First Month

I started thinking I might be pregnant when:
Our pregnancy was planned. Being that I am unable to conceive naturally, we went through IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). 4 embryo’s were implanted on 9/30/06.

So we defiantly knew there was a possibility that we could be pregnant. I had the tender breasts but they are also tender when I get my period so we weren’t getting too excited yet.

I found out I was pregnant when I:
We took a home pregnancy test on Oct. 9, 2006. The results were positive but we still didn’t want to get our hopes up until we took the blood test at the lab.

Our 1st lab work (10/13/06) showed our HCG level to be at 399 which confirmed that we were pregnant.

Our 2nd lab work (10/16/06) showed our HCG level to be at 924 which confirms that our pregnancy is progressing as we’d hoped!

I felt:
We were extremely happy and excited but still cautious knowing that we could have a miscarriage at anytime.

The first person I told was:
The 1st person we called was Grandma of course since she calls us every single day to check on us & see how we are doing. We left a message for my Mom since we are hardly able to reach her with her work schedule and the time difference from here (Nevada) to Hawaii.

Then we called Curt’s family: Lindsay, Mom, Dad & Christy.

I also called one of my closest friends Shelley and told her the exciting news!

They reacted by:
Everyone was happy as well as shocked to know that there were going to be 3 babies on the way! They thought we were really joking.

Grandma on the other hand was asking where the 4th one was. She insisted that there was a 4th one and that it was hiding.

The first ultrasound was:
Our 1st ultrasound was on Oct. 24, 2006 & it showed that we were having TRIPLETS!

My baby will be born:
Our estimated due date is June 24, 2007. But upon research, we learned that most women expecting triplets usually give birth between 28-32 weeks. That means we could give birth as early as April 1st, 2007.

Of course we don’t want to give birth that early because that will mean baby will be premature, under weight and under nourished. We want our babies to be healthy and strong.

The strangest symptom of pregnancy I had this month was:
My nipples got bigger…shhhh!

My fears:
There was a few occasions that I was spotting with blood. Of course that’s not normal when pregnant but the doctor assured us that everything was fine.

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Second Month

The hardest thing for me to give up is:
I guess the hardest thing for me to give up right now is “FOOD”. Being that my morning sickness is so severe, I am unable to eat leaving me with little energy to do anything. I try to sleep as much as I can so I don’t feel so miserable.

However, it’s also hard being so far away from my “family and friends” back in Hawaii. We moved to Las Vegas a little over a month ago and I don’t have the emotional support here that I would have if I were back home.

This month I told:
This month I told my family in North Carolina (Dad, Bruizer & Uncle Jr). I also told Tammy and Shavonn so they could send me their maternity pants now that they don’t need it anymore.

They reacted by:
Everyone was shocked when they found out that we could possibly be having triplets.

Almost everyone’s first reactions was, “what, are you kidding, you’re joking right”?

This month at my prenatal visit I learned that:
I haven’t been to the doctor yet this month. We have an appointment tomorrow (11/16/06) & we are both excited. I’m a bit more scared and nervous but Curt insists that there’s nothing to be worried about.

Our visit to the Doctor on Nov. 16, 2006 was one of the happiest by far. We had our second ultrasound and we saw all 3 of the baby’s hearts beat.

The mere sight of all 3 hearts flickering was breathtaking. We could breath that sigh of relief knowing that our babies were progressing well and that we didn’t have to worry about having had another miscarriage.

New pregnancy symptoms I had this month:
I’ve been throwing up every single day this month. So naturally I’ve lost some weight but we all know I can afford to lose it.

My hopes:
My hopes and prayers are the same every day. I hope and pray that our pregnancy continues to progress and the outcome to be beautiful healthy babies.

My fears:
My fears are something to be expected from someone that has had 6 previous miscarriages. I am scared to death of having another miscarriage and I don’t think that fear will subside until I actually give birth.

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Third Month

What I’m enjoying the most about my pregnancy so far is:
I really enjoy getting lots of love and attention from Curt & Sierra. They’ve been spoiling me a lot!

The strangest advice I’ve received is:
I haven’t had any really strange advice yet. Although many people are happy for us, you can tell a few people are concerned and have their doubts about us being able to care for 3 babies at once.

