2011....A Year for the Record Books!!!

As 2011 comes to a close, I figured I would write a little about this amazing year. It was full of ups and downs, super scary times and super wonderful times, but all in all it's times that I will never, ever forget. The beginning of the year was scary, with our concerns over Makayla. The doctors were so pessimistic about her chances and made it seem like she had almost no chance of surviving. I remember talking to this little girl every day, willing her to fight for herself, and I know so many people prayed for us- and for her specifically- and it worked! In March, I had my 30th birthday, which was spent in bed and throwing up most of the day, but I really didn't care. There will be plenty more birthdays to celebrate. In May, Mike celebrated his birthday, which happened to fall on Mother's Day, and it was our last outing at a restaurant for awhile! And of course, on the 16th, my beautiful triplets were born. I think about May 15th & 16th all of the time. Usually daily. I replay the night before and morning of the babies' birth over and over. It still seems unreal at times. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in other ways it seems ages ago. In August my little Marley turned three. It's such a fun age. Don't get me wrong, you always think your babies/kids are fun, but age three is the best yet. She says such funny things and we just don't know where she gets it from. She is the most amazing big sister. She loves her babies and helps us out so much. She helps me bathe them, feed them, even change poopy diapers. And it's all because she wants to, not because I ask her to. She is still a wild child though and a complete daredevil. My brother, who has twin boys, always says they were never as wild as her. She's just fearless. Please don't let the triplets follow in her footsteps! October was a really rough month, with the loss of Mike's brother Tim. We think about him every day, as we always will. November and December went by really quickly. Marley and the babies had a great Thanksgiving & Christmas. Watching the babies learn and develop has been amazing. In just 7 short months, my babies have really grown up. They are well ahead of what the doctors expect them to be and other than the girls' being a bit small, you would never know they were preemies. I am very excited for 2012 as they celebrate more "firsts," but 2011 will always be one for the record books.

Marissa 7 months ago...

and now

Jack 7 months ago...

and now

Makayla 7 months ago...

and now

Christmas hats!

Marley a year ago

and now

It's been a wonderful year. Thank you to all who have helped us , prayed for us, visited us, sent us stuff, or anything else I'm leaving off. We have wonderful friends and family that we will always be grateful to. Sometimes I don't know if we would have made it without you all!

Santa Claus came to town!

