Update~

Warning- This is long!

Well, I know I have said this time and again, but it's amazing what a week and a half can bring- or a day in our case!  A week and a half ago, we went to Memphis for what we thought was a routine appointment.  I wasn't feeling really well that morning, so I called Andy to see if his mother would mind riding with us just in case they kept me.  I knew he'd have to come home to work, and I didn't want him riding home by himself.  She was up to Oxford in a jiffy, and we were on our way.  They did the sonogram, and our babies looked precious.  They had grown so much!  The sonographer asked if I'd been having contractions, and I didn't think I had- but little did I know!  I just told them I'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions.  Haaa!  I've never been pregnant, so I have no idea what any of these things mean!  Ended up, I was having real contractions every 3-7 minutes, and I was actually very uncomfortable.  At this point in time, however, I do feel like my pain tolerance is a tad bit higher, so I was trying not to let them bother me.  The doctor then broke the news to us that  we'd for sure be staying, and we'd be getting the steroid shots (thankfully) to boost the trips' lung growth and starting on Magnesium to stop the contractions.   We knew this was coming, and we thought we were prepared.  I thought, "oh- this will be a piece of cake."  Right.  Surprisingly, I took the news pretty well and didn't even freak out in the office.  I just waited until I got in the car and spoke to my mother until the tears came.  I was scared to death.  In a way, I was relieved because I felt safe being in Memphis.  They wouldn't let Andy or his mother come with me to the hospital room at first, so I was there for around 15 minutes by myself, and this is when the real tears came.   I sat on the bed in a fetal position and wept and prayed for me and for our babies, literally.  It was scary, and I didn't know what was about to happen.  I'm positive the nurse that came in thought I needed to be in a mental ward. Thankfully, as lonely and as scared as I was in that 15 or so minutes, God granted me peace, as only He can.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they let Andy and his mother back, and the real fun began.  If you're not familiar with the effects magnesium can have on the human body, let me familiarize you.  It's AWFUL!  I've never been that sick in my life.  It should only be used to torture those on death row.  I know that sounds harsh, but it is terrible.  They had told me not to eat anything from the doctor's office to the hospital, which is maybe 2 minutes.  However, I took a large swig of some Gatorade.  Mistake number one, if you can only imagine.  Not only that, but my whole body felt as if I was on fire on the inside and outside.  I was on this drug from Monday at 7 p.m until Thursday at 7 a.m., and I've never watched the clock so much.  The steroid shots were a piece of cake compared to the Mag.  However, as awful as it was, it did stop the contractions for a while.  While on the Mag, I also started having bladder spasms, which hurt like the dickens.  Thankfully, Andy's mother stayed with me, and God bless her.  She was a saint.  I never dreamed my mother in law would have to help me get sick- and worse- but she was a trooper.   We're pretty tight, and her patience is something I covet.   Poor Andy had to leave the room.  I worry about him watching a c-section!  Please start praying for this now!   My mother arrived on Wednesday night, and it felt good to have her there too.   She definitely crawled in the bed with me and held me.  It was pretty wonderful.

