The Extraction

Yesterday I took Sam to the ENT so they could remove the foam sticker from his ear canal.

It wasn't pretty.

Sam already suffered through two failed attempts to remove the sticker, so I practically had to sit on him to get him in the car seat and to the doctor's office.

By the time I got him there he was so excited to have alone time with mom he was his usual happy self.

Until the doctor came at him with the metal hook. Then Sam freaked out. I was holding him. The nurse was holding him. Sam was yelling, "No! No! No! Let's go home!"

He would not cooperate.

The doctor, who I am told has a set of twins who are three, said "Is he always like this?"

I gave him a dumbfounded look, then replied: "You mean terrified and upset? No, he just gets like that when someone comes at him with a sharp, scary instrument."

Hello?! Have you done this before? I'm betting most of your three-year-old patients don't lay here cooperatively while you dig in their ears.

Anyhow, the doc decided to use this little vacuum to suck the sticker out. Only problem is that he told Sam it was just going to be noisy and it was just like the vacuum at home. Sam does not like noise (unless he is generating it), as I have documented here, here and here.  and he HATES the vacuum cleaner.

I was shaking my head no, but the doc was not looking at me. So Sam cried harder and held his hands over his ears even tighter.

Eventually the doc left and the nurses took over. They gave Sam a lollipop, took him for a ride on the chair, and blew a glove into a balloon and drew a face on it for him. Once he settled down, the doc came in to try again. It took three of us to hold him down and he kept yelling at us to quit "squishing" him. Of course, we didn't have a choice.

Finally the sticker was out. It had actually adhered to the eardrum. Really? Those foam stickers won't stay stuck on paper for eight hours let alone eight days!

Here's the most expensive foam sticker ever to enter our house. (I hope!)

When we got home Isaac crawled up next to Sam and looked in his ear. Then he said, "Did they take your brains out buddy?"

Fair question under the circumstances.

© Trippin' Mama 2012

Ear's the Thing

Pardon the truly awful pun in this post title, but my plan for today did not include a trip to the doctor's office for a failed attempt at removing a foreign object from a child's ear canal. A FAILED attempt, mind you.

I double checked my To Do list, and that wasn't on it.

Jeff had Sam on his lap this morning and happened to notice something red in Sam's ear. He got out the flashlight and determined that whatever was in there didn't belong in there.

It took me one glance to know that it was a piece of a foam sticker that we had used to decorate our Valentine's treat bags on Tuesday. I remembered that the boys had taken the large stickers and put them on their ears. I immediately told them not to put anything in their ears ever or we might have to go to the doctor to remove it. I even checked to make sure everyone's ears were clear.

Either I missed the sticker in Sam's ear then, or he didn't listen to me and stuffed it in later.

Seriously, dude? Ironic that you didn't listen to me and now you've got something stuck in your ear, isn't it?

Anyway... Five days, and Sam hadn't complained about it, but that puppy needed to come out. We tried to wash it out, but no luck. So, off to the doctor's office we went.

We optimistically took everyone, hoping we could breeze in and out and get on with the day. How naive are we? Not only was the doctor unable to remove the sticker, when he tried to wash it out Sam started to squirm and it went the wrong way. So it's now resting on the ear drum. 

To make matters worse, Isaac and Alex started having sympathetic ear pain while we were in the doctor's office, and started crying to have their ears checked. 

Really guys? Because it looks like Sam's having so much fun?

Alex was in such complete meltdown that I picked him and Isaac up and carried them out to the van. (That's 65 pounds of meltdown and tears these days!)

The doc told Jeff that if the sticker doesn't come out this weekend, we'll have to bring Sam back Monday so they can refer him to the ENT where they will knock him out and remove it.

Because that sounds so simple, right?

Amelia, AKA Florence Nightingale, was right beside Sam the whole time, comforting him and watching the doc's technique. After naptime she suggested we just knock Sam out and get the sticker out of there.   

If only it were that easy!

We flooded that ear with water tonight at bath time, and I added a little warm oil before nap and bedtime. So here's hoping there's a little Valentine's decoration on Sam's pillow tomorrow morning.

