A Slightly Longer Hospital Visit

I'll preface this post by noting that all the babies are fine, and so am I!

Last night, conveniently right after Edward left for his weekly pub night, I had the sudden impression that I should call the Labour and Delivery Triage Unit. I'll spare you the details as to how I came to this conclusion. As per usual, they told me to come in. So thanks to a helpful cabbie and a variety of hospital volunteers, I got wheeled up to D4 Triage in no time at all. They put me in a room, found the babies' heartbeats and discussed the reason for my visit. They attempted to do another fetal fibronectin test (it's that precursor-to-labour protein), but because of a variety of factors, they couldn't get a conclusive result.

At 10:00pm, they decided they wanted to admit me for observation. It was actually my OB on duty, and he is notoriously cautious, but I was still surprised by the decision... and totally ill-prepared for my impromptu sleepover! The plan was to get me into Ultrasound in the morning, and administer the dreaded steroid shots to get the babies' lungs ready "just in case". I got a hold of Edward and he came by with a change of clothes, a few toiletries, my enormous stash of vitamins (and antacids!) and a much-needed dose of moral support. I finally settled down for the night at 2:00am, after pressing the call button for an hour and getting no response (the nurses were awesome, just busy). I discovered the light switch but could not for the life of me figure out how to turn off the radio that was being piped into the room. There were several unmarked "off" buttons I did locate, but I wasn't about to mess with those :)

This morning at 7:30am they gave me my first steroid shot. The nurse, Mary, said "I'm not going to lie. This is going to hurt." And lo, it did. I was whisked off to the ultrasound room in my wheelchair, pushed by one of the doctors, at 10:30. I had a wonderful technician who measured all of the babies. They looked fantastic - Baby A and Baby C are both 1lb 15 ounces (convincing me that last week's Baby C measurements were indeed erroneous), and Biiiig Baby B is tipping the scales at 2lb 5 ounces. I was very relieved. Baby A made us both laugh with its interpretive dance routine which included a lot of booty shaking. And Baby B had the hiccups, which means that its trying out the whole breathing thing - developmentally, this is great news! The less welcomed news was that my cervix has shortened by one cm. I'm not on bedrest yet, but they'll be taking a close look at it on Wednesday, which is our next "official" OB and ultrasound appointment.

They took some issue with my blood pressure, but chalked it up to several external factors and discharged me at 1:30pm. They did give me very attractive white stockings to help keep my swelling down. By everyone's admission, it's minor swelling, but again, "just in case".

I was very pleased with the excellent care I received, but despite all of their support and patience, I am very happy to be home! We have to go back tomorrow morning for the second steroid injection. So much for trying to get through the two weeks between appointments without making the trip to L&D!

Craft Project #1 - Mobiles!

The mobile project wasn't originally on the extensive laundry list of Things To Do, but I just couldn't find one on-line that I liked that wasn't well over the $150.00 mark. Then, in a serendipitous moment, I came across a very simple mobile on Ohdeedoh www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/nursery-tours/taryns-nursery-all-wrapped-upnursery-tour-124467 that caught my eye because it looked easily customizable and relatively easy to make. As Edward can attest, my crafting ambitions usually outweigh my abilities, so I try to keep it reasonable! Furthermore, they also included a source list, so I knew exactly where to get the necessary supplies.

I envision a similar set up to the one submitted on Ohdeedoh, but with one cluster of stars in each corner of the room. The cribs will be arranged in a "U" shape, and I'd like to position the mobiles so that each baby can see one or the other. While we won't be hanging them too low, once the babes are standing we may have to reconsider their placement.

I really liked the paper selection at www.paper-source.com, and I went with wrapping paper and tissue paper because I loved the sparkles! When I got the package, and took the star "sheets" out of their package, I was a little unsure how I would manage to attach the paper to the stars and still get the crisp lines I was after, so I tried two different techniques. In the first instance (the hearts), I made the star and then cut out each triangled side from the wrapping paper before gluing it in place. It turned out okay, but because I'm spatially challenged, I couldn't get the pattern to align and I wasn't thrilled with the results. Plus, it was a real pain cutting out and matching each side, as they didn't all mesh at the end-points. I then decided to try pre-folding the star, laying it flat again, gluing the paper and the refolding the star. Success!

They're grouped below as they will be placed in the nursery:

Comic Relief!

Today's Dilbert....

26 week ultrasound

26 weeks!