 After being on the Mag, I was still contracting, so the doctor wasn't comfortable moving me to the Ante-Partum wing of the hospital.  I was in Labor and Delivery, where they check on you, thankfully, every 20 minutes.  Finally, on Thursday night, the contractions subsided enough that the doctor agreed to move us to Ante-Partum only if my nurse would move with me- she was wonderful!  Ante- Partum is a whole lot more relaxed because they let you sleep.  They're not in and out of your room constantly.  I continued to contract, and still am, but my doctors say this is expected with triplets.  Despite being in the Ante-Partum wing, I didn't have wheel chair privileges, so my outings were few and far between.  On this past Monday, we got go down the hall to get a sonogram, and they weighed the babies!  We are so thankful for their growths!!!  A was 3lbs 10oz; B was 3lbs 5oz; and C was 3lbs 7oz!  Praise God for their growth!  Our girl grew 12 ounces in 2 weeks, and baby boy B grew 10 ounces in two weeks, and baby boy C grew 8 ounces in 2 weeks.  This is amazing!  They all looked beautiful too.  Once again, God took care of them.  While on the Mag, I wasn't able to eat from Monday night until Thursday morning and was being kept hydrated by a drip.  I had lost 3 pounds as well.  I was worried to death that the babes would not have gained weight, or worse, would have lost weight.  All the while, our God was keeping the trips healthy and growing!  Praise Him!  Another outing they let me have was to tour the NICU.  I am so thankful for this opportunity, but it was possibly one of the scariest places I've ever been.  The whole time Mrs. Meg (Andy's mother) and I were touring, all I could keep telling myself was, "please don't start crying, please don't start crying!"  I am so very thankful for such a wonderful place, but it is so very scary.  I was very impressed with the nurses and the doctors.  The whole environment is meant to mimic the womb.  The NICU was dark and very quiet, and every baby is curled up in a fetal position in its incubator, and that is then covered with a fleece blanket to keep their environments dark.  It was all very interesting, and I am thankful that our sweet babies will hopefully be under the careful watch of these wonderful people.  I think the scariest part was actually seeing how small 3 pounds really is.  We saw a baby that weighed 3 pounds, 2 ounces, and he was precious and SOOO tiny.  We are very blessed our babies have hit the 3 pound mark, but it is still scary.   Please continue to pray for growth  and development.  The babies are not able to come home based on weight, but on brain development.  They have to be able to suck, keep themselves warm, and have brain development.  Please pray for all of these!

So, where are we now?  My doctor felt at ease enough to send us home last night (Wednesday) after a week and a half in the hospital.  He performed a fetal fibronectin test which indicates if I could go into labor in the next two weeks.  Thankfully, it came back negative, but we know things can change in an instant.  I was not comfortable at all with this decision, but I must remind myself that the Lord knows exactly what He is doing, and my doctor is a whole lot smarter than I am.  Apparently, our insurance people are not pregnant with triplets and think we are fine at home.  As I said earlier, I am still contracting, but it's expected.  Right now, my uterus is holding over 10 pounds of baby and 15 or so pounds of placenta, amniotic fluid, etc.  So, no wonder I feel as if they could drop out at any second, but God has remained so faithful to let them stay put.  I'm now on extra doses of meds to stop contractions, as well as more blood thinner shots.  My poor arms look as if I've been tortured.  Like I've said, we are scared to death, but I know that our God is in control and has been since the beginning.  He has formed these babies in me and already knows them and their every movement.  Praise Him for that.  Please be praying that this would not be an emergency situation, and that we can schedule something in Memphis to be near the NICU.  Please be in prayer for all of my doctors- here and in Memphis.  They are prepared if anything happens here, but the babies would more than likely have to be transported to a nearby NICU in Tupelo or Memphis.  Praise God for smart people that are good at their professions- i.e.- doctors.  Praise Him for their weights.   Praise Him for 30 weeks, 5 days!  Praise Him that we got the steroid shots.  Please pray for Andy as he continues to work and support all of us.  Praise Him for mother-in-laws and parents that take good care of us, as well as precious friends!  Please pray that God would grant us the peace that passes all understanding as we are absolutely nervous as can be.  It's super easy to cry right now, so please pray that God would control my hormones!  The babies don't need to be startled as of now.  Pray that the babes would stay put a few more weeks in order to develop/ gain weight.  Pray that God would be preparing our hearts and minds to be the parents that He wants us to be.  We have a huge responsibility set before us!  Thank you all for your prayers over the past week and a half, especially when we thought that the babies would be coming in the next few days.  Praise Him that He has remained faithful, even when we are scared to death.  Please continue to pray!  To God be the glory~

Maggie

Update

Our new home is now Baptist Hospital for Women in Memphis. Please pray that contractions stop! We were thankful to get the steroid shots earlier in the week. I will try to give a detailed update soon! Please keep us all in your prayers! Thankful God is in control!

Maggie

Update!

