We could tell the genders!

We had another appointment today and they were calling for freezing rain to start about the same time as my appointment. Dale couldn't go because if it started icing he had to put down salt ASAP so my mom went with me. We decided that if they could tell the genders we would have them write it down so we could read it together. The tech was on baby A and asked if we wanted to know genders. I said yes and before I could say anything else she said it was a boy. (I thought that was what I saw!) She then scanned baby B and said it's another boy! Finally on to baby C, and yes another boy! We are having three boys!!! Dale wasn't there and we didn't get to find out together, but it was still very exciting to tell him! We are very excited to have three boys! Of both of our families there is only 1 girl on my mom's side, none on my dad's side and none on Dale's side so everyone was hoping there was at least 1 girl. I guess our family is just meant to be full of boys and that's just great with us! My brother has three boys and my dad really wanted there to be a girl, but I told him that I would always be his little girl and he can just continue to spoil me!!!! Sounds like a great plan doesn't it? Ha-ha! Anyway, I can hear it now..."It was those rowdy Hackmann boys!" It's so exciting to now know and now we can name them rather than calling them A, B and C. I will update when we choose names!

Oh and by the way, I gained 6 pounds!!!!!!

My first hospital stay!

I had my cerclage two days ago. I was very nervous as I had never stayed in a hospital before. The procedure itself went well. When the numbness started going away it was very painful to the point that I was practically in tears. After a few hours the pain medicine starting working and it was tolerable. I felt pretty good except I kept getting sick and couldn't eat even with Zofran directly in my IV.

A dietitian came in and met with me about how to get the calories I needed. It's so weird that normally you look at calories and can't believe how many there are and may choose not to eat it. I now look at something and get excited if it has a lot of calories! The dietitian told me to eat high fat things like peanut butter and nuts and to eat frequently throughout the day. She also told me I could drink Ensure. It doesn't taste too bad and it helps give me extra calories when there just isn't room to eat!

The following morning the doctor came in and checked the babies which were doing well. He said that I handled the procedure very well and he was surprised I didn't feel more pain. Once I ate breakfast (and could keep it down) I was able to go home. I was also able to get the flu shot before I left. I came home, took a nap and then ate lunch. I couldn't keep it down. As the day progressed I felt worse and worse and eventually started running a fever. It was a horrible day! I was getting sick as a side effect from the spinal anesthesia and I was running a fever as a side effect from the flu shot. Thank goodness that is over. And thanks to my poor husband who had to take care of me in that state! I love you babe!

December 9, 2008 appointment.

Our appointment went good today. The babies are still doing great. I only gained 2 pounds so I got a small lecture. I thought I was eating a lot, but I guess I have to eat more. My Cerclage has been scheduled for December 17th so I received information on that process. The ultrasound tech said there may be a chance we find out the genders during our next ultrasound!

12 week belly pictures!

Here are our 12 week belly pictures! My clothes no longer fit and you can tell by this picture. I don't see Dale's belly shrinking yet!!!

Check up!

We had another doctor's appointment today! The ultrasound was amazing. I can't believe how much they've changed and grown in two weeks. The three black holes are just proof that there are three. You can really see how they look like babies now! I haven't gained weight but was told they wouldn't yell at me this time because I have been so sick, but they will next time. I need to gain more weight to meet my goal of at least 75 pounds. In order to do this I need to eat around 3,000 calories a day. Sounds like fun, I know, but it is much harder than you would think, especially when you always feel sick and have an expanding belly! So I better force more meals into my day. They say it is very important to gain weight early in a multiple pregnancy because they will be premature. Also, it will help reduce the risk of pre-term labor. The doctor gave me some more suggestions about morning sickness. I hope they will work!

First Belly Pictures!

Here are our first belly pictures. Dale insists his belly will get smaller as mine grows. Right now he's the one that looks pregnant! These were taken around 8 weeks into the pregnancy.

First apointment with specialist!

Today was our first appointment with the high risk doctor that will be delivering our babies. We first had an ultrasound in which the babies look great. I can't believe they are already moving around at only 8 weeks and 5 days. We then met with the doctor. He was very thorough and informative. The appointment took about 4 hours total. I know the rest of my appointments shouldn't take this long, but from now on I will pack snacks! I will go to the doctor every other week and at 20 weeks and I will go every week until I deliver. I will deliver by cesarean. The doctor said most triplets make it to 33-34 weeks and should weigh a little over 4 pounds each. He also said to expect a NICU stay anywhere from 2-4 weeks for the babies. He said one good thing is that I am tall so I should be able to carry the babies well. Here are individual pictures of each baby. They aren't very clear, but still so cute!

The shocking news!

It's finally the day we go in for an ultrasound. I thought the time frame waiting to take a pregnancy test was long, but this last 3.5 weeks of waiting for the ultrasound has taken what seems like an eternity. And all the lies we have told people so they didn't know I was pregnant would finally be over today.

As we are heading to the doctor for the ultrasound Dale and I were talking about all possibilities. We were very nervous and excited. For some reason I had a feeling there weren't twins. I thought that there is either only 1 or there's three. Dale had a feeling there were going to be three. We arrived at the doctor for the ultrasound. "There's two" the doctor said. Dale was just about to say, few, I could have swore there were going to be three when the doctor said "no wait, there's three"! Dale and I just looked at each other in shock and laughed. Now all I wanted to see was three healthy heartbeats. As the doctor was going from baby to baby to check them out Dale and I just kept looking at each other going "OH MY GOSH". The ultrasound was over and all three babies looked great and had good heartbeats. I received some information from the doctor and a referral to a high risk specialist and we were on our way.

