11 weeks today!

So I am officially 11 weeks pregnant today! So far so good....been feeling really good except for being super tired and having sore breasts. I feel so lucky to have no vomiting! Apparently that means I am having all boys according to people I talk to LOL!

So after the uneventful reveal with my In-Laws last weekend I wasn't feeling all that positive that my Dad would take it really well...and I was sadly correct on that. My Dad and Step-Mom, Step-brother and his kids, my brother and my Uncle all gathered together for a nice Easter day together on Saturday. I was trying to find the right moment to tell everyone. Finally after every one moved outside to the back patio I figured it would be a good time. Ran to the car and brought out the bag. Told my Step-Mom that we had a gift for her and my Dad for Easter. So my Dad is standing there BBQing the ham while my Step-Mom pulls out the frame we made. She was estatic and said "OMG! Are you pregnant!?" She didn't quite get that it was three so I said..."Yep! With three!" Everyone started talking and getting excited...unfortunately I looked at my Dad and he just made the most sour face and said "OH NO! 3??" I was so heartbroken. It looked like I told him I was just arrested! Oh well...everyone else was super excited and that I tried to focus on. My brother was thrilled and I think my Step-brother was more excited then anyone! LOL! He gave me tons of advice and told me how great it was that his kids were 16 months apart and that he loved that they were only a grade apart. Sadly my Dad didn't really say a word to me the rest of the day. I don't think he is mad about it but it's clear that he has no idea what to say and is a bit shocked. My Step-Mom of course made up for all of it and is so happy to be a Grandma again since no babies have been in the family now for 9 years. She called up my Step-Sister and she is so excited too and planning a trip to visit us this summer.

Then Sunday came time for my Mom's side which I know would be the positive reaction and so glad I saved them for last! When my brother, husband and I showed up to my Aunt's house we sort of hung out and waited for a good time to make the reveal. Two of my cousins were still at their Dad's place but expected to make it back to their Moms about 4:30 so I decided to wait until then to surprise everyone. My cousins showed up right on time and I went out and grabbed the bag with the frame. It was kind of funny because I come from a really large Italian family so the room was packed with people in the kitchen waiting for food while the other half is glued to the Oakland A's baseball game. So I hand my Mom the bag and tell her we had an Easter gift for her. She was so excited but my Aunt thought it was weird that I was giving my Mom the gift right then LOL! So my Mom pulls it out and says "Oh how cute" (obviously she is not looking hard enough LOL! because she thought I just made her a frame!) I told her to pull it out and look at it...she she holds it up and still looks confused. One of my Aunts is behind her and says "OMG! Monica is pregnant!" They still didn't get the fact that it was three so I said "I am! With triplets!" All of my Aunts and cousins and Uncles started running over to hug me and everyone was crying and so supportive and happy and telling me they loved us so much. (Awww I am choking up writing this!) It was such the perfect way! My Mom is so thrilled! She is a bit shocked but very very happy! My Aunts are all talking about showers and taking a gender poll to see who wins LOL! It was the best Easter ever! Then they got on the phone and started calling all of my other Aunts and Uncle and Cousins who weren't there....it was fun!

Other then that...things are great! I am still trying to deal with all the BS of work right now. They (as in my corporate office) is bugging me about when I am taking my bed rest leave. Like I have any clue when that will actually happen! I am so mad because the corporate office told my boss today that I got 12 weeks FMLA and that was it. They can only save my job for 12 weeks and then after that I have to come back or I don't have a job. Well if I go on bedrest at 20 weeks lets just say...I might not have the babies after 12 weeks! Then they go and tell my boss that if I apply for unemployment that it will be fraud. Such BS! I belong to an online Triplet Moms group on FB and happy to hear that I will qualify for a lot of help and hopefully unemployment since they have to replace me after 12 weeks. We might even qualify for WIC too which according to their website we don't but I am going to make an appt and apply...it can't hurt. We will really need any help we can get for these babies.

