Queen of the Juggle

Happy Holidays 2007

Another year is coming to a close and I don’t know where the time has gone. It’s been so busy that I can’t believe we’re already in December. This year has been so up and down for us, with both incredibly joy and unbelievable loss. This season our letter is much longer than in the past, but there’s been so many events that have impacted our lives.

2007 came in relatively quietly…we were home by ourselves to ring in the New Year. Little did we know that the year would end so differently! We were still doing fertility treatments and not having much success. After 3 years, we finally we took the last chance plunge and did true IVF after 8 failures of insemination and various drug combinations. In January we started the IVF drugs…it was what we had done (amplified) along with some other new ones. Chip gave me daily injections and I sure love needles (NOT). I perfected sitting on a frozen veggie bag to numb up the hip first. He got really good at doing them without hurting me much. In early February our doctor surgically retrieved 22 eggs and the process began. 15 fertilized. They were grown in a Petri dish for 5 days. We learned that we had 7 viable embryos. On day 5 we discussed putting 4 eggs back in. The doctor was hesitant, but agreed to do it. This was do or die for us. It was our last try…we were tired and frustrated and had experienced so much failure. A week later we learned that we were indeed pregnant. It was amazing, unbelievable news. The doctor also told us we had an HCG count of over 700. A pregnancy is considered “valid” with an HCG count of 25. Our doctor immediately prepared us to understand that there was probably more than 1 baby. Hmmm, we were so excited that something worked that we didn’t think much about it. We had to then wait 2 weeks before the next ultrasound. We pretty much held our breath since I had had 2 miscarriages in other pregnancies. We were cautiously optimistic. When we went to the 1st ultrasound appointment we learned that there were 3 little dots on the ultrasound screen. We still were so excited that it worked that it really didn’t sink in that we were having triplets. We called our families and started the process of growing the babies and making it through the first trimester. Not only did we make it through the 1st trimester, we went 33 ½ weeks. I was on bed rest for quite awhile, it was not easy, but the girls and Chip took great care of me! They brought me lots of Krispy Kremes and cheeseburgers! While on bed rest, it finally sank in that triplets were coming in the last 2 to 3 months. By that time I had plenty of time to think about it. There were many ultrasounds and doctors appointments with our WONDERFUL perinatologist, Dr. Bohman. The whole staff at the Desert Perinatology Office was just incredible! Our 3 sons good health was a result of the “village” of people that cared for me, from the medical staff to family and everyone in between who visited and brought lunch in to me…more cheeseburgers!

In July Lin Marx hosted a baby shower for me and it was so much fun! What a fantastic turnout there was! We are so grateful for all the wonderful gifts and generosity of our friends and family. All of the gifts really helped us get a jumpstart on what we needed for the babies to come. Our close friends Christopher and Daniel offer to do our nursery at the baby shower. Bunny came from Florida in July to help decorate the nursery and our guest room. We knew we needed to get one ready since we would need tons of help with the babies. The Hortons would see us frequently this year…we had no idea that it would be so often. On Sept 6, chip and I as well as Dr. Bohman all agreed that these babies needed to come out. I was miserable (and huge) and we had made it past the critical points and the chances of good health and survival were very good. I called my parents two days before the date of the c-section and they hopped in the car and were in Vegas to be here when the boys were born. I had no idea how important this would become. Three little boys came into our lives on 9/8/07, just one minute between each birth. Gary Thomas, Benjamin Isaac and Ryan Charles. All the boys were extremely healthy at around 4 lbs. each. No ventilators or oxygen was needed. We were so thankful that all went well for both me and the babies. Chip is a proud papa who is amazing with these boys! No one could ever guess that he hadn’t spent much time around or caring for babies. It came naturally and it has just made our relationship stronger and I love him more every day as I see him lead our family. The boys needed to stay in the hospital to be “growers and feeders”. Ben and Ryan stayed 17 days and came home on 9/28. Our biggest guy, Gary fell ill while all 3 boys were in the hospital. It was scary to learn he had contracted Klebsiella, a serious blood infection. He had to stay in the hospital for IV antibiotics for an additional 14 days. It was hard to leave each day with any of them in the hospital. Gary was finally able to come home on October 5. My mom and dad stayed 3 weeks to help us and to get to know the babies. It was wonderful to have them be a part of the beginning of the boy’s lives and our life changing to accommodate the needs of 3 babies. Both of them jumped right in to help whether it was laundry or rocking babies. We had no idea what it would be until all 3 were home. Now they are 3 months old and I am back to work. We have had constant help since their birth. We are so grateful that mom and dad, Kari, Bunny & Bill, Fred & Celia and Christina have all spent time with us and have jumped in to help any way they can. Christina is with us until January and is SO patient and wonderful with the boys. There are simply no words to express our gratitude and appreciation for the ongoing help in our home.

