The Triplets Are Here!!!

Patrick here announcing the great news! Yesterday afternoon on Wednesday the 26th of June we welcomed our three babies into the world! Our lives have changed forever and everyone is doing amazing! Kate will post much more about it when she gets a moment but for now I will give you a few details.

We got to the hospital very early on Wednesday morning and after some monitoring, the docs decided it was time to deliver at 34 weeks and 3 days.

At 1:47 pm Declan Seamus was born! He weighed 4 pounds 15 ounces and was 18 inches long! He is doing great in the nicu.

At 1:48 pm Owen Tadhg was born! He weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 inches long! He too is doing great.

Then at 1:49 Evelyn Aoife was born! She weighed 5 pounds 2 ounces and was 18 inches long! She is doing so awesome as well.

Right now all three babies are in the NICU but non of them needed CPAP and are just on oxygen. They got to spend some time with us in the recovery room before they were moved and we got to hold all of them! They all have feeding tubes now and are receiving What Kate has been able to pump. We are taking their stay day by day but hopefully it won't be too long!

Kate is tired but doing amazing and she is already such a good mom!

We are totally and utterly in love with them and can't believe they are here! We are enjoying our time as a family of five and are figuring out being new parents of triplets! Sorry if posts aren't as frequent for the next few weeks but be sure that pictures will come soon enough!! And thank you for all of your kind words!

On Their Way!!!!!!

The babies are in their way!!! We haven't quite gotten to the hospital but we are on our way. The babies are making their appearance and we are ready!!who knows if this is actually it but with their thoughts it will be. We will keep you all posted.

34 Week Appointment... Oh Boy!!!

Today was another great appointment. The babies are measuring well and are all looking great. 

We had some big changes today though! I am now dilated to almost 3 cm and am 50% effaced!! We aren't sure anymore if we will make it to the scheduled date next Monday July 1st. So plans have changed!

We now have an appointment and a scheduled c-section (only if necessary) for Friday June 28th! If I am progressing a lot or having lots of contractions we may deliver then since its easier to have it scheduled, especially with the weekend.

My doctor said he will be very surprised if I don't go before then. We can't believe it! Just 4 days away!! I will keep you all updated if anything happens but I am having more contractions. We are being very careful. I am so happy we made it!! We'll see where it goes!!!

Pregnancy Update: 34 Weeks!

I can't even look at this picture. I am huge!

I really can't believe I am still pregnant. It was always our goal to get to 34 weeks but it seemed so distant, and now that we've made it, so surreal. Although I am SO uncomfortable and ready to have my body back, I am so happy I have been able to carry the babies this far. There haven't been any real complications and for that I am very grateful. We only have 1 week left and I can't believe we are in the final stretch! We did it!! At 34 weeks babies have roughly the same chance of survival without complications as a full term baby and that is so relieving. Im anxious to see whats going on tomorrow at  our appointment but for now we are enjoying this huge milestone!!

How far along: 34 weeks!

Size of babies: 3 Large Cantaloupes!

Total weight gain/loss: 49 pounds as of 5/17/13. 

Gender: Yes we know! 2 boys and a girl! Owen, Declan, and Evelyn!

Maternity clothes: Nothing but t shirts and sweats this week.

Stretch marks: Still 2 faint ones on each side.

Belly Button: Popped! It's weird but I kinda like it.

Sleep: Bad. But im ok with it. Ive surprisingly been able to cope.

Symptoms: More contractions and lots of back pain.

What I miss: Energy and sleep.

Cravings: Ice cream!

Aversions: Nothing! Thankfully that stopped after the first 2-3 months.

Best Moment: Making it to 34 weeks!!

What im looking forward to: We will meet the babies in just 1 week and 1 day! I can't believe it!!

Birthday, Father's Day, and Babies Update

Yesterday, June 18th, was my 27th birthday! I am pretty surprised the babies havent been born yet but in a good way. When we found out we were having triplets due early August, we figured they would be here in early June. But it is so awesome, although very uncomfortable for me, that I have been able to carry them so far! 

