baby b

baby b
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Here is the Baby B pic finally! Just noticed they forgot the R in our last name. It's hard to tell in this photo but the hands are chilling behind the head and the legs are crossed as if on the beach relaxing.

I have to rave about yesterdays doctor. I met with this female doctor yesterday and she was a delight. So I get to work and she calls me, that s right- SHE- not one of her assistants, to ask if I had a Rhogam shot (no) since I am RH- She immediately said how she would make sure I get an appt the following morning. Score! So Chaz and I are at home and my phone rings at 9:15pm but I didn't recognize the number so I didn't answer it. Turns out, it was HER! She called us from her home b/c she was thinking about us and reviewing our folder (at night!) and wanted to make sure I was squared away with my appt for the morning. WHAAAAT!?!?! Now that rocked. She called from her home at night! Love it. Oh she sooo wants us to be her patient!

So I went to my 7:55 am appt at the convenient Oviedo office for the Rhogam shot. I got the cool nurse who has triplet granddaughters & showed us their pics last time. Turns out Rhogam comes straight out of the fridge (32 degrees). It doesn't go in the arm or belly, it goes in the HIP. That was new to me but really no big deal after having to give myself shots! It was a walk in the park. I get another shot in 12 weeks.


Chaz met with the Minolta machine guy while at work and turns out he has triplet grandkids and even gave Chaz their website: http://tripletsandus.com/triplets/index.htm

In other news, my friend Melissa is getting married in June, Callahan's wedding is in July, Ken's is in August and Feli's is in September and I will probably deliver in October (but am holding out for November). That is the news for today.

My first REALLY, REALLY, REALLY big scare

So this morning was so not cool.
I woke up to pee at 7:09am, mind you, not really awake at this point. Chaz was still sleeping.
I noticed blood. Holy crap was I scared. No, scared isn't even the right word. Let's go with petrified. Suddenly my vocabulary only consisted of 'oh my God' over and over again. I am shaking at this point. My 1st thought was to go straight to the car in my jammies and head to the hospital. I woke up Chaz and he calmed me down and told me to call the doc (I was more ready to stand at their door and bombard them as they arrived to work). I called and they were able to get me in at 9:45 at the Winter Park hospital (a bit of a drive compared to my close one but they have way cooler equipment). Mind you, my Winnie Palmer apt isn't till Tuesday and I havent had a sonogram since well before the Vegas trip. So long, freak out story short, everything is fine. I even got to do our first cool sonogram/ultrasound!!!

The babies are actually stacked condo style, with baby C a little off to the right and on top. The 1st baby (A) was jumping and kicking and basically having a party the whole time we watched on the screen. Baby B was just chilling as if on the beach with the hands behind the head and the legs folded, and Baby C was on top laughing at getting the best spot in the house. We are guessing two boys and a girl, Baby C being the girl. The heart beats were 164, 168, and 170 (the normal range is 120-180). My blood pressure is cool as well. They said my weight is cool and everything is fine. I think I will permanently switch to this office location. I didn't stop shaking until maybe 3pm today. Man was that scary. I had one of our computer guys scan the pics but he scanned one twice so we are missing one. I will post it tomorrow.

I also found out my blood type is B- and that I am Rh negative. I do nothing normal in this world. Like 1% of the population is Rh - No biggie tho- I just get a shot in the morning at the Oviedo office tomorrow. I was also that 1% to have to get my Lasik redone. That minority population with triplets. I'm telling ya- me and the norm, just not happening (which leads me to believe I will be that freak case who carries triplets past the due date...). So that is my abbreviated freak out story minus all of the drama.

Here is Baby C:


Here is Baby A with some kicking action:


And chillin' Baby B is too cool for a photo today and will make you wait for it.
xoxoxo

Morning Sickness?....

