Sometimes I am so tired I am not sure where to start with what has been going on in our lives. In my mind our lives are no different than anyone else. It isn't until I go somewhere, anywhere outside of our home, that I am reminded our lives are not really more special than anyone else's but just more obviously different. We have been attempting to go out a lot more. We figure the more we do it the more it will become just what we do. We have always been a family that "goes." We do not like staying put and Tripp has had a hard time adjusting to that for the past several months with my pregnancy and then the triplets arriving. We would like to resume our normal trip to Walmart, the store, the zoo...anywhere outside the four wall of our house. However, there is no longer a "normal" trip anywhere. It is work getting three babies fed, dressed, and out the door with their four year old brother. Then, when we finally arrive wherever it is we are going, there is no "normalcy' to where it is we are. I feel I have become the "nonsocial" one out of Michael and I, but really I have just found that if I don't act like the nice, happy person I like to be, people don't carry on and ask stupid personal questions that are really none of their business. :) I don't mind people commenting on the babies and taking a moment to notice, but it really gets absurd and out of control quickly with comments and questions. Anyway, I have just never done well being the center of attention in any realm and most certainly was not ready for it now. On a happier note, the babies are all doing amazingly well. I hate to type that in fear that the ice might break out from under us. Caroline is such a sweetheart. I know she is my daughter and I am supposed to feel that way, but any one who has met her has walked away with a smile. She loves to cuddle and is very tactile. She loves holding on to her blankies...or my hair (which could be a problem in the near future). :) Ethan is our "big" boy and is hungry around the clock. I am pretty sure he would eat a steak if I at all just offered him one. We call him Mr. Fuss Buckets as he loves to be held...all the time. He has become a lot more content lately about playing on the floor as long as someone is there to give him their attention. Gabe is still our peanut and continues to be the smallest by several ounces. He struggles with his reflux and feeding him can be difficult. For this reason, Michael and I are a bit over protective of him. They are all truly happy babies and while we are sleep deprived, it could be a lot worse. They are easy babies individually, but somehow the three of them gang up on us and collectively it is hard. Haha. As I am typing right now Mr. Fuss Buckets is waking up in the swing telling me it is time for him to eat. We really don't even have to set an alarm clock. He is it. I am sure after feeding him, Caroline will wake up for her turn. Gabe will wait until about 5am, which is greatly appreciated!! The other two are then not far behind again to eat.

"I was made for you..."

