First week at home

It is so crazy to think that the triplets have already been home for a full week. Mom and dad have been very, very busy with feedings and trying to get some rest in between. We have had lots of help at home from Grandma Bonnie, Grandma Colleen and Great Grandparents Leo and Marge. We have also had a lot of help from many of our friends, family and co-workers who have been dropping off meals for us every night. You all have no idea how much it has helped us, for I fear we would be eating cereal for every meal!
The triplets also had their first photo shoot, but we still have some more to take. Mom and dad are hoping to have our first family photo taken together soon as we have not had one yet. We were hoping to get out our Christmas cards ahead of time, but I think we will be sending out New Years cards instead :)
Speaking of Christmas, what a great year to have 3 amazing little gifts under our tree. We are so blessed and happy that all 3 are home and healthy! We hope each and every one of you have an amazing time with family and friends, and enjoy your Christmas as much as we will be!
Lots of love,
S&B +3

Madelynn

Mason

Dylan

A Big Week and Coming home!

What an amazing week we have had! On Monday we learned that Dylan had passed his car seat test and would be able to join us at home on Tuesday. Mason's car seat test was scheduled for Thursday so if he passed, he could come home either Thursday afternoon or Friday anytime. Madelynn was scheduled to have hers on this coming Monday, with the doctors telling us she would be joining us sometime early next week.
Little did we know, someone had a different plan for us. I woke up on Tuesday morning with a temp of 102, and definitely not feeling like I would be able to take care of myself, let alone a little baby. The last thing I wanted was to get any of the babies sick, so I had to spend both Tuesday and Wednesday away from the babies, which was the hardest thing I have had to do yet. I did go to the doctor on Wednesday morning and they put me on some antibiotics, and by Thursday morning I was feeling 100% again. And what a great day to feel better, as the doctor called to let us know that if Mason passed his car seat test that morning, he could come home too!!! So, off to the hospital we went Thursday morning to bring our sweet little Dylan home and with fingers crossed the whole way down, that we would be bringing Mason home as well. Sure enough, we get to the hospital and Mason passed his test! It was some of the best news we had heard and were so excited that both boys would be joining us at home, but it was so hard to leave Maddy behind, but she still has some growing to do, or so we thought! On Friday we learned that Maddy would be joining us sometime this weekend, which will now be on Sunday. We are so excited to have our whole family at home!!!!!
We have adjust quite well to having the boys at home, we have a great system down all ready and are keeping them on a tight schedule. They eat every 3 hours and pretty much go right back to bed so they aren't burning any calories to put on the weight that they need to get bigger. Maddy is going to fit right in, as we have made sure that all 3 babies are eating at the same time. Grandma Bonnie showed up yesterday to come and stay with us for a while, we are so appreciative that she is able to come and spend some time with us and make sure mom and dad are taken care of as well. She is a GREAT cook =)
I want to give a special thanks to our friend Katee, who has put together a great website for us for our friends and family to bring us over meals over the next couple of months. For those of you that have already signed up, some of you multiple times, we can not thank you enough!!! I don't know if we would ever have gotten through all of this without your love and support!!!
We are sad that our time at the Special Care Nursery is coming to an end, the nurses there have been unbelievably amazing!!! Our primary nurses will always, always have a very special place in our hearts, and without their help, I don't think we would be as prepared as we are to raise our three little bundles of joy.
Love always,
S&B +3

Here are some pics of the babies from the past week:

Madelynn in her bassinet and weighing in at over 3 lbs!

Dylan and Mason, all ready to come home!

 Dylan, Madelynn and Mason on their last day at the hospital together

 Mason all snuggled in at home

 Dylan all snuggled in at home

Putting on the ounces...

