Alvin and I have been dying to know what the gender of our babies are.  Above all else we just pray that they are healthy but with 3 babies on the way… there is A LOT of planning to do!  My baby shower is right around the corner and I’ve been trying to register.   If you don’t have kids, you would’t believe how many things only come in pink or blue!  The doctors have identified our triplets as being identical because they are all sharing one placenta.  They each have their own amniotic sac, which is very good, so they can’t get their umbilical tangled up or anything like that.  There is basically a thin membrane separating each baby.  The doctor said when they punch and kick or reach out their hand, they can feel each other… crazy!!  Identical twins, triplets, etc. are always the same gender because they all have the same DNA.  At 16 weeks, the ultrasound technician made a guess at the genders but was very unsure and said it was still too early to tell.  Again at 17 weeks, a different ultrasound technician made a guess but again was not sure and said it was still a bit too early.  Finally, at 18 weeks, the ultrasound technician and doctor confirmed that the first two guesses were correct.  After our previous miscarriage we really didn’t care either way but, impatiently, really wanted to know what we’re having… and it seems a lot of you have been dying to know as well!  Alas, the big gender reveal!

The balloons and tassel garland are from Studio Mucci www.bystudiomucci.com  They have the cutest party decor!  Make sure to check them out and show them some love on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StudioMucci

My friend and a very talented photographer Michelle Hebert was behind the camera.  She snapped all of the images you see below and I did the editing.  She is a genius when it comes to capturing beautifully golden backlit photographs and that was exactly what I had in mind for this shoot.  You can find Michelle at www.michellehebertblog.com

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3  What a blessing to have 3 identical baby girls on the way!  Although we conceived our triplets without the help of modern medicine or infertility treatments, our road to conception was not without struggles. You can read about our previous miscarriage here: www.terynrobinsonphotography.com/2012/12/one-of-the-hardest-things-ive-ever-had-to-go-through/

I was reminded last night just how blessed we are when reading a friend’s story about her struggles with pregnancy.  I’m including a link  to her story as well in hopes that our story and hers might bring some comfort or encouragement to others struggling with pregnancy or conception.  www.melissawilsonphoto.com/blog/my-journey-to-pregnancy/ 

If you are struggling right now, know that you’re not alone and God does have a plan for your life.  You may  not be able to see what that is but his ways are greater than ours.  Although we often think we know what we want and what’s best for us and the right timing, we don’t.  Alvin and I planned and conceived and thought we were having a baby last year, only to find out we had lost it before it ever saw the light of day.  We again planned, conceived, and prayed we’d have a healthy baby… and God blessed us with 3!!  We never could have asked for 3 identical girls but the Lord above had a plan and God’s timing is perfect.

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? None yet

Sleep? Not bad still although it is getting more uncomfortable.  When I lay on either side too long my hips start to ache but it’s getting difficult to roll over easily.  As far as number of pillows go I think I’m up to one body pillow, one snoogle (pregnancy body pillow), one memory foam pillow and one small travel pillow that I sleep with.  I know this is going to get much worse so I’m just thankful I’m actually sleeping still

Best moment this week?  I got to see the babies twice this week!!  We only had one ultrasound scheduled and the other appointment was just a doctor appointment to check up on me but they ended up doing another ultrasound just to make sure they were all still there.  Because they’re all sharing one placenta and have a very thin membrane between them, the ultrasounds look like a bunch of baby body parts mixed together.  They can’t get a good picture of all 3 at the same time so we’ll see a head and arms of one, a chest and arm and leg of another, and maybe a stomach and leg of the other.  During one of the ultrasounds we saw the babies kicking each other through the membrane.

Miss anything? Still Jimmy Johns italian subs and hot dogs.  I bought some veggie hot dogs that are alright if disguised with enough ketchup and mustard but still not the real thing.

Movement? Off and on.  Some days I feel them and other days I don’t.  To me it feels like twitching.  I get so excited when I do feel them or see my belly move.

