Thad's Graduation

Well, he did it! Thad finished exams last week and officially graduated on Saturday. We are so proud of him and relieved it is finally over. Thanks for everyone who has been praying for him during these past two years, especially the past semester with him beginning a new job and learning we are having triplets!

baby B is still a mystery!

baby A weighs 1lb. 4oz. baby B weighs 1lb. 5 oz.
baby C weighs 1 lb. 3 oz.

these pictures were taken at today's appointment. the babies are doing well! the ultrasound technician tried very hard for us to find out baby B's gender but it did not happen. baby B is facing my back rather than A and C who are facing my stomach, which was making it difficult. the tech had me laying on my side and rolling over slowing time many times to try to see in between those legs, but B was being modest and we still don't know the gender. oh well, there is always next time. and more importantly, we were thrilled to learn that the babies are doing well. the hearts are on the left sides of their bodies and pointing in the correct direction. other organs looked good and the babies weights are right were they should be.

we saw the high risk doctor today and he said he was very encouraged by things so far. we have hit a critical week this week in terms of viability should i go into preterm labor at this point. each week is another milestone in terms of better chances that the babies would make it should they have to be delivered early. in addition, he saw no evidence of twin to twin transfusion, which is a scary concern with having a set of identical twins. the tech said that baby A and C are the ones that split from one egg, so they are our identical twins. baby B has not changed positions as much as babies A and C are. at times A and C were both laying sideways across my belly. it was cute seeing both of their heads side by side; but it made the task of the technician's more challenging. baby A would then shift back into her position in the middle. she kept popping up in the pictures the tech was trying to take of the other babies - what a ham! baby B kind of seems to be doing his/her own thing on the side while A and C are moving all over each other. it was cute. we got a vhs tape of the ultrasound so beware to any visitors, we will most likely have to watch it!

after the appointment, i had to go over to the hospital to get my first steroid shot. the shot helps promote lung development, which is important due to the fact that triplets are born premature. tomorrow i head back for shot number two. the walk through the hospital is exhausting. i can't believe how tired and out of breath i get. i also talked to the doctor about this pain on my rib cage. he said it is very common with multiples because the rib cage is actually moving to accommodate a rather large and fast growing uterus. he said my uterus is growing three times faster than with a single birth, explaining all of the aches and pains. my new best friends are tylenol and a heating pad on the sore areas. our next appointment is may 8, 2007. we'll keep you posted!

what a week!

it has been a fabulous past couple of days. my mom came on wednesday to help us with cleaning and running errands. she was such a great support to me as she helped talk me through my times of overwhelming excitement and then the times when i panic and feel as if i am not sure i can do this. she also helped us get a lazy boy rocking chair, which is heavenly, and also pick out a new scratch and dent refrigerator, which should hold many more bottles and baby food than our old one! the old fridge got moved upstairs for the overflow - what a blessing!

friday was the twins/triplets sale, which proved to be well worth the time. we got some amazing deals and it was so fun hanging out with the two grandmas. at the sale i met another triplet mom who reports her three kids are in kindergarten and doing well. it was encouraging and i can see i will enjoy joining the Mothers of Multiples support group after the babies are born. (i will be posting pictures of some of the great finds from the sale soon!)

after my mom left on friday, the house was spotless and i rested until some friends came over who threw us a shower. liz, amanda and stephanie brought some wonderful clothes and baby items they/family members were no longer using or had found at garage sales. we even received our first crib on loan - pretty exciting! we received so many beautiful gifts and they even made us a diaper cake. it was so fun!




nate and jessa came in time for the shower on friday night. nate and thad headed to the pickwick to watch the tigers game. the rest of the weekend was so much fun having nate and jessa here! jessa was so helpful for me taking me on errands saturday morning and talking baby stuff. the boys went morel hunting with adam. jessa and i sorted baby clothes with our friend lisa and her son, nathan, who stopped by. after a nap, jessa, kris, sophie and i headed up to honey creek inn to meet the boys for dinner. what a fun weekend. i am a little tired still from all the activities so i will probably sleep all day monday.