So things around here are crazy as they have ever been. I now feel very comfortable keeping all three babies on my own which says a lot giving the handful they can be individually. :) We are now seeing their little personalities come out and I love finding out new things about them every day. A lot has happened since I last blogged. Michael got a job, praise God. Definitely an answered prayer. It is close to home which is a HUGE bonus. He will be coaching and I know this will keep him busy, but I knew he would be coaching no matter where he worked and we are just thankful it is five minutes from home as opposed to 45 min or an hour even away. We also found a nanny!!! She came very highly recommended from different people and she has nanny experience. She is a little older so I don't worry about her inexperience. Sometimes when you meet someone you just get a feeling, sometimes good, sometimes bad. I got a really good feeling about her and knew right away I wanted her to be our nanny. Her name is Claudia and we are very excited about getting to know her better. She will be moving into our spare bedroom downstairs in a couple of weeks. I think it is going to work out really well. :) Again, God has brought us so many blessings this year I am just bursting with excitement! On the home front, we are doing our very best to get the babies on a schedule. It is going pretty good and I feel like I have gotten farther with these three in ten weeks with sleeping than I have in four years with our oldest. Haha. However, it seems every night, at least one of the three has a tummy ache, doesn't want to sleep, etc. So we are still very exhausted and some nights we get a few hours and some nights we don't. This week hasn't been the best with them sleeping at night and on top of that, Michael has not felt well. Yesterday he went and took a nap with Tripp to catch up on some much needed rest. I was in the living room with the other three. One was in the swing and two were rocking on my chest. Our peanut, Gabe, has reflux and has been put on Zantac. It has helped A LOT, but he still has his moments with reflux. Yesterday he began spewing as I have him and Caroline on my chest. I could not sit him up with both of them laying on me and he began strangling a little bit. I yelled for Michael, who was still napping, to come and help me. I yelled loudly because I knew he was sleeping. The next thing I know I hear him jump out of bed and a loud bang followed and then I heard running, followed by another loud bang. He comes limping into the living room holding his head without his glasses. Apparently the door to the bedroom was partially opened and he ran straight into it leaving a bruise and a headache, after running into the door, he was running and fell in the hallway. By this time, Gabe was just fine, and all I could do was laugh hysterically at my poor crippled husband. He slid to the floor in the kitchen and I'm pretty sure he probably has a concussion. And....that is our life. As exhausting as it is day in and day out, and as miniscule as our down time is, I am so very, very thankful that this is our crazy life. I'm on a facebook page for mom's of triplets. Recently a mom who was 23 weeks pregnant went into labor because of an infection. After several hours of fighting she lost one of her beautiful little girls and later that evening the other two babies were born. She was put into ICU because she went septic and her two other babies are still fighting for their life in the NICU. I was up watching a rerun of Grey's Anatomy at 3am the other night and one of the character's who was pregnant in the show was in a car accident and her 23 week old baby was born. They showed the mom and the baby fighting for their lives. As I am sitting there rocking my sweet princess who couldn't sleep, tears streamed down my face as all I could think of is this poor mom who lost one of her sweet babies and the uncertainty of her life and the life of her other two children. I thanked God over and over again and continue to do so not wanting Him to think for a moment I take for granted what I have: My wonderful husband, a loving four year old son who is the best big brother, and three tiny new souls that we will do our best to teach of God's unending love. At the end of that stupid rerun there was a song and all I could think in my sleep deprived state was "this song speaks to me." I have heard this song before and it could not be more accurate to how I feel about the five most important people in my life...and I believe with all my heart "I was made for you." "The Story" All of these lines across my face Tell you the story of who I am So many stories of where I've been And how I got to where I am But these stories don't mean anything When you've got no one to tell them to It's true... I was made for you I climbed across the mountain tops Swam all across the ocean blue I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules But baby I broke them all for you Because even when I was flat broke You made me feel like a million bucks You do and I was made for you You see the smile that's on my mouth It's hiding the words that don't come out And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed They don't know my head is a mess No, they don't know who I really am And they don't know what I've been through like you do And I was made for you... All of these lines across my face Tell you the story of who I am So many stories of where I've been And how I got to where I am But these stories don't mean anything When you've got no one to tell them to It's true... I was made for you Oh yeah, well it's true... that I was made for you... Sung by Brandi Carlile

Mission Impossible?

