18 weeks, 5 days

Went to the doctor today to have my weekly ultrasounds. Everything still looks good. Babies aren't taking blood that isn't theirs. Ya know, I am really proud of my boys, already they seem to be very good at sharing. Also, they care about their health. This morning as the technician was moving the probe around my belly, I got to peek in on my little ones, and one looked like it was doing sit-ups, it's tiny little hands were up behind his head and he looked like he was doing the motion of sit-ups.

3rd set of ultrasound pictures

Doctor's appointment went fine today, they took 7 more pictures of the babies. Four of them are in 4-D and look amazing! Here are the pictures...

New "news"

Mommy writing for the second time!

I got a call from the women's center today, and they want to closely monitor me. So I will be going in for ultrasounds EVERY WEEK! Ben and I are getting settled into our new place, we just got our internet up yesterday, and I should have my scanner set up really soon, so I'm hoping to put ultrasound pictures up every week, that way everyone can see how the boys are growing.

Moving in was semi-hectic. Our first night in the new place we didn't have a bed, so we ended up sleeping on comforters over a sleeping bag on the floor. I slept great, I don't think I can say the same for Ben. And since I can't work through the pregnancy, I've dedicated myself to being quite the little housewife. In addition to all the care I'm taking to keep the boys all safe and well, I'm also getting good at having dinner ready right about when Ben gets home from work, I'm keeping up on all the dishes, laundry, and other household chores. I even pack lunches for Ben to take to work with him. It's pretty fun, actually, and I see it as a way to practice before there are three little ones to play with and feed every few hours.

The only room we don't quite have set up yet is the baby room. As much stuff as we both got rid of before moving, we still have a lot of stuff, and what we don't have room for anywhere else is hanging out in there until we figure out what to do with it all.

That's basically all that is going on here right now. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow for ultrasounds, and I will post any news or information the doctor's give me tomorrow!

Now Featuring...

You may notice that I've added some features to this blog! There is a permanent donation button on the left.

You'll also find that you can subscribe to this blog. Just click on that link, and you'll get updates automatically any time a new entry is posted. You can do the same for comments.

And finally, now anyone can post a comment, not just google members. You can post anonymously, or sign your name...whatever strikes your fancy!

Hopefully this is now more user friendly!

Love,

Natalie

Beautiful Bonnie

Here's the only pregnant picture I have of Bonnie, at 13 weeks...

My Growing Nephews

Three Olympic athletes in the making...

Three Bottoms to Wipe

As the only sister to Bonnie, I get to head up all baby shower festivities! I have just started a registry list...I will edit it somewhat now that we know the genders. It's a basic idea of course. Please take a look at it. Shower invites will be sent soon!

Bonnie's Baby Registry

If for some reason this doesn't take you directly to her registry, you can look it up. The registry number is 74865943

You will notice that our family is spreading the word about g-diapers. You may have heard my mom, myself, or my sister talking about them. That's because it's the diaper wish for this shower. They will be easier to keep up with, create less mess, and be easy to change and clean (when necessary). She'll be able to order refills online when she runs low, which will be one less errand for her, and they'll be affordable in the long run.

With three little bottoms to wipe all the time, she's going to need all the convenience of those refill packs she can get!

There are lots of gDiapers products on the registry site, however, you may also buy them directly from the gDiapers website.

gDiapers

Thanks and love,

Natalie

You've Got Some 'Splainin To Do!

So, I hear that my sister saw her boys when she was in Denver. She got to see fingers, toes, and boy parts.

Now, what I don't understand, is why she hasn't shared updated pictures of my nephews with me and everyone else.

Note to Bonnie: I think you should get on that. Don't worry, when they get older, I promise not to tell them that their mama posted pictures of them and their boy parts on the internet.

In other news, one of the people who was reading this blog, Isaac, told me that finding the donation link was really difficult, that it was hard to see. He said I should make it bigger or more obvious. So here goes, another link to the same donation page...

Pay Pal Donation Page

This just in!!

Mommy is writing today! I had my first appointment in Denver yesterday, it was a very long day. First, we got lost on the way to the hospital, and after spending 3.5 hours in a car, we were all pretty irritable, but we did finally find our way to St. Luke's hospital, which is really close to the Denver Zoo!

The doctor's appointment went very well, they did ultrasounds to check all the anatomy of all three babies. We got to see 30 tiny fingers and 30 tiny toes, the babies are all very well developed, they all have very well developed spines, are producing spinal fluid, and all have very defined BOY PARTS! Yep, we are having three boys! So we are, of course, excited to be football, hockey, babeball, or whatever else the boys are interested in... fans! Although, with 3 boys, I don't know if our Subaru legacy will be the best family car. Ben couldn't be happier that he's daddy to 3 boys. He has dreams of having 3 super smart, super talented NFL starters!

And already, the boys are acting like boys. As we watched the screen during the ultrasound, they boys were all kicking each other. Thankfully, the two boys that are sharing a placenta are feet to feet, and the third is above them, but not in a position where he can kick anyone in the head! All three seem to be wiggle worms, so I know they will be fun to keep up with when they are out of the womb and mobile! The doctors at St. Luke's were also very encouraging! They say the two things they are looking out for now are the thinning of my uterus, and they are looking to make sure the two in the same placenta don't end up sharing blood, as in one doesn't give his brother all his blood. Based on the picutres and everything yesterday, my uterus looks good. The doctor's think there is only a 10% chance of one of the boys giving their blood to the other, which is encouraging. But they want both of those things checked every couple weeks.

