Adorable, no?

Daniel, holding his own pacifier

Caroline, holding my hand during a feeding

Caroline, sleeping in her crib for the first time

The boys, the first night in their crib

Daniel, stretching after a nap

Super Max!

Max, returning to his secret identity

Birthday Outing & Pictures

I thought it would be nice to take the babies out for a stroll to celebrate their birthday.  Just across the street and around Spreckels Lake - nothing too adventurous.  Or so I thought.

They are a little too tiny still for our fancy strollers and we couldn't figure out the snap n go versions we have.  So we worked hard at getting them strapped into the fancy ones and away we went, being a fascination to everyone who saw us walk by.

Of course, it backfired.  The babies were thrown off by it and screamed half the time.  It made them agitated and their schedule (such as it is this early in life) was off.  And it was the first night without the doula.  And we weren't set up for them in their nursery yet, so I spent the night on the couch so they could stay in their bassinets in the living room.  It was a rough night.

Oh, and it apparently aggravated my already swollen legs.  Doctor says no more walking for a while!

While at home, we set up an activity mat for them to play on:

Daniel and Caroline used their activity time to start fighting - she grabbed his hat, he tried to pummel her,you know how it goes.  Max was not that interested in the activities.

Max, resting on the couch, and looking just the teensiest like a Star Wars enemy rubbing his hands together with evil glee

Daniel, also resting, with slightly less evil glee.

Caroline, resting on the couch with a slightly different "boppy cushion" (boy...I'm still not sporting that nice ruddy glow the babies have...)

Not wanting to be outdone by her brothers, Caroline decides to hold her own bottle and give me a brief rest.

Reflections at the one week mark

A week into mommy-hood, here are some things I've noticed about the babies, in no particular order:

Just a few reasons our babies are brilliant:

• At just two days old, Daniel was already lifting his head up when he was in a "tummy time", face-down position.
• Caroline has already discovered that she has nearly complete control over her uncle with just a little wink of her eye
• On their sixth day of life both Max and Daniel reached up to hold their own bottles while mommy (or Aunt Laya) was fumbling trying to feed them

Major events this week:

• 9/15 - Birthday! First bath, first bottle, first time meeting both sets of Grandparents, Aunt Lee Ann, Uncle Kelly, and both Great Aunts! Got radio "shout outs" from KCBS and from the A's Radio Network during the broadcast of the A's/Royals game.
• 9/16 - Graduation from the Intensive Care Nursery to the "step-down nursery", first non-family visitors (Linda, Matt & Chelsea, Tom & Carla).  Message on the big screen at AT&T Park.
• 9/17 - Graduation from nursery care - move into Mommy's room at the hospital, Daniel spits up on Grandpa for the first time
• 9/18 - Passed their first hearing tests, visit from Anjali & Ajay (and their parents), watched first baseball game on TV (Yankees/Orioles), got their Hepatitis-B vaccinations
• 9/19 - Watched their first football game on TV (Bears/Cowboys), visits from Mary Farquhar and Diana, discharged from the hospital, first car ride, first night at home
• 9/20 - First doctor's appointment (with a very pretty pediatrician, according to Max, Daniel, and Daddy), last blood draw to check for jaundice (whew!), watched first 49ers game on TV (loss to Saints, 25-22)
• 9/21 - First time spent away from Mommy (she had a doctor's appointment), Grandma, Aunt Laya, and Diane came to visit

People to thank this week:

• Grandpa and Uncle Kelly, for moving things and fixing things and bringing things to the hospital and babysitting while Mommy and Daddy took their first nap at home on Sunday night
• Uncle Kelly for fixing the toilet that broke the first night home
• Grandpa for driving Mommy to her doctor's appointment
• Grandma and Aunt Laya for visiting and holding/feeding us and bringing cute clothes and fancy presents
• Aunt Lee Ann for grocery shopping and visiting and feeding us and taking Daddy out to dinner
• Linda, Chelsea, Matt, Tom, Carla, Jayanthi, Chris, Anjali, Ajay, Mary, and Diana for visiting in the hospital
• Grandma for bringing milk and yogurt to the house!
• Kate for bringing dinner for Mommy & Daddy
• Laura & Uncle Kelly for coming to hang out with us during Mommy's doctor's appointment

More pictures!

Daddy describing to Grandma Salvatore

Giving everyone the news

Max's first meal in the nursery

Checking up on the babies

Checking up on mommy

It's a boy, it's a boy, it's a girl!

Grandpa Kelly

Auntie Lee Ann

Uncle Kelly

The Salvatores and the Savateenies

Mommy and Caroline

Daddy and Daniel (also known as "mini-Joe")

Such a happy family!