The target: SLEEP The obstacles: Three Newborns It's dark in the lakehouse. Only the light from the TV is flickering with low volume playing an episode of "Bones" to keep my eyelids from shutting. In my arms is a baby girl eating from her bottle and I am struggling to stay awake. Beside me in a boppy is a baby boy who, at the moment, I thought was fussing. Beside him, with his feet kicked back and slightly reclined, is my husband, holding the other baby boy. Across the room sleeping on a pallet is our four year old sleeping the way we wish were doing. As I am sitting there feeding one, I look sleepily over at the baby in the boppy (who I thought was fussing) to put a passy in his mouth. It is at that moment I realize it is not the baby in the boppy crying. I am slightly startled to a more awake state and look over to see the baby my sweet, sweet husband is holding, with his feet straight up in the air. I panicked and immediately begin yelling "Michael! Michael!" He then snaps up, throwing the reclining seat forward, baby still upside down. At this point I am on the verge of tears thinking that my sleep deprived husband has squashed our baby's head in the seat when he sat it up. I am yelling at him "get the baby, get the baby!" He is looking at me blankly yelling "what baby?!" I yell "the baby in your arms!!!" He looks down and grabs him up. I then begin to laugh hysterically as I am shaking, still feeding our baby girl, with the other baby boy still sleeping in his boppy and four year old snoozing on the floor. I know it seems a bit irrational to be laughing when the moment before you thought your baby's head might have been squashed, but when you are going on little to no sleep for seven weeks straight...laughing hysterically is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. At that point in time it was probably 3am and my husband had been up since 4am the night before. The story ends with upside down baby falling right back asleep in his daddy's arms. I tell Michael to lay him down and go to bed. My husband responds with, "yes, but if you need me, please wake me up by gently shaking my arm or something, and not yelling at me." Poor guy, I scared us both to death. So, end of story, we are tired. That about summarizes our seven weeks with triplets. :) We live for the weekends when mom and Clay come and give us some time to sleep. This past week Granny Shirley, Clay's mom, came and has been an AMAZING help with the babies, cooking, and washing bottles. This has definitely given us time to take turns napping during the day. Everyone asks if this is harder than I thought it would be and my answer is no, it really isn't. I, in no way, shape, form, or fashion at any point in time thought this was going to be easy. We are changing more poopy diapers, going through more formula, and soothing babies hour after hour all while trying to entertain a four year old who is feeling a little bit left out. At the end of the day though, I kiss four children's sweet heads and tell four sleepy children that I love them and my heart is full with more love than I could have known. The babies are growing and changing every day and we are so very thankful that we are all healthy (minus sleep deprivation). I am so very fortunate to have a husband who is right there with me changing diapers, washing bottles, doing everything I do and some things better. :) The babies have actually done better sleeping the past two nights. We feed them, swaddle them, and put them down. Last night they went about five hours in between feeds with only a couple of times of needing soothing. It would have been great, except Michael woke up to help feed with a migraine. He is feeding our reflux baby, Gabe, and he is not having a good feed with lots of reflux. I am feeding Ethan. Michael quickly gets up and places Gabe in his carrier and runs to bathroom. I hear Michael throwing up because of his headache and I look over and Gabe has formula coming out of his nose and mouth. Caroline is waking up and becoming fussy and the four year old wakes up from all the noise. I run to Gabe, lay Ethan down, and pick Gabe up. Michael comes back with a bath cloth on his head and finishes feeding Gabe. He is truly a trooper. After that the babies go back to sleep and stay asleep until about 6am. So, maybe just maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel with completely sleepless nights. Our conclusion is that maybe sleep is a mission impossible at the moment, but we figure in twenty years or so, we may sleep through the night, and while sleep is little, the rewards are great. That is just a quick insight into our lives at that moment!  It has been fun and already so many great memories.

