Hello

We will start with the first and most obvious truth - life is busy!  My triplets were born 7-7-11 and I am just now, ten months later, going to try to find moments to write about what life is like being a triplet mom.  I thought this may be interesting to write since the most common comments people say when I'm out with the peanuts are "I can't imagine what life is like with three!" or "I don't know how you do it".


Another odd thing that people ask is "Were you surprised when you found out you were having triplets?".  I can't imagine anyone in this world not being surprised!  I assume most people are like me... you dream about getting married and having children one at a time like "normal" people and don't even think about having a litter of babies.  


Before I was a mom, I worked as an interior designer as well as a sales representative in the design world.  I really enjoyed my job and for recreation my husband and I would play volleyball a few times a week and would travel a few times a year.  We lived life like this for the first 4 years that we were married and then decided it was time to start a family.  Again, we thought we would be "normal" and be able to have children the old fashioned way.  You are programed from the time you're young that when a man and a woman love each other very much, they get married and together, in love, have a baby.  Well...unfortunately it doesn't necessarily work that way.  They don't tell you when you're young that there is a chance that this love they speak of turns into living life around your menstrual cycle and a doctor with a turkey baster.  Not quite as romantic sounding.  In fact, fertility treatment is just down right stressful.  


I figured I would talk about this because other big questions that are asked by random people are "We're you on fertility?" or the more discrete people will ask "Do multiples run in your family?".  I don't know if it's a pregnancy thing or a multiples thing, but for some reason people think that this gives them a right to ask personal questions about your uterus.  So let's talk about it... 


Yes, I was on fertility because my uterine lining was not thick enough for an egg to implant.  After a year of trying and no luck I went to the doctor and got a very painful uterine biopsy done basically for her to tell me what I already knew.  I was sent to a fertility specialist and they ran blood work and another painful procedure to make sure my tubes were not blocked.  When everything came back "normal", they started me on Clomid with a side of IUI.  First of all, Clomid is an AWEFUL drug!  I was so dizzy and light-headed and basically, according to my husband, became catatonic.  I couldn't think straight if I wanted to and felt absolutely miserable.  IUI is a procedure that my husband would drop off his "love juice", coined by my good friend, in the morning and in the afternoon I would arrive and the doctor would use a special baster to ensure all the good sperm is up where it needs to be to meet an egg.  The procedure isn't really painful and it's very fast, but I can't say that it fun by any means.  After that becomes the awful part of waiting for two weeks to see if it worked.  Being aware of every pinch, pain, cramp and waiting to pee on a stick hoping for a positive result.  It's not a way to live.  


After three months of that with no luck of pregnancy and the doctor still not happy with my lining, she wanted to start me on injections.  Seriously!?  She informed us that we had about a 2% chance of getting pregnant on our own and a 5% chance on the Clomid.  A "normal" person has a 20% chance of getting pregnant every month.  That's depressing.  I have to go through all this stuff to be "normal"?  I was scared to death to give myself a shot everyday, which goes into your stomach.  Plus, how I would feel on a medication that is considered stronger than Clomid?  Another downer to this medication is that you can't do anything more strenuous than walking.  This medication makes the ovaries so large and heavy that they could twist on themselves and if this happens they need to be removed.  As I said before, my husband and I had played volleyball a few times a week and we were very active people.  I was beside myself.  At this point it was May and I decided to take a break to enjoy the summer.  It felt so good to feel normal and healthy again, but at the same time I felt this uncontrollable guilt that I wasn't doing everything I needed to do to get pregnant.  


August came and I decided it was time just to suck it up and try the injections.  I remember being at home staring at this contraption they gave me that measures out the medication and all I had to do was switch out the needles.  I called my girlfriend because I needed a cheerleader to talk me into my first shot.  I look back and laugh now.  Here I am with my shirt pulled up and my stomach exposed, on the phone, with my other hand shaking with a tiny needle about an inch away from my skin.  My girlfriend decided that she was going to do it with me and got a safety pin and said we were going to do it together.  She started the count down and I was pacing, laughing, and yelling "I can't do it".  She got to one and I closed my eyes and jabbed myself.  It was nearly painless!  My friend, on the other hand, yelped at her prick of the safety pin.  What are good friends for, right?!  I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of side effects from this medication.  Yes, not being able to play or work out was a bummer, but I will take that any day over Clomid!  The first month everything went well and everything looked like it should.  I went in for my basting and waited two weeks.  Eagerly, I peed on a stick because "the girls" were sore along with other normal pregnancy symptoms.  Nothin.  I didn't believe it and called the doctor for a blood draw.  The next day they confirmed I was pregnant!  We told EVERYONE!  So exciting!


Six weeks in the pregnancy I was sitting on the couch and suddenly started to get major cramping and started to spot.  I called the doctor immediately and they said this could be normal.  I didn't believe them and I went in.  It was too early to see anything on the ultrasound so they drew more blood.  I miscarried that night and they called to confirm what I already knew in the morning.  I wouldn't wish this on anyone!  I have never felt so devastated and angry.  Not only do you have to mourn the loss of that child, but now you have to un-tell everyone you told and relive that pain every time it's brought up.  We had to be off a month of fertility to allow my body to heal before we could start treatment again.  I don't think I could have jumped into another round after that anyway.  I had the help of my family, friends, and pastor to get me through the pain.  But even now, I wonder about that child and I look forward to meeting him or her in heaven one day. 


October rolled around and we start another round of fertility.  I was on the same amount of medication that I was before and my body reacted like it was crack.  I was producing 6 follicles (eggs).  The doctor lowered my medication so that only a few would mature.  At the point of the basting, I had three perfect eggs and once again I waited those excruciating two weeks.  I called the doctor and said that I was sick of peeing on a stick and just wanted to come in for a blood test.  I honestly didn't think I was pregnant since I wasn't feeling any symptoms like I did during my first pregnancy, but I went in anyway because I didn't want any false information.  I was called the next day, November 5th, with the excitement that we were pregnant and my hormone levels were already better than they were before!  We didn't tell anyone, except my mom, until I was able to go in for my first ultrasound.  My husband and I both went for the ultrasound and I think we were both holding our breaths that everything looked ok.  I remember laying there in the darkened room and the doctor came in and started.  I couldn't see the screen yet, and then she started counting.  "There is one....there's two...."  Holy crap she's still counting!  "There's three".  PLEASE STOP COUNTING!  She stopped after three.  Thank God!  I looked at my husband and he was standing up leaning against the wall with no expression.  Not even blinking.  I looked at the doctor and she started to show me everything.  There is the first sack and a peanut looking thing was in it.  Same with the second sack.  Third sack was visible, but we couldn't see a peanut.  She told me that she thought we would be having twins because she was not seeing anything developing in the third sack, but we would know more on our next ultrasound in three weeks.  The drive home was a blur.  I remember just being full of excitement and my husband was still staring.  I told him I wanted to keep them all.  I didn't want to loose another baby.  


Three weeks later we went back.  Not only was the third sack still there but a peanut was developing and was the biggest one of all three! The doctor told us not to declare from the mountains that we were having triplets because we were now entering the door that was marked "high risk pregnancy".