Sleep Deprivation Training

As I sit here at 4:00am, having been awake for the previous three hours and working on only four hours of sleep the night before, I can't help but wonder if this is nature's way of preparing me for the upcoming challenge/blessing of having triplets.  Yes, that's right, we're having triplets!  I still haven't completely wrapped my head around it yet, but as each day passes, it starts to become a little more real.

When I found out that we were having triplets last week, I felt this insatiable desire to learn as much as I could about this pretty rare occurrence that was about to change our lives forever.  Since these will be our first babies, I don't have any prior experience to draw upon, but I have to believe this is a pretty common phenomenon, regardless of whether you're having one or three babies. 

You wouldn't believe how many hours I've spent scouring the internet, looking for information on what to expect.  Most of the books that can be found at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders are geared towards being pregnant with one child.  So, I figured, what better place than the internet to do my research?  The majority of what I've been reading has to do with other couple's experiences that they've shared through blogs.  I'm so grateful that they took the time to document and share their journeys, as it's really allowed me to learn more about what to expect during our pregnancy, what could go wrong, and what will be the most important experience in our lives.  To be honest, I've never felt so scared and so excited about anything in my entire life.

Speaking of "our" lives, I'm obviously not having triplets on my own.  I've been truly blessed with the most amazing wife, friend, partner, mother-to-be ever--Meghan.  We talked about creating this blog and how we felt about really opening up and sharing this experience with friends, colleagues, and others who may come across it as I did when I was searching for answers.  It's a very intimate part of our lives and there's a lot that could go wrong along the way, considering how risky of a pregnancy this is.  I've learned though, through a good friend who's been battling cancer (yes, I'm talking about you Errick Springfield), that sharing this information with your family and friends, even if it's through a blog, can do wonders for your soul.  Especially, when you're wondering if what you're experiencing/feeling is normal and when you encounter situations where you just can't find the words to speak, but somehow come out so naturally when putting pen to paper or, in this case, fingers to the keyboard.

I also wanted to make sure we had a way to document this transformation in our lives, in case time passes by too quickly and we forgot the thoughts and emotions that accompany each photo. 

Meg will pipe in from time to time with some "guest" posts, but I have a feeling that most of this experience will be shared through my eyes, via photography, and my words, via this blog.

I'll leave you with the first photo of our triplets.  God only knows (and possibly the embryologist), which one of these two blastocytes decided that two babies wouldn't be enough of a challenge for the DeBauche's and split in two to give us three!