17 Weeks Today, YAY!!!

Sorry about the lousy photos from my phone, but it's easier to take a photo of myself with than my big camera :)

17 Weeks

I wish I would have taken frontal shots before,
my belly is expanding sideways too :)

I am up a total of 11 pounds, that's another 4 pounds in the past 2 1/2 weeks :) My nausea has let up some, but I also have a prescription for it, so that I'm sure is helping a lot. Heartburn is another story, it is the most horrible thing, the doctor switched me from zantac to prilosec, and I don't want to jinx it, but I haven't had any heartburn for the past day or so :) I still have all the other not so nice to talk about symptoms, but I'm most happy to not have heartburn right now!! My energy level is getting a little better, I don't crash at noon anymore, now I can go until about 3 or so. It's getting hard to bend over now & I have to get Donna to help me with my shoes & socks, lol
I have a doctors appt & ultrasound on Wednesday & will post again then.

The Names We Are Thinking Of...

Ok, So these are the names we are in agreement on at the moment. I really really really LOVE these names, so I really hope Donna doesn't change her mind :)

Garren Whittenburg Tilyou
Kellen Whittenburg Tilyou
Caden Whittenburg Tilyou

The Name Game

I was going to wait until next week for this, but it seems everyone is ready to pick or suggest some names...
We have a few names in mind, but would like to see what you all come up with.
We like original or uncommon names and their middle & last names will be Whittenburg Tilyou.
Can't wait to hear what you all come up with!!

Registered...

For those of you who have asked & those who might be interested...

We are finally all registered. It took a little research and hair pulling to figure everything out, especially triplet stuff, but with the help of my sister and several trips to several stores... we did it! :)

We are registered @ BabySuperMall.com (bedding & nursery decor), Babies R Us, & Target

Oh yeah, we didn't register for clothes, shoes or blankets. It seemed that the inventory was changing over with the new season, so we're leaving those things up to you and your good taste :)

                        

Triplet Strollers

After a lot of research and consideration of triplet strollers, we have finally decided on one, I think.
There are not a lot of triplet strollers out there and further more there aren't many that hold infant car seats.
So we were faced with getting a triplet stroller frame that takes 3 infant car seats & then having to buy another kind of stroller when they outgrow the infant carseats along with 3 more/larger carseats.
Or we could have gone with a single stroller & a duo stroller that hold infant carseats and then hold the kids when they get bigger, but forget either one of us going anywhere with out the other to push the second stroller.
Finally we found a triplet stroller that has toddler seats & will hold infant carseats & boy is it expensive, but we won't have to buy and rebuy strollers as the boys grow, so we should break even in the end.
Who would have thought these decisions would be so hard or triplet items would be so hard to find?!?

It's the Peg Perego Triplette Stroller, shown with the toddler seats that are included. The Peg Perego  infant Carseats are sold separately.

It has a steering wheel!!

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***UPDATED*** April 10th, 2014

I get a lot of emails regarding this stroller &/or this post, so I've decided to add an update.

The stroller above, the Peg Perego Triplette is the stroller we got & used & LOVED!!! It was especially great while the boys were still in infant car seats because we were able to transfer the whole seat from the van to the stroller without unstrapping/buckling & re-buckling each of the boys. It was also super quick & easy for me to do when I was out by myself with the boys.

Of course since having the boys & becoming apart of the online network of triplet families, I have seen all kinds of options for triplet strollers. I still like what we had the best because of its ease of use while the boys were infants but I will admit once the boys outgrew the infant seats & had some weight to them the Peg Perego stroller became hard to get around in, especially when the boys started moving around a lot, try turning left with three 20+ lbs kids bouncing to the right, lol... 

By this point we had the Choo Choo wagon & just started using it everywhere we went. It made getting out by myself possible but probably wasn't the easiest mode of getting in & out of places with 3 toddlers but we weren't up for spending another grand on another stroller. Hindsight... We probably should have. Our boys are big & became very heavy/difficult to pull very quickly. 

Radio Flyer came out with a 3 seat wagon just before our boys turned 2 & since the Choo Choo wagon was becoming so difficult to pull we decided to give it a try. It has a huge storage bag on the back which is a HUGE bonus for those of us hauling supplies for 3 kids & you can get it with a canopy which makes those harassing triplet questions diminish significantly! :)

This wagon is a lot easier to pull than the Choo Choo Wagon with it swiveling wheels but comes with the risk of fighting kids since they are all in one wagon together & the bigger they get the more they touch. And again the bigger the boys get the tougher it is to pull. We pretty much only use the wagon for the zoo & trips to the beach.

