The Adoption Chronicles

The "bump" is gone...the basketball grows... (WARNING: Exposed belly photos below!!! You've officially been warned so don't complain). I go around many days just pinching myself and having to remind myself that I really am pregnant (as if I didn't have constant reminders like not being able to bend over for instance - ha). We waited so long and finally being pregnant sometimes feels surreal - not to even mention thinking about having THREE babies! If you would have asked me 5 or so years ago where I'd be now or what my life was going to look like I would have never guessed in a million years we would have had to go through years of infertility, "trying", procedures, doctors visits, disappointment after disappointment and finally end up learning about and choosing the wonderful gift of embryo adoption...oh yeah, and now being pregnant with triplets! Wow! A few things I know for sure and have learned ov...

ECW sucking on his hand! It was so adorable to watch him doing this on the u/s today! ECW again, Baby C, our boy sucking on his hand in his own little palace above the girls. This is just the report for Baby B as an example . We get one for each baby after they're done with all of the measurements every two weeks at the ultrasounds. They all three this time were still doing well and within one day of one another and all weighing in at around a pound. Baby A was 15oz. I think, B was 16oz. and C was 1 lb. exactly so they are all well within each others size/growth-just where they should be for 20/21 weeks. Baby B face up just hanging out. They were all moving around but no crazy flipping or anything this time. On the last u/s baby B yawned and it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen! This time our little guy was showing us his hand-sucking skills :) Maybe he will be our thumb sucker? Baby A is the lowest and more on the right side of my belly. Baby B is just next to her but ...

I just want to say thank you to each of you for your emails and sweet comments on the blog. Its encouraging to hear from other moms of multiples and I love to hear about all of you doing embryo adoption currently! How exciting!!! To everyone else...thank you also for your kind words in regards to how we'll be good parents and with the maternity photos. Sometimes I feel "not-so- glowy " so thank you for humoring me! :) I love love being pregnant but here lately times are tough on my body. I am really fortunate to not have had a ton of swelling and no back aches yet. I feel really blessed to be able to be as healthy as I am and that the babies are doing so well. It is nice to still be able to get out and run errands/shop by myself although I feel those days are limited. Standing/walking for even minutes wears me out and I feel like I need to lay down. I don't know if its the gravity of standing or what or just my body getting tired as the day wears on but by ar...

Times three that is! We need to do some final touches but we finally got them all three put together for the most part! Looks like we'll have more room than anticipated in the babies room. Now I can even order a dresser to match so we have somewhere for all their clothes. We do also have a closet, but it is smaller than even an average sized closet. I've been organizing and have blue and pink bins with their clothes inside plus preemie and newborn sizes hanging in the closet. Its fun to get ready for these three bambinos !!! Can't wait to meet them!

Too tired now but will write later. Here's a photo at least of me at 20 weeks! Babies are hurting me a lot tonight again. Time for bed.

(The above photo I took of my niece Caitlin holding the flower she received from her Great-Grandma Roy's funeral. Isn't she so super cute?!) We just got home from Illinois. It was a good trip and the visitation and funeral were really nice. Later this afternoon and especially on the drive home the babies were really on the move! Little Mister ECW was on the move...he was having fun making his Mama really uncomfortable - lots of " Ohh !" Ouch!" and groaning on the way home in the car. I could feel him up near my ribs on the left side and when I'd press my palm on my belly he'd move to the right side! That little stinker! I think its bedtime for me, for us. Ohh ! There he goes again! We still have a long way to go and they're going to get much bigger! It will be interesting to feel them moving more and more. I also was feeling what I think was baby B moving a bit ago. Lots of movement and pressure in my lower left side of my belly. Its so fun to feel t...

Where do I start? I just am having a hard time letting it sink in that she's gone. Grandma (Roy) died yesterday afternoon, she was 91. I know she looked forward to the day when she could see Jesus face to face and she would tell me so nearly as often as I saw her for the last several years. She was happy with her home and large beautiful family here on earth but I know she missed her husband, Uncle Gary, Uncle Darwin, Aunt Millie, her sisters and more and wanted to be with them and also be without all the pain she felt in the end as her body wore down. This photo was taken maybe around Christmas 2004 or 2005? In 1998 I found this puppy and HAD to get it for Grandma - well, the story was that I really wanted it but it was Grandma's birthday so I gave it to her and I'd just planned on visiting it every time I went to her house. :) Grandmas know what you're thinking - they just do - so Grandma and I started the "Puppy Exchange." Every holiday or birthda...

We're all doing great now already at 19 weeks! (Below image is a look inside babies body at 19 weeks gestation. Thevisualmd.com). On Thursday we had another u/s and visit to see our perinatologist . The babies were moving around, as usual , and were all growing right on schedule. Two weeks ago they were all the same size at 7 ounces and Thursday when they measured them again they were all the same size at 10 ounces. They're too big to measure head to toe in the u/s but our sonographer said if she had to guess they were between 8-9 inches long! They're getting so big!...and so am I! :) Our babies are so healthy looking that the sonographer looked at us with a grin and said that they were the most beautiful triplets she'd ever seen! Now, I can't tell you if she says that to everyone or not, but I was sure happy to hear it! And, of course we think they're perfect too!

