interesting week and a half

In the past week and a half we had the girls' first peds visit (which went awesome) and Michelle and I have both been very sick with the flu. By the grace of God the girls have stayed healthy by Grandma VW and VH taking over large portions of their care and by everyone wearing surgical masks. Michelle is finally feeling better and is able to take care of the girls, hopefully by tomorrow I will be back on my feet again.

The girls' peds visit was encouraging as doctor was very impressed by the girls' health and weight gain. Keegan was 6 lbs. 6 oz., Samantha was 5 lbs., and Maggie was 4 lbs. 10 oz. Michelle and I had fun taking the girls out for the first time, but we realized how much energy and time it takes to get the girls packed up and somewhere on time. I don't think we will be making any unnecessary trips any time soon.

Maggie & Samantha

Bottle Time

Keegan @ 3:30 a.m.

First Time All 3 Ride in the Jeep

At the Doctor's Office

Am I back at the hospital?

hhhhmmmmm......................

..........it has been awhile since we have published a post, which is due to the fact that ALL the girls are now at HOME!!! Keegan and Samantha came home on Monday night (July 16th) and Maggie couldn't stand being away from her sisters so decided to kick it in high gear and came home Wednesday afternoon (July 18th). We are sssoooo very happy to have them under our roof and they are getting lots of loving, pampering, and music lessons. We are having fun learning all their little noises and adorable traits.

Thank you for everyone who has offered help with feedings, meals, and other tasks. We have felt so very blessed with all the offers. Michelle's sister, Lynnette (aka Big Sis), will be scheduling help in the coming weeks and months. However, until we figure out a schedule and normal routine, Lynnette will not be scheduling help with feedings. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks we will develop a good rhythm and Lynnette will contact everyone who has offered to help.

Thank you everyone for keeping our family in your prayers. Michelle and I have felt everyone's prayers on a daily basis.

Finally, before getting to the part everyone is waiting for, new PICTURES, a few words about visitors. There are a number of guidelines that we have been given by the doctors at the hospital and by a seasoned mother of triplets:

1. We will not be answering the door for unannounced visitors. Please make arrangements before visiting as the girls are on a strict schedule for the next couple of months. If you do arrive unannounced and we see you at the door we will kindly ask you to come back another time.

2. If you or anyone in your family has been sick in the past week PLEASE reschedule.

3. When making a scheduled visit please use the back door. If the gate is closed please check that Moby (our dog) is not outside. If he is outside, please be very careful that you don't let him out.

4. When entering the house feel free to greet/pet Moby as he loves people.

5. Please wash your hands and arms up to your elbows at the kitchen sink with the light green soap before entering the rest of the house. It is crucial that we keep the girls as healthy as possible over the next six months.

6. Unfortunately, we have been given strict orders by the doctors that only immediate family are to hold the girls for the first two weeks. After that necessary helpers are to hold the girls for the next four weeks. So, if you are coming on a planned visit we ask that you please don't touch or ask the hold the girls until after this time period.

7. Finally, as the girls are on an every three hour schedule for approximately six weeks we ask that any scheduled visit be kept short.

I know, I know those are a lot of rules but we are trying to keep our little bundles of joy healthy as the are still pipsqueaks ranging in weights from around 4 lbs. 2 oz. to 5 lbs. 7 oz. and are very prone to illness. As the girls are still many weeks away from full term their immune is weakened and we are trying very hard to protect them. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward for all of you to meet them once we get the okay from the doctors. Okay, enough with the rules, here are some pictures from the last week:

.

family update

on tuesday of this week, i was experiencing a great deal of pain and called the doctor's office. they saw me and ended up admitting me back in the hospital with an infection in my uterus. they say it can be common with c-sections and the treatment is IV antibiotics. i was discharged from the hospital thursday night with oral antibiotics to continue to fight the infection. the pain is getting better but we would continue to ask for your prayers as i recover from the surgery. it has been a little more of a struggle than i thought it would be. i have high blood pressure from the preeclampsia, which the doctors are working on trying to control with medication. i lost a lot of blood during the surgery and my hemoglobin was low. they did not end up giving me a blood transfusion in hopes my body would just readjust and get back to normal. i am taking iron pills to help. i am pretty weak still and trying to recover while also wanting to make the trip to the hospital to see the girls. please pray for continued strength and recovery. and also, pray for Thad that he continues to feel strength from the Lord to handle all that has been going on. he is such a trooper and visits our girls before work, at lunch and then after work. it has helped knowing that he is at least there checking on them when i cannot. please pray for continued energy and health for him.

