BIG babies!

So I've been in a little bit of a state of shock and put off writing this entry...  please forgive me!

On Monday, Jason and I went to our last growth ultrasound.  We were so relieved to hear that everything is still progressing well/safely with the pregnancy.  My cervix is staying long and strong, my blood pressure is staying in its usual range, and I'm feeling okay.

The babies are still all taking a bath in big enough amounts of amniotic fluid.  While the amounts are slowly going down, this is a totally normal thing to be happening at this time in the pregnancy- nothing to be afraid of there!  The babies all passed their non-stress test Monday like the little champs that they are, so they just continue to be happy as little clams in my tummy.

The reason why I've been in a state of shock has to do with their weights... suffice it to say that as of Monday, I was carrying almost 18 pounds of pure baby!!!! 

Baby A, who has consistently been the smallest guy throughout the pregnancy, is now weighing in at 4 pounds 8 ounces, which puts him at the 9th percentile on the growth chart.  That may seem like a low percentile, but the important thing to focus on is that his rate of growth is steady- he keeps gaining weight like a champ!  Both the doctors and Jason and I have been worried about his growth over the past few months- worried that his growth would either slow down or stop.  But nope!  This little guy is a fighter and continues to astound us with his weight gains.

Baby B's estimated weight is now 5 pounds 15 ounces, which puts him at the 75th percentile on the growth chart.  He's almost 6 pounds!!!  My little man just keeps hanging out in the middle of my tummy (remember he's the peacemaker of the bunch, keeping his two brothers connected!) and gaining good weight.  Way to go little one!

And then we get to Baby C.

Baby C's estimated weight is now 7 pounds 6 ounces.  Let me write that again so that we all know that is not a typo.  Baby C is estimated to weigh 7 pounds 6 ounces.  Wow.  Yikes.  Wow.  Dr. Gilbert laughed when I asked if we needed to be worried about Baby C trying to eat one of his brothers- obviously the kid is getting some calories in!

If I have learned anything during this pregnancy to pass on to others, here are two things that you all should know:

1.  It is probably not a good sign when your OB starts "numbering" your babies at your first ultrasound.  (i.e.  you are not having just one baby like you had planned on).

2.  It is probably not a usual thing to have your normally "calm as a cucumber" ultrasound maven blurt out "oh wow!" during your growth ultrasound.  This probably means that she is seeing something that she normally doesn't see everyday.  :)

Athena's "oh wow" moment came right before she told us what the babes' weights were.  And once we heard the weights, we were just as shocked as she was!  We've got some big, big babies hanging out in my tummy.  And while we are totally shocked, we are so thankful that they are growing and developing as well as they are.  I'm so proud of all of our boys!

And of course knowing how darn big these munchkins are helps me to be more forgiving of my body's need for sleep and rest and general level of discomfort.  I guess nurturing 18 pounds of baby is a pretty valid excuse...

So with those weights, there is a very real possibility that some or all of them may not even need to go to the NICU after they're born!  If we can keep them in for at least another week, even Baby A will probably be above the five pound mark, making all of the boys bigger than five pounds, which is absolutely astounding for triplets.  The doctors have warned us that there is a very real possibility that the babes might actually get to be discharged from the hospital at the same time that I am!!  Holy Cow!

Now of course there are still a lot of unknowns.  Just because they are all growing nice and big doesn't mean that they won't have any health issues or medical conditions that might keep them in the hospital longer after delivery.  And unfortunately we won't know about those, for the most part, until after the babies are born.  But things are looking very positive right now for everyone involved!  So we'll continue to keep our fingers crossed, prayers said, and hope for the best.

I actually had another non-stress test this morning (I have them every Monday and Thursday) and the boys all did amazing.  They all passed in less than 15 minutes and were very well-behaved for Fran, my  nurse.

So thank you everyone for being so loving and supportive of our three little munchkins- keep those prayers coming.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Keep sending positive vibes our way.  They're all working and we are so appreciative of everything!!  It just warms my heart so much whenever I hear that someone's keeping us in their thoughts or prayers...  :)