26 weeks.

Can you believe I have 8 more weeks till I hit my goal week of 34 weeks? I'm feeling good.... most of the time. Back pain started really kicking in this last week so I've been taking lots of warm baths and resting a lot more. We had a dr appt on Thursday. It was our second growth scan too. The babies are looking great and pretty big for their age! Emmalyn is weighing 1lb 11 oz, Graham is weighing 1lb 9 oz, and Hudson is weighing 1lb 12 oz. I can't believe I have over 5lbs of just baby in there! All my doctors are really impressed with how well everything is going and are sure I will be able to carry them to 34 weeks without much problem. They are keeping a close eye on me though just in case I do start to develop pre-eclampsia or any other common thing that goes along side carrying multiples.

We finally ordered the kiddo's car seats this past weekend. Actually, we bought the boys theirs and Justin's parents bought Emmalyn's. They should all be here in the next week! Our next big thing to knock off the to-do list is buying a bigger vehicle. We've been on the hunt for about a month now, but everything is either out of our price range or has to many miles on it. It's pretty hard not to be picky about what you are buying when you are spending so much money on it. Hopefully in the next couple weeks something will work out and we will fine one. Until then I'm slowly going through all the baby items we do have and kinda organizing them. I can only do things in spurts because sitting to long hurts my back. Thankfully my mom will be here soon and she can help with all of that!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the extra day off. I'm so thankful to live in a country that is free and takes such great pride in our military.

25 weeks.

To say this last week was uneventful would be the understatement of the century. Last Friday I woke up from my nap and had an awful pain in my chest. I thought it was heartburn so I took some maalox and drank a big glass of milk hoping to relieve the pain. It didn't work. We had plans with good friends of ours to go to the movies on a double date and I was not about to let some 'heart burn' ruin the fun. By the time we got to the theater the pain had worsened. We got our seats and I was able to sit through the movie with a little bit of discomfort, but I was bound and determined to enjoy my time out. When we were leaving the theater I realized my hands and feet were really swollen and I was getting really dizzy. All the symptoms put together raised a ton of red flags because I had severe pre-eclampsia with my first pregnancy and I've been warned that if I get it again it will come on really quickly. On the drive home the pain in my chest started to go away, but I was still swollen, dizzy, now with a headache. My friends mother in law happened to be in town and she is a post-pardum nurse. She advised me to lay on my left side for 30-60 minutes and see if it helped with anything. It did help and I went right to sleep without any problems. Unfortunately, the next morning I woke up not feeling great so I called the triage nurse on call to ask if I should come in to get checked out or if she thought I was okay enough to just rest... of course they said come in. We packed some snacks and toys for Elijah just in case we were there a while. I was seen pretty quickly and they took some blood and urine to be tested. Before the results came back they and said that as far as they were concerned I looked great and just needed to go home and rest, but we did need to wait to see what the lab work said before making any final decisions. When they came back just about 20 minutes later their moods had changed. I knew I was going to have to stay... Protein had showed up in my urine which is a good indication that pre-eclampsia is setting in. They wanted me to stay over night to get a 24 hour urine collection so they would be able to have a better idea if I really was pre-eclamptic or not. Let me just say, it is VERY VERY boring sitting in a hospital bed for over 24 hours! I actually wasn't on any type of restriction. I could come and go as I pleased... I just couldn't leave the hospital. Justin and Elijah hung out with me until a little after dinner time. They headed home and I watched a few movies and went to bed. I didn't sleep well at all that night. Between uncomfortably flat pillows, a fan that only had one speed--high, and lights from the nurses stations blinding me it was a useless effort. I was able to spend quite a bit of time reading my Bible and praying. As much as I hated being alone it was a sweet time with Jesus.

Thankfully the next late afternoon I was discharged on a clean bill of health. Justin was very happy to bring me home (he didn't handle me being there as well as I thought he would and when he was there with me he was pretty much bored out of his mind!) My protein levels are at 264 and in order to be diagnosed pre-eclamptic they need to be at 300 or above. We are praying that my levels don't rise and that I can stay out of the hospital for the rest of the time. We still have so much to do before these guys come. Their nursery isn't even started. Thankfully my mom is coming next week and she will be able to help me organize and prioritize everything.

24 weeks.