Other stroller options are:

The Foundations Triplet Stroller: this I hear is similar to the stroller we had but it doesn't hold infant seats, the wheels don't turn nor does it have a stealing wheel so harder to maneuver but it is one of the least expensive options out there.

The Runabout: this one holds infant seats & then converts to toddler seats. From what I understand it doesn't fold up so a trailer or hitch is needed to transport it unless you find a vehicle large enough to fit it in.

The Valco with Joey Seat: this is what I wish we had now! It doesn't hold infant Carseats but the two side by side seats recline, the Joey seat doesn't so no infants or napping happening there but I think this would be a great options once the babies are over a year old :)

The ABC Adventure Buggy: I think this would be a great option too, my only concern would be hoisting one of my nealy 40lbs boys up into that top seat, probably not happening for my 5'2 self, lol this would probably be a better option than the Joey seat though for infants since it also doesn't hold infant seats.

Triplet Jogging strollers: there are many many brands of jogging strollers out there, I'd say ask around to anyone with any kind of jogger for an opinion of brand. I've heard some are heavier than others, some have stationary wheels opposed to wheels that swivel, some fold up smaller than others & so on...

There are other triplet stroller options out there that I haven't listed I'm sure but these are the ones that I've run across & received opinions on from triplet moms in my network. I haven't owned or used any of these exept the Peg Perego & the wagons (which are also great money saving options.) 

Feel free to comment or email if you have questions! :)

I will attach links when I get a chance to get on a real computer & not just the blogger app on my iPad...

Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy!

Well it looks like Haddie will remain the only princess in this household, well and Donna too :)

That's right we are having 3 BOYS!!!
Happy Birthday Donna!

We had an ultrasound on monday & the sonographer predicted 3 boys, we had another appointment today and this sonographer confirmed it, 3 boys and all their parts :) They all are doing great, Baby A is a mover and a shaker, he couldn't stay still the entire time and was very shy about showing us his boy parts. Baby B and Baby C were moving a little but not near as much as Baby A, and they were not shy at all about showing us they were boys. All they babies measure good and weigh 4 ounces. We got a ton of pictures today, the sonograpger took pictures of all of there arms, legs, feet, heads, and bellys. Too many to post them all, but I'll put up our favorites :)

I am doing good as well. My blood pressure was up a little, not a lot, but they will keep an eye on it. I gained another 3 pounds, woo hoo! That was starting to worry me a little bit, my belly is getting bigger and bigger, but I wasn't really gaining very much. God knows I am hungry constantly, I even get up in the middle of the night to eat. I am still very nauseous, but finally got a prescription for that today. So maybe food will start sounding good again & not just bagels, english muffins, & pasta. The doctor also said this medication should help out with my heartburn too, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

14 weeks 4 days preggo

Gender Predictions...

We would like to know what you think the sexes of the babies are...

New Years Vacation Home

Our vacation started out great... Donna got off work early (9am) on friday, New Years Eve & we made a mad dash for Florida. My sister, brother in law & nephew were waiting for us at my dads. We were so excited to go to our old neighbors/friends that were having a New Years Eve party... to tell everyone our great news. Unfortunately when we got there we found out that everyone already knew... one of our friends (Karin) couldn't keep it to herself so the whole neighborhood knew. Oh except one guy we didn't know, but met that night, at least he was shocked to find out we were having triplets :) We didn't stay for the party, we were exhausted from the drive & our family was waiting for us back at my dads house. We did manage to stay up to ring in the new year, but we all crashed after that :)

Saturday, I dragged the whole family to Babies R Us. My sister (who has an almost 6 month old) has been telling me things I need, things I don't, things to get a whole bunch of... so I decided she should help me start getting registered. We don't know the sexes yet, but registered for items that we knew we wanted gender neutral or were not gender specific anyways (pack & plays, high chairs, DIAPERS, breast pump) We got a good start, but the babies were hungry so we had to stop and go eat :) We spent the rest of the day buying last minute Christmas gifts. When we got to my dads we all figured out that we had gotten my dad and Marie stuff that they already got, so we had to do some quick exchanging.