Yep, Mommy's got her hands full!

for those of you wondering what three car seats look like

Days 2 through 4

Day 2 was frustrating.  I'm tired of talking about it, so I will suffice it just to say that there was a lot of miscommunication among all departments (OB, nursing, pediatrics) that left me upset.  We spent most of the morning getting angrier and angrier (that we didn't know the babies had been moved to the "step-down nursery" - a good thing!, that the nurse in that nursery seemed more interested in using us as warming blankets to keep the babies' body temps up rather than making sure we were bonding with or feeding them, that nobody had talked to me about how I was proceeding post-operatively, and that nearly thirty hours after the babies were born I still hadn't pumped or been given an opportunity to try to breast feed, that the babies had gone a day and a half without eating more than half a bottle).  We then spent the better part of the afternoon having a parade of doctors and nurses apologize to us.  By the late afternoon, I had gotten a pump and learned how to use it and had visited with the babies and was starting to feel better.

We had a few visitors, which was nice.  Chelsea, who is about 27 weeks pregnant, came by to see the babies and teared up when she met them - obviously the work of maternal hormones!  She and her husband brought beautiful flowers and got to hang out with Caroline while Joe and I did "skin-to-skin" holding of the boys to try to raise their body temps.  Then our friends Tom and Carla stopped by and met the kiddos, and even more importantly took Joe out to dinner!  I had started to worry about what he was going to eat - especially since I still hadn't graduated from broth and jell-o to anything more substantial.

Day 3 was entirely different - like night and day (or day and day, I guess).  I woke up at 4:30 and went to check in the nursery.  Caroline had just been fed and the nurse was waiting for Max and Daniel to wake up to feed them. He promised to call me so I could feed them when they got up.  Back to bed until 5:40 - but there was no call.  The nurse came in to give me medication and mentioned that the nursery was just about to get in touch with me.  Off I toddled to the nursery!  There I found the babies had already eaten, but the pediatrician was talking about how well the kids were doing.  Later, during rounds, it was decided that their IVs could come out and, most likely, they could be allowed to "room in" with us for the night.  Only problem - the room is not big enough for three babies and two adults!  It's barely big enough for two adults!

While I was taking a nap (pain from the C-section was starting to catch up with me), Joe got the news that we were being moved to another room, on the 6th floor.  This new room is huge and the floor is entirely different.  Our previous room was on the Labor & Delivery floor, filled with women in active labor and home to the Intensive Care Nursery.  The sixth floor is the "well baby" maternity floor (though there is no "well baby nursery").  The room we're in has plenty of room for visitors and babies.  Friday night LeeAnn, Nathanael, and Grandpa stopped by and visited the 'teenies, each taking one for feeding and holding.

By eleven, Joe and I were on our own and the babies were going to make sure we felt every instant of our first night as a family.  To make a very long night as short as possible: scream, scream, cry, cry, scream, cry, diaper change, food, scream, cry, cry, scream.  I'll leave it to your imagination who among us was doing the screaming and crying (baby or parent, hmmm...)  Oh, and there was a little snoring thrown in there too...needless to say, I didn't get any sleep.

On Saturday we were worried that I would be discharged.  Having not gotten any sleep Friday night,  I was not in a good mood, and when the OB came in the room I snapped at her that I wasn't anywhere near ready to go home.  So they said they'd delay the decision.  The babies got all sorts of attention on Saturday - a hearing screening (which they all passed), a billirubin check (to make sure they weren't getting jaundiced) with a little heel prick blood test, vital signs (heart rate, temperature, and weight), a check of breath sounds and eye reactions, and visits from Grandma and Great Aunt Laya, the Linert family, and Auntie LeeAnn and Uncle Kelly.  Anjali proclaimed that Caroline is her favorite baby - obviously sensing a princess kinship between them.  She also recognized, once Daniel's eyes were open, that he looks a lot like Joe.

It is true - Daniel is almost a mini-me version of Joe at times...and Max, being a smaller version of that is almost like a cartoon of Daniel as mini-Joe!

Lee Ann took Joe out to dinner again, which was wonderful as he was going a little stir crazy.  About five minutes after they left, Daniel started screaming at the top of his lungs and thus began my first true new-parent-without-a-clue moment.  Because he was crying, he was bright red.  Because my internal thermostat had been set to a zillion degrees since delivery, I assumed he was overheating.  I stripped his swaddle blankets off and wandered out into the nurses' station area, where I was stopped and told that hospital policy didn't allow me to bring the baby out of my room unless he was in a crib.  I replied that he was too hot and I was trying to cool him off, and the

Saturday night we had a chat with our night nurse, Xochitl, about the many things we'd been told - including a suggestion by one lactation consultant that we needed to bring in one of the car seats to "test them out".  Xochitl had never heard of this, nor had any of her co-workers, and it turned out not to be accurate.  Grrr.  She did, however, track down our releases to give the kids their Hep B vaccines and brought in the shots for them.  Our brave little children didn't cry at all when they got their shots!

