The Yankowski Triplets

  We had our 21 week check up this week! No pictures unfortunately, they usually give us a CD but didn't this time. So the only pictures we have are belly pictures. Natalie really wanted to take a picture with mommy and the babies, and she was more than happy to share some kisses for her brothers and sister, despite the fact she still isn't sure about them making their arrival. Sometimes she is so excited, other times no so much. But, she is darling at 3 years old, and when we went out to the pool on memorial day I explained she had to wear sunscreen so she wouldn't get burned. Well, she made sure that mommy put sun screen on her belly so that way the babies wouldn't get burned either. As much as she tells us she would rather have a puppy, I am pretty sure she is excited to have some more babies in the house. Anyway, babies all look great. I have a cervix of steel that hasn't budged yet which is very reassuring at this point.  Baby A (Addisyn) ...

A lot of people have sent me the article about the mom who delivered mo/mo twins locally in Akron, and asking questions about why that is so rare and what are our triplets. I felt these questions would best be answered in a blog post, and I will share the info I have TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE. I am not a doctor, and I don't know everything. But this is the information I have learned along the way. So first of all...MoMo twins means they are monochorionic and monoamniotic. In simpler terms, it means the babies share one placenta and one amniotic sac. It seems to me that many multiples may often share a placenta but will have separate sacs or a membrane separating them. Or they will have separate everything. It's very rare for the babies to share one sac and one placenta. It is also very risky as you add complications in like TTTS (where infections in the placenta can inhibit growth and other complication). The babies have to kind of fight each other for nutrients, and someti...

Today we had our mid pregnancy anatomy scan. As many of you know it was slightly nerve racking for us as Baby A could've shown some signs of having a chromosomal issue or heart defect. Even though I really felt everything would be okay, as a mommy I was still worried sick. Well, I am happy to report that so far everything looks great. We still have to complete a fetal echo, but our doctor said that everyone had healthy looking hearts and no signs of abnormalities. While that doesn't put us in the clear for sure, it is a positive step in the right direction. Unless we opt for an amnio, we won't know anything until birth....and really, I am at peace with that. Having a baby with special needs wouldn't change anything and so the only benefit to knowing now would be giving us some time to prepare as much as we could. I will say though, that was probably the worst ultrasound I have ever had. Our tech was really less than pleasant, she told us she needed to concentrat...

So I am probably the biggest slacker in the world, because every week I am determined to get my nice picture but then I never do. And so today I finally did it, but I wasn't about to do my hair and such for y'all but somehow I think the world won't end. Most days I don't do my hair anyways, it is thrown into a messy ponytail so I figure this is a fair representation on my daily appearance, minus the yoga pants and tank top. ;) Back to the babies. Last week we had a gender scan, and as most know, we were told THREE BOYS! Woohoo, we were so excited. After having two girls and pink filled lives, I was more than happy to bring some blue into the mix. I was a little sad that all my baby stuff would go to waste though...who wants three babies and have to start over completely from scratch?! It made our announcement easy though because we only needed one color. For anyone who didn't see it, here you go! So today, at 15 weeks 1 day, we had an appointment with our M...

Today was our 12 week NT scan! We got some great guesses on genders, but will not be sharing until we have confirmation. Until then, here are a few nub shots, and y'all can take some guesses yourselves and see what you think!   Baby A ^  Baby B ^ Baby C ^ So, all the babies had great heartbeats... They were all wiggly and look pretty healthy overall.  However, Baby B had a think NT, which could be an indication of Downs Syndrome. This is not a reliable factor, but the doctor said it measured on the "higher end of high" and suggested genetic counseling to consider an amniocentesis or CVS testing for a more clear picture. Despite the fact I do not have many of the other risk factors, triplets carry a higher risk than singletons.  This also could point to potential heart problems, so Baby B will get a fetal echo around 18 weeks to make sure everything looks good on that end.  It's a weird position to be in. On one hand, ...

When my dad got divorced, I got the privileged of helping him sort through the mess his ex-wife left him. Somehow, I stumbled upon some school keepsakes, which included a whole book of "What I want to be when I grow up" papers collected from roughly pre-school to 5th grade. How he had them, I have no idea. But, I am the type of person who, when I find something interesting, I have to look at it. I can't just set it aside and keep cleaning. The first page had your typical pre-school answer. A princess. Who doesn't want to be a princess at age 4? Then a ballerina. Again, typical. I guess around first grade I decided I wanted to achieve higher aspirations. I wanted to be President! But it was the rest of them that truly made me smile. They ranged from a singer, a doctor...pretentious careers that would make mom and dad proud. BUT, after each profession was an extra little tidbit.."a mom." When I was 19 I fell pregnant. Earlier than I had planned, and ea...

I read this interesting article about triplets and how sometimes, people don't think before they ask questions. You can find that blog here: Triplets...are they IVF? And that really got me thinking about how much I could relate to those people saying "I would jump off a bridge" at one point. So here are my thoughts on this topic, and I really want to share them with people. After the ultrasound tech told us the news, she called my midwife to tell her what she had found. I remember getting on the phone with Colleen, fighting back the tears because I didn't want her to know I was upset. We had made jokes in the office about how we only wanted one, no twins for us! I think she probably knew I was not ready for the news that was given to me. And her words meant a lot in that brief conversation. She told "It's going to be alright, how exciting...triplets!" At the time, I just laughed a little and thought to myself 'Ha, exciting for everyone else maybe...