Echocardiogram

On Tuesday, the boys had an echocardiogram, which involved taking dozens of pictures of each babies' hearts.  They also measured the boys to get an estimate of how they are developing (head circumference, stomach, arm/leg length, etc.).  All in all this process took about two hours and required mommy to have to ice her back that night (ouch)!

It was another great check up as all the boys appear to be developing normally and ahead of schedule (Hallelujah)! The other good news is that the boys are all still really close together in size.  This is important because if one is developing slower/faster than the others it can cause one (or more) to have complications. Believe it or not, daddy was the more emotional one upon receiving this good news :-)

Baby A: Measuring 25w4d (I was 24w4d at time of scan), 1lb14oz, Head down with his legs kicked to the right (putting his bottom right in baby B's face - see pic below)
Baby B: 25w2d, 1lb12oz, Transverse with head on right
Baby C: 25w3d, 1lb11oz, Transverse with head on right

 This shows that they are all right above the 50th percentile and all growing together (all the symbols are right on top of one another in the graph).

Baby A Profile

Baby Boy A (or a Baby Frog whichever you happen to see here)

Baby Boy B

Baby B and C's Heads

Baby C Profile

Baby Boy C

The absolute best part is that after all the serious stuff, they put the ultrasound on a soft tissue setting so you can (kind of) see their precious little faces.

Baby A

Baby B (with the left of his face covered by Baby A's bum)

Baby C's face (with the left side of his face covered by his arm)

From the Mouth's of Babes

Some of my favorite reactions to telling others about our pregnancy have come from our nephews. It all started very early when we told John Bryan (age 5) that we were having a baby. His response was, “Today?” which helped put things into perspective for us that we had plenty of time to get ready for this adventure.

 John Bryan Ennis

Another favorite memory is when we got an email from Tara telling us that Hudson (age 4) had been telling his teachers at school that his mommy had three babies in her belly.

 

Hudson Gardner (with his darling sister Esther)

I think the all time best reaction was from Will (age 3). When Amanda tried to explain to him that Uncle Jay and Aunt Robin were having three babies. His first question was, “Why?” His next question was “Do they want to have three babies?” Will, who has always been wise beyond his years, seems to understand that three babies at a time is way more than anyone can handle.

Will Ennis

Needless to say these baby boys have some pretty adorable and clever cousins waiting on their arrival.

Week 23 1/2 Update

Belly: Still growing...Today, I went in for a check-up with the OB. Presently I see my OB once every two weeks, maternal-fetal medicine once a month, my chiropractor twice a week, my acupuncturist once a month, and my nutritionist (via phone consult) once a month. Earlier I said, I don't know how I would have had triplets if I was still teaching high school because of the physical demands. Now, I don't know how I would have done it and made all the doctors appointments (and they are only going to become more frequent), but I digress. The  doctor said that I am measuring 35 weeks (as in if I were having a singleton). A friend of mine from my multiples group measured 48 weeks with twins before she delivered, so apparently there is still room to grow. Ahh!

The boys are all still transverse. Babies A and B have flipped since our last scan and have their heads on the left, but Baby C still has his head on the right. 

 

 Me before a night at Fall for Greenville/watching the Bama-Arkansas game 

(note the Nick Chick pin)

Cravings: Anything and everything with buffalo sauce and Mexican food (so basically the same as if I was not pregnant :-)

Symptoms: The biggest issue is an upset tummy that will not get better no matter how many days I eat bland food, special smoothies, I make or charcoal I take.  Other than that, I have just really had to cut back. I thought it would be hard to do less, but as it turns out there is no way I can physically keep the pace I used to and things have just naturally slowed themselves down.

Activities: We have had so many activities in the past two weeks that they all require their own special posts - three baby showers, including weekends with family/friends in Birmingham and Greenville, and a maternity photo shoot.

