32 Weeks 6 Days

The biggest milestone in our pregnancy has come and gone!! I couldn't be happier and any more proud of the babies! On top of that, the non-stress tests and biophysical profiles have been going excellent. So very grateful! The nurses always ask how I can possibly still have a smile on my face when they see me at the office. How could I not knowing that I have been blessed with 3 amazing lives that I get the privelage of loving for the rest of my life. We have had only one small issue 2 weeks ago, as Baby C's heartrate had shown a deceleration during a major contraction, but we re-tested the next day and everything was great. Since then, the babies have each received a 10/10...2 pts for breathing movements, 2 pts for heartrate, 2 points for tone (reflexes), 2 pts for movement, and 2 points for fluid volume. Savannah has definitely proved that although she is not the biggest and by far has the worst position (squished on the bottom, holding up her brothers), she is the leader. She out-breathes her brothers on every single ultrasound and can hold her pattern for a very, very long time. The other 2 seem to get bored with it or tire out more quickly.
I have gotten the dreaded PUPPS rash, something I had read about early and prayed I wouldn't get! However, I seem to have a very mild case and although steroid cream was recommended, I am getting by without any...whew. No studies have concluded 100% what PUPPS is caused from but from what I have read, it is most common in multiple pregnancies and is possibly caused by male fetus DNA. Thanks boys! ;)
We have another NST appointment on Monday (please make it) and then FINALLY get to see Dr. Huang for an ultrasound on Thursday (which is 2 days from my goal of 34 weeks!), after what has seemed like a very long 3 weeks.
This upcoming week is finals week so I am hoping to complete all of my tests and get them out of the way before making any trips to the hospital. Hope I get my wish! Cook babies, cook!

30 Weeks 5 Days

April 12th-The babies had their second non-stress test (NST) and biophysical profile today along with a growth scan with Dr. Huang. The NST went great. The babies are all practicing breathing and their heartrates looked great throughout the monitoring. Terbutaline free this time!!
The good news continued as we met with Dr. Huang. Baby B now weighs 4 lbs 4 oz., Baby C weighs 3 lbs. 3 oz, and Savannah (Baby A) weighs 3 lbs. 9 oz. Baby C is right on track with his siblings weighing above average at this point. Their weight gain should have slowed significantly by this point but somehow they are still finding room to put on some baby fat :) I am so proud of them. I am pretty much on complete bedrest except for doctor appointments and to make meals during the day. I am so grateful for being able to finish out the school semester completely online! We will begin going to the doctor twice a week from here on out to have the babies monitored as they grow and their room to do so is decreasing. On to 32 weeks! This will be a huge milestone (as this is the average length of a triplet pregnancy) and I cannot wait to feel a bit of relief! I take every single day after 32 weeks as an amazing gift!

Here is a 4D picture of Baby B.

First Non-Stress Test (28 weeks, 5 days)

March 28, 2012. We had our first NST this morning. "The test involves attaching one belt to the mother’s abdomen to measure fetal heart rate and another belt to measure contractions. Movement, heart rate and “reactivity” of heart rate to movement is measured for 20-30 minutes." Our test lasted about an hour because as expected, not all the babies felt like cooperating :) The babies reported a-okay but I was having so many contractions that they were causing the babies to shift after each one and the nurse would have to search for the heartbeat and reposition the belt. I could feel she was becoming concerned and waited for my doctor to arrive at the office to show him the contraction monitor. He wanted me to receive a shot of Terbutaline, used to relax uterine muscles. Before I left, I was also given a prescription for Indocin to take for two days to help with contractions at home. I have since finished that and will continue the Procardia (and hopefully nothing else!!), untill we deliver. On to our next goal: 32 weeks!

