THE BIG DAY!

So the babies are 28 days old now, and I am just getting the chance to sit and write about the day of their birth... Let me just start out by saying this is not going to be easy for me.

I woke up at about 4 AM the morning of their birth ready to go, but my section wasn't scheduled until 9:00.. So, I put my make-up on, painted my nails, and finished packing the last few things as I was leaving room 220 to never return (I was very excited about that!)  My nurses started coming in around 6:30 to start getting me ready for surgery - IVs, meds, paperwork, etc etc etc.  Ryan arrived around 7:30 and my family arrived around 8:00.  Just before 9, they wheeled in the stretcher, I climbed on... As they opened up the door, there stood all of the nurses, techs,  and other staff that day that had been taking care of me the past 13+ weeks.  Ryan walked along with us as they wheeled me down the hall and through the doors into surgery.  Ryan sat outside the door of the operating room as they got me on the table, epideral in, and prepped.. There were over two dozen people in the operating room I was in.  There was also a second operating room with a team for Baby A.  There was not enough room in the operating room for all three babies and me. 
I was very cold, nervous, and scared during this time.  The epideral is really nothing.. the only thing that makes it bad for me is that they have to push along your spine to find the perfect spot.. so they had to push where my disc is herniated...
As soon as they laid me down and the curtain was up, they started cutting as Ryan was walking in to sit down.  I asked the anesthesiologist to tell me what they were doing throughout the entire process.  With in a minute or two, they pulled out baby A (aka Chloe). She cried a little and off she went, then baby B (aka Sophie), then baby C (aka Hollis).  They really had to pull to get him out.  There was tons of pressure and I couldn't breathe for a few seconds.  As soon as they pulled him out, I was finally able to take a deep breath.  I hadn't been able to do this in weeks!!  Ryan commented on how well I was able to breathe.  I kept asking Ryan how they looked and if they were okay.  They had to put Hollis on oxygen to help him breathe.  As soon as they got all three babies stable, they took them up to the NICU.  I was able to glance at them as they left the room.  I didn't get to really see them until later that afternoon.  It wasn't anything like you see on tv on all of the Baby Story shows where they lift the baby over the curtain, clean them up, and then you get to touch and hold them... I wanted so much to see them but I couldn't... After they closed me up, they took the cerclage out.  They said it was perfectly intact.  They couldn't believe it.  Those couple little stitches were all that was holding the babies in.  I lost a lot of blood during the surgery, which made recovery very bad! When I got back to recovery they said I would be back there around 2 hours.   They said when I regained feeling and my pain was under control then I'd get to go to my new room on the 3rd floor...  I regained feeling a lot quicker than with my epideral when I had the cerclage.  And with that came horrendous pain!  On top of just the epideral wearing off, they had to come in take the binder off (big elastic belt over my abdomen compressing it so help keep pressure on the incision and compress my uterus to shrink back down to normal) and push on my abdomen to ensure that I wouldn't clot and hemmorage.  They had to do this every 20 minutes or so.  I can't even describe how painful it was... I'm not one to scream in pain or cry, but everytime the recovery nurse un-velcro-ed the binder and pushed on my abdomen I screamed very loudly (I wouldn't be surprised if you could hear me out in the waiting room...) and tears would just start flowing.  Ryan was with me in recovery too and was absolutely amazing in taking care of me and trying to keep me calm.  One of the NICU nurses came down and brought us pictures of the babies.  This was the first time I got to really look at them.  The NICU nurse asked Ryan if he wanted to go up and see them.  I told him I would be okay and to go see them and make sure they were okay.  He took a bunch of pictures and videos and was back down in 15 minutes or so in time to be with me when the nurse had to push on my abdomen again.  I had to get an extra dose of pain medicine on top of what they gave me at the end of the section that was supposed to last 24 hours HA!  I finally was able to leave recovery after 3 hours.  Once I got settled in my room, I decided that I thought I was ready and okay enough to go to the NICU to see the babies.  Ryan wheeled me down to the NICU and I was only able to see Sophie and Hollis before I got extremely nauseas and had to go back to the room.  My family came up and Ryan took each of them into see the babies one at a time. 
I finally was able to see Chloe at around midnight when I felt well enough to go back down to the NICU.  During this time we were able to hold her.  She was the only baby we were allowed to hold that day. 
The day they were born was one of the hardest days of my life.  I was so happy to know that they were out, alive, and healthy, but giving birth to 3 beautiful babies and not being able to see them for hours.. having to ask permission to even touch them and barely being able to touch them at that was the hardest and most difficult thing I have ever gone through in my life. 

Robert Hollis (Baby C)

Sophie Marie (Baby B)

Chloe Jean (Baby A)

Me holding Chloe for the first time

Ryan holding Chloe for the first time

Lindz Plans, Ryan Prepares

So today marks the 30th week of our triplet pregnancy journey and i believe this may have just become the most difficult time in our marriage and lives in general.

I grew up in a home where my family did their best (a great job) of taking care of us,..but i also grew up in a home that i can never remember anything going perfectly according to plan.  I crashed our family suburban into the inner garage wall, many years later that suburban (after an oil change) had the engine lock up.  My dad went through some 29 knee surgeries, and the last one was a double knee replacement where he ended up with a really bad staph infection.  While recovering from one of those knee surgeries, i accidentally set the yard on fire, and my dad had to come stumbling down the stairs to help me put it out.  My little sister was an unplanned pregancy 9 years after i was born, which definitely changed the family dynamics.  I went through 5 concussions over the years, i basically had each of the 5 levels of concussions.  This just barely touches the surface of all of the craziness that my life has been filled with while growing up.  I can say without a doubt that it has all helped me become a stronger person.

If you read the blog just before this one, you will know how much of a planner lindz is.  Planning is great, but if you dont plan for the bad stuff, then you arent truly planning.  I will give lindz the benefit of doubt that the reason she never plans for the bad stuff is because she never had to deal with too much of it.  Whether her parents sheltered her from it, or maybe she was just the lucky family that crazy things never happened to.  This is why Lindz and i are such a great team.  She plans, i prepare.

The phrase that i began using a while ago is "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best."  This is how my mind deals with pretty much everything.  This is how i remain emotionally detached from many situations.  Not saying it is a good thing, but it is how i cope.  Recently our female dog had puppies, and there were many complications,  4 puppies and only one of them made it.  I love our dogs, but i also know that they are just dogs, and if it became a situation where i had to choose between my wife and kids or the dogs,... i will choose my family first.

This pregnancy has raised all kids of fears and issues in my head.  Just over a year ago i watched our dog go through a similar situation, and knowing what kinds of complications are out there for the mother of multiples, i began preparing my mind.  If you didnt know, during a pregnancy, the doctor's 1st and most important goal is to keep the mother alive.  The babies come second.  I know this may sound harsh right now, but Lindz is the love of my life and if it became a choice between babies that i dont know yet or my wife,.... i would choose my wife every time.  I have also prepared my mind for the fact that all three of our precious bundles of joy may not make it.  It is going to hurt, but i know that i can get through it.  I dont want to loose any of our babies or my wife, but i have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Our financial situation.  Just before the pregnancy began, i moved to a more stable company to help prepare a steady environment financially to afford our lives and children.  Lindz was working for Madonna Learning Center (A private school for kids with special needs), i was working for Memphis Pool Supply during the day and Coaching competitive Trampoline and Tumbling at night at River City Gymnastics.  Three jobs is what it was taking us to get by comfortably.  Lindz' dream job was with Madonna, mine is coaching, the pool work just happens to be something that im really good at and it brings in a large sum of money.

I do want to thank one of my best friends Adam.  Back in 2004 Adam took over feild managing his mother-in-law's pool company, well it could have been before 2004, but in 2004 he knew my work schedule with the gym and offered me hours to work during the day to earn extra income.  It was my play money back then, i was not married and had things i wanted to do back then for fun.  Both Adam and i are very mechanically inclined, and were both new to the pool industry, and we learned many things side by side.  We put our first liner in together, and it goes on and on.  I want to thank him for the opportunity he provided me.
In 2010, although his company had grown significantly, i felt the need to move to a larger "more stable" company.