This week, in addition to the OB check-up, we also went on a hospital tour. It was exciting to see and hear what to expect. It was also nice because a couple from my multiples group was there (she is expecting twin boys, so Jay and her husband joked that we had an entire basketball team between our two pregnancies).  Also, this week I had a consult with my nutritionist. She said that carrying transverse was a good because it kept pressure off my cervix (which can lead to pre-term labor). She also said that carrying transverse was bad, especially for someone who is short-waisted like me because I was going to be extra uncomfortable (I know that is bad, but it also felt a little like validation, because I have been extraordinarily uncomfortable). Anything for the boys!

Couple's Shower at Amanda Henry's Popcorn Parlor

Date: October 12, 2014
Time: 11:30 to 1:30
Location: Amanda Henry's Popcorn Parlor, Greenville, SC
Hosts: Ashley and Nick Gage with help from Lauren Boden, Shanna Hirsch, Kristine Jolivette, Kathleen Kimball, Kim Landrum, Lauren Evanovich, & Nicole Swoszowski

This was a very special baby shower since everyone in attendance was from out of town. We were so honored that so many friends and family traveled to celebrate with us from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and other parts of South Carolina.  We had lots of yummy treats and played some really fun games. It was a superhero BD baby shower!

The superparents-to-be!

The Super Group!

Favors and decorations!

The Prices and Grellings

The Prices

The Grellings (Bo is tall)

The girls (including Olive Sue with her godmothers, Lauren E., Lauren B., & Kathleen)

The Gages

The Super Grandmothers

 Silly Games!

 Presents!

Super Cake Servers!

Super IVF Coaches

The Babies' First Clemson Tailgate and Fall for Greenville

So many friends came in to town to celebrate our couples shower in Greenville that we just had to a make a full weekend out of it, and a what a full weekend it was. 

On Friday, Lauren (Evanovich), Kim, Tim, and Jake (Landrum) met Nick, Ashley, Olive Sue (Gage), and I in Clemson for lunch at TD's.  Olive and Jake (both precious IVF miracles) even had their first kiss in Downtown Clemson.

Olive Sue also liked playing with Wrigley and on the back porch with her Aunty Birdy.

On Friday night, Lauren, Nick, Ashley, Jay, mom, and I headed to Downtown Greenville for Fall for Greenville. Everyone had some yummy food, Olive Sue rode her first carousel, and there was even dancing.  Jay even put a "Hi Nick" sign in his window to welcome his male house guest (the house will be overrun with boys soon enough, but this weekend we had lots of ladies).

On Saturday, we all headed to Clemson to tailgate before the game against Louisville. Everyone supported the home team! I'm sad we didn't get pics of the Clemson crew that stopped by (Janie, Blaine, Antonis, Joe, & Julie) or Tim and Jake who were busy walking around exploring.

The boys reading children's books at the tailgate.....and selfie photo bombing!

That night we headed back to Fall for Greenville (or some of us watched the Bama game from the sports bar) where Olive Sue got to go to her first concert. 

It was an amazing weekend (requiring naps on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for this mom-to-be!).

Couple's Shower at Avondale Brewery

Date: October 4, 2014
Time: 6:30 to 9:30
Location: Avondale Brewery Courtyard
Hosts: Caleb Adair, Kristen and Taylor Hull, Allyson and Adam Madinger, Cortney and Jason Rockhill

We had a blast at our couples shower. Cortney, Jason, Allyson, Adam, Caleb, Kristen, & Taylor made it such a special and fun night for us (we had fun after an Alabama loss, which is saying something). We were so honored that Jamie and Holly came up from Florida and Gary and Heather (our triplet parent friends) came to share their wisdom.

Pretty bird decorations and cake!

Jay spent most of his time with Baby Deacon (he has baby fever right now)

The Rockhills

The Arnolds

 The Ennises

The Girls!

The Lee's (Parents to 6-year-old triplets a 4-year-old)

The Cains

Presents from the Madan's (not present, but we definitely called)

 

The peeps around the fire pit and tables (our attempt at a group picture was a failure)

Morgan, David, & Tyler

Robin and Baby Brother