28 Weeks

As of this morning, we have made it to 28 weeks!! We are very excited about our progress to date. I had an appointment with Dr. Dixon (OBGYN) yesterday and his assessment was that we are doing "amazingly well." My blood levels are fine, my glucose test results are fine, my blood pressure is fine, I have no signs of pre-term labor and in 28 weeks I have only gained 20 lbs. It does not appear that I will be placed on bed rest any time soon. The weight gain is very low for a triplet pregnancy however as you will see later in this post, the boys do not appear to be impacted. As my visit yesterday, Dr. Dixon told me that he was so surprised we have made it all the way to 28 weeks without one hospital visit (knock on wood). Because things are going so well, he decided to go ahead and schedule the delivery, via c-section, for the boys. The target date is 37 weeks and their birthday is currently set for Tuesday, April 22nd at 7:30am!! I am soooo excited to finally have an actual target. 37 weeks is considered full term. So, this will be their birthday unless they decide otherwise between now and then. 9 weeks and counting.....

On February 8th, we also had a visit with the Maternal-Fetal Specialists to check on the babies' growth. As I have been having trouble eating, I was a little worried about how they were growing and was anxious to have this visit. At this point, we were at 26 weeks and the average size of singletons at this point is 1lb and 12 oz. As such, I was expecting the boys were going to weigh in at about 1lb and 6oz. However, the Darnell boys are ready to exceed all expectations! The three of the boys weighed in at 2lbs-8oz (Baby A), 2lbs-5oz (Baby B) and 2lbs-4oz (Baby C). The doctors and I were shocked! Not only are these boys growing well for triplets, they are currently between the 60th and 80th percentile for growth for singletons. Watch out world, here come the Darnell boys!!

The ultrasound experience is not as fun as it use to be. With the weight of these boys increasing every day, it is getting harder and harder to lie on my back for the ultrasound without getting nauseas. So, I spend the hour flipping from side to side trying to get comfortable while still giving the nurse the opportunity to view the babies. As things are getting more crowded in the inn, pictures are not as good as they were during earlier ultrasounds. We were unable to get a photo of Baby A but here are the photos we were able to get.

Baby B

Baby C

With the boys doing well and my physical health also well, let's touch on my mental health at this point. I am excited about these wonderful additions to our family. However, I am very tired at this point. I am still having trouble sleeping and eating is a real challenge. I have not had a good night sleep since around Thanksgiving and my stomach is clearly loosing the real estate battle in my body and the second I eat anything, I am uncomfortably full. At this point, I have to force myself to eat just to get the nutrients in my body. This is not a concern to the professionals as the boys appear to be getting everything they need to be healthy. I guess there is a reason I have been carrying these "reserves" for so many years. Overall, I am becoming more and more uncomfortable every day. When I went to my appointment yesterday, Dr. Dixon joked about my uterus size being approximately 45 weeks pregnant and I only have to get to 60 week before we are ready. However, I state again.... 9 weeks and counting!

I guess this brings everyone up to speed on the status of Team Darnell! I hope everyone is doing well.

Take care,

Kellie