30 Week Update

Had a quick trip to see Dr. Gonzales on Monday...

Everything still looking great! Dr. Gonzales made me promise to be extra good this week as she will be out of town from Wednesday till Sunday. So...I have been staying horizontal for the most part.

This pregnancy has been such a roller coaster. First, we had to worry about losing a baby. Once that risk was passed we had to start worrying about preterm labor. This is ongoing until I actually have them but starting a few months ago I had to worry about my cervical length. Now that I am past 30 weeks, I have to worry about cervical softening and dilation. Ugh...always a worry!

Monday after checking me, she said my cervix was softening (normal) but no dilation. Ultrasound showed that the boys are doing well and had good heart rates. She also said that next week she will schedule my c-section. Most likely it will be set for May 4th. I guess it could change depending on the hospital and neonatal scheduling. That date is right at 36 weeks so WHEN (not IF) I make it that far...it looks as if I will have some good sized boys (6+lbs.) She also said that if they are that size and have no problems, it is likely that they will be released when I do. I guess that is when the real FUN begins. eek!

So far I am not totally miserable...YET. But I know that I am bigger now than I was with Peyton when I went in to have him. I'm pretty sure my belly is growing daily if not hourly. Bode likes to take up residence right under my rib cage which causes me to get out of breath several times a day and I know I have feet kicking me or stretching against me on the right side. Not so comfortable. These days they are either using my insides for a boxing bag or making broad movements. They are almost always in different positions every week at my ultrasounds. I'm certainly not surprised at all that the are "movers and shakers." Following in the footsteps of their older brother for sure.

Several of you have asked how Peyton is taking all this. I think he is in the same boat as we are. It's really hard to imagine and wont seem totally real until they are here. He talks about his brothers often and says he loves them. He can tell you their names if you ask him. I have a feeling that Cooper will never be Cooper...he will be "Coopee." It really is adorable!

31 Week appointment on Monday. Preparing for more good news! (fingers crossed)

Please keep in your prayers that I can hold these boys in till May!

29 Week Update

Just a quick update since I'm really feeling the need to rest after a long morning at the Dr. office.

Last week I had a little bit of negative news...my cervix had shortened considerably (viewed by ultrasound.) After Dr. did a physical exam, she thought that I was in better shape than what showed on the ultrasound. No funneling or dilation either. Soo...I was pretty anxious to see what Dr. Rowe (the specialist) would say this week.

The specialist ultrasound appts are getting worse and worse. Ugh...I get sick almost immediately. For several reasons: the boys are putting a lot of pressure on my stomach/intestines and lungs, also the blood circulation is cut off a bit by laying on my back on the hard table and they press on my belly pretty hard. Ugh...it's pretty darn miserable. The tech had a hard time seeing every leg, organ, etc. just because they are so squished in there now. But...she was able to see the important things..heart, head/brain and bellys etc.

So get this...I am 29 weeks and between the three, I have over 9 pounds of baby in there.

The stats:
Cooper 2lbs, 13oz
Greyson 3lbs, 1oz
Bode 3lbs, 5oz

They think the weights might be slightly off and that they may weigh a little more than the ultrasound show. WOW!

Dr. Rowe also said that I am doing awesome and that it is totally possible for me to make it to 35-36 weeks. If so, he estimates that the boys with weigh 6+ pounds at birth. So...that's my goal...I don't want itty bitty babies. 6 pounds is small enough for me!

Back to Dr. Gonzales next Monday...

Will keep ya updated.


PS: No pics this week...I was too sick to even care about getting a good shot.

27 Week Update

Went to my 27 week appointment this morning.

Last week I failed my one hour glucose test so I had to take the three hour test on Monday. It consisted of them taking my blood four times and making me drink twice the amount of that pure liquid sugar - orange punch crap. Ugh! Oh and I also couldn't eat or dink anything after midnight the night before nor the morning of. Results were in today and I PASSED! Yea! No gestational diabetes for me.