On the plus side, when I Googled "removal of foreign objects from child's ear canal" I found this blog post. It's a collection of the best of hundreds of comments Single Dad Laughing got on his blog post about his son stuffing a pistachio up his nose. I guarantee it will make you laugh.

And, Sam's situation makes Alex's sticker on the testicles episode look like a cakewalk. At least that didn't require a trip to the doctor's office!

© Trippin' Mama 2012

The Official Two Year Stats

The boys had their two-year doctor's appointment yesterday, so here are their official stats.

Sam - 34 3/4 inches tall, 28 lbs. 4 oz.

Isaac - 33 3/4 inches tall, 23 lbs. 4 oz.

Alex - 35 1/2 inches tall, 28 lbs.

This was the first time they got to stand on the scale like the big boys they are. Sam went first, and then Alex and Isaac began clamoring for a turn. We're pretty good at taking turns, so they all did great. Of course, after all three had taken their turns, Alex turned to me and said, "Mommy's turn!"

Thanks, but I'll pass. I had to step on the scale PLENTY when I was pregnant with the three of them!

The boys had to explore every inch of the exam room, of course. And I do mean every inch.

Look! Three two-year-olds will fit in the cabinet under the sink!

Fortunately I had extra hands along to corral them. Even more fortunately, we're a very healthy lot and at two, they all were able to get the FluMist instead of the shot.

I just hope we don't get a plumbing bill along with the doctor's bill!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Growing, Growing, Growing!

On Friday the boys saw the pediatrician for a checkup. They are growing like weeds. Here are the stats:

Sam - 26 lbs. 2 oz., 33 3/4 inches

Isaac - 21 lbs. 5 oz. 33 3/4 inches

Alex - 26 lbs., 34 inches.

We have determined that 33 3/4 inches is precisely tall enough to reach the buttons on the television set without standing on anything.

This has led to Mom and Dad's new exercise plan: walking boys down the hall to their room for a timeout for touching the TV. They all know it's a no-no, but they all do it anyway. Many, many times a day. Times three boys. It's especially annoying when they get their fingers on the volume button, but even worse when they mess with the cable box. The first crime is loud, but the second one practically requires a degree in electrical engineering to fix.

Isaac is still hanging out in the 4th percentile for weight, but he gained just over two pounds in four months. It took Amelia a whole year to gain two pounds. Shoot, I can gain two pounds just by thinking about it.

At any rate, the boys are doing great. They've been very healthy and the doc is not concerned about Isaac being a bit of a lightweight, since he eats well and is gaining weight well.

The boys had a vaccination, which they did not tolerate very well. The actual shot was fine. Isaac didn't cry at all, but that night was horrible! Jeff and I both got about four hours of interrupted sleep, getting up with one boy after another, plus Amelia. I guess she just wanted to join the party. It was like we were back in the early days when the boys were tiny, only now they are louder and will randomly decide they want to play in the middle of the night, instead of going back to sleep in our arms. Oh, and they weigh a ton! Have you ever tried sleeping with a 26-pound weight on your chest?

Thankfully since it was Friday we were able to catch up on our sleep over the weekend.

Only one more doctor's appointment to go before we move to annual checkups!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Amelia Weighs In

Amelia had her annual checkup this week. She measured 40 inches tall, which is just above average, down from the 90th percentile that she was the first couple of years. (Which always earned me a raised eyebrow from the doctor and a question about how tall Daddy is.)

Then she stepped on the scale. Amelia weighs 31 pounds. That puts her in the 10th percentile. She started out above average as an 8-pound, 8-ounce baby. But the improperly treated acid reflux quickly dropped her to the 10 percentile where she's stayed ever since.

In April Alex and Sam weighed in at almost 25 pounds. Unless she starts bulking up, Amelia won't be the "big" sister for much longer!

At least she's still got 10 pounds on Isaac.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Seventeen Months Old

Yesterday the triplets turned 17 months old. Today they had their 16-month checkup, which was (thankfully) rescheduled from last month due to snow. Tomorrow marks two years since that fateful day when the ultrasound tech said, "I see three."

I cannot believe the boys are already 17 months old. You'd think that my lack of sleep over the past two years would make time go slower, not faster, but I swear the three of them were just six months old and learning to crawl last week sometime.

So here's the update on Sam, Isaac and Alex at 17 months.

