22 weeks pregnant x 3 babies = I'M GIANT

Another successful doctor visit today. Blood pressure, blood sugar and weight are all excellent and the doctor said I "look great." She listened to all the heartbeats and measured my belly at 35 weeks. That's good, but it also means that I will very soon be at the size of a overdue singleton pregnancy. That's when things start to get interesting, because the body doesn't realize there are three babies in there. Once I get to a 40 week size, it will think things should start happening.

From here on out I'll be at the doctor every two weeks, with ultrasounds every four weeks. They will check measurements at every appointment to make sure I'm not starting to dilate or shorten, which would require bed rest. They can also monitor a certain chemical to predict my chances of preterm labor in the next two weeks. A negative test means 97% chance I will not go into labor; positive test means 30% chance I will go into labor. With a positive test she would order at home bed rest.

The next six weeks are kind of the most important of the pregnancy. I'm right at the point where my body could go at any time, but the babies are definitely not ready yet. Once I get past the next six weeks we'll be in a place where the babies have a great survival rate, so any time past that just makes life easier. Keep praying!

I'm feeling much better and more organized than I was last week. I got my pedicure (THANK GOODNESS), scheduled eye doctor and dentist visits, and have a meet and greet with the pediatrician. And scheduled infant care and breastfeeding classes. And arranged to have my awesome sister in law Lori paint the nursery. Hopefully I'll go another few weeks before I have another breakdown :)

How is the to-do list still this long?

Most people would describe me as organized, anal retentive, and an obsessive planner. I thought this would work to my advantage but I think it is backfiring because all I can think about is the stuff I haven't done yet. I've got lists of indoor home improvements, outdoor home improvements, nursery work, personal work, and all it does is get longer.

Tonight I'm going to try to tackle organization. Pick out nursery paint colors for when Lori comes to paint, and check out closet organizer systems. Oh yeah, and look at how hard it is to install a garage keypad.

I thought I was doing pretty good, making steady progress on the list. I even called pediatricians earlier this week, right on schedule according to my doc. But then my insurance nurse told me to think about packing my hospital bag so I would be ready just in case I got to the doc and they send me to the hospital for bedrest.

WHAT THE HECK???

I know it could happen at any time, I do, but I guess I had never thought about the logistics of it. So does that mean I need to buy a whole second set of PJs and stuff? Or just make a list of the stuff I would want and make sure that Ethan knows what it is? I don't have that much pregnancy lounge wear, if I've got to have stuff clean all the time I need to buy more. What to do?

And how soon do I start soliciting help for after the babies get home? Not causally saying hey, will you help, but actually making somewhat concrete plans, like OK you can take a week off work, why don't you come the third week they are home. Or you can come Tuesday and Thursday from 4-8.

I'm going to email a couple groups at church today, the youth group and the women's group if I can find an email contact, see if it's something they would even be interested in helping with. And if they think I'm crazy they can just think that.

And I need to schedule an eye doctor appointment, dentist appointment, pedicure, and eat lunch. Better stop typing and get to work!

What the heck is a non-medically necessary prescription?

Today I worked on my administrative baby to-do list. Signed up for infant care class and breastfeeding class. Although I feel odd about it, I'm not taking childbirth class. Since there is zero chance I'll deliver naturally, I don't see any reason to spend time learning all that breathing goofiness. And I assured the doctor that I watch plenty of shows on TLC that have taught me everything I need to know about c-sections.

I also started calling about pediatricians. It's pretty odd to say yes, I'm calling on behalf of my three fetuses (feti? What's the correct plural?), they are looking for a doctor. There seems to be one large practice that has several docs taking patients, hopefully someone will feel adventurous to take all of us.

And I tried to deal with the insurance company today. Always a joy. On Friday the doc wrote me a prescription for a back brace and support hose. The pharmacy at the hospital said they didn't have the ability to directly bill it to insurance, but that it is sometimes covered so I should call and find out how to submit it. I emailed them so I wouldn't have to waste time on the phone. I specifically mentioned the prescription. So their response?

"Please submit a letter of medical necessity from your doctor and the appropriate billing codes for the items so we can investigate whether it is covered."

Can someone please PLEASE tell me what the hell a prescription is? Because my feeble pregnant brain can't seem to understand the difference between a letter of medical necessity and a prescription. I guess I'll call the doctor's office tomorrow and the insurance and see what they have to say. Can nothing be easy? Arg.

Boys will be boys

Everything went really well at the doctor's office today. The ultrasound showed nothing but good news for A, B, and C. We measured heads, brains, cerebellum, kidneys, bladder, stomach, femur, and amniotic fluid - all excellent. A and B were both sitting low last time, which they wanted to keep an eye on, but everybody has migrated north, hooray! I'm showing no signs of preterm labor or early dilation, also great.

The babies were very active during today's appointment. We thankfully confirmed that B remains a girl. The boys were quite playful, looking straight at us and waving. They're already fighting - A head-butted C - but hopefully they'll still be good friends. Miss B would have nothing to do with her bone head brothers and stayed turned down and away the entire time. Smart girl.

The doctor was pleased with my numbers also. Blood sugar is good, and I gained a good amount of weight in four weeks but that's good. Blood pressure was down from the last time, she was quite pleased with that. And my uterus is measuring the size of a "normal" or single baby pregnancy at 33 weeks. I'm at 20. Good grief.

I got a prenatal cradle back brace thing today, to help relieve pressure on the back. I'll also be getting some awesome support hose type things to help prevent cankles. Nothing to cause alarm, just preventative tools that I can take advantage of with no shame while working from home.

I go back in two weeks for another doctor appt. but the next ultrasound isn't scheduled yet.

Cankle Belly Fun

Here I am, at the end of my 20th week, and fortunately/unfortunately I'm just now starting to get uncomfortable. I thought being back at home for work would help, which it did, but the swankles are pretty much an every day occurrence now. And if I'm up for more than fifteen minutes, my back has a magic timer that alerts me via sharp pains. I need to ask the doc what kind of belly brace is best for me, because it's time. I've also had to surrender my wedding ring. I had quite a time taking it off on Sunday and I don't want to risk cutting it off, so on to the pinkie it goes.

The babies seem to be doing fine, I'm not really feeling much movement, I don't think, but something is going on down there! Ethan and I talk to the babies every day, since he has informed me that they can now hear me. My belly is ever growing, also a good sign I think, but we'll see what the doc says on Friday.

I've been fighting a cold for several days that seems to be fading, but now I'm in the stage where it's down in my chest, and every time I cough someone slams an axe into my head. Darned medicine restrictions. At least I don't really feel crummy anymore.

I had a terrifying thought today - I could have these babies in eight weeks. EIGHT WEEKS. That is the first benchmark we're going for, 28 weeks, and every week after that is a bonus. I really hope I can keep them in longer because I won't be ready in eight weeks!!!!