Along with the pregnancy, there were other big things that happened this year. During the pregnancy, right before I couldn’t travel anymore I made a trip to Reno to see my parents since my dad was having surgery for cancer. The first surgery was postponed after heart problems were discovered. After stints were put in and medication helped him, the surgery happened on June 11. His hospital stay and attempts to recover were long and painful both physically to dad and emotionally for all of us. Unfortunately I couldn’t travel due to the high risk pregnancy so I couldn’t be there in person which was really difficult. It took so long for dad to be able to go home and then the healing process was very, very slow. Lots of doctors treated him and there would be 2 more surgeries to redo sutures and to take care of infection, both mistakes of the medical people treating him. Finally he was on the upswing and was able to come to Vegas for the birth of the boys. He seemed well and on the mend. Mom and dad left Vegas and headed home for some doctors appointments. Over the next few weeks my dad did not feel well. He was winded and not himself. Fast forward just 2 weeks from being in Vegas and dad was back in the hospital after beginning chemo treatment to control the cancer. He didn’t get to complete the first treatment. He was back in the hospital and the doctors thought that he had pneumonia and then possibly a blood clot. We learned on October 10 that the cancer had come back very aggressively and had spread to his lungs. Within 24 hours he had passed away. It was so quick and unexpected. All of us thought he’d be home in the next day or two after he went into the hospital. I immediately flew to Reno and then drove to Winnemucca and stayed 11 days to help make arrangements and support my family through the funeral. Luckily for us, Bunny flew from Florida again to help Chip and Christina take care of the babies. Christina, Fred and Celia had just arrived to spend some time with all of us. The boys were too small to travel and I had to go be with my family. The funeral was a beautiful event…beautiful because all of our family who could and so many of my dad’s friends attended. The funeral was standing room only and the line of cars to the cemetery was incredibly long…an honor to a wonderful man. Dad is buried in Winnemucca in a beautiful spot that is under a tree and looks out to Winnemucca Mountain. It has been strange to experience such a miracle in the boys being born and such a tragedy with my dad’s passing. I’m thankful that dad had the opportunity to see his grandsons come into the world and be honored by us naming our firstborn son Gary after my dad. I will treasure the time we spent forever. I just wish I could have somehow known what the future would bring…we said tearful goodbyes when mom and dad left to go back to Winnemucca after the birth of the boys, not knowing it would be the last time we would see each other. Mom came back to Vegas with me and is here for the time being. She seems to be doing as well as can be expected. Mom spent Thanksgiving back in Winnemucca and will come back to help us in Vegas soon.