They also checked my cervix - which looked awesome! I think it was measuring right at 3 on the 16th of February and now it is back to around 3.6. It doesn't mean that I cant get off of bed rest but it does mean they wont stick me in the hospital. So I am totally fine with that!

The pictures are not that good this week...she said I was "squirmy." I cant lay on that table for very long without getting lightheaded and extremely sick to my stomach. You can see that A & B, aka Cooper West and Greyson Reid have their hands in their mouths. The tech also said they are somewhat in a bob sled position. Guess she watched too much Olympics in the last few weeks. (Greyson is head down again...last few weeks he has been breach.) And "C", Bode Frank...well he just hangs out right under my ribs and enjoys his space.

I will continue to keep you all updated...I have my 28 week appointment next Wednesday and will see the specialist again on March 16th.

Cooper West

Greyson Reid

Bode Frank

26 Week (25 wks, 5 days) Update

These updates are going to be more frequent now that I am seeing the Dr. weekly.

It was time for my glucose test so I started my appointment with a nice glass of orange flavored liquid sugar. It's about 10 times sweeter than that cheap gallon punch you buy at the store for kids parties, etc. Yum! (That was sarcastic.) I managed to keep that down while the tech did my ultrasound. My cervix looked awesome and better than last week. Looks like best rest is doing me good. Yay! All boys had great heart rates. Baby boy C was a lot slower since he just hangs out and has all the room to himself. A & B's were a little higher since they kick and fight each for room almost constantly. Ha!

I also go to chat with my Dr. a little bit about goals for these boys. She reeeeally thinks I can make it to 36 weeks but 34 weeks is still the goal. If we set a delivery date, it will be for 37 weeks but it's probable that I wont make it that far. We also talked about how big they are. She thinks, that in the case I make it to 34-36 weeks, there could be between 15-18 pounds of baby. So that's possibly 5+lbs per kiddo. I think, no...I know I'd trade my comfort and happiness for 5-6lb babies. Small babies freak me out!

Anyway....I think we have names. If you harass me enough I may tell. lol I think Jason already spilled the beans to some friends. (ok...I did tell a couple people too.)

Until next week...

Baby Boy A

Baby Boy B aka Alien baby (actually looking directly at you.)

Baby Boy C

24 Week Update

Well...I know I havent updated lately but the last couple of appointments were quickies and we didn't get good pics. (These boys are movers and shakers already.)

I went to my monthly specialist (Dr. Rowe) appointment on Tuesday, February 16th.

Good news first: The boys look awesome! This was the appointment where they focused on the hearts but they also re-checked everything else. Hearts look great...brains are developing perfectly...all other organs are perfect too. Yay! I noticed and commented that their legs looked long. The tech and Doctor both said they are and that they are big boys. I am 24 weeks, 5 days and they are measuring 25 weeks, 3-4 days. Baby A is weighing 1lb 9oz, B - 1lb 11oz and C - 1lb 12oz. So I have almost 5 pounds of baby already. He specifically asked again how much Peyton weighed at birth and where they would be playing ball. When we said Edna, he asked if they were any good. Jason said no, I stood up for the Cowboys though and said they have their good and bad years. The Dr. said..."well, in about 14 or so years they will have an awesome team with all four of the McCarrell boys." lol Wouldn't my Dad be proud? The little guys have moved around a bit. I think A is still head down but B is breach. (It could be the other way around though.) So basically, one has their little rear in the others face. Nice huh! C is still up on top, head on my left side, booty in my ribs and feet kicking the breach guy in the head. Babies A & B are constantly kicking and or punching my bladder and other organs down there...what a weird feeling. When they checked my cervix via ultrasound, baby A (I believe) had his hands on or around my cervix. I guess that's the weird feeling I have felt way down there. ick!