Sam - 33 1/4 inches tall, 23 lbs. 12 1/2 oz. That's 90th percentile for height and about 35th for weight.

Isaac - 33 inches tall, 19 lbs. 3 oz. That's still almost the 90th percentile for height, but about 3rd for weight.

Alex - 33 1/2 inches tall, 23 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. That's 90th percentile for height and about the 35th for weight.

The doctor is happy with how they are growing, though he'd like to see Isaac put on a few pounds. So would we, but the kid eats great. So that's not the problem.

In fact, sometimes Isaac eats so much I wonder where he's putting it. The other day he ate three chicken nuggets, two servings of peas, a quarter of a good-sized sweet potato and fifty pieces of penne pasta. FIFTY!

I couldn't believe he ate all those noodles. He kept asking for more and I was checking his seat, his diaper, watching to see if he was tossing them to his brothers. But they were all going in, just as fast as he could chew them. I was a little worried he was going to burst. Isaac's probably going to be one of those skinny kids who eat anything and everything in sight. I'm glad he's not short in addition to being underweight.

Sam, Isaac and Alex are all talking quite a bit, and repeating everything. I need to try to write down all their words one of these days. They all say each other's names (well, more or less) now, which is impossibly cute. One of the words they all use a lot is "next." As multiples they hear that a lot, as in "You're next," so now they will ask to be next, especially when we're getting in and out of high chairs.

One of the funny things the boys are doing now is asking to be tickled. They will come up to us and say "tickle, tickle" as they tickle their bellies. And if one of them is lying on the ground, someone else will often come up and tickle them while saying "tickle, tickle."

We are also in the throes of the continued battle against climbing. We have had to put a board over the front of the changing table so they can't use the shelves as ladders. And now that they are getting so tall, they can reach the buttons on the TV with just a little help. So I spend a lot of time telling them to get off Bumbos, toys, and each other and leave the TV alone. Alex is the most fascinated, and is responsible for all of us learning that the maximum volume on the playroom TV is 47. Mickey Mouse at that volume will make you want to pull your hair out. 

We are so fortunate that everyone has stayed pretty healthy all winter, and that we have three active, growing boys on our hands!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Isaac The Fearless Visits The ER

Well, Isaac the Fearless was the first to make a visit to the emergency room. He split his chin, and while it clearly wasn't really bad, we still needed a doctor to take a look. Since we couldn't get into the doctor's office today, we headed to the emergency room.

Isaac had a 1 cm cut that left a nice little gap, even though it wasn't very deep. The docs put him back together with a little super glue (Dermabond) and pronounced him good as new.

Isaac shows off his repaired wound. Please ignore the supper on his chin.

Isaac wasn't even acting like a daredevil when the accident happened. We *think* he cut his chin on the panel door of our built-in cabinets in the family room after he slipped on some toys. I say think because there's always a lot going on in the playroom, so we didn't really see everything. In fact, it didn't bleed all that much, and Grandpa D. was the one who really noticed it was more than a little bump a short while after the crying had ended.

Our trip to the ER was pretty uneventful. The ER was very quiet, so Isaac enjoyed walking up and down the hallways and watching cartoons while we waited. He HATED the life-sized dancing Santa Claus they had in the hall, and gave it a very wide berth after one of the nurses turned it on for him.

Of course, Isaac was hollering mad after the docs glued him back together. I had to help hold him so they could do their job, and boy was he upset with me. Seriously. He wouldn't even let me pick him up. He sat on the bed and screamed. Then when I tried to pick him up he gave me a very mad look and screamed even harder. Eventually we made up, thanks to a peace offering of a bottle.

Personally, I consider it a minor miracle that we made it to almost 15 months before we had to take one of the boys to the ER. And I'm glad it was for a pretty minor injury. I just worry that we're being warmed up for bigger things to come, though I certainly hope not!

Tomorrow we'll move on to happier things when I can post the photos of our visit with Grandma and Grandpa D. and Uncle Jacob.

Worthy Of A Re-post

This is the first time I've ever re-posted old content, but the other day I realized that a year ago at this time the first of my three, six-week-old boys started the chicken pox.

And the infamous Gucci handbag incident took place in the doctor's office. Who knew vomit and haute couture could be so funny?