the great news is the girls are doing so well. keegan is most likely going to be coming home early this week sometime! they think samantha may not be far behind! and once maggie hears about her big sisters, we are sure she is going to be working on coming home too. she seems to be our little overachiever. we are so thankful for the girls and that they are doing well.

~ here are some recent pictures ~

we taught keegan to pray before her meals!

samantha weighed 4 pounds last night, which means she has graduated to an open crib!

maggie, sleeping peacefully!

more news...

the babies are continuing to do well, praise the Lord! we feel so completely blessed to have three precious daughters. they have graduated off of having IVs, which is one less cord to maneuver when holding them. plus the IVs had a tendency to go bad so they were always having to relocate them (Samantha at one point had one in her precious little head, which was not fun for me!). anyway, they are gaining back some of the weight they lost and Keegan has even graduated to an open crib because of her weight. the doctors are projecting another two weeks in the hospital. Keegan needs to feed from a bottle more than she is right now and Samantha and Maggie need to gain more weight before being able to come home. We appreciate every one's prayers as this back and forth stuff is already getting old fast. But the nurses have been wonderful to the girls and we are so thankful for that.

A highlight for me so far was getting to hold all three girls yesterday. It was incredible. As they were laying on my stomach, we could not get over the thought that all three of them were inside of me a week ago and actually fit in there. I feel so relieved to have them here and not still inside.

Here is a picture of Thad holding Keegan and Samantha tonight. What a Daddy!!! He is so good with his girls.

update

Keegan, Samantha & Maggie

are doing wonderful! They are all nippling and have already had their food increased twice! We praise God for strong and healthy girls. Today will be a hard day for us as Michelle will be discharged and we will have to leave the hospital without the girls. We ask for your prayers today and in the coming days/weeks as we await their arrival. Fortunately we are able to visit our girls anytime we like; however, it will be difficult for Michelle to make it to the hospital more than once or twice a day as she continues to recover from delivery. Thank you so much for all the words of encouragement and love we have received via the blog comments and email.

oh, and by the way the girls' big brother can't wait to introduce them to their new room.

we are proud to announce...

Keegan Joy (Baby A formerly known as Baby B)

born: 10:19 p.m.

weight: 5lbs. 8oz.

length: 18 inches

Samantha Rose (Baby B formerly known as Baby A)

born: 10:20 p.m.

weight: 3lbs. 15oz.

length: 16 1/2 inches

.

Maggie Susanne (Baby C)
born: 10:21 p.m.

weight: 3lbs. 9oz.

length: 16 inches

Keegan, Samantha, & Maggie

the girls have arrived!!!

we are proud to announce that the triplets van van arrived last night at 10:19, 10:20, and 10:21. the Lord has blessed us with three amazing and healthy baby girls. we are so thankful for all of the prayers and support over the past months, and ask for special prayers for a speedy recovery for Michelle and continued strength for the girls. we currently are trying to catch up on our rest and ask for no visitors at this time. however, please check back tomorrow evening as we will try to put together a full report with all the vital details (i.e. weights, lengths, NAMES, and pictures).

love,

Thad & Michelle

12 more days???

we had our appointment today and the babies are doing great. my blood pressure was high and i am still dropping protein but not high enough to deliver the babies yet or cause serious concern. but, we have been officially scheduled for a c-section ~ july 10 at 3:30pm. there is a chance we could deliver early; but if not, that's the date! it is exciting to think we may only be 12 days away from meeting the babies. i wonder if Baby B will be 6 pounds by then?

the babies weigh in

Baby A: 3 lbs. 13 oz.

Baby B: 5 lbs. 8 oz.

