Holding pattern...

A quick post to keep everyone up to date. The mothership has been put into a holding pattern and is currently cruising steady at 4000 calories a day with constant H2O burn of 12 glasses a day. All systems seem to be working as per expectations with the ground crew working overtime to ensure adequate fuel availability. Slight wear and tear is noted on exterior surfacing, expected and noted for future repairs. Mothership and cargo scheduled for complete analysis in port on Thursday 13:00 hrs, results will be made public when available.
Co-pilot is currently enjoying a little relative R&R due to extra reinforcements brought in from Alberta (the best help seems to come from Canada these days...who knew???)and Jr pilot Mark is working on becoming General Mark First Class.
Countdown clock noted at Arrival less 6 weeks, much optimism that the mission will be a complete success although experts warning of difficult phases ahead. All systems go and countdown continues.

Of course, Mark is enjoying the weather and a few friends - doesn't have a care in the world...

24!

Well this house is rockin and rolling...well maybe not but I am proud to say that our appt at Swedish yesterday went really well and so we're all feeling pretty good around here. I might even get my sense of humor back, which would be nice for my roomates - daddy's been feeling the pressure lately which probably makes me a pain in the butt to be around!!!
I have to admit, I was worried that Sherri would be whisked straight from the ultrasound into L&D yesterday-of course I said nothing but you know...the worst case scenario did present itself regularly (usually about 4:30 in the morning too).
But Sherri is a supermom and all her bed-rest seems to be doing the trick- the babies look awesome, cerv. has actually improved a bit (YES!) and so a big collective sigh of relief could probably be heard all the way to Pikes Market yesterday. All of a sudden, we're thinking 32-34 weeks again instead of "oh-my-goodness-this-is-my-worst-nightmare-1-lb-babies-in-NICU-for-months-and-months-with-50-percent-chance-of-survival..." You know what I mean. None of us want that.
Here's the goods. The next 4 weeks will see the babies grow from about 1 1/2 lbs to about 2.5/3 lbs - this is a huge period for their development which makes it so important - we're pulling all the stops out right now, Sherri's mom has been here all week, my mom is coming next week, etc. Fern said to me yesterday "I just can't believe how much she is eating!" - Sherri's eating constantly, drinking copious amounts of water and really just laying around. But it's working.
Welcome to our roller coaster. Today I feel invincible.

Week 23

Time for another update, although there's not too much to share. Sherri's doing ok this week, has started to have a few contractions occasionally which always puts us on high alert! I'm hoping that they don't get any worse as if they do we'll be off to the hospital for a full check over, and I'm thinking that we might just lose our mama around here for a while. Hoping that doesn't happen yet, as both Mark and I would prefer her to be here at home. But the babies come first, and at some point I know she'll be hospitalized so we'll just have to wait and see.
Sherri's mom is flying out tomorrow for a week, and it will be so nice to have her here. I'm realizing that it is really tough to look after a 3-yr old and a wife on bed-rest...so the extra help will be amazing. Last weekend my aunt and uncle came down from BC to help out for a few days...Aunt Betty filled up the freezer with made meals and Uncle Robin helped me with my projects- absolutely amazing of them to come and be with us. We truly enjoyed having them and Mark was calling them grandpa and grandma in no time! Whatever...the more the merrier!
We've pretty much shut everything down except for necessities. Sherri is taking her bed-rest very seriously - only up for bathroom breaks and lots of days she doesn't even come downstairs. This of course is kind of tough if I'm working late so we've had to call in a few favors!! Thankfully, we've got great friends around that are able to chip in a little here and there.
I find myself counting the weeks all the time - and just keeping my fingers crossed that we can get to the 32 week mark, where in theory the NICU can take over if they have to and the babies will be fine. But between then and now there's 9 weeks that sometimes seem like ages! One day at a time...
Our next scheduled appointment at Swedish is next thursday, so thats our next big target. We'll keep ya posted.

Some pictures from when Uncle Robin and Aunt Betty came to stay!

Mark keeping mama company
Mark's "worker-man" hat!
Fun fun fun!

