A little Q and A

So, because I don't really have any medical news today - other than my insane blood pressure seems to have calmed itself a bit more, I decided to answer a few of the frequently asked questions we get...if you have any others, I'll be happy to make another post. I don't mind the curiosity - really - we're all family now!

1. Do you know the sexes of the babies? no, Brent and I made a decision early on not to find out what the sexes are. I reconsidered a bit in light of recent events and brought it up again, but we still decided to be left in the dark. What an amazing (though quite trivial) surprise it will be on delivery day - which WILL BE AT LEAST 6 or more weeks away right?

2. Did you have in vitro? Actually, the number of people who asked this sort of surprised me - especially when it was people I didn't even know - like the checkout person at the grocery or the teller at the bank. It was a bit frustrating at first, but I've tried to get used to it. People are just curious...so in answer, NO, we did not have in vitro.

3. Were you surprised and what did Brent say? Surprised? yes, very. I didn't really say too much during my first trimester actually and I felt like I had a constantly perplexed look on my face. Brent really seemed to take the news much better than I. He's been absolutly wonderful throughout - even now when I know he must be just as scared and preoccupied as I am but is still carrying on with our home and his job - and trying to support me.

4. Do triplets run in the family? no, not at all.

5. How are you feeling? let's see, exhausted mostly, scared, sad, lost, determined, hopeful, needy, never defeated though - not for one second

6. You must hate being on bedrest. Ok so that's not really a question but I'll give a response anyhow. Overall, it's been a bit easier for me to be here as I was spending an awful lot of time before in labs and waiting rooms and driving about to get to my various appointments. This way, they all have to come to me. I wasn't allowed to really do any more at home than I am here actually so at least this way, some of the responsibility for my day to day care is put off on the nurses and staff at the hospital and I don't have the constant threat of being admitted to deal with each time I see a doctor. So, whatever I need to do to keep the little ones safe, honestly, I'm glad to do it.

7. Is your house ready? Ready? not even close. I haven't been able to really do anything since I found out I was carrying triplets so actually it's a bit of a mess. However, these babies won't come out walking so as long as there's a place for them to sleep, running water, and a ridiculous supply of diapers, all else can wait.

8. Can you have visitors? That's a more difficult question for me. Although I'd love to see everyone all the time, visits are really hard for me and with my erratic blood pressure, I try to keep the room as quiet as possible. I need tons of sleep - honestly, I'm not really awake all that often and I get out of breath easily so email is really the easiest. I have occasional visitors but people usually stay about 20 minutes or so before I start getting tired again so if you're around town and would like to stop in, you're welcome to do so but please don't make a special trip.

9. How much weight have you gained? haha - I am surprisingly unoffended by that - I tried to become just as obsessed with gaining the appropriate amount of weight in a healthy way as I was with a generally healthy lifestyle prior to getting pregnant. So, in answer - 40 pounds right now. I should gain up to about 75 depending on length of gestation. ( I must admit though, I am looking forward to getting back into some sort of gym and yoga routine as soon as my doctors release me to do so).

10. Is there anything you need? I'm quite well taken care of - the outpour of prayers and support have been humbling overwhelming and so very appreciated. There isn't anything specific though I must admit that Brent and I are not the best at asking for help (we are working on that). He tells me baby gifts are still arriving at the house. Everyone's generosity has been more than we could ever ask for. Right now, my only focus is to draw this pregnancy out as long as possible.

Please send me any other curious questions you may have - I'll answer them in these blogs as best I can. Again - thanks so much. Test results tomorrow...