Oh wait…come to think of it, Grandma keeps telling me to stand on my head so the babies won’t fall out. I guess you can say that’s pretty strange! Ha ha ha!!!

Names that I’ve been thinking of:
Boy’s Names…Micah, Braden, Cody, Caleb & Tyler
(& maybe Derek)

Girl’s Names…Brooke, Tiare, Katelyn, Brianna & Kiersten
(possibly Sariah or Samara as well)

Girl or boy? I think you will be a:
Well…since we’re expecting triplets we think we’ll have both a boy & a girl. We all think (or hope) it will be 2 boys & a girl.

Sierra said she wants 2 boys & a girl so it will be even. We’ll have a total of 2 boys & 2 girls (including her)!

However, Lindsay (Curt’s younger Sister) insists that we are having 2 girls & a boy. We’ll just have to wait and see =)

At my prenatal visit this month I found out that:
All 3 babies are still doing good…I’ll be seeing a specialist in a few weeks and we’ll get more detailed info on the triplets status.

My hopes:
I would really like to fly back home to Hawaii to see everyone one last time before I give birth. Lord knows we won’t be able to travel for a L-O-N-G time after the triplets are born!

My fears:
I am concerned that one or more of the babies won’t develop properly. I also fear losing any of them during or before birth.

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Fourth Month

What I least expected with this pregnancy was:
I haven’t really experienced anything too bad during this pregnancy. I can’t move as fast, walk as far or stand as long but other then that it has been pretty good so far.

Though I didn’t really expect to be able to stay home (not working) through out my entire pregnancy. It’s nice but I get bored at home all alone.

The best bit of advice I’ve received is:
All I ever hear is REST, REST, REST! Not too many people have offered me advice since most of them have never experienced a pregnancy with more then one or two babies…let alone three!

What has changed the most in my life with this pregnancy is:
Our move was the biggest change so far but we would have done it regardless if I were pregnant or not.

Besides that, I think our family (Curt, Sierra & I) have all become closer. There’s this tight bond that we share and the feeling is so wonderful.

What made me realize that I was really pregnant was:
Well there was that brief period of the worst morning sickness ever, my belly is ginormous and I can’t get around as fast…LOL!

This month’s ultrasound was:
Oh My Lord…this one’s a whopper. We’ve had 3 previous ultrasounds and each one showed that we were having triplets.

At the beginning of this month we went to the hospital for bleeding. It turned out to be nothing serious AND…they found another baby!!!

Yes…we are now expecting QUADRUPLETS, can you believe it?! We got confirmation from our specialist that we were indeed having 4 babies.

We HEARD all 4 heartbeats for the first time and we were told that they look like 2 boys & 2 girls!!!

At my prenatal visit this month I discovered that:
Dr. Wold told me that I’d more then likely be hospitalized at 24 weeks with or without complications. He also said that quads are usually born between 28-30 weeks…a few weeks earlier then triplets.

So that means I’ll probably be living in the hospital in about 2 months from now and giving birth in 3 months.

My hopes:
I hope I’m able to get everything in order before having to be admitted to the hospital. I also hope that the babies don’t come out too early. I want them to be as healthy as possible before they are born.

My fears:
It just hit me today that I’ll be giving birth soon and I don’t have a single thing for the babies yet. I’m scared I won’t be prepared before their arrival.

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Fifth Month

The first time I felt you kick:
I’ve been feeling frequent flutters every now and then but no really serious kicking. I guess they already know better then to kick Mommy…LOL!

I felt:
Every time I feel something I ask myself, “was that the babies moving or was it just gas?” Ha ha ha! I guess I’m still finding it hard to believe that I’m actually pregnant…with quadruplets on top of it!

The strangest food craving I’ve had is:
Surprisingly, I haven’t had real food cravings at all this entire time. There was this one time I wanted Lau lau and my cousin Angela took care of that. Grandma also made Curt buy me some…which he did and it was G-O-O-D!

Another time I wanted Korean food so I searched the web for a Korean restaurant in Las Vegas and Curt, Sierra and I went and stuffed our faces.