Edward and I went for our 26 week ultrasound yesterday morning - Tuesday - which was a deviation from our regular Wednesday appointments. Consequently, we had another doctor, and a new nurse and ultrasound technician (although we've had a new technician each time anyways). Having a new group of professionals to deal with was actually quite a different experience, and despite the fact that they were all very nice, we both missed our regular OB and nurse! Further, the ultrasound technician *seemed* to be in a great mood as she hummed to herself, but she was quite uncommunicative and had me laying flat on my back to the point that I had to remove my glasses and hold them level with my nose to see the screen. It was a tiny bit uncomfortable...

In any case, the news continues to be good, to our great relief. My blood pressure was normal, and my cervix hasn't shortened (yay!) We live our lives in two week increments, waiting with bated breath for the results of the next bi-weekly appointment. That will change however, because after my 28 week appointment, I'll be going in weekly. They'll do the ultrasounds every two weeks, but the interim week will be for monitoring contractions and a general once-over. I'm looking forward to that, although I'm pretty much in there every week at this point with one concern or another!

The babies were extremely active yesterday, particularly embattled Baby C, who is now not only firmly entrenched in my ribs but due to the indignities inflicted by its siblings, is now literally bent into a "C" shape, with its toes to its head. Every time it feels any external pressure, it goes on a mini rampage in an effort to prevent any further encroachment on its diminishing territory. According to the technician, Baby C's "squished" position makes it very hard to collect the various measurements they use to estimate fetal weight (diameter of the head, abdomen and length of the femur). Despite the warning, Edward and I were initially quite concerned to hear that Baby C's estimated weight was 1lb 8 ounces, showing only a 3 ounce gain from our 24 week ultrasound. Conversely, according to her measurements, Baby B gained a colossal 9 ounces, and now sits at 2 lbs, which is almost twice as much as it was supposed to gain in the same period of time. Only Baby A seems to have gained an appropriate amount - 5 ounces - bringing it to 1lb 10 ounces.

We mentioned our concern to the new doctor, and he reminded us of the arbitrary means of collecting these measurements, noting that at this stage, the weights will not be as reliable as they would be later on when the babies' increased size makes them easier to measure. He also stated that all three fall within the "normal" range for singletons of the same gestational age and that all three have grown. We left reasonably reassured, but it's hard for me not to worry about these things!

From what the technician told us, and based on what I've read, Baby Cs (so named because they are the furthest from the exit), or Baby Bs in some twin pregnancies and Baby Ds with quads often get the short end of the stick because of their positioning. They tend to be smaller. Further, the measurements are quite unreliable, and also depend on the general body type of each baby... babies who are gangly and long or chubbier can throw off the measurements quite significantly. One lady I know through an on-line triplet pregnancy board told me that one of her babies was always measuring 9 ounces ahead in utero, but when he was born he was the smallest by a wide margin!

So, I guess we'll have to take all of this under advisement and continue forging ahead :) On Thursday I'm going for my gestational diabetes test. Many moms of multiples test positive - and my original OB expressed sympathy, stating that they will not alter the dosage to reflect my petite stature, thereby increasing the odds I'll also test positive. Ah well, yet another bridge to cross when we get there!

Housekeeping Note!

I've changed the "comments" setting to allow for anonymous comments, which means that contrary to before, you don't need to have a Blogspot/google/whatever-the-heck-else account if you'd like to add your two cents. Of course, this does mean you can do so with impunity... but I do hope you'll include your name :P

Impromptu Hospital Visit

Over the past few days, I have been noticing a lot of discomfort in my lower abdomen, primarily when I'm lying down ...and trying to sleep, of course! On Monday evening, it morphed into pain that kept me in a certain degree of misery for most of the night. It was hard to describe: occasionally, it seemed like cramping (not great news), but other times it was more acute and sharp (better news).

So, yesterday morning I called the Civic's Triage Unit basically looking for reassurance that what I was feeling - although painful - was nothing more than my body stretching to accommodate growing babies. However, as expected, when you relay the news that you're pregnant with triplets, no one is very comfortable giving you the all-clear. Thus, with my father in tow, I went in.

They took me right away and put monitors on my tummy to check the babies' heart rates (excellent) and to chart any contractions I might be having (minor). The nurse put the contraction monitor in dangerous Baby B Territory, who then spent the next twenty minutes battling it in a very determined fashion. It was quite the show, as the monitor leapt all over the place, proving that whatever that lower abdominal pain might be, it was not dampening Baby B's feudal spirit in the least!