If you missed it the first time, here's my original post in full:

Dec. 2, 2008

Yesterday I mentioned that I witnessed a moment of cosmic justice that will keep me laughing for months. Here's the story.

Isaac and I and a gazillion other people were in the pediatrician's office at 4:45 waiting to be squeezed in. It was the Monday after the holiday weekend, so most of us had enjoyed the holidays with our sick children. The general atmosphere was one of deep despair and there was much wailing (children) and gnashing of teeth (parents).

Into this pit of misery walks a super-put-together mom with her freshly manicured nails, her Prada head scarf, her skinny jeans and her Gucci handbag. (If it was from Target, like mine, I'd call it a purse. But, as it was Gucci, "handbag" seems more appropriate.)

Now I have nothing against people who are stylish. OK, I do, especially when I'm sitting in the waiting room trying to remember when I last had a shower, and then feeling even worse when I realize it was that morning, and I just couldn't remember.

But Mrs. Put-Together looks at all of us and cops the attitude. With a sniff she directs her child, who was also completely put together in a cute little sweater vest and expensive little shoes, to "sit over there in the corner away from all these sick people."

I'm thinking, "Look lady, these are the doctors' sick appointment hours, so you wouldn't be here if your kid wasn't sick. It's not like we have the plague." Then I looked at poor, little spotted Isaac and thought, "OK, maybe my kid has the plague, but not everyone's does."

She settled into her seat with a flounce and her cell phone started to ring. As she's digging in her Gucci handbag for the phone (shouldn't a bag that fancy have a pocket just for your cell?) her kid turns around to face her and says, "Mama!"

She's too busy digging for her phone to see it, but we all saw it coming.

As she snapped, "What!" the kid threw up all over her and right into the Gucci handbag. We all suppressed our laughter as her phone gave a few last pathetic, gasping rings and died in the pool of vomit that was now gracing the bottom of her bag.

It was truly a moment of cosmic justice, karmic payback, a little chuckle from God -- take your pick. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see how the drama ended because Isaac and I finally got called back, but I did enjoy the beaming smiles on the faces of all the other parents in the waiting room as I followed the nurse to the back.

It was not the mom's put-togetherness (I can make up words. I'm hardly sleeping here.) that bugged me, it was her attitude. And it was satisfying to see that attitude so richly rewarded. Judge ill of me if you want, but I figure I did my part in not enjoying the moment too much by not laughing out loud when it happened.

One Year Doctor's Visit

I know posts have gotten spotty all of a sudden. The boys have all been varying degrees of sick, and I haven't slept this little in a week since college finals. And, as I recall, there was a lot less crying then...

The boys had a doctor's visit on Tuesday, and they are all doing well, despite the cold and fever we've had. Here are the stats:

Sam: 31 1/2 inches (90th percentile), 21 lbs. 10 1/2 ounces (30th percentile)
Isaac: 30 inches (50th percentile), 18 lbs. 1 1/2 ounces (5th percentile)
Alex: 31 inches (75th percentile), 21 lbs. 5 1/2 ounces (30th percentile)

Even though Isaac is still a bit small, he's moving above his growth curve slightly, so the doc is pleased. And he more than tripled his birth weight of 5 lbs. 3 oz. in this first year, so that's great, too. He and Amelia are both built average height, but lightweights. But Isaac already eats more than Amelia does!

In other news, I'm leaving the boys here with Daddy for a couple days while I go for Girls' Weekend with my mom and my sisters. Thankfully the boys finally gave us all a halfway decent night's sleep last night, so I think we're past the worst of it and Daddy will be able to handle things by himself for a short time. Say a little prayer for him that the nights go well.

Nine-month Update

Last Monday I took the boys to the pediatrician for their 9-month checkup, so it's time for an update and stats check.

Sam - 19 lbs. 10 oz. - 29 1/4 inches long

Isaac - 16 lbs. 8 oz. - 28 1/4 inches long

Alex - 19 lbs. 6 oz. - 28 3/4 inches long

That puts Sam in the 70th percentile for height, Alex in the 60th and Isaac in the 50th. Sam and Alex are about the 35 percentile for weight, and Isaac is about the 4th percentile.