We are so thankful for another good report!  God has, once again, poured out his blessings to us!  We've made it to 28 weeks, 6 days!  Praise God!  We had a great appointment on Monday in Memphis and yesterday, here in Oxford!  The babies are growing, growing, growing!  Baby A weighed in at 2 pounds, 14 ounces; B was 2 pounds, 11 ounces; and C was 2 pounds 15 ounces!  They are all above the average percentile of what a single baby is at this point in time.  I've said this before, but the percentiles make no sense to me (I'm not a numbers person), but I'm so thankful that our babies are in high percentiles!  They are each bigger than what a single baby would be at this time as well!  Our sonograms are getting harder and harder for the sonographer to perform because baby parts are everywhere!  It's so neat!  We'll see arms and legs everywhere, and occasionally their precious faces!  We did get to see their faces on Monday, and they are just perfect!  Baby A is still Andy.  She looks likes his sister's children, and she is just darling.  In fact, she may look like him, but she may act more like me.  (She's kinda sassy!)  She did NOT want us to bother her at all on Monday.  The sonographer would press down on her, and she literally turned her little lips upside down into a frown.  I swear she would have started crying if that was possible inside.  She was MAD!  We couldn't quit laughing, and the more we laughed, the more she frowned.  I think she knew we were laughing.  We're really gonna have it in for us with this one!  A is now breech, so she is literally kicking me in my leg.  I know that sounds crazy, but she is.  Our sweet B was darling as well!  He is the only one who is not breech.  He is literally on my left side, almost to my back.  All of the babies love my left side.  I look like a wop-sided whale as of now.   Our B is fascinated with his hands, and so is his mama.  I love seeing their fingers and toes and cannot wait to kiss all of them.  B is more of a mover than he used to be, and I love it.  Our precious C gave us a smile, and it melted our hearts.  B and C were hanging out more this time.  Usually, A and B are right beside each other, but girlfriend decided to go breech on us.  C's little smile was just perfect.  B and C are still looking more like my family, mainly my sister's children.  It's weird how these children look so much like our sisters' children.  I know they'll change one thousand times, but it sure is fun right now to see who they look like!  These babies are such miracles, and we are so blessed!  My cervix also measured well this time.  It had shortened some since the last visit, but the doctor was OK with it.  The measurements were 3.7 and 2.8 with pressure.  I have started having more and more contractions, which is expected.  They aren't the most wonderful things, and they scare the mess out of Andy and me.   However, God has granted us the grace to deal with them.  We were thankful they sent us home once again!  They tell us as long as we're doing alright here, they will continue to send us home.  My doctors have said that they would be so pleased if we could get to 32 weeks, and ecstatic if we could get to 34 weeks.  God willing, we will.   They do think that we will eventually go into the hospital early, but we'll see. Once they do decide to put me in the hospital, they will start steroid shots, which I am anxious for them to start.  I have to trust that my doctors know way  more than I do in this area, and thankfully the Lord is in control of all of this!  So, I am back in bed, just eating and sleeping, and trying to enjoy the last few weeks of relaxation.  I continue to get my weekly progesterone shots (pictured below) and take more medicines daily than an eighty year old (no offense to anyone that takes tons of meds)!  I have gotten carpel tunnels- crazy- which makes me feel way older than I am, but something so trivial will be well worth it in order to get these sweet miracles here healthy.  I am sporting some super cute braces on my wrists, but I'm thankful they are working.   Not only that, but we are GROWING!  In fact, Andy took a picture of my stomach yesterday during the sonogram, and I knew it was enormous, but not that huge.  In one word, we're just giant.  We get really tickled because I look mighty disproportional because they are all on my left.  I would post the stomach pic, but I'll save you a laugh, or two!