Happy Mother's Day

Well we have officially survived our first three weeks of being parents of four children! All babies came home two weeks ago and we haven't had time to stop and think since. The babies are doing great and seem to be healthy. They came home on four hour feeds, but the pediatrician wanted us to kick them back to three hour feeds. Now, when you have one baby, feeding every three hours around the clock is challenging but definitely possible. Three hour feeds with three babies around the clock basically means you are constantly feeding, changing, burping, and washing bottles. Sleep really isn't an option and Michael and I are learning to survive on little to no sleep. Michael came up with a great system of documenting diapers, amounts eaten, etc. so that we don't have to try and remember everything. Focusing on anything is almost impossible, even sitting here trying to think straight while typing is hard! We attempted to use a home health agency to come in at night and stay up with one of us so the other could get some sleep, but when she came in smelling of smoke and no newborn experience...we opted out after the first night. We seem to have a pretty good system but of course the babies are more active at night right now which means we have some work to do with getting our days and nights figured out. Schedules are a big part of our day and we try and keep them all in sync...try being the key word. The fun part is when they all three wake up at the same time mad and hungry because with two people feeding the third one just has to wait. We have also learned we will never be in a hurry to get anywhere ever again. We sat an extra hour and a half after our pediatrician appointment just to feed all three babies. Schedules are everything. We have also learned to go anywhere we better be ready to be social. Everyone has something to say or ask which is fine but it does take up a lot of time to talk to everyone you see. :) Tripp is adjusting well and is an amazing big brother. He is eager to help put in a pacifier, pick up a blanket, get a diaper, etc. He loves his babies and says "I think we will keep them." We are very glad he feels this way, haha. I don't think the hospital has a return policy of any kind. My husband who was once weary of holding small babies has been AMAZING! He does just as much of the changing, feeding, etc. as me and never complains about it (except when all three babies made dirty diapers on his watch...haha). Ethan is still the biggest of the three, but the other two are gaining quick. Ethan turned over today from his tummy to his back, but wasn't very happy with himself about it. The other two are still adjusting to being on their tummys. Looking foward to seeing all three hit milestones and grow. Caroline is the soother and reaches out to grab her brothers hands when they are fussy. Gabe is still pretty laid back and low maitenance. All the memories we have already made and the endless ones yet to come. A year ago I never dreamed that Mother's Day this year would be me being the mother of four children. You never know what God has planned for our lives but I'm so thankful this is where I am today. Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there who spend endless hours sacrificing quietly and without complaint to love and raise their chidlren. Very thankful for my mom who has helped me have the confidence that I can raise four chidlren, three of which are newborns, and be a good mother. I'm not really sure if this all flows the way I would like, but give me a break, I'm running on fumes right now. :)))

Delivery Day and NICU, One Week Update

I can't believe one week has come and gone and my sweet babies are a week old tomorrow. Thinking back to this time last week, it almost seems like an eternity ago and life without my four children doesn't make sense. My c-section was scheduled for last Thursday morning at 8:15 and I was supposed to be at the hospital at 6:15am for prep. God definitely has a sense of humor because one of the last things I told my husband about getting there that early was at least we didn't have to worry about traffic. As soon as we got on 65-S that morning, traffic was at a stand still going absolutely no where. Quickly checking the traffic report at 5:30am, we found out there has unfortunately been a fatal accident shutting down the interstate. It did put things into perspective though. Here we are going to the hospital hoping to bring life into the world and sadly two people had lost theirs an hour before. We did make it to the hospital 45 minutes late, but they couldn't start without me. :) Once at the hospital, in an ironic twist of fate, we also learned that someone was supposed to have called me the night before and told me to be at the hospital at 4am because they had changed the time of my section to 7am. My poor doctor had been there since then and no one had called to tell me of the change. Regardless of the circumstances or the time, nerves set in as they began to prep me. The nurses tried to keep the mood very light hearted to keep me calm and I did good until they rolled me into the operating room. My whole body was shaking so hard, partly because of nerves and partly because of the epideral. There were a total of 20 people in the room with Michael and I, 23 once the babies came into the world. Once they started, things happened very quickly. Ethan and Gabe were born at 8:29am and Caroline was born at 8:30. Ethan weighed 5 pounds 10 oz 19 in long; Gabe weighed 4 pounds 5 oz.15 in long, and Caroline weighed 5 pounds 5 oz. 18 inches long. They let us get pictures and then Michael and the team of doctors and nurses went to the NICU. It took the doctors about another hour or so before they were finished with me and rolled me to my room. I was up and going to the see the babies by 2:00 that afternoon. The babies have made quick progress in their one week here. Everyday it gets harder and harder to leave them in the NICU as I see their great progress, but I know they are in good hands and am SO VERY thankful for the wonderful NICU nurses who love my babies when I am not there to. Caroline and Ethan are in isolettes which is a step up from an open bed. They get to wear onsies now which makes things look better to me. Caroline is bottle feeding 30 cc's with no problem and came off her oxygen yesterday. So far she is tolerating breathing on her own well. Ethan's breathing is still a bit rapid in the 70-80 range and they want it in the 60's before they allow him to bottle feed. For now he has an OG tube and is tolerating 30 cc's per feeding. Mr. Gabe is now in a crib and doing fantastic. He passed his car seat test and if all goes well he may get to come home as early as Saturday!! We have to spend the night in the NICU family room to assure the staff we can take care of him on our own. We anticipate Caroline to follow closely behind and if Ethan can slow down his respirations, for him to progress quickly too. I can not tell you how often I thank God for His miracles and His grace. The doctors and nurses can not tell me how well the babies are doing and how well I did during my pregnancy. I know that I did my part by staying in bed and having a wonderful husband to take care of me, but how long those babies stayed in place had everything to do with God answering prayers and continuing to answer prayers with the progress in all three babies. We are beyond blessed and have more to be thankful for than we ever imagined. What an amazing journey it has been and we are just so excited for the sleepless nights, screaming babies, and endless wonderful memories that are to come with our four children. Once Gabe comes home we are being told by the doctors that visitors will have to continue to be strictly limited. Overstimulation in a new environment can be harmful and casue a preemie to decline, as well as exposure to outside germs. The last thing we want is to get home and then have to take a baby back to the NICU. I know many are anxious to meet our three new additions and we ask for your continued to patience as we give our babies time to grow and develop physically and mentally. We will post pictures and give updates as often as we can. We love everyone and appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes.