We prepared for the worst Saturday night, even though the babies had done an excellent job of eating incfeasing amounts and then sleeping for about 3 hours throughout the day.  As soon as we turned the lights out, Max and Daniel started to cry.  But then they settled down and rested until it was time to eat around 1am.  The new night nurse, Malissa, helped out and took their vitals.  Max and Daniel's body temps had dropped again. In fact, Max's was so low that Malissa suggested I cuddle him in bed with me, which I did, and he warmed up.

Sunday we were waiting around for doctors so we could organize ourselves to be discharged and sent home.  They are going to take out my stitches/staples Tuesday to wait for my uterus to shrink down a bit more, leaving less chance that the weight will rip my incision open.  With that news, all that remained was a final check from the pediatrician and we would be good to go.

Not so easy.

I had just finished taking my shower and getting dressed in my "going home clothes" when the pediatrician came in.  While she was checking the babies over, she explained that they were worried about the boys' inability to regulate their body temperatures and so they were going to keep them in the hospital for one more night.  Now, granted, given all the risks we were quoted at the beginning of the pregnancy, and everything that can possibly go wrong with a high risk situation like this or with babies who are delivered four weeks "early", one extra night in the hospital waiting for a layer of fat to fix the babies' internal thermostat is far from the worst thing in the world.  However, it would mean that Joe, Caroline, and I would go home, and Max and Daniel would stay.  And so I burst into tears (we'll blame the hormones).  The doctor explained that we hadn't done anything wrong, that they were just a little skinny and still learning how to handle everything.  She wasn't sure where the babies would be placed, but asked our nurse to find out if there was any way they could wait to discharge me until Monday so we could all stay together.  Otherwise, the boys would either go back down to the nursery or off to pediatrics for observation for the night.

About an hour later, the doctor returned saying she'd called all around and while OB really didn't want to keep us in the hospital a day longer, she understood why we were upset.  So, she made a deal with us - they babies would have their temperature checked every two hours for the next six or seven hours (through 5:00pm) and if they were all in the safe range and relatively steady, they could go home.  The flipside of this is that they would have to come back on Monday for their "well-baby" check and if there was any concern at all, they would be re-admitted to the hospital.  If things did not check out, they would stay, probably in the nursery.

We spent the rest of the day packing as if the outcome would be positive.  Mama and Laya came by with new little outfits (including long sleeved shirts and onesies) and they got a surprise visit from my high school Spanish teacher (who also snuck me in a piece of very yummy apple pie!)  The room was really full when my friend from college, Diana, stopped in to meet everyone.  She'd come up a day early for a work trip just to meet the Salvateenies, and they were quite honored, though they may not have shown it.  In fact, they weren't that social at all, since we had them all double swaddled and covered in multiple blankies.

The end result was positive - we'd bundled the babies enough to keep their temps in the safe range and we got to head home with them!!!  At home we completely collapsed and took a quick nap while my dad and brother watched the babies.  Then we had dinner, fed them, and waited for the night doula to show up.  Another hour and a half or so of going over where things were and what the concerns were and it was off to bed!

And now the Salvateenies are officially "home".

Day One - some pictures

The final belly picture

Mommy and Daniel

Mommy and Daddy and Daniel

Mommy and Max

Mommy, Daddy, and Max

Mommy, Daddy, and Caroline

Sweet Caroline

THEY'RE HERE!!!

Welcome, Salvateenies!!!

9/15/2010

The day got started early – the alarm was set for 4:30, but my bladder woke me up around 3:45.  Who needs more than 4 hours sleep anyway, right?  Joe and I took showers and packed the final items around the house.  While he was in the shower, around 5:20, someone from Kaiser Labor & Delivery actually called with a “wake-up call” to make sure we remembered where to be and when – as if we could forget!  But definitely an appreciated gesture.

We got out of the house and to the hospital by 7am and rode up in the elevator with a nurse heading to our same floor.  From there we signed in and waited a few moments before being escorted to a prep room to change clothes.  Next thing you knew, the same woman from the elevator came in and introduced herself as “my” nurse!  A bunch of things needed to happen before we left the prep room, including some blood draws, the insertion of an IV, a quick medical history, an ultrasound to locate all the babies, and a full 20-minute non-stress test on each, being sure that each baby had two hearbeat accelerations during a 20-minute period.  Daniel’s heartbeat was found right away, and Caroline’s not long after, and monitors were strapped in place for them.  But, as has been his habit, Max was hiding!  It took until nearly 8:30 before his heartbeat was identified (though some of the problem may have been that the probe was malfunctioning too).  Needless to say those were some stressful minutes as I tried to remind myself it was a technical glitch and not a medical problem.  Finally they found his heartbeat and he performed on cue.  I had my belly shaved and cleaned and they wheeled me over to the operating room.

