The Triplets

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Friday, February 1, 2013

31 Weeks: Hello February!

This Week's Developments:
* This week a singleton would be over 16 in long and weigh about 3.3 lbs (the weight of 4 navel oranges!) and heading for a growth spurt
* Their bodies are starting to plump up as fat accumulates underneath the skin

Like I knew I would the whole time (because I felt God had told me this the day I found out about the triplets), I have surprised many skeptics including my doctors and many other people, and made it into February!

This past week has gotten a little crazy for me as strings of contractions have become more frequent and my body is protesting the huge changes it has undergone more and more. The little things like getting in/out of bed and on/off a toilet are so difficult not only causing pain in my back and abdomen but in my knees and shoulders as well. I have had to be injected with terbutaline almost once a day for the past week due to contractions coming on in excess of 6 an hour, but they have not increased my cervical dilation from the 2 cm it was at during the last check a couple weeks ago, which is great. The injection itself I find to be even more painful than the steroid injection but is short-lived, and while it still makes me very jittery and tachycardic for a couple hours after it kicks in, I think my body is getting used to it because it does not seem as bad as the first time I received it. I call it getting "terbed." In most cases, I would prefer getting terbed to the discomfort of the continuous contractions, however.

As you know, last week we officially announced that B is Michaela since she is the largest and Michaela is the longest name. I have always had a feeling that A was Hayley and C was Reagan, but we had planned on waiting to see them in person to decide. Brent randomly texted me before he went to sleep the other night that Reagan is C and so A is Hayley and we threw out our 'wait and see' plan. And so we are pleased to announce A= Hayley Hope, B= Michaela Joy, and C= Reagan Grace.

On Tuesday we had another biophysical scan and the girls all passed with 8/8 scores. They will continue these scans twice a week until they arrive. Today we had our two week growth scan. As usual, all girls' amniotic fluid levels were great. The ultrasound tech I prefer was out sick, and her replacement struggled a bit more and caused me quite a bit of pain with how hard she was pushing to get views that I am sure my usual tech could have gotten with much less force. I was even worried for the babies with how hard and painfully she was pushing! Ultimately I was just excited to find out how much they grew! I must say on a side note that the growth scans have a margin of error of +/- 8 oz in either direction and that the tech had a terribly difficult time getting a good shot of Hayley's head for the weight estimation because she is SO low. The tech believes that Hayley is likely still larger than Reagan, and that her measurement may just be off because of the poorer quality headshot.

Hayley: 2 lb 14 oz (+ 8 oz in 2 weeks)

Michaela: 3 lb 10 oz (+ 11 oz, our little chunky monkey!!)

Reagan: 2 lb 15 oz (+ 11 oz)

Personally, I have always wanted the girls to at least hit, if not exceed, the 3 lb mark before they are born, and we are so grateful that it looks like they will all accomplish that!

This is a belly collage I made for weeks 9-30:

And here are my 31 week shots from yesterday!


Total Weight Gain: ~57 lbs

2 comments:

  1. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they were born on Valentines day? My youngest son was and it always makes that holiday extra special for all of us. You are handling things so wonderful. I know you are going to be a great Mommy.

    Bobbi

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  2. Oh my goodness Paula. Your belly is so big! I hope you are not too uncomfortable although it looks like you must be. I'm so excited for you. I love the names you have chosen. Please know that so many of us at work love you and are praying for all of you. I hope to see you and the girls soon.

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