Triplets Birthday! Sept 8th, 2009

Triplets Birthday 9-8-09

Well – if you haven’t heard already the triplets are here!! They were born on Sept 8th and 8:28 AM, 8:29 AM, and 8:30 AM. The first born was Allison Marie and was 3lbs 6oz and 16 ¼ inches long. The second born was Jasmine Paige and was 3lbs 11oz and she was 16 ½ inches long. The third born was Tanner Preston and he was 4 lbs 4oz and 18 ½ inches long. The babies were all doing just great when they were born.

We did give the hospital a run for the money though because labor came on VERY VERY FAST. I woke up at 6:45 AM and started having some contractions. I told Dave to hang tight and stay home for work for a bit in case they got worse. And – in no time they definitely did!!! By 7:15 AM I was in the shower and in a LOT of pain. I tried to move quickly and had Dave finish packing the bags (thank GOD we had the majority of them packed!) and we barely made it to the van and out the driveway. We did not have any time to drop Mason off at Melissa’s house I just told Dave get me to the ER NOW!!! I felt like I had to push very badly. He went about 65 MPH down Hwy 98 and I swear we hit every red light. The quick trip felt like the movies. We arrived at the ER, bypassed the security guard, and someone came out to assist us. We told them what was going on and they put me in a wheel chair and brought me up to labor and delivery within minutes because I was having triplets and literally if they didn’t move the triplets were going to be born in the ER. They took me right to the operating room, got me on the table, people everywhere at that point and checked me. All I really remember from that point was the lady who checked me saying she’s “COMPLETE with 32 week triplets” I was completely dilated in a course of an hour! It was pretty crazy. They then proceeded to put me to sleep very quickly as I was in so much pain and they had to get them babies out ASAP so my uterus wouldn’t rupture. During all of this poor Dave had to park the car and brought Mason inside and up to labor & delivery. They wouldn’t let Dave into the OR because it was such an emergency so again he missed the delivery – he didn’t see Mason born either because he was also an emergency C-Section. He brought Mason to day care quick and met me in recovery after all was said and done.

It was a very crazy morning to say the least, but we were just soooo happy the babies were born healthy. Jasmine & Tanner required oxygen for about a day after they were born but were quickly moved to room air after they did so well. Allison even though she was the smallest – came out and didn’t need any oxygen – she did great!!

Well that’s about it for now I will post another post shortly with more updates and pictures.

Quick Update Post 30 weeks 5 days

Well I made it this far, but am unfortanately on bedrest now. Not crazy strict bedrest but need to keep my feet up and take it easy. Dr. predicts babies will arrive within 2 weeks so I'll be right about average of 32 weeks, but still hoping to make it a bit further.

I am having some small contractions - not anything you can really time, but the babies are definitely preparing to make their arrival and running out of room. That's a lot of baby in one belly.

I starting having a few issues this weekend so called the Dr. on call today (my doctor is out of town) and he sent me home for at least 3-4 days and probably bedrest until the babies are born unless symptoms stop. Don't have to be seen yet, but I have to keep an eye on things.

That's about it for now. Going to work from home as much as I can - it's hard to type on a recliner with a big ole belly...LOL but I'll make it work. I hate to start maternity leave officially until we have some babies.

Hope all is well everywhere else.

Stacey

30 week update!!

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but on Wednesday we had our 30 week appointment with Dr. Barrett and another full ultrasound. And....we have good news to report. Everything still looks great. Dana, our ultrasound tech took measurements of all the babies and made sure they are growing just right. The new weight estimates are as follows. Baby A (girl) is 2lbs 14oz. Baby B (2nd girl) is 3lbs 1oz. Baby C (boy) is 3lbs 12oz. Obviously our boy is the little chunk of the bunch :-) The girls measured around the 40th percentile and Tanner the 74th percentile. The fluid levels still look very good, but unfortunately the tech could not see my cervix so hopefully it hasn't shortened at all. Baby A is sitting very low which is why she couldn't see it during the ultrasound. Also Baby A and Baby C are still breeched, but somehow Baby B did a 180 and is head down down. The tech was very very surprised by that since they really don't have any room to move around anymore. Baby C is also really far up into my rib cage, his head is right below my chest, so breathing can be a bit of a chore at times :-) She looked good though so that's all that matters. I am definitely starting to get uncomfortable just because my belly is getting so big, but I am pushing along because I'd rather be uncomfortable and suffer than have our babies in the NICU for a long time and be born too early and have them suffer!!