Aside from the 2 very heavy events this year, we had a few other good times in 2007. We made our 3rd trip to Hawaii in May – just the two of us. It was before the pregnancy really overtook our lives. We saw the big Island of Hawaii for the first time. After spending one night in Waikiki and visiting with my coworkers, we headed over to Hawaii. We loved the bed and breakfast we stayed in at Volcano. An amazing little cottage on private grounds with 4 other cottages. We walked for quite awhile and saw the volcano fields of rock. It was AMAZING to see all the stark black rock for miles and miles. The other side of Hawaii – Kona – is volcanic rock and like a desert for miles. In the midst of the desert landscape, we found a beach that was amazing! Mauna Kea. So quiet and beautiful. An oasis in a desert…actually it is in the resort corridor that is a piece of desert that has been made to look like paradise since the beaches are wonderful there. There are very few beaches on the Kona side that are nice and accessible. Chip loved the snorkeling at Mauna Kea. We were close enough to touch some turtles. The wet side with Hilo reminded us a lot of Kauai, which we loved. A very wet, lush place that is small and quaint, but doesn’t have a lot of beaches that aren’t rocky. We were over on Hawaii for 10 days and drove around the whole island. By the time we were on our way back from Hawaii, my body was telling me to slow down. The timing was perfect.

The other bright side of 2007 has been our family life with our girls Kaitlyn and Gillian. They are with us every other week, as they have been for the last several years. Kaitlyn started middle school this year and is enjoying not having a uniform policy. We are all adjusting to the new schedule and format. She has gone with the flow and seems to be in the groove. Along with school, Kaitlyn keeps busy with girl scouts, a few different clubs in school and gymnastics. Gillian is in third grade this year and has a full schedule too. She does girl scouts, soccer, gymnastics and very recently the chess club. Both girls are on the honor roll and are doing so well in school and out. They enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa too when they came to be with us when the boys were born. It was time they had never spent with them. Again, I’m grateful for the time they had with grandpa…we never would have guessed that things would take a turn for the worst after visiting with us. When grandpa passed, their dad drove them up to Winnemucca for the funeral. It was not easy for any of us…definitely not the grandkids, but I am so glad they could be there to say goodbye to Grandpa too. It’s a relief that they could lean on the adults as well as comfort each other.

We are also enjoying the boys as they grow. They are now 3 months old, smiling and are awake longer. The girls LOVE being big sisters and we are so happy about that. Both Kaitlyn and Gillian are great little mommies. They help with everything and love the boys so much. It’s so sweet to see them talking to them and kissing them goodnight before the girls jump into bed themselves. I never imagined they would love each other so much. Both Chip and I just smile when we talk about it.

Chip is still contracting to Verizon and I am back at work with Orbitz. Time seems to be flying…especially when I had to go back to work on Nov. 9. I wondered where the 12 weeks had gone. Luckily both Chip and I work at home and it is the best possible situation it could be. Chip and I wander out of the office to help when we can. Christina and my mom helping us has been such a blessing! Christina is a natural with the boys and she has spent endless hours feeding, diapering, burping and dressing these little boys. I watch her interact with them and I am beyond amazed at how much she’s doing for us and how she just jumps in and does it. What a great girl! We love her so much and wish she’d stay to help for eternity. Somehow I think her international travels are much more interesting that the boys. Really though, Christina is an amazing woman! I can’t imagine life without her. We’ll have to figure it out in January when she jet sets off to Australia. Egads! It’s right around the corner. She’ll have a fabulous time and we will miss her more than I can say. I’m not sure we can find someone as good as she is to help us after she leaves us.

Thanksgiving was indeed a day of thanks…Bunny and Bill Horton came out from Florida again to cook dinner here on turkey day. They arrived and Bunny made the most scrumptious turkey I’ve ever eaten. The kids (boys and girls) loved spending time with Aunt Bunny, Uncle Bill and cousin Danny especially since Danny will be off to college next year. Time passes so quickly! On top of the goodies we put on the table, we were also thankful that we could be together that day with our good friends Carlos and Deann, who joined us for the 2nd year for Thanksgiving and lots of good wine. That’s never a bad thing! The conversation and company is always good when all of us spend time together. It was fun to share our home, food and our new family life with Deann and Carlos. I hope they will spend more time with us and we didn’t scare them off since our house is being taken over by baby gear. We’d love to get out, but boy it’s an operation with the boys and the girls to go anywhere! So far, we’ve never been anywhere with all 7 of us. The boys have only been to the doctor and then home since they’ve been born. It’s just too risky to their health. We’ll feel better about it when they get bigger but I just don’t know how we’ll go anywhere with all of us!