As soon as we got to the car I called my Aunt Regina. She was the only person that we told that we were pregnant. She referred me to her doctor and is why we now have three healthy babies in my womb. I'm so grateful for her referral! Anyway, my voice was shaking and I said "well Regina we just left the doctor, we are having triplets!" She giggled and was sooo excited and happy for us!

There was no way Dale and I were going to get anything done that day. Our parents were all at work, but we had to tell someone so we decided to stop by my grandmothers house on our way to vote! We walked in and I said "Grandma we have something to tell you that you must keep a secret, we are pregnant with triplets." She ran over hugged me and we cried. She said she would start packing her bags. (Several months earlier she predicted we were going to have triplets. I told her that if that happened she had to move in!)

The rest of the day took a while until our parents were finally off work to go tell them the good news. We went to my parents first because they were already home by 4:00 p.m. We just walked in and I just blurted out we are having triplets. They didn't believe us and then were so excited. My dad had to get Dale and him a beer and had to break out the whiskey so Dale and him could take three shots! I've never seen my parents so excited about anything! We then went and told my dad's parents before we headed to Dale's parents.

When we arrived at Dale's parent's house we just pulled in the middle of the driveway and went inside. Dale's mom wasn't home but we went ahead and just said to his dad and one of his sisters that we were having triplets. Of course they were very excited also! A few minutes later my mother-in-law walked in. Before she could say anything I said "we are having triplets" and her face completely lit up!

Everyone is so excited and we are grateful to have such a great family and support system. This is going to be an exciting journey!

The joys of pregnancy have begun!

I've been up since about 3:00 a.m. Morning sickness had officially begun! I'm watching my 21 month and 1 month old nephews while my other 4 year old nephew is in Florida with their grandparents. It was an awful day. The boys were good, as always, I just felt very bad. At one point I was getting sick in the bathroom and my 21 month old nephew came in and was rubbing my back and crying for his daddy to help me. It was so sweet!

I've heard that morning sickness is a good sign of a healthy pregnancy so even though it is miserable, I am happy that so far all is looking good! Only 8 more days until the ultrasound!

Shaking with excitement!

It is now the day I go in to get the blood test from the doctor. I was nervous. What if the HPT's were wrong and we got our hopes up for nothing. I get to the doctor as early as I can for the blood draw. The nurse asked if I cheated (they don't like you too because false negatives are common). I admitted that we cheated and that it was positive two days ago. She was very excited as it's rare to have a false positive. She was also surprised how early it showed positive and was excited to get my HCG levels back that afternoon to see what was going on.

I left the doctor and was nervous waiting for the results of the blood test. They told me I should expect them in the early afternoon. I had lunch plans with my mom and of course I get the call as soon as we sit down. I lied to my mom and told her I had to go to the bathroom so I could take the call. The results were positive and my HCG level was 399 (in the office earlier I was told normal was around 150.)! The nurse that called me said with such high numbers to expect multiples! I then scheduled an ultrasound for 3.5 weeks later to see what was cooking.

When I went back to the table continue my lunch with my mom I was shaking and couldn't eat. I had to lie to my mom and tell her I had a stomach ache and didn't feel well. We didn't want to tell anyone until we saw an ultrasound with a good heartbeat.

As soon as I left lunch I called Dale and told him the numbers. He said "OH MY GOSH THERE'S FIVE ISN'T THERE!" I assured him that by my conversation with the nurse to expect twins. We were happy with that and very nervous and excited and knew it would be a long 3.5 weeks.

Oh and by the way, we received this news exactly 4 years after Dale and I started dating!

Tears of joy!

It's October 7, 2008 around 4:30 pm. when Dale comes home from work. I was sleeping on the couch when we arrived, as I had been for the past few days at that same time. For some reason I had just been so exhausted. Dale walked in, went into his office to do something and about 5 minutes later came out and said hello. I was now crying. He asked what was wrong and I said I was upset that he didn't kiss me hello! He said he was sorry he had something he had to take care of before he forgot (this happens often and I never think twice about it). I was still crying and he said "we're getting you a pregnancy test tonight". I said "I'm not pregnant, it's just the fertility medicine making me emotional and tired and it was only tow more days before I went into the doctor to get a blood test."

We then went shopping that evening for new work boots fr Dale and he still insisted that we stop at Walgreen's on the way home and pick up a HPT (Home Pregnancy Test). We arrived home around 9:30 p.m. and decided to take the test. We thought if it was negative then we would be prepared for my blood test two days later. Dale was putting something away in his office as I preceded to the bathroom to take the test. About a minute later I was crying and yelled "I'm pregnant"! Dale came into the bathroom and was shocked because I hadn't even had time to put the cap on the test yet and there was two very dark blue lines in a plus sign. We were so grateful, but didn't want to get too excited until we had the blood test to confirm the results. (And as many newly pregnant women do, the next day I went out to buy a different brand test and the same thing happened!)

We are soooo excited and grateful! And by the way, we got the positive test exactly two years after we were engaged! It was fate!