Sam, Isaac and Alex all have four teeth and everyone is busy standing up independently. They can stand for a good 30 seconds now, and they are cruising constantly, so we're getting close to walking now! Everyone is playing peek-a-boo and doing patty cake, and we're making good progress on finger foods.

There are two big milestones that struck me following this appointment. First, the boys now have been outside of me longer than they were inside of me. Second, at 16 1/2 lbs., Isaac now weighs what all three boys weighed combined when they were born. Isaac is a peanut compared to his brothers, but it's really hard to fathom that he weighs what he and his brothers weighed COMBINED on their birthday.


The time is flying by, and before we know it, the boys' first birthday will be here. What a celebration that will be!

Too Late for Much of an Update

It's getting late and I'm getting tired, so this will be short. Alex saw the nurse practitioner today, and I left the appointment well...unsatisfied.

I got lots of "maybe it's this, but probably not," and no real answers. I got some suggestions for things to try, but nothing novel. They asked me to switch his formula, but he absolutely refused to drink the new formula, and based on the smell (a cross between cat urine and sour milk), I don't blame him. My pediatrician said to give him his regular formula -- better that he get some liquids in him.

I didn't expect answers out of this visit, but I did expect to feel like someone else was in this fight with us. I just wanted to know that I had an expert invested in helping us figure it out.

Instead, I left feeling like they have no clue, are shooting in the dark for ideas to try, and really, really just want to scope him.

How does the saying go? "If you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail." Yep. That's it.

Alex did have a better night last night, and we think it might have been the papaya extract that Sarah O. and Jerry sent. I gave it to him a couple of times today, so hopefully we'll have a good night tonight.

We've decided to try some alternative therapies for Alex before we rush to scope him, including cranio-sacral massage. We were referred by our chiropractor, and our appointment is Friday. I'm also working on an appointment with another pediatric GI doctor. Maybe I'll have better luck elsewhere in finding someone who wants to help us figure this out.

We really want to try some other things before we rush to an invasive procedure, and based on my track record with anesthetic, we have very good reasons to worry about any of our children being put under.

When I had a simple procedure requiring 30 minutes of anesthetic, it took 7 hours to wear off. And I found myself counting the doctor's stitches during my C-section with Amelia because I didn't respond well to the epidural. Even the spinal I had with the boys ("Rest assured that this will work," they said.) didn't work. It was supposed to last 8 hours, but wore off in less than 2, leaving me at the mercy of morphine to try to manage the pain. Scary stuff in anyone, but especially when you're dealing with little people.

Sorry to ramble a bit. No time to clean this up. Sleep is of the utmost importance. I'll post more later about the massage and all that, but for now, I'm off to bed and praying for a decent night for Alex.

An Ode to Caffeine

If you listen to a lot of children's music, like we do, you may have heard "The Coffee Song" by Ralph's World.

It goes like this:

M-O-M-M-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E,
D-A-D-D-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E,
M-O-M-M-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E,
D-A-D-D-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E,

I love my kids. I love my kids. Gosh, I love my kids.
But I need, what I need, and I need a lot of what I need and that's C-O-F-F-E-E.

It's absolute GENIUS!

Now coffee is not my caffeine of choice, but I'd mainline it right now if I didn't have the option of a nice, cold Coca-Cola. Oh, thank God for Coke!

Last night was rough. My night consisted of a 45-minute nap. Up with Sam for 10 minutes. Down for 20 minutes. Up with Isaac for 10 minutes. Down for 20 minutes. Up with Alex for an hour. Lay down with Amelia's arms glued around my neck for 30 minutes until she falls back asleep and I can sneak out. (That is, thankfully, unusual!) Put Jeff on duty for a couple of hours with Sam, then get up again with Alex and "sleep" with him on the couch for two hours. Sneak another one hour nap while Jeff, the WBHE (World's Best Husband Ever), feeds the babies breakfast and gets Amelia up and ready for the day.

Can you say C-O-F-F-E-E!

Alex is struggling with reflux. I had a baby like this before. We walked the floors for hours with Amelia, and I'm seeing a repeat of it in Alex. He'll sleep peacefully for an hour or two, and then wake screaming. The only comfort is to get him up onto your shoulder, and even that doesn't help right away.