First, we want to wish everyone a very belated Thanksgiving. We hope everyone had a great time with family and friends. We are so thankful this year for the 3 little miracles that we have been blessed with this year. It is so amazing how much they have already changed our lives and we wouldn't change it for a second!  We are also very, very thankful for the amazing nurses who have been taking care of our babies not only when we are gone, but the ones that are there to help us and guide us to be the best parents we can be. Our primary nurses are simply the best and we are so thankful for everything they have done for us this far and everything they have taught us along the way.
The boys have graduated to their big boy beds, and are now in the bassinets. They have been doing great at holding their temperature, and Madelynn will not be that far behind them. They are wanting to wait until she gets over the 3 pound mark to take her out of her isolette, but that could be any day now.
All 3 babies have been putting on some major weight gain, which we are so happy for! Mason is now over 5 lbs at 5 lbs 5 ozs. Dylan is over the 4 lb mark at 4lbs. 2 ozs and Madelynn is so close to the 3 lb mark at 2 lbs 12 ozs. Yesterday they all 3 had their first go round at feeding from a bottle, and they all did fantastic! All 3 babies drank 10 milliliters, which the nurses were surprised at, considering it's not very often that all 3 would drink the same amount.
We have been very successful at giving all 3 babies a bath. Granted, it was a little slow going at first, but we are getting faster at it, as well as with the diaper changes :)
The nurses and doctors are telling us that the boys will hopefully be home sometime mid-week next week, and with Madelynn we are still hoping for before Christmas. I think she will be home for sure before then, she is such a little trooper and is proving she can keep up with her brothers.
We were able to get the babies together for their first sibling photo, it made me wonder if they miss each other since they hadn't been together again since the day they were born. Enjoy the picture :)
Love,
S&B+3

Dylan Mason Madelynn

A big step towards coming home!

Yesterday was a great day for the triplets! All 3 babies got their IV's taken out, so the only fluids they are now getting is the breast milk I have been able to pump for them. This is a huge step as it means they are 1 step closer to coming home!!! All 3 are also having calories added into the milk to make sure they are able to start gaining some weight. Mason and Dylan are getting 24 calories per feeding, Madelynn is getting 22 calories per feeding. Each baby is fed on a 3 hour shift, and we are able to take them out of their little isolettes during their feeding times. It works out perfectly that no matter what time we arrive at the hospital to visit, it is usually someones turn to come out so we can start snuggling them right away.
Mason should be able to start being weened off his isolette in the next 3-4 days and start moving to a bassinet, which is another huge step to coming home. He just has to prove he can hold his body temperature steady and not need to be kept warm by the heat of the isolette. Also, with their IV's being out, we are now able to give them actual baths in a tub, so I got to help give Dylan a bath yesterday. It definitely wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but he did pretty good for the most part and only fussed a little.
Many of you have been wondering when the babies can come home, and honestly it is a day to day thing. The babies just need to show they are able to hold their body temperature, have 24 hours of feedings by either breast or bottle without any issues and pass their car seat test (this is when they have to be able to sit in their car seat for over an hour without forgetting to breathe or having any other issues). Mason and Dylan will for sure be the first to come home, with Madelynn having to spend an extra week or 2 to catch up to her brothers, but the nurses don't think she will have any problems. She is proving to show us how strong she really is and each day she does better and better.
Thank you again to everyone for all the rides, meals, and well wishes!
Love,
Shawn, Beth, Mason, Dylan and Madelynn

Mason

Dylan

Madelynn

Bittersweet day...

Well, today is the day that I end my stay here at Abbott. I have officially been here for 4 weeks and 2 days. The whole time I was here the days felt endless, but looking back I am so thankful I was here, as each day I was here made for 3 perfectly healthy little babies. It is definitely going to be hard leaving without them, but I know they are in the very best hands possible, and they are just a short car ride away. I am also free to call anytime throughout the day or night to check on them, but it is still going to be really hard.
The babies all had a great day yesterday. All 3 of them received their feeding tubes so now they are getting milk in their bellies that I have been able to pump for them. Mason is getting the most milk since he is bigger, and they increase the amount they give him every other feeding. Dylan and Maddy are not getting as much, but every feeding they increase the amount just a little bit. Eventually they will be adding a little bit of formula powder to my milk so that they can get a boost in the calories they are getting to help get them bigger so they can come home. All 3 babies have also needed to spend some time 'tanning' themselves under the light to help reduce jaundice. They don't seem to like it as much as they can't look around since their eyes are covered, but it sure makes them excited to see you when we can take them out. Maddy is also back up to her birth weight, of 2 lbs 3oz, which is great. All 3 babies lost about 10% of their weight the first couple of days, so it's good to see them putting the ozs back on again.
We can not thank you all enough for our support throughout this long, but very amazing journey. We are all so blessed to be surrounded by such good family and friends, and are so happy to bring these 3 little miracles into the world surrounded by such love!
Love,
The Olson family

Dylan Patrick

Mason James

Madelynn Grace

They have arrived!