We are getting ready for d-day as we are calling it in just 11 days so we didn't do much but it was a great day. We went out to a nice dinner close to home then stayed in to watch a movie. It was a fun day and Patrick only worked until 2 so we spent a lot of time together. That's all I could want! This past year has been amazing with our wedding, honeymoon, getting pregnant, finding out we were having triplets, and all the other fun things throughout the pregnancy. I can not wait to see what this next year brings! We will have so many new memories and I am so excited. It is pretty crazy to think we have are going from newly weds to a family of 5 in just 11 months. 26 was a great year and 27 will be even better!

On Sunday, Patrick got up early and went out to play golf with his dad and brothers for Father's Day. I went to hang out at my parents house and had brunch with them and my siblings. That afternoon we just spent the day together thinking about how much fun we are going to have being parents. I cooked him a big dinner and made him his favorite dessert, chocolate raspberry cheesecake! I got him a few things he wanted, mainly dress clothes, and my favorite gift was a new SF Giants jacket and matching ones for the babies! He is so excited to bring them to games. When I picked them up, they also had cute jerseys that I just had to splurge on so I gave him those too. Aren't they so darn cute?!

I also had my 33 week appointment on Monday. Everything looked great. The babies are still growing well but they couldn't get good measurements again. My cervix has shortened to 2.6 and I am now 1 cm dilated. But this is still great and everything is better than what is expected at this point. It is just a waiting game now. I am still having about 8 contactions a day but nothing horrible. 

Not very much longer now!!!

Pregnancy Update: 33 Weeks!

How far along: 33 weeks!

Size of babies: 3 Pineapples!

Total weight gain/loss: 48 pounds as of 5/10/13. 

Gender: Yes we know! 2 boys and a girl! Owen, Declan, and Evelyn!

Maternity clothes: I am wearing a maxi dress today for Father's day but besides that I have only worn t-shirts and athletic shorts or sweat pants all week.

Stretch marks: I think I have a few very faint ones. So far it is 2 on each side.

Belly Button: Popped! I was really surprised by this! It popped a few days ago. I didn't think it would because of how stretched it had gotten. It looks weird now because it's off center and you can tell from my shirts!

Sleep: I've come to terms with not much sleep. I sleep for 1 hour increments and then have to shift because im uncomfortable or get up and go to the bathroom. Then it takes me a while to fall back to sleep.

Symptoms: Ive had more contractions lately but still nothing to be worried about. Plus all the aches and pains of carrying triplets.

What I miss: Energy and sleep.

Cravings: I have craved watermelon this week but besides that it has still been hard to get enough calories. I have not been very hungry.

Aversions: Nothing! Thankfully that stopped after the first 2-3 months.

Best Moment: Celebrating the day with Patrick for Father's Day. He is going to be and already is the best dad ever and loves these babies so much. I can't wait to see him with them!

What im looking forward to: We have another appointment tomorrow and are just 2 weeks away from meeting the babies!

Midweek Randoms

I am linking up again with Megan from In This Wonderful Life! Go check her out!

1. My belly botton popped!! I woke up this morning with my belly botton sticking out! It has been flat and stretched for weeks so i didn't think it would but it is! It looks very weird, but I kinda like it.

2. Today I haven't done anything. When I got up to get a glass of water and sat back down on the couch, (probably a total of 25 steps) I was winded. I can't believe how out of shape I feel! haha I guess I do have 3 babies growing inside of me as pretty good an excuse.

3. After this weekend we will have nothing planned until the babies arrive!

4. I can't wait to celebrate fathers day! I have a few things planned but can't say anything yet!

5. We installed the car seats today!! The bases are all in but we are keeping the actual seats in the house.

6. I can't think of anything else. It has been a very lazy week so far.

32 Week Appointment

Today was a quick appointment. My OB couldn't get a good measurement on any of the babies and didn't want to try to guess. He said they are still growing and developing well, they were just moving too much and are running out of room. We may or may not get more measurements before they arrive! Last week they were all around 4 pounds so im assuming they are about 4.5 pounds now. Which is great!

