22 Weeks

We had another successful appointment today!

The babies' heart rates are all well within the normal range - between 141 -160. They were all active and mobile - gearing up for their tag team wrestling matches, I'm sure. :) Space is at a premium in there, which makes it difficult to get good photos. We came home with a handful, but it's very difficult to tell what's what - even after the tech explained what we were seeing.

After the ultrasound tech (her name is Lori) did what she needed to do, she turned the screen so Tim and I could watch the action for a minute. We got to watch one of the boys give a good kick on the screen - while seeing the same movement in my belly. Way cool. We all said "Did you see that?!" And Tim added, "He gave you a good one!" :) He certainly did! It was amazing to see what they're doing in there to make those movements visible from the outside.

My glucose test for gestational diabetes came back normal - so that's good news. I don't have to give up chocolate or Ben & Jerry's ice cream. :) Dr. Donald did say that my hemoglobin is low, so he's added an iron supplement to my regimen. Evidently, when your blood supply doubles to provide for 4 babies, your hemoglobin gets dilluted in the additional blood volume. So taking the supplement will boost the level back up where it should be.

Dr. Donald also asked if I had experienced any contractions. I admitted that over the last 2 weeks, I've noted 3. Each of them happened after doing something I shouldn't have been doing in the first place - like pushing a 30-lb box on a shelf or bending over repeatedly to get clothes out of the dryer. So I've added those activities to the growing list of things I won't do any more. But because the contractions were few and far between - and each had a specific reason for happening - the doctor wasn't concerned. He encouraged more fluids and rest - as these will help avoid any further contractions. And he of course agreed that I shouldn't do those things any more. :)

So given all this, and even considering the fact that I'm inching ever closer to full-term size, I've been granted another "2-week pass"! No bed rest yet. More fluids, more rest, avoid any strenuous (read: stupid) activities and keep eating. We go back in about 2 weeks - on February 20. At that appointment, they'll measure my cervical length and also measure the babies' growth. We should have over 4 pounds of baby by then!

Thank you again to everyone for all your prayers and support!
Love,
Kristin & Tim

Houser/McKay Shower - January 24

My aunts on the Houser side (Mom's sisters) threw this shower for us. My long-time close friend Julie "Jules" Rees co-hosted with them. It was a very nice party, girls - thank you! I handed my camera to Jules when she arrived to take photos for me. Here's a selection of the shots she took - starting with the cake Jules brought (above). Above is a gift-opening shot featuring the bumper pad for the cribs (thank you Mom!). This was where I got my inspiration for the border on the walls in the nursery. Molly Rees, Ruby Huermann and Emma Rees. Too stinkin' cute, aren't they? This is what happens when you hand the camera over to Jules...this is not the only "belly" shot she took when I wasn't paying attention... The next generation of McKay girls: Taylor, Meghan (holding Sabrina) and Lauren. The older girls here - along with their older sister Morgan and their mom Julie - have volunteered to help out with our babies when they come home. They are certainly naturals. Thanks to everyone that was able to attend the party - and thank you so much for your generous gifts. We're certainly well on our way to gathering all the necessities for our boys when they come home in the spring. Love, Kristin & Tim

Coleman/Sasse Baby Shower - January 17

Well, now that Leza gave me a tutorial on downloading and modifying photos from our new camera, I can post a few shots from the baby showers.

Here are some photos from the Coleman/Sasse (Tim's family) shower. My sister-in-law Katie hosted the shower at her home (Katie and I are belly-to-belly in the shot above; she was at about 31 weeks at the time; and I was at about 19). My mother-in-law Pat and long-time close friend Leza Rebera were co-hosts. Thank you girls for putting on such a nice event. I'm sorry Leza couldn't attend - she and most of her family came down with a nasty cold just a day or 2 before the shower. But with SIX pregnant women and a gaggle of little girls present, she took the hit for the team to not be there. We missed you! :)

This pic shows some of the darling decorations the girls put out for the shower. I just loved this clothesline over the fireplace.

Look at all the pregnant women! (ranging from 12 weeks to almost 39 weeks) The other women at the shower were afraid to drink the water - for fear it was a contagious condition...

Our nephew Jack was my assistant gift-opener. He did a wonderful job!

I just had to share this shot - if you know me, you know I try to be "green". My fellow tree hugger Theresa LaVeck "wrapped" her gift in this handy reusable bag. I love it!!

While the shower was going on, the guys held a "diaper party" for Tim at the neighbor's house. All guys that wished to come play cards, eat and hang out with Tim had to bring a pack of diapers. We certainly got a good start on our diaper collection - thanks guys!

Thank you to everyone who braved the elements to attend the parties. We certainly missed those that were snowed-in. It was a great day. Thank you!!