 I did move, but then management changed twice since i was brought into the new company and things got difficult.  Lindz' pregnancy got complicated when we found out that she was having triplets, and we began to plan which didnt work out, and Lindz was put on bed rest a month before she planned which changed our income significantly 3months sooner than we had planned. Then on July 5th after i was coaching at Camp Woodward for a week, i was told by the pool company management that "It's not working out" and they were letting me go.  But it would be ok because they lined up another job for me with another pool company.  After a week of thinking and praying, i felt like God was telling me that it was time to work for myself and begin my own company to help provide for my family.

I sent out a message to family and friends asking for "prayers and customers" to help me get started.  Once again i was preparing and laying the groundwork to help my family survive.  Now i have been hit with a Non-Compete agreement that is stopping me from working in an industry that has proven since 2004 to be my main source of income.  I prepare for a lot but i definitely didnt see this one coming.  I dont want to take their customers, they offer a great product, i just wasnt fitting in with what they were doing at the time.  All i want to do is to provide for my family.  My unborn triplets and my wife.

So now i am between a rock and a hard place, i still coach, but there isnt enough there for me to be able to provide for my family.  Lindz doesnt have a job, and i lost my main source of income, so what now.  Our savings is quickly drying up, and im not sure what we are going to do next.  I really am worried this time,  i have prepared for a lot of things, but this is like the perfect storm of craziness that could have ever happened to our family. 

So do we move? And find a larger gymnastics facility for me to work at, and then i can start my own pool company on the side there?  But summer is almost over, so what are we going to do over this first winter?  Can you imagine moving just a few weeks or month after having triplets?  Can we even sell our house?

If you can imagine, this is the most trying time for my wife and my relationship.  Im trying to do everything i can to figure out a job situation, but flipping burgers still wont pay the bills.  Im not above picking up trash, i just need to find something that can pay the bills.  I am doing everything i can to be a steady rock for my wife, but im beginning to fall apart.  She has lost everything and every ounce of control or ability to help by being on hospital bed rest.  It is like a jail cell.  She just wants to come home.  And i want her here, but right now it is most important that she keep cooking our babies.

I am praying, and i believe that God has something great in store for us, i just dont see it yet.  And this is like walking through the fire and trusting him completely.  How can i give lindz confidence that things are going to be ok?  Cause i really need them to be.  This is something that neither Lindz' plans nor my Preparing could have seen or expected.

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Mentsch tracht, Gott lacht - Translation: Man plans, God laughs.

Man plans, God laughs.. Yiddish proverb that I happened upon today, and it is so true as to our life the past year.  I have always had my life planned out, and it actually has gone as planned in the big scheme of things.  Finish high school, go to college for 4 years, get my dream job, marry the man of my dreams, and buy a house together.  This all happened just as planned.  I graduated from high school May 2004, college May 2008, signed my contract for my dream job June 2008, married the man of my dreams June 28, 2008, and bought our home October 2008. 
One of my friends told me around the time that Ryan and I started trying to get pregnant, that she learned the lesson that you can't plan it.  She was right, but I sure did try to plan everything anyways... I guess God was in need of lots of laughs.  It took exactly 1 year to get pregnant.  I sure didn't plan for it to take that long to get pregnant.  I thought how hard could it be... Then once we did get pregnant, I had it all planned out as soon as we we got a positive at home pregnancy test... We would have a fabulous easy pregnancy, our sweet baby at the end of September, and I would be able to return to work in January.  Then we went to our first prenatal doctor appointment.  God needed another laugh that day.  He surprised us with TRIPLETS! There went my plan out the window.  There wouldn't be an easy pregnancy and there wouldn't be a delivery at the end of September... There would be a delivery much sooner than that... So me being me, I started on another plan.  Knowing that some women with multiples have more severe pregnancy symptoms, I still thought I would be able to handle it no problem! I wasn't going to have morning sickness that bad, etc etc... HAHA I can just hear Him laughing.  I had horrible morning sickness. I was throwing up every morning, barely making it to work in one piece.  Some days were worse than others.  Ryan took great care of me though.   He would pick me up off the bathroom floor after I threw up everything in me and carried me back to bed where I would stay for the rest of the day - not being able to eat and running back and forth to the bathroom.  Knowing I would most likely be on bed rest at home during the pregnancy and worst case scenario I would be on bed rest in the hospital, I started my plan... I would finish out the school year.  Stop working the first week in June.  Then go on bed rest at home for the rest of the summer and we would have our scheduled C-section in mid August.  Well God needed another laugh again.  April 20th I went to see my maternal fetal specialist, where they found that my cervix was shortening and funneling (not good).  He told me that afternoon that I would not be going back to work.  I was done.  I was to go home and be a "woman of leisure."  I was to get up in the morning, take a shower, and then lay on the couch and just.. well be a "woman of leisure."  What is that!?  That's not me I don't sit around and do nothing, but I knew I had to and that's what I did.  This wasn't part of my plan, but at least I was home and again I started planning.  I would stay at home on moderate bed rest and everything was going to be okay... God really needed some good laughs I guess... Not 2 weeks later, I was directly admitted into the hospital.  I had surgery 4 days later to have my cervix sewn together to keep the babies in, and I was told I would not leave the hospital pregnant.  Now completely devastated, I tried to make the best of it...
Now let's back it up again to a year ago, Ryan and I decided that it was in our best interest as a family for him to make the move to a bigger company where he had the potential to grow and move up in the company.  So at the end of August last year, that is what we did.  Ryan moved to a bigger company.  We thought this was great.  He had so much potential to grow and support our family that we were trying to start.  He worked for this company for 10 months.  Well God needed a big laugh this time, I guess.  July 5th he went into work and was told that he was being let go - that his position was being eliminated. 
Now I sit here... trying not to completely lose it because it's not good for me and the babies, but it sure is hard not to when everything I plan seems to fall apart.  Maybe it's time for me to learn this lesson that God has been trying to teach me.  STOP PLANNING!  Have FAITH and FOLLOW... Now I sit here and pray that everything will work out.  It has to right?  God wouldn't give us something we couldn't handle... RIGHT?  We can handle this... I PRAY!

The Rule of Three

So if you haven't figured it out, in Ryan and I's lives everything seems to be happening in 3's - especially this year! We just celebrated 3 fabulous years of being married yesterday, we are pregnant with triplets, we have 3 precious dogs, I finished my 3rd year of teaching at my dream job, Ryan is coaching for the 3rd summer at Camp Woodward this week, Ryan is turning 30 next month, and we will have owned our home 3 years this October! 

I am now 27 weeks and 2 days pregnant!  All has been going very well, and our next milestone is fast approaching!  Dr. BK has been setting milestones for me to achieve rather than one ultimate date.  The first milestone that he set was 24 weeks, and come to find out when he did my cervical cerclage at 20 weeks he wasn't to sure that I would make it 4 more weeks.. BUT I did!  I have been proving everyone wrong and continuing along - not quite as I had originally planned when we found out we were going to have triplets - but continuing along.  The next milestone he set for me was 28 weeks, and I can't wait to meet it! I have asked Ryan if we can have a little party here to celebrate :)  If I make it to the ultimate goal, I have another 6-7 weeks in here, and I am beginning to wonder if I am mentally strong enough to do it.  Some days I am, but others not so much. 
I asked Dr. BK if after 28 weeks I would be able to have some wheel chair privleges, but he told me no "if it ain't broke don't fix it!"  He loves all of the progress I have made with my extremely limited activity laying in bed and doesn't want to change anything!  I have only been allowed to go outside one time over the past 7 and a half weeks (55 days) that I have been here to see my dogs for 5 minutes.  Dr. McDonald talked him into that for me.  Ryan came up 2 Sundays ago in the morning, wheeled me downstairs, brought each dog out of the truck one at a time so I could love on them.  I was very happy that I got to see them, but it was very hard too.  I begged Ryan to put me in the truck and take me home. 
I have had more harder days recently, and I think it's mainly because I am sitting here alone almost all day everyday.  My family and Ryan come almost every night.  I had lots of visitors the first few weeks I was here, but not anymore.  Every once in a while a friend will come visit though and I am so thankful for that because it really keeps me from thinking about being here alone. 

Last Monday, I had to do the 1 hour blood glucose screening, and I failed it.  I was devastated, but was told by my doctors and nurses not to get worked up yet - harder said than done.  I had the 3 hour test the following day.  I wasn't allowed to eat after midnight (no big deal I don't eat after midnight ever anyways), then they drew blood at 5:30 AM.  I then had to drink 10 oz of glucola (which tastes like orange flat soda) in less than 5 minutes.  They then drew blood again at 6:30, 7:30, and 8:30.  I passed the fasting blood work, and then had to pass 2 out of 3 after I drank the glucola.  I thankfully did.  I passed the first, failed the second, and passed the third.  THANK GOD! 