Food cravings? Not much still.  My appetite is off and on.  Some meals an barely want to eat at all and other meals I feel like I could eat a horse.  Best meal this week was at Outback Steakhouse.  I had a salad, rack of lamb, garlic mashed potatoes and snow crab legs… Mmmmmm!

Genders? We don’t know quite yet. Hoping we’ll find out in the next couple weeks. We do know that there is one placenta they’re all sharing so that means identical triplets (all boys or all girls).  I have been planning a little gender reveal photo shoot that I’m so so excited about…. stay tuned

Symptoms? The nausea is mostly gone now.  Things like brushing my teeth still trigger is sometimes. My feet swell really easily so I try to stay off them and keep them up as much as possible. Up until 20 weeks  I shouldn’t be on my feet for more than an hour at a time.  After 20 weeks that goes down to 30 mins.  I’m still pretty tired but not napping much. I get short of breath really easy. I mostly notice it when walking up and down the stairs and talking. My belly button is not popping out yet but I think it will be in no time.

Wedding ring on or off? Off.  I wear a pearl ring that Alvin bought be when we lost our first pregnancy.  It’s a little bigger than my wedding ring because I normally wear it on my right hand.

Happy or moody?  Mostly happy This have been a little crazy.  We finally decided that we’re moving in with my in-laws in Colorado Springs so we listed our house for rent, found tenants, got a one year lease signed, and are packing up and cleaning to move in the next week.  It will be nice once we’re all moved and settled and can really start planning for the arrival of the babies.   I’m so thankful to have family that is willing to and actually excited to help us through the next year.

Looking forward to? Our 18 week ultrasound tomorrow. We’re really hoping they’ll be able to determine that genders but if not, we also have a 20 week scheduled.

Maternity clothes? Yes.  I’m still wearing some non-maternity stuff if it’s stretchy or loose fitting.  Pants are pretty much a thing of the past.  I don’t want to invest in maternity pants that I’ll only wear for a couple months so it’s mostly dresses and leggings for me from here on out.

Stretch marks? None yet

Sleep? Hasn’t been bad other than having to get up to pee several times a night.  My cousin brought me her Snoogle (pregnancy body pillow) to try and it is heaven!!

Best moment this week?  A few days ago I was really feeling the babies move throughout the day and could even see my belly  bounce where I felt the movement if I sat still long enough.  I was hoping Alvin would be able to see when he got home from work and not only was he able to see but he put his hand on my belly and felt the movement too!!!  It was like they knew it was him because they really started moving once he placed his hand there.  It was such a neat feeling and so special that Alvin was able to experience it with me.

Miss anything? Still Jimmy Johns italian subs and hot dogs.  I bought some veggie hot dogs that are alright if disguised with enough ketchup and mustard but still not the real thing.

Movement? Yes, off and on.  Some days I feel them and other days I don’t.  To me it feels like twitching.  I get so excited when I do feel/see them.

Food cravings? Not much still.  My appetite is off and on.  One thing I have been able to eat several times this week was a grilled steak with A1

Genders? We don’t know quite yet. Hoping we’ll find out in the next month. We did find out that there is one placenta they’re all sharing so that means identical triplets (all boy or all girl)

Symptoms? I think the nausea is starting to go away and my appetite is coming back but I still have moments where I get super sick out of nowhere and throw up. My feet swell really easily so I try to stay off them and keep them up as much as possible. Up until 20 weeks  I shouldn’t be on my feet for more than an hour at a time.  After 20 weeks that goes down to 30 mins.  I’m still exhausted and napping a lot. I get short of breath really easy. I mostly notice it when walking up and down the stairs and talking. My belly button is not popping out yet but I think it will be in no time.

Wedding ring on or off? Mostly off. Between the pregnancy related swelling and the heat we’ve had it’s hard to get on most days.