Last Post As a Family of Three....

It has been a very busy week with doctor appointments. Monday we went to UAB for a growth scan to double check the babies' measurements. After my appointment today, I'm a little confused about which one is measuring what, because the report shows the weights for Ethan and Caroline, flipped from what we were told. Monday we were told that Caroline is measuring 6 pounds 6 oz.; Ethan measuring 5 pounds 8 oz.; and Gabe measuring 4 pounds. All fluids looked good and blood flow to placentas looked good as well. I left feeling blessed and a little worried about my Gabe being smaller, but the doctor said this was normal and did not seem to be worried. Tuesday we had an appointment with my doctor. Everyone looked good on NST and I was not dilated. We went over a few details about the rest of the week and next week. She wanted to see me back today, Friday, and Monday to check the babies fluids (especially Gabe's) to make sure they stay within normal limits. She said if they were low she would take them on that day, otherwise we would schedule for Thursday the 18th. We did not check fluids Tuesday because apparently there was a fire in the office on Monday caused by the ultra sound gel warmer catching on fire. The whole office was evacuated and closed for a couple of days. Needless to say, very glad we weren't there for our "normal" Monday appointment. :) Today was our last appointment for the week. I know it seems like nothing to most people, but three appointments in one week has about killed me. My legs are refusing to want to walk, but I refuse to use a wheel chair. A few people have called me stubborn, but that's just me. If I can walk, I will walk. The appointment today was good. During NST they had to give me a coke to wake the babies up, but once the coke kicked in, the babies looked great. We then went for ultra sound upstairs (where they are no longer allowed to use gel warmers, ha) and checked the babies' fluids. As the tech read the report today from UAB, they had Ethan listed as measuring 6 pounds 6 oz. and Caroline mesuring 5 pounds 8oz....so who knows which is which. Ethan and Caroline's fluid measured 13 and Gabe's was the lowest at 7. The tech said 5 and above is normal, so Gabe is on the lower side of normal, but the doctor was ok with his fluid. So what now?? Monday I go back for more of the same as today. My C-section is scheduled for first thing Thursday morning. She expects my surgery to take about an hour with an array of doctors, nurses, and a neonatologist (Dr. from the NICU). No major changes from my last C-section other than taking longer. The main concern is too much bleeding from me due to carrying three babies, but the doctor will be monitoring that pretty closely. The babies will be taken straight to NICU for observation and determine how well they are functioning. So, all we can say is here we go. :) After reading many women's experiences from being pregnant with triplets, I am so humbled and thankful that God has allowed this pregnancy to go this far. A lot of women have a lot more difficult and challenging pregnancies that result in micropreemies and complications. I don't have answers as to why God allows one thing for some and something different for others, but we are counting my blessings every day. My prayer now is to deliver three healthy babies and we can come home as a healthy family of six. I have gotten a lot of questions about visiting. Right now we just don't have answers. I am very certain that Thursday will be difficult emotionally and physically and we are not sure what situation we will encounter with babies in the NICU. Parents will be allowed in the NICU and one person from the family accompanied by the parent will be allowed. While 35 weeks is great, they are still premature and too much stimulation is not good for the babies. This means too much touching from too many different hands; too many different sounds or voices; etc. There is also the exposure to germs that will need to be limited. This is why visiting the babies at the hospital and once we get home will have to monitored closely. Again, once we know more in this area, we will share. We are excited to meet the babies and to let others to meet them as the babies' conditions allow. Our focus from here to next Thursday is having 30 fingers and 30 toes present and accounted for (40 if you count Tripp...that's a lot of digits!). We are very excited, nervous, and anxious. I'm not sure if we will have time for another post before they arrive. We will let everyone know as soon as possible about how we are all doing. Pray with us for God's will to be done in all things and that we will continue to put our faith in Him. Love!!