Right before Thanksgiving my sister Kristy came to visit. It was her first trip since the boys were born. She had been down to visit for the baby shower and then again to deliver a bunch of baby stuff that was given to us by Abby. What a sweetheart she was to pass on some very useful baby stuff, but Kristy was also so nice to drive it down to Vegas from Winnemucca. For the first time her husband was able to come and visit too. It was great to see them! Her hubby Jeff is the BBQ master, so he whipped us up some great food. We enjoyed our visit so much! We had no idea that Kristy would visit 3 times in a year! This last trip she flew down by her self and loved up on the boys as well as met the Florida Hortons. It was really nice to see our families from both sides come together. We sure wish all of our family could be closer, but we love all of you and anyone is welcome to come out to see us any time!

So here we are, staring Christmas in the face and we’re so not ready. We’re still finding our groove with the schedule for the boys and also mesh that with the girl’s busy schedule. Slowly it’s coming along. I can’t believe how fast each day passes. The boys are three months old now and Kaitlyn is getting ready to turn 12! Gillian is growing right up and is halfway to 9 years old. This year has been so mixed up with all that has happened. One thing that we’ve come to realize is that life is too short to spend a moment in a place or situation you don’t want to be. Take a chance, take a risk, do what makes you happy. Be close to your loved ones, tell them how important they are and hug them often. To all of our friends and family…thank you for the love and support since our babies arrived. The gifts, calls and emails have been so meaningful and appreciated. We wish you happy holidays to you and yours and a wonderful 2008.

For updates with our family, we have a family blog site. The address is www.metaforge.net/mcveyfamily or we can be emailed at sherri@metaforge.net and finally, just give us a call! We’d love to hear from you.

Love and hugs,
Chip, Sherri, Kaitlyn, Gillian, Gary, Ben and Ryan

Thanksgiving this year…what a wonderful week! Kristy came to visit, mom was here and the Hortons came in on Tuesday. It was such fun to have Christina and all the rest of us here. Very nice that we could come together from our families and meet. Bunny, Bill and Danny came from Florida to join us for a few days over Thanksgiving. Mom was here and Kristy arrived the Saturday night before turkey day. The evening evolved into quite the conversation about my dad, which was good. Mom, Kristy and I had pretty much resolved our issues, which were related to my dad’s death. All of us grieve differently and I was having my moment. Mom and Kristy did well in trying to understand me and my schizo ways. It’s an odd thing, this dealing with death and family. I never knew it would be this way, this complex and that I would have these varied feelings. I’ve always heard death can change your life, but I just didn’t know how it would be and it changes daily. Even now, I think that maybe I haven’t a clue about what all of this really means. I feel finality but then again I feel the presence of my dad. It is difficult, but yet a comfort, knowing that dad is up there watching and guiding. I feel comfort for my family because I know he’s there with us all the time. Mom and Kristy went back to Winnemucca for Thanksgiving. It was hard to see her go and we know she’s working on what she wants to do, so we will wait and see what the future brings. Mom plans to come back after the first of the year.

Thanksgiving day was wonderful! Bunny did her traditional Cuban turkey, which was WONDERFUL! We had all the trimmings going right after Bunny put the 21 lb. bird in the oven. Christina made a butterscotch pie which was amazing and of course we had to have pumpkin pie from Costco. I’ve never had a better pumpkin pie than Costco’s. Deann and Carlos Tello joined us for Thanksgiving for the 2nd year. It was so good to visit with them! Great company and fantastic wine. They saw the babies for the first time too. The babies loved all the hugs from Hortons and the Tellos.