Baby C: 3 lbs. 13 oz.

the girls are doing great! i am struggling with pain and a serious lack of sleep but we are praising the Lord for another good report of our three precious girls!!!

another hospital visit

friday morning around 4am i began having contractions again. they ended around 6am after i drank a lot of water and tried what the doctors recommended. friday afternoon the contractions were back so i called the doctor's office and they sent me into the hospital around 3pm. i got another iv of fluids and they decided to keep me overnight just to monitor things. i had a ton of tests done while i was there and they all came back normal ~ praise the Lord! we were afraid that my time at home may be over and the time of hospitalization was upon us. however, they let me come home!!!

i had a terrible night friday unable to sleep and in a lot of pain from contractions and back pain. the doctor gave me 2 ambien, which did nothing (usually 1/2 an ambien knocks me out completely). after not sleeping all night and feeling terrible, the doctors offered morphine for the pain and said it would help me sleep so i took it. big mistake. it made me sick and then i was vomiting and still exhausted and still in pain. what finally helped was the anti-nausea medication they gave me around 9am. i was finally able to relax, get comfortable and sleep for awhile. thad was able to sleep some during the night on friday but not much. then on saturday he worked hard to keep the room quiet so i could sleep. i kept setting off this alarm on my iv pump because i would get it tangled up and he would have to work it free and shut the alarm off. he's such a good husband!

the high risk doctor sat down with me and thad on saturday afternoon to lay out the plan. he said that the contractions are from having three babies and not because i am in labor. i am still only dialated to 1cm, which i have been at for two weeks now meaning i am not really progressing in terms of needing to deliver yet. so, it would be better to hold off delivery as long as possible and encouraged me to put up with the pain and discomfort because it was better for the babies to be in as long as possible. he gave us the option of staying at the hospital through the weekend to continue the monitoring and being discharged on monday if that would provide more comfort or reassurance. but he felt fine with discharging us saturday night. we just needed to wait for one of the tests to be completed because it was a 24 hour test that began at 7pm friday night. we chose the saturday night discharge option and got home around 8pm last night.

we both slept much better last night and are thankful to be home. we see our doctor tomorrow and get to find out the weights!

keep on keeping on

the doctor said we are doing well and to keep on plugging along. my protein level was a little less today and my blood pressure about the same. she said there is nothing immediate that has to happen ~ she will continue to watch me closely. i am so thankful to be returning home today and not looking at hospitalization. i plan to sleep the rest of the day away in my comfy bed because i did not sleep much last night.

next week we see the doctor on monday and have a growth ultrasound done on the babies. i am so excited to find out what they weigh. then we head back to the office on thursday for another appointment and a non stress test. praise the Lord that everything is going well!

so far so good

the test results came back normal. we see the doctor tomorrow to learn more about what (if anything) is next.

31 weeks

the appointment today went well. however, i continue to drop protein in my urine and have a slightly higher blood pressure than normal, so they did another blood test for preeclampsia. we should find out the results tomorrow. sounds like i may be getting these blood tests done pretty regularly because based on the symptoms i am having, i am most likely developing an early form of preeclampsia. she said the next step would be to put me in the hospital and then deliver our little treasures! the doctor said she of course cannot predict anything but believes that we will not go longer than 34 weeks!!! she said we should be seeing our babies sometime in the next 3 weeks. the ultrasound went great ~ the babies looked wonderful. the fluids looked great and umbilical blood flow is right were it should be. she bumped our appointment up this week so she can see us again on Thursday rather than Friday! we will keep you all posted. please continue to keep us in your prayers!!!

friday's appointment

our appointment on friday went well. i had a non stress test done and the babies did great! we had a little scare in that my blood pressure was a little high and i tested positive for protein in my urine, which caused alarm that i might have preeclampsia. if so, that would mean the babies would be delivered because of the harm it could cause to me. however, they took some bloodwork and the tests came back normal. for a couple hours there, we thought we would be seeing the babies this weekend ~ we are happy they are staying in longer but would have loved to see them. a nurse told me that each day they stay inside, it takes 2 days off the time they would have to spend in the neonatal unit. so we keep plugging away and are thankful for the time they have to grow before the births. it is such a comfort being monitored so closely by the doctors. next week we see the doctors on tuesday and friday. tuesday we will have an ultrasound to measure fluids again and then friday will be another non stress test.

