So Much to Be Thankful for this year!

Happy Thanksgiving--the day has an all new meaning to me this year!  I am so thankful for my 3 precious little ones, but also thankful for all of the friends and family who have been there for us during this difficult time.  Although we did not get to spend the entire day with our little ones, every minute with them at this time is precious.  We did get a few pics of them today of their first Thanksgiving.  We also discussed how different Thanksgiving will be next year when these  little ones are home and we are trying to keep up with them!
  Yesterday was an emotional day for me.  I was released from hospital after my near 6 week stay, but couldnt help being sad as we drove away without my babies.  I was also remembering 6 weeks ago when I drove into the hospital parking lot and how extremely scared I was at that time.  I know the babies are where they need to be at this time, but it is still very hard to be home without them. 
   Update on babies:
       Kate: she is doing excellent!  After the usual wt loss that happens in babies after birth she had dropped to 3lbs 5oz (from 3lbs 12oz at birth).  She has consistently gained weight over the past 2 days and is up to 3lbs 7 & 3/4oz.  Her hair is definitely red at this time.
       Braden: also doing very well!  His weight also dropped to 3lbs 5oz, but he too has been gaining weight the past 2 days and is up to 3lbs 6 3/4oz.  His hair is by far the darkest of the three.
       Brooks: doing well considering the obstacles he is having to overcome.  MD informed us yesterday that they detected a heart murmur in Brooks and he was going to have a cardiologist come check him out.  Turns out, the murmur is caused by an open PDA ( All babies have an open PDA--patent ductus arteriosus-- in utero which is their means of obtaining O2 from momma.  Typically this PDA will close after birth, however in some premature babies it does not close and causes a murmur.) Thankfully, this can be easily fixed by meds.  The problem is that while he is on the meds (3 doses 12 hours apart) they have to stop his feedings.  Entering the world at a mere 1lb 15oz, it pains me to think of keeping food from him at this time.  After the first 2 doses, nurse says he is doing well and will have 3rd dose tonight.  If all looks well, he will resume feedings tomorrow. 
    I pray that all will go well with Brooks tomorrow and we will hear good news that the PDA closed and he can resume feedings.  I also pray that Braden and Kate can continue to grow and do well as they have over the past 5 days.

Babies are Here!!

Sorry I am just now getting back to the blog.  I have been amazed at how busy I have been already, even with nurses taking care of the babies, but I have wanted to be with them as much as possible--which keeps me away from computer.  As most of you already know...Babies are Here!  I woke up around 4:20 on Saturday November 20 (32 Weeks exactly!) to find my water had broken.  I was shocked, scared, nervous and excited and within 3 hours had 3 beautiful babies.  Kate, who was supposed to be Baby B based on position in utero, wanted to be first and worked her way around to do just that.  She was born at 7:22, weighed 3lbs 12oz, 16.5" long.  Braden, who so kindly let his sister come out first, came out also at 7:22, weighed 3 lbs 11oz, 16.25" long.  My little guy, Brooks, is actually the one who broke his water.  I figure he decided he was tired of being hungry (from the absent flow) and allowed mommy to get to 32 weeks as she wanted then had enough.  He arrived at 7:23 weighing a mere 1lbs 15oz, 14.5" long--he is such a fighter!
  It has been a crazy few days and after almost 6 weeks of being here in hospital, I will be going home tomorrow.  I have mixed feelings about this departure, as I am so excited about being home, I am also so sad about leaving the babies behind.  I know this is where they need to be for now, so they can continue to grow and get the proper monitoring they need at this point, but it is very hard to leave them behind.  I am hoping that Braden and Kate will be home with in the next 4 weeks or so and then Brooks a couple of weeks after that.  I will be driving back and forth daily until then to see the babies and gradually become more active in their care. 
   I feel like I am on cloud nine when I am with these babies and am so proud of how well they have all done.  Not one of them has had to be put on supplemental O2 and they have been able to tolerate the feeding intake as advised by MD according to what he feels appropriate.  Each of the babies did develop some jaundice and have been under special lights for treatment of this since day 2.  They also wear eye protectors to shield their eyes from the light--which are the "sunglasses" you see in pics.
  Well, I am headed down to see my beautiful babies, so this is all for now.  I do want to thank you all again for the prayers and ask that you please do not stop them yet.  God is so good and has protected our little ones so far, but they are not out of the woods yet.  Please continue to keep Kate, Braden and Brooks in your prayers daily.  Thank you!