The Weekly Progesterone Shot

So many people have asked if we're scared, and the answer in one word, is YES!  I can't imagine what we're about to experience, and I have a large imagination!  As I've said before, I don't think all of the reading and preparing could ever get us ready for this adventure.  I do feel confident, though, that the Lord will take care of us.  This doesn't mean that I don't expect rough and sleepless nights, because I do.  But  on those nights, I do expect to use the patience that God has granted me during bed rest.  We know this isn't going to be a walk in the park, but God willing, we will make it through it!  As I've said, we are literally scared to death, but we're also more excited than we've ever been!  I can't wait to see how these babies will interact with us, or how they'll react to our voices.  We act like idiots when we talk to them, and they really do kick, so we think they like it.  I've never felt so close to three people in my life, and at the same time, so scared!  We pray every day that God would make us the parents that He wants us to be.  Please pray for us as well!

Again, Andy and I can't thank you all enough for your thoughts and prayers!  It's absolutely amazing how kind and generous everyone has been to us!  We would not have gotten this far without the prayers and support of people like you.  Almost every night, we have a warm meal, either from our church or from a friend or from a neighbor.  Every week, a precious friend cleans our house.  Almost every weekend, someone comes up to help.  Almost every day, sweet friends just drop by to see us.  It's unbelievable.  We have truly seen the family of God come together for us in a way like I've never seen.  It brings tears to my eyes as I write this.  And, every one of these people truly cares for us and these babies.  So, you ask, "how will we get through this?"  And, the answer is through prayers from people like you.  We can't wait to introduce you to A, B, and C.

 Please continue to pray for us- for consistent growth rates for everyone.  Please pray for my cervix to stay long.  Please pray for a peace that passes all understanding for Andy and me.  Like I've said, we're so excited, but we realize what a responsibility the Lord is giving us.  Please pray for us as we prepare for these sweet babies.  Please pray for God to calm my nerves.  I made a mistake and watched a c-section on You Tube.  YIKES.  Please pray for these babies to be healthy spiritually and physically.  Please pray for the things for which I don't even know to pray- if that makes sense! And, thank you all for your prayers!

To God be the glory...

Maggie

So Thankful!

Once again, God has been so gracious to us and these sweet miracles!  We had a great report this past Monday in Memphis!  The babies, as always, were precious, and to our naked eyes, looked as if they had grown.  (They only weigh them every other week).  My cervix had lengthened back out- Praise God!  They measured it three different times- 3.6 with pressure; 3.7; and 4.2!  It had gone up from 2.9!  We are so very thankful!  Such an answer to your earnest prayers!  We ended up not having to stay in Memphis, so I am back at home for at least another week!  They also performed another test on my cervix to predict if I could possibly go into labor in the next two weeks, and thankfully, it came back negative!  Again, God has been so very good to us, and we are so thankful!  As always, the babies were precious, and they are getting fat on their cheeks, so they look really cute- and actually more like babies!  I absolutely cannot wait to kiss and squeeze all over their sweet cheeks.  Our Baby A must have been tired on Monday.  Remember, she has it a tad bit rough because she is on the bottom.  She was curled up in a ball and, as usual, did not want us to take her picture.  However, we got it anyway!  She even has the same little pouty lips that Andy has!  She is just too cute!   She is literally pushing down on me, and I feel as if she could come out at any time.  My doctors assure me that I'll know if she is coming. Sure hope so!  :) Sweet Baby B was right on top of her.  I can already tell they may fuss one day.  Our little B may be an agitator!  Ha!  He was trying to kick her, but no worries, she'd get him back and get right back in her ball.  He was precious, and he may end up being a tad bit more spunky than we have been thinking.  Surely one of these sweet babies will be laid back!  Just kidding.  With Andy and me as their parents, they're bound to be full of energy.  Yikes.  Precious Baby C had the most room in the pack as of Monday.  He is still right under my right rib/ heart.  Super comfy- at least for him!  :)  He is still all about that little thumb.  When the sonographer was scanning him, she all of the sudden got really quiet and said, "oh my gosh!"  Not exactly what I wanted to hear.  Totally freaked me out.  After my freak out session, she just explained to me that she had seen HAIR on  his head!  (I could teach a class in what not to say to a pregnant woman getting a sonogram)!  The nurse was shocked at the amount of hair he already has!  She then re-scanned A and B to see if they had hair, and sure enough, we could see their fuzzy hair too.  She then went on to tell us that babies don't get hair this soon, so she was surprised.  No need to be shocked.  She just should have looked at Andy's head of hair, and she wouldn't have been surprised.  Needless to say, I can't wait to put bows in our girl's hair!  B and C still look so much alike- it's crazy.  It will be so much fun to see if they are going to be identical.  There is still a 1-2% chance they could be, and the nurses think we may be part of that percentage.  We won't know until they arrive though.  We then met with the doctor who was very pleased with how well they were doing!  In fact, he told us we could come back in two weeks, but I, the ball of nerves person that I am, opted for the one week option.  This totally surprised me because last week, he had acted like I would be staying in Memphis for the long haul.  We are so thankful for another week at home!  They will begin to do physical activity tests on them when we go next week, which will measure their development thus far.  Each child will receive points for how well they do.  Please pray that it goes well!