The babies are all growing and are very active.  They measured the babies during ultrasound on Monday, and Chloe weights 2 lbs 5 oz (probably a little more but she is so curled up it's hard to get accurate measurements), Sophie is 2 lbs 11 oz, and Hollis is 2 lbs 7 oz!  That's over 8 and a half pounds of babies!  I am so excited with the amount of weight they have gained!  I have gained as well which is good.  All of my weight gain has been in my big belly that is now measuring over 40 weeks pregnant if I was having one baby.  This is really starting to take a toll on my body.  I can't get comfortable in any position, and am now waking up A LOT through out the night in extreme pain in my hips and back.  For those of you who don't know I have a herniated disc (L5 - which is the lowest disc in your back).  Last night one of the girls kept pushing on my sciatic nerve.  For those of you who haven't experienced sciatic nerve pain be thankful!  It nearly knocks the breath out of you the pain is so bad.  My doctors ask every day how I am doing if I am having pain anywhere, etc. etc. When I do tell them, that my back and hips are hurting and all of my joints ache they always tell me well that's part of pregnancy and it's just going to get worse.  One day, one of them jokingly said they needed to get the violins in here.  I know that all of my pains and aches are because of me being pregnant, but they ask so I answer...
I really would like to make it at least another 3 weeks so the babies will all be well over 3 lbs if not almost 4 lbs.  That would be great.  It would be great if I could make it to 34 or 35 weeks, but with how my body is reacting to the amount of weight and pressure of triplets I am beginning to wonder if my body will be able to handle it that long...

I haven't blogged in so long, and this post has been very long so I think that's all for now... Thanks for all of your prayers and support!  We greatly appreciate it! 

Lindsey

Day 24

Today has been a hard day.. I've been very sad today and am really getting cabin fever I guess... I'm really tired of hearing people complain about how hot it is outside or having to run errands or having to clean the house or having to go to work, etc etc etc I don't want to hear it because I would love to be able to do any of those things!  I want so much to be able to go outside for just 5 minutes so Ryan can bring atleast my Madi to come see me...
I asked one of my doctors today if or when I would be able to go outside for a little bit and he basically said never... He said I can't leave this floor.  I said okay, he finished up and left.. as soon as the door closed I had a complete breakdown... Thank God Ryan was here. 
So here I shall remain until our beautiful babies are born.  Tomorrow will be 23 weeks so we are looking at atleast 7 more weeks probably more like 10 more weeks.. I have already been here over 3 weeks. 

Maybe tomorrow will be a better, happier day...
Good night

Things I miss

I love Spring and Summer and hate that I am stuck indoors all day everyday, but it's for a very good reason!  Chloe, Sophie, and Hollis are growing as am I!  My belly just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Thankfully I'm not gaining weight anywhere else AND I don't have a single stretch mark! 

So recently I have been missing a lot of things and they are such simple little things that I took for granted before I was put here... so if you read this don't take the little moments and mundane tasks for granted.. here's what I miss.. there's really no order..
- cuddling with my husband every night
- relaxing in the bath tub (there's only a stand up shower here)
- playing with the puppies and watching them play
- waking up to Zoe's wet nose against my nose then cuddling with her
- Madison cuddling up next to my feet
- kisses from Madi, Bo, and Zoe
- shopping at Target (or anywhere for that matter) - I have had dreams of shopping at Target though...
- teaching my class at MLC
- all of the hugs I received from my kids everyday while working at MLC
- driving
- walking
- being able to do things myself and not needing so much help
- cooking dinner
- having the variety of food at hand to eat whatever I wanted whenever
- grilling
- sitting on the front porch in my rocking chair
- going out to eat
- going to the movies
- getting dressed up
- having more than like 4 outfits that fit
- going to my church
- setting up our nursery
- sewing
- designing new appliques
- going to get manicures and pedicures.. I'm in desperate need of a good pedicure
- walking to the mailbox
- doing my own laundry
- feeding the dogs
- being able to do things for my husband
- gardening.. planting all of my summer flowers
- eating breakfast in bed with Ryan on Saturdays and Sundays
- watching all of our favorite shows together
- being OUTSIDE
- baking

I could go on and on... but really if you are reading this don't complain about the little things you have to do everyday because you never know one day you may not be allowed to do them..

I will be 23 weeks on Monday! One more week til we meet our first goal.. 24 weeks! At 24 weeks I will get steroid shots to boost the babies lung growth.  Then our next goal will be 28 weeks. 

I found some crochet patterns to make preemie hats so I have been starting to figure those out... I'm hoping to start smocking soon! I want to make their baptismal gowns as well as other outfits but I definitely want to make their baptismal gowns!  I also want to start making bows for the girls because of course they will need a bow to match every outfit! :)

I have been trying to figure out what all we still need and it's so hard to make a list when I am not sitting at home in front of the stuff that we already have... I am also trying to figure out how much of everything we will need... it's so hard to know what we will need 3 of or not.. I know for sure that we need 2 more cribs and mattresses but past that I get very overwhelmed... I wish I could go to the store myself and shop for things we need, but for now I'm just ordering things online and surprising Ryan with boxes at the door :) haha

Well it's almost time for night time meds and monitoring... so good night!

Lindsey

Day 14

Today is my 14th day in the hospital!  It's going by pretty fast.  I am used to the hospital routine, but then again I'm not.. I hate that "dietary" comes in every morning at 7 AM and is so happy and cheery! I am NOT a morning person, and I do appreciate that you are bringing me my cereal and milk BUT do you have to be so happy and cheery!?? haha
Yesterday morning was quite entertaining for me!  This is a teaching hospital, and on some days there are nursing students here, and yesterday there were 4.. I had one that had to do her "assessment" on me.  She had no clue how to use the monitor to get my blood pressure... So, ME the special ed teacher taught her how to do that! haha Then she couldn't figure out how to get the thermometer off the wall, so.. I showed her how to do that.. Then she had a bunch of questions to ask etc.. She seemed kind of shocked when I answered the question when did you start taking prenatal vitamins? I answered.. with 5 months prior to being pregnant!  This was after I told her I was on Clomid.  We were trying to get pregnant, and you are supposed to take prenatal vitamins when you are trying! DUH! The earlier you take them the better... Anyways we got through her million questions, she left for a little bit.  They all went and watched a C-section, and then my real nurse came in with the 4 students and she taught them how to find fetal heart rates on mommies of multiples.  She explained that you can't find one baby at a time... you have to find all 3 at the same time to ensure that you aren't getting the same baby twice.  So, 30 minutes later they were able to all coordinate themselves into getting my 3 little ones' heart beats at the same time... It probably didn't help that I had a chicken biscuit and sweet tea for breakfast hahaha I was laughing inside the whole time!  The students left and my nurse was like thank you so much for putting up with that I wanted to just take it out of their hands and do it myself like we do every other day! She and I usually tag team it and find all 3 babies pretty quick.. I told her I didn't mind the students as long as they don't come anywhere near me with needles.  I will only allow nurses that are extremely qualified and great with shots, IVs etc near me!  haha

I had a complete breakdown today at lunch over the horrible cafeteria food.. I have decided that past my cereal and milk in the morning - I will no longer order anything from any one of their menus here!!!  I am getting a microwave for my room.. I have no clue if that's allowed, and will battle that out if they tell me I can't have it.  It's either they allow it and I am able to eat healthy and I am able to continue to gain weight for my babies OR they take the microwave from me and continue to bring cafeteria crap and I don't eat it and lose weight.. How is that healthy for my babies!?  Ryan nor my family can bring me lunch and dinner every day and they shouldn't have to... and I don't want take out or fast food twice a day every day.  AND I don't eat just 3 meals a day anymore.. I eat approximately 6 small meals or more every day!! I am eating something every 2-3 hours unless I am sleeping :)
Anyways, I probably sound like a spoiled brat, but I am pregnant with triplets and am picky...

I have started crocheting again and am enjoying that, and I have caught up on all of my favorite tv shows.  Thank God they have full episodes on the computer now!
That's all for tonight!
Good night!!

It's been a while...