As far as my cervix goes, its still 2.7 which is good and is softening. But, its still closed! Awesome news for this week. He said after it starting to funnel last week, he thought for sure I would be a little dilated today. Next week will be a big week to make sure the babies are still growing well. We are getting to the point now that we are still trying to keep them in as long as possible, but with their sizes, we may deliver even earlier. Right now he's still confident about July 1st. He did tell me that because they are doing so well, he is ok delivering early if I have had enough. I assured him that I can do it but he said the next few weeks can be rough. At this point, i've made it this far, I can do 3 more weeks!

Im still having contractions, about 8 or so a day. It's nothing to worry about yet, but it just gives me some more pain to deal with. Yay!

Triplet pregnancies are a double edged sword. You try so hard to get everything ready when you still have energy knowing that they could come very early, but then you get to here and get so anxious with nothing to do! I hav been trying to keep myself busy with looking at cloth diapers and wool and thinking about when the babies are here. And I am so grateful to have so much family! My sister Megan has been over almost everyday to hang out and lots of other family have come over to help with chores and to keep me company. It has been such a godsend.

Patrick has been super busy trying to get all of his big accounts out of the way and has been working really hard so that he can have as much time off when they arrive. His whole firm is being awesome and I am so grateful that they are so accommodating.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement and hopefully these next few weeks fly by!

Pregnancy Update: 32 Weeks!

We made it!! We made it to the 32 week milestone! I always knew I wanted to go further but this is huge. It is so relieving knowing we have gotten this far. 32 weeks is the average length of a triplet pregnancy. If the babies were born now they would have excellent chances of survival rates without any serious long-term disabilities. We have 2 more weeks until our other big goal and just 3 more until the scheduled birthday!!

How far along: 32 weeks!

Size of babies: 3 Squashes!

Total weight gain/loss: 46 pounds as of 5/3/13. 

Gender: Yes we know! 2 boys and a girl! Owen, Declan, and Evelyn!

Maternity clothes: I only really got dressed once this week. And that was to go to the Giants game. I wore a maternity tank and one of Patrick's jerseys and yoga pants. Other than that Ive been in sweats or shorts and xl t/shirts.

Stretch marks: I think so. They are still very faint but I think i've found 2. One on each side. Not too bad for this stage though!

Belly Button: Flat and stretched out.

Sleep: Still not good. I lay awake more than I sleep at night. But thankfully I can nap.

Symptoms: Lots of aches and pains.

What I miss: Energy. Definitely energy.

Cravings: Not much. Im not very hungry at all so nothing sounds good. There just isn't enough room! 

Aversions: Nothing! Thankfully that stopped after the first 2-3 months.

Best Moment: Picking the outfits for the babies to come home in! Im so happy to have them. Also making it to 32 weeks!

What im looking forward to: Father's Day! Im so excited for Patrick to celebrate. Hopefully the babies dont come before then! He's said for a while that it would be the best present, but we want them to keep cooking for as long as possible.

Going Home Outfits!

I have spent many hours trying to find the perfect outfits for our babies. I ordered a few personalized gowns and onesies early on but I have since decided not to use them for going home. We may use the personalized hats, but they are newborn size and they may not fit so we'll see.

We are not going to deal with trying to cloth diaper in the hospital because we dont know how long we will be there and it would be hard to keep track of all the diapers. So the first time they wear cloth will be on their way home! The weather should be nice so I wanted to do something where the diapers are visible. I didn't realize how hard it is to find preemie or newborn shirts! I searched high and low for the perfect ones.

I finally found what I was looking for today! I bought newborn size shirts but they are pretty small since it is Carter's brand and they did not have them in preemie. Plus I would rather them be a bit big than a bit small!

First the boys',

Turtle shirt, blue xs fuzzibunz, blue and white striped hat, blue mittens, blue and grey shoe socks!

Then Evelyn's,

Pink and orange shirt, orange nb bumgenius, pink and white striped hat, pink mittens, pink shoe socks!

I ordered the socks for Evelyn but they aren't here yet.