Bad news: Dr. Rowe put me on bed rest. Booo! I had a gut feeling that he would do that because Dr. Gonzales (my regular Dr.) warned me that he might request that. After checking my cervix, he verified that I needed to be on my back. My cervix has changed a little bit, nothing to be too concerned about just yet but I need to be resting. This is day two and I am already bored! We brought my laptop and wireless internet over here ( here, being Moms...we have been here since the renovation gso I'd have something to do other than watch tv. I am missing my Direct TV and DVR but it's ok. (Mom only has cable.) I guess the only neat thing about laying down all the time is that I am really feeling the boys move. A&B had must have had a knock down, drag out last night. They were kicking/punching so much that it hurt me. I think C was taking a nap because he didn't move much. I'm sure this will be the story of my life; Lots of rough housing.

Anyway, Dr. Rowe advised that I start seeing Dr. Gonzales once a week and also to have my cervix checked that often as well. He recommended that I start taking extra calcium along with my prenatal vitamins. The said these boys are taking all the nutrients out of my body that I am putting in. He recommended me to take 6-8 pills a day. (the equivalent of 33 glasses of milk) My next appointment is next Tuesday and I also have to have my glucose test done too. Yuck!

Soooo...that's about it. The ultrasound pictures might start getting worse than better as the boys grow. They are starting to get squished in there. We did see some really cute shots of them as they did the ultrasound. I can't wait to see what they look like and I hope much like our handsome Peyton.

Baby Boy A

Baby Boy B

Baby Boy C

I can't see my feet!

From my view looking down...

Woa!

Update from Specialist appointment (1-19-10)

What an experience that was....

Jason couldn't go with me today to see Dr. Rowe so Mom went to help me remember all the info he had for me. Good thing he didn't go. We had to wait for over an hour to get back there. (Not sure I could have listened to Jason's moans of complaints for that long.) This guy only comes once a month so they run a pretty tight schedule...guess they got off a little bit. I really liked Dr. Rowe. Hes really friendly and easy going. Also VERY informative.

So my appointment started around 11:45ish (and hour and 15 minutes late) and within 10 minutes I thought I was going to lose my breakfast. I guess that's why the tech kept asking me if I was ok. Apparently it's normal. The room was warm, I was laying on my back (which cuts off circulation, etc) and she was pressing on my stomach. So she had me flip to my side. I had relief almost immediately. I was in there literally for an hour and 15 minutes. As neat as it was, I was ready to be done. She checked each boys everything...heart, kidneys, liver, bones, size, weight, brain...EVERYTHING!

So here is the run down...

*The Doctor was pretty shocked at how active they all are. They moved constantly, sometimes making it hard to tell who was who. (Especially the "twins.") As I type, I'm pretty sure there is some kind of boxing match going on in there. I can already see my belly move when they kick pretty good.

*Also shocked at their size. Baby C (single) is over a pound and the other two are approx 13 ounces each. I am around 20 weeks, 5 days and they are all measuring around 21 weeks, 3 days give or take. But duh...these boys are half Respondek half McCarrell. I don't think they have a chance of being small.

*Babies A and B are defiantly identical. He verified today that having ONE placenta between the two gives that away.

*My cervix looks great. They want it to measure between 3 and 4 1/2cm. I am at 4.1, so that is awesome. He will check again next month and see if there is any significant change. That will determine if I need to be on bed rest or not.

*I need to be getting LOTS of protein and like 3500 calories a day. So it's three Boost drinks a day and lots of meat, cheese, eggs, peanut butter etc. (6, small meals a day.) I am finding it harder and harder to eat just two meals. Ugh!

*He didn't say bed rest yet but he said I needed to be a couch potato. I am totally ok with that but it will be hard with all the house addition construction going on and Peyton desperately wanting to be outside with Daddy and the guys working. Hey...but whatever needs to be done to keep these guys healthy, I'm up to it!

I go back to my regular Dr next week for a check up and will see Dr. Rowe again on February 16th.

We have some names picked out...we are going to "chew" on them for a while...see if they stick before we tell.

They took over 150 pictures during the ultrasound and printed me 10 or so. Trip B was hard to catch..his shot is a cute pic of his foot. Most were duplicate profile shots, etc. so I'm just including one of each little guy. BTW: Identical boys are A & B and the single is C.