On Saturday November 12th we welcomed 3 very healthy, beautiful babies to our family! Mason James was born first at 8:06 am weighing 4 lbs. 13 oz and 18.9" long. Dylan Patrick came next at 8:07 am weighing 3 lbs. 8oz and 16.93" long. Madelynn Grace came last at 8:08 am weighing 2 lbs 3 oz and 14.37" long. 

Mason did not make much noise when he came out, just a few whimpers, Dylan came out full of screams, and Maddy came out with small whimpers which eventually turned into crying. We were so happy that none of the babies had to go over to Children's hospital, as they are all able to breathe on their own and did not need ventilators. So they are right here at Abbott up in the special care nursery. The boys will probably need to be here for 3-4 weeks and Maddy will probably be here for 5-7 weeks. She is just a little peanut and needs to put on some weight. 

Beth is doing great as well; the surgery wasn't as bad as she had thought and is so happy to have them here. It's still a bit overwhelming to think of what we have been through in the past 4 weeks, but know that we couldn't have done it with all the prayers, thoughts, visits, calls, etc. 

We love you all,

The Olson Family

Shawn, Beth, Mason, Dylan, Madelynn and Kita

Mason James

Dylan Patrick

Madelynn Grace

3 weeks in...

... and what a crazy past 84 hours it has been. First, I want to thank everyone again for all their words of encouragement, support, prayers, thoughts, calls, texts, visits, etc. I have been trying my best to get back to everyone but quite honestly I have been absolutely exhausted with all that has gone on.
Our latest adventure started at 3am on Monday when I woke up to having my water break on one of the babies. It turned out to be our baby boy A, who is down at the very bottom doing such a good job holding his sister and brother in for us. They immediately put me on a magnesium drip to protect the babies brains if delivery was needed, an antibiotic drip to protect me and Baby A from getting any sort of infection from his fluid breaking, lab work to check my blood, and immediate hook up to the monitors to see how the babies were all handling this. I noticed the contractions getting stronger right away, as up to this point I have not been able to feel them. Luckily, with the help of the magnesium drip these slowed down and were a lot less painful.
We had our ultrasound at 2:30 on Monday afternoon to check each of their fluid levels and to see if they had gained any weight. Our little baby A boy has proved to be the trooper through all of this. He is officially at 4 lbs 3 oz, our baby boy C has also been good at putting on the ounces, as he is officially at 3 lbs 13 oz, and our little peanut girl is proving to be just that, a little peanut at just 2 lbs 1 oz. The doctors are not concerned about her weight gain, as she is gaining some weight which is better than nothing, but they are still keeping a very close eye on her. All the fluid for each of the babies came back measuring good, even on baby Boy A. So basically the doctors have said that we could go any day, or we could go in a week or 2 at most.
After that good report I was finally able to eat and drink something, as they needed me to keep an empty stomach incase delivery was on schedule for that day. Thankfully it wasn't because keeping food away from a pregnant and VERY hungry mom carrying triplets was by far the worst thing ever!
Up until this morning they have kept me on the monitors for the babies and magnesium drip 24 hours a day, so there was a lot of relief when they told me I could be taken off everything as the babies were still responding very well to the contractions and BPP tests that they have needed to pass each day. So as of now, today is not they day to deliver, but tomorrow is a whole new day and for now we are just taking it day by day. I am not able to eat or drink anything after midnight incase the next day is the arrival of our 3 little miracles.
Our goal for now is to make it until Friday, with a fun date of 11/11/11, however if I can go further they will let me, as we were informed that every day the babies spend inside me is an additional 2-3 days that the babies don't have to spend in the hospital.
Thank you again to everyone for thinking of us, and we are so gracious to have such caring family and friends following us on this amazing journey. We will keep you all posted if anything changes on the arrival of our family.
Love!
S&B+3

Happy Halloween!