oh, the insomnia

i miss a good night's sleep. i am so tired but my body is protesting sleep; i cannot get or stay comfortable. since i am up, i thought i would update the blog on the doctor appointment yesterday. it went well and was informative. i failed 2 of the 4 glucose tests from the test last week, but the doctor does not want me to change anything like diet or take insulin or anything. she said it is likely just having a great deal of babies and placentas. she will watch the sugar level in my urine at each appointment. the appointments have now increased to TWICE a week. she said to consider the doctor's appointments my outings for the week . i go back on friday for another appointment and a non stress test.

i asked her to lay out the next 4 weeks for me and she said it is really just about watching me and the babies. if i developed blood pressure concerns or had contractions that were not controllable, they would talk about delivering the babies. otherwise, they are going to watch me for the next 4 weeks. i asked if all was well over the next 4 weeks if they would have me go longer and she said it is possible but that they would not go longer than 36 weeks. she seemed kind of skeptical that would happen. i have been so uncomfortable the past couple of days and i have a feeling my body is seriously going to object to another 6 weeks of this ~ but it is in God's hands. the latest discomfort is breathing. i can barely catch my breath. i am talking less and less because it takes so much out of me and i end up coughing. the doctor said once the babies deliver i will feel the pressure immediately resolved and will enjoy taking nice long deep breaths (she is the mom of twins and she said it was wonderful after her delivery)!

praise the Lord the babies are doing well. they looked great on the ultrasound and all the fluid levels are right where they should be. i just have to keep telling myself that i can do this ~ God will give me the strength to continue a few more weeks.

contractions have begun

i was having a really hard time falling asleep last night because i was feeling really achy. then around 1:30am, the aches became more pronounced pain so i called the on-call doctor. she recommended that i watch the pain for the next hour and call back if they continue. well, they continued so around 4am we headed off to the hospital. they put me on an iv drop to try to stop the contractions, which helped.

it was really interesting to me because the lower stomach pain i have been feeling was also registering on the contraction monitor, which they called "uterus irritation." one of the residents asked me if i wanted morphine so i could sleep through them. we declined thinking it was a bit extreme considering that that is the pain i have been living with the past 2-3 weeks.

the nurses were surprised that i had made it to 30 weeks with this being my first trip to the hospital. the on-call doctor recommended that i get another dose of steroid shots because of the contractions and being so close to a safe time for delivery. so another shot and then one tomorrow morning. then they will monitor the babies and my contractions again to see if there are any changes.

we are both pretty tired today and trying to catch up on sleep. please pray that this week goes well for the family. the funeral for Thad's grandpa is Tues at 2pm. i won't be able to go because of the doctor's appointment at 3:30pm, which i am having a hard time with. i wish i could go to support Thad and celebrate Grandpa's life with the family but the funeral is in Sparta and i know it would be too much.

on a lighter note, lynnette threw me a shower on Saturday morning. it was so special! i really appreciated seeing some friends that i have not seen for awhile and feel every one's support. my mom read some verses about raising children in the Lord and my sister had one of the coolest games i have never heard of before. she had an envelope and birthday card for the girls for each birthday from 1 - 18 years old. each person got a year to write a note to the girls wishing them a happy birthday. my year was their 13th birthday, which was so fun to think about ~ the year they become teenagers!!! i got a little choked up too thinking about them at that age and hoping that they are becoming women who love the Lord and want to serve Him. it was such a special present to receive and we look forward to reading the cards with the girls in the years to come!

~here are some pictures from the brunch~

29 Weeks Update

We had the appointment today and the babies are HUGE!!! The "twins", Babies A & C, both weigh 2 pounds 13 ounces and Baby B weighs an amazing 4 pounds!!! It is incredible ~ over 9 pounds of baby at this point. The babies look good and we are getting more and more excited about their arrival in approximately 4 weeks! Next week's appointment is Tuesday at 3:30pm.