I might have had my first bout of morning sickness the 1st week of my 2nd trimester but I am not sure. The confusion arises b/c Chaz threw up around 4am. Mine was at 10am. Maybe a coincidence? However, I was asking for it. We were going out to breakfast at 10am but I decided I should eat just to eat before hand. I had a glass of fabulous Limeade (probably too citrus/acidy as a base!) followed by these cheese and crackers that were super spicy and weird. Whatever it was, it is now with the porcelin Gods! I ended up going with Chaz to McDonalds just to get the most calorie filled meal. Holy cow- when has gaining weight become so hard? Are you kidding me with this? I will see what is up with that at my June 3rd appointment over at Winnie. They also make us take a genetic counseling session before the ultrasound. Interesting.

Speaking of pregnancies, Lori and Mel are expecting and we are probably more thrilled then they are! It would be even more cool if they have twins. Time will tell. Either way, I am psyched.

I am in search of a good drug/vitamin connection b/c this $90 a month for prenatals and iron seems absurd. I emailed the iron vitamin company and will see if I can get a sympathy discount from them of some sort.

My in-laws were up this weekend and installed crown molding in the back two rooms which I love!!! They also helped with weeding the pool area and then helped us discover a gold mine of fun in the woods of our backyard (see Flickr pics). More soon.

Long weekends are the best

So far we are having a lovely long weekend. Chaz folks arrived on Saturday and we did dinner at Longhorn and caught the Indiania Jones movie (it was good but the ending was a little...weird but still cool). They have also been working hard on the crown molding in the back two bedrooms.



We also went on a walk through the woods in the backyard and learned there are huge fish and cool areas that we havent ever seen in the three years we have lived here!



Tiger really liked it but his bushy tail managed to sweep up all of the burrs!


We also stumbled across some crazy plant like as well.


Chaz was even able to convince me to let Monkee off the leash (sooo scary for me!).


All is well. I am still trying to gain more weight and for once it is hard! I eat something and the kids burn the fuel instantly!
More soon.

Just a hello

So we are finally starting to show. It was as if it happened over night. Very entertaining. At the moment, I am a bit annoyed with Winnie Palmer b/c their scheduling department has had 7 days to call me to schedule my next ultrasound and they haven't yet (despite me reminding them). Grrrr.

Looks like the baby shower date will be August 2 (Saturday). The weekend before that is the closing ceremony for my summer camp so scratch that date and the weekend after that didn't work so the 2nd looks fabulous. Watch for the Evites and snail mails to go out later this summer :)


Registering has been interesting. We registered for the basics. We get conflicting recommendations on breast pumps (I will wait till June 3rd when I go to the Great Orlando Moms of Multiples meeting to get the answers!). I also wanted to hear what Winnie Palmer recommends...that is- if I ever get in there! Those baby Bjorns are everywhere, but no store carries a double one so we will get that on line. We did buy the baby monitor. Oh- lets talk about man bags (diaper bags). Granted, the stores carry a bunch, but they suck. There is no way to fit diapers and bottles for three babies into one of those normal diaper bags. So we found some cool ones online for Chaz that we will get. The cosleeper is also a bear- Chaz has this one in mind but we have a hard time finding it. The wall of it goes down so they are right next to you by the bed, and the floor also collapses so it goes from a sleeper to a play pen. That one is all Chaz. I think he is looking at the mini ones and a regular one. Not sure.

I am looking forward to going to my first GOMOTT meeting. I wish they had one for men or a co-ed one. The ladies there have already called me. One talked for an hour straight. She was cool till she said "oh I have a triplet mom friend who went on bed rest at 14 weeks." Why would you even say that to m

This weekend we will be putting up crown molding in the babies room w/ Chaz folks. Okay, really by 'we' I mean them while I watch......man that is hard to get used to!

Looks like we will plan to start Fl Pre-paid in Jan.
All is well though. Just wanted to check in.

The list of retarded questions

So we will start to compile the retarded questions that people ask us about triplet pregnancy and include the smart a$$ responses that we will try to use from now on (we are open to suggestion and this list will continue):

*Wow, how did this happen? (New answer): We had sex three times in one night.
*Did you get an ultrasound to confirm there are three?: No, we took 3 pregnancy tests and they were all positive. or we are psychic.
*Wow- you have your hands full. Do you know you have to get 3 of everything?: No- that is news to us.
*Do you have people to help? No, we were just going to let the dogs guard them.
*Do you have family to help? No, our family went running to the hills when the heard.
*Bank all of your sleep now. (Thanks geniuses).
*Do triplets run in your family? Oh they will be running all over.
*Better you than me. Again- no crap sherlock. Obviously God knew they couldn't handle it so yes, better us than them.
*I thought my twins were bad enough (and people have to take a test for a license to drive but not a test to be licensed to have kids- who says lines like that!)

