Week 28

I am so happy to have made it to 28 weeks!  All things considered, I really do feel pretty good and I am hopeful that I am going to carry the babies longer than the average of 32 weeks (although I wouldn't complain if my doctor gave me a handicap sticker as I dread going places that don't have much parking).  I went back to my OB on Monday and she said she feels like I am doing so great that I actually have a chance to make it to 36 weeks.  Of course, things could change in an instant so I still need to focus on taking it one day at a time, but coming from my doctor that was encouraging, especially since she originally was sure I would be on hospital bed rest by now.

My weight gain has been a little weird the last few weeks.  From week 24-25 I gained 1 lb, from 25-26 I gained 4 lbs, from 26-27 I gained 1 lb, and now this week I gained another 4 lbs!  I also measure the circumference of my belly each week, which really isn't that scientific since it doesn't take into account the inches gained all over my belly (and everywhere else that I don't want to think about!) and I can very easily put the tape measure in the wrong spot, but I've consistently been gaining a 1/2 inch per week regardless of the weight gain (1 vs 4 lbs).  Seems really weird to me, especially since I don't feel like I change my eating habits each week.  Total weight gain to date is 56 lbs!  If I keep gaining how I have been over the last four weeks (average of 2.5 lbs a week) and I make it another 8 weeks I'll have gained 76 lbs - yikes!  A bit more than the recommendation of 58-70 lbs, but I honestly don't know what to do to slow down the weight gain as I feel like I eat much less now than I did a few months ago.  My heartburn also effects my eating as dairy is my friend, but most other things are not :(.  Anyway, probably more info than you all needed but my weight gain is supposed to correlate with the size of the babies, so we have been very focused on it from the beginning.  I just hope that it falls off as easily as it came on, but I know I shouldn't worry about that right now.

On Monday my OB measured me at the equivalent of 37 weeks, which is full term for a singleton.  Apparently they also checked my iron when I did the gestational diabetes test and she was shocked to see that my iron level is great.  I have no idea how I'm not anemic as I know it is very common even in a singleton pregnancy, but maybe my body likes to be pregnant as so far it has reacted very well to everything.

I have a negative blood type, so today I had to go to the infusion center at the hospital to have a few vials of blood drawn and get the injection through an IV.  I never knew about this, but since I have a negative blood type and there is a chance that the babies will have a positive blood type, I need a Rhogam injection which is supposed to protect me in case / when my blood mixes with the babies' blood.  After the babies are born I will have to have an intramuscular injection of the Rhogam as an additional protection.  The pamphlet on the injection totally freaked me out as apparently the injection is made from someone else's blood and it is not guaranteed to be free of viruses, can cause allergic reaction, etc, so they make you stay an extra 15 minutes after the injection to make sure you are okay.  Needless to say, I was pretty nervous by the time I sat down for the injection but the older man who did the blood draw and injection was super sweet which helped me relax, and he even gave me a tip on how to control heartburn (cinnamon) as his wife had heartburn with a couple of her NINE pregnancies!

Micah and I have been joking a lot about our new found "celebrity" status as one of my multiples books warns that parents of multiples can enjoy all of the attention a little too much (according to my book, you know you have a problem if you are out with one baby and you have to tell everyone that he or she is actually part of a trio).  Of course, you all know that I get embarrassed about all of the attention more than I enjoy it, so I don't walk around telling everyone I meet that I'm pregnant with triplets, but I'd have to say that it does come up a lot since so many people think I'm going to give birth tomorrow judging from my size! But I'd have to say, telling a random person I am pregnant with triplets is a sure way to put a smile on that person's face!  Today at the infusion center I was sitting next to a man who was definitely a regular and was prepared to be there for several hours today, and when he heard me tell my nurse that I was pregnant with triplets he lit up and was so excited about it.  Of course, then the other three people around him had to get in on the conversation and tell me how wonderful and exciting they thought it was.  So even though I turn red with all of the attention, I do think I can use this news to brighten up someone's day.  And I know this is only the beginning as people will definitely need to stop and talk if we go anywhere with three babies in tow!

This past weekend Micah put all three car seats in the 4Runner to make sure that they fit, and they did!  Here are a couple of pics to prove it.

   
I always have crazy dreams, but my pregnancy dreams have been exciting!  Apparently, I'm living vicariously through my dreams since I spend a lot of time sitting around these days.  A couple of months ago I dreamed that I was delivering the babies on a speedboat and the doctors and nurses were going to catch each baby in the water.  About a month ago I dreamed that I was skydiving, but it was a little less safe than your normal tandem skydive as everyone had to jump out of the plane and then find an instructor, get hooked up with the instructor while falling towards the ground, and then the instructor opened his parachute and we floated to the ground safely.  Last week I dreamed that I had just run a half marathon while pregnant with triplets, and Micah asked the person doing post-race interviews to interview me since I had run so fast for being so pregnant.  And most recently I dreamed that Micah and I were visiting friends in Guam (we really do have friends there) and for some reason we rented separate vehicles at the airport and I just happened to be driving a motorcycle, like Micah's "crotch rocket," really, really fast down the highway without a helmet. 

But I've also had a couple of dreams about the triplets, which had me in a panic.  The baby books I've been reading have talked about "high-needs" babies, meaning they need to be held and fed a lot, and I keep wondering what I'll do if all three are high-needs.  In my dream one baby was high-needs, which made me completely forget to feed the other two!  I've also been reading that newborns should not sleep through the night as that can indicate a problem, and I honestly woke up freaking out a couple of nights ago and almost ran into the nursery (until I realized I had a huge belly and was still pregnant), because in my dream all three babies slept through the night so I knew something was wrong!  Maybe I need to read something other than a book about babies before I fall asleep at night :).

Anyway, I guess this blog post got a bit long!  Here is my 28 week pic from today.  I've been feeling some really hard kicks, punches, or whatever from the babies recently, which is fun and a little uncomfortable.  But mostly I get gentle movement, which I really enjoy as it comforts me that all three are doing well.