Sunday we celebrated Christmas with my dad & Marie, Donna's parents, Cheryl & of course my sister & family. We had such a good time and it was just like Christmas day, minus the turkey, they had pork roast instead (meat is not my friend these days, so I didn't have any) I had mashed potatoes, veggies and my all time favorite from Marie... cherry jello with real cherries in it. I tease her all the time for serving jello with meals, but I miss it when she doesn't have it :) We all exchanged gifts, the best was the gag gift I made for my father in law. He's always got something smart to say... we were at lunch one day and Tina, Donna's mom asked how my Just Hookin' store was doing, so I was telling her about some of the orders I had. Donna's dad asks Donna if I had any requests for "peter warmers" I didn't hear about it until we got home, when Donna told me. So I decided to make him one for Christmas, LMAO!!! I even put a pom pom on the tip :) Everyone loved it & then we gave him his real gift. I think everyone got what they wanted... I got WARM maternity shirts & money to get more, which I desperately needed. I have been wearing my jeans with rubber bands holding them up and my regular shirts aren't covering my belly anymore :) The babies made out too with a piggy bank already full of money :)
Donna left with her parents after the festivities & Autumn & her family left shortly after them. I spent the rest of the afternoon napping and hanging out with my dad & Marie.

Monday, my dad & Marie took me shopping. We went to get more MATERNITY clothes & then went to lunch before Marie had to go to work. Boy are maternity pants comfy!! So nice not to have to rubber band my jeans or have the zipper digging into my abdomen.

Tuesday... well Tuesday I woke up to a scary situation! I woke up bleeding! I had to get Marie up and have her take me to the hospital. Donna was still at her parents an hour and a half from my dads house & I really didn't want to freak her out... I did call & tell her, but told her not to come until we knew what  the problem was. I wasn't in any pain & had no cramping... We got to Winnie Palmer Hospital & they took me right in. I forgot to tell them I was pregnant with triplets at first, but once I did, I got the head doctor... He did an internal & external ultrasound, all the babies are fine, turned out a small part of one of the placentas tore a little (placental abruption). The doctor said it should take care of itself, and even though bleeding of any kind adds risk to the pregnancy, it was unlikely that it would cause anymore problems. The doctor at Winnie Palmer and my doctor here basically said the same things and that it is actually pretty common during this time of pregnancy & that I needed to just rest until my next doctors appt. The bleeding has since stopped & I go to see my doctor Thursday as long as I have no problems before then.
Unfortunately this incident stopped us from seeing everyone we had planned to see... Amanda, Pat, Aunt Buffy & family, Becky, Greta, Beth, my mom, etc... & we ended up coming home early, just in case there were any further problems... I preferred to be with my own doctors.

So Wednesday Donna took me out to her parents with her and I rested Wednesday & Thursday while she finished helping her parents with some things. Thursday night we went back to my dads. We got to see my step sister & brother in law & their 2 boys, I can't believe how fast the kids are growing?!?!

Friday we came home. I think we were both pretty tired, I was absolutely exhausted!! I will continue to rest this weekend & call my doctor to see if I can get in a little earlier this week. I know the babies are good because they are still making me nauseous & giving me heartburn.

It was great to see everyone we did see & to be able to spend some time with our families. Overall a good vacation & hopefully we will be able to come back down in a month for a baby shower, but that will depend on what the doctor says, they weren't too excited about me traveling this time...

I will write again & post more photos after my doctors appt this week.

P.S. don't forget to click "follow" so you get email updates when I post something new :)

Warren, Donna's dad with his "Peter Warmer"

First Trimester Photos & Ultrasounds

Total weight gained in first trimester is 4 pounds. It fluctuated up and down but in the end 4 lbs was the total. Enjoy the photos & ultrasounds...

7 weeks

8 weeks

9 weeks

10 weeks

11 weeks

12 weeks

5 day old embryos that became our 3 babies

6 weeks 5 days... when we thought we were only having twins :)

Baby A, 8 weeks

Baby B, 8 weeks

SURPRISE!!! Baby C, 8 weeks

3D Ultrasound of all 3, 9 weeks 3 days

My favorite this far, All 3, 11 weeks 3 days

Baby A's back, 12 weeks 3 days

Baby A profile, 12 weeks 3 days

Baby B, 12 weeks 3 days

Baby C's face, 12 weeks 3 days