Love all of you! So happy to make it to 11 weeks! My next ultrasound is on Monday where I meet my new high risk OB/Gyn for the first time! Yeahhh!

10 weeks today!

This is the photo surprise I made for my Husband's parents last week. We presented it on Sunday! Boy were they surprised! Not the kind of reaction I had expected since they sort of freaked out at first about 3 babies coming but after a few hours, they warmed up to the idea and were finally happy to have 3 more Grandbabies on the way the end of this year. I tried to post a pic of each ultrasound picture here but the frame will do...it has all pictures from my Week 9 ultrasound from last Tuesday!

So last Tuesday we had our 2nd ultrasound. My husband and I were both very nervous for totally different reasons of course. My husband was nervous that the nurse would find a 4th baby (LOL!) and i was nervous that 3 would have turned to 2 or 1 or none.

I have been eating a lot lately...I am starving every few hours so when I got weighted in last Tuesday I was shocked that I was 2 lbs less then my last appt 2 weeks ago. Blood pressure was excellent too!

I had a different NP for this appt who did my second IUI so she was happy to see me again but pregnant! She did the ultrasound and immediately saw all three babies! All three have strong heartbeats, little heads and cute butts. It was AMAZING to see their heads and butts on the monitor! My husband was in awe of such a sight and how much they have changed since we first saw them 2 weeks ago. I think it's cute that all three have different due dates...all 2 days apart!

The NP did discuss that I more then likely will be told to go on bedrest at 20 weeks =( I am so not prepared for that!!! What the heck am I going to do with myself for 3 months on the couch. Ugh! My work knows and is prepared for my leaving. I really wanted to have all that time to walk around and show off my belly to the world but instead it will be parked in front of the TV LOL! Oh well....luckily it's not forever!

The NP said that everything looked great and that I was graduating from the RE clinic. A little bitter sweet but looking forward to moving on. She recommended a high risk doctor for me and sending them a message to call me. I am also still very anemic (I have been all my life) and for me to double my dose of iron pills. When I was leaving two of the nurses ran out to say Goodbye to me and were so thrilled that all three babies were doing well. Yeahhhh!

My jeans have become a little too tight and I cannot button them now so I bought a belly band thing for now until I am ready for maternity pants and shirts. My stomach has grown a lot I think since the last picture I took last week. It just keeps growing and growing! I'll have my husband do a 10 week picture this week.

I am making frames for my parents this week. I bought a bunch of scrapbook material and some stickers and fun things to put the ultrasound pictures in. We told my husband's parents/family on Sunday, my Dad this coming Saturday and my Mom's family on Easter Sunday. They are going to be SHOCKED! I saw my Mom and brother last weekend and they have no clue...I hate lying to them but it will make the surprise that much better ;)

No other things really to report! I have a Nutrition class this coming Thursday at my hospital that will be exciting to go to. On May 2nd, I have my first appt with my new high risk Ob/Gyn that I am really excited about. I can't wait to meet the doctor who will be taking care of me and my little ones for the next 6 months or so. Then on the 3rd I have an NT scan where they do a very long ultrasound to see if they can detect any kind of birth defects like Down's Syndrome. Totally not looking forward to this appt...I hope that everything comes out okay! I worry about that! I have been trying to drink more water since I am reading that the more water I drink the better it is for me and the babies. Trying to drink 128 oz of water a day...which is HARD! I have been doing what I can and I pee all the time now. It's not comfortable.

My boss had been discussing with me my mandatory bed rest that will be coming up probably around July. Our regional manager is bugging my boss about getting an exact date. LOL! I can't do that....not even my doctor really knows when it will exactly happen. Luckily by law, I don't have to give an exact date and I won't. When my doctor says I am ready to be off work, then that is when it will happen. I am not going to feed into his demands and stress myself out....it's not worth it!

Hoping to get a picture of my big growing belly this week to post! For now...all is well in the land of Triplets!

8 weeks and 5 days today!

