23 Week Checkup

Our doctor appointment today involved a very long ultrasound....not the most comfortable position to be in for over an hour, but totally worth it to get to watch the babies for that long.  The girls have literally doubled in weight over the past 4 weeks:

Baby A - 1 lb. 2 oz. (up 9 oz.)
Baby B - 1 lb. 2 oz. (up 9 oz.)
Baby C - 1 lb. 3 oz. (up 9 oz.)

These are good weights for a single baby, and extremely good for triplets.  It is also very good that they are all so close in size, although, since they each have their own placenta, it would not really be a huge concern if there were some weight variations.  It is only when multiples share a placenta that this can become a big problem because one baby hogs all the nutrients. We will continue to monitor their growth every 3 weeks to make sure that they are still growing at a good rate and that there are no signs of IUGR (inter uterine growth restriction).  They were able to get a look at each of their hearts and see that each one had all 4 chambers and were functioning properly.  Heartbeats continue to be in the 140s and 150s, which is good.  They also got a closeup look at their nose and lips to check for a cleft pallet and they all looked fine.  They did another measurement of their necks (thickening of the neck is a marker for down syndrome) and these measurements came back good again also.  So, basically everything that can be seen with an ultrasound looks great!

Speaking of great, my cervix is still measuring in at over 4 cm.  I know that this is probably not something people really care to know, but anyone who has been pregnant with multiples or who has had cervix problems in the past can tell you that this is a huge deal, and it is a very big relief to hear that it is still doing its job and keeping the babies in there.  So, I will continue to bore you with cervical measurements every week :)

Other than that, the doctor just doesn't have much to say except for keep doing what we're doing!  My blood pressure was actually 118/70!  I'm pretty sure that is the lowest that my blood pressure has ever been in a dr. office in my entire adult life.  My blood sugars are all looking good.  I gained no weight this week, which is OK (I have plenty in reserve!) and my swelling continues to stay down.  We'll head back to the dr. office next Tuesday for a quick checkup and heartbeat and cervix check.

The ultrasound tech asked me if the babies were always this active when they were trying to get measurements today.  I had to tell her that this was tame compared to when they really get going.  Earlier this week, I actually freaked out for a minute one morning thinking I was having contractions.  Then I realized that this was actually just all of the babies moving/punching/kicking at once.  Their movements are getting very strong and increasingly uncomfortable sometimes.  They seem to be on somewhat of a schedule for the past few days.  Every morning after I eat breakfasat they seem to turn into little ninjas for about an hour, and then again late every evening for about another hour.  Otherwise, their movements have been more sporadic throughout the day.

So, I really have nothing else very exciting to talk about this week.  Bedrest is making me very lazy.  I accompanied Wade to the grocery store on Friday for my weekly outing and was winded about 10 minutes into it.  That may be the end of my grocery shopping for the next few months....we'll see...

And I think that we have finally settled on names for these girls...but don't hold me to it.  The names are a little more rhymey than what I wanted, but I like them and we agree on them, so for now, here is where we stand:

Ava Munai
Lia Rose
Mya Anne

Lia is pronounced Leah, it is the Samoan spelling.  Munai for Wade's mom, Rose for my mom and Anne is the middle name of my mom and both of my grandmothers.

Well, hopefully there will be nothing eventful to post between now and next week's appointment!