What the blog?

Sure, I miss ibuprofen. And being able to prop my leg up against the shower wall to shave. And bending straight over to – well, to do anything, including put on underwear. I miss being happy that I’m not ravenous at dinner, knowing a bowl of cereal will be perfect(ly not nutritious). Ohhh, and I really miss being able to sleep on my stomach.

None of that compares to what I’ve been missing since the day I found out I was pregnant.

Each step of this pregnancy – from those first beta hCG (pregnancy hormone) blood tests to the first ultrasound and then the insane number of ultrasounds since my RE said, “And here’s the third baby,” – each step has felt like a giant hurdle I needed to clear. I’ve taken each step with a clinical mind: my betas need to be XXX; the babies need to be measuring a certain size; the bleeding is OK, and it’s because of a blood pocket; I need to be on progesterone until a set day; my cervix needs to be strong and needs to be a certain length.

Even though my strongest emotion at my 13 week ultrasound was happiness, I still faced my first cervical measurement. I was happy, but that bit of tension kept at bay the one thing I’ve been missing.

It’s hard to give a name to what it is, but I knew, when the ultrasound technician announced Monday that Baby A is a girl, that this is exactly what I haven’t yet experienced.

Tears. Happy, relieved, connected tears. Until Monday, each ultrasound was like watching a cool show on TV. I really liked seeing the babies and was continually thrilled with their progress, but I hadn’t quite given myself over to the fact that those three little squrimies on the screen are the three tiny people I’m going to one day hold hands with. The only tears I shed directly because of this pregnancy were tears of fear (each time I bled) and grief (when we were told Baby C wasn’t with us anymore). Not once, until Monday, did I cry those big, happy tears.

I’m not sure what it was, but as soon as the technician said, “Baby A is a girl, and she looks great,” well, there was something about that pronoun that flipped the switch in my brain. Suddenly it wasn’t all about numbers and measurements and milestones. It’s about her. And him. And her. And us.

Once those pronouns were assigned, I could concentrate on nothing but the knowledge hitting deep to my core that this love I’ve been feeling is for three people, not just three possibilities.

Before, I wanted nothing more than to have a successful pregnancy.

Now, I want nothing more than to get to know my son and two daughters.

Today was my 15 week checkup with the MFM group (perinatologists who specialize in high-risk obstetrics), and the doctor continues to be absolutely THRILLED with all four of us.

The ultrasound technician spent a lot of time measuring different parts of each baby, but you guys – I was in such a haze. I asked if I could record video of the scan, but it’s against hospital policy. Poor Rob had to miss the appointment, and I tried my best to remember every single detail, but the ultrasound was able to spy the sexes of PB&J.

And so my mind went a little foggy because all I could see were bits and pieces.

I do know that all three babies are measuring right on time – absolutely perfect. All three weigh approximately 4 oz. They all showed off their hands and feet, and we were able to see six kidneys, three bladders and three stomachs. All their cords look good, as do their placentas and amniotic fluid levels. Babies B and C have anterior placentas (and both are hanging out on my right side), and Baby A has a posterior placenta.

Speaking of placentas – the two anterior placentas mean I won’t feel those babies for quite some time. But Baby A? I felt Baby A tap, tap, tapping for the very first time this morning. It felt almost like how your pulse feels inside your arm when they check blood pressure, only not quite so strong. There was one tap, then nothing for 30 seconds, then another tap, nothing for about a minute, and a third tap before all fell silent.

It was 5 a.m. and I was awake to pour water up my nose (aka the blasted Neti Pot), and I had just gotten back into bed. I was trying to go back to sleep when I felt the first tap. My eyes flew open, and it was impossible to sleep once I felt the second tap.

Today has been amazing.

What, have you had enough rambling? Well, hold onto your britches. I’m almost there.

Back to the ultrasound. Baby C, who you might recall is the elusive Ninja Baby who tricked us into thinking it had expired back in my seventh week of pregnancy only to make a miraculous comeback a week later, well, Baby C is STILL elusive. The tech was only able to get a between-the-legs picture and a photo of ONE foot. What a stinker.

In addition to the babies looking great, I am looking great, too. My cervix is long and closed, and the doctors are thrilled with my progress so far. I will be monitored weekly because I’m at risk of an incompetent cervix, but so far, all has been more than well. Hooray!

Here’s the first set of photos, which includes a group shot showing the top of Baby C’s head, Baby A’s belly and Baby C’s belly along with profile shots of Baby A and Baby B.

Cute, right? I love seeing their little faces.

Now, the information/photos that so many have been waiting for. I tried to cover up the important parts to preserve the modesty of my tiny offspring, but, well, you can still see it somewhat. I’ll let the ultrasound technician’s notes do the talking this time.

In case you have a hard time reading the notes, PB&J are GBG triplets – two girls and one boy. The ultrasound technician said she’s nearly 100 percent sure all three are accurate, but the doctor said he’d wait to officially OFFICIALLY call it until the next appointment. The boy parts were mighty clear, but girl parts are usually more tricky. Both girls had the telltale three-line look, but you never know, right?

Can you believe our sneaky Ninja Baby is a rotten little girl? She is going to be a HANDFUL. It’s a good thing her daddy knows all the tricks of the trade – I was too much of an angel to catch any shenanigans she’s going to try to pull. YOWZA.

So there you have it, folks. My next checkup with the MFM is in three weeks, which is when they’ll do that big anatomy scan. I thought they got a lot today, but apparently there’s a lot more to measure – times three.

I had my second OB appointment today. I’m officially up 20 pounds from when I started my treatment protocol for this cycle, and my belly is measuring at 20 weeks. I’m not sure if that’s small or big for textbook standards on triplet bellies, but my OB was pleased as punch.

The nurse tried to hear heartbeats from PB&J on those handheld dopplers today, but she gave up after a few minutes and declared it too difficult to differentiate between the three. She said an ultrasound would give them a more concrete difference and then asked if she could sit in on it because she had never seen triplets on an ultrasound before.

I wonder if it was truly difficult for her to pick up three heartbeats on the doppler.

Whatever the case, I got to see PB&J again – this was my ninth ultrasound, one every week since the first one at six weeks. Because I’ve seen them so often, I wasn’t that upset that the machine was crappy, I could barely see the screen, and I took home three terrible photos. I did see that all were moving around in there, and their heartbeats were all strong. Babies A and B both measured at 156 bpm – the first time Baby A has matched up with anyone else (but also the first time Baby A has been super active instead of being so laid back!), and Baby C measured at 150 bpm.

It was a quick ultrasound just to confirm three heartbeats. Next week’s appointment at the perinatologist’s office will include growth measurements.

It’s been so nice to have great reports on all four of us at these last few appointments. I hope the trend continues for a very long time – at least into January of next year!

p.s. Those of you who frequent blogs written by The Pregnants may be wondering why I’ve never hopped on the pregnant surveys people fill out each week. Frankly, it’s because my answers would be boring. Sure, my weight goes up each week, but I haven’t had any cravings (aside from fruit), aversions, no labor signs, no movement, no official guesses about the sexes (I’m pretty sure I don’t have three of a kind because I have absolutely no “feelings”), I only miss Advil, and I’m looking forward to a long pregnancy.

I keep looking at the survey, and seriously. My answers never change. It’d be boring for me to fill out, and it’d be boring for you to read.

p.p.s. I lied about the aversions. Lettuce smells disgusting. I can eat it. I just don’t want to smell it while I’m putting together a salad. (thanks, @measamommy! )