So, It's been a while since I have been able to write a new blog, and a lot has happened!! So this is going to be very long!!
I was put on moderate bed rest at home on April 21st because the length of my cervix was shortening and beginning to funnel.  I remained at home on moderate bed rest for 2 weeks before my cervix shortened more.  My maternal fetal specialist put me on hospital bed rest on May 6th.  I was devastated!  I had not been expecting to be put on hospital bed rest this soon, and Ryan was going to be leaving for Knoxville for State Tumbling Meet that night and my dad and sister were in New Hampshire. I had prepared myself to go on hospital bed rest at the beginning of June.  Needless to say, I did not handle this well.  I went and had my "last meal" at a restaurant sitting at a real table.  Mom and I went to Chipotle for lunch, then went to Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women where I was admitted.  They put me in a Labor and Delivery Room for the first couple of days as the Antepartum Unit (unit for the long term hospital bed rest mama's to be) was full.  Saturday night (day 2) they moved me to the antepartum unit into a room that I was told they would move me from as soon as they could as it overlooked the lobby so there was no outside window.  It was dark and depressing all day!  I was told Sunday late afternoon that 2 patients in the unit went into labor and there would be a room with a window to the outside opening up and I would be moved the next morning.  Then the night shift started.  My nurse didn't come in until almost 10:00 and she informed that if I didn't move that night then I would probably not be able to get the room.  I asked her if she would help me pack up and move my stuff as it was late at night, Ryan was home and I didn't want him to drive 30 minutes in to help me move for 5 minutes then drive 30 minutes back home - a complete waste of gas - when it is in my opinion the nurses job to help me.  My mom couldn't come either because Clark was in bed, and she couldn't leave him alone.  Anyways, when I asked my nurse if she would help me move she gave me a look like umm no and said if she wasn't busy then she might be able to help me get my stuff together.  She then left the room to go check on another patient and ask housekeeping how much longer it would be before they finished cleaning the room I was to be moved into... She came back to me about 45 minutes later.  In the mean time I waited a little bit to see if she was going to come back and help me.. she never did so I packed up my suitcase with my clothes, and got all of my bags, toiletries, etc together by myself.  She came in a little after 11:00 with a cart and said I will try and get most of your stuff moved over to your new room, but we may have to leave some in here... I gave her a look like WTF! No you won't be leaving half of my stuff in one room and wheeling me into another room with the other half of my stuff! No freaking way! I think she got the point with my look and moved all of my stuff to the other room dumping the bags wherever she pleased then wheeled me into the room and I never saw her again that night!  The next morning I told my new nurse what had happened and she was in complete shock! She asked me what her name was etc.. I told her that she never introduced herself to me and didn't have her hospital name badge on!  I knew I had done to much the night before and was terrified that my cervix was going to be even shorter... I had an ultrasound already scheduled for that day and new that if it was shorter than before that I was going to have to have a cervical cerclage (where my doctor would surgically stitch my cervix together).  I went for the ultrasound and it had shortened to approximately 7 mm!!!!  3 days prior at rest my cervix was 4.5 CM at rest and 1.5 CM under pressure.  Later that day, right before the day shift was over I asked my nurse who my nurse would be that night.  She went and looked and it was the same nurse that I had had the night prior.  I told her I didn't want her anywhere near me.  She said okay no problem and completely understood... I got to speak with the Head Nurse and explained to her what happened.  She reassured me that she would never be my nurse again.  My specialist came in that evening and informed me that I was going to have the cervical cerclage the next day.  They started an IV for fluids and antibiotics and informed me that the operating room was booked for 5:30 the next night and I would not be able to eat after 9:00 AM!!!!!! 
I also received my first 17P shot that I have to get weekly to help prevent preterm labor.  It's a horribly painful shot in your hip that takes between 2 and 4 minutes to administer because it is as thick as motor oil.  I had a complete breakdown that night...
Tuesday at 5:30 in the morning, I woke up with contractions.  My nurse put me on the contraction monitor and I had 5 contractions in 30 minutes!!  They gave me a shot and thankfully stopped the contractions! I made it through Tuesday without a complete breakdown until they took me into the operating room at 5:30 got me up on the table to do the epideral - then I completely lost it.  I got through the epideral, they laid me down on the operating table, and I lost complete feeling from about my hips or so down.  That is the weirdest feeling ever.  They put my legs in stirrups, prepped me for surgery, and did the procedure.  I laid there with tears streaming down my face throughout the entire procedure - not because I was in pain but because I was overcome with the most humiliating feeling ever. It was a fairly quick procedure.  I went to recovery where over an hours time I slowly regained feeling from my waist to my toes.  As soon as I had feeling back, they took me back to my room where my family was waiting.  Dad went out and got Chick-fil-a for me.  Ryan stayed with me, took care of me, and went home after I fell asleep.  He was absolutely amazing to help me get through all of that!  I have the most amazing husband in the world!!
I remained on IV antibiotics twice a day for 7 days to prevent infections.. Today, I received my last dose of IV antibiotics and FINALLY got to get my IV out of my hand!!!
I now only have a couple contractions a day which they say is completely normal since my uterus is already stretched to full term if I was having one baby. 
I am handling hospital bed rest okay... I have my moments where I want to throw the door open and run out the door, but I don't.  I miss my husband very much!!! It is really hard not being able to sleep in the same bed with him.  He has been very busy with work, and he has been very stressed.  He has been doing a lot of cleaning and beginning to get things set up for the babies at home! He has set up the pack'n'play in our bedroom where they will sleep for a while when they first come home.  He has also been getting the rooms upstairs moved around and started to set things up.. He keeps sending me pictures of what he has done and set up.  It's really hard for me to just sit here in this bed when I want to be home helping set the crib up and organizing the baby things.. but I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing something very important here.. I am growing and nourishing 3 babies! 

My church has been very supportive, and my priest, Fr. Kenny, is coming every week to pray with me and bring me Holy Communion.  I am so thankful for that since I am not able to go to mass every Sunday now.  I have had days where visitors are coming and going all day and it really helps pass the time and helps me keep my spirits up, but then again I never get an opportunity to rest which is what I am in here for..  Other days, no one comes all day long...  I wish there was a way to balance it out, but so far not many people have told me when they are coming so there really is no way for me to balance it out. 

Now that I have my IV out of my hand, I am hoping to blog every day so that I will be able to go back and read this or have it for our babies to read when they are older so they know how they came into this world! 

That's all for today...

Lindsey

"Use your words..."

"Use your words and ask for help" I must say that a hundred times every day, and I have come to the realization that I need to listen to my own words....
I am a little over 17 weeks now! We found out 2 weeks ago When we went to see the maternal fetal specialist for the first time that we are having 2 girls and a boy! Baby A is a girl and her name will be Chloe Jean. Baby B is a girl as well and her name will be Sophie Marie. Baby C is our little boy, and his name will be Robert Hollis. We will call him Hollis! When we were there they did the full anatomy ultrasounds on each baby... She measured all of their bones, checked organs, looked for genetic markers, etc. They are all perfectly healthy and 2 weeks ago they weighed 4 ounces each! They each have 10 fingers and 10 toes! Their little hands and feet are so cute! After the ultrasound (which took over an hour) we met with Dr. BK. I had been previously advised that he is a fabulous doctor, but doesn't sugar coat anything. He is straight to the point, and that he was. He went through everything that could happen. He informed me that I had to restrict all activity. I am supposed to be sitting whenever possible. I shouldn't be going grocery shopping, etc.. I shouldn't be doing laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, etc. When I get home from work I need to be laying in bed or sitting with my feet up. I am not supposed to be coming home and doing anything at all including cooking dinner. He also informed me that I am now on pelvic rest.
I am not sure how I am supposed to follow these restrictions when my husband works 15+ hours a day 5 days a week, and coaches Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I don't know how the laundry is supposed to get done, and dinner is supposed to get made, and the flowers and yard are supposed to get watered nor how the house is supposed to get cleaned...
I guess I am going t have to learn to "use my words and ask for help" just like I tell my 7 busy little students all day long.

The kitchen cabinets finally got installed and the kitchen is all put back together! My mom came over Sunday afternoon and helped me get it all back together. I don't know what I would do without my parents.. My dad has painted the upstairs bathroom, downstairs half bath, and the sewing/office room upstairs (Ryan is not allowed to paint in the house)...
We still have to lay the tile flooring in the living room and fix part of the kitchen flooring, paint the nursery, paint the living areas downstairs, and get the sewing room/office set up as well as the nursery. Oh and I have to make the bedding for the nursery... We have gotten a lot done, but there is still quite a bit to do.