27 weeks 6 days

On March 22nd, I had what would hopefully be my first and last glucose screening for gestational diabites. The next day, I was so relieved to have gotten word that I passed with flying colors! I could have also been a tad bit excited about still being able to enjoy a Slurpee or two :) We also visited Dr. Huang for a growth ultrasound and were so grateful that the babies are doing well! Savannah now weighs 2 lbs 7 oz, Baby B weighs 3 lbs, and Baby C weighs 2 lbs 5 oz. I asked Dr. Huang if we should be concerned that Baby B continues to widen the weight gap between himself and his brother and sister, and he said absolutely not. Upon birth, the average triplet weighs 3 lbs 12 oz., so for now...go Baby B! :)  He also told me that it is often the heaviest baby who spends the most time in the NICU. Since they typically do not display any stress in the womb, they become completely comfortable and are oblivious that their time in there is nearing and don't practice doing the things that they should be. The babies who are more in distress (weight or otherwise) are continually feeling the need to prep themselves for life outside of the womb and are more easily able to adapt to things like breathing on their own. Interesting! I am so proud of all 3 of them.As for me, my cervix checked out great despite a large increase in contractions. In fact, the previous Sunday, Reginald and I spent the day in the hospital because they were far too regular. While I was there, they performed a fetal fibronectin to test my suseptibility of going into labor within the next two weeks. It returned negative, thank goodness! Four Procardia pills later and with contractions 5-6 min apart, they let us go home. I now take medication 'round the clock to control them and have accepted that the better days I have experienced occured because I was in bed. So for now, I try to spend as much time in it as I can.
I wish I had some good pictures to post from the growth scan but they all look like a mosh pit of arms and legs :) Hopefully I will have some soon!

24 Weeks

We have reached a small milestone :) And have received good news after our 24 week appointment. The babies are doing great! In fact, they are now a bit bigger than the average singleton baby at their gestational age. Savannah, Baby A, is weighing in at 1 lb. 10 oz. Baby B (one of the boys) is apparently the bully of the bunch (as the sonographer calls him) and weighs 1 lb. 14 oz. Baby C (boy) shares the same weight as Savannah, 1 lb. 10 oz. The babies had echo's done on their hearts during this appointment and they are looking great! My cervix measured 4. 75...holding up wonderfully! In fact, Dr. Huang said he didn't need to see me for 3 weeks. At this point in time, most triplet pregnancies are visiting the doctor once a week so I consider this news to be a blessing! Dr. Huang feels that my cervix has pretty much ruled out pre-term delivery despite the many contractions I experience during the day, and is confident that letting the babies grow 3 weeks without a checkup is a good thing. Yay for the triplets! Our next appointment will be March 22nd. I will be almost 28 weeks at that point, reaching the first "major" goal on our journey! If born at 28 weeks, the triplets would have a very good chance of surviving without any lasting health problems. This is a relief to know, but does not replace our goal of delivering after May 5th :)
Here are some pictures from our appointment! The sonographer was able to catch Baby C with the 4D ultrasound machine! He looks JUST like his daddy!

20 Weeks

February 1, 2012- We had a very loooong, but wonderful ultrasound appointment today. Reginald and I got to watch the babies for a good hour or more so no complaints here! :) Everyone is doing wonderfully (what a blessing!). Savannah and Myles both are weighing about 14 oz. and Nigel weighs 15 oz. I had been warned that this appointment is usually very difficult for mom's with multiples...they weren't lying! Laying on your back with the pressure of 3 babies was tough but thanks to Reginald and about 20 cold towels, we made it through :)  I couldn't be more proud of our babies and the progress they have made (God willing) so far despite sharing limited space! My cervix has once again defied the odds...measuring 5.03! A very early pre-term delivery is pushed further out of mind with this number and Dr. Huang said that I am "giving most women with a singleton pregnancy a run for their money" :). Awesome news and so grateful! Although I keep in mind that this can quickly change, I will be a little more at ease until our next appointment, February 16. On our way to the first important goal...24 weeks!

Nursery

The nursery is coming along slowly but surely. We are so appreciative of the wonderful cribs/mattresses my parents gave us! I usually go sit in the room several times a day and picture babies in those cribs :) We have managed to get a couple good Craigslist finds and just need a few pieces of furniture. I made some yarn mobiles and painted some canvases to decorate. Reggie's co-workers have been amazingly supportive and recently, we were given lots of baby boy clothes, a pack-n-play (we will keep in our bedroom until crib time), and lots of other cool stuff :)

18 weeks 5 days

Quick ultrasound and checkup yesterday. Got a quick peek at the babies (just the 3 pics below) and heartbeats...baby girl-150, baby boys- 146 & 147. Things are starting to get a little squishy in there! There are alot of arms and legs flying everywhere :)

Savannah

Nigel

Myles

An answered prayer...cervix length is measuring 5.3, which Dr. Huang says is "exceptionally good" at this point in a triplet pregnancy. He said most of his patients are measuring 3 to 3.5 in comparison, so I am just so grateful!  The longer it can hold out, the safer I am from delivering very early. I know that this length can easily change quite quickly so for now I will celebrate the good news! Our next appointment will be in less than 2 weeks and will be a long one--ultrasound measurements of each baby (bones, organs, etc.). I have received some very special home-made gifts from family...I love them so much!