Christmas morning. There's nothing like it. I remember when I was younger, my brother and I would wake up SO early and anxiously wait 'til a decent hour to wake my parents up to open presents. I remember him making me watch The Jetsons cartoon, which I was never a big fan of, and then we would attempt to cook our parents some breakfast. My mom was always very easy to wake up, my dad was another story. But we were relentless and he would get up so we could start. Now, I understand why he didn't want to roll out of bed quite as eagerly as we thought he should. Being a parent is tiring, add on top of that the fact he worked in one week what most people work in two, and I would want to stay in bed just a little while longer too! Every year, Christmas morning is the one day we can count on for Marley to sleep in. Even her 1st Christmas, which she was only 4 months old for, Mike & I waited anxiously for her to get up, debating if we should wake her up or not. But, you know what they say about waking up sleeping babies. I'm sure this will soon change. This year, the triplets made sure we were up bright and early as always, so we took care of feeding and changing them, before we woke Marley up. When we told her Santa had come, she came running out of her room and ran to the living room. "My Dora Kitchen!!" was the first thing she yelled and she immediately went over to it and started (pretend) cooking. She was also very excited about her new Princess Bike from Grandma Boucher and her basketball hoop from Santa. We then put all of her presents in a pile on the couch and she dug in. She showed such excitement with each present and the babies all watched her in awe. They would quickly round up any wrapping paper that got away from her and try a taste, but much to their dismay, we hurried and took it away from them. The babies also got to open some presents and they really seemed to enjoy ripping paper off of things. They got quite a few toys that make lots of noise (just what we need, more noise in this house) and of course those were their favorites. We had celebrated Christmas with my family the night before, as we do every year, and we all received great gifts from everyone. The babies did really good staying up late, but by about 8:30, they let us know it was time to get home. Life works around these babies at the moment. Makayla decided to wake up around 11pm and hang out with me until close to 1am, I guess she thought she'd get a glimpse of Santa. It also took awhile to convince Marley that Santa would only come after she went to sleep, and she finally fell asleep around midnight. Mike's family were also all beyond generous in sending everyone gifts and I would have to say that we have some spoiled, yet very loved, kids! I usually tell people that if they want to buy for our kids, to just buy one gift for Marley and then one gift the babies can share. They each don't need their own toys. But nobody listens and then I feel bad that so much is spent on my kids. However, I also know, that the friends and family who do this, do it because they WANT to, not because they feel obligated, so I need to just relax and be thankful- which I always am. I often sit and look at all of my kids in amazement. I really never thought I'd use the phrases, "my four kids" or "family of six" but again, I'm not the one in charge. For some reason, the babies had their schedules all messed up yesterday, maybe they could sense the excitement, so the entire day consisted of atleast two kids being up at once, and I think Mike was starting to regret taking some time off of work this week. While I was bathing Jack, the little girls were giving him a hard time, I even heard him say, "I'm going to work this week! This is too much!" But, of course, he didn't really mean it and he wouldn't trade a second of this either. The hardest part of the holidays is of course, missing our loved ones. I wish so badly my dad could be here and see all of his grandchildren and just watch the joy in Marley and the twins' faces when they get excited over something. He could watch the triplets grow up and Jack would be his little buddy, beside Keanu and Kaden. I often wonder if Marley wouldn't be so shy of men if she had her Grandpa here because he would show her such love and often wonder what nickname she would have given him that goes with Mimi. I think, whether it's the first or the fiftieth holiday season, that it's never any easier. It makes me sad to know that now my husband and his family have to go thru each season, thinking of Timmy, and wishing he was here too. But, I also know that they wouldn't want us to spend these joyous occasions sad, and celebrating is what they would be doing if they were here, so we need to remember that and honor that. Christmas is such a fun day and I cannot wait to see how much fun it is in the years to come!

The kids' stockings

Christmas morning

Present time!

Marissa and Jack digging in

Marissa found a bunch! And notice little Makayla peeking over

Makayla says, This is fun mom!

Marley & her Princess bike

I think Mike & I have as much fun with this as she does

Time to get my running shoes on

During one of my sonograms with the triplets, we got a shot of their three heads together. I said back then that they were plotting something. I now know what it was. Who can get to the Christmas tree fastest? Or maybe, who can get to big sister's room fastest? Or quite possibly, who can distract mom long enough for the others to get in the playroom and get toys that aren't theirs? My babies are mobile and chasing them down is an all day thing. At first, I could lay on the floor and block them in with my body. But, I am now just seen as a challenge or maybe even as a speedbump, and they just see who can get over me the fastest. They have exploring to do! So, needless to say, Santa will definitely be bringing a pen this year. Today my babies turn 7 months old. It's hard to believe. They are so much fun now and it's exciting to see who will do what each day. Both girls are crawling and Marissa is pulling up on things. Jack can inch around on his tummy and get up on all fours and rock and hop, but he usually just ends up rocking himself to sleep. He would be happy if I just let him jump in his bouncer all day. When he gets tired, he just closes his eyes and goes to sleep. That boy can sleep anywhere. They are doing wonderful with their schedule and bedtime has gotten so much smoother. They are all eating two meals a day and so far they like everything! No picky eaters here :)  Atleast, not yet. Yesterday I changed ten #2 diapers so I guess their digestive systems are working just fine with all the new foods! Anyone who thinks 2 or 3 bad diapers in a day is a lot, just come my way. You will go home feeling lucky! We went and got Christmas pictures last weekend and they actually went pretty good. I was just hoping for one good family picture. It was hard, because the room we were in was so hot and all of the kids were dressed up. Plus, they only had one photographer who was attempting to get everyone's attention and then put the camera to her eye and take the shot. But, we did get a few and everyone cooperated pretty nicely. Marley had her school Christmas play and it was just the most adorable thing. Watching her do things like that make me so proud of her. She got up there and sang and danced and was just the cutest little Rudolph ever. I took the babies to watch her and she was telling everyone those were her sisters and brother. She is such a great big sister. We also got to take her to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas this week and she had a great time. She is really at such a fun age and I wish we were able to do more with her, but before we know it, all 4 kids will be out having fun together. I love watching the babies discover and figure out new things and can't wait to see what they will learn during this month of their lives.

