Renee is getting so big!!

Hello hello,

Well so much has been said about the soon to be new additions to our family that we have had little mention of our current little angel. Renee has been so good with mommy when it comes to the babies and she is doing so well at daycare and at home on her days out of it. Right now she goes to daycare on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and is home with mommy on Tuesdays and Sundays and I am home on Fridays and Saturdays to spoil her.

She has learned so much from daycare and really has a great time there although she is Miss. Independant so that sometimes gets her into trouble. Renee and mommy have been on the ball the last few weeks working on crafts, painting, and playing out in the garden. The ducks is also a favorite stop near our house whenever we can, and she can use one of her most recent crafts in order to carry her duck food to the pond. This week she built a bird house and an easter egg basket out of popsicle sticks, but the latter still needs some finishing touches. Because of the new additions we have also moved her playroom downstairs and it fits Renee quite well. We put her music on in her room and with the existing mirror that was already in the room for Stephanie's fitness classes she can now dance and sing to herself in the mirror, up to now it definately does not get old. We were joking recently that now all we have to do is add a ballet bar. NOT IN MY HOUSE!!!

I too have been busy trying to get the house all ready for the big day. Chad, Sara, and Ava were over last weekend and Chad and Sara were able to help us organize our new playroom for Renee as well we moved some big furniture and our piano so that we could make room for a new 'L' couch that we bought in order to be able to accomodate more company when these babies come. I also just got rid of my little tonka truck and upgraded so that I would be able to pick up renee from daycare and be able to drive the kids around in my truck if need be. We also decided to take out some lawn next to our driveway so that we will have a wider driveway in order to more comfortably fit two cars in the driveway. as it is now, the driveways in our area are far to narrow and so it will be fixed. Other than that we are enjoying our time and tomorrow we will be looking for furniture and more car seats in order to have things more prepared, WE ARE GETTING THERE

I can tell you that she is measuring 33 cms and she should only be measuring 18 cms if this was a single pregnancy. We had an ultrasound this week as well and it was the most important one of all the ultrasounds that we have had and will have as it determined the health and development of the babies brains, organs and of course growth. All three babies are in the normal range so that is fantastic.

I am sure I have said this a few times, however Stephanie really has to start slowing down now. She is getting more fatigued as well her body is definately limiting her to doing any real bending. The doctor put it best yesterday, ' what is truly a necessity, groceries-no, your husband can do it, laundry-no, your husband can do it, tying your shoe laces-no, your husband can do it!!! So in otherwords, I will be her #$@#@ for the next few months. All she needs now is a bell and a walky-talky and she'll be laughing. I am truly learning how to say, 'Yes Dear, I love you dear,' real well now.

No but honestly, we are doing fantastic, Stephanie is doing great and yes she is slowing down and she is just going to have to listen to her body more and more as the signs are definately there, telling her to slow down and let other people help. Shirley, Gordon, and the rest of the MacKenzie Family, don't worry, I and the rest of us dutchies over here in BC are taking real good care of your daughter and sister.

We are just truly enjoying our time right now as we get closer to Stephanie being on bed rest. The time will come and she is ready for it when it is obvious that that time is needed.

Until next time enjoy some pics:

I promise you that this is not Stephanie's third boob!

Our little star

Here she is practising being a big sister with her cousin Ava.

The babies like ice cream

On Feb 25th we got the wonderful news that all was well in Steph's tummy and the babies are all developing at the right pace, they are now 9cm from crown to rump (bum). We had an ultrasound, met with a dietian, and with a social worker. All of our stops were in BC womens hospital which is attached to BC Childrens. The doctors and their organization definately has helped us feel more comfortable as we prep for this. Our time with the dietian was reassuring for Stephanie as she was told that her diet was bang on and actually was probably a close second to being the best diet that he had seen for someone going through a triplet pregnancy. Our last appointment of the day was with the social worker. They are going to be with us over the next year in order to prep us for the birth and then later on just helping us with what we are going through. Our initial visit with, Ann, was fantastic, she was great at opening the line of communication even though Steph and I are pretty good with our communication. Lastly, we got the OK to go to Mexico so that is why you have not heard from us over the last two weeks. Our trip to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico was absolutely fabulous. I had spent the month prior to the trip trying to secure some special requests that we knew would help Steph be more comfortable in Mexico. The food and water in Mexico were the most important thing for her so it was awesome to hear that they had bottled water and all the rest for us so that we could feel completely comfortable while we were there and able to drink and eat anything that we felt we wanted.

It is really hard to tell you anything new as we are just kind of in limbo until the next appointment which comes on the 25th of March. We will, from that point on, be having appointments every two weeks in order to more closely watch all of the factors that may change during the rest of the pregnancy. From week 18 on, it is imperative that the doctors keep a close eye on things because the babies could start drawing a lot from the placentas. With the identical twins this is a little tricky because the identicals share a placenta. For this reason there is a chance that they could share arteries and veins which may cause one of the two identical twins to take some of the nutrients away from the other, causing one to grow faster than the other. If this happens then things will definately get difficult because if one starts suffering then there could be a chance of an emergency c-section. The single baby however should be OK as he/she has its own placenta and therefore should have the right amount of nutrients the it is able to draw from the placenta.

Steph is feeling really good however she is quite tired. She is a lot better than a few weeks back and that is really positive as we all know that the rest of the road could be a rough one. Until next time here are some new pictures and some old ones as you get to see them grow in the tummy.

Until next time

Ron Steph, Renee, A, B, C

This is Stephanie pregnant with Renee at 20 weeks

Stephanie and the triplets at 16 weeks