Celebrating! (Week 22)

So, I have survived 2 weeks of bed rest--only 12 more weeks to go! I am trying to get a little more used to bed rest, yet I am not sure it is anything that you can ever "get used to." I look around the house and I see things that I could be doing to help Michael yet I have been forcing myself to stay seated. Michael has been wonderful about staying on top of everything and I am learning how to do more things while sitting in a recliner. Michael and I have also been trying to tackle the nursery--it seems to be a never ending project. A friend was able to get the cribs for us this past week from Ikea in Atlanta so that is a huge blessing! We will have an assembling crib party soon :) It makes me feel good to know that we have a majority of the essentials that we need for these children--some clothes, cribs, and car seats. Michael has also been doing lots of laundry for the babies. We have formed a pretty good system as well--I fold and sort into piles by size and gender and then Michael puts them in the appropriate tub. I enjoy looking at all of the little clothes! Speaking of clothes--Michael and I also went to an awesome consignment sale this week. For those of you who are worried--I sat in a wheelchair while Michael pushed me :) We were able to find some pretty awesome deals--we mainly bought some clothes for next winter. But we now have a coat for everyone for this winter so everyone will stay warm! And we found these awesome little cars/walkers for them. It's not something we need right now but it was a good price and it was fun to buy :) 

 My sister, her husband, and our niece are moving to Ireland so we were also able to find some good warm clothes for her. So, overall it was a very successful consignment sale. And it was a bonus for me because I enjoyed getting out of the house and doing something "normal." Michael could improve some though on his wheelchair pushing skills--he believes I should have the same opportunities as others and likes to push me into a crowd of people :) 

I am also still taking the shots and that went much better this past week. We were able to get the medication from a local pharmacy that compounds so we should be set for the rest of this pregnancy. The pharmacist gave Michael some tips on how to make the shot a little better for me. The shot is oil based so it is very thick and it burns (like crazy!) -- but she told Michael to warm the medicine up with a heating pad (we used a hot towel) and it would make the medicine thinner. So, Michael followed those instructions this past week and it didn't burn at all! I am taking Claritin as well to help with the allergic reaction I am having and that seems to be improving as well. 

And now for the BEST news -- the babies are doing wonderful! We went to the doctor yesterday for an ultrasound and then to meet with Dr. Bellardo. Michael and I are getting accustomed to waiting about 3 hours at the doctor's office. They are determined that the ultrasounds take 1 1/2 hours and then they schedule the appointment with Dr. Bellardo sometime after that. We had the ultrasound first and they are just checking for growth and heartbeats. We don't have a picture that shows all 3 of the babies (in their entirety) but here is a diagram of how our babies are currently positioned

So as you can see our babies are currently stacked on top of each other. I'm not sure if they will change positions or stay like that but this seems to be where they have currently found themselves. There is also a membrane that separates each of the babies and they have their own placentas. All 3 of them have anterior placentas which means that it is in front of them. Here is a picture though of all 3 of our babies--it is just pieces of each of their bodies :)

You can't see the lettering very easily but Baby A is on the bottom, Baby B is in the middle, and then Baby C is laying up top. The babies are doing very well though! They are all growing concurrently and no one is "stealing" from the other. It's good to know that they already like to share :) So, Baby A now weighs 1lb, 3 oz and Babies B & C are 1lb, 2oz -- which is awesome! Also, they checked Baby A's kidneys and they were measuring normal this time--yay! So, hopefully he continues to go to the bathroom and does not get anymore blockage. All of the babies cooperated this time as well and allowed the ultrasound tech to get the pictures that she wanted. Baby C finally rolled over and they were able to get an awesome picture of his heart. Everyone also had a good heartbeat. I have been having these ultrasounds for a while now and I can even feel them kick now, yet I am still nervous on the morning of the ultrasound. However, as soon as I see their little hearts beat I feel instant relief. So, overall the babies are doing great and they are right on target with where they need to be. I am also steadily gaining weight (which makes them happy) and my blood pressure is still good. My cervix is still measuring "long" as well and we actually gained 2mm on my cervix this time. Dr. Bellardo said it is not possible to gain a centimeter back yet we can get a millimeter sometimes. Dr. Bellardo said that we are "greedy" though and we will take everything we can get :) So, Dr. Bellardo attributes this to bed rest and wants me to continue doing what I am doing. He said that we don't have to come back for 2 more weeks because everyone is doing so well. Dr. Bellardo even said that he was "celebrating" with how well we are doing! Yay! :) 

Since I am also getting bigger I am now getting to the point where I am not really comfortable anymore. My back hurts as well as my hips when I sleep at night. However, the worst has to be the ligament pain. I checked with Dr. Bellardo about it and he said that it was a "badge of motherhood" and that the pain is only going to get worse. Dr. Bellardo said that it is partly round ligament pain and then it is also where my abdominal wall attaches--it is being stretched out. So, he said there is nothing I can take for the pain but he said I could apply a little heat to it. I guess if this is all I have to contend with I will be okay, yet I could live without the sharp, shooting pains :) I try to push Baby A over some too because he will kick at the tender spot. At least so far the pain is only on my left side so maybe it will stay like that :) 

So, overall we are all doing pretty good! We only need to make it 12 more weeks and we need the babies to gain about 3 more pounds a piece! Also, thank you again to all of our friends and family who have reached out to us during this time and helped us--we truly appreciate everyone :)
I don't have many pictures of the babies this time but I have added a picture of each of them :)