Week 22

How time flies. The title of this update is week 22, which is not exactly accurate. In all fairness to the diseased (which is the term our Dr. affectionately uses to describe pregnancy), Mikki hit 23 weeks yesterday - healthy. However, I can’t let an entire week go by with no update, so, today will be a recap of week 22 and I’ll get out a week 23 update by this weekend.

Mikki continues to amaze, though she is admittedly becoming more uncomfortable each day. In fact, she is beginning to do more waddling than walking, though her growing belly is not slowing her down all that much. Rather, it actually appears as though she has gained a little energy the last few weeks (or she is doing a pretty good job of faking it). The most important thing is that the boys are still in Mikki’s belly. Every day they develop more and grow stronger. Their little kicks, punches and rolls are getting more pronounced. While it’s cool to feel, the downside is that their growth and strength makes it harder for Mikki to rest/sleep comfortably. Please keep Mikki and these boys in your prayers, they all need them.

Last week was highlighted by the girls attendance at Vacation Bible School, which included a final “show” of sorts on Friday night. Both Claire and Caroline had a good time and they were so excited to perform on stage. We were also fortunate enough to be honored at a shower at my office last Wednesday. There are actually four women at my office currently expecting, one who just recently gave birth, and then Mikki. The shower was hosted by a number of thoughtful people at my office and was given in honor of Mikki and two other women who are all due to give birth around the same time. The shower was very well done and we were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the Phelps family. I wish we would have done a better job taking pictures to share, but we did get a few of the girls:













A huge thanks to our Phelps Dunbar family!

This week our Claire Bear is at a National Dance Convention in New Orleans. Earlier this year Claire participated in a regional convention/competition where she won a scholarship to the national convention:



The convention is hosted by NTG and includes 6 hours a day of dance instruction by national instructors. The girls then rehearse for another 6 hours or so for the final show, which will be at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans on Thursday night. 12 hours of dance a day is pretty brutal, but, for those of you who know Claire well, you will not be surprised to hear that she is loving every minute….though, she is wiped out by the end of each day:



We are soooo proud of Claire. And yes, for those wondering, the pregnant woman is in New Orleans this week (hopefully spending some time off of her feet). Luckily, she has lots of help from her mom and the other dance moms. My mom is actually flying in for the show on Thursday. We are really looking forward to it!

We go back to the doctor and MFM on Friday, and, hopefully, we’ll have positive reports to share. Keep those prayers, well wishes, thoughts, and good vibes coming.

Hunter and Mikki.

Father's Day (Week 21)

Father’s Day 2011 took on a little extra meaning this year. I am so incredibly blessed to have three healthy, happy, and talented kids; and I could not be more excited/inspired/stoked (insert similar adjective of your choice here) about our three boys that are on the way. Being a father is by far my favorite thing. A popular line we hear often is that “we should be playing the lottery”. At the risk of sounding uber cheesy, we have already won the lottery.

(As a footnote, the odds of identical triplets are anywhere between 1:64,000 and 1:200 million…kind of an inexact science. The odds of spontaneous fraternal triplets are 1:8,100).

Mikki and the boys continue to do very well. Last Friday we visited MFM for our bi-weekly sneak peek. The whole process was similar to the 36 point checkup when you purchase the upgraded oil change at Wal-Mart: anatomy (check), fluid (check), blood flow (check), weight gain (check), cervix (check)…see you in two weeks. The boys are growing at an amazing rate. In two weeks they have gone from 10 oz. each to roughly 15 oz. each. In fact, they have doubled in size in just the last four weeks. Their health and growth are directly attributable to Mikki. She was born to do this.

A little about the boys. Baby A and Baby B are still very low in Mikki’s abdomen. Baby A is on Mikki’s left side, is pointing head down, and was facing towards Mikki’s back on Friday. He seems to have a gentle and tolerant personality, which is good because his brother, Baby B, is constantly elbowing and kicking him. Baby A doesn’t put up a fuss when Mikki lays on him (which is 90% of the time) and he kicks/pulls/prods much less than his brothers.

Baby B is by far the most active and assertive. Since our last appointment he completed a somersault, from head down to butt down, face up. He is on Mikki’s right side and seems to take it personally if she tries to lay on him. He will kick and/or punch until she rolls back over. Baby B is also a camera hog as you can often find him sneaking into his brothers’ close-ups.

Baby C is laid back and easy going. He is on top of the mayhem below, laying horizontal at the very top of Mikki’s uterus. All of his photos show a perfect profile and smile. He has the most room and appears to be taking advantage - lying on his back, arms behind his head and legs propped up.

It will be fun to see if these early hints of their personalities hold true after they are born. We can’t wait (actually we can wait 13/14 more weeks)!

Following the MFM appointment, we made the trek home for a shower hosted by our family. It was great to see everyone. We are so blessed to have so many people who love us and are genuinely excited to share in this adventure with us. “Thank you” is completely inadequate, but thank you, and we love you all. Your generous, thoughtful and creative gifts are sincerely appreciated.

Here are a few pics from the weekend:



Caroline preparing yummy chicken salad croissants for the shower.



Mikki’s 21 week photo at the shower, looking beautiful and graceful.



Mikki with her eager present-opening assistant’s Claire and Caroline.



Hmmm…yum.





And finally, the girls trying out the new Bumbos. They are feeding their babies waffles and chicken, the cornerstones of every healthy diet. They also thoroughly enjoyed trying all of the boys’ new clothes on their babies. Next week we are going to start the vigorous 4-week diaper changing course.

A great Father’s Day weekend indeed, and I didn’t even mention the boy’s trip to the lake and a father out-dueling his son on the wakeboard…good times.