tuesday is our next doctor appointment and ultrasound. i love our appointments and the confirmation it brings that all is hopefully well with the babies. and there is a good chance we will be able to find out baby b's gender.

this upcoming weekend is probably going to be one of the many highlights of 2007 - thad's graduation. i am so proud of him. for the past two years he has worked so hard earning his MBA. i have hated it at times because of the stress it has caused him but i have also seen so much growth in him. and it allowed him to get a great job at spectrum health as a strategic market analyst, which is allowing him to use so many of his great gifts and skills! i could not be more proud of him. after all, he did give me the precious gift of three little lives inside of me.

frozen drinks

the babies seem to love slurpees and the frozen orange cream cooler from olga's. whenever i have one, they move around like crazy. i have a feeling thad will be making slurpee runs all the time! he only has 9 more days of school - yippee!

cute girls clothes

we received some great hand me down girls clothes on friday, which are adorable! we remember seeing them on Sophie so it will be fun to have them reused on our little girls. don't you love the baby converse? it has helped me feel more prepared for the babies. grandma joyce and aunt lindy keep finding great deals at goodwill (sleepers, baby bath, maternity clothes, stuffed hippos, etc.). thanks to all the people who have brought stuff so far. we also got a great gift of diapers delivered today - preemie diapers are so tiny!!!! thanks for everyone's help and support!

babies' registries

many of our friends and family have been asking where we are registered. as new parents to be and the added element of having 3 babies at once, it has been an interesting task. so we did our best and ended up registering at Target, Babies R Us, and JCPenney (Thad wishes we could get it all from Goodwill or the Salvation Army - his favorite places to shop!). many of the items are online only, which i tried to avoid but it was difficult as i have been working on the registries online versus going to the stores themselves, which sounds extremely exhausting. i will keep the registries updated if we get items given to us or loaned to us that we no longer need to register for. we put diapers and wipes on the registry because we will certainly go through a lot. however, i just picked some that were recommended to me to put on the registry and i am in no way picky about what type of diapers we get. to be honest, i don't have a clue about diapers; my only thought is the cheaper the better!

we are EXTREMELY happy to accept and/or borrow used baby items. many friends and family members have already been offering lots of helpful baby items like clothing, cribs, and car seats, which we are truely grateful for. we cannot thank you enough.

we are also hoping to get some baby items at these upcoming events: there is a twins/triplets sale (sponsored by Mothers of Multiples) April 20 at Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Byron Center, where the two grandmas and i will be searching for some good deals. there is also a baby stuff sale at Third Reformed Church on April 21 . plus, it is almost time for garage sales!

It's A Girl! It's Another Girl! It's a ?

We had a great visit to the doctor's office today. The babies were extremely active and close to each other making it difficult to find out the gender. But the technician said she is pretty sure Baby A and Baby C are both girls!!!!! Baby B had his or her legs curled up against it's body making it impossible to determine the gender. Baby A is in the middle with her head down, Baby B is on the left side with the head up, and Baby C is laying sideways with her head on the right and her legs on the left. All three babies are doing well! Their heartbeats were nice and strong. We are so excited to be their parents and praising the Lord for our healthy babies.

name ideas????

Happy Easter! We had a great weekend at my parents for Easter. (Well, Thad is a little stressed with grad school work and all of the final projects, papers, presentations, assignments, and so on he has to get done before graduating April 28 - only 20 more days!!!!). I especially enjoyed spending time with our always entertaining niece, Chloe and her sweet baby brother, Bryce.

Many people have been asking us what we are planning on

naming the babies. Well, we are hoping to find out the sex(es) before making a decision, but we have appreciated many of your helpful suggestions. Chloe, for example, has recommended many viable options we are considering: Mello, Lello & Jello and Hayla, Kayla & Chelle. How can you beat the suggestions of a 3 1/2 year old?

Something crazy I read this weekend - triplets will go through 24-30 diapers a day! I am still trying to wrap my mind around that.

We have another ultrasound and doctor's appointment tomorrow. We will keep you posted on how it goes, especially if the babies cooperate and we learn the gender(s) tomorrow! Thanks for following us on this incredible journey.