Thank you! This is so cute!

What an adorable gift!!! We got this for our shower. Now, we'll just have to rotate who gets to wear it :) Pretty much the cutest onesie for triplets ever.

I love my baby belly! It's been a long time in the making, but we're finally here! :) This 18 week photo from thevisualmd .com. It kind of gives you an idea of how big baby, or in our case, babies, are getting. This explains the ever growing bump. Its fun now though because when we're out in public people always congratulate me/us and ask when we're due. Its fun telling people we're expecting triplets and hearing the shock in their voice and seeing the expressions on their face. It's usually followed by "Wow! Do triplets run in your family?" That question kind of gets annoying but who cares. I just expect it now and it's usually a good opportunity to give a plug for embryo adoption. I usually get funny, confused stares followed by silence or "huh, I've never heard of that before" or "so, its kind of like IVF " or something along those lines. I guess you have to understand it is a new concept to most people and A ...

We finally took a photo of us together. Poor Clint has been taking all my pregnant photos each week and he's not even in any of them! Actually, he prefers taking the photo to being in it but I'm glad we could finally get one together. This quilt is for one of the girls. The third quilt is similar but has some different material on it - its in the lower righthand part of this photo. The design and colors are all beautiful. Thank you! Karen worked hard on this beautiful quilt for our baby boy! Thank you! We love it and he will too! Our helpers: Carly and Bailey. Abby was helping test out the gifts by chewing on them and also playing with the wrapping paper. You can't really see her in this photo but she's in the bottom left corner. The girls looked so cute with their matching outfits! The girls helping.

Here are some photos of our shower in Kentucky this past weekend. I just also want to say a very special tha nk you to Bonnie, Carla, Regina, Rhonda and Karen and Chip! You all made the day very special for us and everyone had a great time. Thank you for all the planning and time(and money) you spent. This was suppose to be "simple" but its hard to be simple when Clint has 4 aunts and his mom who do everthing big! Thank you all once again and we're so grateful! It was wonderful! :) Also, thank you to Crystal who took all the photos for me! Thank you hun! LOVED these mini cakes! Pre-shower photo.

Its been over a we ek since I've updated our blog but there just hasn't been enough time in my days! Last week Thursday we left for Kentucky for our Wood family shower. We got home late on Sunday night. Monday and Tuesday my mom was in town so we ran errands and did things around the house. Wednesday I had my BSF (bible study) in the morning until 11 AM but then stayed for a seminar that lasted rest of the afternoon. Yesterday we had our appointment at the MFC center and ultrasound and after that I went to help a friend with newborn twins. That brings me to today (phew)! So, finally here are the photos of our newly refinished floors! We love them! I don't know why we didn't pull up the carpet sooner. And, thank goodness Clint talked me into doing the floors instead of riping up the carpet and putting down more carpet! These floors are flawless, they're beautiful even up close. These photos were taken with my blackberry so they're not as clear as m...

We decided to listen to some tunes, rest, and look out the window at the snow after the project was completed ! Phew, we were pooped. That was a lot of carpet, padding, nails, staples and sweeping! View from living room into dining room. It looks SO different! It is so weird to look at in photos. We love it though. It will be so much nicer to have with the babies. Spit up? Spilled milk? No problem-o! The two back bedroom floors (refinished a couple of years ago) and the hallway where we just pulled up the carpet. Quiet a difference between the more natural color and the orange.

Fast forward to February 2010. We're tired of the carpet and decided it was time to see how the hardwood floors looked. Again, we were very fortunate because they are in great shape! We almost wouldn't have to refinish them but we'd like them lighter, more natural looking to match the bedrooms. This photo was taken a month or so after moving in, June 2007. Caleigh was still a puppy! The day we moved in. We had a lot of cosmetic work to do to make it feel like our own. We were lucky though because the house was taken care of -the previous owner had lived here for 50 years and was meticulous. Before we'd officially bought the house. This picture was taken during a showing/walk- thru of the house. Boy, does it look different, very different!

Another belly shot. We've been taking all the photos in the babies room but right now its full of furniture from the living room because we pulled up our carpet and are going to refinish our hardwood! Yea! Finally. I told Clint if we don't do it soon one day he'll come home from work and I'll have gone crazy and just pulled it all up myself. The floors look great by the way! They are in perfect condition. It feels so much cleaner to have the carpet up. It wasn't really old or super dirty but we'd been thinking of refinishing the hardwood for almost 3 years now...since we moved in. It was time. Babies are on their way. 17 week profile photo.