Grandpa Ken

thad's mom called tonight to tell us that Grandpa Ken went home to be with his Heavenly Father. Grandpa had knee replacement surgery this past wednesday. he was supposed to have both knees done but the surgery had to be cut short because his blood pressure rose too high. it seems as if his heart was unable to take the surgery and then he was unable to recover.

i have been having a difficult time sleeping since hearing the news. i feel so sad for Grandma; he was her best friend. i am thankful i was able to see them a couple weeks ago. thad was up at the hospital last night and this afternoon and he said that it was good to be able to rub his hand and say goodbye. we would certainly appreciate your prayers for the family and friends as we all deal with his passing.

glucose tolerance testing

the doctor's office called today and said that the 1 hour glucose tolerance test that i took last week tested high and that they want me to take the 3 hour test. so tomorrow morning at 8:30am i will be taking a 3 hour test at the doctor's office. i am not really sure what they will do if i test high during this one. i guess it means i have gestational diabetes ~ but i am not sure what that will mean in terms of diet changes, etc. at first the doctors were saying it would not be a concern because of having triplets and not having to worry about having too large of babies. but now it sounds like they are concerned that if i am "spilling sugar" in my urine (that's what they called it) that the babies might be born with low sugar and have the potential to have breathing problems. so anyway, that is the latest. it will probably take a couple days to get the results back on the testing. we will keep you all posted. as always, we appreciate your prayers!

amanda & tim's wedding

yesterday was amanda and tim's wedding. thad and i went to the ceremony, which was beautiful! it was a blessing to be feeling up to going to the wedding. we did not make it to the reception but it was great being able to be at the ceremony. amanda looked so beautiful and we are so happy for them!

more good news!!!

we had a doctor appointment yesterday and received more good news. the babies look great with a good amount of fluid around them and umbilical blood flow. the technician had a hard time telling who was who because they have been shifting so much, which explains all the rib and back pain i have been having the past week. oh well! baby B is even growing hair that we were able to see on the ultrasound - it was great! the doctor is very happy with how well things are going. our next appointment is friday, june 8. we will keep you posted.

update

the weekend was great! we had two wonderful showers where we were surrounded by family and friends and felt a great deal of love and support. we received wonderful gifts for our three little treasures. thad was blessed by extra hands helping him work on house projects friday night (until midnight) and all day saturday. thanks so much to Thad's parents, Thomas and Betty, and Adam. we are so grateful for all your help - i hope we can repay you sometime. i was amazed by all that got done!

we had a doctor appointment yesterday morning with the high risk doctor. all is well - praise the Lord! the babies were even in sync with the same heart rates at 158. CRAZY! thad spoke with our primary doctor today who reviewed the chart from our appointment yesterday and said she wants to begin seeing me every week until the babies are born. nothing major - with only 7 weeks to go she said it is time to come on a weekly basis. i am excited about getting to see the babies each week and hear their heartbeats.

we also had an appointment yesterday afternoon with a neonatologist and got a tour of the neonatal floor at Spectrum. it was really helpful to see the floor and hear from a very kindhearted doctor in the unit. it was also a little overwhelming to hear about potential problems and see these tiny babies hooked up to various contraptions. i am comforted by the thought that the Lord loves our babies even more than we do and will be with them through it all. i also learned the neonatal floor is open to us as parents 24/7 so we can spend lots of time there with them. plus they will put the girls by each other, which is comforting. the nurses and staff seemed really caring and knowledgeable.

needless to say, yesterday was an extremely long and tiring day. i was completely worn out. it doesn't take much these days to tire me out. this upcoming weekend we will be having another house project weekend. my dad will come into town (my mom has been here since monday afternoon) and he and thad are moving the washer and dryer to the first floor from the basement. a group of my coworkers are coming on saturday to help with various projects around the house - what a blessing! we have so much to be thankful for.