As we entered the operating suite, we went through one room with three little bassinets a-waiting the ‘teenies.  Then another sort of ante-room with machines.  Then the OR itself.  It’s funny, the OR doesn’t look like the ones you see on TV.  Sure, there’s a big bed in the middle with turbo lights overhead, and a table of shiny instruments (SO MANY CLAMPS!), but it’s also painted white, and has built-in cabinets and a plate glass window letting in natural light and a nice view over the City.  Certainly less of a scary environment than the room where I had knee surgery a few years back.

It was now time for the anesthesia – a spinal block.  Hunched over, the doctor found an opening in my vertebrae and gave me a shot of morphine to numb the area.  Then he inserted the medication into the lumbar area and I slowly felt my hips, lap, and then legs get warm and then sort of swimmingly numb.  By the time it had all spread, I had no control over them, no pain whatsoever, and yet had enough sensation to feel as I was moved and tugged into position on the bed.

This is when Joe entered, covered in a white hat and full-length gown, with a green surgical mask. I’m very sorry I didn’t get a picture of him, but truthfully I didn’t even recognize him amid ALL the other people in the room (2 surgeons, 2 anesthesiologists, 2 surgical nurses, my nurse and the 2 students/assistants who had been with me all morning, and in the other room 3 pediatricians and at least one support person for each of them) until he started talking.  He took a spot by my head as the anesthesiologists set up a big drape between us and the target area and then, almost instantly it seemed, the surgeons sat down on either side of me and started to work.  Again, I was numb to all pain so I didn’t notice when they did any cutting, but I could feel as my torso got moved from one side to the other. 

Joe did a great job with the video camera, interviewing me and keeping our minds off of the surgical element of what was happening.  Then, a lot more quickly than I anticipated, I heard the doctors say, “OK, he’s coming out, this is Baby A – it’s a boy!”  Someone helped Joe angle the camera so he could catch a peek, and then it was time for them to shift to Baby B…a minute later – “It’s a boy!” and more filming. 

Two down and one to go!  Remember that Caroline (or “Baby C”) has spent most of the pregnancy way up high on my left, tucked under my ribs in her “superior sac”.  This made her slightly less accessible than the boys had been, and I couldn’t help but giggle as the doctors said, “Grab a foot or an elbow or something and start dragging her out! No, not the head, that’s going to be a difficult angle.  OK, OK, I think we’ve got her.  Yes! Baby C – It’s a girl!”  And she cried on command, which the boys had not done.  And then Joe was taken off to the anteroom to watch them all get cleaned off, checked over, and swaddled up while the surgeons worked to remove all the other excess baggage from my belly.

Before the surgery we had explained to the nurses and doctor that it was important to us that the babies be kept straight – that Baby A and Baby B had different personalities and had already been assigned names based on those traits we’d observed in utero.  Secretly, I was a little nervous they would think I was being silly, but they took us remarkably seriously.  As each baby was brought in to meet me briefly, the pediatricians introduced them by name.  I got to reach over and kiss little Daniel on the nose, Max was struggling to open his second eye so he looked like he was winking at me, and Caroline was wrapped up like a triangle sporting chubby, chubby cheeks. 

Once I met them all, Joe went with them down to the nursery while I stayed to get stitched up – definitely the right choice.  I’ll encourage him to get us an account of how things went specifically, but as I understand it they were weighed (they all were in the 4.5 lbs – 4lbs 14 oz range) and measured (17.5-19 inches long).  They needed Joe’s permission to be given a bottle right away, but their blood sugar was dropping so they got sugar water IVs inserted pretty quickly.  And then, after some miscommunication, all the assorted family members (both sets of grandparents, one aunt, one uncle, and a great aunt on each side) were welcomed in one at a time to peek at the babies.

Meanwhile, I was upstairs.  Laid out as I was on my back, with my arms sticking out at roughly 45 degree angles from my body, my Carpal Tunnel was in full swing. My hands were bright red and I could feel nothing but my pinky fingers.  In addition, the medicine was making my face itch like crazy!  To save me from scarring myself as I raked my face with my nails, the anesthesiologist gave me a handful of gauze to wipe across my face like sandpaper – thank goodness! 

I dozed in and out of sleep while I was stitched up, hearing things like, “time to stitch up the fascia,” and “make sure you’re keeping lap count,” and other things that meant little to me.  I did understand when they said, “Wait, where’s that oozing coming from?” and “OK, can I get some scissors, we’re going to have to go back in and check this,” and, “I think we have to just pull her uterus back out and check the incision to see how it’s going.”  Not necessarily a visual any of us need to have, but I can say I’m glad they double checked!  As I was being tucked back together a second time, the surgeon peeked over the drape to tell me my uterus, tubes, and ovaries all looked “really good”.  Then a little more stitching of the “layers”, a final lap count (which I think is a count of the number of used sponges taken out of me compare to the number of packets of sponges opened), and it was time to recover! 