Every Day is a Blessing

Well, as you can see....the 31 week pics did not get posted as I promised.  I actually ended up having a pretty rough weekend and pictures were not on the top of my priority list at the time.  I began noticing increased back pain on Friday, which I was contributing to the size of my large stomach pulling on my back.  Everyone else seemed to agree, as my stomach has been growing rapidly in the past couple of weeks, so I just figured this was a pregnancy discomfort I would have to deal with for the next few weeks.  By Saturday night the back pain was much worse and unrelenting.  When I tried to lie down to sleep Saturday night, I was extremely restless and could not get comfortable.  My sweet mother had come up that night and was staying with me, so she suggested I ask for some Tylenol.  After tossing and turning for a few minutes, I decided to try the Tylenol.   By the time the nurse arrived with my Tylenol, I was literally shaking and contracting pretty frequently.  She hooked me back up to monitor and called MD on call for that night.  They decided to give me another type of med to help with the shaking and began an IV with fluids.  After a VERY long night, I woke up feeling better, but pretty groggy.  MD had ordered blood work to be done that morning where they found my platelets had dropped to 87,000 and my liver enzymes were elevated (signs of HELLP syndrome).  They decided to recheck the blood that evening and if no better, they were going to deliver the babies last night.  I was not allowed to eat after 10AM in case I had to deliver that night.  MD's had pretty much prepared me to deliver last night, but at about 7:30, I got a call saying I could eat dinner because my blood work had improved--BEST news of the day!
  They did blood work again this morning, which showed I was stable, so we are "moving forward cautiously" (per Dr. Saig).  She said she does not think this episode is something we can just forget now that I feel better, so she is going to check my blood again tomorrow. 
  Good news--US this morning went great!  All babies got 8/8 on BPP and blood flow to Baby C looked much better than last week. 
   Based on everything this weekend, I do feel the babies birthday is coming sooner rather than later.  I still really want to make it to 32 weeks, but I know at this point, every day I am able to keep these babies in  is a blessing!

4 Weeks in Hospital and Counting!

   As of today, I have officially been in the hospital for 4 weeks.  I am so thankful for everyday I have had here at Baptist and believe prayers, rest and excellent care from MD/nurses are the reason I have been able to make it this far without having to deliver. 
   It is kind of ironic how your mind thinks when you are here in this situation.  When I came into hospital (at 26 weeks 6 days), I remember thinking "I will feel so much better after I have passed the 28 week milestone".  After we made it to that point with no major problems (other than my awful gall stone!), I kept thinking "just let me get to 30 weeks, then I will feel better if I have to deliver".  Now of course at almost 31 weeks (I will be 31 weeks tomorrow), all I can think is "please let me make it to 32".  I am sure if God's plan is to let us make it to this milestone, I will be begging to get to 34 weeks.
   I had another doppler US and BPP yesterday which, unfortunately, did not go as well as it has in the past.  First, Baby A (Braden) decided to not cooperate and show us his ability to "practice breathe", so the sonographer said she could not pass him for the BPP and I would have to come back in the afternoon.  I was not too worried about this because he has never had a problem with this and actually gets the hiccups (which they consider a form of practice breathing) all the time!  My main concern was caused by the increased time of absent flow noted throughout the cord with Baby C (Brooks) today.  There was still no reversal of flow-which is good, but MD said that based on this US, the absent flow seems to be progressing now.   Thankfully, Baby C still scored an 8/8 on biophysical profile, so MD's said that we would not "overreact" (deliver) just yet.  I did go back yesterday afternoon for follow up US on Braden to make sure he would show us that he could "practice breathe" and this time he passed with flying colors.
   I will try to post some new pics tomorrow when I reach the 31 WEEK milestone!
   Please continue the prayers that Brooks's flow does not become reversed and all babies continue to grow appropriately.

Slow but Steady

I am writing this today with a great sense of relief.  Due to something my nurse saw on HR monitor last night, MD decided to move my ultrasound up from Thursday to today.   (Baby C's HR appeared to be dropping momentarily, but would immediately return to a normal level--nurse said it could be from baby tugging on umbilical cord but she wanted to let MD know)
Again, Baby C had continuous forward umbilical cord blood flow, ratio still higher than normal limits, but continuous none the less--which is good news!
Braden (Baby A) weighs approx 2lbs 13 oz today and is in 12th percentile (based on wt of a singleton baby)
Kate (Baby B) weighs approx 3lbs 3 oz today and is in 40th percentile!! (I think she needs to share some of the food!)
Brooks (Baby C) weighs approx 1 lbs 14 oz today and is in the less than 5th percentile--still small, but growing
I was pretty nervous following this US and wondered if today was going to be the day I was going to meet these precious little babies.  MD looked over my US results and said "your babies look good".  She told me that my babies are growing at "their own rate" and have shown consistent growth at "their rate" for the past 2.5 weeks.  The sense of relief I felt when I heard her say those words was overwhelming.  I am so happy to know that the babies are growing-slow but steady!
Overall, I am still feeling pretty good these days.  The hospital bed is obviously getting a little old, but hopefully, I will have to endure it a few more weeks!  Babies will be 30 weeks on Saturday-what a milestone! 
Please continue to pray that these babies will keep growing and my body will be able to handle the growth without going into labor early!

 

 

29 Weeks!

Thankfully, we have no new changes to report.  Another US was performed today which went well.  Blood flow to Baby C is still abnormal, but no worse than it has been.  Again the biophysical profile was performed and all babies scored an 8/8.  Thursday will be the next US which will consist of new growth and weight measurements.  I am very anxious/excited about the US and praying for increased weights of all babies, especially Baby C.  Again, I want to thank you all for your prayers, visits and phone calls.