Please continue to pray for all 5 of us!  We need it every second, every minute, and every hour!  Please pray that they would continue to grow at the same rate and that my cervix would stay long.  They have told us that if one of the trips begins to outgrow the others, we will have to start the steroid shots and be put in the hospital to be monitored more closely.  This is a very possible scenario.  Please also be in prayer for Andy and me as we prepare to be parents to these sweet babies.  I'm not sure all the reading in the world could prepare us for what we are about to undertake.  Only prayers, along with some reading, will prepare us!  Praise God that we have made it this far!  I'll be 28 weeks on Saturday- which is a milestone for which we have been praying!  I've been on bed rest for seven weeks, and we pray that we'll stay on bed rest for a few weeks more.  They have yet to give us a certain week that they will take the babies.  Instead, they just say, if we make it to 30 weeks and are ok, then we'll shoot for 32.  If we make it to 32 weeks and are doing ok, then we'll shoot for 34.  And so on.  Please be in prayer for the unknown.  We're scared.  The closer we get, the more scared we both get.  Praise Him for them- for every kick and every punch.  It's unbelievable how much we love them- and we don't even know them, but we're so thankful that they are known and have been known by their Heavenly Father before they were even conceived.  Please pray for Andy as he is working his tail off, both at work and at home.  Please pray that God would provide strength for Him daily.  Please also pray for our appointment today in Oxford - progesterone shot day- OUCH!  Please pray that these babies would out-score everything on whatever the physical activity test measures next week.  And lastly please pray that they each child would be ok physically, mentally, and most importantly spiritually.  Praise Him from whom all blessings flow~

To Him be the glory...

Maggie

Update!

We are SO THANKFUL to have made it this far!!!  Today marks 26 weeks, 5 days!  I can't tell you how excited we are to have made it this far, and we are continuing to pray these babies stay put a bit longer!!!  We had an appointment in Memphis this past Monday, and once again, God was so good to us and to these sweet miracles!  A and B both weighed 2 pounds, 3 ounces each and were in the 57th percentile!  Our sweet C was even bigger, weighing in at 2 pounds 5 ounces and in the 60th percentile!  We are so thankful and super blessed!    As usual, our babies performed for us!  They like to show off!  Our A was butting heads with B and kicking him all at the same time.  It was hysterical.  Our girl has some super coordination.  I can't walk and chew gum at the same time, so she must get her coordination from Andy.  Not only did she kickbox and butt heads with B, she opened her eyes when the sonographer finally got a view of her face.  Honestly, it was kinda freaky because we were just sitting there admiring her face and her sweet features, and all of the sudden, that beautiful little eye gave us a wink.  Neither Andy nor I had expected that, and it was such a treat!  It was truly amazing, and almost as if she was saying, "I've got my eyes on you!"  She still looks identical to Andy, and she even has the most precious pouty lips.  She is our sassy girl!  Our precious little B was way more active than he normally is- probably because girlfriend was kicking the stew out of him and head butting him all at the same time.  He is precious, and he even grinned at us.  I can already tell he is going to be sweet, and I know I may be naive right now, but I think they're all sweet.  He still looks like my side of the family.  In fact, the nurses were amazed at how big A's and B's heads were- definitely my side.  Andy has a normal head, and I've always had a larger head.  The nurses joked and said they were glad I wasn't pushing them out because they weren't sure how great that would go.  (We're having a c-section).   Our darling C was just that- darling!  He was breech, which doesn't matter since we will be doing the c-section.  Anyway, he is right underneath my right rib, and he was having nothing to do with the others.  He was enjoying the room that they were giving him for the time being.  The sonographer did say he has a normal sized head.  Andy was glad to hear that!  However, I say the bigger the head, the smarter the person!  :)  Our C's stomach is big too!  He is so dadgum cute too.  He loves his hands and especially that thumb.  I can't wait to see if he will like it once he gets here.  It is still so amazing how much B and C look alike!  I can only imagine what tricks they will try to pull when they are older if they really do come out looking so much alike!  Again, Andy and I are so very thankful for these precious miracles, and seeing them just makes it that much more real.  Feeling their kicks is unbelievable, and I love every second of that.  Each night, my stomach will knot up, literally, into 3 different knots.  It's awesome!  We can put something on my stomach, and it moves from their little kicks.  It's amazing that someone that weighs two pounds can kick that strongly.  I would put a picture of it up here, but it's to the point that I just shouldn't. Take my word.  We have a really large stomach.  It's kinda funny.  We're so blessed!  