From cousin Brooke

From aunt Margo

Name Game!

Reginald and I have decided that baby A, B, and C deserve names! We worked hard to come up with names we both loved and as of now....

Baby A= Savannah Briar Williams
Baby B= Myles Andre Williams
Baby C= Nigel Cane Williams

The doctor reports that from now on, they will most likely each hold the real estate they have been occupying for the remainder of the pregnancy.

Since our last appointment, I spent a short time in the hospital being supervised for some severe pain I just couldn't manage at home and minor contractions. There has been no change in my cervix (thank goodness), so the contractions haven't been enough to thus far, make any changes. However, as a precaution, I was monitored for a day and received some meds to help control them at home until our next appointment.

16.5 Weeks-2 boys and a princess :)

Our planned appointment on January 4th went very well! I am so excited to announce that the gender mystery has been solved! 2 boys (Baby B & Baby C) and a girl (Baby A)!! We couldn't be more excited!
All of the babies are weighing in at 6 oz, have great heartbeats, and seem to be extremely happy and healthy! This ultrasound took about an hour, as each baby had their heart, bladder, brain, and limbs measured and accounted for. We are so incrediblly blessed! Since my last appointment, I had already started purchasing pieces of baby boy clothing so I will now be adding some pink and purple! My parents purchased 3 wonderful cribs for us recently and Reggie has them all put together already! It is so fun to see the nursery coming together slowly. My mom is coming for a visit soon and I cannot wait to show her and share in the newest updates! My cervix is still holding up great and our next appointment at 18.5 weeks will hopefully confirm the same!

Baby Girl

Baby Boy

3 boys?

I had an unplanned visit with the doctor a week before my scheduled appointment due to some pain. Apparently I should just be more prepared to feel not so great sometimes :)
At the appointment, the sonogram technician decided to see how much luck she had getting the triplets to cooperated to see what their sexes are. Her bet is 3 boys!!! Although Baby A is a bit difficult to see :) We will have to wait a little longer to know for sure!

12.5 Weeks/New Doctor

On December 7th at 12.5 weeks, we met with our new doctor, Dr. Huang, and had a very long new patient intake appointment. This ultrasound was alot of fun! We were so amazed at how much the babies had grown and how active they were! I felt very sorry for the sonogram technician who had to spend over an hour trying to capture images of the little busy bodies for measurements! We are so blessed and grateful that so far, everything seems to be going extremely well and everyone is healthy. We have a little break from doctor visits now but will return on January 4th at 16.5 weeks. Hopefully the babies cooperate and we will find out if we are having little boys, girls, or both :) They have officially been named Baby A, Baby B, and Baby C lol! But that will soon change after January 4th, as Reggie and I have been working very hard to come up 3 boy names and 3 girl names that we agree on!

10 Week Ultrasound

We were lucky to have another ultrasound soon after, on November 23rd. We got to hear all the baby's strong heartbeats and see them wave and dance around. So fun! I would be perfectly fine having an ultrasound everyday! I fell even more in love with them! With good news of healthy babies, this visit became our last appointment with the doctor we had been seeing for awhile. Our future appointments from here on out would be with a specialist, Dr. Huang, at the Center for Maternal Fetal Medicine, who handles high-risk pregnancies and has tons of experience delivering multiples. I have learned that it takes alot of patience to get a good picture of all three babies at once, so the ultrasound picture showed only two at a time :)

10 Weeks

Pregnant!

On October 7th, 2011, Reginald and I were so blessed to receive the wonderful news that we were pregnant! For two weeks thereafter, we were almost in disbelief that we had been so blessed to be starting a family. That disbelief soon faded and turned into reality as we saw the miracle for the first time on October 24....and finding out that there was not only one miracle, but 3!!! I will never forget as the doctor told us, "I see one, two, and three!"... and Reggie resonding innocently, "Three what?" -he really had no clue what she meant by three! :) The journey of parenting multiples has begun and we couldn't be more excited when finding out that our small family of three (can't forget Chullo!) would soon be doubling! We are expecting triplets May/June 2012 :)

Our 3 babies! :)