School's Out For Summer!

What a busy week! Wrapping up the last week of school and the girls have kept me busy! Here is an update on each of the girls as we had 4 month check ups for Alyx and Luci on Wednesday. Alyx is now 9 lbs 2 oz. She is 22 in. long. Luci weighs 9 lbs 3 oz. and is 22.75 in. long. Both girls did not gain enough weight this month so their pediatrician wants us to add some solids in their diet. So...oatmeal it is. Girls did okay and were hilarious to watch eat their first meal by spoon. Their doctor thinks the solids will add extra calories and help with their spitting up so much  of their bottle during feedings. On a great note the girls are meeting and surpassing all their age milestones for a 4 month old. They can roll over from front to back and back to front! They are grasping things and even holding into them. They also started to notice and giggle with each other and us! They will coo at us and almost coo at us like they are having a real conversation. It is so neat to see! I have been trying to teach them to say "mama" but we are not quite there yet. 😉

Dorothy has been doing wonderful as well. She is completely off cpap and they are lowering her high flow levels too. Her oxygen levels are now in the 30% range instead of 40%. Her weight is up to 8 lbs 7 oz. She also is cooing and will talk to you. She has also started learning to drink by bottle. This will be a long process for her learning to drink from a bottle, but she will get there. She is doing really well these days! We have also discovered she loves oldies! Especially the beach boys! We listen to it every night. We are ready for her to be home more than ever, and maybe our prayers will be granted this month!

3 WHAT?!?!

I don't know if I have shared the story of,how our 3 girls came to be 3 girls. Other than the science of how it happened of course! Being our first babies everyone was so excited to find out the sex of our babies. So we were told we would possibly be able to see at 16 weeks. So in we go at 16 weeks excited to find out! Dinner was planned with our family for the big reveal. The ultrasound tech looked at baby a and b (Alyx and Luci) and said it looked like a boy and showed us what she thought was boy parts. Then she looked at baby c (Dot) and said definitely looking like a girl. Now even though it was still early we went ahead and revealed 2 boys 1 girl! Yeah! Hubby was relieved having 3 girls scared the daylights out of him, and everyone who knows him, family and friends, told him 3 girls it would be. 4 weeks later the all important 20 week ultrasound (see previous post) this ultrasound tech informed us baby a and b were not boys but girls! Must have been the cord in the last ultrasound. We were shocked to say the least. And baby c, having no fluid, was now unknown. They weren't able to see anything with any fluid. So now we were having at least 2 girls possibly 3. Hubby is now in shock and trying to picture how he is going to raise girls when the prospect scares him. It was really so cute, worrying about boys chasing after his girls before they were even born.  Now to break the news to everyone that it is now 2 maybe 3 girls.  After the initial shock and realizing he would be an amazing dad to our 2 or 3 girls, he was so excited. We immediately bought matching dresses and cute little bows to celebrate! 2 weeks before the girls were born they confirmed yes it would be all 3 girls. I was afraid not having a boy would disappoint Mark. But when I looked in his eyes there was only love for  his 3 baby girls. And the love in his eyes has grown each and everyday. And he is an amazing dad who has taken on fatherhood to his 3 baby girls with tender loving care. We are the 4 luckiest GIRLS that totally outnumber daddy now!

Journey of 3...and a Mommy

So almost a year ago today we began our journey with our 3rd round of IVF.  Knowing the first 2 rounds failed, we were extremely nervous and scared to begin our 3rd round.  In Illinois, insurance pays for 4 trials of IVF and being on our 3rd we felt our hope for a family slipping away.  For two weeks I had daily medicine injections.  On June 10, we went in for egg retrieval.  Doctors called and said 7 eggs fertilized but now we had to wait and see if any would become viable embryos.  Fast forward to day 3 and we were told it was time to transfer.  At the hospital we learned that of the 7 eggs, only 1 egg was good quality with 3 more being of "okay" quality, but nowhere near as good as the 1 good egg.  After discussing our options with the doctor, we decided to put in 3 eggs knowing our chances were very slim that this would work.  So, on the morning of Friday, June 13, we transferred 3 eggs with the hope that maybe it would work this time.  SO...for two weeks we waited and on June 30th, we found out that it worked and we were pregnant!  Fast forward to July 18th for our first ultrasound. From my bloodwork, the numbers were leading the doctors to think there might possibly be multiples.  Mark and I went in with the hopes of there being 2 little blessings to be seen.  However, in for the shock of our lives when there were not 2 but 3 little miracles on the screen!  Never in our wildest dreams did we think that all 3 little eggs would take!
   Throughout the entire pregnancy I cherished each and every moment, from the good to the bad and the exciting to the scary.  I must say I am not sure how pregnancy feels, being my first, but I would do it 100 times over if I could.  The girls were good to me.  I will say it was definitely one of the happiest/scariest times of my life.  I was so incredibly happy to finally be able to experience the journey of motherhood.  But at 20 weeks finding out that there is a good chance that one of your babies is not going to survive duee to having was absolutely heartbreaking.  The doctors told us that if we chose to continue on with baby C (our little Dorothy Jo now) there was a good chance of a stillbirth or having to deliver early at the risk of the other 2 babies.  I have never, until now, shared this time in our lives. Mark and I both decided that we would put it in God's hands and what would be would be.  9 weeks later  wee went in for our regularly scheduled ultrasound, again hoping that our little baby c had survived another 2 weeks.  Not only had our little miracle survived she was gaining fluid again! She continued to develop more and more fluid and gain more and more weight until finally at about 31 weeks doctors said she had gained enough she would make it. She would be in the nicu longer but she would live. I can still remember the joy I felt hearing that. And then 2 weeks and 4 days later my 3 beautiful girls entered our lives. The best moment was hearing cries from all 3 as they were brought into this world, Alyxandria, Lucille, and Dorothy. Even Dorothy Jo as tiny as she was let out a little fighting cry as she entered this world! My world was now complete.