So, I trucked all the babies to the doctor's office by myself this morning -- clearly, the action of a desperate woman -- to make sure it wasn't ears. It isn't. We adjusted Alex's medicine, and I have my fingers crossed that this helps, because the first call for an appointment at a pediatric GI yielded a July 22 appointment...with the nurse practitioner.

JULY? Seriously? And we don't even get to see a doc? I'm pretty sure I can't survive on three hours of interrupted sleep a night for the next two months.

Not even if they put a Starbucks in my basement.

Although that wouldn't hurt. I wonder if they are looking for a new location in my neighborhood...

Six-month Checkup

We took the boys to the doctor today for their six-month checkup. Everyone is doing great.
Here are the stats:

Sam: 16 lb. 3 oz. - 30th percentile
Isaac: 14 lb. - 5th percentile
Alex: 16 lb. 3 oz. - 30th percentile

You read that right. Sam and Alex now weigh exactly the same. We knew Sam was getting close in size to Alex, and sure enough, he caught up. I attribute it in part to a nasty cold that Alex has had this week that has put him off his food a bit. If you saw that boy eat solids, you'd figure that his brothers would never be able to catch up!

Isaac is still a little light, but has stayed on his growth curve, so we're not concerned at this point. Many HOMs are not even on the growth chart at a year, let alone six months.

All of the boys are the same length -- about 25 inches. I have it written down, but I'm too lazy to get up and look for it right now.

Everyone seems to have handled the vaccinations well, but we gave a dose of Tylenol at bedtime for good measure.

* Edit: All of the boys are 26 3/4 inches long. That's the 55th percentiled for height.

Four Month Check-up

Today a fellow triplet mama whose kids are school-aged helped me take my trio to the doctor. (Thanks Jackie!)

The boys are all doing great. Here are the stats:

Samuel: 13 lb. 3 oz.
Isaac: 11 lb. 12 oz.
Alexander: 14 lb. 1 oz.

Alex is the longest, by half an inch, but they are all pretty average length right now -- around 25 inches. Sam is the shortest, so far. Alex is in the 50th percentile for weight, which is great. Sam is in the 15th and Isaac is in the 5th percentile. What a difference a couple of pounds makes! We're just thrilled that all of the boys are on the growth charts, even without adjusting for them being three weeks premature.

The doctor pronounced them all healthy, growing boys. Even though we didn't expect to hear anything different, it's still great to hear!

Two Month Checkup

I can hardly believe we had the boys at the pediatrician's office today for their two-month checkup. They are all doing great, though Isaac needs to bulk up a bit to keep up with his brothers. Here are the stats:

Sam - 9 lb. 14 oz.
Isaac - 8 lb. 13 1/2 oz. (You know you're little when they'll give you that extra half ounce!)
Alex - 10 lb. 3 oz.

The doctor was happy with everyone's progress. I was happy that the boys were so good today.

Because everyone's been sick and we're still waiting to see if Sam and Alex are going to get the chicken pox, we opted to wait a couple weeks to do this round of vaccinations. The doc was very hopeful that Sam and Alex may not get the chicken pox if we haven't seen any spots yet. Here's hoping!

Now we won't have to see the doctor again for a routine checkup until six months. It's still amazing that these guys have had hardly any special care since they were born. Now if we can just get through cold and flu season, we'll be in great shape.

Reinforcements and a Health Update

I'm typing this with a fussy baby in my lap, and I hope this is not an indication of how the night's going to go. Luckily, Jeff's dad, sister and brother arrived yesterday, so we have reinforcements for a couple days. Last night I didn't have to get up for the 1:30 a.m. OR 5:30 a.m. feedings. It was wonderful, even though I was up with Amelia at 3 a.m.

For those who have been asking, my shingles are improving with the medication. I have started taking the medication for nerve pain, but I hope to only need it a day or two. And, of course, I went to the chiropractor for an adjustment since the virus that causes shingles is harbored at the base of the spine. It certainly can't hurt.

Today we also took the boys to the pediatrician for their one-month checkup. They are all growing well and getting even bigger and stronger by the day. Here are the stats:

Sam - 7 lbs. 7 oz.
Isaac - 6 lbs. 15 oz.
Alex - 8 lbs. 4 oz.

The boys are doing great. It's the rest of us who need sleep that I'm worried about!