Today we had another ultrasound to check on the status of our little peanuts. Both the boys are holding up like champs, but our little girl is still having the intermittent blood flow issues in her umbilical cord. We keep hoping that every time we go in they are going to say she is doing great again, but she is proving to keep us on our toes. Our next ultrasound will be on Thursday in the afternoon to check the flow again, and hopefully sometime next week we will get to check their growth again to see if she has gained any weight.
This weekend sent a lot of visitors in to come see me. One of my favorite was Kita, as I have not seen him in almost 2 weeks! It seemed like he didn't remember who I was for a little bit, but I think he was trying to figure out all the smells before he jumped up on the bed looking for snuggles and belly rubs. Also, on Saturday a mom with her twin daughters came around and gave Halloween baskets to all the moms here on bed rest. She had been in the hospital around this time when she was pregnant with her twins so they come every year to stop by and say hi. It was a great idea and some day that is something I would love to do with the triplets, since I know how hard it is to sit here day after day wondering what the next step is. It's just hard to believe I have already (or only??) been here for 2 weeks!!! We just have to keep reminding each other that every day we are here is a blessing, as it means the babies are growing stronger and stronger before they arrive, and we are being well taken care of.
Thank you again to everyone that has been able to stop by, bring food, snacks, things for me to do, you have no idea how much I appreciate it!!!!
Have fun tonight trick or treating and thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!
Love, S&B+3

Kita enjoying the view from my hospital room :)

Here for the long haul...

After a couple of uneventful days, we went in to check the dopplers of all the babies again. Our little miss proved to keep us on our toes, and now we are here until the babies are delivered. Today has definitely been a rollercoaster of emotions but we are doing whatever it takes to keep these babies and Beth healthy as can be. We were prepared for Beth to be discharged today, as the doctors had informed us after how good our last doppler was that there was a chance that that she could go home today on strict bed rest if the doppler came back good again.
All the other tests on the babies have come back perfectly; they are all passing their BPP's with scores of 8 out of 8. A BPP is a bio-physical profile, where they come into our room every other day and check to make sure each baby is taking practice breaths, each baby has a good pocket of fluid in their sack, and to make sure each baby has good strong movements.
So now it is just a waiting game; waiting to make sure these babies stay in as long as possible. They for sure want us to go to 34 weeks and after that they said they will schedule the C-section for shortly after. Keep in mind, that the 34 week mark is the 1st of December, so this is going to be a long hard journey, but we have faith that God put us on this journey for a reason, and we will take it just one day at a time.
Thank you to everyone again for all the words of encouragement, visits, calls, texts and facebook messages!!!!
Love,
S&B+3

What a trooper!

Well, our little princess proved that all the extra rest mom has been getting these last couple of days really helped. We were so relieved and excited to learn that her blood flow through the umbilical cord came back normal!!! This is definitely an improvement from last week, so this has definitely been an amazing start to the week!!! We go back on Thursday morning to check to see if she has gained anymore weight and to make sure her doppler is still showing signs of normal or better. Until then, rest, rest, rest!!
Yesterday the doctors had started Beth on an IV of magnesium, which had we needed to deliver, it would have helped protect the babies brains and everything else considering their small size. After the great checkup today, Beth got to go off the IV, which was a huge relief because if you know Beth, you know how much she hates needles and anything that goes with them!
Also, 2 other mom's that are here that we actually met through a Multiples group we had joined both gave birth to their triplets yesterday. We were so happy to hear that all 6 babies are doing great and the mom's are healing up. What a crazy week it has been for all of us!
Beth is getting homesick, but with all the visitors and well wishes, it has definitely helped keep her occupied. The one little guy she misses more than ever is Kita, but the doctors did say he could come visit, so hopefully later this week she will get to see him.
We can not thank everyone enough for the prayers, snacks, flowers, calls, texts, emails, etc. We are so excited to be able to bring these triplets into a life already so full of people that love them!
Thanks again and we will keep you updated as the days go on!
S&B+3

Great news!

