ChezPerky

I had a quick visit to the perinatologist yesterday. Nothing major, just a cervix measurement and a quick look at the fetal heart rates. Also weight and BP for me. My weight has held steady and my BP was fine. Cervix was great. Still over 4 cm. The doctor was shocked, it seemed. He said we really couldn’t ask for any better and he was thrilled.

What he wasn’t thrilled about was the fact that I’m still working full-time.
“Do you think it’s time to start considering how long you’re going to keep this up?”
“Well… I’m really tired. It’s just…”
“What are you doing when you’re at work?”
“Sitting at a desk in a chair.”
“You need to be getting up occasionally.”
“I’m doing that too.”
He kind of started squirming. He obviously didn’t want to tell me I can’t work, when things are clearly going well, but he clearly wasn’t comfortable with my cavalier attitude about working either.
“Most of my triplet patients don’t have any problem with working specifically, unless they’re having to move heavy things around a lot or walk long distances or whatnot. It’s getting to and from work and the stresses involved with that.”
“Well, the hardest part for me is for sure getting there and back and especially just walking from my car to my office which is really getting painful. But I’m mostly okay, just really, really tired.”
“So don’t you think it’s time to consider cutting your hours back at least? I certainly do.”

Essentially the conversation went on like that for a bit. He has essentially advised that I start coming in a bit later, leaving a bit earlier, working from home if I can, and most importantly, getting a temporary handicap parking permit so that I’m not walking so far. But, essentially, I’ve probably got another three weeks or so in me of being able to get into the office routinely. “The last thing we want,” he cautioned with his serious-doctor-face on, “is for you to start contracting and to have your cervix suddenly shorten. We don’t want to see that happen at all. Your job is to take care of yourself and the babies right now.”

And I suppose there’s no real arguing with that.

I should mention that this is the doctor who was willing to admit that we can, if possible, have the discussion of a vaginal delivery when the time comes if everything lines up just right. So I’d really rather not piss him off. 😉 And I can’t pretend like I didn’t hear what he said about cutting down my work hours, because my husband was actually present at this appointment so there’s a witness.

In other news, he didn’t have any issue with increasing my Topamax dosage per the neurologist’s recommendation. Also, I keep forgetting to mention that pregnancy rocks because my fingernails are totally rockin’ right now. Normally they are brittle and icky and break off before they get any length at all to them. Now they won’t stop growing and they’re strong, and I don’t know what to do with them because never in my life have I had to take care of nails. I’ve never had to consider cutting down or filing nails, and now, well, now a whole world has opened up. 🙂

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I had a quick visit to the perinatologist yesterday. Nothing major, just a cervix measurement and a quick look at the fetal heart rates. Also weight and BP for me. My weight has held steady and my BP was fine. Cervix was great. Still over 4 cm. The doctor was shocked, it seemed. He said we really couldn't ask for any better and he was thrilled.

What he wasn't thrilled about was the fact that I'm still working full-time.
"Do you think it's time to start considering how long you're going to keep this up?"
"Well… I'm really tired. It's just…"
"What are you doing when you're at work?"
"Sitting at a desk in a chair."
"You need to be getting up occasionally."
"I'm doing that too."
He kind of started squirming. He obviously didn't want to tell me I can't work, when things are clearly going well, but he clearly wasn't comfortable with my cavalier attitude about working either.
"Most of my triplet patients don't have any problem with working specifically, unless they're having to move heavy things around a lot or walk long distances or whatnot. It's getting to and from work and the stresses involved with that."
"Well, the hardest part for me is for sure getting there and back and especially just walking from my car to my office which is really getting painful. But I'm mostly okay, just really, really tired."
"So don't you think it's time to consider cutting your hours back at least? I certainly do."