I have been feeling okay. I get really tired easily and need to sit a lot. I sleep in 3 hour segments or so... I am growing very quickly, and it seems to be taking a toll on my back and hips. I have a herniated disc in my back (L5) and my hips, knees, and ankles arent in the best of shape because of this, but I am making it and feel so blessed that God has granted me 3 little miracles. I can't wait to meet them!!!!

I go back to Dr. BK tomorrow to check my cervix length to make sure I am still doing well, and will continue to have to go have this checked every 2 weeks. I go back to Dr. McDonald next Wednesday where I will have to have the blood glucose test done..
Thank you for of your prayers and support!
Lindsey

The Prego is Sleeping again

It's Thursday night around 11pm, and Lindz just fell asleep, i figured it was time for another update.  I will begin with a few negatives and lead up to the positives.  All i can say is,... it always gets worse before it gets better.  Before i begin, i want everyone to know that in no way do i believe that my life is horrible, or that we have been handed a horrible hand in life.  Life is tough, and we will get through it.

A few weeks ago i injured my knee if you hadnt heard about it, and i had to have an MRI done.  Luckily there was no major injury, but last week we received a bill for $745 that we owe out of pocket. 

Also last week we finally completed our taxes, and for the first time in 10 years, we owe money to the government.  For a Grand Total of $2800,... how in the hell are we supposed to pay that?

A week prior to those two incidences we received a letter from the government about a business tax that was owed for a business that i "opened" on paper 2 years ago, and never did anything with.  And they wanted to charge me penalties and a guestimate charge for what they believed i did financially for this business the year prior. Luckily after several phone calls, they adjusted it and we only owe $135.

Also in that week Lindz had her teeth checked, basically because she had a tooth that was really hurting.  Well the dentist filled two cavities and found a tooth that  must be extracted. $180 .

If you didnt hear about our kitchen flooding, well it did,... and last week the cabinet guy came out to give us a quote and it totaled $2500 just for the cabinets.   Our insurance check will cover that,.. but it is still some more stress on us having to manage the work.

Lindz then put both the Fit and my motorcycle up on Craigslist to see if we could get rid of them so we could start to get on top of our finances.  Lindz has been really stressing about finances, and loosing her job due to the children popping out.  I know God has a plan and he will provide in some way or another.

On Wednesday the 30th 2011 we went for another doctors appointment with another ultra-sound.  We still have 3 healthy babies that are developing at a normal rate.  Lindz has gained 20 lbs since the beginning of her pregnancy.  When you look at the pics of our children... baby A who is closest to the exit has a really big head,... baby B has a really big belly, and baby C is just right.  On April 7th we have a doctors appointment with the maternal fetal specialist and we might actually get to find out the gender of the children.

And to end on a really exciting note, we sold our Honda Fit today, and we only had to come up with $1000 out of pocket to get rid of the car.  We are really happy with the amount we sold it for,.. and it really will lower at least 1 more monthly note off of us.

Please ask questions, email us at mtcheer@hotmail.com or lindz1@mac.com   thanks for reading

13 weeks!

So, I am 13 weeks today... I most definitely have a "bump" growing at rapid speed!  I can feel my stomach growing and stretching - especially in the evenings - and every morning when I wake up I feel like I have grown.  I haven't weighed myself to know if I have gained any weight, and for the first time in my life I don't care to know what the scale says.  I guess I will find out next Wednesday when I go for my next appointment.  The past couple of days here have been 80+ degrees.. quite warm!  I have come to the conclusion that from here on out I am going to be miserably uncomfortable! 
I haven't been getting as sick recently (knock on wood).. I get sick every couple of days sometimes in the morning and sometimes just before bed.  I got in an "eating routine" while on Spring Break.. which consisted of a bowl of frosted mini wheats when I first woke up, then about an hour and a half later 2 Jimmy Dean little sausage and biscuits with honey and a glass of chocolate milk, then a little while later a strawberry yogurt, then either taquitos or a sandwich, then a couple of hours later, more taquitos or a milk shake, then cheese and crackers and some fruit, then dinner with Ryan which varied.. grilled chicken or fish tacos or spaghetti etc, then a couple hours later a bowl of mac and cheese or ice cream... Today going back to work it was very hard to stay on this eating routine... which makes for a VERY HUNGRY Lindsey!  For a long time, I was on a think crust pizza kick.. that's all I wanted.. Now, I have moved onto a chicken and cheese taquitos kick with salsa!  Just typing it is making me hungry for some.. ugh! I will finish typing this first.. I've also been craving frozen yogurt and anything strawberry.... Strawberry milkshakes, strawberry yogurt, strawberry frosted pop tarts, etc etc etc... I have learned that eating an entire cartoon of strawberries in one sitting is not a good idea..  I had the WORST heartburn and indigestion ever after.. Oh well, you live and you learn...

There has been lots going on recently in the McKinley House (besides the fact we are expecting triplets)!  I finally feel like we are getting somewhere with the pipe burst/flood disaster that happened at the beginning of February.. I have hired the 61 Cabinets to repair the cabinet and do some additional work to make our kitchen more functional...  Ryan decided last night (Sunday) at 7:30 that he was in the mood to start a project... SO he moved all of the living room furniture into the dining room and entry way and tore out the living room carpet (which also was destroyed in the flood) and took up all of the tack strips... Now we just have bare concrete foundation in the living room and all the furniture is still in the dining room and entry way!  Making our house even more of a disaster!  I am leaning more towards finding the tile that is in our kitchen and continuing it into the living room (we have an open floor plan)  throwing an area rug down and calling it a day.  I refuse to put carpet back down with 3 dogs and 3 babies on the way.
The project list is growing by the day and I am trying not to get to stressed out, but for those of you who really know me... that is something I have a VERY hard time doing!  I think once the kitchen and living room get finished I will feel a little better... then there's the upstairs... Ryan moved the guest room furniture into the room that I originally had intended to be the nursery when we bought the house, but since we are having triplets the layout of the room won't work..  I had wanted to paint that room before all the furniture got moved in, but that didn't happen and now the headboard is hung on the wall so I guess that won't be happening now for a long time..
We still have to finish moving the office / sewing room to the former guest room since it will be the nursery.  Ryan built built-in desks, bookcases, and a fold down cutting table in this room, so moving everything isn't going so well.  We need to buy 2 desks and other office and sewing furniture before we can finish this project.. Then we have to paint both rooms (or atleast the nursery).  I also want to paint the upstairs bathroom and downstairs half bath and change the light fixtures in both bathrooms. OH and we have to get the nursery set up and I have to get all of the bedding etc sewn too! 
I want to get all of this done by the end of May, and considering Ryan has to work 7 days a week and I have to work 5 days a week.. and every weekend from here until June I am booked with weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, dinners, etc etc etc I have no clue how this is going to happen! 

I have been telling myself that I will probably be put on bed rest at the beginning of June to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable.. maybe I won't have to go on restricted bed rest then, but at least it won't be such a shock.  We can't wait to find out what we are having! I have been having lots of dreams about what they are.. one in which Ryan was telling me what they were (like he would actually know before me), and one where I was telling him.. I keep waking up though after only hearing or saying what 2 of them are.. A boy, a girl, and another... and boom I wake up!  We are really hoping for 2 girls and a boy or 2 boys a girl! We have 2 girl names and 2 boy names picked out and can't seem to find a 3rd girl or 3rd boy name that we both like.. All of the names have a family name in them.. The boys first and middle name are family names and the girls middle names are family names...
For the girl names we are thinking about Chloe Jean and Sophie Marie.. Jean is my middle name as well as my grandmother's (my mom's mom) middle name and my dad's aunt's name.  Marie is my grandmother's (my dad's mom) middle name.  Ryan LOVES the name Chloe!  He has been saying for a few years now that if he has a girl he wants to name her Chloe!  I love the name too and think Chloe and Sophie sound so cute! 
For the boy names we are thinking Robert Hollis and Clark Alexander.  Robert is Ryan's first name, his dad's first name, his grandfather's first name, etc..... They all go by their middle name or a nick name.. Hollis is Ryan's grandfather's (his mom's dad) first name.  Clark is my brother's name and my grandfather's name (my dad's dad) and Alexander is a Wasson family name (Ryan's dad's mom's side of the family).  We would call Robert Hollis - Hollis and Clark Alexander - Clark.  We have been thinking lots about names recently and it is very important to both of us that their names have meanings and family ties. 
Anyways, I am getting very hungry and tired!  I hope I haven't rambled on too much! 
Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers!
Love always,
Lindsey

I've Messed Up This Time

I hope that i gain just a little compassion from a few of my male followers out there, who have been in my shoes.