After some very anxiety filled days, we are happy to report that these little babies get to stay in to grow as much as they can over the next couple of days and hopefully weeks. We had our ultrasound yesterday morning to find that our little girl did not improve in her blood flow through the umbilical cord, but she also did not get worse. That being so, the doctors decided the best step was to keep Beth in the hospital to closely monitor her until the babies are ready to make their appearance. The hard part is knowing when this will be, she could be in the hospital for a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months; the longer the better!
We have been having a lot of tests done over the past couple of days and they babies and Beth have been closely monitored. Every morning Beth is hooked up to 2 twin monitors (they don't have one for triplets) for an hour to track the babies heartbeats to make sure they are going strong. She also has to do this every night for about 20-30 minutes and so far, all babies have come back perfectly every time. Every other morning she has to have a test called a BPP, a BioPhysical Profile, where a nurse comes in with a smaller ultrasound machine to check to make sure each baby is practicing breathing and moving around. The babies have all gotten 8 out of 8 each time she has had this.
On a side note, two other mom's that are here are also pregnant with triplets. The funny part about it is we know both of them. Beth had joined a Mother's of Multiples Group up in Coon Rapids and had met both mom's through the group. They have us all 3 in a row, and the nurses keep asking us if we have any other friends that might be coming in soon with more triplets :) One of the mom's will be delivering her babies on Monday morning, and the other is in the same situation that we are, so please also keep them in your prayers!
Thank you again to everyone for everything. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such a great group of family and friends. Beth really appreciates everyone that has gotten a chance to come visit her and all the calls and everything else to help keep her occupied.
We will keep you all updated along the way. Thanks again!
Love,
Shawn, Beth and babies

So this is bed rest...

What a crazy 24 hours I have had! Yesterday morning I came down to Abbott hospital for a long day of appointments, and had you told me I would still be here 24 hours later, I thought you would have been kidding. I went in for the growth ultrasound to check on how all 3 babies had progressed in the last 3 weeks and everything with the boys came out great, bur our little princess is not doing so well. Baby A weighed in at 2 lbs, 13 ozs and baby C weighed in at 2 lbs 6. According to the doctor, if they were singletons at full term when we they were born, we would have healthy 7.5-8 lb boys. As for our little peanut, she only gained 5 ozs in the last 3 weeks, and her cord doppler is not as good as it needs to be. Her umbilical cord is not centered in the placenta, so she is only getting about 30% of the blood flow and nutrients that she needs. She is only weighing in at 1lb 11oz, only in about the 12th percentile of where she should be. That being the case, they immediately admitted me to the hospital so they can all be monitored, but mainly her to make sure that she is getting as much blood flow as possible.
I was given my first steroid shot yesterday morning to help their lungs grow and develop as fast as possible, the 2nd shot is yet to come this morning. At this point, we have been told we have 3 options that will be happening on Friday; 1) if she isn't doing better, they will need to deliver all 3 of them, 2) I will stay on hospital bed rest for another couple of weeks until either I get the ok to go home for bed rest, or the babies come, 3) I get to go home, but will be on very strict bed rest. I can basically only get out of bed right now to go to the bathroom, so this is going to be really hard for me.
Yesterday they hooked me up twice to monitors to check the babies heart beats, which all came back strong both times, but they also noticed I have been having contractions. I am not sure how long these have been going on, as each time they pointed them out I thought they were just babies moving. They said as long as I am not in pain and none of their waters have broken, we are good to go.
I can't help but wonder if there was something I could have done different to keep her safe and healthy, but as much as the doctors and nurses keep telling me there is nothing that I could do to prevent this from happening, I think as a mom to be you just feel like it is something that could have been helped. Just please keep us all in your prayers, especially our little girl and that is all that we ask. October babies are much, much to early but we are in the best care possible, and will leave this in God's hands as this was his plan for us since the day we found out we were pregnant.
Thank you again so much to everyone for the calls, texts, messages, emails; it means the world to us to know that so many of you are thinking of us!
Love,
B+3

