The first Holiday with our Vero, Vivi & Leo....

• Dec. 28: (still Week #22) Our bellies keep growing and Mommy is getting more tired. She weights 66 kgs (lbs) and the belly is (40").
  
  Dec. 26: Mommy saw first movement on our belly. It looks like Leo or Vivi were having a good time down there.
  
  Dec. 25: (begining of Week #22) We finally opened the luggage from the U.S with the baby clothes that Mommy ordered on line. THANKS to the Arroyos (Mom's family) for PREPARING, PACKING and DELIVERING the luggage to Francesca (Mom's & Dad's friend) who BROUGHT it with her to Milan, Italy; and the Upleggers (Dad's family) for PICKING it up from Francesca and BRINGING it to Mommy and Daddy at St. Genis, France.
  
  Dec. 20: (Week #21) Today was the Sonogram #7 showing Vero, Vivi & Leo doing fine and growing at a normal rate. The only concern was Mommy's cervix channel that is getting thinner. According to Dr. Morales this channel is preferable to be at 3 cm thick and at the minimum of 2 cm. It looked like our was 2.2 cm thick, very close to the limit. Mommy has to rest at home and stay away from anything that can thinner the cervix channel.
  
  
  Dec. 12: (Week #20) Today was Mommy's appoitment with Dr. Morales. She weights 65.30 kgs (lbs) and the belly size is 99.24 cm ( "). She will keep taking the Iron pills.
  
  Dec. 5: (Week #19) Wow, wow, wow!!! Mommy FELT the firts movement. It was a little wave feeling! It seems that it was the bottom baby, Vero perhaps.

Belly contest

And their Sexes are??????

• Nov. 25 (ending of Week 17): We decided to change the diet and add more proteins to it and meal times. Mommy needs to gain more weight and she is not. Today she is 63 kgs but we are still behind from what she is supposed to gain.

• Nov. 19 (Week 16): Today was the sonogram #6 and one of the happiest days of our lives. We found out the sexes of our THREE little ones. Daddy was very nervous hoping that at least one was a boy. Here are the results we received.

The girl's name Veronica \v(e)-roni-ca, ver(o)-nica\ is pronounced ver-RON-ni-kah. It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "true image". Saint Veronica (17th century) was an Italian mystic and saint. She was said to have offered Jesus a cloth to wipe his face as he faltered on his way to crucifixion. She obtained a miraculous "true image" (in Latin "a vera icon") of Jesus' face on the cloth. Also variant of Bernice (Greek) "bringer of victory". The name first appeared in Britain in the 17th century, and spread beyond Catholic families in the 19th century.

The girl's name Viviana \v(i)-via-na\ is a variant of Vivian. It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "lively". An ancient personal name; a saint's name. The name has been common only since the 19th century. In Malory's "Morte d'Arthur", Vivien was the Lady of the Lake and also the enchantress of Merlin.

The boy's name Leonardo \le(o)-nar-do, leon(a)-rdo\ is a variant of Leonard. It is of Old German origin, and its meaning is "lion strength". Name of a saint from the Middle Age who was patron of prisoners. Leonardo is Italian, Spanish, borne by artist Leonardo da Vinci, who is considered to be one of the most brilliant and creative men who ever lived.

• Nov. 17 (Week 16): Mommy's iron was again low and she had to start a 30 pill dosis. Today we went to visit the amazing

• Nov. 7 (Week 15): Mommy's appointment with Dr. Morales. She gained 1.5 kgs (3 lbs). She is now 61.45 kgs with a 35" belly.

Belly Contest

November 7: Daddy's fat belly still 91.5 cm (36") and Mommy's has changed to 89 cm (35").

And THEY keep growing......

• Oct. 25 (Week 12): Today was the sonogram #5 and it shows our THREE little ones moving a lot and living like a sandwich. ONE on the bottom, TWO in the middle, and THREE on the top. We got to see many movements but the one that amazed us the most was when one of them streched his/her legs. The sonogram took an hour since they were checked from head to toes. We were surprised to see their kidneys, heart beating, and of course their human shape. It is funny that they are called t1, t2, and t3...hopefully Mommy and Daddy have better names for them. This time their sizes is 7 cm (2 3/4"). We were told that their size is perfect for their age (begining of 13th week).

• Oct. 17 (Week 11): Today was the first visit with our final Doctor and Hospital (Dr. Michel Ange Morales at Hopitaux Universitaires de Geneve). We were so happy to finally have a personal Doctor and Hospital for the arrival of our precious THREE. This time was Mommy's appointment. She got check for weight (60 kgs), pressure (good), hight (1.59 M), hands, legs, and feet for any swallowing problem. Everything looks good. She hasn't gained any weight, but the belly keeps growing.

