Preterm Labor, Hospital Stay, 33 week update...

Wow, a lot has happened this week. We had been coasting without any major issues until the contractions last Wed. We started the Procardia and it slowed them down nicely but never fully stopped them. So Sunday morning I woke up, and when I was getting up I pulled a stomach muscle right around where Criton (Baby C) is. Shortly after that I noticed the contractions were about 6-7 mins apart. I did the whole drink tons of fluid, lay on the left side , etc but they just kept coming, so I broke down and called the doc who told me to get to the hospital. When we arrived we went to the labor and delivery triage. They gave me 1 1/2 liters of fluid in hopes that would slow them down but during that hour it didn't really change anything. Personally I don't think they really gave it a chance. No real cervical changes though.
After that they came in and said they were admitting us. The original plan was to start magnesium to slow the contractions (which by then they had already started to slow down), get steriod shots to help the babies lungs develop quicker, and to try to keep the babies in there for the next 48 hrs. I was ok with most the plan except the mag. It is a really rough drug that I would have been on for at least 48 hrs and my contractions had already started to slow after getting more fluids. So my doc compramised... get the steriods, admit to hospital, but instead of mag he let me try taking my Procardia every 4 hour to see if that would get them back under control.
After each 4 hr Procardia dose the contractions became less and less. My last contraction was Tues about 4am, and I haven't had one since (knock on wood). Babies were all looking great and the ultrasonographer from my docs office came over and did there biophysical profiles which everyone passed with flying colors. I got 4 shots of dexamethasone (the steriod for there lung development) and then they let me come home. The first day there I had some really negative interns and nurses. Basically saying they babies were coming, I was going to stay in the hospital for the duration, we wouldn't be able to stop the contractions with just procardia, etc. It wasn't just prepairing for the worst, it was more like this is the way it is going to go, type conversation. They all kept saying how great it is that we had made it to 32 weeks with triplets and we should be ok with 32 weekers. Well I wasn't, and was not giving up on them yet. Possitive thinking paid off. No one expected us to do so well or to go home, but here we are! Never underestimate the power of possitive thinking.
I am glad to say that my personal Peri was awsome through this. He came in on Monday to talk with me before he went off call and was being very upbeat, hopeful, and supportive. with my over night progress he still though I might get close to my goal of 36 weeks. After all the negative people I really needed to hear that.
So here we are, Wed morning, no contractions, the babies have been moving like crazy, and everything seems to be going really well at the moment. I am still very tired and sleeping a lot but it's all good. The babies are still cooking so life is all good.

Preterm Labor

Well keeping my fingers crossed wasn't enough. I started having contractions yesterday morning about 8-12 mins apart. They weren't painful, just felt the tightening. After several hours of drinking water and laying on my side, my peri finally had me come to the office. They said my cervix was long but dilated to 1. They didn't seem too worried about that but I am freaking out about it. Anyway, I started Procardia and strict bedrest yesterday. So far it seems to be helping. After about an hour of taking it I don't have any contractions. Then after about 4 1/2 hours I start to have some again until my next dose (I take them every six hours).

They still seem hopeful that we can make it to 36 weeks, so we just have to try and stay positive and keep praying. Strict bedrest is really hard. I hate asking people for every little thing, and everyone seems so busy with their own stuff. I suppose it could be worse... there was a good chance that they were going to put me in the hospital until this was under control.

We'll keep everyone updated!

Almost 32 week appointment...

Well we will be 32 weeks on Christmas Eve! So far everything is still coasting. All the babies passed their biophysical profiles again today (breathing, heartbeats, and movements) and everyone is looking great. Everything on the mommy side is doing great too. The normal aches and complaints for being 32 weeks with triplets such as: they are crushing my lungs, it is getting hard to move around, the belly is a little sore, etc, but nothing too bad. If things continue to go this well we might even make it to 37 weeks... that would be so great. Keep your fingers crossed for us! Other then that no real news. Everyone at the office thinks we are doing fabulous and we couldn't ask for more.
It will be sad not to go to the lake for Christmas this year but I keep telling myself that next year we will be going with 3 little, almost one year olds, so it is all good.
Michael can't wait till they get here and he can hold and play with them. It is cute to watch him get so excited. It seems like the closer we get, the more excited he gets. Miche is about the same way. She keep poking the belly telling them to grow faster...lol
Soon... 4-5 more weeks and we will be there. I just want to make it that long and bring home fat and sassy babies. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Carseats, Cars and the growing family....