Marissa & Makayla...looking more alike all the time

My happy babies

Marley & Noah headed to see Mickey!

Jack

Marley's school Christmas program

My beautiful girl

Double trouble

Marissa thinking she's funny. Time to move the mattress down already!

Jack jumped himself to sleep

Heart of Gold

"His heart is perfect." Those words came directly out of the cardiologist's mouth today. And she was referring to my sweet Jack. Those words were music to my ears. He was born with a heart murmur and I was instructed by the NICU to take him at 6 months to see if it had resolved. And it has! It was a pretty interesting visit. They did an EKG on him where he had about 10 wires connected to his stomach and chest. At first he looked a little uncertain and then he started grinning and by time they were halfway thru, he was giggling so hard that all of the nurses were laughing as well. They then did an echocardiogram on him and he held the tech's hand the whole time she scanned him. I think she fell in love a little bit. She kept talking baby talk to him and calling him handsome and he ate it up. I always wonder how a small baby seems to know how to flirt! They all were in amazement that he is a triplet, because he is so big and healthy. He's in the 50th percentile for his weight and 97th percentile for his height. And that's against babies born full term. It was really nice, just getting out with Jack. It's so rare that I go anywhere and if I do, it's usually with all babies and big sis in tow and I cherish the moments I get one on one time with any of them. I realize how easy it is to just pack for one baby and go somewhere, but also know that unless you have multiples, even one seems tough at times. After the appointment Jack slept the entire way home and then another hour in his carseat after we got home. It's a lot for them, being that they don't get to go out much, and I think it wears them out. There's so many sights and sounds that are new to them. Plus, all that smiling and batting of his eyelashes was tiring! I'm glad that doctor's visit is over and even more glad that the results were so good. At times I worry, that with having four kids, that there is bound to be a problem with one of them, but God is good, and he blessed us with four healthy, happy children. They have taught me some important things in their short lives. To never take things for granted, nothing in life is guaranteed. To appreciate each day with them, regardless of how hard it is. And to have more patience than I ever thought I was capable of. Of course there are many, many other things, but those are some of the most important ones at the moment. "His heart is perfect." Our prayers were answered yet again.

Even happy at the doctor's office

Always smiling

My boy

The First Six Months...

