9/20/07

I am now officially down to one doctor. Yippee! I had an OB appointment yesterday and told him that the new MFM and I decided that he would manage my care from here on out. Thankfully there were no ego issues, and OB agreed that it would be best. I am so relieved. And I’m sure my boss is happy too that I won’t have quite so many appointments from here on out.

I knew I made the right decision when the nurse came to check the babies’ heartbeats and only looked for one. I dunno, wouldn’t you think they’d write TRIPLETS on my chart in big ol’ letters? Don’t you?

In other news, I have now been dubbed Pamasnoraus. A new breed of dinosaur that makes loud noises while sleeping. Hmmph. Sorry George! He now spends most of the night on the couch. I really do try not to snore, but apparently it’s impossible. I miss sleeping on my tummy.

I heart my MFM

At last!!! I have a decent doctor! Finally! Dang. Took long enough.

Yesterday was my appointment with the new MFM (Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist.) I love him. Ohhh, I am so happy I am changing doctors!

So here’s a basic run-down of the appointment…

– My appointment was at 1:00. Guess what time I was in the ultrasound room? Like, 1:03. Damn!

– Ultrasound tech spent about an hour or so looking at the babies. I have a feeling they’re going to be a handful, because she’s the second u/s tech that’s said these babies were going to drive her to drink. Gulp. Okay, so they’re a bit unruly in the womb, switching positions, knocking each other out of the way, being generally mischievous.

For instance, Baby A, at the beginning of the u/s, was head down, in the “presenting” position. That means, if it was going to be born “the old fashioned way”, it’d be coming out first. Later on, Baby B decided it wanted to come out first and plopped its little butt down, right at the “exit”, as it were. Little do they know that they can fight all they want – they ain’t coming out that way. Heh. Anyway, it caused much confusion. And C was going from up and down to side to side to oblique. All over the place. Aww, those kiddos!

– The best news of all – the doctor is 80-90% sure they’re triamniotic. That is, that they’re all in their own little sacs. Hurrrrrraahhhh! This is the news I’ve been dying to hear. This means, if all stays well otherwise, no hospitalization (until they’re born, of course)! I can still work, I can still be at home, I can still celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving with my friends. I can hopefully carry them to 34-36 weeks and let them get big and healthy and not have to go into Intensive Care when they’re born!

I just really, really hope it’s true. But I’m pretty optimistic. This is a good doctor, with lots of experience.

– Upon leaving, his nurse (who herself has triplets) handed me a copy of what seems to be the bible of multiple pregnancies, Dr. Barbara Luke’s book:

This is a big deal to me. It means he didn’t yell at me for gaining 25 pounds so far, like the other doctors did. In fact, he commended me on my weight gain! Man, you have GOT to love a doctor like that! And, he said I have excellent blood! Not entirely sure what that means, but he was quite thrilled with my bloodwork.

And, (sorry male readers) my cervix is nice and loooong and doesn’t change when pressure is applied. This is good. Nice and long is gooooood. And my blood pressure was fine, he said.

So, that’s the rundown. I see my OB tomorrow, hopefully for the last time. I will need to ask him to release me (I think it’s more a professional courtesy more than anything – the new doctor doesn’t want bad blood between them or anything.) and the new doctor will be taking over my care 100%! Yay!

9/17/07

I know I haven’t posted much lately, I just have been up to not much worth posting. Let’s see…

Went to Baton Rouge this weekend. I was all about the partying this weekend. Some serious, hardcore partying. First it was Alison’s birthday party. That crazy chick! She turned three. We had pizza and cake at her party. Wooooooo!!!

Then yesterday, Ava turned two. More cake! And cucumber sandwiches! Some serious stuff, man. Serious.

And in between, there was some shopping, including some purchases for tiny babies. Gaah! Little gowns with the elastic at the bottom, and the little cuffs for tiny baby hands. And a book for Grandee to read to them.

I also managed to get a few things for dirt cheap at a Mothers of Twins tag sale on Saturday. I really should stop buying stuff, though, since my showers are coming up soon. One thing that was killing me was that we were at TJ Maxx and they had a Boppy pillow that I registered for. At Babies R Us, that puppy is $25 plus another $8-12 for a cover. They had them for $20 (with cover) at TJ Maxx. That kind of thing makes me crazy, that someone could buy it at full price when it’s so much cheaper elsewhere.

Anyhoo, I shall just be grateful for what I do get and not worry if people got a bargain or not. I’ll shut up now.

Today is my appointment with the new Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist. I have high hopes. I’ve been hearing great things about him, so keep your fingers crossed that he doesn’t
a) insult my intelligence
b) fall asleep during my ultrasound
c) be a jerkface to me

Will post later on how the appointment goes.

9/11/07

Hmmm. I really want to write something interesting, but I’m afraid I just don’t have it in me. But for my legions of adoring fans, I’d better write something.

Weekend was overall pretty low-key. Even though I did go visit Dr G and get an ultrasound. I’m trying not to get too excited about it – but there is a chance we saw another membrane (Dr G has a much clearer u/s machine than the MFM does). The hard part is, was it the membrane we’ve already seen? Or the one we’ve been looking for? Who knows. Monday is my appointment with the new specialist, so hopefully he’ll find it. Hopefully he has a better machine than the old specialist.