Time is moving quickly for me and my pregnancy! I am so grateful and happy that my only major symptom has been exhaustion. No vomiting, dizziness, nausea or anything like that! I am surprised because with three I was sure that it would be awful....well it's still early ;)

So this week has bee pretty eventful in my pregnancy. I had my first prenatal class on Monday. It was with about 10 other soon to be Moms. Of course I was the only one carrying more then one so the class was really not geared towards me but I learned from it. Basically what not to eat, what to expect from your doctor's appts and classes that are offered at the hospital. After the class, a nurse met with each of us individually and that was really helpful. The nurse that helped me was AWESOME! She asked me if I wanted to stay with my current Ob/Gyn and I asked if I could switch to a new doctor that has experience with triplets. I read in a wonderful book recommended by friends with twins that you should really advocate to be seen by the best doctor you can get that has experience. Well I didn't have to press that hard! The next thing I know a few of the nurses there agreed on the same doctor and I have my first appt with her in May! Yeahhh!! I was also signed up for a Breastfeeding multiples class in June, a nutrition class in a few weeks and my big ultrasound where we might find out the genders on June 10th. Everything is coming together and lining up so beautifully! I tell ya, Kaiser really has their stuff together and I am so grateful! I walked out of the hospital with tears of joy in my eyes because for once I felt like I was finally being well taken care of and being listened to!! I also had to do a blood and urine test too that goes with the required prenatal lab tests.

Wednesday morning I had my genetic counseling meeting. They usually do it in a group setting but decided to meet with me individually since my situation is way different then a singleton. The counselor was so great....I was running late due to traffic and called her office and it was no problem. I am one of those worriers that hates to be late but she assured me that my running 15 mins late was not an issue *phew* We had an hour long discussion about the option to not test or test with amniocentisis. This is something my husband and I really need to discuss and figure out soon if we plan to do it or not. The chance of miscarriage is less then 2% but that number is still a bit scary. I have no intention of aborting any of my babies even if the tests come back unfavorable but it might be a good feeling to know if all babies are healthy or not. It's defintely something we need to consider seriously.

I will be starting prenatal yoga in May which is also offered by Kaiser and thrilled to do that. I asked the nurse what I could do about my insomnia at night. She told me getting about 30 mins of some exercise a day might help with falling asleep at night.

My husband and I are still working out the financial aspect of the babies and what we plan to do once they make their arrival. I know it will all get figured out but my husband is a bit stressed out. A mini van is in our future! We have all the dates scheduled to tell our parents and we are thrilled. Our next ultrasound is next Tues the 12th. I will take the pictures from that one and make frames for each set of parents. My husband's parents will be told on Sunday April 17th, my Dad and his wife (and probably brother) will be the 23rd and my Mom and her whole family will be told on Easter day on the 24th. OMG...I cannot wait!! My heart flutters every time I think about telling them. Hopefully we will only have great news at the ultrasound on the 12th.

That is my 8 week update! I am also growing a wee tiny baby bump right now! Not enough for any one to notice yet but it's definitely there! Nevermind the sexy red line from my pants LOL!

2 days until I am 9 weeks pregnant! Wow!

TRIPLETS!!!

I am in complete and total shock....so is my husband! Last night I barely slept a wink because I was just so worried that we would be heartbroken today at our ultrasound....quite the opposite. Actually overwhelmed and surprised is more of our reaction! Luckily my husband recorded the ultrasound so you can see exactly how it went! I cut it down to 10 minutes but really all you have to watch is the first 2-3 minutes to hear the news. Turn up the volume on your computer...kind of hard to hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T88xgZW7DM8

My NP was trying to wrap around her head how we got 3 fraternal babies (all with their own sacs) out of one mature follicle in our last IUI. Obviously there were more that grew between the last ultrasound and the IUI. It just boggles my mind how they all took this time around. I have to go get a flu shot tomorrow and my phone has been ringing off the hook from different depts at our hospital about different classes that I have to take. The NP said I could swim, yoga and walk as far as exercise goes. I plan to start yoga soon and looking forward to bobbing around in a pool all summer. I have another ultrasound at 9 weeks and then probably have another one after that before being released to my Ob/Gyn. We talked about risks of one baby leaving us or possibly two or maybe all three will be born! I am taking one thing at a time and just going with whatever life gives me. She said I will start showing pretty quickly and that I might have to go on bedrest but anything can happen at anytime. We'll just see how it all goes! I am trying not to freak out or anything....it honestly has not really hit me yet. Due date is approximately November 15th but probably more like October or maybe even Sept.

