Pregnant... with triplets

First news: Aria got her third tooth, one on top, on Memorial Day! I have to post it here so I can remember when I am filling in baby books in three years.

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I have always wanted to write a flashback post about some of my early adventures being pregnant with the triplets. By the time I had decided to start a blog about the kiddos last year, the beginning of my pregnancy had already passed and I didn't get to share all the "fun" times we had.

I was quite ill in the first trimester. To call it morning sickness is just a terrible misconception. At LEAST 50% of the population is wildly mistaken about this thing they call "morning sickness." I always was. I think it should be called pregnancy sickness, because morning has nothing to do with it! I never understood the severity of nausea a pregnant woman could experience. If I had seen a woman acting like I did, I would have rolled my eyes and thought, "It is all in her head! Boy, is she milking this for all it's worth!" But, if I could have changed what I was feeling just to act like a normal person again, I would have.

At it's worst, my pregnancy sickness kept me from going into the kitchen. Needless to say, Dan did all of the cooking for a while there. I could not even THINK of what I wanted to eat. At random moments of the day, hunger/nausea would hit me and all I could say to Dan was, "I'm hungry!" The first few times this happened, he asked what I wanted. If I tried to think of something, or say what it was, I would start gagging. Soon, we learn that if he just brought me something it would probably work. If it wasn't something I could stomach, a bowl of cereal always worked. I was ridiculous.

The worst was late at night when Dan was already asleep. I was not one of those wives who could wake up her hubby in the middle of the night for a french fry run. First, he'd have to drive 30 minutes each way just to get some. Second, he doesn't do well with being woken up. There is a grumpy Dan that takes over once he falls asleep and I know now never to wake up grumpy Dan. Regular Dan is always back in the morning, so I wait with whatever is going on until then.

One night, around midnight, I was starving. I opened a cupboard and the first thing I saw was cream of wheat. That worked. I got it cooking and just the act of standing there stirring the pot made me get sick. I almost made it over to the trash can. The cruelty of it all is the spontaneous way the puke just surprises you and jumps out! There is hardly any warning and no control. Now, previously in life, if a potential meal had made me sick, that would have been the end of it. But no. After I got the kitchen and myself all cleaned up, I still had to eat the cream of wheat! I was even more hungry then! Oh, the madness of it all.

The worst morning came on a school day. I distinctly remember feeling so proud of myself because I had gotten up early enough to actually put some effort into my appearance that day. Sleep was a precious commodity and I did not give it up lightly. My hair was curled and make-up was on. I think was a wearing a nice skirt. Lastly, all I had to do was feed myself and the three growing babies inside me. My mistake was opening the refrigerator for the milk carton. That is all it took. I ended up having to mop up the floor, change my clothes, wash pieces of my hair, take out the trash and clean up the bathroom. I would have done better if I had contained it in one area instead of trying to make it to the toilet. It was humiliating having to call the school because I was going to be late (on a day I got up early, no less!) and had to have my principal cover my class until I got there. If I remember right, I got there just as the kids were arriving, so it could have been worse. I just couldn't leave my house like it was because that meant I would have come home to the smell after it fermented all day. Good thing my babies were worth it! ;)

My saving grace when I encounter nauseating smells during pregnancy was a handy dandy chip clip. This little item helped with many a task: taking out the trash, rinsing out a bowl of leftovers, etc. It is funny what tricks you find to help you cope with seemingly psychotic reactions to pregnancy. Every moment with the triplets has been such an adventure, from the very, very beginning. I reached the threshold of tolerance and trying tot tough it out on the day after Christmas. I had been so sick on Christmas night and the next morning that I broke tiny blood vessels all over my face. I looked horrible and could hardly function. I was about to get in to a car and make an eight hour drive to Wyoming and then vacation in Colorado for a week, and I did not want to suffer any more. I called my doctor and got a prescription for a wonderful little pill called Zofran. It did the trick! I was better within days and didn't have to deal with the nausea and vomiting again.

Aren't you glad you have just read all about me puking? Well, just for sticking it out, I will talk about something related, but soooo much better than puking. There is still nausea, Zofran, chip clips, but not puking.

See, the title is "Pregnant... with triplets." You can read it two ways. Either I am talking about being pregnant with three babies, or I am talking about being pregnant while I already have triplets at home. It happens to be the latter.

Yep, that is right. David, Aria and Levi are going to have a sibling. I am finally ready to announce that we are 15 weeks pregnant. That makes us parents to four (ONLY ONE MORE - the ultrasound tech promised!) children. For the record... we were trying one. God's blessings just came pouring down, once those floodgates opened! The new little one is due November 22, 6 days shy of the triplets being 18 months old.