They say you spend 1/3 of your life sleeping. I want to meet these people. They obviously haven't spent any time at my house. That number would quickly be adjusted. The first six months of the babies' lives have gone by so quickly. Time flies when you're having fun! The first three months were tough. I changed diapers approximately 25 times a day, fed them equally as many bottles, and was up to feed them every three hours around the clock. Of course, newborns don't eat quickly, so I would basically take "naps" throughout the night. I mastered the skill of feeding two babies at once, and even learned to feed two babies using the same hand. I felt like a walking zombie, often just laying on their floor to sleep because I got tired of walking back and forth. I usually saw every hour throughout the night (and still do sometimes) and longed for the day we would have a schedule. Looking back, I don't know how we did it at times. Things aren't so crazy now. We are down to about 12-15 bottles a day and starting food. Of course Marissa is still the little determined one. She's sitting, standing, scooting and on the verge of crawling. She's got the belly crawl down pat. And anytime she does something new, she looks around to make sure everyone saw her. Makayla is also very ambitious, doing everything her sister does, usually a day or two after. However, she is crawling and is a quick little thing. She is quickly earning a reputation as a toy thief. It doesn't matter what toy either of her sisters or brother have, in her mind it is better than the one she is playing with and she quickly takes it from them. If she sees something she wants, she can get to it fast! She's a tough little thing. Jack is the happiest baby I've ever known. The boy smiles and giggles at everything. He smiles from the second his big eyes open. He is ticklish on every inch of his body and already loves a good back rub. He can also sit up and roll, but he usually chooses to lay back, relax and smile. I guess he thinks all of the "tricks" his sisters are always doing is a big waste of energy. And, of course, this leaves Marley. She does wonderful with all her siblings. She pays attention to them, but isn't overbearing with them. She hugs them every morning and enjoys reading to them and playing with them. I honestly couldn't ask for more. There are some days I feel so exhausted and it seems like constant work, but I love these kids more than life itself, and would not trade a second of it for anything. It's really amazing, to think back to last year at this time. We just learned we were having triplets and everything seemed so uncertain. We never lost hope though and I am grateful everyday for my healthy children. I know of many other babies born much earlier than mine, and it makes you realize how important each day is. It was a tough road, but one that I would do a million times over again if it gave me the same end result. Whenever I tell people I have triplets and a 3 year old, a lot of them say, "Better you than me." They are right. Everything about our four children is a blessing and I have never looked at it differently. People often wonder how we do it. You just do. My kids need me. And quite frankly, I need them too.

Chattin' about life

Sleeping peacefully

Loving her cup

Happy boy

Toes are yummy

Makayla & Jack playing

Marissa showing off

Morning fun



They love their big sister



My cute little Jessie

Never forget....

"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." -Khalil Gibran

-This is a post about the events of our past week. I will post more about the babies soon, but this has been our world for the past week-

Family. One simple word that means so much. It saddens me everyday that my children will never know my father. He was a wonderful man and would have been so thrilled to have so many grandchildren to love. Unfortunately, now my children will never remember another very important person in our family- my husband's youngest brother, Timmy. We lost Timmy on October 12, 2011. He came to the hospital to meet the babies when they were in the NICU and I always envisioned him and Jack playing baseball together in a few years. I hear he was a phenomonal t-ball player as a child. I picture him playing with Marley and running around with her on his back the last time he came to visit. And I picture the fear and awe he had when he met the triplets for the first time, definitely too nervous to hold them and almost too scared to stand too close. Tim was a good guy, and we will all miss him every day until we meet again. You always hear, that when one door closes, another opens. I believe this is true. The death of Timmy brought people close again. Rifts that had divided are now forgotten. Mike's family spent the week with us and Marley and the babies got to see family members that they've never met. Their Uncle Chris, it was my first time meeting him as well and we had a great time talking and even playing a few pranks on the family. He bears such a striking resemblance to both Mike & Timmy, my friends and I nicknamed him Hybrid. Another uncle, Shane, who was asking to hold a baby any chance he got. We can't wait to meet his family one day soon. Their Great Grandmother, who is one feisty lady for being 90 years old! Her mind is still as sharp as a tac. Their cousin John Paul, who just battled thru some challenges himself and is a rock for everyone.I will always be grateful for the support he has given Mike thru this.  And their Grandpa Boucher who has such a gentle touch with the babies. He stayed with us for the week and we have some great memories that were made. Of course Marley, in typical fashion, gave him her own name, "Papa." Grandma Boucher was here also. Marley knows her well, as do the babies (as well as 5 month olds can) from her previous visit, but it was great to see her again. They also got to see their Aunt Debbie & Uncle Tony, but unfortunately they were only here for the funeral and then had to get back home. But, they did get to meet the babies and hold them. It's always so nice to see family and spend time with them, I just wish it was for a different reason. It's so hard to see people you love going thru such heartbreak, but everyone stood strong together and we all had some good times between the tears. We will never forget Timmy. Everyday we will miss him and wish things were different. But, we can't turn back the hands of time, and in moving forward, we just have to ensure that we will always honor his memory. We will tell the triplets all about him and make sure they know he loved them. We will tell Marley about the fun times they had together, even though as she grows up her memories will fade. We will always remember.

