Update on Alex

I realize that I haven't given an update on Alex recently. And I have GREAT news on that front.

Ever since Alex had physical therapy and craniosacral massage, he is back to his usual, happy self. He had a second session last Friday and has slept through the night with little or NO help every night since then. Alex back to eating most of a bottle without fussing or turning his head to swallow. He is now the easygoing, happy boy he used to be.


The therapist was pleased to see that Alex retained more than 90 percent of the work she did on him and suggested we do one more session. After that, we can just bring him in if he has any issues, whether they be developmental, digestive or sleep related.

We're still keeping Alex on his reflux medicines, because we think he does have some reflux issues. In a month or so, once we've had a chance to rest a bit, I think we'll reduce his medicine and see what happens. Because the cranoisacral therapy helps address digestive issues, I'm curious to see what will happen. Hopefully we'll be able to reduce the medicine, if not get rid of it entirely.

I cannot say enough about the craniosacral massage. I fed Alex a bottle during one of the therapy sessions and in minutes he went from slopping formula everywhere and sucking two or three times before pulling off to swallow to staying on the bottle and downing it easily without almost no mess. It was so amazing! During the last session, the therapist worked on his rib cage, which was "slightly deformed." Apparently the pregnancy was just as hard on Alex's ribs as it was on mine.

Interestingly, our therapist said that she did not believe in craniosacral massage. She pooh-poohed the technique when she was told it would help her. After a couple of years she decided to try it because nothing else was working, but first she did her homework. She learned that much of the research that has been done on the technique has been done by engineers, because the impact of craniosacral massage is structural to the body. She got such great results from craniosacral massage that after her first session she signed up to become certified in the technique. Quite an endorsement!

Craniosacral massage may not be the solution for everyone, but we are thrilled with the results. I feel so fortunate that we stumbled across this option so quickly, and I am so glad I didn't go ahead with a scope that likely wouldn't have shown anything anyway. Since we didn't change how we are treating his reflux, clearly the reflux was not the cause of his eating and sleeping problems.

Happy baby, happy mama, happy family!

Sometimes Hope Wears Toe Socks

We had a good session with the physical therapist today. Her assessment showed that Alex has the muscle tone of about a 4-month-old, but of course, he has the body of an 8-month-old. That means that it can be uncomfortable or even painful for him to do all the things he wants to do, like crawl, stand, sit up etc... Basically, he's uncomfortable all the time, and the problem is getting worse as he gets bigger and his gross motor skills develop and he does more physically.

It explains why Alex is having trouble sleeping. He simply can't find a comfortable position. And it explains why he's flopping around in our arms at night. (It's like trying to hold a tornado.) Think about having a weak leg and trying to make it work like in rehab -- instead of having good control over your muscles, you would fling it forward to take a step.

In addition to the general physical therapy findings, the therapist also did a lot of craniosacral work on Alex. His lack of muscle tone has led to a lot of muscle tension that may be causing some of his digestive issues as well.

We will continue Alex's reflux meds, but I'm not going to worry about changing his formula and taking him gluten free right now. I want to give this a chance to work first, and then we'll see where we are. We have another appointment next Friday.

The therapist was very pleased with how well Alex responded. She was confident that she could help him (and already had in the first session), and that we could postpone a GI scope.

I share her confidence. As she assessed Alex she was able to tell me things about his behaviors, like the fact that he bangs his head in the crib and tends to sleep with his head turned to the left, that amazed me. How would she know those things? Because it creates certain tensions and tight muscles and she could feel all that.

I left the appointment with a wiped out baby. And while Alex may not sleep well yet tonight, a load of worry has been lifted off my shoulders.

I feel like we've got another soldier on our side in this battle to find and fix Alex's problem.

She just happens to wear toe socks.

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...

30 Weeks and Still Standing -- More or Less

Sunday was 30 weeks for us, and I'm still standing, except for when the sciatica gets me. I'm still working three days in the office and two days from home. My last day in the office before leave will be Sept. 5, and then it's time to rest and grow babies!

I saw the massage therapist this morning, which will help the sciatica a lot by tomorrow, but the massage must have inflamed the area. I've been chugging water all day, but it's no surprise that my body, overworked as it is, is having some trouble flushing out all the toxins that massage therapy releases. Thankfully, my doctor said I could take a little codeine Tylenol, which should at least help me sleep tonight.

I haven't been sleeping all that well lately, which has led to lots of dreams. The other night I woke up convinced I was giving birth to Michael Phelps. One baby was kicking, one was doing flip turns (I swear!), and the third was rubbing against me so it felt like bubbles popping across my belly. Add to that several hours of watching Olympic swimming, and my mind created one weird dream!

Here's the picture from 30 weeks. When I showed up at daycare to pick up Amelia today one of the other moms told me I was looking absolutely beautiful. Nice to hear when you're carrying three babies and measuring more than full term! If you disagree with her, keep it to yourself. :)

For the Sake of Posting

Some days I have all kinds of blog posts crowding my thoughts. Other days, not so much. But I've learned that if I don't post for a few days, the calls and emails start coming in wondering if everything's OK. I always appreciate a call or an email, but I hate to worry all those of you who are busy worrying about us, so I thought I'd better post.

Yesterday started out fine, but by noon I was just plumb tuckered. I was supposed to have dinner with a couple friends I haven't seen in forever, but I had to cancel. The triplets are already in charge here, and they were demanding I rest! And, even with 28 weeks under our belts, there's no sense in taking any risks. Big, healthy babies is the goal.

But, thankfully I slept very well last night and Amelia slept the whole night, too. So by today I was feeling fine. It's amazing what a good night's sleep -- even one interrupted by 11 bathroom breaks -- can do!

I am looking forward to tomorrow, which is massage day. Carrying all this weight straight out front is the best quad workout I've ever had! The massage therapist gives my legs a break by working out all the muscle knots I redevelop weekly carrying my precious cargo around.

I have a doctor's appointment Thursday with one of the partners in the practice since my doc is on vacation. I'll do my gestational diabetes test and then it's weekly appointments after that. I hope to be able to continue my streak of not having much to report.

Lady of Leisure...Yeah, Right!

If it weren't for the massive belly I'm resting my laptop on, I could almost feel like a lady of leisure today. I saw the massage therapist this morning, though I consider that a necessity, not a luxury. If it weren't for her work (painful at times!) on my back and legs, I don't know if I'd still be on my feet.

It's not exactly a leisure day, as I've been working from home. But, telecommuting does afford me the luxury of indulging my need for a nap. One hour over lunch makes the whole world a better place. Even though Amelia has been sleeping well the last couple of nights, I've been getting more tired and tired faster. So that nap is really becoming more than a luxury. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow and didn't wake up once until the alarm rang an hour later. Ahhhh.

But what really makes me feel like a lady of leisure is a wonderful young college student named Becky. Becky comes once a week to do whatever needs to be done to keep the house from caving in on itself. This week it's picking up Amelia's room, doing some laundry, wiping down the bathrooms, vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen. I can smell the clean from here. I always feel better after she's been here to help conquer some of the chaos.

Becky's putting her earnings toward her college education, so I guess that makes a fifth college tuition I'm going to pay for!