Love,

Kristin & Tim

Babies A & B "money shots"

Here are the ultrasound photos I didn't have scanned in yesterday when I posted the 20-week update. Your guess is as good as mine on exactly where the boy parts are in each photo labeled "boy". There's also a nice profile of each baby. Handsome, aren't they? :)

Nursery Update

Just to give you an idea of where we're headed with the nurseries, here are a couple "in progress" shots. These shots of the first nursery were taken at the beginning of January - featuring one of my helpers, Cait Rebera. I used the argyle design on the crib bumper pads as my inspiration for the diamond pattern and colors in the border on the wall. The second nursery is in progress and will look the same - though we've run into some issues with the yellow paint coming off with the tape. We'll have more pictures of the completed walls hopefully this weekend - once the 2nd nursery painting is finished and the gifts piled in the 1st nursery are organized. We'll have some white shelves to hang on the walls. And I'm still looking for ideas on curtains. It's coming together - slowly, but surely.

20-week update (a week late...)

Hi everyone! As many of you already know, last Thursday was our 20-week ultrasound appointment. And we're happy to report that all five of us came thru with flying colors.
The appointment started out like any other, but this time I received a flu shot - just as a preventative measure. I also got a lab slip to get my glucose tested. With multiples, there's a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes. We'll get the results at the next appointment.
Next was the ultrasound. We knew we were in for the long haul - up to 30 minutes per baby in what they call the "level 2" ultrasound. Our tech, Lori, looked for and measured virtually everything from head size to the number of toes the babies' feet - including every organ and bone in between. As she studied each baby, she also confirmed their sex. We already know that Babies C & D are boys, so we were anxious to find out what Babies A & B had in store for us.
(drumroll please...) ... We've got FOUR BOYS. Yep, that's right - 4 boys. But I guess we shouldn't be too surprised. We've beaten the odds with this pregnancy so far - all 3 embryos attaching, one embryo splitting into twins, etc. The odds would say we should have a mix of girls and boys...but why would the odds apply now? :) We're still working on the names. We know Samuel is a major contender for a first name; McKay and Donald are front-runners for middle names. We'll definitely let you know once we make some final decisions. (I don't have the ultrasound pictures scanned yet, but will post the "money shots" for Babies A & B this weekend.)
The really good news that came out of the appointment is that all 4 babies are healthy and growing right on track. Baby A is weighing in at 14 ounces, Baby B & Tommy are 13 oz, and Joey is 12 oz. In addition, when Dr. Donald saw my cervix measurement on the screen, his eyes widened and in true ESPN Sports Center style he said, "She - could - go - all - the - way!" Certainly he didn't imply that I'd go a full 40 weeks, but he did say that a cervix measurement like mine at 20 weeks is a "very promising sign" of a long gestation. Very good news all around. And from this story, my coworkers have come up with a new superhero: Super Cervix. :)
So the appointment ended with another "2-week pass": Dr. Donald sent us off saying, "Keep resting. Keep eating. We'll see you in 2 weeks." So no bed rest yet - but I am trying to take it easy when I can. Tim is certainly picking up my slack around the house - and we've discovered that we've got a great circle of friends here in Indiana. They've offered to help us with everything from grocery shopping to house cleaning to snow shoveling. Our local peeps are definitely our family away from home. Thank you!!!
I've been feeling more and more movement from the babies. Some kicks are strong enough to be seen and felt from outside - and Tim got to feel a couple good kicks last week. Just tonight while I'm typing this, I stopped to watch my belly move while a couple of the boys worked on their wrestling moves. :) I can only imagine what it'll look like as they get bigger. Tim is convinced it'll be tag team wrestling going on in there before long.
Tim is out of town this weekend - up north with his dad for 5 days of snowmobiling - so I'll have lots of time for more blog updates. I hope to get you all caught up on the nurseries and both baby showers earlier this month - with lots of pictures. Thank you again for your continued support and prayers!
Love, Kristin & Tim

Happy New Year!

We started out the new year with our scheduled 2-week visit to the doctor this morning. All 5 of us are progressing well and received a clean bill of health. The appointment this time was short and sweet: no growth measurements on the ultrasound. They measured each baby's heart rate and all are very good - in the 140s and 150s (within the "normal" range). The ultrasound tech commented that things are starting to get a little cramped for space in there - so much so that we still couldn't get clear shots of Babies A & B to determine their sex. Hopefully we'll be able to find out at our next appointment on January 22. The doctor used a tape measure to check my fundal height (or is it fundal length?) - basically the size of my uterus. I think he was a bit aggressive last time when he estimated my size at 26 weeks - because this time with the tape measure, I'm coming in at 27 weeks (though I'm only 17 weeks along). The only words of caution he gave me today were to be sure to get more rest. As I near full-term size, the risk of pre-term labor increases and one of the best ways to avoid that is to get plenty of rest. Since we'll have the painting finished in the nursery in the next week or so, that will certainly help increase my rest time. Speaking of the nursery: With my friend Dana's help, I'm about 75% done with the border in the first room and will start with the border in the 2nd room on Sunday or Monday. I'll post pictures soon. I think that wraps it up for now. We wish you all a wonderful 2009! Love, Tim & Kristin