My cervix has shortened down to 2.0, 3.0, and 3.3.- in three different measurements.  We are praying it will stay there, or just go up like it did last week!  My doctor did say that they expected it to shorten the more I progress.  The good thing, though, is that I am not funneling, which means the cervix is opening and closing.  Please just pray that it will stay closed and long.  You'll be surprised that I didn't freak out this time when they told me the length.  I almost expected it to be shorter because I can feel how much pressure our girl is putting on me.  She may be strong-willed.  Yikes.  While we were doing the sonogram, however, I started contracting, so they decided to go on and put me on the monitor to see how often.  Thankfully, I didn't really contract as much once they put me on the monitor, but I did have more once we got home.  They have told us that we can probably expect for them to keep me in the next 2-3 weeks, which is fine with me.  I'd definitely feel more comfortable being right there in Memphis.  We'd probably be at Methodist Hospital.  I've come to peace with it too.  I can't begin to tell you how much I'll miss Andy and just being home, but I know he'll be there when he can.  Bless him.  I know how boring the hospital can be, but if it keeps these sweet babes in a bit longer, I can do anything.  Am I worried:?  Of course.  If you know me, you know how OCD I am, and the nursery isn't ready- it lacks a few things.  My house is pretty straight.  Andy has been doing all of my "nesting" for me, as well as others.  I'd always imagined videoing the morning we left for the hospital and having everything be perfect, but I've come to realize- it doesn't matter!  I do cry each time we leave for Memphis for fear that I won't be back.  The babies won't know if their nursery is ready or not, or if the house is perfect.  However, I do feel like they will need their mother to be sane, so I can't believe I am typing this, but my priorities are changing, and I'm so thankful for that.  Life can be fun, even with an incomplete nursery.  The babies have clothes.  They have bottles.  They also have all the little accessories they'll need.  Most of all, they  will have the love of a Mama and Daddy that would die for them, as well as a Heavenly Father who already has died for them.  What else will we need?  How blessed we and they are!

Please continue to pray for us as we don't know what each day will hold.  We're so thankful each morning to see another day.  Please pray for these miracles- that they would continue to grow at the same rate.  Praise God that they have so far.  Please pray for my cervix-that it wouldn't shorten.  Please continue to pray for patience for me and Andy as we get closer and closer to the big day.  Please pray that it wouldn't be an emergency delivery, and that Andy will be able to be there in time.  Please pray for him as he goes to work each day.  God has been so gracious to us and has provided thus far, and we are so thankful.  Please be in prayer for my appointment today, in fact, in Oxford, and for the one on Monday in Memphis.  We can't thank you enough for your prayers and everything you've done for us.  To God be the glory...

Maggie