I shared some very tough news back in December that I had miscarried my first pregnancy at 12 weeks.  You can see that post here.  Although it was heartbreaking, we remained faithful knowing that God has a plan and always blesses us beyond measure.  On April 29th, we found out I’m pregnant again!!!

I immediately called the doctor.  I had blood work done and all of my hormone levels were great and showing that they were more than doubling at the rate they should.  I scheduled my first appointment to see the doctor.  On May 21st we went in for our first doctor’s appointment and ultrasound to confirm a viable pregnancy.  That morning was pretty nerve wracking.  I tried to remain positive and optimistic but the feeling of finding out we no longer had a heartbeat last time just wouldn’t leave my mind.  I hadn’t seen my doctor since that day when she couldn’t find a heartbeat at 12 weeks so it felt a little surreal and like we were re-living that day.

She got the ultrasound machine ready and I think I was holding my breath while I waited for her to see a heartbeat.  The doctor said something like, “there it is, saying Hi to Momma!”.  I took a deep breath and sigh of relief at that point but then she got quiet.  Her eyes were open wide staring at the screen while she moved the wand around.  Silence.  My heart dropped.  This was the same thing that happened last time right before she sadly said, “Sweetie, there’s no heartbeat”.  This time she broke the silence by saying (happily) “I see two!”.  She proceeded to show us two heartbeats at the same time.  These heartbeats were much stronger looking and easier to see than the one last time.  We were overjoyed!  God had given us our first baby back, plus another one!!  We talked a little bit about having twins and we were oh so happy.

Moments later she said (a little confused), “I think I see another one?”.  At that point, we went from joy and happiness to complete shock.  I mean, you hear of people having twins.  I know several parents of twins… but TRIPLETS!?!?  We don’t know anyone who has triplets.  Not even friends of friends on Facebook or anything.  You just don’t really hear of that.  Even the doctor was shocked and questioned if she had put me on ovulation stimulating drugs.  We did not do any kind of infertility treatments or use any kind of assisted reproduction technologies.  The chances of having spontaneous triplets are about 1 in 8,000.

I have had to switch doctors because I am now considered high risk.  Twins are considered twice the risk of a singleton pregnancy and triplets are twice the risk of twins.  We have since had 2 more ultrasounds with the high risk doctor.  One at 8 weeks:

And another at 10 weeks:

All 3 babies are growing and all are still measuring about the same size (which is a very good sign early on).  The news has sunk in for us (I’m not sure it has for our families yet) and we are now doing everything we can to prepare… and prepare early.  40 weeks is a normal gestation for a singleton pregnancy.  The goal with triplets is to make it 35 weeks but average is 32 weeks.  Triplets are considered viable at 24 weeks so lifesaving techniques would be performed for babies born at 24 weeks and beyond.  The most common risk with triplets is preterm labor.  Oh, and part of preparing early includes trading in my SUV for a minivan… that’s right!  I’m a minivan driving Momma now

Most anticipated questions and my answers:

How far along are you?

10 weeks

Do you have multiples in your family?

Multiples that are fraternal run on the woman’s side of the family because that means she produced multiple eggs that were fertilized.  Producing multiple eggs is what runs in the family.  Identical multiples can happen to anyone because it means that one fertilized egg splits and sometimes one half splits again.  We do not know of any multiples on my mother’s or father’s side.  

Are they identical or fraternal?

We don’t know yet.  The doctor was able to see separate amniotic sacs for each baby at 8 weeks but has not yet been able to tell how many placentas there are.  She thinks two might be sharing a placenta and the other has it’s own but she really couldn’t tell yet.  If that were the case we’d have two identical and one fraternal.  

Will you find out the genders?

Yes, as soon as possible!

Were you doing infertility treatments?

No.  We have spontaneous triplets which means it happened completely naturally. 

How are you feeling?

I’ve been feeling very nauseous and exhausted!  I need to be eating about 3,500 to 4,000 calories a day and it’s not as easy as you would think.  I am never really hungry and nothing sounds good.  I need about 200g of protein a day.  Meats and eggs sound especially unappealing.  I am forcing myself to eat some meat and eggs but mostly drinking protein shakes, eating protein bars, yogurt, high protein cereals… pretty much anything I can find protein in other than meat.  I’m still working my full time day job and trying to keep up with my business.  My day job will end in a couple weeks though, so I’ll be able to rest more then.  Right now I feel as if I could go to sleep any time of day.  Oh, and my feet are already swelling!

How much weight should you gain with triplets?

I need to eat 3500-4000 calories a day and gain 60-75 lbs.  2/3 of that weight needs to be gained by about 24 weeks because once the babies are bigger and pushing on my stomach, I won’t be able to eat enough to keep up with their needs.  When that time comes they’ll need the extra weight I stored up earlier.  So far I have gained 10 lbs. 

Are you having any cravings?

No

Are you showing yet?

Yes  I have been showing for a few weeks now and my belly seems to be growing by the day.

God has blessed us beyond what we ever could have imagined.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. -Ephesians 3:20

If you’re interested in getting more information about Supertwins (triplets, quadruplets, etc.) visit http://www.mostonline.org/facts.htm

Check out these adorable fraternal twins who just turned 1!!!!! I love how Jenna (purple) wrinkles her nose when she smiles or laughs. So cute!

A peek at a recent maternity session…. what a beautiful Momma!

Here’s a peek at Meg & Mike’s lifestyle newborn session welcoming Emmett Michael to the world <3

In light of the spring snow storm Colorado has been hit with, I thought I’d post some of my favorites from a fun family session in the snow!  Snow shoots are pretty hard to schedule with how unpredictable Colorado’s weather is but this one worked out perfectly.  We had planned and were hoping for snow for Renee’s birthday shoot but as the day got closer, it wasn’t looking like the weather was going to cooperate with us.  This session was a very generous birthday gift from her cousin and it included a day of pampering.  Renee got her hair and makeup done and I was so worried we were going to have to reschedule because now the forecast was calling for rain!  It started snowing about an hour before the session and at our scheduled start time it was snowing big beautiful snow flakes.  The snow lasted just long enough to capture these images.

I have known Heather & Brian for a very long time and have had the privilege of taking their maternity photos, family photos when their daughter was 3 months old, and now family photos for Eavan’s 1st birthday!  I just love being able to document the stages of their family as they grow.

Sneak peek of Jill & David’s engagement shoot… these two look like models straight out of a magazine! Seriously, it is so hard trying to pick a sneak peek cause I love the whole session!!