So now what?! I am taking it all in...my husband has called me several times today to get a game plan going. I have no clue what we are going to do! I am more worried about carrying 3 babies in my 5'1" body frame and he is more worried about the money aspect of it after they come. I love how we both think ;) Luckily we are moving to a bigger home that will fit all 5 of us and two cats just fine. The car sitation has to be figured out....he has a Jetta and I have a Mazda 3 and neither can fit 3 carseats. One of the cars will need to be upgraded. As for care taking.....I have no idea! The cost of taking care of 3 babies will probably be more or close to what I make and that's not worth it. We might have to suck it up and for me to stay home for a few years...which was definitely NOT in our plan. Living in California is beyong expensive and it will be hard to do but I know we can do it! His parents and my Dad and Step-Mom live about 15 miles away and my Mom lives about 30 miles away. Hopefully we can get some help....I am just not even sure yet!

So that is the update!! Crazy how much your life changes so drastically in one day! I keep looking at my body just thinking how I will never have this cute figure again LOL (kidding!) and how I wish I had about 6 more inches on my body! That would help a lot!

Thanks for the love and support always ladies! Anything is possible and I am proof of that! 36 with High FSH and pregnant with triplets! Who would have ever thought!!! Love you all!

xoxox, Monica and 3 Turkeys!

5 weeks 1 day today

Well I haven't posted a journal in a while. I finally hit the 5 week mark yesterday which seems surreal. You know how you have downloaded all of these pregnancy apps on your phone in the hopes of REALLY using them one day? Okay I know i am not the only one that did this LOL! Every month I would hope and pray that it would continue to go past Week 5 and yesterday it did! It's very surreal and a bit overwhelming but soooo very exciting! My husband and I are just completely in love with this baby already and looking forward to many more milestones to come. We sit and talk about "What ifs" and "How do you feel about that" when it comes to our baby. We are finally having the conversations that I always dreamed about. We have not told a lot of people....maybe about 5 of my friends know and a few of his co-workers know because he was confiding in them for advice about IUI and IVF procedures. Our families do not know yet and it has been tough not sharing with them but I think worth it. We will share our good news on Easter. Then probably mid May make the big announcement to everyone and do the whole FB update thing where I scream from the rooftops that we are pregnant!

Our first ultrasound is on March 29th which I am excited about. Would like to know how many little turkeys we have in my belly ;) With my high beta numbers I am a bit overwhelmed but taking it one day at a time. I will be happy with whatever has been given to us (hopefully just not too many! Be careful what you wish for!)

The pregnancy symptoms are slowly coming but for me it helps me mentally know that I am indeed pregnant. The biggest symptom is the intense cramps I get about 5 minutes at a time. I usually just calmly breathe them out and they go away. I have been taking Tylenol on occasion to help with the aching dull pain at night so I can sleep. That is another weird symptom....I am not sleeping well at all! I hardly get a full night's rest in and that is the hard part. I wake up tired and in a fog most of the day just waiting to get home so I can lay my head down and rest. I get up and go to the bathroom constantly but not because I have to pee or anything. Mostly because the toilet helps my cramps and I think I am so anxious right now that I find myself playing with my iPhone in the middle of the night to pass time because I can't sleep. So much on my mind. I finally got a nap in today where I slept for 3 hours which was much needed. I was having major hunger last week but not so much this week. The only new symptom I have started today is my nipples are getting sore.