Yes, we know you think we're crazy. Yep, we know how this happens. We've been asked four times so far, so I know some of you are thinking that. And we are truly excited and a little scared. I am not quite sure what all to say about it at this time except we were sure surprised! I was under the assumption that I was still "broken". Obviously, I'm not anymore! All I know is, God surely has a plan for our family because He is wondrously creating life through us. If you ask me, this kiddo was a one in a bazillion chance, and I am in awe of his/her existence. There are two things in this life I never ever question (and I am hoping God doesn't challenge me deeply on this very soon) but that is when God creates life or takes life. Only the Lord is truly omnipotent over all and I trust Him completely. I have had to say goodbye to too many people I dearly love, but have always seen His hand working. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is also our beginning and our end. I am just so enthralled that He chose Dan and I to bring another precious life in to this world.

So, if you were wondering why I was looking a little "puffy" in the pictures, now you know why. I am not just getting fat. Although I was wondering for a while there! Here is the deal... I didn't know I was pregnant until I was over 8 weeks along. I missed a whole month in there! I had not had a cycle since the last babies were born, so I had no reference point to know when ovulation was occurring. Ta da! It just picked a day and nobody told me! If you have been following, you know I got a little "sea sick" on our wonderful trip to Florida. The "sea sickness" stuck with me off and on for the rest of the trip and until we got home. I had slept the vacation away, just thinking I was recovering from mothering my triplets. I was also ravenous in the morning and made sure I got to the continental breakfasts. That's not normally like me, since I used to do without breakfast. I was also bitterly disappointed in myself for not losing five pounds before vacation when I was working out so diligently and eating better than I have in my life. In fact, I gained three pounds. Frankly, I was disgusted with myself and figured I had better be getting back to the doctor about my PCOS.

We arrived home at 4:30am the day after Easter. That Monday evening, Doug and Kara (my brother and his girlfriend, who was actually our friend before we introduced her to Doug... anyway) had stopped by and I was filling them in on all our vacation happenings. After the story of the "feeding the fishes" Doug made the comment, "You aren't pregnant are you?" I laughed... probably a little nervously since the thought had crossed my mind, and said, "No way!! Definitely not." He replies, "Wouldn't it be funny if in a couple weeks we find out you are!?" I was like, "No, that would definitely not be funny."

The next day that little pink line on the pregnancy test laughed at me. Wow. I can't describe the emotions that rushed over me. Joy! Fear... especially of my husband's reaction. Amazement. Scared. Overwhelmed. Sad for the triplets and what this might cost them from their Mommy. Disbelief. Wondering how it was possible. FEAR, of how far along I could be and what if there was two... three... YIKES! There were so many more.

I didn't know how I would tell Dan. I contemplated how I could get to the doctor to confirm, see how far along I was and tell me how many there were before telling Dan. But, that night, over a plate of french toast, I told Dan about Doug's question and that he was right. Dan just looked at me. Then he gave me the same look he gave me after a day full of practical jokes on our first April Fool's Day together. (The only one I have ever celebrated with him, by the way. I learned my lesson. He doesn't like practical jokes.) His face said, "this is a really cruel thing to joke so seriously about." But, I had to reassure him I wasn't joking and I started crying. He was taken aback but then, the clouds that had been hanging over me all day broke and he was actually pleasantly surprised and happy! I mean, how can you not be happy knowing you have a new little baby on the way? He did live with the multiples fear hanging over him until we had an ultrasound on Thursday. We made them check every nook and cranny... there is only one.

We are nervous for life with four kids under 18 months. I am very excited to experience ONE baby, but I will still have FOUR kids. I will never truly experience one baby, but that is fine. I feel like I am coming around the bend, out of the doldrums of the first trimester. I was beyond exhausted and pretty nauseous. I have gagged a ton. So, I have my handy dandy chip clip ready for any diaper change. It is clipped on the diaper basket. There is also one on the fridge for heating up questionable smelling baby food. The babies just laugh at me when I have it on and want to play with it. The laughing really starts when other adults see me use it, but I have no shame. Unfortunately for Dan, he is the primary dirty diaper changer for now.

Well, now that I feel like I can talk about EVERYTHING going on in our lives, I will save more for another day. I'll leave you with some pictures of the kids and get to sleep. I am not going to post this until tomorrow so my dear husband doesn't know how late I was up typing this. Whoops!

Oh, and no we don't know what we are having and we won't know until November when we met him or her! It is a surprise! And we won't be discussing names either. You'll have to wait. What a wonderful time of anticipation and preparation pregnancy is! I canNOT believe I am pregnant again. Here we go!


Modeling my chip clip.


Grandparents taking babies for a walk last weekend.


Daddy napping with Levi. Yes, we still wear the Christmas jammies. They still fit.


Coming soon:
~Saturday at Grandpa and Grandma Nebelsick's - riding the four-wheeler and kitties
~More party pictures
~More triplet stories of budding personalities!