Some Good Things

So, it's been a week since our brief stint at the hospital and I had a regularly scheduled appointment with my OB. The babies all look great in there, though crowded for space, and despite somewhat regular contractions, everything seems to be holding steady. When I asked if making it to 34 weeks was still a reasonable hope, my doctor said yes! She just wants me to rest as much as possible and reassured me that all of the contractions don't mean that I am necessarily laboring, but rather that my uterus doesn't like being so stretched out, especially given that I haven't continued to dilate.

The other piece of news that totally made my day: she supports me attempting a vaginal delivery! Not many doctors out there would be up for this, so I feel so blessed to have a doctor who would be willing to give it a try. I'll have to deliver in an OR with epidural placed, and babies B & C may do something crazy and flip head up after A is delivered, requiring some intervention for a breech delivery. Even in that scenario, things look good because baby A is close to the same size as the other two (not smaller) and I've had two successful deliveries at term. My body has already proven itself. In fact, if this was my first pregnancy, a vaginal delivery wouldn't be an option at all.  Of course, being in the operating room with epidural placed means that any or all of these babies could be easily and quickly delivered by c-section if necessary.

What a weight it would lift to be able to take care of my family soon after delivery rather than recover from surgery! Assuming NICU babies, I could be with them shortly after delivery, not hours later. How wonderful it would be to begin nursing and pumping for them shortly following their arrival. Even though anything could still happen, this is definitely one of those times when I'll hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Any prayers for a smooth, surgery-free delivery, are appreciated!

And, as I have been the baby bump photo slacker, 31 weeks, 4 days:

31 week update

So no sooner had I published Monday's post than contractions kicked up to every 10 minutes and I found myself admitted to the Women's Assesment Floor at The Pavillion. While the babies looked great, the 5 contractions I had in 45 minutes did not.  In the scariest bit of news I was starting to dilate, already at 1cm. Not terrible terrible, I felt at first, as I walked around very dilated for weeks before Frederick was born.  But then, at 36-37 weeks, those occasional strings of productive contractions bring welcome signs that the end is near!

They put me on an oral medicine called procardia, 10 mg every 30 minutes, while monitoring my blood pressure, until the contractions slowed way down. After 6 hrs at the hospital my OB stopped by, confirmed that I hadn't further dilated, gave me two medications to keep contractions at bay while at home, and left orders for two steroid shots 24 hours apart. This meant that while I was being released from the hospital I also had to return Tuesday evening for another check that the meds were working and the second shot.

The steroid shot works for the babies' benefits, not mine.  It speeds lung development and lessons the risk of brain bleeds should these babies come sooner than later.  I feel some relief knowing they at least received this boost, but it is only good for 2 weeks.  I still hope they stay put for longer than that!

It's been hard for me to cope with things are great to fighting off contractions with round the clock meds. I've already had to take the backup medicine (albuterol) that I hoped I wouldn't need. For whatever reason I seem to do well until just around noon and then the contractions kick into high gear. It has been this way since Saturday. For whatever reason they mellow out in afeternoon/ evening. This AM when I couldn't sleep they tried to kick up again, too, but my backup med worked right away.

So next part involves the daily wait and see. Will the meds keep working? How long will these three stay put? I don't know, but as much as I hate not knowing I really need them to grow more!

And I thank God for friends and family who are helping us get there!

30 weeks with triplets

So, you might think that given how little I do these days that I might hash out a few more blog posts. That, however requires sitting at the computer and I don't own a laptop (the iPad works only almost as well).

At 30 weeks along I feel as though time has slowed almost to a standstill. Before I was actually surprised by how quickly time passed, but suddenly I am huge and the days that I feel good are beginning to be outnumbered by the days that are harder to get through. My back often hurts, even with the use of a belly support band, and there is a spot near my ribs where baby B (maybe with some help from her sister A) kicks the bejeezus out of me.  I keep expecting to lift up my shirt and see a big bruise!

Overall, though, feeling these babies move is such a blessing. They are strong and active! My belly bump is so full of baby that I can apply a little pressure anywhere on it and someone is bound to move! There are also so many legs and arms in there that they are constantly making little bumps on my belly; with a gentle push the hard spots float away into my belly only to push back out moments later. It is so hard to envision what life for them in there must be like!

I think about them floating in there and try to remember what MC and FC looked like as newborns, with their dark eyes and soft dark hair. Charlotte had a round little face while frederick's was not quite so full. Charlotte quickly looked like a beautiful infant while Frederick spent several months looking like an old man. Of course these are things I only noticed looking back at photos since I only saw beauty at the time. It is crazy to realize that THREE new little people with little distinct personalities will be here in just a matter of weeks! 

 As much as we want to meet them, they better stay put  safe inside for at least a few more weeks. Sometimes I feel like I can do this for a long time more - 37 weeks would be healthy babies! Yet there are other times, like this weekend, when I just don't know how we are going to make it! After My last visit to the hospital three weeks ago, I am probably a little too hesitant to call in, as I don't want to be sent in for monitoring if everything is going to level out with rest and water. Yesterday,  though, I was so close to making that call as I was having about 5 contractions an hour - close to six, which is supposed to be my cutoff for calling. Given I had that many for hours in a stretch, I probably should have called, but they were all over the place in strength and frequency and slowed down a little while after I took a nap. My sister and then my parents took the kids are keeping the kids foruntil things settle  The contractions finally slowed to a more reasonable 4/hr with A TON of water and a warm bath. (I totally recommend a jacuzzi tub if you are pregnant!) This morning has found me lounging and drinking water, and the contractions have slowed to 2-3/hr, totally acceptable and what my body likes to do at the end of a pregnancy. It will just take some effort to ensure they don't pick up much so we can make it to 34 or 36 weeks. 

36 weeks is my goal for this pregnancy, even though 32 weeks is average for triplets and 34 is considered full term. One of the books I read showed how drastically different lung development is between a 32, 34, and 36 week baby. Less developed lungs at birth, even though a baby may normally breathe without problems, leave the baby at risk for serious complications from things like RSV and colds. Since we already have two kids at home, the little germ carriers, I will breathe so much better myself knowing that this trio will have better lung development if I can carry them until 36 weeks. I also like knowing that they will spend less time (if any) in the NICU at that point and it will be easier to establish nursing then, too.