I would also like to thank everyone who has donated to the paypal account. It is very much appriciated, not only by Ben and I, but also by our three boys! Also, we appriciate all the kind and encouraging comments, emails and messages! And since, of course I am a girl, and only had a sister growing up, if any of you have any advice about raising boys, that would also be extremely appriciated!

Introducing Baby 1, Baby 2 and Baby 3

Ladies and Gentleman,

Already we have received a few e-mails, facebook replies, phone calls and a blog comment that have been very supportive. Thank you. It's just been a day and I already have such a good feeling about the kind people out there who are showing such kindness to my sister.

In today's blog, I'd like to share a few things with you. The first is a few pictures of my nieces/nephews. Ta da!...




If you are willing and able to help my sister, any help and encouragement is being accepted with the deepest gratitude. One of my residents during my RA year in college, Rachel, has already talked to several families she has nannied for and has those families donating baby clothes they no longer need, and one family even has a resource to help my sister cover the cost of diapers and formula for three months. It is such a blessing to my sister and our family, our gratitude can hardly be expressed.

I have set up a Pay Pal account to make donations to my sister. Initially, I was going to use it to help her myself, once I got a job and on my feet in this new town, but it occurred to me that others could use this as well. After discussing it with several friends, they all thought it was a great idea and that I should go for it.

If you would like to help my sister by making a donation, you can click on the link below and make a direct payment with a debit or credit card.

Pay Pal Donation Page

Thanks and Love,

Natalie

Bonnie and Her Babies

Welcome to Bonnie's pregnancy and baby blog! This blog will be maintained by Bonnie and Natalie, her oldest sister (that's who's writing right now) since, as you can imagine, growing three babies and raising them is busy business and blogging might not always be a first priority!



Bonnie will be blogging as well, but this project was my idea so I'm doing what I can to get it off the ground.



So, let me tell you the story of my sister making me an aunt, and giving my parents their first grandchildren...



I was shopping with my boyfriend's sister, Alicia, when my sister called me. She said she wanted to share some news, that she was engaged. Engaged! I was surprised, it was big news. But I knew that she and Ben had been discussing marriage for a little while , so I wasn't in shock about it. Then she said that she had another piece of news for me (now, I know that YOU know where this is going, but at the time I figured she was going to tell me something about wedding plans or ask me to be her Maid of Honor). She announced that in February, I would be an aunt. NOW I was floored.



Her pregnancy has started of with a lot of morning sickness. It's been about three times as intense as the morning sickness of most women in our family. She's had a lot of back pain, and has definitely had her share of mood swings. That aside, her hair is growing in thicker, her skin is glowing, and she's been developing the breasts of a goddess. All in all, I'd say she's about as gorgeous as a pregnant woman could get.

Unfortuntately, even pretty pregnant women don't always have it easy. Bonnie had to leave her job at the bakery because her boss could not compromise on having Bonnie deal with commercial cleaning chemicals, or not being able to lift heavy loads of flour, sugar, and chemicals up and down stairs. She was hired with an insurance company, but her morning sickness was giving her difficulties with work performance.

At about week 13, doctors said the thought she was a little further along and scheduled an ultrasound for week 14 to check. Though she was still losing weight from morning sickness, the baby's heart beat and the swelling of her abdomen seemed unusually advanced for 13 weeks. I was going to go, but had plans to pick up my boyfriend's other sister, Madeline, from the airport and spend the day with her.

While Madeline and I were having coffee and, speak of the devil, talking about my sister and her babies, Bonnie called me. "Are you sitting down?" Immediately my heart sank, and I was worried.

"Yeah, I'm just sitting in Fort Collins right now with Madeline. We're having coffee. What's wrong? Is everything ok?" I asked.

"Yes, just...promise you're sitting down...and not driving either. You're not driving?" She sounded very serious, and I knew she wouldn't spill the news until she was sure I was seated.

"Ok, I'm sitting. I'm not driving. Is everything ok? What's going on?"

"I'm having triplets."

(Long pause. Feeling of shock)

"Seriously? You're lying to me. Are you lying to me?"

"No. I'm really having triplets."

After several accusations of her pulling my chain, I believed her. Then proceeded to beg her to name one after me for a few minutes. Then told Madeline, who got so excited she called her entire family. It was a very happy moment.

Since then things have had their ups and their downs. She has to file for medicaid to cover insurance costs, and has to have a quick wedding to file properly. She is a high-risk pregnancy right now, and the doctors she is seeing where she lives in Nebraska can only do so much. They are sending her to a specialist in Denver each month, which is also where she will be having a C-Section.

Unfortunately, the way medicaid works is that it covers you for treatment only in the state that you live in. So, when she does her check-ups in Nebraska, she will be covered. However, every time she has to cross a state line to get the appropriate medical attention her pregnancy requires, she will not be covered by insurance.

At week 16, she has only gained 2 pounds since the very beginning of her pregnancy. This, the doctors say, is probably closely tied with her stress level. Our family, is, of course, trying to do everything we can to help her. Although my dad's work benefits contract strictly states that my sister is not eligible to be covered under his insurance, he is hoping that upon talking with them, they can come up with a compromise to help her through the end of this year. That leaves two months of pregnancy with no coverage every time she is in Denver.

We have started this blog to keep family informed, and to build a network of support for Bonnie and her children as early on as we could think to do so. We ask for your prayers, your positive and uplifting thoughts, your encouragement, and any creative support you can offer. We would love to hear back from this network through the e-mail we have created that is also directly linked to this blog. To e-mail my sister or the family, please e-mail bonnie.triplets@gmail.com

Great thanks and much love,

Natalie