The Deadline Is Set

OK, don't get too excited, the birthday is not THAT imminent. I saw the doc this morning and everything still looks great. We scheduled delivery for Monday, October 13 at 7:30 a.m. Of course, I could go before then, but if not, that will be the day -- at 37 weeks and 1 day gestation.

I have an ultrasound on Wednesday to make sure the babies are still doing fine, though they were so active last night that they kept Jeff awake! I guess I'm so used to it I just slept right through it all. I don't think it will be that easy once they arrive!

Duct Tape? Super Glue?

Seriously, what is holding these babies inside of me still? Duct tape? Super glue? Magnetic force? A stubbornness (theirs, not mine) that will be the bane of my existence when they are two?

The doc says everything looks great, but I am showing NO SIGNS of having these babies yet. He optimistically moved next week's appointment to Monday instead of Wednesday, and is willing to schedule something for next week if the rash has me going crazy, or I show any other indications that my body's going to give up these babies. Otherwise, he'd like me to hit 37 weeks -- which would be considered full term.

Perhaps it's time to change all those prayers from, "Please God, help her carry these babies to be big and healthy," to "All right already, God. Let's meet these little ones!"

So Glad to Be Boring

I went to the doctor's office for my weekly appointment yesterday, and I think my doctor is starting to feel a little left out of this pregnancy. The first thing he said (with a laugh) when he came into the room was, "You never even call me!" I asked if he wanted me to call him now and then so he'd feel more useful.

It's not entirely true that I never call. But, I've only had to call three times. Once early on when I had horrible low abdominal pain, which was my C-section scar tearing, rather than stretching as the babies went through their first big growth spurt. The second was around 20 weeks when I had an awful stomachache, which turned out to be viral, as Jeff wound up with the same symptoms. And the last time was at about 30 weeks when I overdid it a bit, wasn't staying hydrated and had a few contractions.

So, my news from the doctor continues to be boring, and boring is good! I did gain 3 lbs. in the last six days (thanks Mom!), making up for the last three weeks where I either lost or didn't gain at all. So my total weight gain is now 39 lbs. I am measuring 46 1/2 inches around, and everything else looks good. We're really hoping to see the babies weigh in at 5 lbs. each during next week's ultrasound.

At this point, they are unlikely to even give me steroid shots to boost the babies' lung development. Most doctors don't bother past 32 weeks, and certainly not once I hit 34 weeks. We're starting to be hopeful that the babies won't need much time in the NICU at all, though they will go there right after delivery for a thorough check.

Let's keep all those prayers for big, healthy babies coming. We can't thank you enough for all your support that has brought us this far!

Another Uneventful Doctor's Visit

You know your triplet pregnancy is going well with the first thing the doctor says after "How are you?" is, "So what's your commentary on this week's political events?" Yes, yet again, the doc and I spent most of my appointment talking about things outside of the pregnancy. It cracks me up!

There's not much to report, which is a good thing! My blood pressure is nice and low, and I'm measuring 42 weeks, though I didn't gain any weight this week. That's stunning, because I'm still eating like a horse. I have reached the point where everyone says, "That baby must be due any day now!"

The doctor did check out my self-diagnosed dislocated rib and told me I was right about that. Ouch! The babies need to build their new addition some place else. On the plus side, I felt more rested today than I have in weeks. That Vicodin really worked. I slept 5 hours straight before I woke up. I'm surprised I didn't wet the bed! And I had no trouble going back to sleep either.

The rib's not too bad today, as long as I don't try to take a deep breath. The massage therapist helped a lot, and I'll get in to the chiropractor on Friday morning, so that should help, too. All in all, a pretty minor complaint at 31w 3d with triplets.

Dr. Star asked, as he always does, about my contraction pattern. And I replied, yet again, that I don't have a pattern because I'm not having contractions. So, he's revising his 34 week estimate and saying he's cautiously optimistic I could make 36 weeks, especially as I'm finally going to quit working and rest a lot more. But, we'll know a lot more next week when we have another ultrasound.

Now for the story of the day. I mentioned my dislocated rib to a party who shall remain nameless, and the response was, "What were you doing?"

What was I doing? I must have hurt it when I was bull riding the other afternoon...