Uncle Tim & Jack

Timothy Boucher

Tim, Mike, Patty & the babies

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."

The NICU Days...

Thirty little fingers, thirty little toes. Underneath the wires, cords, blankets and hats, there they were! My babies were absolutely beautiful. And no, I'm not biased. Not one little bit. I hadn't been allowed to see them for several hours after having them, and would have to wait even longer to hold them. Talk about torture! After fighting every day to get these babies into the world safely, I now had to be apart from them and I didn't like it one bit. Around 6pm the day I delivered them, I told the nurse that I needed to see them right then. She did not feel I was ready to get up yet, but I wasn't waiting. It was horrible pain getting up, but I didn't care. I had to see their sweet little faces. The first time I saw them, I was speechless. I saw Makayla first. She was so tiny, but she was strong! Marissa had a headfull of hair and was a bit opinionated from the start. And my baby boy Jack, he needed to be on a c-pap for a day so it was a little hard to see his face, but he was a fighter as well. The girls looked so much like their big sister already! All along Jack was Baby "A," but Marissa pushed him aside and made sure she was first. I guess in a way, it was a sign of things to come as she is always first. First one I got to hold, first one home, first one to roll over, the list will most likely continue. The girl's on a mission. And Jack is super laid back. As long as you keep him fed, he's happy. So it doesn't surprise me now, that he let her gain the #1 spot. It was so tough, just sitting there looking at them thru their incubators, but all of the nurses were amazed by how well they were doing right from the beginning. Marissa was breathing on her own and within two days, she could eat on her own. The first time I held her, I knew that she knew I was her mother. She was screaming and hollering her little lungs out. She was so mad as the nurse tried to untangle all her wires so that I could hold her. She was bright red by time the nurse was handing her to me. The nurse laid this tiny, 4 pound baby in my arms, and she immediately became quiet. She knew she was in mommy's arms. I felt an instant bond with her and did not want to let her go! I was allowed to hold her for about ten minutes and then I did have to put her back in her "home" as we did not want her losing too much body heat. I could not wait until I could hold my other two babies and hoped it would be very soon! The next morning when we went to see the babies, they told me I could hold Makayla. The nurse put this tiny three pound girl in my arms and my heart melted. Against all odds, here she was. Proof that God does answer prayers! As with her sister, I did not want to put her back, but we didn't want her losing any weight and using her energy to get warm would cause that, so back in her "home "she went. Two days later I finally got to hold my sweet baby boy and at that point I finally felt complete. I had held all my babies and knew that they were doing just fine. Marissa came off of her feeding tube first (of course) and really liked to eat. Makayla and Jack still needed theirs, but the nurses were optimistic it wouldn't be for long. Both of them also had IV's in their scalps, and I couldn't wait until those could be taken out. Of course our number one question was when they would get to come home. The nurses told us to expect them to be ready around the time I would have been 40 weeks, which was June 22, over a month away. This made us sad, but we knew they would come home when the time was right. A few nights after I had them, I started feeling bad around 11pm. I was freezing cold, very sore and very tired. By the next morning I had a fever over 102. So, I sent Mike down to see the babies while the nurses gave me medicine hoping to get my fever down. When he came back, he was very unhappy so I asked him what was wrong. He told me that I wouldn't be allowed to see my babies for 24 hours after my fever broke. I couldn't believe it! I was finally allowed to hold all of my babies and now I couldn't even go see them?? I was very sad about this, but I also knew it was best and I didn't want to risk getting them sick. That day seemed to drag on so long and I was so happy when I could go see them again! The next day, the doctor told me that I could go home and I had such mixed emotions. I missed Marley terribly and couldn't wait to see her, but I also didn't want to leave my babies. We spent that entire day with the babies and that evening we came home to our sweet Marley. She was so happy to see me and just hugged me for several minutes. Over the next few weeks, we juggled visiting with the babies and spending time with Marley. The nurses at Tampa General were amazing and updated us on each baby the minute we walked in. Marissa was thriving and we just had to make sure she continued that for a few days. Makayla was slowly getting the hang of eating and just had to grow a little so she could keep her body warm on her own. Jack struggled the most with eating. I think he thought he was at the Hilton. The second he cried, young, pretty nurses went running to his aid and made sure he was okay. He knew what he was doing! The boy is smart. They even let Marley come meet her siblings which made her very happy. I tried to get as much rest as I could because I knew that once the babies were home, that would be a thing of the past! Four months later, I'm still missing that rest. Less than two weeks after I had the babies, the nurses told me one of them was ready to come home. You guessed it....Marissa! Three days after her, Makayla got to come home and two days after her, on June 2nd (3 weeks before they estimated!) Jack got to come home. We were all home together, all six of us, and we were ready to begin the next part of our journey!

