Week 14

Second trimester is here!

We were looking forward to the second trimester for many reasons--foremost among those the subsidence of morning sickness. Unfortunately, we're still waiting. On top of occasional symptoms, she's dealing with the discomfort of being continuously stretched... and stretched... and stretched a little more.

One of the many neat things about multiples (and something that anybody with experience with multiples already knows) is that, because there's so many little people in there, the heartbeats have to be checked via ultrasound versus normal doppler. With a doppler and four heartbeats, all you'd hear is a jumbled mess. As a result, we get a lot of extra opportunities to see the munchkins on TV and we get a chance to speculate early as to the sexes of the little ones.

So, (drumroll please)...

Our ultrasound tech, Kristy, feels pretty comfortable that there are either: two boys, two girls; or three boys, one girl. Hopefully, we'll be able to know for sure in the next couple of weeks, but for now (like anyone) we're happy that they're healthy and progressing nicely. I know it's politically incorrect to hope for the babies to be a particular sex, but I don't think it's unnatural to hope for balance in the household. There's a real possibility that these might be the only kids we ever have and as such, we'd be especially blessed to have both sons and daughters--or some combination therein. I suspect that most expectant parents of higher order multiples would express similar sentiments.

So anyway, the beddings are bought. The glider's on order and the cribs are picked out. The closet is starting to fill up with tiny clothes and blankies that are ten times softer than any I remember from my own babyhood. It's all getting very real--which is to say, exciting. Meanwhile, we enjoy these few remaining weeks before bed rest officially starts. We have much to do, but we still have time and plenty of helpful loved ones to get us there. We continue to be thankful for our numerous blessings!