Essentially the conversation went on like that for a bit. He has essentially advised that I start coming in a bit later, leaving a bit earlier, working from home if I can, and most importantly, getting a temporary handicap parking permit so that I'm not walking so far. But, essentially, I've probably got another three weeks or so in me of being able to get into the office routinely. "The last thing we want," he cautioned with his serious-doctor-face on, "is for you to start contracting and to have your cervix suddenly shorten. We don't want to see that happen at all. Your job is to take care of yourself and the babies right now."

And I suppose there's no real arguing with that.

I should mention that this is the doctor who was willing to admit that we can, if possible, have the discussion of a vaginal delivery when the time comes if everything lines up just right. So I'd really rather not piss him off. 😉 And I can't pretend like I didn't hear what he said about cutting down my work hours, because my husband was actually present at this appointment so there's a witness.

In other news, he didn't have any issue with increasing my Topamax dosage per the neurologist's recommendation. Also, I keep forgetting to mention that pregnancy rocks because my fingernails are totally rockin' right now. Normally they are brittle and icky and break off before they get any length at all to them. Now they won't stop growing and they're strong, and I don't know what to do with them because never in my life have I had to take care of nails. I've never had to consider cutting down or filing nails, and now, well, now a whole world has opened up. 🙂

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Rachel Inbar said: Maybe I’m reading between the lines, but you sound pretty happy to me.

Babies kicking? Yes, I’m happy (if still a bit weirded out). It’s neat, and it’s a sure sign that they’re still bouncing around in there, that they are growing, and that everything is happening as it should be. So definitely happy. Inability to keep food or fluids down? Not so happy. I can now keep fluids down, which is the important bit, but haven’t kept much more than broth down all weekend, which isn’t particularly pleasant.

I also received a couple very nice emails last week and over the weekend. Several people have contacted me via email recently who also have triplets or who are expecting triplets, including several local triplet moms. One such triplet mom who is local to me and saw the same perinatology practice that I’m seeing was worried that I would think she was freakish and weird for emailing me randomly… but that’s half the fun of having a blog. Plus, if I didn’t expect people would email me directly, I wouldn’t publish my email address in my sidebar. So seriously… if you have something to say or ask or just mention and you don’t think it’s appropriate for a comment or you think it’s more private than a comment, please email me. I love receiving your emails and while I’m not always super-quick to respond to email these days, I do my best and I generally DO get to it within a few days.

I am astounded at how quickly I’ve become a triplet blog resource of sorts. Suddenly women who are newly pregnant with triplets are finding my blog and writing and asking about my experience. I feel so ill-qualified to address any such questions, since I’m only 20 weeks pregnant… but on the other hand, I remember that when I first found out I was pregnant with triplets, it never occurred to me that I would make it to 20 weeks, and here I am. I received one such email this weekend:

Do you ever get past feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck and left for dead?!? I know- funny, but not funny. I’m at 7w5d and am just praying that this will pass- at least lighten up at some point. (It blows my mid that you’ve been able to work this whole time.)
Also wondering- do you ever reach a point where you stop freaking out about having 3 babies? Do you get used to the idea?

I sent an inadequate response, I fear, but I also thought this might be a good one to blog anyway. I don’t have my response available to me here, since I sent it from home, but here are a couple off-the-cuff thoughts:

Re: exhaustion… I can’t say you’ll ever stop being exhausted, but the really horrifying exhaustion from that early in pregnancy does abate somewhat. I’m not sure if it’s that I adjusted to it, or if it’s that it got a little better. I’m still exhausted ALL THE TIME, but I’m slightly more functional through my exhaustion than I was, and I don’t feel quite so much like I was hit by a truck.

