MoreThanWeExpected.com

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This is where you'll find only the cutest pictures and most exciting stories about our instant family!  Gwen and the triplets, Tess, Nora and Holden, thank you for looking us up and hope you'll come back to visit again soon.

Birth Stats     ~*~*~*~     Labors & Deliveries

Our Story:  When we decided to start a family way back in 2003 we had no idea what we were ultimately in for.  It took us a while to get pregnant the first time, about 16 months; a pregnancy which ended in a miscarriage at 11 weeks.  We laid low for a couple of months before we got back in the baby-making-saddle.  Again, we tried old-school style for a few months before I started charting my cycles; after several months of charting I finally got pregnant!  Because of my previous miscarriage I went straight to the doctor for blood work which showed, as with my first pregnancy, that my progesterone level was low.  I was put on supplements early enough to sustain the pregnancy and 38 weeks later Gwen was born.

After Gwen's first birthday we started talking about when we wanted to have another baby.  I was all for waiting another year or two but Tony wanted to have all our kids close together so that we would be young enough to tend to them and have them all grown and moved out by the time we retired.  Since it had taken so long for us to get pregnant the first two times we thought the "we're not really trying but we're not really taking precautions" birth control method would be sufficient for a few months, our first mistake...

We took a vacation, one that we had planned for several months coming.  We were excited to get away as a family, a long awaited treat.  While we were away, as many couples find, we were much more relaxed, not so concerned with work, parents, appointments, etc., and found that the alone time we had while Gwen was sleeping was much more enchanting.  Needless to say, we made the most of our relaxed outlooks and schedules.  Just three days later, on our trip home, I found myself exhausted, frustrated, and mentally spacy.  I knew something was going on and took a home pregnancy test, which came up negative.  One week later I tried again, this time the result was much different.  I immediately called the doctor so that my progesterone could be tested ASAP, just in case.  I knew I was only three weeks past conception but the doctor said I should get an ultrasound to check for a heartbeat in the next two weeks as my hormone levels indicated I was already 6 - 8 weeks along.  They were the doctors after all and knew best so I just went along for the ride.  The ultrasound showed that I was in fact only 5 - 6 weeks along and that there was not just one gestational sac, but two.  The ultrasound tech informed us that since there were two sacs we could expect two babies; it wasn't until we met with the doctor after the ultrasound that we were informed we had identical twins in the one sac and a fraternal triplet in the other.  The chances of conceiving spontaneous triplets are around 1 in 8,100.  Quite the surprise considering we weren't even trying to get pregnant!

A huge change was in store for our small family, trading in my sporty Mazda 6 for a Toyota Sienna (the only auto, by the way, which will accommodate four rear-facing car seats), leaving a job I loved to be a stay at home mom to three screaming newborns (which also cut our income by 30%), filling our small starter home to the brim with baby toys and cribs, and for Gwen, who would have to give up her role as Center of the Universe to three siblings all at once.  While our new life is taxing financially, physically and most of all mentally, we are doing the best we can and will come to look upon this time in our lives as one we wouldn't have changed for the world.  For now I can't wait for that day to come...