I love the outfits and so happy I found them! I can't wait for them to wear them!
I also got the boys matching teal and grey striped blankets and Evelyn a pink and orange striped one.

31 Week Appointment

We had another appointment today and everything is still looking great! The babies are still measuring huge for their gestation! Owen is 4 pounds 4 ounces, Declan is 4 pounds even, and Evelyn is 4 pounds 1 ounce! We have 4 pounders!!! Obviously the weights may be a little off, but because of the high tech equipment and the fact that they have consistently measured on the same curve, it is probably only by a few ounces. My OB is expecting them to slow down a bit now which is totally normal but it is so awesome that they have gotten this big. Now we will just watch to make sure they dont completely stop and there are not any complications, but all is looking great for a July 1st delivery!

My cervix measured 2.7 cm and is starting to funnel slightly but is still closed. Funneling is from the uterine side of the cervix and is the first sign of dilation. Because i am already 31 weeks, this is not a big concern, but we will watch it closely. The funneling is probably from Owen being so low this week. He didn't put me on bedrest but said to be careful, which I am already doing. Ive started to have contractions randomly the last few days, and he said to call him if I have a lot but it is totally normal for this far along.

He also said it is amazing that i still am not dilated at all. He figured even with how well the pregnancy has gone, that I would be 2 cm dilated at this point! So as uncomfortable as I am right now, I have to be grateful for not having any big complications and how well the babies are doing.

28 More Days!!!

Pregnancy Update: 31 Weeks!

We're within a month!! Crazy! Time is going by fast and slow all at the same time. This past week was pretty tough physically but we got a lot done! We are officially done and ready with all baby related things and all of our diapers are prepped and ready for babies! I've been in serious nesting mode and wanting to do a lot of cleaning, so it has been awesome to have my mom come and help. We have family around a lot and I don't know how I would get everything done without them! We are starting to cook a lot of meals to have in the freezer but the grandparents and relatives have already offered to come and help with the babies and cook, clean etc.

When we first moved into our house, we kept the master bedroom open for a nursery when we would start trying (we were going to make it something, but it stayed a storage room since we got pregnant so quickly), and we took the room at the back of the house. We made one of the other bedrooms an office for both of us and one a guest room. We also have a bonus room on the bottom floor that we made a workout room. We realized that we would have a lot of people helping, so we have since put another bed in the office as well as a bed in the workout room. So we have lots of beds now! Yay!

Also, I look sooooo much bigger this week. Not necessarily out front but, Owen feels like he has dropped down a lot lower and you can tell. Evelyn has been really high the last few days too. So its been really comfortable for me. NOT. Getting kicked in the bladder, cervix, and ribs at the same time is not fun. All while carrying an extra 45 pounds. I have been getting winded pretty easily.

How far along: 31 weeks!

Size of babies: 4 Naval Orages each! So they are the size of 12 oranges! (weird comparison I know)

Total weight gain/loss: 45 pounds as of 5/27/13. 

Gender: Yes we know! 2 boys and a girl! Owen, Declan, and Evelyn!

Maternity clothes: I have 2 dresses that I wear. Other than that I am in yoga pants/sweats/workout shorts and Patricks t-shirts. The dress above is actually too small now to wear as a dress but it is so comfy that I may try to make it a shirt.

Stretch marks: I think I may be getting a few (sadly) but maybe not, I can't really tell.

Belly Button: Flat and stretched out.

Sleep: Not good, but I expect it at this point.

Symptoms: Any and all. Tired, uncomfortable, lower-back pain, Braxton hicks.

What I miss: Definitely still energy. And being independent. I need help to do a lot of things now.

Cravings: Now I have been craving Italian food. Lots of carbs and protein so I guess thats good.

Aversions: Nothing! Thankfully that stopped after the first 2-3 months.

Best Moment: Getting to go to my friend Julie and Mike's Wedding. It was so beautiful and I am so excited for them! And for anyone wondering, I did use a wheelchair.

What im looking forward to: Going to the Giants game on Wednesday. We have season tickets so we go a lot but it will probably be our last one for a while!