Dr G also measured the size of my tummy and it’s measuring 32 weeks for a single baby. Hee hee! And I’m still not convinced I look pregnant at all. Heh. Maybe a little.

We also went to a shrimp boil at a friend’s house, where I took the best. picture. ever.

Heh heh.

Not a whole lot going on this week. I did get to work from home yesterday because the a/c was out at my office building. I lasted a few hours, but we’re on the seventh floor, so it got to be pretty stifling.

In two weeks from Friday, Kristina will be here! And Anne! My New Orleans shower is two weeks from Saturday! Gosh, baby showers already. Such excitement. I’m glad that I’m not feeling ungainly or anything yet. I still get around just fine, and the only times I feel pregnant (besides when I’m the only sober one at a party, ha ha) are when I’m sleeping (rolling over is getting difficult, and damn if I don’t miss sleeping on my tummy) or standing up for a while.

Okay, I was able to squeeze quite a few paragraphs out of nothing exciting! Go me.

9/7/07

Great news!

I got my appointment moved up to the 17th instead of the 26th. I psyched myself up by reading the comments here and on another message board and called the new MFM’s office. I’m so glad I did – the nurse who answered was very receptive. She said that my OB’s office requested an appointment in my 23rd week. Ugh. Actually, I know that’s not true because I was sitting there when they made the appointment and they asked for the first available one. But they certainly didn’t stress that it was important.

So I said no, I’d really like to get in as soon as possible, considering the stage of my pregnancy. And when I said I wasn’t happy with my OB, she softened up and said she’d look into it and call me back. (She was so nice. I love nice people.) A few hours later, she called back, and said that she’d showed my file to the doctor, and he agreed to see me sooner. That’s great – it means he recognized that it’s important not to wait too long.

I do wish it could be even sooner, but I’ll take this…it’s only a week from Monday. Just two weekends to get through. And it might be the first time I’ve ever looked forward to a Monday!

Actually, the preceding weekend will be fun. I have two birthday parties to go to – one for a three year old little girl, and one for a two year old little girl. Cake! Mmmm, cake.

9/6/07

Well, yesterday was an appointment with my OB. I was really nervous about it, because I wanted to address my concerns about Dr Jerkface from Friday. The good news is, I got an appointment with a new MFM (Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist) who sounds much better. The bad news is, it’s in three weeks.

In other bad news, my OB was kind of a asshole. I was asking him about a plan for treatment if two of the babies did end up being monoamniotic (in the same amniotic sac, with no membranes dividing them) and he didn’t really have an answer for me. When I responded that I’d want inpatient monitoring, he scoffed and said “oh, I don’t know anyone who does that…where did you hear that?”

When I said the Internet, he responded as if I’d said the Weekly World News. Because we all know that EVERYTHING on the internet is CRAP. Right, I have no brain at all, and I have no idea how to differentiate between good and bad info. Gimme some credit, please.

In the end, I was able to get out of him a reference for the new MFM, one who I suspect may end up being my primary doctor. I hope so, after the way I was treated by this one. It’s really sad, though. I loved my OB up until yesterday. But clearly he’s in over his head and can’t admit it. Whatever.

Sucky thing is, the appointment with the new MFM isn’t for three weeks, but I’m going to call today to see if I can get in earlier. Maybe if there’s a cancellation or something.

And I also found out that not many people like the old Dr Jerkface that I saw on Friday. Heh.

MFM appointment

So, I know I have to post about today’s appointment. Can I make it brief?

No membrane found.

But babies look great. They’re all the same sex – but we asked them not to tell us what that sex is.

Doctor is now on my shit list, for basically giving me no information, just saying “come back in four weeks and we’ll look [for the membrane] again.” I can’t tell you how angry this makes me, and I’ll be chatting with my OB on Wednesday about that. I really, really want to switch MFMs now to someone with a shred of bedside manner. Someone who doesn’t fall asleep while the u/s tech is looking at the babies.

So, that’s that. How about some pics?

A:

B:

C:

Feet!

8/29/07

Two years. And the mall isn’t open yet.

(Can I be flip?)

Anyway. I’m not going to be all nostalgic and morbid and eloquent. There are much better writers out there for that. Just thought I should commemorate. Two years.

Now can I post a couple of pictures of the nursery? Painting is done, and look at the cute flag banner I made!

Girls weekend

Well, I had a really fun fun fun fun weekend with the girls. It was our second annual girls’ weekend (or would it be girl’s?) and this time, we met up here in New Orleans, due to the two knocked-up among us. Much fun was had, and I was sorry to see it end. Come baaaack!

Samples of what we did:
Stalked celebrities (Brangelina’s house!)

Went in stores with pretty plants:

And mostly, ate.

In other news, today is Jenny’s birthday. Happy birthday Jenny! Today is the third day in a row of family birthdays. Sunday was Jennifer, and yesterday was our cousin Monica. Happy happy happy birthday birthday birthday! I rather hope this makes up a little bit for the fact that I haven’t actually gone birthday gift shopping for anyone yet. Owing mainly to the fact that if I did, everyone would be getting stuff from the dollar store, for that is my budget til payday.