Love

Seeing Jack for the first time

Feeding Marissa for the first time  (thru her feeding tube)

My sweet Makayla

Checking me out!



Holding Jack

Visiting the babies








            

And then there were six...

*This may be a bit graphic at times, read with caution*

1st grade. 24 years ago. That is when I met my best friend, Stephanie. She was new to my school and when she got dropped off, she started crying and went running after her mom. Maybe I felt sad for her. Maybe it was her red hair. Whatever it was, we became best friends that day and never looked back. We've been thru so much together, she was there for the birth of Marley. She had her own precious baby boy this past March (5 days before my birthday).  I would say I hit the jackpot when it comes to best friends. And she knew, before even I did, that I was in labor. It was a Sunday evening and we decided to go to Red Lobster. I had less than 2 weeks until I was set to deliver the triplets so we knew this would be one of our last dinners together for awhile. We didn't know it would be mere hours before my babies would be here. While we were at dinner, I felt very uncomfortable. That was nothing new during this pregnancy though, so I really didn't give it much thought. It was so bad I couldn't even eat and about halfway thru dinner she said, "Jen, I think you are having contractions!" I blew her off, no way. I had a natural delivery with Marley and knew what contractions felt like, this wasn't them. She even went so far as to get her phone out as she had downloaded a contraction timer app when she was still pregnant and told me to tell her everytime I got uncomfortable and she was going to time it. It was nothing steady so I boxed up my dinner and we went home. When I got home, I told Mike that I couldn't do it anymore. My body hurt too bad and from then until I delivered the babies, I was doing as little as possible because my body was telling me it was about strained to its limit. I was even going to ask my mom to pick Marley up from daycare and that was hard for me because I loved picking her up and hearing all about her day from her teachers. So, I spent the rest of that evening laying down and then Mike went to bed and my pains were getting stronger and I couldn't sleep. I went out to my living room, hoping that sitting up on the couch may help. It was about 3am by now and I decided that maybe, just maybe, Steph was right and these were contractions. I started timing when I felt pain and it was roughly every 11 minutes. I debated on waking Mike up to tell him. I knew he would say we need to go to the hospital. This meant I'd have to call my mom in the middle of the night and ask her to come sit with Marley and I felt like I should just wait. After all, it's not like the pain was every 5 minutes. Finally around 5am I went to bed and slept for about 2 hours. At 8am Mike was about to take Marley to school and then go to work. I must have looked different that morning because when he came out of the bedroom and saw me sitting on the couch he immediately asked what was wrong. I said, "Well, I think maybe I'm having contractions, but probably not. It feels really different than it did with Marley so it's probably not." See, my house was a mess since I had no energy to clean and I thought that they would go off to work and school, then I'd clean my house, take a shower and at that point if I was still having pains, I'd call Mike and let him take me to the doctor. Mike said to me, "I'm not leaving for work until you call the doctor." At this point I suddenly felt very naseous which was nothing out of the ordinary, so I told him to give me a second while I went to the bathroom. Apparently God became tired of me ignoring the subtle signs and felt I needed a real wake-up call. I made it to the bathroom and started throwing up, and while I was doing this, I began losing blood. I instantly felt