And D-Day is......

We are now in the middle of our 33rd week. I have had two doctor appointments this week and both have gone really well. A growth ultra sound on Monday showed that the babies weighed between 4 1/2 and close to 5 pounds each which is really exciting. Caroline is still head up. The other two decided to get cute and confuse everyone. Last week Gabe was head down in the middle and Ethan was head up on the side. Well this week the one in the middle is head up and the one on the side is head down. Either both boys flipped 180 degrees or Gabe went under Ethan and they switched sides. There is really no way to know for sure. So, now we don't know who is who in there. :) I guess we will just figure it out when they get here. I am continuing to contract which is not much fun (as any woman will tell you). However, I am not dilated at all which is pretty amazing considering how far I am. My blood pressure was up slightly on Monday but I'm pretty sure that is because she took it during a contraction. :) It was much lower today, so that is good news. Dr. Christine continues to be pleased with the babies and how they are doing overall and on the NST. She wants me to go back to UAB on Monday for one last growth scan. UAB's equipment is a bit more accurate in their measurements than St. Vincent's. She is hoping to get a clear look at what the babies are weighing just to double check everything before delivery. If everything goes as planned and my body and babies cooperate, the c-section is scheduled from two weeks from today which is Thursday April 18th. I will be 35 1/2 weeks along at that point. This would definitely be really exciting for us because I never anticipated that I could/would make it as far as I have, especially at home. I am so thankful to the Lord for His hand being on us this pregnancy. No matter the outcome, I know all things have been done and will continue to be done in His time. At the moment life at our house is good but a little chaotic. We are down to the wire and Michael is working hard to get everything done. However, I'm beginning to realize that no amount of preparation is going to be enough for what is to come. :) Some things we will just have to figure out along the way. My body is hanging in there. It is difficult to do much of anything. I am definitely front heavy and I can tell the babies are growing. I was walking through the living room the other day and sneezed. My sneeze literally propelled me into a run because of the extra weight in the front. You can't help but laugh. We have been talking and thinking a lot about our hospital stay and everything that will come with it. This C-section will be a bit more involved because there are three babies. The recovery for this will be longer and more difficult than my first. I can only imagine I am going to be an emotional, hormonal basket case with everything that will be happening. Because there will be so many unknowns, we will have a couple hour window set aside for visitors. We will obviously give more details as we know more. Please keep in mind, that there is a chance you will only get to see Michael or one of our moms. While we have no idea what the babies' conditions will be, there is a good possibility they will be in NICU and visitors will be limited to immediate family only. If you are trying to get in touch with us or do try in the future, please know how much we appreciate your love and concern, but that it may take some time to return calls, messages, etc. :) There are truly no words to express everyone's love and support and our hearts continue to be overwhelmed with the kindness of others. Your continued prayers are appreciated more than you realize and have kept us going throughout this process. We look forward to things to come!!!