There has been so many events that have happened since I posted the homecoming of Gary on October 5. On October 11, 2007, my dad, Gary, suddenly passed away from a heart attack at Carson Tahoe Medical Center. He had been fighting bladder cancer and starting chemotherapy on October 9. He was struggling to breathe when the first treatment was almost done. Soon after he went to the E/R and went into the hospital. Things quickly went from bad to worse. Between 10/9 and 10/11 we were all informed that Gary’s cancer had spread to his lungs. Sadly, it was too much for his heart in addition to his diabetes. His passing was quick and very unexpected. After arriving in Reno as soon as I heard the news and could get a flight, my family and I went to Winnemucca to make arrangements and bury him. It is a difficult time for all of us, certainly for my mom. Oddly enough, his passing occurred 4 months to the day of his surgery to remove his bladder and the initial cancer. A favorite photo of my mom’s of my dad is posted above in his honor. There is so much I could say and stories I could share about how great my dad was. What I would like to say is that he was a wonderful man who loved his family and the outdoors. I will be forever grateful that my dad had been well enough to be in Las Vegas with us when the boys were born and could see them and hold them. I am sad that he won’t be here to pass on the his love of hunting and the outdoors himself to our boys, the rest of my family will pass that on in his honor and memory. I know that he is smiling down on our little miracles every day. October 25 would have been his 65th birthday. It was a hard day, but one we also celebrated his life. I’m happy to have had him in my life for almost 30 years. My life, I am certain would have turned out much differently had he not been a part of it. I think the rest of my family feels the same. I miss him dearly already, but am peaceful that he passed quickly and did not have to suffer through his cancer. He was not that kind of man. He would’ve rather have been enjoying his last days with my niece Tiffany, helping her shoot her first deer. Grandma and I took her out but didn’t see anything. A few days later her dad took her out and she did it! I’m sure grandpa was with her proudly smiling a huge smile from above! She got a buck, as she would not settle for a doe, knowing that Grandpa wanted a buck. She was ready and it was great that grandpa took her shooting just before he went back to Reno for treatment. None of us would have ever guessed that he wouldn’t come home.

My mom decided to come back to Vegas for awhile, so we have an additional hand to help us with these babies who keep us really busy! I drove back with her on Oct. 22 after helping close up her house and prepare to be away however long works for her. It must be bittersweet to move through the house, to feel his presence and know that he is gone, but yet there are the memories that my mom – all of us – will have forever in our hearts.

During the time I was in Winnemucca helping my family make arrangements, the boys were here with their dad. He and Christina took great care. Fred and Celia were here for a few days and lent a very much needed hand as well. Bunny came back out from Florida to help too. We can’t thank the Horton family enough for all the love and support they’ve give the Las Vegas McVeys and the rest of my family during this difficult time and before the babies to prepare. Christina and Chip are baby experts now! Nothing like trial by fire! We appreciate so much all the people who were here and are here to help and support us.

I was away for 11 days. Boy these babies GREW! I also missed the circumcision appointment, which was a relief to me. Chip, Bunny and Celia managed that task and did a fine job. 🙂 It’s so good to have people in our life that will step right up. Each boy is well over 6 lbs. now. All are doing so well, eating 4+ ounces at a feeding. Now we are trying to get them to sleep all night so we can get some sleep! Until then, my mom and Christina are doing morning duty and Chip and I are doing night duty. We get to bed at about 3 a.m. I feel fortunate to get 6 hours of sleep at a time. I wouldn’t change it for a minute! It truly takes all 4 of us to take care of these boys. Everyone does whatever needs to be done and do a great job.

I’ve realized with my dad’s death to rethink my priorities. It’s sad that it takes an event like this to push us to evaluate what is the most important. I find myself pondering what are my true passions? What makes me happy? What is best for my family? How can I both do and be better? It also makes me think of the simple things like taking more pictures. During making arrangements with my family for my dad’s funeral, putting together a memorial slide show, that I had very few pictures of my dad and I and no pictures of the girls and my dad. I was very sad when we chose the photos to put in, but Chip came to my rescue and looked through many old photos to find a few with me and dad. Luckily, there are some pictures of dad and the boys, even though in the pictures you can see that he didn’t feel well. I now am painfully aware of how important these simple things are. I also will try harder to tell those I love that I love them and show that better with my actions, despite being really hormonal after having the boys.