We had to wait a considerable amount of time for the doctor's arrival, as she was performing a c-section. However the medical student told me that it was quite likely she would review the charts and send me home. It seemed pretty apparent to everyone that I was experiencing growing pains, and that I was not in imminent danger of going into labour.

The doctor had a different opinion, and really wanted to make sure she wasn't sending me home without every possible stone unturned. She decided to conduct a fetal fibronectin test, which measures the level of a certain protein in cervical fluid. After about 24 weeks gestation, this protein should not be detected, as it is a clear precursor to labour. The standard rule of thumb is that if the fibronectin test is negative, you will likely NOT go into labour within the next two weeks. She warned me, though, that a lot of triplet and twin moms get false positives. If that was the case, they would probably inject me with steroids in an effort to mature the babies' lungs in case they are born within the two week span.

My father and I went for lunch and waited for the test results. We also ran into a couple that I danced with for the past two years (Scottish Country), who volunteer at the Info Desk in the hospital. It was wonderful to see them, and they provided us with immeasurable assistance later on, when my father forgot a few key items at their kiosk! In any case, we returned upstairs and were told that the fibronectin test was indeed negative. I was thrilled and very relieved. The doctor advised that the results could be nul and void if I start to feel a lot worse, or have regular contractions, so it's not an iron-clad guarantee. However, it has given me a lot more peace of mind, and has lent some support to my hope that I'll reach our next major milestone - 28 weeks - with these babies intact!

24 week ultrasound and a visit to the NICU

Yesterday morning, Edward and I trundled off to our bi-weekly OB appointment. We started off with another very thorough ultrasound - the babies have been on the move, yet again! At this juncture, Baby B is along my left side, Baby A is curled up on my right side, and yes, Baby C is still lying across my ribs. In fact, Baby C is SO high up that the technician ran out of room trying to get a clearer picture of its spine. She looked rather apologetic as we all recognized that 1) Baby C will likely stay put, and 2) Baby C will be growing a LOT bigger in the coming weeks. It's actually getting quite painful for me to lie on my back for an hour during the scan, particularly as I have a permanent sharp pain where Baby C's back and my right upper rib coexist. They will allow me to roll over onto one side or another in an effort to keep me comfortable, but they really get the best results when I'm on my back so I'll tolerate it as long as I can.

Speaking of growth, we were extremely pleased to hear that Babies A & C are weighing in at 1lb5 ounces each and Baby B is 1lb7 ounces. The average ranges from 1lb2 to 1lb5, depending on what internet site you believe, but most importantly, the OB was very pleased with their size and their high level of activity. They are busy in there!! I've been packing in the protein, so I'd like to believe that their current growth rate has benefitted, and will be a continuing trend. My cervix hasn't budged, and my blood pressure was an "excellent" 100 over 58. That would be normally classified as low, but in pregnancy this is considered desirable and normal. We'll see how things look at 26 weeks, but at this moment, they could not ask for a better result.

After the appointment, we took a quick tour of the Neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU), where the babies will be placed if they are born after 30 weeks - before 30 weeks, we will be delivering at the General, as it has a higher level NICU. It was an emotional experience for me... They have a wonderful staff, and all the babies we saw appeared to be doing very well, but it's heartbreaking to see babies attached to all that machinery, looking so tiny and fragile.

The first baby we saw was in an isolette (basically an incubator). He was 3 days old, and I guessed by looking at him that he must have been born around 30 weeks. In fact, he was born at 34 weeks. We also saw twins born at 28 weeks, who are now 35 weeks. The little boy was going home today. Both were in the same cot (once ours are stable, they'll put all three in one), and they were still absolutely tiny. The last set of twins we saw were 8 days old, and had been born at 32 weeks. The boy was still in an isolette, receiving oxygen and the girl had graduated to a heated waterbed cot. Their mother was in, providing the girl with "kangaroo care", which is skin to skin contact that has been proven to be of huge benefit to preemies. The baby's back was literally the length of my (very small!) hand. Mind you, we don't know the circumstances that brought each of these babies to the NICU, other than they were premature, so perhaps their birth weights were on the low side to begin with. Of course, going in there, I could not have already been more committed to keeping our babies "in utero" for as long as humanely possible, but our visit just reconfirmed my resolve. Ultimately, their delivery date is not in my hands. I can rest all I want, but the truth of the matter is that if my body decides it's time before the 34 week mark, it's time for the doctors to intervene and I'll have to place myself in their hands. Until then, I'm very grateful for all of the support we've received - particularly, over the last week, from Edward's mother - that makes this challenging time a lot more bearable!