The Cat is Out of the Bag

So I am now out of my first trimester and everyone who has any connection to my husband and I knows that I am pregnant with triplets. It feels really good to have it out there and not have to keep it a secret anymore, but it's scary at the same time. Even though the risk of losing one or all of them has significantly decreased, there's still a much greater chance that something could go wrong than if this was a "normal" pregnancy. I am a pretty private person, so it's hard knowing that I would have to expose something that personal to so many people if something happened, ya know? But I certainly can't keep it a secret forever. If something goes wrong, we'll just have to deal with it, just as we've dealt with other difficult things in our lives.

I also quit my job, which has been fantastic. It has been so nice to catch up on my sleep and not have to get up at 6 AM every morning. Although, I have actually been waking up at like 5:30 or 6 every morning anyway, haha. I wake up to pee and then I can't fall asleep and then I get hungry. But, the difference is, I can go back to sleep after I've eaten my breakfast and walked the dog. If I were working, not so much.

Speaking of sleep, that has gotten really weird for me. Some nights, I sleep so hard that I barely remember waking up to go to the bathroom. Some nights, I feel like I toss and turn all night. I think some of it has to do with the temperature in the room because I am also REALLY hot sometimes at night. Last night, I woke up so hot that even the mattress under me felt like it was on fire. That was crazy. My mom made me a pregnancy pillow though, which is awesome. It's C-shaped and wraps all around me, so it feels like a big hug. It sort of discourages me from laying on my back too if I tuck it under me, which is good since laying on my back restricts blood flow to the uterus. Luckily, I've always been a side sleeper and have always slept with a body pillow in my arms and between my knees, so that's not a big issue for me. I do sometimes wake up to find I've rolled on my back though, which is silly since I never did that before I was pregnant. Apparently my subconcious is rebelling against the rules, haha.

Food has become less of an issue for me. I feel like I've really gotten into a groove with eating 4,000 calories a day and getting my 7 servings of fruit and 7 servings of veggies a day in, believe it or not. Again, I think not working has helped me with this because I can take the time every day to decide what I'm hungry for and what will fit into my goal of eating 50% carbs, 30% fat, and 20% protein. And I can take the time to figure out how much fruit and veggies I've had that day.

I am also feeling much more energetic this past week. Still not completely back to where I was before I was pregnant, but I don't think that will ever happen. But at least now I have long periods of energy when I can get things done or do a short workout. I'm still listening to my body for how much rest it needs, though. I took the dog to the dog park today and did a significant amount of walking, which felt good. I came home and was pretty tired, though, so even though there were things to do around the house, I relaxed on the couch and watched a TV show. I tried to nap first, but couldn't sleep, so TV time was the next best thing.

One not-so-good thing that has happened is my resting heart rate has gone up a LOT. Before I was pregnant, it stayed pretty much around 45 bpm most of the time. It has continued to climb since I got pregnant and is now at 77 bpm. That scares me. It jumps into the 80s or even low 90s some nights while I'm just sitting, too, but I've learned to take that as a sign that I need to relax. It seems to happen the most when I've had a very active day, so I'm just trying to find that balance between enough activity to keep me healthy and not so much activity that it causes me issues later at night. My doctor did clear me to do low-impact workouts like walking and swimming and even strength training, so I just need to keep listening to my body. I will also definitely be keeping my doctor updated on the heart rate thing. When I asked him during my last appointment, he did say that it was quite a jump in my resting heart rate, and to just keep them (the team of doctors I work with) informed about it.

I also have become involved in a multiples group in the area, which has been awesome. Most of the parents that are actively involved are parents of twins, but I've connected with another woman who has triplets. She has been an awesome resource and is really happy to give me practical advice and answer my questions. So nice to have someone who has been through what I am going through now and will go through in the future, and hopefully she can help me be more prepared for what's to come.

Phew. Thinking about those first few months with the babies is really overwhelming, though. I know my husband and I will have a lot of help from our parents, but sometimes I wonder if that's enough. My babies will almost certainly be preemies and have a strong likelyhood of spending some time in the NICU. Neither set of parents has experience with either of those things, let alone triplets, so I'm really considering hiring an after-birth doula for those first couple of months. I do think that there are some valuable things we can learn from our parents, but I don't think it's going to hurt us to get some help, either. Maybe even after the doula, I might hire a mother's helper. The thought of taking care of three babies on my own is almost unfathomable, so I'm sure I would appreciate the help.

We're getting closer and closer to having our house ready to sell, as well. With my mother-in-law's help, we've packed up all but the bare essentials in the kitchen and all the stuff that was in my office (I had a ton of kids books in there, plus a bunch of junk that's accumulated since I stopped needing to write lesson plans). My husband has mostly gotten our basement squared away, too, which was a pretty big task. We're looking to put it on the market a week from tomorrow. Hopefully we can sell this house and move into a new one without having to live in temporary housing, but we'll see.

Anyway, that's my month in a nutshell. Hoping to keep the stress levels low in the next month as we show our house and hopefully move into a new one.