So the new goal is to get me to 34 weeks which would be Sept 23rd. By then the girls would be over 4lbs and Tanner over 5 lbs which would be great birth weights for triplets. I am a little nervous because our Dr (the only high risk one of his type in Lakeland) is on vacation until Sept 14th!! So if I deliver before then it would be a regular doctor who does my c-section. I'm sure he's well qualified, but we'd really prefer if Dr. Barrett took care of everything. So - let's at least hoe to make it till Sept 14th at least!!

Finally, I am still not on bedrest!! I am very happy about that because work keeps my mind off the babies and passes the time much more quickly than being at home. I do have to take it easy though and am not on my feet very much or I get tired. But so far haven't had any real contractions (a few Braxton hicks ones, but nothing major) and I am still in good spirits since the babies are still inside growing!! Dave has been great as well and a big help pampering me at night, making dinner, doing dishes, bathing Mason, and doing my list of chores because I can't STAND when the house gets cluttery and messy! It drives me nuts. I also do what I can to help out so we are doing just fine.

Please keep us in your prayers and pray for 34 weeks!!!

29 week 1 day update

So yesterday we hit our 29 week point. Each week the babies stay in the happier we are!! It is so important for them to keep growing and each and every day will make them even healthier when they are born. Our short term goal is the average of 32 weeks and if we go past that we will be shooting for the final goal of 35 weeks, at that point Dr. Barrett will need to take them or it gets too risky. But they would be around 5 lbs at 35 weeks so we'd be very happy with that!! I am getting pretty uncomfortable, especially trying to sleep at night and getting up 4 times to go to the bathroom, but like I said I can handle the uncomfortableness if it makes our babies healthier in the long run and they don't have to suffer in the NICU very long. Please keep us in your prayers and hope I can keep these babies in till at least 32 weeks!!!

This past weekend Melissa threw me a baby shower at my house. It was so nice and so much fun. There were about 20 people there and we had a really nice time. The food was really really good. We had Mexican Food and strawberry shortcake for desert. We played some games and I got some really great gifts. Overall, we are pretty well ready for the babies to come. Tonight I am hoping to go get the last few things from Target that we need and we should be pretty well good to go!! It's nice to know that everything is organized and ready - helps put my mind at ease and focus on healthy babies!

Also - little Mason is doing very well. He's having so much fun with Grandma Miller visiting. He's at a pretty fun age, but is definitely trying to become more independent and you can tell he's 2 1/2. He's been trying to talk back a bit in the past few weeks so we are nipping that in the butt right away or we will have problems :-)

I hope everyone is doing well and I'll update and add another post after our 30 week Dr appt on the 26th - next Wednesday.

28 week appt

Just a quick post today to update everyone on my Drs. appt I had yesterday. I am now officially 28 weeks and everything is still going just fine! The babies are growing very nicely, I didn't get exact weight estimates this time, but just at a brief glance he said they are probably about 2 and 1/2 lbs, the boy a little bigger. I had my lovely glucose test as well and had to drink my orange drink. YUCK!! I remember how much I hated that drink. Then they proceeded to draw 6 tubes of blood - I was beginning to wonder if I was donating it. Dr. Barrett said our new goal is 5 lb babies born at 35 weeks! I don't think I can make it that long, but I promise I will give it a good shot. Right now, my belly is measuring at full term, for one baby that is. I am starting to feel like the blueberry girl from Willy Wonka, if someone pokes me with a pin I'll pop!! Other than that, not much else to report, just taking it easy and am happy I am not on bedrest yet.

Our next appt is August 26th - 30 weeks and they will do another complete ultrasound and weight estimates and everything then.