• Oct. 6 (Week 9): Today we received blood test results from Dr. Schwarz where Mommy was a little bit low in iron but everything else looked fine. She starts her iron medication which it will last 7 days (3 pills/day).

• GENERAL INFORMATION: Mommy keeps resting and sleeping a lot. This month she is been also eating a well balance diet. This diet consist of yugourt and some cereal (Cocoa Krispies) and milk at 6:00 AM. Yes, they love to eat very early! Before lunch she enjoys some fruit (tangerines, bananas, apples, cantalupe or prunes). For lunch and dinner she either eats chicken, meat, pork, lamb or pasta. Tangerines are the fruit that she enjoys after every meal and when she feels nauseas. It is good that she is still not craving for sweets or any Swiss chocolates. She is been forced to stay away from all French and Swiss cheesses and not to mention the delicious Italian prosciutto and salame.

Belly Contest

October 25: Daddy's belly measurement: 91.5 cm (36") and Mommy's 85 cm (33.5"). Daddy has the ball!!!

Yes, it looks like it is true.....

• Sept. 25 (Week 8): Today the sonogram #4 which was done in Geneva, Switzerland with Dr. C. Schwarz Blatt shows the THREE growing at the same rate. This time their sizes are the same for each other (2 cm). We were again told to think about reduction and our answer remains the same as before. We would like to continue with the THREE.

• Sept. 13 (Week 7): Today the sonogram #3 which was done in Milan, Italy at the Mangiagalli Hospital; shows the THREE doing fine and growing almost at the same rate. This time their sizes are almost close to eachother (7.2 ml, 9.2 ml, and 7.1 ml). It seems that none of them wants to stay behind. (SORRY NO PICTURE AVAILABLE)

• Sept. 4 (Week 6): Today the sonogram #2 confirmed the THREE heart beats. We were told again to consider reduction since ONE showed to be very small compare to the other TWO. We both agreed that if there are no complications we would like to continue with the THREE.

• GENERAL INFORMATION: It has not been easy to hear that we should consider reduction of the pregnancy. We have been trying for so long to get pregnant and now that we finally are, we have to think in getting one out of the picture. When we were first told about reduction we were so scared about the risk of loosing the whole pregnancy. This only happens 1 out of 200 cases, but still a risk. We wanted to know more about it, so we decided to search for more information. We found it, but it didn't convinced us in go for it. We instead decided to continue with the TREE if we could. The first montlh seems like everything is going well. Mommy is lucky of not having any vomiting issues. She has nauseas, tireness, and back pain. No cravings at all and the only thing that she is going crazy are vegetables. She is been sleeping 16 hours a day and no weight gain yet.

No, it will never happen...

• Aug. 29 (Week 5): The sonogram #1 confirms the pregnancy but, surprise surprise, also shows that all THREE made it. We can't believe it! We had in mind twins, but never TRIPLETS. It just never crossed our minds that we will be blessed with THREE little ones. The Doctor waited for us in her office to talk about the risks of having THREE. She advised to consider reduction for the good of the pregnancy and the babies. A pregnancy with THREE is always high risk. Our answer was that we would think about it, since we had until week 14 for the procedure of reduction.

• Aug. 24 (Week 4): The second pregnancy test comes also positive, so we are schedule to come back in five days for the first sonogram. We are almost sure about the pregnancy this time since the blood test is giving a very high value (1480...above 500 you are supposed to be pregnant).
  

• Aug. 22nd (Week 4): The First pregnancy test is done in the morning. We are told to check our PRN message after 3:00 PM for results. At noon we received the call from the nurses to tell us that the pregnancy test came out positive. An hour later Dr. Klipstein called us to congratulate us on the results of the pregnancy test. We were very happy but we only called aunt Francis with the news. We didn't want to start telling people without being 100% sure of the results. We were schedule to come back in two days for a second test, and we agreed that it will be better to wait until then before spilling out the beans.

• Aug. 11th (Week 2): The day of the transfer arrives. We are told that we have THREE strong possible embryos out of the six that fertilized. They suggested us that given our situation with the first IVF cycle it was better to implant all THREE to give us a bigger change for a positive outcome and we agreed.

• Aug. 7th (Week 2): We had the retrieval of 18 eggs, but only 6 fertilized successfully.

• GENERAL INFORMATION: We didn't think the second cycle of the IVF was going to be a success. Daddy was send to work at CERN in Geneva Switzerland. Mommy had just finished her degree in Fashion and the plans were different. Our plans were for Mommy to stay in Milan and find a job or at least an internship and Daddy to work in Geneva. We had planed to see eachother every weekend since Milan is 4 hours driving or by train from Geneva.