There was no room at the inn, so to speak, on the Labor & Delivery floor, as there was a set of twins scheduled and one of the anesthesiologists got called out to do some 4 epidurals during my time in the OR.  So off it was to another floor to wait in the general surgery prep area.  My nurse, Ana, and the two assistants came with and checked my blood pressure and bleeding and ability to move my legs over the next hour and a half or so, until word came that a room was ready for me back on the L&D floor.  The motion of the gurney still made me a little nauseous, so I kept my eyes closed through most of the journey. 

When we got to the doors to the unit, I had to be signed in, and the nurse found Nathanael and my dad waiting in the waiting room (everyone else was either in a cafeteria or café or in the nursery visiting – it was just after 1pm at this point).   Grandpa and Uncle Kelly came into the room after I got a bit cleaned up and all squared away and started showing me pictures of the babies and giving me their stats.  Daniel is still the biggest – 4 pounds 14 ounces and 18.5 inches long.  Max is still the smallest – 4 pounds 8 or so ounces and just under 18 inches.  And Caroline, who did not have any competition for nutrients, had the chubbiest cheeks – she was 4 pounds and 10.7 ounces and at first was measured at 19 inches long, though by later in the evening that was revised down to 18.5, so she and Daniel are tied.

Slowly everyone filed back into the room and started telling me stories of how cute the babies were and what they were doing when they were visited in the nursery.  If I hadn’t still been so foggy-headed, I might’ve been a little jealous that there were nine other people in the room who had all gotten to see the babies I had only glimpsed briefly in the OR.  But I was still foggy-headed, and a little nauseated – I drank a cup of apple juice too quickly and immediately threw it all back up – so I wasn’t really in shape yet to meet the Salvateenies.  At some point it became apparent to folks that I was not really that entertaining in my current condition.  The Kellys (and Aunt Laya) departed first, and a while later we convinced Joe that he needed to go eat something, as it was now 3pm and he’d had nothing but a banana and coffee all day.  At last I was on my own to sleep, though fitfully.

The only problem was that the room was SO HOT.  The nurses swore to me they were turning down the temperature, but the thermostat must’ve been broken because it was just warm, stuffy air being recycled through the room.  Or so I thought.  Turns out, it was my thermostat that was broken (and still is, to some extent).  The temp was set to 50 and the room was an ice box according to those who visited, and yet I was still warm.  Must be all the extra blood I’m still carrying and all the excitement of having my internal organs shoved around!  I apologized to everyone for the cold, but let’s face it – it’s my room and I’m the patient – they’ll just have to deal with it!

Joe and Lee Ann came back from dinner around 5:30, with a fountain Coca-Cola for me.  This is what I had announced to Joe I wanted first when I was no longer on caffeine restriction – a fountain Coke full of sugar and caffeine and bubbles.  After nine months of finding Coke restaurants and machines everywhere we went (a disappointment during pregnancy because it means the root beer offered is Barq’s, whose “bite” is the caffeine that made it off-limits) and wishing for a Pepsi fountain that would offer me Mug root beer, this day all they could find was Pepsi and finally had to track down a McDonald’s for Coke.  But it tasted SO GOOD.  Mmmmm….

While I sipped and rested, Joe took LeeAnn back to the nursery.  About an hour later I got a text from her that they were allowing Joe to hold the babies and she was taking lots of pictures and not to worry.  My mom and Aunt Laya came by to visit and kept me company for a while, and Nathanael brought me things he had gone to pick up at our apartment.  As my head was clearing out, I was noticing I was a little uncomfortable – I needed to get cleaned up and get a new gown on and I really wanted to get up so I could meet the babies.  I’d been told they’d get me sat up around 8pm, cleaned and waddled out to the nursery, but 8pm came and went.  It was closer to 9 when the nurse came to get me prepped for the hallway, and after 9:30 by the time I was actually slowly moving down the hall to the nursery.  So it was almost 12 hours between the first time I met the babies and when I got to go back and hold them.

My very first impression in the OR was that Caroline looked exactly like Joe, but when I held Daniel, I realized he is really the mini-Joe.  Same shaped face, same shaped lips and eyes.  Beautifully shaped fingernails.  All three of them were tuckered out from their big day, so he slept quietly in my arms, just opening his eyes a little bit now and then to check who this strange person was.  The nursery is kept quite warm to make sure the babies are warm…and remember that my internal thermostat is off…so I was very warm sitting there with the baby in my arms.  The nurse brought me water, which I downed much too quickly, and soon I had to call for Daniel to be taken away so that I could throw up my whole “clear liquid” dinner (broth and jello – not a huge loss).  My nurse was called and I was given some IV liquids and a medication for nausea that I had asked for earlier, but apparently not forcefully enough.  After everything settled down, I moved on to hold Max, who was squirmy but still snuggled in nicely.  Since he and Daniel are identical twins, it shouldn’t have surprised me how much he looks like Joe, but I was starting to wonder when someone would look like me!  Or at least my side of the family.   I realized that I could easily fall asleep holding Max like that, I asked to switch over to hold Caroline.  She looks less like Joe than I remembered, and actually in her sleepy state reminded me and Nathanael of her namesake, my grandmother…except that she’s got my dad’s dimple in her chin!  Finally – signs of the Kelly side of the family!