Right now my Mom is down visiting and Dave is up north in Wisconsin. He'll be driving back on Sunday and hopefully be back in Florida sometime on Monday night or Tuesday AM. It's nice having my Mom here though, then I can relax at night, my house stays nice & clean so I don't have to worry about that, and Mason of course loves Grandma time! Plus I wanted some company while Dave is gone for a week.

That's about it for now - hope all is well for everyone else.

Mason gets his Face Painted

One more quick thing. A few weeks ago we went to my company bowling party and Mason had a BLAST. He is quite the little bowler. He didn't really care to watch the pins fall down but as soon as she threw his ball he was off and running to get the next ball. It kept Daddy very busy to say the least. They had these neat little metal stands though that Mason could just place his ball on and then push it down the slide and it rolled down the alley - highly recommended for a 2 year old bowling for the first time!

When we were done bowling Mason got his face painted. He sat so nice while they painted a puppy dog on his face - it turned out so cute. But good thing we took pictures because by the time we got home the paint was pretty well rubbed off. I think it made his face itchy :-) Here are some pictures of Mason with his face as a puppy dog and him looking at himself in the mirror. He LOVED the mirror.

26 week appt & nursery pics

So we had a 26 week appt on Tuesday and all went well. The babies are doing great and growing nicely. Baby A was 1 estimated at lb 10oz, Baby B was 1 lb 12oz, and Baby C (our boy) was 2 lbs 4 oz. Hopefully they have also grown a few ounces since then and the girls reaching the 2 lb mark. The crazy thing is I have only gained 12 lbs since being pregnant which the Dr. said is remarkable with triplets. I definitely have been eating enough - I'm hungry all the time!! I have also been trying to drink plenty of water because that is supposed to help prevent pre-term labor from everything I have read. The babies also had great heart rates, A was 134, B was 139, and C was 154. We are getting more and more prepared as the days pass for the babies. The nursery is pretty well all set and the dining room (baby area) is pretty well set up as well. 2 swings, 3 bouncy chairs, play mats, etc. It's crazy how much gear you need for triplets!

As for Mommy, I've been feeling pretty good yet. Obviously starting to get quite uncomfortable, but still able to get around pretty well, just need to be sure I take breaks :-) Dave has been a wonderful help though and is a trooper. He comes home after working 10 hours or more and waits on his wife and does chores so I can relax. Also - I am very happy I am not on bedrest yet and can still work. It's much easier keeping busy than to sit and think about the babies as the days pass slowly.

Our next appt is August 11th and Grandma Miller gets to come along. She will be flying in on August 9th till the 22nd to help get the last finishing touches ready for the babies and hang out with us for a few weeks. Also - it will be nice she is here because Dave is heading to WI to get a mini-van his brother in law gave him for an extra vehicle and will be driving it back. He will leave August 12th and will hopefully be back by August 17th. A quick trip, but we want to be sure he's not gone too long in case the babies want to try and make an early appearance. Our goal is still 32 weeks (average for triplets) but would love to see me make it to 34 weeks!! The would be so much healthier and have a shorter NICU stay!

Well that's about it for now. We are getting ready to head to Lydia's 7th birthday party for some food and to go swimming for awhile - it's 94 out today!! The pool or in the AC is the only place I want to be!

I attached a few pictures of the nursery - it turned out so cute!! ENJOY ;-)

24 week Dr. Appt Update

Hello all -

Just a quick post today, but we saw Dr. Barrett for a 24 week check up. I was 24 weeks on Tuesday which is a good milestone that increases the survival rate of the triplets greatly if they would be born today. Still not a great survival rate and very very risky, but we are making our way closer to our goal of 32 or 33 weeks - would be September 8th or later and we are very happy about that. Dr. Barrett said he was very impressed with how well I am doing and the babies look great. All 3 babies have a good amount of fluid around them and they are very active. The heartbeats looks great and he estimates all of them to be a little less than a pound and a half. Our next appt is for another full blown big ultrasound on July 28th so we are looking forward to that. Unfortunately, I have a cold right now so am feeling under the weather, and we hope I get over it quickly without meds!