Again, huge thanks to all of those that made the shower such a great event. Apparently, and much to our surprise, ya’ll are actually reading this blog. We will do our best to keep you updated and we’ll even try to post more than once a week (maybe). You are the best. Keep the prayers coming.

Hunter and Mikki.

Week 20 - Good Times

Week 20 was another good week. In fact, Mikki felt good enough to attend a party Friday night. We joked that it was possibly our last night out of the house for at least 3 years. Mikki found a cocktail dress at the mommy store…apparently no small task. She tells me that she has a nine month belly but is only 5 months pregnant everywhere else, which creates quite the challenge when it comes to finding clothes that will fit in all the appropriate places. With that said, I must say that she…looked….amazing! So, we decided that the 20 week belly picture HAD to be in the dress:



Claire begged to join in on the fun. We’ve been told that her puppy should be delivered within the hour:



One question that we have been getting lately is how our current trio is handling the triplet mania, and, specifically, whether they are excited at the prospect of gaining three brothers. Initially, they were all a little unsure about the whole thing. Coby and Claire were a little concerned that having three babies in the house would cramp their current lifestyles. We were peppered with very practical questions about how the babies would affect their lives: will we have to share rooms? will we have to change diapers? will we be poor? Luckily, the answers were easy – yes, yes and absolutely.

Recently, though, we found a way to get them excited. We told them that they would each be assigned one baby and would be responsible for that one baby for life. They put their favorite names into a hat (Jackson, Maxwell and Harrison) and drew to see who would get each baby. Coby drew Jackson, Claire drew Maxwell and Caroline drew Harrison. Amazingly, they all seemed happy with their selections. We then told them that there would be prizes awarded for certain milestones. As examples, prizes will be awarded for such things as: first one to potty train their baby, first one to teach their baby to tie his shoes, and the first one to teach their baby to read. We let them suggest possible prizes. Coby wants an iPhone for teaching Jackson to play the guitar (sorry Coby, that’s not one of the identified goals) and Caroline wants an iPad for teaching Harrison how to read (way to one up Coby). Claire is still working on what her prize will be if she successfully potty trains Maxwell, though she does have a game plan: reading him the Once Upon a Potty book of course. We suspect that these good feelings and general excitement will fade approximately 24 hours after the babies get home from the hospital. But, for now, it’s a fun game!

Before we close this entry, we would be remiss if we did not say thank you to all of you who have passed us so many well wishes and good vibes. While it is impossible to name everyone, we do want to let the NOLA triplet group know that we are very excited and thankful to have been welcomed into their group. This group is a great resource of information and support, and has also already proven to be a great source for triplet necessities such as preemie clothes. A specific member has agreed to lend us a triplet stroller with detachable infant car seats in exchange for the simple assurance that we would return it to someone else in the group when we are done. The kindness of people should never be taken for granted.

Love to all,

Hunter and Mikki

Three Strong

Just some quick notes about our appointment today with Dr. LaFranca - all good things. Mikki is 20 weeks today. Three nurses put three fetal heart dopplers on Mikki's belly and they were able to isolate each baby's heartbeat. All were distinct and strong, each rhythm slightly different than the next. It was truly amazing to hear!

The girls, Claire and Caroline, got to join in on the fun. Claire assisted Dr. LaFranca with measuring Mikki's belly. She measured 29 weeks (though we all agree she looks close to full-term). Claire was very excited that Dr. LaFranca let her take home the measuring tape with instructions to measure mommy every few days and report back.

All told, we were sent home with good vibes. Mikki and the babies are progressing perfectly. By every indication, we should get through the next month or so without having to worry with bed rest or other restrictions. This is good considering the demanding schedule of our current trio of kids, who (shockingly) feel as though they are deserving of our love and attention despite all this talk about the triplets! And, of course, they are correct.

The Name Game

The most popular topic of conversation among our family and friends is the name game. Everyone wants to know what we plan on naming these little guys. Talk about pressure!? Obviously, there is so much that goes into naming a child and everyone seems to have their own opinions and criteria for what makes a great name. For us, we are looking for strong, masculine names that our boys can grow into. We also want the names to be fun for their younger years. We do not necessarily care if the names are popular by today's standard. We also are not overly concerned with whether the names can be meanly twisted into something gross or vulgar by their future schoolmates. The fact is, kids can find a way to make fun of just about any name. Besides, if it's not your name, it's your clothes, shoes, or face.

With our criteria in mind, we have created a poll of our favorite names and are curious to see which names you guys like. The poll is setup on the right side of the page. Vote for your favorite three. This is purely for fun and we make no promises!!

Week 19 Update

We went back to Maternal Fetal today. All good news!! The boys continue to grow at the same rate, each at a solid 10 oz. They look to have all the right parts in all of the right places. Our doctor still believes that they are identical. In fact, he told us that he reviewed our ultrasound pictures with all of the maternal fetal doctors on staff and the consensus was that the boys appear to be identical. The crazy part is that none of the doctors on staff have ever seen identical triplets so it's very much an academic exercise. Of course, we won't know if they're right until the babies are born. However, just for fun, our doctor took some 4D pictures of the boys today. Check them out and let us know what you think.

BABY A

BABY B

BABY C

We have also uploaded a full Week 19 slideshow with all of the ultrasound pictures, including more 4D pictures. Click on the link on the right to scroll through them all.

In addition to the good news about the babies, our doctor was very happy with Mikki's progress thus far. She has been amazing! Her weight gain is right where it needs to be and there are no signs of early labor. She is obviously doing a great job with her directives: eat well and get plenty of rest.

SO FAR SO GOOD. It's obvious that all of your prayers are working. THANK YOU!

Hunter and Mikki.