I went for my last check with my OB doctor and have been “cleared” as healing well after the delivery. There is still quite a big bruise on my belly. It looks much better than a month ago though. Good news for sure but he also reminded me that it will be probably a year before my body is completely recovered. It’s surprising because it seems like 7 weeks is so long ago, that I should be back to normal now. It’s easy to forget how much harder it is to recover from both a c-section and a multiple birth. The whole experience of the pregnancy and the birth has been surreal to say the least. I have mixed feelings when I reflect on it and it is noticeable in my emotions. Love, frustration, pain, happiness, relief and a little sad that it’s over. I am fighting some postpartum depression, but am also aware that I need to take care of myself and am taking appropriate action. Some people around me may disagree with me but all is OK for the time being.

Other than that, the other news is that I will need to go back to work on 11/9/07. I’m a little sad about that, but am grateful, no very thankful, that both Chip and I work from home. It is the best possible scenario that we could have with these little guys. Sounds like so far work is pretty flexible. Time will tell how it will be since our team has gained another market manager which is good! Not sure how much I’ll be able to travel so that will be a factor. We’ll see what the future holds.

We had our first appointment for Ben and Ryan today. We saw Dr. Conti, our pediatrician. It was an incredibly long wait…frustrating for us parents. We fed the boys and listened as people ooohhed and ahhed over our “twins”. I felt a little sad that Little Gary wasn’t with us, but soon enough, I am sure!

Ryan now weighs 5 lbs., 4 oz. and is 18 inches long. Ben is 4 lbs., 14 oz. and is 17 3/4 inches long. WOW! Go boys!

After about 45 minutes we were called into a room and waited for another 45 minutes or so. Finally Dr. Conti came in. That’s the hard part. Once we got his attention, it was fantastic. He spent a good amount of time with us and we discussed sleeping, eating and everything else to expect with the little ones. He checked the boys and all is good. W e are trying Conti’s sleep method, which is called EAZ, for Eat (3 oz. during the day, one big feeding of 4 to 6 oz. of formula at midnight), Awake and Sleep, which is Eat food (3 oz. during the day, one big feeding of 4 to 6 oz. of formula at midnight), stay Awake for 30 to 60 minutes after and then let them sleep for 3 hours during the day, but 6 hours at night (from midnight to 6 a.m.). We’ll see if we can achieve 6 hours of sleep within a month or so. That would be great for mommy and daddy, I just hope the boys are ready for it. We talked about my dread with circumcision….I just can’t be there and the Dr. assured me that the boys wouldn’t even cry. We need to get it done within the next 30 days or so. I will wait outside and leave that to the big boy, doctor and the little boys. Conti wants us to switch formula to Enfamil Lipil 20 calorie formula after we finish the high calorie food (current formula is Enfamil Enfacare 22 calorie). The doctor also let us know that our babies should be looked at as “full term” babies now. He wants us to move forward on that path. Dr. Conti also talked to us about how difficult managing triplets will be. Scary. Very scary to me.

Dr. Conti spoke to us about little Gary too and his infection. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Summerlin was in contact with him to let him know what was going on since most of the time one hand can’t help the other between health care workers in the same department at the same facility! Good to know that at least he had pertinent information and could talk with us. He indicated that the infection was very serious but treatable.

The office was really busy, and the staff all wanted to see the twins. Lots of people commented that our babies are “so small”. They are growing so fast, they look big to us, however full term babies look gigantic next to our little guys. We also asked for formula samples and they gave us 2 cases. I was so happy they were willing to oblige us!

We will go back in a month for more immunizations and a check up for all 3. We also need to have little Gary checked out when he comes home, sometime next week.

It was a good experience, I just hope we won’t be leaving a 2:00 p.m. appointment at 4:30 p.m. next time.