Week 22 Update

I've been meaning to update the blog for a few days - but thought I'd wait until we had been to the hosp. for our appt this week so I could share the progress report. Sherri had the last of her 4 Iron transfusions yesterday, hopefully that will help her feel a little better and not be so tired all the time. I guess its pretty common for a mama of trips to have iron deficiency- the three critters are takin' all they can get right now. So that appt lead into the ultrasound where we could spy on the babies a little.
The ultrasounds are kind of neat right now - all arms and legs and in our case...little man parts! I'm telling you, I have to laugh every time I see all these little guys and how they are all curled up hanging out in their little swimming pools! They don't have a care in the world. They box one another, hiccup all the time and we even got to check out baby Bs little eyes that were wide open. These little guys are perfection.
So the bad news was that Sherri's cervix is getting thinner - which is both expected and shocking at the same time. So for those not well versed in baby-carrying: the babies are wrapped up inside the uterus, and the cervix is a muscle-like area that holds it shut. Eventually, the cervix thins out to nothing and opens, at which time the babies start to come. I think of it like the cork on the bottle, and as the babies grow the cork will eventually pop. So Sherri has had a great cervix up to now, and we've been fairly confident that she's doing great. However, they measure it everytime we go in and this week it had shrunk about 30%. So...the only remedy at this point is bed-rest and hope that it doesn't continue to get smaller. Now, we know that eventually we'll have have to deal with this - that is a forgone conclusion...but we definitely don't want these problems right now at 22 weeks. Basically, we need another 4 weeks absolute minimum for the babies to be viable, 8 to 10 weeks more is what we really want. So the pressure is on!
Marky is doing great- he's getting more and more excited about the arrivals - he keeps saying that "the babies take a long long time" so I think he's looking forward to it. I think he'll be a great big bro and we'll have a lot of fun with these little guys. Of course, he'll need to learn to share all his prized possesions which will be interesting, but hey thats ok too.
All in all we're doing great...just the usual drama at the Miles house!! Ciao.

Baby Shower

Our next door neighbors, Nick and Bonnie threw a baby shower for Sherri on Saturday. This is how awesome our neighbors are - and apparently there was a great turnout! Mark and I skipped the festivities, but by all accounts the shower was a great party, Sherri enjoyed it tremendously.
Hostess Bonnie

Co-Hostess Haley

Opening Gifts

Decorations!

Of course, some of our neighbors are contemplating putting their homes up for sale, now that the street will have to endure years of "The Miles Boys".

Triplet Gifts

We've started to receive a few gifts from friends, and although they kind of scare me they are really cute so I want to post them.

...from our favorite nurse Jelaine J.!

...from Calvin and Dana!

...now just imagine a little baby in each one, and you'll realize why I'm starting to freak out.

Garage Project

This week my brother Grant came out for 2 1/2 days... and we pounded out our "spare bedroom" project! In two days, we framed, insulated, wired, dry-walled and taped this little sucker - I was impressed. It took away about 1/6th of my garage, a pretty good trade-off for getting an extra bedroom/office. Mark calls it "Grampa and Gramma's Room"! Ha ha. Sherri says it has a water view too... of the hot-tub!

Actually, it turned out even better than I thought it would, which is great. All I need to do now is another coat of mud and paint.






Sherri has officially gained more than 30 lbs...a milestone for her. This is testimony to all the eating she's been doing and I'm really proud of her. I think she's doing great...although we did find out this week that she's seriously deficient in iron, so this week she has to go in and have iron transfusions at the hospital...that won't be fun. She's really starting to feel the babies move around and kick...the party is just starting in there!! This coming week she'll be 20 wks so we're into the last 3 months or so of this pregnancy...we'll be ready!

Felt the babies move last night!