Happy or moody? No Change here.  Mostly happy It’s a little stressful trying to figure out what we’re going to do about our living situation.  We’re moving in with my in-laws one day, the next, they’re moving in with us. I’m really not worrying about it too much though. It will all work out. My main concern in keeping myself and these 3 growing babies healthy.

Looking forward to? Our 16 week ultrasound on Thursday. 4 weeks is the longest we’ve gone without seeing the babies and it feels like FOREVER!! We’re really hoping they’ll be able to determine that genders at that appointment but if not, we also have a 18 week and 20 week scheduled.

I just turned 14 weeks today. This was taken yesterday because I almost forget to get my 13 week photo in. The book I’m reading says that a triplet belly is about 10-12 weeks ahead of a singleton belly in size and I’d say that’s about right.

Maternity clothes? Yes.  I’m still wearing some non-maternity stuff if it’s stretchy or loose fitting.  Pants are pretty much a thing of the past.  I don’t want to invest in maternity pants that I’ll only wear for a couple months so it’s mostly dresses and legging for me from here on out.

Stretch marks? None yet

Sleep? Hasn’t been bad other than having to get up to pee several times a night

Best moment this week? Woke up to Alvin rubbing and kissing my belly

Miss anything? Jimmy Johns italian subs and hot dogs

Movement? Not yet. I woke up the other morning thinking I felt some movement but I may have been dreaming because I haven’t felt anything since

Food cravings? Not much still but I did crave good old Thanksgiving style turkey dinner the other night so I ordered take out from The Black Eyed Pea up the street

Genders? We don’t know quite yet. Hoping we’ll find out in the next month. We did find out that there is one placenta they’re all sharing so that means identical triplets (all boy or all girl)

Symptoms? I think the nausea is starting to go away and my appetite is coming back but I still have moments where I get super sick out of nowhere and throw up. My feet swell really easily so I try to stay off them and keep them up as much as possible. Up until 20 weeks  I shouldn’t be on my feet for more than an hour at a time.  After 20 weeks that goes down to 30 mins.  I’m still exhausted and napping almost every day. I get short of breath really easy. I mostly notice it when walking up and down the stairs and talking. My belly button is not popping out yet but I think it will be in no time.

Wedding ring on or off? Mostly off. Between the pregnancy related swelling and the heat we’ve had it’s hard to get on most days.

Happy or moody? Mostly happy It’s a little stressful trying to figure out what we’re going to do about our living situation.  We’re moving in with my in-laws one day, the next, they’re moving in with us. I’m really not worrying about it too much though. It will all work out. My main concern in keeping myself and these 3 growing babies healthy.

Looking forward to? Our 16 week ultrasound. 4 weeks is the longest we’ve gone without seeing the babies and it feels like FOREVER!! We’re really hoping they’ll be able to determine that genders at that appointment but if not, we also have a 18 week and 20 week scheduled. I’m also really looking forward to feeling the babies move. I’m sure I’ll regret saying that once they’re keeping me awake at night with their acrobatics.

I posted this update on Facebook on June 25th after our 12 weeks ultrasound:

What could have been a very sad day for us today ended up being a joyous blessed day! Today was the due date of our first baby that we lost in December. Today was also our 4th triplet ultrasound and our 12 weeks scans looking for genetic abnormalities. We got to see pretty detailed, up close ultrasound pictures of all 3 babies!! We also found out that it looks like they’re identical. The odds of having spontaneous (without the use of fertility drugs) identical triplets is very rare. I am finding odds anywhere from 1 in 200,000 to 1 in 200 million. This means they are sharing one placenta but each have their own amniotic sac so there is a very thin membrane separating them. This is called mono/di triplets. The risks are higher when they’re sharing a placenta because they’re all sharing the same source of nutrients but so far they’re sharing very nicely and all growing at the same rates. Praise God! The tests all came back normal too so no signs of abnormalities

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!

Every single person in this family is truly beautiful inside and out. It is such a pleasure to call them my clients and my friends <3

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.