We also recently got back from our cruise on Sunday to the Bahama's - we had a WONDERFUL time. It was really great to spend some one on one time with Dave before the babies are born - we definitely needed that. We went with our friends Melissa & Joe and had a great time with them as well. We had adjoining state rooms which was really nice :-) I took it very easy though and enjoyed the relaxation time I was able to get. I also slept great on the boat, I think I liked the slight rocking; it put me right to sleep!
Also - my parents were here the past week and a half and left on Sunday. We had a very nice visit with them, but unfortunately for them, there was a lot of work that needed to be done. They were SUCH great helpers though and we got a lot of stuff done that we really needed to do since we recently moved into our new home. We built garage shelves, put up ceiling fans, hung lots of pictures, and completely set up the nursery which turned out great. I will post some pictures of that soon.

Oh and one more thing - we have all the baby names picked out.

Baby A - Allison Marie Gorka (Ally for short)
Baby B - Jasmine Paige Gorka
Baby C - Tanner Preston Gorka

I tell you - picking out 3 names that we both agreed upon was quite tough!! But glad we finally agreed and that the naming part is beyond us.

All right - well my short post turned a bit long but oh well. Here are some pictures from our cruise and yes one shows a nice big side view of the baby belly.

Lots of Updates

So sorry I haven't updated my blog in almost a month!!! So this post may be a little long.

First things first - we had our last doctors appointment on July 21st and had our big ultrasound then. Everything went great and the babies were doing wonderful. and we now know we are having 2 girls and 1 boy. We are very excited about that because our family will be nice & even now and everyone will have a playmate :-) Baby A (a girl) was 12 oz and is an active little one. She was moving all over the place and was giving us a bit of a hard time trying to get measurements. Baby B (a girl) was 13oz and Baby C (our boy) was also 13 oz. They measured perfect for 20 weeks, but now that I am almost 23 weeks they are probably quite a bit bigger hopefully well over a pound. Our next appointment is on July 15th so I'm sure I'll have more updates then. So far I am doing pretty well, getting bigger each day of course and a bit uncomfortable as the days pass, but I'm hanging in there. Since Baby A is pushing right up against my bladder I have been in the bagthroom on average every 2 hours which sucks!! Especially when you are sleeping good at night and you have to drag yourself out of bed. I guess it will prepare me for all the nightly wakeups with triplets!! :-)

Secondly - we had a WONDERFUL trip to Wisconsin. It was so great to see everyone and my parents threw us such a nice party and we got lots of great stuff for the triplets which will definitely be put to use. During the week we did some shopping, went to Green Bay to visit great grandma, had lots of ice cream, took Mason to the Bay Beach and he had a TON of fun, went out to dinner with friends, and Mason had a play date with Abby. Abby is my mom's friends granddaughter and they had lots of fun playing together.

Finally - my parents drove to FL to stay for a few weeks and they arrived on Thursday night. It is great having them here because we have SOOOO many projects to do before the babies arrive or I go on bedrest. This weekend we got quite a bit done already. We put the white trim up in the babies room between the two colors (the bottom is lime green and the top is a sky blue), the babies cribs are up, the curtain in the room is up, a 2nd dresser for the closet is built, and we have all the clothes pretty well organized. We are very thankful for all the clothes that people have given us - we honestly have just a TON of clothes which is great. We will have little to buy in that department until the kids get past the 18-24 month size. We also cleaned out the garage some and put a bunch of totes in the attic and we'll be building shelves soon. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll be able to park both our cars in our 3 car garage - right now, not so much :-)

Well that's about it for now. We are looking forward to going on our cruise this week - we leave on Thursday for 3 days. It will definitely be our last vacation for quite some time. We will be relaxing and eating a LOT of food, that is the plan. Unfortanately, we can't do too many adventurous things, but the relaxation will be well needed.

Attached are a few pictures from our trip to Wisconsin. I'll post some pictures of the babies room when it's completed.

Ta ta for now!!

Stacey

A few more house pictures - don't mind the mess & boxes!