So last night, we were sitting around with Mark, Sherri had me hold her belly and I felt the babies kick. First time for me to actually feel them which is pretty neat for me. Up to now, you know they are there, but it just seems a little different when you feel them - like they are trying to talk to you. "Hey- don't forget about me, ok? kick kick". It was a nice reminder of what we're trying to do - as Sherri had had a rough day, and I didn't know what to say/do to make her feel better.
I had woke up in the middle of the night 2 nights ago to find Sherri in the B/R crying, really emotional without really knowing why. We talked and I suppose once in a while it is just all pretty overwhelming to think of carrying and delivering 3 babies at once. Honestly - if it was me I'd be absolutely losing it pretty much on an hourly basis! So I can imagine how she feels. There are times when it seems like the most amazing thing to be going through... other times it just seems like a bad dream. At any event, by last night she seemed much better- I think I may see more of this to come!!
Sherri's pretty much on house arrest now - only going out for really important reasons, and that probably contributes to the stress. But better here than in the hospital thats for sure. And it doesn't help that we've got several projects on the go that disrupt the normal ebb and flow. But its "geturdun" as my brother says...there'll be no time for projects after the 3 turkeys arrive!
Today being Sat, its time to clean house, mow the lawn and spend some time with Mark. Beautiful day here, so maybe we'll go down to the lake for a while.

Some New Pics

These were taken today, Feb 3, 2010. They are really starting to move around if you watch them for a little while.

February Already!

So I think we're 18 weeks into this thing now...Sherri would know to the day...I'm a guy though so I'm pretty happy if I just kinda know. I have to admit though...I'm feeling the pressure and realize that my life as I know it will soon end. Last night, I crawled into bed (late as usual, after painting) and was happy to at least get a good nights sleep. And then it hit me that getting a full nights sleep will be basically impossible in 4 months, and that probably won't change for at least a couple of years. Mark still gets us up once or twice a night usually, and he's 3 so good luck with triplets, huh? People are so helpful in telling us that "you know, you'll need some help with those babies..." No. Really? They're just stating the obvious of course, but trust me...we are keenly aware of the facts. We have no idea what it will be like...how could you...but we do know that it'll be pure survival for a while!
And of course there's always the looming worry of the health of the little guys, how small they will really be when they arrive, how long they'll be in the hospital, how long Sherri will be in the hospital, how Mark will adjust, etc, etc. And I do have a tendancy to worry a bit (comes naturally, thanks mom) so it always seems to be present. Focus Garth...it will be fine.
I've found a very nice girl to help us with Mark for the next few months. She's coming to the house every weekday morning to keep him from being too neglected and hopefully - to ease the shock if Sherri ends up in the hospital for an extended period. I seriously think Mark is going to pay a price in the next few months...I just hope he someday is thankful for the brothers to play with, and that he doesn't take it too hard. His poor world will just be rocked. For now it seems to be working out, Mark is slowly warming up to Amber and she seems to be great with him.
We're off to Swedish for the bi-weekly weigh in tomorrow, I can say that Sherri is starting to put on the weight, her belly is getting big, and the nausea hasn't gone away. She's always tired, constantly trying to eat and nothing is easy to do. I do feel for her - she's the toughest gal I know and she never complains, but I know that this is hard on her. One day at a time, right? People have been asking for a belly pic, but she's pretty camera-shy so I might need to get one on the sly!! All in all, things are great, she feels the babies move once in a while now and we're slowly marching on.
By the way, thanks everyone for all their wonderful calls, comments, meals, and encouragement. We have people we don't even know that are doing little things that make us feel very special - words can't explain how we feel about this. Each day my respect for the members of our fellowship, our friends and neighbors increases. Thank you.

A little more...

In case its not obvious...I am trying to update the blog only once a week-partly because I don't want to start rambling and partly because there's really not too much to say most of the time. But rules are made to be broken, and in light of my last somewhat brief posting I'm going to add a little this week.
First of all, you should see our family room. Thanks entirely to our very wonderful Cdn friends from Vancouver, Calvin+Dana- and with their help, we managed to transform a terrible family room into something that even I have to approve of! And I admit, I'm usually the brakes on these little projects. Dana even had me hanging wallpaper till 2 in the morning so that alone deserves applause! There's no friends like old friends and we have some good ones. Thanks C&D-it means a lot!