Other then that there hasn’t been any specific items. I can barely eat anything at all with all 4 babies cramped in there…there’s no room for food. The only time I can eat a lot in one sitting is when my cousins Angela or Amando cook because they always make a bunch of “ono” (delicious) local food that I used to eat back in Hawaii. But I’m always stuffed and can’t breathe afterwards.

This month’s prenatal visit taught me that:
Well…towards the middle/ending of last month the doc said everything and everyone looked good except that my cervix had shrunk. He warned me that if it shrunk any more that I’d have to get a cerclage which is a surgery to sew my cervix shut. He didn’t put me on complete bed rest yet but advised me to limit my activities.

A few days later I ended up back in the hospital with more bleeding and I had the surgery done. I had to stay for a little more then a week and it drove me crazy. NOW I’m on complete bed rest and can’t get up for anything except to use the bathroom and take a “fast” shower.

2/5/07 - I had a little more bleeding today and we went in to see Dr. Huang. All the babies and their fluids are fine and so is my cervix. Doc said it was just old blood and nothing to be worried about. It could also be the babies partying too hard in there and fighting for space!

My actual 5 month appointment was on 2/8/07 and everything seemed to be fine. However the next day I had another big gush of blood and I landed up in the hospital again for another 2 weeks. The bleeding stopped that same day but I was having a few contractions. After everything calmed down, I was able to return home.

I am being as good as can be…not moving, just staying in bed all day. I’m dreading that next hospital stay where I’ll be in there until I give birth.

My hopes:
As always I hope the babies continue to grow healthy and strong throughout the pregnancy and after their birth.

I also would like to still be able to buy a house as planned before we found out we were having so many babies. With only one income right now it’s not looking that great. We still qualify but not for as much as we’d like.

If not I hope to at rent a bigger place either before the babies are here or shortly after.

My fears:
I really hope I won’t have a long hospital stay before the babies are born. I just want to be able to go in and give birth…LOL!

I also fear miscarrying this far long or anything happening to any of them after they are born.

I don’t want them to be too small either. I want them to be nice and fat!

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Sixth Month

Buying maternity clothes was:
I bought 2 maternity pants and that was it. I still fit a lot of my regular clothes and maternity clothes are just so expensive.

The first pair I bought was nice but it was ridiculously over priced, so I made sure I got as much use out of it as possible. Later on we found a pair of maternity jeans on sale at Walmart for only $3 so I had to get it…even if I’ve only used it once, I got my full monies worth!

But since I was on bed rest, we never really went any where to get dressed up for. I was mostly at home in my PJ’s all day long.

The biggest change in my body has been:
I think the ONLY change in my body was my belly. It really popped out this month but everything else stayed the same.

Oops…I take that back, by boobs probably doubled in size but they were already big to begin with.

My favorite change in my body has been:
I like having my big belly…walking around and rubbing it all the time. It’s my reassurance of knowing that I was still pregnant.

What I never thought would change was:
I never thought I’d lose my LEG MUSCLES! Since High School and through out my military career I would always here people talking about my leg muscles. When I’d flex they would look so masculine and ugly but for some reason the guys thought it was cool.

After being on bed rest for so long, Curt pointed out that my muscles were gone and now my legs look like chicken legs! Wasn’t that so sweet of him to bring up? Ha ha ha!

At this month’s prenatal visit I learned that:
This month, we learned that baby D wasn’t growing as much as he should be. He was nearly a pound less then the rest of his siblings. Apparently the flow of his umbilical cord wasn’t as strong as it should be which meant he wasn’t getting enough food and proper nutrients. We just have to keep a close eye on him and pray for everything to get better.

My hopes:
I hope to be the best Mom that I can possibly be. I’d also like to be able to manage caring for all my children without having to depend on anyone. I want to be able to share the attention with each child without having anyone feeling left out. And most importantly I’d like to promise myself that I won’t ever get so frustrated to the point where I take it out on my kids or my husband.

My fears:
Losing any or all of the babies and having to explain what happened.

That’s what this site is for…to provide as much info to as much people as possible so they don’t have to ask so many questions. But if you DO have to ask…I’m an open book, just ask away.

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THE END

The babies were born on:
Wednesday March 14, 2007
at Exactly 26 Weeks Gestation
(6 1/2 months)