It is amazing to me how big the babies seem – they are much bigger than I expected them to feel and I cannot image how they all fit inside of me!  But there’s no point in wondering about that now because they’re OUT!

This morning has all been about getting medicine, taking vital signs, and getting my surgical dressing removed.  Soon I’ll be heading over to see the babies again.  Check back soon for pictures!

Dear Babies...

Well, this is it, the big day.  Your daddy is in the shower now, making sure he's clean and ready to meet you in a few hours.  He let me take the first shower so I could make sure to get as much hot water as I wanted.

It still seems entirely unreal that you will be here with us, outside where we can see you and touch you and feel you breathe (and hear you cry, of course).  To be honest, I'm going to miss having you pretty much all to myself.  I'll miss feeling you swim around inside of me, or kick things off my belly - though I won't miss those times you sat on my sciatic nerve or groin and made it impossible to roll over in bed!

I hope that you will grow up happy and healthy, and most of all loved.  Your dad and I have wanted you for a long time, and we went through a bunch of hoops to get you here, so cut us some slack if we seem to hug you a little too tightly from time to time (or spend way too many hours just watching you sleep).  And there are lots of friends and family who just can't wait to meet you, though we'll make some of them wait just a little longer so we can be selfish with our time with you.

Oh!  The hospital just called to make sure we were awake and ready to come in for you to be born! As if we could oversleep today of all days - it's your BIRTHDAY!

Love,
Mommy

The last Belly Pictures!

36 weeks!  The belly says good-bye tomorrow and we say hello to the babies!!!

This time, posing in front of the "Safari" crib (also known as "the boys' crib") - note that the sign around the giraffe's neck shows the score is 3-3!

Joe tries to take a "belly" picture, but there's not nearly enough belly there!

This is it...

This can't be real, can it? At this time tomorrow, we will be parents to three tiny people.  Regardless of the number of posts I've written, doctor's appointments I've had, or baby gear I've accumulated, there is just no way I can imagine that it is real.

How in the world are we going to do this?  When did we ever think this was going to be possible?

Everyone is telling us to say good-bye to life as we know it, to make sure we do everything we want to before the babies come because it will be years before we have the freedom to do things again.  And yet, here I sit on the last day before a lifetime of parenthood and I can't think of anything to do.  There are tables to clear off and things to organize, but I just can't get myself moving to do them.

I can't even decide what I want to eat for my "last meal"!

So, for all of you who have been offering to help us out with babysitting or food delivery or just holding a baby or two while we freak out (I keep having flashbacks to that WB Cartoon "Freakazoid" today) - we should be home by Monday.  Just give us a call and tell us when you're coming and what you're willing to do.  We are helpless to know what help we will need and will most definitely be depending on the kindness of friends and family (and, what the heck, strangers too, as I have been informed the Salvateenies share their birthday with Blanche DuBois).

Thanks to everyone for all the support we've gotten and for all the support you will give us in the future.  It is wonderful to know that we and the babies are so loved.

The final doctor visit...

It was time for our final non-stress test.  We got there early so that I wouldn't feel rushed (and my bp wouldn't be too high), but my bp was still a little high - 139/93.  But we'll come back to that later.

The nurse checking out the babies identified their locations - apparently it gets more difficult as they're getting bigger because they start overlapping each other and crowding together.  But she found them, then found how much fluid each had in their sacs (looking good!)  There was a brief wait to identify the fetal breathing, but they all performed well.

The only thing remaining was heartbeats.  You'd think it would be easy...but the babies moved!  At this point Dr. Collingham poked his head in to say that we could forego the OB visit as long as everything went well with the scans.  The nurse asked him to verify the babies' locations and he placed Baby A low on the bottom lying on his side, Baby B scrunched up breech on my right, and Baby C curled around up top and over to my left side.  I'm sure they've all moved again by now, but it's always good to know where they're hanging out.  Once their locations were more concrete, the heartbeats were much easier to find and all were beating well.

Finally it was time to sit up, relax, and take my bp.  This time it was 127/93.  Still 93...3 points higher than my parameters.  So I was sent over to the OB side of the floor to check again.  So much for skipping out on the appointment!  The nurse let us know they like the readings on their machine better, and their machine showed my bp at 120-something over 76.  76!  They also took me to be weighed - I've now officially gained 15 pounds with this pregnancy.  We're hoping that the babies will be in the 5 pound range when they're born, so that could balance out!