24.5 Week Update

We had another great check up on the triplets yesterday. All 3 are growing and getting bigger and bigger, which is great news to hear. Baby Boy A is now weighing in at 1lb 12oz, Baby Girl B is now at 1lb 7 oz, and Baby Boy C is at 1lb 13oz. We are extremely happy with our new doctors and nurses, and look forward to meeting more of them! They all seem very impressed with how well Beth is doing carrying the triplets and they told her whatever she is doing, to keep doing it because it is working! Her cervix is still holding up like a champ, so December babies might be in our future! It was crazy to hear that as we get closer to our 34 week goal, that we might even get to pick the date to schedule the c-section! We don’t have our next appointment for 3 weeks, but we are going to have it down at Abbot at the hospital where we will be delivering the babies. The appointment is going to take about 4-5 hours, as they are going to do an in-depth ultrasound on each baby getting all the measurements, and then also doing a stress test on each of them to see how they are handling being in there with each other. After the appointment and some lunch, we also have a tour of the NICU at Children’s Hospital set up in the chance that the babies need to spend some time there or the special care nursery.

Speaking of nursery, our nursery for the babies is almost complete! We are just waiting on a few more things to get done, hopefully in the next couple of days, and we will have some pictures to share. It truly makes it seem more real when you see those 3 cribs set up waiting for the arrival of the babies. Poor Kita though, he won’t come in the room and the one time he did he got put in the crib (minus the mattress) to try it out. Needless to say, he was not a happy dog =) We have also decided on 2 of the 3 babies names, but you will have to wait for them to arrive as we are keeping it a surprise. Our little girl had her name first, and then we picked out one of the boy names, but we both have what we want for the 2^nd boy and neither one of us are budging on what we want it to be. Maybe after we get to meet them and see what they look like, we will be able to decide.

We look forward to updating you all in 3 weeks after our next appointment. Again thank you so much to everyone for all the thoughts, prayers, gifts and everything in between. It is so amazing how generous people have been to us, and we appreciate it more than you will ever know!!! It’s so great to be surrounded by such amazing family and friends. We love you all!

S&B+3

22.5 Week Appt Update

Another great check up yesterday for Beth and the triplets. Her cervix is still holding strong and steady, which is great news to keep these babies in and keep them growing big and strong. Baby A is turning out to be our chubby one, he weighs in at 1lb 5 oz, Baby girl B is our little peanut weighing in at just 15 oz, and Baby C is right in the middle at 1lb 1oz. They are all very healthy and had good strong heartbeats, and the blood flow through the umbilical cord came back as normal on all 3, so that was great to hear. Beth also passed her gestational diabetes test, which was great news as when you are having multiples with a family history of diabetes, you are more prone to get it, but she is proving to make it seem like she was made to carry multiples! Bed rest is looking further and further away, which is a huge relief!

We also made a very hard choice at this last appointment, as we will now be moving all our care for Beth and the triplets over to Abbott, so that we are able to deliver down at Abbott Northwest Hospital, which is right across the street and connected to Children’s Hospital. We have been going to multiples birthing classes there, and have loved every second that we have been there. Next week we are going to be touring the Children’s Hospital and the NICU where or little peanuts will be spending some time growing strong. We made this decision not only to help us out, but more to make sure our babies are getting the best care possible, as it is not about us, but them. We are looking forward to our next appointment with our new set of doctor’s hopefully in the next week or so, and getting to know them better.

We have also started working on the nursery for the babies, as well as the room across the hall that will be our rocking/changing room for the babies. We will post after pictures once the rooms are finished, but here are some before pictures for now.

Thank you again so much for everything and we look forward to continue to update everyone with the great news!

Love,

S&B+3

Rocking/Changing Room Before

Nursery/Crib Room Before

Baby B and Baby C update

All 3 of the babies heads in a row

Baby Boy C being calm for a second

Had a quick check-up this morning to check on the blood flow through the cord for Baby B and Baby C. Baby B came back as normal, which was great to hear. Baby C would measure normal and then his flow would be low, and then it would measure normal again, and then low. The doctor said that she is sure everything with Baby C is just fine, he is just really, really active so it’s hard to get a good reading from him. I also found out the source of the pain I have been feeling under my right rib cage these past couple weeks as well, Baby C is kicking them so much he is bruising my ribs! Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done to get him to move, as there isn’t much more room for him to go, but hopefully some day he will be a famous soccer player or something to make up for it =) Our doctor also informed me that we will be reaching our first goal of 23 weeks next Friday, which means that if they were to be born after next Friday the 23^rd, they would definitely be able to make it, but with a lot of medical help and a very long hospital stay. My goal is still to make it to December 1^st, but we will see if these babies think otherwise! I have another long appt next Weds, with more measurements of the babies and the dreaded diabetes testing. Fingers crossed we pass the first one, as I definitely do not want to have to sit there an extra 3 hours if we don’t pass!

