Doug and Rebecca Walker

I’m in my 29th week! So far, I’m hanging in there. I think I’m actually doing better than I thought I would. The doctors seem pretty pleased, and somewhat surprised. At every blood test, weight check, blood pressure reading, ultrasound, urine check, etc. I seem to be doing well. I’ve gained about 18 pounds. My blood pressure is holding at about 114/59.

Yesterday I had my ultrasound. I have one every week. Alayna and Caleb each weigh in at 3lbs and Charlie is 2lbs 15oz! The doctors find it strange how much they change positions. Even though they aren’t big, at this stage of the game, they aren’t expected to be flipping around like they are. Things should be getting too crowded for such acrobatics. Yesterday, all three of them were breech. Alayna is sitting so low. In fact, when they check my cervix, that’s when they can get the best look at her.

My cervix did shorten again a tiny bit, but the doctor said it was within reasonable limits. Since the medications are keeping the contractions under control and bed rest does seem to be easing the cramping and feelings of pressure, outlook has change a bit with the doctors. While they once talked about their doubts of me reaching 32 weeks, now they are talking about how far they think I’ll be able to go beyond the 32 week mark! Oh yeah! I’m out to prove to them just how powerful my God is. And even if God brings these itty-bitties into the world tomorrow, I’m out to show them just how good God’s plan is.

I’m still puking here and there. It really seems to be getting old. I’m still a frequent Zofran user. And my heartburn is still hard to keep controlled. I take Protonix in the morning and Zegerid at night. I’m still sleeping on a raised mattress and propped up by pillows. Recently, I’ve been having trouble with the palms of my hands and bottoms of my feet being super red and itchy. I never had that with Audrey.

And, I’ve officially crossed into the gross stage of pregnancy. My entire belly is plastered with stretch marks. Some of the stretch marks have turned into little sores that can bleed. So it’s like having chicken pox and stretch marks at the same time. Oh yes – I feel pretty glamorous! The look on the doctor’s face and his audible ‘ouch’, did earn me some sympathy points. He actually gave me a prescription medication to see if it would help with the itching and inflammation. Some days I can hardly handle the urge to itch my flesh right off – but if I itch, it burns so badly.

Sort of starting to get organized!
As I sit here typing, my parents are upstairs painting the babies’ room. I know, we’re cutting it a little close with our timing. But our lives have been so super chaotic, that there really has been no other time to do it. Between Doug’s fall, Doug’s grandma’s passing, my hospital stay, my step-grandpa’s passing, and my bed rest, we just haven’t been able to get organized like we want to.

The rest of our house is still a cluttered maze of boxes, large plastic bins, thousands of diapers (literally), hundreds of clothes (literally) that have been given to us, things of Audrey’s that need to be put in the attic and saved for the triplets, and gift bags from my shower last week. As folks pass along clothes to us, I try to remove all the yellow stains, wash them, tally the item/size, and put them in bins. I can’t put them away in the babies’ room, because the furniture isn’t accessible and the painting is going on. I’m doing well on clothes. Since I have much of Audrey’s things, we have a surplus of girl’s clothes. The boys’ stock is growing and is pretty complete from birth to 9 months.

We have plenty of blankets! We have all the big items – car seats, stroller, cribs, pack n plays, high chairs, swings, bouncers, exersaucers. Some things we have three of and some things we have two of. I still need to purchase the changing table pads and covers. I need bibs, a few more burp cloths, crib sheets, mattress protectors, pack n play sheets, a bathtub, diaper genies, and some random nursing supplies.

A big commitment
Which leads me into our decision to breastfeed! Yup, I’m committed to nursing the triplets. In fact, my goal is to nurse them with no formula supplementing. I think I’m pretty well read on feeding 3 babies. I’m aware of the huge task it will be. I know it’ll be as if that is ALL I’m doing round the clock. I know there could be some bumps in the road. And I know that it might not work at all. But I have a goal and am going to pursue it with everything in me. I’m not really entertaining too many thoughts of it not working, because I want to be so fully committed that I don’t fret, worry, and change plans when a problem pops up. I really, really want to nurse these babies for their sake, and really for the best of our family. I don’t want to spend the money on formula and bottles necessary for 3 babies. I want time to bond with each baby even when life will be so busy and rushed. And I want to give them the best health possible, especially since they’ll be little and need an extra nudge in their strength, growth, and immunity.

I was pretty concerned about the cost of the pump I would need. Truthfully, the pump I thought would be best for the big job, was the top of the line, mack-daddy, Medela Freestyle Hands free pump. And wouldn’t you know, God laid it on the heart of a dear friend to buy it for us! Seriously! ANOTHER massive provision for our family. What a big blessing for Doug and I. I was, again, so emotional that someone would do that for us. To see the generosity of so many people – it’s quite humbling and convicting to Doug and I.

Baby shower
Speaking of generosity – last week my church friends threw a baby shower for me. I’ll try to get some pics of my shower put up later. But it was nice! This sweet lady in our church hosted it. She and her husband had just moved in 2 weeks before. They hadn’t finished unpacking, but they were so kind to let us use their house anyway! The ladies provided some yummy snacks and one girl made a cake at her family’s bakery. We played fun games. In fact, I had never played those games before. Usually at showers, the games are sorta the same old, expected games. Lots of kids were there! Audrey was so thrilled to see all her friends, and since I’m a teacher at heart, I sure loved the little helping hands lifting an dragging gifts, and all their funny comments, oohs and ahhs! A friend from small group shared a devotional on the example of Hannah having Samuel and drew on some comparisons of Doug’s and my story to Hannah’s. The ladies spent some good time praying! They prayed for my health and for each of the babies. They thanked the Lord for such amazing answers to prayer. They prayed for Audrey that she’d be patient, selfless, and eager to help. Of course they gave me gifts! But they also filled a basket full of gifts for Audrey to open each day after the babies – so that she doesn’t feel left out!

Again, Doug and I were moved to tears to see how God provides for us primarily through the generous, humble hearts of His children. Even when folks can’t afford to buy us much, they shower us with prayer. Who can really put a price on the value of constant prayers from our church family!? We’re astounded when families, who are struggling with jobs and finances, give us diapers, wipes, clothes, and baby shampoo and more! And were even more astounded when families tell us that EVERY night during family prayer time, they and their children pray for the health and safety of me and the babies. It’s so sobering. Doug and I have been so convicted that we aren’t as generous as we should be. We aren’t as quick to meet the needs of others like we should be. And we don’t pray as faithfully for our friends as we should.

We sure love our Grace Community Church family
When we had Audrey, we were at a different church and were mostly involved with college students. The students were pretty stoked for us and did give us many gifts. But really, since we’ve been going to Grace Community, the entire church (especially our small group) has followed our infertility struggle for several years. They’ve seen us totally bare our souls, weep with such angst, and have heard our deepest fears and hopes. And this church family has been our greatest source of love, prayers, encouragement, Biblical counsel, and kindness. We’ve had folks poignantly ask us tough questions in order to keep us accountable. They worked so hard to help us carry this burden. When God granted us these three miracle triplets, our church family sincerely rejoiced and have been supporting us since. We feel these babies are the joyful result of a church family’s prayer. They sowed the seed of sorts, and we get to reap the benefits. Doug and I truly hope that we are forever friends with so many of these GCC friends. And we hope that Alayna, Caleb, and Charlie (and even Audrey) grow to be a huge blessing to these dear friends that helped pray them into existence and provide the helping hands to get so much of the work done.