To begin i will make this statement:  I know that with children coming into my life that some things will change, especially with triplets.....  With that said, i really screwed up this time.  As you all know, Lindz has been extremely exhausted, and it is really throwing her off her game.  It is throwing me off as well.  Usually Lindz will teach from 8-3pm then go teach dance, or private tumbling lessons, come home and sew 15million t-shirts for her customers, and then wait til i get home to spend some time with me, maybe watch our favorite shows (NCIS, NCIS Los Angelos, Glee, House) together, then go cuddle and go to bed.  This pregnancy is taking every ounce of energy from her.  Around the house we have chosen specific tasks that each of us normally take care of,.. Lindz does laundry so i dont screw her stuff up, and i do the dishes, garbage, and mow the lawn.  Lindz used to have to vacuum and clean, but since the pregnancy started we got a maid for every other week to clean the house. 

I guess my biggest issue is the frustration of having to listen to her complain, and i think logically, and begin to make plans on how to fix things, but then she feels like i am lecturing her.  I truly love her and hate feeling this way.... it is just really tough to not be able to help.  If you know me, i keep going non-stop all the time, and that isnt going to change when we have kids, it cant.  In order to put food on the table i have no other options, unless by some miracle someone drops 1-2million in my lap and says here is the money, start a gym.  ( I am trying to work on getting a loan in my free time,.. just an FYI)  Tonight i came home after coaching and Lindz was still sitting on the couch watching tv,... i really feel as if she has given up on even trying to get anything done. i know that this pregnancy is taking alot out of her, but if she was sooooo tired, why wont she just go to bed, get the good rest she needs, and then move on.  This is really a stark realization of how bad it is going to get when she really cant do anything for us.

I think that the reality set in for her, that having these three little monsters is going to be way more than the full-time plus jobs that she has had historically.  The reality of the kids never seeing me because of work.  The reality that she will feel trapped with the kids all week long until i have some time on saturday /  Sunday where she can have some time for herself.  I also think that she really doesnt want to be a housewife, although i know she wants to raise our children.  The loss of her income is going to be tough for us, but we will make it through. 

I am currently fearful of the sewing jobs she has pending, and that they will stop using her for projects if she cannot finish them in a timely manor.  I would run her sewing company way differently if i were in charge,...lol

I dont want to put more on her than she can handle, but i feel like sometimes she does it to herself.  Or she is taking on tons of things without realizing how crippling this pregnancy is going to be. 

With children, it is my opinion that there still needs to be "adult time" where the parents go out and socialize with other adults.  I feel that the parents cannot become "best friends" with their children,  the relationships cannot and will not work that way.  I also feel that each individual adult needs some alone time every now and then to get away. (i want mine to be motorcycle riding) 

I made lindz cry tonight because she made a comment about us needing to sell the motorcycle.  Im sure all of the women reading this will side against her that we should, but i need that feeling of freedom while riding.  I can say this "All work and NO play makes for an Ugly Ryan"

After saying that, please dont read into it that all i want to do is go ride my motorcycle and never spend anytime with my kids.  I cant wait to play with my kids, but that doesnt mean that daddy doesnt want to go play with his friends anymore.  I know my life will soon revolve around my children, but that doesnt mean that im never allowed to have fun outside of my home, or without my kids.

Once again, Lindz is sleeping and im typing.  Im sure she will come back and spell check or correct my post.  Thanks for reading, and if you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know.

11 weeks!

So I will be 11 weeks tomorrow!! We went to the doctor this past Thursday!! My appointment was at 3:00... we arrived a little early, and then waited until 4:00 to get called back!!!!  I was about to jump out of my skin I was so excited to see our sweet babies!  We had an ultrasound and all 3 babies look fabulous!! They were all 10 weeks 3 days in development (which is exactly where I was on Thursday!)  Their heartbeats were 161, 165, and 165!  They look like babies now - which is super exciting - AND they were very active!! They were moving around! It was the most awesome thing I have ever experienced!  We are so excited! 
I have gained 3 WHOLE POUNDS!! Dr. McDonald was pleased with this since I have been getting sick at least once every single day!  I am praying that this will stop at 12 weeks like everyone says it does... If so this will be the last week... (I'm not holding my breath!) We go back to the doctor on March 30th, unless I hear that my doctor wants me to see the maternal fetal specialist before then..

Friday afternoon, one of my friends from work went with me to start our registry at Babies R Us!  I had already registered online for the only triplet snap and go stroller and the car seats, but beyond that it was all to overwhelming to do on my own!  So, Leigh went with me and taught me A LOT!  This bottle vs that bottle, pacifiers, mattress pads and covers, diapers, diapers, diapers, and tons of wipes and much much more! OH and TOYS!  I had flash backs of the purpose of each of the toys in early childhood development and my Special Kids and Families days!  By the time we went through the whole baby department, I was exhausted!! You need so much of everything when you are having triplets!  I keep telling myself "God only gives me what I can handle... So I can do this!" 

Life in general has been insanely busy recently, and honestly I have WAY to much on my plate right now... teach all day, teaching after school dance class to my kiddos at MLC on Mondays, teaching dance at the studio on Thursdays, coaching with Ryan on Sundays, remodeling the kitchen, painting, MY SEWING BUSINESS!, the yearbook for MLC, along with keeping up with everything here at the house.. laundry, bills, dishes, dogs, etc etc.. I need to learn how to ask for help and to not take on so much....
Ryan's schedule doesn't look any better than mine and did I mention that he messed up his knee last weekend!  Thank God it's only really bruised!  After 2 doctor appointments, draining fluid off his knees, and an MRI this week, it was determined that he needs to wear a brace and take it easy for 2 weeks!  (Take it easy.. Yeah right!)

My big goal for the month is to get the flooring done down stairs (we decided to do laminate hardwood in the living room and dining room and possibly kitchen too!) I would prefer to do real hardwood, but we would definitely not get our monies worth out of it in this house.. So when we move in 3-5 years (to an area with better schools once all of this school consolidation crap finishes) we will have hardwood floors there.. Anyways the goal.. get the flooring done and the kitchen (take out existing base cabinets, replace them, move the fridge, install more cabinets, a new sink, counter top, and back splash... OH and start painting...
I think this goal is really big to complete in 3 weekends, BUT we don't have a lot of time considering we have to move the office to the current guest room, move the guest room to the current empty room, make the current office the NURSERY! Over the next 3 months I think we will be going through at least 10 gallons of paint.. SO if you like to paint and will work for food.. come on over! 

Okay I think I have rambled on about lots of randomness enough tonight.. it's late.. way past my bedtime!  Good night all!! Thanks for all of the thoughts, prayers, and cards!! We greatly appreciate all of the support!  I don't know what we would do without our family and friends! 
Love always,
Lindsey.. MOMMY TO BE OF TRIPLETS! 

Preparations

Once again Lindz is asleep and it is time for me to ramble.  As all of these changes with the triples on the way, i have begun to look at all of our decisions that we have made as a married couple.  I want to make sure that you all know that in no way do i believe that i have a horrible life, or that i believe nothing is going right.  God has a plan, and he has always provided for me and my family.  In saying that, i have realized how different i am from my family, and from lindz'.  I grew up in a Baptist church (Central Church) and then 20 years ago my family and i left to follow a great man Dr. Young in the stages of beginning a new church(Grace Evangelical Church).  Lindz grew up in the catholic faith, but also went to a private catholic school where she learned quite a bit about religion that most catholics i know don't know.  We both believe in the same God, which i believe is the most important, but the religions that we grew up in each have their different ways of worshiping. 

