It's official- we've made it to 35 weeks with triplets. Wow. What a journey we've been on and it's totally surreal to think that sometime within the next two weeks, Jason and I are going to have three little munchkins to hold in our arms!! There's not complete consensus on this in the medical field, but a triplet pregnancy is most often considered full-term somewhere between 34-35 weeks. Dr. Gilbert even told us that because the average triplet pregnancy lasts 33 weeks, some even consider triplets delivered at 33 weeks to be full-term. Either way, most doctors would say that we are now carrying full-term triplets!!!!!!!
I didn't have any appointments outside of the house today, so I've spent most of the day in bed just laying on my side, which is how I spend most of my time these days. I don't have the energy to do much of anything physically speaking, plus it's best for the boys at this point for me to just be peaceful and rest. I feel a little bit like a chicken on a rotisserie because I try to rotate from my left side to my right side every so often so that I don't get too sore. It gets a little monotonous, but I try to keep my mind occupied with books and movies, talking on the phone, planning things for the babes, etc.
As I was laying in bed today, my mind flashed back to my trip home to Minnesota last June. Our nephew, Quinn, was only a few weeks old at that point. On one of my mornings there, he and I got to snuggle in bed while everyone else in the house was still sleeping. I remember being so at peace just cuddling with that beautiful little boy (seriously- my sister makes beautiful babies!) and being in awe of this tiny little person in my arms. Even now thinking back to that morning, I'm smiling. And today, I had the surreal thought that soon Jason and I are going to have THREE of those tiny little people to snuggle in bed with. The thought just makes my heart smile-
Jason and I are so excited that we will soon get to share these three little peanuts with everyone. We've had lots of offers of help from friends and family and we will definitely be taking you all up on them! I do, however, want to respectfully address some of our wishes for those coming to the house to visit and help with the peanuts after they're born.
As newborns, they'll have pretty weak immune systems to begin with, further complicated by the fact that they'll be born earlier than normal. Because of those weaker immune systems, we really want to protect them from being exposed to germs and cooties in general. Based on suggestions (and in some cases, stern warnings!) from our doctors, we would like to gently ask that people be mindful of the following...
-We will be asking all visitors to wash their hands frequently! One of the best ways of preventing illness is hand washing, so we promise to be stocked up on some sassy hand soap for everyone to use, plus we now have hand sanitizer all over the house (I may have gone a little crazy with the hand sanitizer... sorry in advance!)
-Please, please, please: no visitors under the age of 14. It's not that Jason and I don't adore our friends' children, but there is no way of getting around the fact that kids have cooties that we can't afford to have the munchkins exposed to. Our doctors were pretty stern about wanting us to implement this rule. As an oncology nurse, I personally work with cancer patients where pretty much everyone has a compromised immune system, and the policy on that unit is for no visitors under the age of 14. I feel badly about having to turn away kids from our house, but I do promise that eventually this ban will be lifted. Plus with three boys, I don't know if it's a good idea anyway to expose other peoples' kids to the chaos that will be the Deen household! :)
-If you are feeling any signs of a cold or the flu, please let us know in advance so that we can set up a better time/day for you to visit. Sniffles, coughs, stuffy nose, headache, fatigue, sore throat, any general aches or pains, or just not feeling good... we'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers until you're feeling better!
-We encourage everyone to be up to date on their seasonal flu shots and whooping cough vaccinations. While we will be pretty big sticklers on the previous three safety requests, this last one is more of a "it would be nice, but we won't necessarily be requiring it" type of guideline. :)
Thank you all in advance for being gracious about these requests. My intention is not to insult by addressing them, but I feel like it is always better to put your expectations out there early so that we can avoid any issues later. And I don't want to limit anyone's ability to be around the munchkins, but we do have to be mindful of what's best for everyone involved. So I thank you for your patience, and I can't wait to welcome you to our home after the babes come home!!
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