We waited in an exam room to be cleared to go home.  The RN for the floor came to chat (about the Giants) for a while and then the doctor came and told us to "go home!" and that everything was fine.  They quizzed me on the symptoms I should watch for (headache, vision change, pain, leaking fluid, babies dropping out, and the like) and what I need to know for next Wednesday (no eating or drinking ANYTHING after midnight, show up at 7, procedure scheduled for 9, babies out and cleaned by 10).

Did you catch that?  BABIES BY 10AM!  132 hours until we have babies!  SCARY!

I came home exhausted and rested until it was time for dinner.  Just before we were about to leave, we heard about the fire in San Bruno.  We sat, transfixed, in front of the tv and I couldn't help but cry.  Part of it is hormones, I'm sure.  Part of it is the amazing loss.  So I'm focusing on the good news about the countdown to babies to distract me, while hoping that everything works out as well as it possibly can for the folks in San Bruno.

One week to go...

Blood pressure is still an issue, but nothing to worry about so far.  After hearing that it had trended high over the holiday weekend, my doctor had me do a bunch of lab work - blood and urine tests.  All the results have been in the normal range so far, so they don't seem too concerned.  I went into the lab today to drop off a sample and went up to have my bp checked and it was within the parameters they've given me, so the doctor said to just relax and put my feet up.  So I'm typing with my lapdesk propped on my belly. :)  I also stopped by to weigh myself and found that I have not gained any weight on the scale since my appointment two weeks ago, though this morning when I got out of bed Joe mentioned that it looked like the babies had done a lot of growing over night.  The little leeches are taking all my nutrients!

This week's belly picture was taken in the nursery...sorry for those of you waiting for the 'teenies to finally block out the handle on the door behind me!

I swear I'm standing up straight!!!

Tomorrow is the final non-stress test and the final OB appointment.  Less than a week left until the scheduled date now, so we're crossing our fingers (all 50 of them!) that no surprises pop up!

The countdown is ON...

When last we chatted here on the Blog de Salvateenies, my BP was a little high at the non-stress test.  It has continued "a little high" over the weekend - it's nice and low when I take it while lying down, slightly (and I do  mean slightly) elevated if I'm sitting up.  The nurse at the pre-term birth prevention center is not terribly concerned because I'm not having any other pre-term labor symptoms (headaches, nausea, spots before my eyes, etc.) and because I am taking blood pressure medication that can be adjusted.  She's having me take my bp in the morning and evening before I take my medication, and then an hour after the medication, and they'll consult with the doctor and see if I should raise the dosage or frequency (I'm betting they will).  We've got just nine days to go, so if they tell me I need to lie down for the rest of the time until delivery, I think I can handle it without going too stir crazy.

And why, do you ask, would I be more "OK" with having to be bed-resty now?  Well, as you all know this festive long weekend we've just had is designed to honor labor - work performed by laborers.  While I've had no "laborers", per se, in my home, I have been lucky to have some wonderful friends and family come over to help get things ready.

Friday night, my sister-in-law and I sat in the nursery and unwrapped all the tiny diapers that had been rolled up to form my three (count 'em - THREE) diaper cakes at my baby shower back in June.  We separated the diapers by size (preemie, newborn, and "size 1") and put them in assorted diaper stackers and bags.  Then Saturday I did some light organizing until about mid-day when I got a surprise visit from a friend bearing cupcakes and some truly adorable presents for the babies.  Then a visit from three of my friends from work who came over to feed me wonderful foods (tortilla española, veggies and crackers with hummus, and pumpkin pie for dessert) along with some chat and gossip from school.

But Saturday is when the true labor got started (no worries - not the me going into labor type).  Around mid-morning my father came over to survey the baby preparedness situation.  We started in the basement, where we pulled out the car seats and installed the bases into the back seat of my car.  Sorry - can't give anyone a ride or help move your large boxes anymore, but we will be able to bring the babies home from the hospital, so that's good!  Next we moved upstairs and he perused the nursery to see what needed to be done.  Then Nathanael came over with sandwiches.  Time for lunch!  After that, the two of them got working rearranging the furniture.  They moved the babies' chest of drawers into our bedroom so that there was now room to move the cribs around a bit.  Once in the bedroom, they cleared some of my junk out from beside the bed and made room for a glider in there for breastfeeding and soothing babies to sleep.  Then they emptied out more space in the nursery closet and schlepped a few more things up from the basement.  

Just as their energy was starting to wane around 4pm, my friends Chris and Jayanthi (of the aforementioned diaper cakes) and their adorable children came over.  While I got to play and read books with the kids, they set to work.  Chris and Nathanael put up the two remaining blinds in the back - we can now keep it cave-like dark all day long! - and repairing the top drawer of our lovely hand-me-down dresser.  Jayanthi started sorting and separating things in the nursery to get everything organized.  And once she'd done that, she and the kids all pitched in actually SWEEPING THE FLOOR in the nursery (and Nathanael vacuumed in the bedroom).  It was starting to look like a real nursery in there, rather than just a baby gear storage closet.