Calvin, Dana, Garth

That project kind of got forgotten in the melee that followed this weeks ultrasound! Of course its obvious that both Sherri and I had assumed there would be at least one little gal in the 3-pack, and so we were stunned and honestly quite disappointed to find out that there would be no little girl in the mix. And hey - what the heck - for the record I still want a girl. Deal with it.
But now that I've had a few days to think about the possibilities of having 4 studly dudes cruizin' with me...I have to admit that I'm getting excited about that scenario too. Seriously now - how much fun will it be to have 4 boys, all within about 3 years - hanging around? All I know is that Sherri has changed the mini-van order into a Hummer order (I hope she's joking), Mark is already starting to hide his toys (he'll need to), and my vasectomy appointment just got cancelled (I'm joking).
One thing for sure- at least the Miles household will not be boring! There goes the neighborhood.

Blue Socks

Wow...what a day.
Apparently, in our factory we make blue socks. Just blue ones. We love blue socks, don't get me wrong...although we had kind of hoped - maybe - for at least a little variety. Nope. Just blue socks. My poor wife. 5 guys vs. her. This is really not fair on so many levels. I can't even golf with them all - we'd be a 5-some. This will take some digestion.
The babies looked amazing. Perfect. I am in love. But it would also be nice to have a little pink.

Week 15

Last week Sherri had a quick visit to the Dr. office...I chose to stay home with Mark. I'm hoping to get some more ultrasound pictures next week. Thats the current schedule - see the Dr. every two weeks unless something changes. Sherri's starting to slow down considerably I've noticed. Of course she's trying to keep the house somewhat up-to-par but I can tell that its almost impossible. She has lots of pain down around her belly...we assume its from all the stretching thats going on. They say at 20-wks she'll be the same size as she was full-term with Mark. Sherri says the only time she feels comfortable is when she's in the bath!
Of course there's lots of changes here at home right now too. We've begun to set up our family room for her bed-rest. That meant putting a couch in that converts to a bed - and I broke my rule of "no more IKEA!". I don't think that will be the last time I eat my words!! I spent part of the weekend converting our wet bar (which was useless anyways) into a baby-changing station. Try that one for irony! Although the argument could be made that I'll need a strong drink from time-to-time!
Other projects that are scheduled and have me pondering my fate: part of the third bay of the garage will soon be another bedroom. So much for the boat I guess. And the worst one to date- my car is seriously being considered as trade-in bait for a mini-van. Yes I said it. A mini-van. Its inevitable...I will hold out as long as I possibly can...but I know there's no way I can avoid it - I will soon be living in suburbia, driving a mini-van and with my number of offspring - no one will want me to come visit!! It'll be amazing-lets just pray these little turkeys get here healthy.

Last day in Phoenix...

Our last afternoon in Phoenix, Sherri endured some American culture!! She was really sick that morning, so I was happy she was game- I had wanted to tour Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West all week, so we finally got there. This is Frank's vision of "camping in the desert"! His idea that "winters are leave-able" is definitely something to embrace! Hmmm, maybe someday...
From here - straight to the airport for our flight home...to rainy Seattle!

New Years! Week 13...

Sherri's stomach is really starting to scare me! Ok, I know its going to get huge, but I'm not at all prepared for this yet. I guess with 3 on-board this should not be all that suprising, but I have to keep reminding myself that in a couple of weeks, theoretically at least...we'll be half way to the finish line. We have been told that for trips it is important to carry the babies to the 32 week mark, anything after that is a bonus. We are aiming for 34-35 but of course we don't really have much option but to do the best that we can.
We are spending the week in Phoenix - trying to get a break for the holidays. We've had cool weather but it's still nice to get away. Who knows when we'll have a 'real' holiday again!! Sherri's finding it tough to walk too much so that holds her back from the serious retail therapy! Us guys managed a round of golf, a Canucks vs Coyotes game - and of course multiple games of Monopoly. We took a family picture yesterday so I'll try to post it when I can. Mark loves the hotel...I think he would prefer to live here!



Larson Family Picture Dec. '09