Shawn and I had our first multiples birthing class last night, which turned out to be very interesting. Out of the 11 couples that were there, only 2 of us are having triplets while the rest are having twins. It just shows that having triplets truly is a one of a kind experience, and a blessing that we can’t be happier to be having! The babies are all definitely kicking more and more. You can see it a lot more as well as feel it, so it will be interesting to see what my belly looks like in the next month or so after they are bigger and moving around a lot more.

We had a great shower up north with the Roy family at the cabin this Labor Day Wknd. It is truly amazing how wonderful and generous everyone has been in helping us get ready for these babies to come! They are very spoiled that’s for sure! I am hoping to start working on the nursery rooms these next couple of weeks, as we got a call last Friday to inform us that the cribs are in, so I went and got the paint and am ready to get these rooms organized!

Thank you again so much for everyone’s prayers and well wishes! We appreciate them more than you will ever know!

Love,

B+3



Aug. 31st Appt

Yesterday we had another check up to see how the little peanuts are doing and how Beth is doing carrying them. Again, the dr. was very impressed with how her cervix is holding up. It was like she was made to carry multiples! That was great news to hear! As for weight gain, she is right on track to meeting the goal of gaining 60 lbs. So far she has gained 30 in the last 20 weeks, so hopefully she will be able to put on the last 30 in the next 10-15 weeks. Who would have thought it would be so hard to gain 60 (healthy) pounds! But don’t worry, Ben and Jerry are definitely helping out in that department, her new favorite is the Fro-Yo Cherry Garcia! =)

As for the babies, Baby A is doing great, such a trooper down at the bottom holding up his sister and brother. We sometimes worry that he is getting squished, but he has enough protection to keep him safe. Baby B and Baby C are giving us some worry this week, the dr. said that the blood flow going from the placenta’s to each of them through the umbilical cord was measuring slower than they like, so we will need to go back in again next week to double check it. They said there are usually 2 main causes of this, 1) mom’s blood pressure and 2) just that they are being overly active during the ultrasound so it’s hard to get a good reading. After checking Beth’s blood pressure which came back perfectly normal, they are just hoping it was a fluke and will double check it again next week. It’s hard to have to wait even just a week, but we will just take it day by day, and try our very hardest not to think or worry about it, but if you know Beth, it is on her mind constantly! The dr. did say they would be a little bit more worried about it if all 3 babies hadn’t measured all the same like they did 2 weeks ago, but since they all seemed to be growing at the same pace then, it should be ok. We would greatly appreciate the extra prayers that these 2 little one’s are perfectly fine, and all they really wanted to do was show us their tricks!

They had a hard time getting some good pictures of the babies since they were so wild, so we will have to wait until next time to hopefully have some good ones.

On Friday August 19^th, Beth was in a meeting  at work and felt the babies kick for the first time on the outside. Up until now, she has only been feeling them on the inside, since July 10^th. It scared her at first, but once she realized what it was she was so excited! A lot of her co-workers have had the opportunity to feel them as well as some other friends in family. It is one of the greatest feelings ever!

We will keep everyone updated next week right after the appointment. We appreciate all the extra prayers until then.

Love,

Shawn, Beth and Triplets

Level 2 Appt, Looking good!