Monday we all got a slightly later start, though it's because I didn't wake up until 10 (thank you, 'teenies!).  Then Nathanael and my dad showed up to get into some more heavy duty work. We started in the living room, getting rid of recycling, cleaning off table tops, and generally making the room more baby-ready.  As we moved to the next task, Nathanael took my bedroom curtains down to wash -- it's amazing how much dust you can accumulate in just seven and a half years!  It was now time for the big task - my desk!  We cleared off the top, and then cleaned out three of the six drawers.  I found things dating all the way back to sixth grade (though I don't think I bought the desk until after college, which makes it a bit weird…).  We filled three boxes of junk to get rid of, including all my nicely organized bills from 2000-2004!  Who knew they were in that drawer?  The last step was to put up some decorations on the wall.  

Thanks to everybody's hard work, I feel pretty confident that the Salvateenies can actually live here when they get sprung from the hospital - whew!  Happy Labor Day!!!

This is all filled with trash culled from my desk

A greeting to the Salvateenies, courtesy of JoAnna.

Crib #1 (note those boxes beneath? FILLED with blankets!)

Crib #2 and changing table

Such good little test-takers!

Today was our next-to-last (penultimate) Non-Stress Test.  We had a different nurse working with us this time, and she was a big fan of the goop - my tummy was SUPER gooped for all the ultrasounds today. :)

The first step was to find the babies.  Just looking from the outside, I could see that they were huddling over on my right-hand side - my belly was tremendously lopsided, all squishy on the left and mounded on the right.  Once the ultrasound got underway, we found that Baby A had moved yet again.  Having spent the bulk of the pregnancy head down and ready to go, he'd shifted over to the right and flipped over breech a few weeks ago.  Now he's laying out along the absolute bottom of my uterus, stretching from side to side.  The next to be found was Baby C, all the way at the top.  She's been laying on her side the whole time, up on the left.  Now she's shifted over to the right to hang out with her brothers.  And then it was Baby B.  Baby B has not had a "usual" location.  He was the hardest to find this time as well, though eventually we did.  He's currently sandwiched between his siblings,  but again over on the right hand side.  Makes me wonder if these babies know they'll be born into a union family in San Francisco - don't they know they're supposed to trend to the left?

Next was fetal breathing.  And, just like last time, they pretty much performed on command.  It looked a little bit like they were hyperventilating, but since there's no air involved there's really no "ventilating" and the quick little motions are good practice for them.  Once they'd gotten the OK on the "breathing" we got to listen to the heartbeats.  They sound like horse hooves galloping - badabump, badabump, badabump.  Joe practiced working with the new videocamera and recorded them, but the video shows my big, ugly belly and so I don't think I'll be sharing those videos outside the family.  The little girl's heartbeat kept fading in and out as she seemed to squirm away from the little listening pad.  But we got her in the end!  Once all baby heartbeats were recorded, the nurse realized she'd forgotten to find the membrane that separates the babies and check fluid, so I got to get all gooped up again while she did that, but it wasn't too bad.

The only scare was that my blood pressure was slightly (VERY slightly) elevated.  We were a little nervous because there'd been another woman there when we showed up who had been sent to Labor and Delivery for observation because of her elevated bp.  To make it worse, she had her completely adorable 2-year old daughter with her who kept telling the nurse, "Thank you for making sure my mommy is going to be OK." and "Are we all done now?"  But since my BP was only slightly up I'm just supposed to monitor it like I have been and call in if it doesn't come down.

Twelve days to go!!!

OK, I get it now

I can't roll over in bed without holding my breath and grimacing in pain.  My back hurts - upper and lower.  My feet are puffy and sore.  My hands are intermittently numb and pained.  I get exhausted quickly and have to sit more often than not.

And yet, I still feel good enough to get up and out each day to do some little thing.  I'm unhappy, though, that just as I've decided I need to rest and hang out  more in the house (where there are plenty of tasks to keep me busy anyway), it's getting hot again, meaning the apartment will not be comfy. :(

Other observances as I've reached the 34 week mark: the babies are restless.  They move from side to side as they feel like it.  They swim and kick and push against my sides.  This morning, Joe laid his head on my belly and listened/felt them moving around - he was pretty shocked.  But it happens to me all the time...I'll just be sitting, thinking about something, and boom a baby moves.  The nice part is that it doesn't hurt.  I've heard from a number of friends about babies kicking them in the lungs and keeping mom up all night.  These guys are definitely active, and it hurts when they choose a spot that sits on my sciatic nerve or put too much pressure on my groin, but most of the time I just feel big and puffy.

For two more weeks - then I'll be exhausted and overwhelmed!

34 Weeks!