*We esp love the "Is it natural or fertility drugs?" Do we even know you? Why do people ask such personal questions?

And here is the best video of what to really expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GE6zQ8FWok

Todays Doc Appt Update (10 weeks 5 days)

Today was a very interesting day thus far. I was sooo excited about this appointment and doing an ultrasound/sonogram. Didn't happen :( Apparently since I have so many babies they want me to have the super special machine to do it at Winnie Palmer. Nuts. But I had all the blood work done (they took FIVE vials of blood!!!). Let's just say that this was a very eye opening appt. Here is what I learned:
*I am basically considered their highest of high risk. Oh Joy. Just b/c of the # of babies.
*I am on the accelerated track. They are hoping for me to make it to 34 weeks. 30-32 is more common. Sigh- good bye Homecoming Week :(
*We will prob find out genders at 18 weeks.
*Our doc said they only do that 3D imaging thing for no more than twins. Chaz wanted to do that so badly!
*He says bed rest is definitely in my future, however, I still intend to be that one freak case and prove him wrong.
*I asked about breast pumps and he recommended Hollister over madela...
*I will be delivering via C-section at Winnie Palmer.
*I get to stop the retchid Progesterone next week.
*I get to stop Metformin around week 12.
*My doc has delivered triplets before. He said to expect at least 15 people in the delivery room.
*He switched me back to the Prima Care 1 new and improved pre natals.
*I'll go to the regular OB doc at least once a month, but also to the high risk cool doc over at Winnie Palmer.
*They gave me some huge goody bag when I left but it is in the car so I have no idea what is in it.
*I'll need to take out my belly ring. :( Nuts.
*No hot tub. Oh well- it is 90 degrees outside anyways.
*Next month we discuss when I will have to stop dog walking :o
*Winnie Palmer will call me today to figure out when I go in for that sonogram

The doc was very blunt and straight to the point. I enjoyed that. He answered all my questions, didn't sugar coat anything. It takes me 4 minutes to get to his office. Definitely sticking with him.
I am now beginning to digest the idea that I MIGHT be put on bed rest. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE to sit still for more than two minutes! I guess I can cross stitch something cool in that scenario.

The funny part of the visit was in the actual room. At my last doc office, the chair for the husband to sit on was always by my head/ kind of behind me. At this place, they had it set up so he is in direct view of 'my stuff.' So when it was time to get undressed, Chaz decided to wait outside for the doc to be done. Seriously- if you were a hockey player it was like being lined up with the goalie. The doc just moved into this new ginormous suite so when I told him that, he said that is probably why all of the men have been leaving the room! When Chaz left the room, I was still getting undressed and the doc thought that meant I was done so he walked in and well, lets just say he got to see a full moon. And thats my story.

Pondering thought

So I got to thinking about genetics. Here's where I am going with this. I have two siblings. My sister is about 7 years older and my brother is 10 years older. Here are my ponderings....
We never fought. I can't recall any arguments with them. Ever.
They always shared. For instance, those fabulous bags of Reeses peanut butter cups, they would sit there and count them to make sure they were divided evenly.
They have never missed any family traditional events or news.
They are always there for you.
They rock.

So here is my question. What caused this?
1.) Is it simply genetic programming?
2.) Was it environment (I doubt this b/c they grew up in sweet happy Iowa while I grew up in the hood so scratch that one)
3.) We obviously know it wasn't the school system b/c schools in dade county should all be shut down b/c it produces a graduating class of about 97% convicts.....
4.) Was it simply our parents? However, we had them at very different stages in their life (for instance- they at one point were able to say they had a kid who was in their 20s, 30s and 40s all at the same time).
5.) I guess we can conclude it was a mix of a variety of things. None the less- it is still fascinating.