As for getting used to the idea of three babies… well, yes and no. I’m not freaking out about having three babies anymore, but I do have my moments where the reality hits me and hits me hard. Do you get used to the idea? Sort of. I wouldn’t say I’m totally used to the idea, but I’m at this point where I’m completely attached to the idea, which is just as good. I want these three babies, scary as it is, but I admit to having some fears about how we’ll manage to parent all three, and fears about how I’ll get through the rest of the pregnancy and the delivery. My husband has consistently taken the news of impending triplets far more gracefully than I have and has a sort of unexplainable zen about the whole thing, but even he has a funny perspective sometimes that I’m only starting to notice. I turned to him the other night and said, “Oh my gosh! do you realize that in about three months, we’re going to have THREE babies?” “Yup,” he said, “It’s really going to suck. I mean, it’s going to be miraculous and amazing and beautiful, I’m sure, but you know… it’s going to suck in a lot of ways… you think you’re not sleeping now? Just you wait!” Still, I know that at this point, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Rachel Inbar said: Maybe I'm reading between the lines, but you sound pretty happy to me.

Babies kicking? Yes, I'm happy (if still a bit weirded out). It's neat, and it's a sure sign that they're still bouncing around in there, that they are growing, and that everything is happening as it should be. So definitely happy. Inability to keep food or fluids down? Not so happy. I can now keep fluids down, which is the important bit, but haven't kept much more than broth down all weekend, which isn't particularly pleasant.

I also received a couple very nice emails last week and over the weekend. Several people have contacted me via email recently who also have triplets or who are expecting triplets, including several local triplet moms. One such triplet mom who is local to me and saw the same perinatology practice that I'm seeing was worried that I would think she was freakish and weird for emailing me randomly… but that's half the fun of having a blog. Plus, if I didn't expect people would email me directly, I wouldn't publish my email address in my sidebar. So seriously… if you have something to say or ask or just mention and you don't think it's appropriate for a comment or you think it's more private than a comment, please email me. I love receiving your emails and while I'm not always super-quick to respond to email these days, I do my best and I generally DO get to it within a few days.

I am astounded at how quickly I've become a triplet blog resource of sorts. Suddenly women who are newly pregnant with triplets are finding my blog and writing and asking about my experience. I feel so ill-qualified to address any such questions, since I'm only 20 weeks pregnant… but on the other hand, I remember that when I first found out I was pregnant with triplets, it never occurred to me that I would make it to 20 weeks, and here I am. I received one such email this weekend:

Do you ever get past feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck and left for dead?!? I know- funny, but not funny. I’m at 7w5d and am just praying that this will pass- at least lighten up at some point. (It blows my mid that you’ve been able to work this whole time.)
Also wondering- do you ever reach a point where you stop freaking out about having 3 babies? Do you get used to the idea?

I sent an inadequate response, I fear, but I also thought this might be a good one to blog anyway. I don't have my response available to me here, since I sent it from home, but here are a couple off-the-cuff thoughts:

Re: exhaustion… I can't say you'll ever stop being exhausted, but the really horrifying exhaustion from that early in pregnancy does abate somewhat. I'm not sure if it's that I adjusted to it, or if it's that it got a little better. I'm still exhausted ALL THE TIME, but I'm slightly more functional through my exhaustion than I was, and I don't feel quite so much like I was hit by a truck.

As for getting used to the idea of three babies… well, yes and no. I'm not freaking out about having three babies anymore, but I do have my moments where the reality hits me and hits me hard. Do you get used to the idea? Sort of. I wouldn't say I'm totally used to the idea, but I'm at this point where I'm completely attached to the idea, which is just as good. I want these three babies, scary as it is, but I admit to having some fears about how we'll manage to parent all three, and fears about how I'll get through the rest of the pregnancy and the delivery. My husband has consistently taken the news of impending triplets far more gracefully than I have and has a sort of unexplainable zen about the whole thing, but even he has a funny perspective sometimes that I'm only starting to notice. I turned to him the other night and said, "Oh my gosh! do you realize that in about three months, we're going to have THREE babies?" "Yup," he said, "It's really going to suck. I mean, it's going to be miraculous and amazing and beautiful, I'm sure, but you know… it's going to suck in a lot of ways… you think you're not sleeping now? Just you wait!" Still, I know that at this point, he wouldn't have it any other way.

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