32 diapers a day!

    Life in the Bertsch household is hopping. Lots of diapers, wipes, bottles, and  feedings! We have been so thankful to everyone who has stopped by to lend a helping hand. The babies are thriving! They had reached their birth weight by their 1 week pediatrician appointment and are feeding with ease. The breastfeeding is going so well. We hope to stop the supplemental feedings in the next couple weeks. They are just so precious and are so good. We feel so fortunate. Adalyn is adjusting well and loves her brothers and sister. It has been a fun week getting settled in our home as we adjust to being a family of 6.

 

Our First Week At Home

   I am so embarrassed that this is my first post since the triplets arrived. The last 10 days have just flown by! What an exciting journey it has been. We had a wonderful experience at Good Sam Hospital. My friend Casey Casson was my nurse and I don't know what I would have done without her. She is an amazing person and has been nothing short of a God-send to me and my family. The surgery went off on time and everything went very smoothly. As I laid there on the operating room table I just kept thanking God as one prayer after another was answered. My anesthesia worked great, each baby came out pink and screaming, Craig was able to video tape and couldn't wipe the smile off his face. One of the nurses took some awesome pictures in the OR. My bleeding was controlled and I didn't get sick (Big Relief!!) Everything was perfect!

  My favorite moment was after the surgery when they moved me over to my bed and I opened my eyes just as they were placing each baby against my chest. Craig was right by my side. We had done it... Thank you Jesus... 3 healthy babies all in my arms... what an answered prayer... a blessing. Words just can't describe it.
   Our families were all able to come into the recovery room and welcome our little ones into the world. They each nursed within minutes of being in recovery. It was like the icing on the cake. I never dreamed that all three would be able to breastfeed so well.

   The rest of the hospital stay was fairly uncomplicated. The babies passed every test and screening with flying colors. There just wasn't any other way around it... it was truly amazing to see them thriving despite their early gestation and being triplets! I did have to receive blood due to my blood counts dropping, but it turned out to be a blessing as I felt so much better afterwards. I was finally able to keep my eyes open for a conversation.

     Big sister has been doing really well. As she says, "I'm so excited!" when we ask her if she's happy about the babies. She came to visit each day at the hospital and had a blast with her grandma, grandpa, and cousins while mommy and daddy were gone.

 We left the hospital together on  Saturday 11/19. Craig and I just couldn't help but laugh as we pulled out of the hospital parking lot in our newly bought minivan with our 3 kiddos. We are so thankful. Our families were at our house waiting for us when we arrived. It was a moment we had all been anticipating for so long. This day will always be marked as the beginning of our lives together as a family in our home with our loved ones around us.

 

The Bertsch Blessings have Arrived!!

This morning around 11:50 a.m. the triplets were welcomed to the world!  First came Bentley Thomas at 4lbs 7oz, then Bronson Charles at 4lbs 11oz, and Arabella Grace at 5lbs 6oz.  Everything couldn't have gone any smoother.  All the babies are completely healthy, and Jessie is doing great as well.  What a blessing from God!

more pictures to come :)

Final Appointment...

Today was our final appointment before the babies big day tomorrow! Everything went beautifully!
Thank you to each of you for all of your words of encouragement during the course of this pregnancy. We are so blessed! We know many of you will be praying for us tomorrow and we thank you. We are more excited than words can express, but as the night comes to a close, my nerves are starting to take over as well. Please pray that God grants us peace and that our babies will do amazing well.
Hopefully we will get some pictures posted tomorrow night with details about our little ones!
Many blessings to each of you!

Here are our final ultrasound photos! Arabella was being sooo cute! She opened her mouth and then made the cutest pouting face. Can't wait to see them in person!

5 days and Counting!

We just returned from my doctor's appointment and everything is on target for Tuesday! The babies look great on the ultrasound and the fetal monitoring went well. I saw Dr. Smith today and she was so encouraging. They can hardly believe that we have almost arrived!
I'm finally getting a little more uncomfortable this week which is making me even more anxious to see these little ones. Up to this point, I had told my mom, that unless I started getting more discomfort that I just wasn't going to be ready come Tuesday. I've been so blessed with such a wonderful pregnancy that it's hard to imagine that it is about to come to an end. Like mom says, even though feeling them kick and move inside is absolutely incredible, it doesn't compare to feeling them in your arms.
Praying that they stay strong and healthy in their last few days in my belly and come out screaming on their birthday! Thanks for your continued prayers!

3 Little Piggies!

Only 8 more days! We're now in the single digits! Our visit today went very well. All of the babies passed their biophysical profile and nonstress test without any problem. We also found out that we are having 3 little piggies! Their weights today are: Bentley 5#5, Arabella 5#10, and Bronson 5#7. My waist around is now 47 inches. I'm really hoping this is the only time in my life that this will be the case!

Anticipation continues to build in the Bertsch household as we make final preparations. After trying to get the three carseats into our Buick Enclave, Craig discouragingly came in and announced that we needed to go minivan shopping. Much to our surprise, Sunday we went car shopping and were able to find a Honda Odyssey that will be great for our family. We traded in the Buick with tears in our eyes and now I am officially a minivan mom! It feels pretty good really. I always hoped to have enough kids to fill one up, and now I will!

We've almost made it. Thank you for your continued prayers! My next appointment is Thursday, so hopefully we'll lay low until then and I'll be back with another update.

The countdown is on!!

   10 more days until baby time! We can hardly believe it! We're spending the weekend doing finishing touches on the nursery and arranging baby swings/bassinets/ and pumpkin seats around the house! Everything went very well at the doctors this week. No cervical changes, only a few contractions, and the babies all look great! It has all gone so fast... I just can't believe my family of 3 is about to double! Adalyn seems very excited and has renamed her stuffed animals Arabella, Bronson, and Bentley.
  We know we have a lot of people praying for our family and we are so grateful for that! There are a few specific things that I'd ask you lift up to the Lord with us in the final days before the little ones arrival:
1.) Please pray that this week their lungs will be complete in their development and that they will not need respiratory support at delivery
2.) Pray that their little brains will be developing in miraculous ways in the next few days.
3.) Pray that Adalyn will adjust well and that she will never doubt our love for her despite getting less attention once the babies are home.
4.) Pray that the surgery goes smoothly and that each move the doctors and nurses make are guided by Gods hands.
5.) Please pray that I don't have any issues with bleeding during or after the c-section. Hemorrhaging is a real risk with my uterus being so big carrying 3 babies.
6.) Please continue to pray for Craig as he has taken on double the responsibilities while I've been on bedrest and he knows theirs only more to come in the next couple weeks!

Thank you for being a prayer warrior for us. We know that it is him and him alone that has blessed us so much with a healthy pregnancy. Many thanks and blessings to you!