Here is a prime example of my brothers coolness. He drove up from WPB, and took an additional hour drive in search of Krispy Kreme donuts to bring to me b/c my sister mentioned that I wanted one while they visited over the weekend.


Example two is how my sister drove all the way up here just to help us register.


Example 3 is how my folks drove all the way while we were in Vegas just to babysit my dogs and stock my fridge up with Ensure for the babies.

So there you have it. My family rocks.
I am rambling and off to bed!

Book I am reading

I am reading this fantastic book that Chaz got me called Triple Treasures.
What I like about it is the fact that it is a true story and she went through a lot of the same things I did (and she had PCOS). BUT I have to give you the abridged version of the freaky stuff in the middle of the book:
*She was put on bed rest
*Oh yeah- they bought a bigger house while she was pregnant but b/c she was on bedrest, her family and to move everything and decorate/organize everything
*Then she was put on bed rest in the hospital for like 5 weeks I believe
*She delivered her triplets via C-section and they were in the NICU for FIVE weeks (usually I hear 1 week).
*She got to bring home the 1st boy. While home she spikes a fever. Turns out she has a uterine infection. Goes to the doctor/hospital. Wakes up to not knowing what happened- turned out she started to hemorage while they were fixing her uterus and would have died if she didnt have an emergency hysterectomy so her husband told them to do it :o So they had to reopen her c-section scar 3 weeks later to remove the other stuff. Ouch.
*So while she is in the hospital, the fire alarm goes off (and the elevators shut down) but her babies were 2 floors up so she had to take the stairs to get to her babies and hope her entrails didnt fall out while climbing the stairs. It was a false alarm.
*Then she finds out that they needed a new roof (cha ching) so they had the roof redone, but when she went to bring home her 2nd boy, the AC unit dies and they had to buy a new AC unit (cha ching). So while they did that, they discovered a mold problem. Are you kidding me!
*Then one kid turned out to be both lactose and soy intolerant. One kids lip turned blue while drinking formula.
*Then she got a pelvic infection.
*Holy smokes man- there were a bunch of small other things but you get the jists of things. It was a real page turner. I have 1 chapter left.

The vet experience

It was time for our annual vet appy yesterday. Chaz is banking up his sick and annual leave so I went by myself. My vet rocks. He loves, loves, loves my dogs (okay, tiger more but it is rare fr Monk to like a stranger and he even gave this doc a kiss). I am glad Chaz didn't go b/c he would have been mortified w/ me. I told the doc straight up that we are having triplets so we need to keep this appt well....'financially sound as possible.' I had to get heartworm pills for a year for TWO large dogs. Cha ching. They have regular kind and some fancy kind w/ flea preventative. In 9 years I have never had a flea problem w/ Monk so I went with the other. That saved some money. They they also broke everything down in price before they did anything. Score. They told me that it was time for their wellness tests. So I flat out asked- hey if one dog has a disease, chances are, the other one does too, right? So can't you just test one? And they said absolutely. I was floored. So that save money. They gave Monkee some ear meds for free.
Let me tell you- Tiger is like a movie star at this vet. EVERY staff member comes to see him and do high fives & get kisses (all while smart Monkee is knocking at the door in hopes that someone will open it up so he can high tail it out of there). Tiger loved the 3 shots he got b/c of the attention. He even pushed Monkee out of the way and offered to take his shots for him to get more attention. When they took him in the back, they said he rolled over & let them trim all his nails and whatever else they wanted to do. They said they have never seen a dog sweeter than Tiger.




Oh- then we did the weigh ins. Last year Tiger weighed 87.9 pounds and this year he weighed 67.7 pounds. The automatic dog feeder in combination with the vegetarian allergy dog food did the trick. They said he looks great. Monkee weighs 47.7 pounds. He gained a pound over the year.




But then get this- in the waiting room they had a video playing showing the Furminator (apparently the amazing dog brush of all brushes) and my vet gave it to me for free as a baby shower present! They also helped me carry stuff to the car (they even came out to help when I arrived). I So that was a fabulous vet experience, despite the $532.71 bill........(about 200 of which was heartworm pills). OUCH!