The discussions of which religion we planned on raising our children began long before we even started trying to have kids, actually it started in the first week we began dating. (We were kind of ahead of ourselves)  As the man of the household i know that i am supposed to lead my family, and for those of you that know me, i am a leader (I get it from my father).  But where i differ from my father is that i know it is possible to lead without standing in front.  I also know that i want my children(i can say children since there are 3 coming) to believe in God and have a firm foundation in faith.  I also know from teaching kids ages 3-18 that no matter what the parents shove in front of the children, and no matter how "Godly" the parents are, the kids will inevitably make their own choice.  So what Lindz and i have discussed is that we will do our best to be "Godly" role models for our children and provide them with differing views of the same God and in the end let them be the ones who choose which faith they will follow.  The one thing that i feel we are missing as a family in the "church" department is a close faith family.  Currently we do our best to attend church every Sunday, and recently we have been attending St. Phillip catholic church in somerville, but due to our schedules we aren't able to do any activities outside of the basic worship service.

Speaking of scheduling, let me put some of this in front of you guys in order for you to see all of what lindz and i do on a weekly basis.
Ryan - Monday through Friday 8am-5pm Memphis Pool Supply (Weekly Service Manager)
Ryan- Monday through Friday 7-9pm River City Twisters Competitive Tumbling Team Coach
Ryan- Saturday 1130-630pm  River City Gymnastics Birthday Party Director
Ryan- Sundays 1-5pm Private Lessons that i acquired from Lindz since she cant spot anymore
Ryan- Jan-July it is competition Season for my tumbling team and once a month we travel to compete

Lindz- Monday through Friday 8am-330pm Madonna Learning Center (Special Ed Teacher)
Lindz- Monday 330-430pm Beginner Dance Class at Madonna
Lindz- Tuesday 330-530pm Staff Meeting at Madonna
Lindz- Thursday 430-630pm Dance Classes at Ms. Pat's School of Dance
Lindz- Saturday's all day - Sewing Projects for Sweet Stitches By Lindsey
Lindz- Sunday 1-5pm  Private Lessons she coaches while i spot since they are her kids

I am sure that i missed something from our schedule, and i guess you can get the picture that we currently don't get a lot of time as a couple.  We do our best to make the most of the time that we actually get together.  If you can imagine, and it hasn't been put out to the world until now, but with three children popping out around the 1st week of august 2011, it is pretty much understood that lindz wont be able to teach school the next calendar year.  I am beginning to stress about that issue. 

Our finances are great right now, we have been blessed that all of the things we have needed, taking care of our precious puppies for example, have been taken care of.  I am not rich by any means, nor do i make tons of money at either of my jobs, but i do work as hard as i can to provide for our family the things that we need, and want.  I look back on some of the purchases that we made, and wish i could go back and change those to help plan for the future.  We basically were backed into a corner for the two vehicles that we currently own, since we needed vehicles to get to work or use for work at the time, and we had no money saved up to buy older or used vehicles, so we had to buy pretty new ones.  When the babies come, and lindz isn't bringing in any income, we have to be down to only one car, i will not be bringing in enough to make two fairly new car notes, plus all of our other bills.  We would really like to find a used 2006-2008 suburban with all the things we are looking for, and trade both of our vehicles in for just that one.  I have a company vehicle that i drive for work, and to and from work.  One car will suit us just fine.

Dreams and goals of mine have not changed, they have almost become more important to find a way to make them happen.  If you know me, then you know that the biggest goal in my life outside of my family is to have my own trampoline and tumbling facility.  It isn't cheap, and i wouldn't want to do it for cheap.  I want to have the safest, cleanest, and highest quality equipped facility around.  Not just to be able to say that, but to provide an environment that i can teach athletes safely, effectively, and with the right equipment to allow training to be fun and enjoyable.  Being a gym owner wouldn't immediately bring in tons of money, but with hard work and dedication that i have, it would end up being a solid source of income for my family.  About 3-4years ago i began to look at my life, you ever done the same?, to see what accomplishments i have in my life.  I have done some great things, guided some awesome people to great things, but then i look at myself and ask "is this it?"  I know i am good at the pool industry, but i don't want to own my own pool company, it isn't where my heart is.  And i don't want to be just a "pool guy" for the rest of my life.  I know that it is too late in our current situation for me to get back to school to get a degree.  So what is out there for me to accomplish, what sets me apart from everyone else?  I feel as though i have many strong talents, but where do i use them?  Where do i need to spend my time to make it the most effective and cost efficient?  How do i use my personal talents to enjoy work and provide for my family?

I turn 30 this summer, July 28th, and i thank God for every day that i have been alive on this earth.  But when is he going to take me?  When i go, will i be remembered?  What will i be remembered for?  Whose lives did i touch enough that they would be at my funeral, or have good things to say about me?  I don't want to be famous, i just want to make a difference.  A big difference.

Ok, my ramblings have begun, hope you enjoyed picking my brain for a little bit.  Maybe next time Lindz will have a more organized thought.  Goodnight- Ryan

9 Weeks

So, I will be 9 weeks on Monday... and I definitely feel pregnant!  I'm not sure that having triplets has completely set in yet.. and I am not sure that it will until I have all three of my precious little angels in my arms!  My mind is constantly going.. I have been thinking a lot about random (but all important things) insurance, feedings, baby names (we have to pick out A LOT of names), NICU, C-section (which has been really freaking me out the past couple of days), nutrition, house layout, a BIG vehicle, bed rest (which I am most certain now is inevitable), how bad my back is going to hurt, finances once the babies get here (since I can't work!), etc. etc. etc...... I know everything will fall into place, but this stage of where to begin sucks!

I definitely have morning sickness every day... Within 30 minutes to an hour of being awake, I am usually running to the bathroom... I have decided that anything I eat is not going to stop this.. so I don't eat until I throw up so that I don't end up hating that food... Some days are really bad, and I now have Zofran for those days... BUT I am pondering what I would rather have... nausea and vomiting or headaches so bad that I can't see straight... it's a toss up!
I definitely have a baby bump now.. and Ryan is finally recognizing that it's a baby bump now (Maybe I should be calling it a babies bump since there isn't just one baby in there).. For the past week, Ryan has been certain that the bump on my stomach was fat and not babies, until the other night when I was getting ready for bed.. he stopped me and was like WOAH LINDZ!! YOU HAVE A BABY BUMP! ... Gotta love him!  

My life right now revolves around food.. I find myself starving every 3 hours or LESS!  When I get hungry or get a craving.. I MUST eat right then (or I will get sick UGH)!  I have a hard time planning ahead for meals, because I have no clue what I am going to want to eat or be able to stand the smell of until right when I get hungry... It's really quite frustrating!  I am hoping that this calms down soon so that I can plan HEALTHY meals!  

My body is changing so fast it's crazy.. I am wearing maternity clothes already!  I mean seriously who wears maternity clothes at 9 weeks!? I guess a mommy-to-be of triplets does!  I am so thankful though for my friends who just had babies that are letting me borrow maternity clothes!  They should at least get me through May, then I am going to be so big that I have no clue what I am going to wear!  They don't make many clothes for mom's expecting triplets... My body is already setting limits for myself.. I find myself moving much slower these days and not having the endurance to make it through what I used to consider a full day.. (which was teaching all day at MLC then coaching, teaching dance, etc.. and not getting home til late)... I am exhausted and find myself wanting to go to bed between 9 and 9:30 every night.. I am trying to make myself stay up..

I made the mistake of getting hooked to a tv show before I found out I was having triplets called Making Room for Multiples on TLC... Now when I watch it, I find myself putting myself in their shoes, and watching the C-section and the NICU stays.. and all the tubes and IVs.. There are benefits to watching though.. I get ideas of how to organize and plan.. for example some mom's of multiples color code EVERYTHING.. which helps a lot when you have people wanting to come into help you... I pray every day that everything is going to go smoothly, and they are going to be born healthy and strong and won't have to stay in the NICU that long maybe if we are lucky.. not at all... I am really trying not to worry, but this is one characteristic that I definitely inherited from my mom... I need to learn how to chill out and not expect so much perfection from myself..

Anyways, I hope all who read this have a great weekend!  Thank you so much for your prayers!  We really appreciate them!! 

Love to all,
Lindsey

More reactions

So lindz wrote her part of the reactions,... while she sleeps it has become my turn.