We've made it to a viable stage!! From here on out our babies will make it if they are born early. This week I haven't felt great. My body gets pretty sore, especially at night. Heart burn is in full force too. I can't even think about eating anything with spice in it without feeling like I'm going to get it. Other than that I'm feeling good. I have energy first thing in the morning so I try to accomplish a little during the day. Unfortunately I still have to rely on Justin for most everything. He's been a great sport about doing all the cooking and cleaning, but I can definitely tell he is so ready for me to take over again!

We go next week for our second growth scan. I'm anxious to see how much each baby weighs and how long they are. At 19.5 weeks they were all measuring bigger than singletons! We all know they aren't shy.

Elijah is in his last month of preschool. Where did the year go? He has had a great time making new friends and learning new things. He unfortunately won't be returning next year. Between the trio, how far away it is, and that it's a learning through play instead of an actual pre-k curriculum Justin and I both feel like he will be fine staying home. We've actually been going through a workbook with him. He is getting better and better at writing. I'm so proud of him!

Thats about all that has been going on here this week. I will hopefully have pictures up of our new place soon. I want to hang things back up on the walls and get the curtains hung too! Have a great weekend ya'll!

23 weeks.

I almost forgot to post this weeks picture! Our lives have been chaos this last week. Yesterday we moved from one house to another. It was the fastest move we've ever done. We had a fantastic group of friends come and help. Justin had all the guys over at the other house while I was at the new house directing where things go and had all my girl friends unpack important boxes. I think we were done in just under 3 hours. Like completely done... Our bedroom was all put together, bedding and all. Elijah's room is done. The babies things are in their room waiting to be dealt with... both bathrooms are put together. Our living room is set up and so is the kitchen and dining room. All that is left is a few odds and ends like hanging frames and art and putting away the rest of our laundry.

Today Justin is cleaning the other house so that we can hand over the keys tomorrow and be completely done with that house. I also have a baby shower this afternoon. I'm pretty stoked about it too! For the first 3ish years of being in the Marine Corps I prayed daily that God would give Justin and I good friends. Friends we can rely on for anything, who will have similar morals and values, and who love Jesus. We have those friends! I honestly don't know how I would have survived the last 1.5 years here without them. They were my support when Justin was deployed and have been my help/brain/encouragement since getting pregnant. I feel so blessed.

This past week I also went and saw my OB. All the babies look great. Still 2 boys and girl. PHEW! My body is really handling this pregnancy beautifully. My doctor said that she is sure that I am one of (if not the) best triplet pregnancy she has ever had. God is so good huh? Other than feeling large and starting to have to slow down more I feel great. My back rarely hurts, I still have ankles, I can still wear my rings, and so far am carrying mostly in my stomach! I'm trying my best to enjoy these last months before Emmalyn, Graham, and Hudson make their debut. It won't be long before I won't know what peace and quiet is! I'm savoring all these precious moments I get to snuggle Elijah. Him and I spend a lot of time reading books, playing cars, snuggling, and talking about whatever interests him. He's such a fantastic boy. I cannot wait to see him be a big brother! He will be the best!

22 weeks.

Elijah wanted to be in this week's picture. Actually he is in the picture every week but usually those are just out-takes before Justin takes the real one. The last week is sort of a blur and very busy. We finally got a bigger house and will be moving in just a little over a week. We have nothing packed and honestly, I'm dreading packing. We have to paint and clean before handing over the keys to this house. I use the word 'we' loosely because it will be mostly Justin doing the packing, moving, and cleaning. I spend the majority of my days resting and letting the trio take over my body. I cannot wait to get out and exercise again. I have enjoyed stuffing my face with all the foods I would not normally eat or at least not eat as much of, but I've actually had enough. I want good yummy food again. I want to get up and cook a healthy balanced dinner and have it ready for when my love gets home from work instead of relying on him to cook for me.

ANYWAY, sorry for that little rant. I'm so excited to have made it this far with very little issues. Many many triplet moms are not as fortunate and a lot of them end up on bed rest for the majority of their pregnancy. In the 3 years and 9 months in-between my pregnancies God did a major work in my body and created a beautiful safe haven for our sweet peas to grow. I am so thankful for his perfect plan in that and allowing me to grow in Him during the time we waited. For now I'll be patient in waiting for our trio to continue to grow and get stronger. I can't say I'm not anxious to meet each of them, but I am enjoying the time I get to carry them in my womb and feel their bodies move!