Journey to Triplets - 22 Weeks

OB Update

No hospital visits this week or last week! Yay! This was my first week on disability leave from work so I have been really taking it easy and doing very little and it seems to be helping with the contractions. Surprisingly I haven't become too bored, though I am probably turning into a recluse. As of today I've been on bedrest for 4.5 weeks! The time has passed relatively fast  and that is probably because for the majority of the time I was still working from home.

Well I'm writing this from the hospital!  I find it humorous that I was writing this post a couple hours before we headed to the hospital. Yesterday I started have several frequent non painful contractions and after calling the Doctor on call to see if there was anything we should do, he asked us to come in. After some IV fluids and motrin, things calmed down. I'm here again tonight and possibly longer but were are just waiting to see. And now back to the previously written post :)

At my OB appointment on Thursday the ultrasound showed continual funneling of my cervix. It is now down to 4 mm closed from the 8 mm last week. Not good news but the doctor said that she was encouraged that it was going so slowly. We are heading towards an inevitable hospital stay, its just a matter of when. Most likely it wont be until almost 24 weeks gestation because that is the point they can/will start more aggressively treating pre-term labor. That would get me to the beginning of September before heading to the hospital. I feel a little more positive about this situation at the moment because the Dr. (the one I feel is the most helpful, attentive, and aware of my current situation) said on Thursday that even if there is no closed cervix left, dilating starts, one of the membranes ruptures, it doesn't mean its the end of the pregnancy. That was surprising to me since I thought thats exactly what all of those meant. Friday's ultrasound will also be the first growth ultrasound since the anatomy scan. They will be estimating weight and size of the babies at that visit. I am looking forward to it but it also means a good couple of HOURS laying on my back and having someone pushing on the belly. Measuring 3 sets of everything takes a while!

Journey to Triplets - 21 Weeks

The semi-annual TMOTT sale in Raleigh really is an excellent resource for parents, whether of multiples or singles - I couldn't believe the bargains we found!

Journey to Triplets - 20 weeks

What's this? A weekly picture posted on time? That's right - the 20 weeks picture is being posted on Heather's 20 weeks date! Unheard of, I know... don't get too used to it!

Hello little ones

The best thing about this pregnancy is how often we get to see the little ones. Thanks to them wanting to keep a close look on my cervix we're seeing the babies about once a week on ultrasound. It is simply amazing how fast they are growing and how much they are moving around in there. I still can't feel the movements though! So far they are all on schedule size wise - I guess they aren't feeling too crowded yet. They are now too big to get all of them in one picture so let me show you their individual pictures! :)

Baby Girl A

Baby Girl B

Baby Boy C

Baby C never got a good 3D picture but I like this 2D one. He rolled over while we were watching him and started sucking his thumb. Cuteness. We also got a really good picture of his male parts but I can't decide if you are supposed to post that on the internet or not. :) 

Now to decide on names! Six names is a heck of a lot to pick in one go. Especially when my husband suggests things like Zelda, Link, Mario, Freya and other similar choices. He is very helpful! :) 

Not the greatest week

Since I had the cerclage (about 2 weeks) I've had a couple contractions every day. They are completely painless and I just feel a strong tightening in my lower abdomen. On Tuesday I started getting a lot more of them closer together. We called the OB on call and she said to drink a ton of water and lay on my side and if it didn't get better call back. They did get better until the next morning when it started again. So they sent me back over to the hospital for monitoring. What I find very odd about Labor and Delivery at the hospital is that they don't let you eat or drink anything for hours! Especially when drinking water is the first thing everyone normally says when you complain of contractions. And we are talking about pregnant women here who aren't allowed to eat? Craziness.

Of course 8 different people all ask you the same questions and all give you a different impression of what's going on. I think I am getting more used to this now and I think I will only be paying attention to what the attending doctor says from now on. Otherwise you end up completely confused, overwhelmed and frustrated with the conflicting answers. Oh and I think doctors should have to wear their rank and how it relates to the hospital hierarchy.Apparently I asked the wrong level of doctor a difficult question because she said "well your level of complexity is way above my level of training and practice." I am pretty sure I saw 4 different doctors in the 5 hours I was in the hospital and it would be a lot more helpful if you had a better idea how they fit into the picture. Just saying :)

After they ran a whole bunch of different tests they decided I have a minor infection that may be causing the uterine irritability and a little medication would hopefully clear it up. Yay - a possible reason and an easy solution, you can't ask for much more than that!

The next day at my regular (weekly!) OB visit and ultrasound the news was all bad. My cervix was continuing to shorten and had noticeably done so since the previous day at the hospital. It looked to be funneling even past the cerclage stitch. She said all sorts of sucky things like having to take the stitch out if it continues, preterm labor, more infections. ACK!! Oh and the best part was they said we'll have to wait and see what happens. "Since the babies aren't viable yet there really isnt much else they can/would do. Oh but stay positive cause stress won't help the situation." Right, of course, let me sing my happy song now.

I went home and pretty much glued myself to the couch. I didnt want to do anything to make the situation worse. The next day I called the doctor I know the best and trust and she gave me a few words of
encouragement and said that really keeping as much pressure off the cervix as possible can help. She suggested stricter bedrest and going on leave from work. She also called in a prescription for me to help with the contractions. I've been trying the stricter bedrest for a day and half now and it seems to be helping... but of course there are no guarantees.

I'm doing my best to give my body a pep talk and give it nothing to stress about but growing babies and keeping them inside. Any prayers, positive thoughts, good karma you want to send this way would be appreciated. :-)

Journey to Triplets - 19 weeks