Baby Boy A

Baby B Girl

Baby Boy C

Yesterday I had my Level 2 doctor appointment, which was by far the longest appointment yet. Basically, they measure everything possible and compare the measurements baby to baby to make sure they are all getting the same amount of nutrients, as that is very important when you are having multiples. All measurements came back for the most part the same. All 3 babies are currently weighing in at just over a half a pound at 9oz and all are measuring in around 6” in length. Baby Boy A is measuring in just a day ahead of the other 2, but all in all they are doing great! We start going in every 2 weeks now, mainly to make sure I am doing ok with carrying them. The doctor informed me that my cervix is holding up extremely well for where I am at, who would have thought being told I had a cervix made of steel would be such a great thing? =) Fingers crossed that bed rest is still a far away thing! I am hoping I can make it until November, but we will see if my body agrees. She even told me that I am doing better than some people just carrying 1 baby at this point. Another thing they informed me of, is for anyone wanting to come and visit them after they come home to make sure you please go get your flu shot this fall. It is very important that these babies do not get sick, which is going to be hard considering they will be home during the winter, so please keep that in mind.

Thanks again so much for all your prayers and well wishes!

Love, Beth and the triplets

P.S. Go figure, the longest appointment I will ever have and Shawn is out of town for work! =)



2 Boys and a Girl!!!

Baby A - Boy

Baby B - Girl

Baby C - Boy

It’s official! We found out on Wednesday July 27^th that we will be welcoming 2 baby boys and a baby girl into our family! All 3 babies are very healthy, all measuring in at just a little over 4” in length and ranging from 4-5 ounces in weight. They are all growing at the exact same speed, which is great! Our little girl is already being protected by her brothers, as she is baby B stuck right in the middle! Beth has been feeling a little less tired, but she still likes to take naps and go to bed early. It’s beginning to be very uncomfortable for her to sleep at night; she wakes up anywhere from 2-5 times each night, either to take a bathroom break or just roll from one side to the other. Eating has also become a major part of her day, as her doctor informed us that she needs to be eating around 4,000 calories per day! The doctor is also keeping a very close watch on her cervix, as that will be a key factor as to when she goes on bed rest. As of now, everything is looking very good, but we will know more when we go back in for our appointment on August 17^th. For now we are just taking it day by day, bathroom trip by bathroom trip! Thank you again so much to everyone for all the well-wishes and prayers, they are much needed and much appreciated!

Love,

S&B+3

Pink or Blue? No word as of yet!

Well, our little peanuts decided that they weren’t ready to let us know if we would be expecting some blue, pink or a little bit of both. The dr. appt went very well, and we have 3 very healthy and active little one’s on the way. They all measured right where they should be (which is about 3 inches in length from crown to rump) and all had heartbeats at around 160. We go back in on Weds July 27^th for our next appointment, so hopefully we will find out then for sure what we are having, as mommy wants to start shopping =) After that appointment, we will need to start going in every 2 weeks to make sure the babies are progressing as they should, and to make sure there is enough room for all of them to keep growing and getting strong.

Thank you again so much to all of you for your kindness and congrats! We are more than excited and so happy we have so many of you to share this special time in our lives with.

Love,

Shawn, Beth, Kita and Triplets

Baby A

Baby B

Baby C

We're Expecting, Times 3!!!

On Friday May 6^th, we learned that we were going to be having a new addition to our family. Talk about the best Mother’s Day weekend ever!  After having Beth’s HCG levels checked, they were quite high, so we started preparing ourselves for the thoughts of having twins. Normally, the doctor’s look for something close to 100, Beth’s were at 381. On Tuesday May 10^th, she went in to have her levels checked again, and they were over 2200!!! We waited patiently the next 2 weeks and on Monday May 23^rd, we learned we would be welcoming Triplets into our family! After much shock, and many calls to family and friends, the news has finally started to sink in. We learned that they are going to be fraternal, as there were 3 separate eggs making 3 separate babies. We have already been to the dr. a couple of times to see our little peanuts, who are growing very fast and very healthy. We got to hear their heartbeats on Saturday May 28^th as well as on Wednesday June 1^st. Tomorrow (July 6^th) we have another doctor’s appointment, and if all 3 babies cooperate, we will get to find out what we are having! We can hardly stand the wait, but have received lots of output as to what others think we are having. Neither one of us has any clue, but are just praying for 3 healthy babies, with 30 fingers and 30 toes!

Thank you to everyone for all the prayers and thoughts to help get us to this point. For triplets, the normal gestation time is 33 weeks, but with all our prayers we are hoping for longer. Please keep us in your prayers!!!

Love,

S&B+3

and Kita =)

Our very first ultrasound

June 1st ultrasound