I could be wrong, but I think most women take a sigh of relief when entering the second trimester since the risk of miscarriage decreases dramatically. I did not. I felt like I was wearing a scarlet letter because the label of high risk never left me. The knowledge if I lost one, I would loose them all just haunted me. I counted down the days until I knew they had a chance to live.
I have read and heard from people that the second trimester is the nice part of pregnancy. The feeling of being nauseous fades and energy and appetite comes back. Like I said before, I was never really nauseous, but I think this was true for me in January and that's about it. I was still working and was out on a business call near my mother's house. I had called my mom saying that I was going to be nearby and thought I would stop by for lunch. We decided to go to Longhorn and I had a salad, steak, mashed potatoes, bread, and a rootbeer. Delicious! We went back to her house and hung out for a while and about four hours later I was starving. "Can we go to Bravo for dinner?". My mother was stunned that I was hungry. I had another salad, bread with dipping sauce, and a big o' plate of pasta, and a water. Yum! Then on the way home I stopped at my favorite ice cream place and had a large hot fudge milkshake. It was a good day! The milkshake was close to a daily item for me. I was supposed to be consuming approximately four thousand calories a day at this point and a milkshake was recommended for both calories as well as calcium. If anyone knows me, they know this was no sacrifice!
The first very week of my second trimester I was passed off to a high risk doctor. I spoke to my normal OBGYN and she felt that I would be in better hands with this man, Dr. Stewart. I cried (hormones, I swear!) from the disappointment of not seeing her as well as apprehensive since I've never seen a man doctor for girly parts. I know I'm weird, but the way I figure it is a female has these parts and has more than likely been through most things that I have. A male has to read about it in a book AND what dude that's not a pervert wants to be in female areas all the time? That's at least how I felt before I met Dr. Stewart. My first appointment I was sitting in the ultrasound room and he walked in and said "I hear we have an over achiever!". I laughed and immediately liked him. I never felt rushed, I could ask all the stupid questions I wanted, and he would always pat me on the head. If someone else did that, I would probably be annoyed and feel patronized, but somehow when he did it I felt comforted.
I continued to go in every three weeks and looked forward to my appointments. I made friends with all the nurses and staff as well as Dr. Stewart. I also got to see how my peanuts were doing and how much they had grown. I always held my breath a little in anticipation of hearing their heartbeats. Once they were all accounted for I relaxed. Most appointments at this point run together, but there are a few that do stick out in my head. I went in for another check up at 17 weeks and I was jumping at the opportunity to find out what we were having. We were in the ultrasound room and the tech came in. She asked us if we wanted to find out. "ABSOLUTELY!". She laughed at my enthusiasm and said some people like to be surprised. I responded that having triplets was surprise enough for me! I am a planner and was itching to start registering for, what we will find out, the entire Babies R Us store. Baby A's heart beat was doing well. "It's a girl!". Baby B's hear beat was also perfect. "It's a girl!". Baby C's heart beat was also right where it needed to be. "It's a boy!". I was SO excited to have a mix! I felt like we had our family was complete in one shot.
That very weekend, I gathered my mom and sisters to go to Babies R Us to start registering. Part of this was that I was just so excited to start planning, but the other part was that my baby shower was already being planned. The idea was to have it in mid-March and it was already the beginning of February. I know this isn't the typical time for a shower, but there was always a looming fear of bed rest and my belly was growing at such a fast pace that I wanted to be able to enjoy my shower. We were at Babies R Us for three hours! We had someone helping me figure out what I needed as well as the quantity. Twenty-four bottles (just enough to get us through one day of feeding), thirty burp clothes, twelve blankets, three cribs, three bouncy seats, three swings, three car seats, a six foot long stroller, and so much more. I think the babies were excited about what I was picking out for them because while we were shopping, I was able to feel them move for the first time!
I felt very blessed and blown away from the generosity of my friends and family at my shower! It was mid-March and the theme was three peas in a pod. My sister got me a t-shirt to wear that said "I have three peas in my pod". I also had a friend that makes fabulous cupcakes and put homemade pea pods made out of fondant that encased two pink and one blue pea. SO CUTE! My husband and I were amazed at the gifts that we got and how little we actually needed to fill in. We packed up everything in our new supersized SUV and brought it home. Our house looked like a Babies R Us warehouse!
A lot of people are curious how big I was during my pregnancy, which brings me to another appointment memory. I went in for my 20 week appointment and did the normal routine. Chatted with the people at the front desk and got my "pee ticket". I went into the bathroom and attempted to pee in a cup, which I have to say is not easy when pregnant, weighed myself, and then would be assigned to a room to wait for my nurse. There I would tell my weight and get my blood pressure taken and hang out until the ultrasound room was free. Dr. Stewart typically met me in the ultrasound room, but this day he came to meet me while all my stats were being gathered. He told me to lay back and he was going to take my belly measurement. "Congratulations!" he said. I was confused. "You are measuring full term!". My first thought was "Wow, if I just had one, this would have been easy and I don't have any stretch marks.". Then the reality set in that I was only halfway through my pregnancy.... I think I remember looking at him and asking "Are you sure this is possible?". He laughed, but I was serious.
At this point I received my first restriction. I was told that I was not to be more than an hour away from the hospital at all times. This took out going to my mom's and sisters' homes so all holidays were now at my house. Like I said before, I was a sales rep so most of my work was now done from the couch. Most of these things I could handle, but I was suppose to be in a wedding in May and with that comes obligations, like bachelorette parties. I told Dr. Stewart that I was going to be in a wedding and he laughed and said "No your not". This I did not handle well. If anyone knows me, they know I don't like missing anything. Especially the big day of one of my dearest friends. As frustrated as I was with this, in a small way I was relieved that I didn't have to push myself.
The biggest downside to the second trimester was, at times, very painful. I swear to this day that the peanuts only grew on the weekends. It seemed like every Friday through Sunday my ribs, hips, back and stomach just ached. My favorite spot on days like these was on the right side of my family room couch with about 4 pillows surrounding me as well as under my stomach. I also started taking a 16x16 pillow around with me when I went places to put behind my back. I also had a special pillow for sleeping. It was a huge c-shaped pillow that went under my neck, under my stomach, between my legs, and curved up to my mid-back. Jokingly I named my pillow "Phil" since it took the place of cuddling with my husband. There was just no way to be comfortable without "Phil" and I don't know what I would have done without him. Phil has now been passed down to two my pregnant friends and they have fallen in love with him too.
It was amazing to see all the looks that I got when I was out in public. I looked like I was full term and people would make comments like "Wow! You look like your about to pop!" or "You must be due any day!". Every one was amazed when I told them I wasn't due until July and that I was carrying three babies around with me. Most people, so I'm told, are on bed rest most of their pregnancy so people don't see enormously huge pregnant women like myself wandering around town. But I felt so blessed to be out and about. I always thought bed rest would come, so I enjoyed my freedom always thinking it may be the last time I am able to go out.
I felt like a huge weight had lifted once I hit 27 weeks. I knew at this point that the peanuts had a good chance of surviving if something happened. Every day after was just better and better for all of them!