So I'm going to back up just a little to fill everyone in on some details leading up to the pregnancy. As all of you who know us should know, both lindz and I work our rear ends off all the time, and it can really put stress on an individual. I believe that all of this stress might have been pushing on lindz and created an environment that made her body not regulated. After a few months of frustration lindz decided to talk to her doctor, and apparently clomid is the first "go-to" med to help regulate women looking to have children. After several cycles of ovulating, and then not ovulating, and all the stress of it, finally with a high dose of clomid lindz ovulated. So with us, on the last day of 4 weeks since her previous cycle, we took a pregnancy test. And she was pregnant!!! Way too early to tell anyone,... Right? Well I knew lindz couldn't hold this in, so we decided to tell our immediate family. They were all excited, as were we.

At that point we began to research more into this clomid medicine and found that there were quite a few ladies who had multiples while on this medicine. We began to start to wrap our heads around the fact that we may have twins. I really thought it was funny to joke that we were gonna have triplets,... Sure glad I didn't joke about quads or more.

I coach competitive trampoline and tumbling for a living, and lindz teaches at a private school for kids with special needs. With that said, you can tell that we are around kids all the time, and have tons of experience. Recently (since we got married) everyone told us that when we decided to have kids that they would change our lives. We agreed to that, but also claimed how we are truly prepared to have kids and it shouldn't be any problem. Well I guess we stuck our foot in our mouths, God decided that we could handle one new child no problem(or at least that is how I want to see it) and God decided he would challenge us with 3.

So,  at the doctors' office I sat across from where lindz was during the ultrasound,.. I could see the screen sooner and better than lindz. As soon as the tech adjusted the screen, I saw them,.. All three dark spots. I knew, but didn't say anything. The tech said well you aren't having one,... I began laughing, lindz said "twins?" ,.. The tech responded with, "nope, triplets".... That was the first person who knew besides us and she was so excited. By the time we left the ultrasound room, the tech had already told everyone in the entire office. When we walked out, everyone was all giggly and asked us if we were the ones having triplets. Apparently no one in that office had ever seen triplets before us. We found out that our doctor last saw triplets 15 years ago when she was with another office. It seems as if the Internet has made us all feel like the world is small, and that triplets are not at all uncommon. But even on the mess we were on, there is less than 1 percent chance of having triplets. It's so exciting.

Dr. McDonald came in and really seemed flustered. She seemed kind of giddy to me, but it was the first time I had ever met her. This is when we found out that she hadn't seem triplets in 15 years. It's interesting these days with technology. I know lindz isn't a doctor, and for sure doesn't have all the extensive knowledge like her doctor does, but on this one specific subject lindz really does have her head wrapped around most of the information. It really showed when lindz started asking questions and her doctor didn't really know how to answer. That's part of why I figured she was flustered with this new event in her life. Lindz almost was guiding her in what or how to answer the questions that she was asking. I had to go pee, and had to walk to the other end of the office, through the lobby and around the corner to find a male restroom. As I passed through the lobby, I noticed my former boss Cindy, and since the news was still a secret, I crossed my fingers that she didn't see me. We had to ask our nurse to make sure that Cindy was in a room so we could leave when we got done so the information of our pregnancy wouldn't get out too soon.

So I walked out to the car to warm it up, considering 1 inch of snow fell on it during our office visit. Once I picked lindz up we called her parents to figure out where to meet them for lunch. So then it was time to call our immediate family, those who we couldn't tell in person. Lindz's sister knew that we were at the office, and kept bugging her, so we called her first (well I say first cause there is a secret I can't reveal yet).  I decided that it wouldn't be fair if I didn't call my little sister next, but she didn't answer her phone.

Next was to call my mother. She works as an office manager at a church, so I called her to give her the news. When she answered, I began to tell her that we were at the office and everything was good,...and we were having triplets. She screamed all excited, repeating it to all of her co-workers. And the type of scream and repeating she did, was the kind where you could hear it in their voice that she was tearing up with excitement and joy.

My next call was to my father.  I told him, and he seemed really happy, and not that he isn't a happy guy,.. But I hardly ever hear him this joyful. It was nice to hear him laughing in excitement.

My dad's mother, Granny, was unavailable. So next we called my mother's parents, Pop and JoJo. Its hard to remember everyone's reaction, since everyone keeps thinking that we are pranking them. So pretty much each person immediately questions us to try to get a more direct announcement. Even one person, Jenni, wouldn't believe us until she saw the ultrasound pic. So I sent her one, but didn't take a good one and Lindz's name wasn't on the pic so she didn't believe us. I had to go take another pic, and message it to her, and finally she believed us.

It is very hard when you have as many close friends and family as Lindz and I do to be able to get in touch with everyone in a "fair" order, without forgetting anyone. I am doing my best to remember each story, and I will do my best to recall each of them. Thanks for reading.
Ryan McKinley

Reactions

So we decided to share some of our favorite reactions to our BIG news!
My sister, Abby, was one of the first people we called after we left the doctors office. I told her that everything looked great and.. There's more than one... She instantly thought twins.. I told her no... TRIPLETS! Then, had to spend the next five minutes convincing her that i wasn't lying.. Which sounded a little like this "NU UH Lindsey you're lying!" "No, Abby, I'M not lying I'm really going to have THREE BABIES!" (which went back and forth and back and forth) haha!

When we arrived at my parents house after the appointment (we had to go deliver the news in person to my parents because they would have both had heart attacks if I called them and told them), my dad was not there yet because he was stuck in traffic because of the snow. So we sat down at the kitchen table to eat lunch. I asked mom if she wanted to see a picture that we got at the doctors appointment and handed her the ultrasound picture - which she looked at then looked at me and said is this THREE?!! She then sat completely speechless for a few moments. Then said y'all need to leave I have a lot of people to call! We waited for dad to get home.. Then when he arrived.. Mom said you need to sit down for this.. I handed him the picture and he looks at it and says how many is this... Then I point out the numbers.. Look dad see #1, #2, #3! He sat completely speechless.. In complete shock!

Ryan's favorite reaction was from one of his best friends Aaron,... After I convinced him that it was real, he said "your f**ked" I said why, and he said, "I'm a twin, don't you remember how awful Alex and I were to my mom when we were kids.". All I could think about was ,... Thanks Aaron for those great words of encouragement. Lol.

We have called a lot of people over the past couple of days, and each time we share our news we get one of a few different reactions..
1. OMG and lots of screaming
2. No you are LYING!
3. Complete silence
4. Utter disbelief

No matter what the initial reaction... They all have thought we were pranking them!

We're pregnant.... with TRIPLETS!

So, I decided that we needed a blog to keep track of our growing family and the crazy life we live!  I am still in shock from the news we received yesterday.  We found out that we were pregnant after over a year of trying and 4 rounds of Clomid on January 17th, 2011.  We went for our first prenatal appointment yesterday at 7 and a half weeks and had been preparing ourselves for the possibility of twins... Still only expecting one baby!  We went in for an ultrasound first before seeing the doctor, and the tech came in and said so I see you have been on Clomid, and I am sure you are aware of the slight possibility of multiples.. We told her yes we knew that it was a slight possiblity.. She started the ultrasound and within seconds she proceeded with so you aren't having just one... which I replied back with "really we are having twins"... which she replies with "No... you are having triplets!" I laid there speechless looking at the screen and she points out the three sacs, takes a picture, then points out one baby, measures, finds the heartbeat, takes a picture, then moves to the next.. and then to the next!  Ryan sat there giggling as I sat there in shock with a few tears of joy and a MILLION thoughts running through my head.. I am going to have THREE BABIES!  I will need 3 of everything... neither one of our vehicles will work... How am I going to do this??.. I AM GOING TO HAVE THREE BABIES!
I think I said that at least 100 times yesterday! 
I had recently found a show on TLC called "Make Room for Multiples" and the first episode I watched was of a mom giving birth to triplets... I watched in complete awe and disbelief of how big a woman's body can get thinking that would never be me as the chances of that happening were less than ONE PERCENT being on Clomid.  Come to find out that that is going to be me..
I am going to have triplets!  I don't think it has completely set in... I have been doing lots of reading and researching and googling today.. My body is going to start changing really fast very soon.. My pants already don't button (they haven't in the past 2 weeks), but I am still wearing them.. just making sure I am wearing long loose tops so that no one will notice haha!  I am hoping that I am able to do this for a while... but probably not with the fact that I will look and feel 6-8 weeks further along than a woman pregnant with one baby! 
Lots of people have asked what can we do to help?  Right now we just need lots of prayers and support for a happy healthy pregnancy! 
Lots of Love,
The McKinleys