this weekend

i have not created a post for a few days now because i have been in a lot of rib and back pain. it is getting better though, which is such a relief! my mom came last week Tuesday to take me to the doctor appointment and help around the house. it has been such a blessing having her here working on projects for me and taking excellent care of me. in fact, i am most likely headed back to Corunna with her this week Thursday for a couple days because of the family shower in Corunna on Saturday. Thad plans to stay back in GR to work on a few house projects he has not been able to do because of the chemical smells being dangerous to me and the girls. so he hopes to work Thurs & Fri evenings and all day Saturday on finishing the stripping project in the living room. if anyone is interested in helping him out, we would be extremely grateful. he had used a heat gun on the majority of the crown molding and only has a couple areas to go. then he will use chemical stripper to get the remaining paint off. next will be staining and sealing the woodwork. it is the crown molding up high between the ceiling and the walls so if you are available and handy on a ladder, let us know. i feel bad for Thad because he has been working so hard every day and usually on his own. i would love for someone to be able to help him out.

i will be heading back to GR Saturday evening with my sister after the shower. then on Sunday, Thad's parents are throwing us a shower at their house. should be a great weekend. thanks everyone for continuing to support us and pray for us.

our awesome niece and nephew

Kristy sent me these pictures this week of Chloe and Bryce and I had to share them on the blog. They took the kids to the Tulip Festival a couple nights ago dressed up as little Hollanders. They are so stinking cute!!! Bryce looks like the ride over on the ship was a bit rough. Kristy said he was not excited about wearing the outfit and the only way she got Chloe to wear her outfit was by saying she looked like Snow White! How funny. Our girls are going to love their cousins.

THREE GIRLS!!!

Well, the ultrasound technician was pretty sure Baby B is a girl! Three girls in the home...good thing we have two bathrooms. We had a great visit and another wonderful report. My cervix is nice and long, which is such a blessing. The high risk doctor said that he was confident with the length of the cervix that I would not go into premature labor in the next two weeks. He gave me permission to travel to Corunna on May 19 for the Family Baby Shower - another blessing!

When I saw my regular doctor today, I told her about this cold that I have had for the past couple weeks and how I got better and then it came back and I am sick again. She said with the babies pushing up on my diaphragm so much, that I am a good candidate to get pneumonia so she put me on an antibiotic to avoid that. She also said there is not much I can do about the back and rib pain. And unfortunately, she said it will only get worse. She said I am measuring at about 36 weeks even though I am at 25 weeks, which explains why strangers keep telling me I look like I am going to pop any day now. Overall, she was really encouraged by the way things look so far. It was so reassuring to hear that all is well with me and the babies. What an answer to prayer.

The babies looked great via ultrasound. They are really cute (not that I am biased or anything!). Each baby gained weight over the past two weeks - Baby A weighs 1 lb. 11 oz. (up 7 oz.), Baby B weighs 1 lb. 13 oz. (up 8 oz.), and Baby C weighs 1 lb. 7 oz. (up 4 oz.). I am proud of our girls and praising the Lord for all of the blessings he has been giving us.

the new nursery

when we learned that we were having triplets, we had to pick another room for the nursery because the first one was too small for three cribs. the only problem was that the room for the second nursery was a work in progress. thad and i had begun stripping the woodwork in the room and had just finished the hardwood floors. it was no where ready to be used as a nursery for our three little treasures. fortunately, thad's mom has been over several times a week to work on the room (stripping the windows, staining and sealing the woodwork, patching and sanding the walls, etc). this past weekend, the new windows were put in the nursery, which are a huge blessing. the room is much quieter now with the new windows! tonight is incredibly exciting because the first coat of green paint is going on the walls. the new nursery looks wonderful and i am encouraged that we will soon be able to set up the cribs and baby furniture! (i guess it is the "nesting" i am going through because i want that room ready for the babies the sooner the better!!!!)

sisters

ever since i have been on bed rest (5 weeks now), my sister has come EVERY week and picked up laundry to do for me and thad. i cannot begin to tell you what a help it has been. lynnette and i were talking the other day about how i always used to say that i wanted to have two girls someday so they could experience the relationship of having a sister. in my opinion, babies A & C (maybe B too) are so fortunate to have a sister(s). don't get me wrong, my sister and i had our hard years when i was a bratty little sister and we did not really like each other or get along. but now, lynnette is my best friend and i thank the Lord for the blessing of having a great sister!

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!