panic and called Mike in. I told him very calmly, "You need to call my mom. She is going to have to take Marley to school. I am bleeding, we need to get to the hospital." He grabbed his phone and told my mom to hurry and get there (luckily she only lives 3 miles away) and we began grabbing things we needed as I was sure I would be having these babies today. My mom got there very quickly and we threw our stuff into the van, kissed Marley bye and told my mom we'd call her. The drive to the hospital felt like it took forever. I was so mad at myself for ignoring the pain and not listening to my body. My biggest fear was that something had happened to one of the babies for me to be bleeding like that. We finally make it to the hospital and we weren't sure where to go. One of the valet attendants comes up to the car and sees me and says, "Are you going to have a baby?" I said, "No, I am going to have three babies!" She said, "Oh my!! Drive up to the emergency entrance and they'll direct you where to go." So, we drive over to that entrance, grab a wheelchair and head up. We were both staying surprisingly calm during all of this. We go into triage where they put three monitors on me and I instantly heard three heartbeats. This made me relax some, all of my babies were safe. Then, in walks the one and only doctor I saw over that entire time that I liked. I felt instant relief. She would be the one to deliver my babies! At this point it was roughly 9:30am. She said she was going to check to see if I was dilated any. While she is checking, she looked at me and said, "Honey, you are having your babies today, you are in active labor and 4 centimeters dilated, get ready." I am not exaggerating when I say that within 3 minutes of her saying this, the entire hallway was lined up with doctors and nurses just waiting for me. We then have a nurse come in and tell me that they will have to put me to sleep during delivery and Mike would not be able to be in the room. We both became very upset by this, as it was something that was never mentioned, and they told us it was best for me and the babies. They then tell us of everything that could go wrong and that upset us even more. My grandma, aunt and uncle walk in at that point and we tell them what's going on and they assure us that everything will be okay, but they also look worried. They then begin wheeling me off and the nurse comes running up and says, "Somebody must like you. We got your labs back, we don't have to put you to sleep after all." I felt very relieved about this and was so happy now that Mike could be in the delivery room. So, they wheel me in where atleast 30 people waited for me and I knew this was it. The anesthesiologist numbs me, they send Mike in and make the incision! On May 16, 2011 at 10:53am, Marissa Marie Boucher came into the world weighing in at 4 pounds 5 ounces, followed by brother Jackson Joseph Boucher at 10:55am weighing 5 pounds 4 ounces and last but not least, Makayla Grace Boucher at 10:56am weighing 3 pounds 14 ounces. My babies were here!!!! Everytime one was pulled out, the entire room said, "Awww!" I did not get to hold them or even really see them. They did bring Makayla to my face for about 5 seconds, and then they were all  immediately put in their "home" for the next several days, their warm and cozy incubators. I was wheeled into recovery where I had brief visits from Mike and my mom, but they wanted to see those babies! After about two hours they were wheeling me to my room and I was wishing somebody was there so I wouldn't be alone. We round the corner and when the nurse opens the doors to go down the hallway to my room, who is standing there waiting, but my best friend, Steph.

Me & Steph, both pregnant



My first time seeing Makayla







Jack not long after birth, just needed a little help breathing





Marissa a few minutes after birth, she was a tough cookie from Day 1