My husband has been so great in all of this and making sure that I take it easy and not to worry about much except the baby. It's a long story but we are in the middle of a stupid lawsuit right now with our next door neighbor (she is suing us). Because she is suing us, it's hindering the sale of our condo which we are hoping to move out of soon and move into a bigger home where my brother lives (he is moving). We are just ready to move on from this small place and away from her but not able to because of the holdup. After talking with my Step-Mom, she advised us that we suck it up and hire a lawyer to handle this for us. We really didn't want to have to pay out of pocket for something so lame but she is right. It's better to pay some money and do it right, then not hire someone and get screwed over by our neighbor's lawyer. I actually was very relieved when we made that decision yesterday. Let someone else do the work for us and hope that we get reimbursed the court and attorney fees at the end. My husband was so great....he told me not to even think about the lawsuit or the neighbor and that he is going to handle everything. He does not want me to stress out or anything. So I feel now we are making progress with this house/lawsuit thing and one step closer to our next home!

So that is my update! I have affectionatly named our baby "Little Turkey" only because he/she is due right around Thanksgiving LOL! I know it probably sounds bad but I feel like I have a turkey in their roasting right now! ;)

4 weeks 5 days

It still feels soooo early in this pregnancy but things are progressing quite nicely! I had my second blood test on Wednesday and the results that came back were very good...almost too good. There could be more then one lingering in my belly! We will know for sure March 29th when I have my first ultrasound and i am 7 weeks along! Wow!

On Thursday after I found out my positive second blood results, I called the IVF center and told them my good news that I was cancelling my cycle scheduled for May. They will be giving us back our deposit....woohoooo! It was really sweet because the financial counselor woman that I have been dealing with this whole time, told me "Congratulations! I am so happy for you" when we were saying goodbye. I choked up tears and said Thank you and then had a really hard time holding back tears. Such a relief that we are not having to go through IVF!!

My only symptoms right now are more hungry then usual and cramps. Sometimes my cramps get so intense that I can't sleep. I got up about 5 times last night every two hours or so because of the intenseness of my cramping. It comes for about 20 minutes and then leaves for 2 hours. It's this really strange feeling when the cramps finally subside....it's almost euphoric and I feel like I am drugged up when the cramps stop.....my body just feels relief. It's kind of weird to explain. I know these cramps are something I will have to deal with for the next 9 months and I am okay with that. Hoping between the cramps, my late night cereal breaks and excitment that I can finally get some good sleep. I feel like I haven't slept well all week!

It's exciting that I am able to tell some of my closest friends...the love is just so overwhelming and it's funny how most everyone reacts with a relief for us. A relief that this battle is hopefully over for us and a relief that we won't have to spend all that money to have the family we dream of having.

Once we get through selling our condo and moving and dealing with this crazy neighbor's lawsuit, we can finally focus on everything baby over the summer. I am looking forward to finally telling our whole families Easter!!

Best birthday gift ever!!

Such a lovely picture!! It makes me smile and be so happy!

Still waiting to hear back from my nurse about my second blood test but I should hear from her in the morning. I took two pregnancy tests tonight just to be on the "safe side" and the turned positive really fast!!! First time ever seeing this before!!!! Hsien hasn't stopped smiling since Monday!

I am feeling okay for the most part except I am more tired then usual and still have lots of cramping. The most unusual symptom is that I am hungry ALL THE TIME! I am not even joking! If I don't eat in time, I get hungry pangs that are horrible. The last three nights I have been waking up at 2:30am STARVING and in pain from hunger. Thank God for cereal! I eat a bowl and 30 minutes later I am back to sleep. Hsien thinks it's all so weird Ha! Ha!

Another symptom is I am definitely more irritable then usual....things irritate me so much quicker then ever! I cannot believe my attitude sometimes. Tonight I didn't even know who I was! Ahhhh hormones!!! Now I get it when they talk about pregnant women being so hormonal. I hope this isn't the case till November.

But again...I am not complaining about any of this!! I will take it all...10 times! I am just so grateful to be pregnant right now....this truly is the biggest dream coming true. I cannot wait to be called "Mommy"!