We finally are getting the house rearranged. I am typing this from my new office! No longer in the guest room, but at the back of the house in the library. Hooray! And the guest room is now the room the babies will live in, complete with pretty blue-green paint and piles of crib parts. Will take pictures when we get it semi-set up.

You know what is weird? Suddenly, triplets are everywhere. I know it’s only because they’re on my mind, but seriously. It seems like everyone I know knows someone with triplets, or who is a triplet. And this morning, while telling myself I really need to get out of bed and listening to a story on NPR about Katrina, one of the women being interviewed mentioned she is a triplet. The manicurist I went to a few weeks ago – she had triplet cousins. The web designer we hired at work has triplet nieces/nephews. High school friends work with parents of triplets. Actually, lots of people seem to work with parents of triplets. Guess they have to take several jobs. Heh. Anyway, it’s kind of weird. I’m starting to think triplets aren’t so rare after all.

Must get ready for work now!

OB appointment

So, my appointment yesterday…was fine. Nothing exciting. Maybe ten minutes of face time with the medical staff. Nurse didn’t look at my chart, apparently, because after she found a heartbeat, she started to walk away. I had to ask her kindly if she was planning on listening for the other two. Ah well.

Then a doctor came in. An old doctor. Not my doctor. Some old fart who clearly hasn’t dealt with many triplet pregnancies. After he briefly looked me over, we went into his office so he could yell at me for gaining 21 lbs. Mind you, that’s 14 less than recommended by the multiple pregnancy guru, Dr. Luke.

So, whatever. I don’t care. Next Friday is my appointment with the MFM, part two in the Search for the Membranes.

This weekend I have far more fun things to think about, namely the girls’ weekend with Kettie and Maura and Ren (and even little Alison for part of it!) which will involve gossiping, floating in a pool, and sipping frozen beverages. Virgin, of course. I can’t wait!

8/21/07

Ack, it’s been a while since I posted! I’ve just been v busy. Nursery painting not quite done yet, but with a couple of more days of work this week it should be done. Yay! I feel bad, just being the “supervisor”, but what can ya do?

Went to Baton Rouge to visit my mom. Got some maternity clothes, and some shoes to fit my fat feet. Well, they fit sometimes. Yesterday at work…not so much. But they’re a good backup for days when my feet aren’t so swollen. And maybe they’ll stretch.

We saw Becoming Jane, which I enjoyed. I do love going to the movies. We also met up with my Aunt Caroline and got the rest of the fabric for the quilts. They are going to be so cute!

Tomorrow is an OB appointment. Only two weeks since my last one. I’m pretty sure it’s really supposed to be next Wednesday, but on my chart, my doctor’s “3” (as in “see patient again in 3 weeks”) looked like a “2”. Silly me didn’t even bother to correct the scheduler. But maybe it was a 2? Who knows. In any case, the paranoid feelings have been creeping over me again, and I’ll be happy to hear the heartbeats to set my mind at ease.

And then a week from Friday is another ultrasound with the specialist. Hoping (desperately) to see the membranes. Sigh.

Nursery

Well, the nursery is well on its way! I am in love with the paint color I picked, it’s absolutely perfect. Just the right balance of blue and green. Well, perhaps it’s a little on the blue side, but I don’t care. I love it.

I was showing someone a picture of it, and they said “ooh, look, it’s the color of a Tiffany box!” And I said noooooo, that’s cheesy, I’d never paint something the color of a Tiffany box. It’s a bit of a brighter light blue, wouldn’t you say?

Luckily, I have two Tiffany boxes in my possession. Both came from my cousin Monica, who gave me a porcelain box from Tiffany for my college graduation, and a beautiful crystal bowl as a wedding gift. So I took one of the boxes into the bedroom to compare the colors.

Lo and behold, the box nearly blended into the wall. I was shocked. I guess Tiffany blue isn’t that obnoxious after all.

Here are a few pictures of the color…

Obviously, we’re not done yet. All of the trim will be white. Hopefully it’ll be done by the end of the week. Big thanks to Stephanie and Teresa for painting! I was able to work a little, but only when I had this hideous and hot mask on. So I didn’t do much.

When the painting is done, we’ll be able to move the cribs in. Yes, we have them all, but only because two of them were hand-me-downs from friends and family who were ready to get rid of them. All of the furniture will be white, and with the cute crib skirts and quilts Aunt Caroline is making, it’s going to be the best nursery ever! Just need to get some new blinds and curtains, maybe a rug, and a new comforter for the double bed that’s staying in there.

Regarding my last post, I am quite proud of myself for remaining pretty calm about everything, and not worrying. I am hopeful that everything will work out for the best, and that we’ll come home with three healthy babies. I mean, I have to think that!

I can’t say how wonderful it is to hear from my triplet mom readers that they’ve gone through the same thing with a positive outcome. It really, really helps. And my gigantic ovaries aren’t causing me any pain, thank goodness. Heh.