!) Their features are all more defined. You can see facial features, fingers, bones in fingers, etc. Their brain membranes look great and all three babies are movers and shakers! We were again assured, "Oh yeah, you're having 3 babies!" We're looking at a 30 week delivery, which is a little scary for me, but I am assured that they will be just fine living in the nursery for a little while. So for those who are trying to quickly do that math, 30 weeks is March 2. Quite a bit earlier than May 11, but keep in mind that that estimate/goal is only 2 weeks earlier than the average triplet delivery. (That makes it sound less scary!) But obviously, if I can keep cooking them a little longer than that, then that's what we'll do! But because of my size, that's the goal for now!

However, after about 20 minutes of looking at all the babies, over and over again, the Dr. said, "Well, I'm bored." Glad you're doing well, but I'm bored!" (Which is a great thing, don't forget, when you are having 3 babies...at the same time!) This is one time I was excited and relieved to be told I'm boring! Woo hoo!

So anyhoo, different doctor, different methods of taking pictures of babies! So I unfortunately do not have individual shots of Baby A, B and C. But I'm posting the ones I have! They're still cute as ever! Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite pictures! This is Baby B. We figure he or she is either sweet as a bug or is the trouble child! He's either sucking his thumb or putting his thumb on his nose as if to say, "Na Ne Na Ne Boo Boo!"

We're not sure which baby this is...it's kind of a jumble nowadays. There's not a lot of free space in there! If you really look closely, you can see facial features on this one!

And this is all three HEADS. (and parts of their bodies.) We wanted to make sure to show off their exceptional brain membranes! So please enjoy them! :)

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.