Well we finally got around to seeing if the carseats would all fit in my husbands truck. It is a Chevy K1500 with a large extended cab (almost crew cab size). They fit perfectly! I had a feeling they would. I think we still might see if they would fit in our Impala but I don't think they will. It doesn't really matter though because he rarely drives the Impala since getting his truck, and he will be the one driving home from the hospital.
We do plan on buying a full sized used van in Jan-March area of next year (2010). We are waiting till then so we can save enough to just pay cash for it. I have really loved the last two years without car payments and don't want to acquire another one at this point.
I want the full sized van because we do a lot of traveling to see family and such, and with five kids we need the space. The larger van will not only accommodate the whole family but also do it in an extremely comfortable manner. We had mini van once that was modeled after the large luxury full sized vans (4 captains chairs, large bench seat in back) and loved it. The only issue was that we really wanted it to be a little larger inside. So that is what I will be hunting for.
I will keep you all updated on what we buy when we get there.

The Stare...

Well I have officially been getting "the stare" due to the belly size. The girls at the gas station the other night were trying to figure out if I was really really overdue to more then one baby. The counter girl at Five Guys (mine and hubby's favorite place for lunch after the doc office) asked how many were in there because she knew it had to be more then one. (In all fairness to her, she has seen us every other Tues for almost two months, thus has watched the belly grow). If I go to the store, everyone seems to stare at the belly now.
I wonder if other triplet moms went through this? I realize the belly is huge, it still amazes me how big it has gotten, but is it that much of a novelty? For me it just means less and less sleep each night and inability to move very well at all. I guess I can't complain though. First off, at least I can move some, which is better then none. Secondly, the babies all had really good weights and we are striving for 5 lb each. You take the good with the bad.

31 week Doctor Appointment...

Technically we are 30 weeks and 5 days. Everything went well.
Baby A (Caitlin) weighs 3 lbs 13 oz. Baby B (Haley) weighs 3 lbs. 6oz. Baby C (Criton) weighs 4lbs.
The doc says they are right on target. Everyone passed their first biophysical profile (8/8), and did it fairly quickly. For those of you who do not know, this means that all the babies are practicing breathing, making big movements, and doing fine movements.
I am officially boring to them now. Even the peri (Doc) who is overly cautious told me today that no mom carrying triplets at 31 weeks should be doing as well as I am. They even hooked me up to the monitor to look for contractions (I had one when the babies all started getting restless and moving) and said it was uneventful. I just hope our luck keeps holding out and we remain uneventful until 36 weeks (our goal).
One bad thing though is that it took so long at the doctors office that my blood sugar dropped while I was there. I got really shacky, dizzy, sweaty, and felt sick to my stomache. I will have to remeber to pack something next week in case of delays. I do not want a repeat of today.

Wild Mornings...

The babies are getting more and more active as the days go by. This morning they let me sleep until about 8am which I was highly greatful for. Usually they want to get up and play around 4am. I wonder if that will continue once they are born? The 4 am playtime that is.
I still can't believe we are looking at only 5 more weeks. One of the nurse practitioners at my peri's office keeps saying that most likely something will happen before our 36 week goal to make us deliver, but on the other hand the pregnancy has gone so well, we just might make it there. I hope we do.
I can't wait till Tues to see how big they are. It's funny because now all I have to do is lay next to Michael and he can feel them kickin' and squriming. I have to admit I think I might miss that a little once they do come, even though at times it is a little painful when they are all up and moving...lol.

30 weeks...

We have made it to 30 weeks. It is hard to imagine that this much time has really passed. It wasn't that long ago when we first found out we were pregnant and then that it was three. The belly is absolutely massive (we'll get a new belly shot up soon) and the kids are just moving like crazy. My quite little Haley has turned into my tumbler. I think she just might be our little gymnast. She is constantly rolling around in there. Criton just seems to be constantly kicking, moving, and causing a ruckus. Caitlin is at the bottom of the pile and she just seems to be trying to get as much room as possible. I don't think she likes to be squished. I wonder if that will make her claustrophobic later in life? There are some movements, like the odd wave sensation, that I just can't figure out what they are doing, but it does seem like they are playing together in there.
I can't wait till they get here and we are able to hold them and watch them interact with each other. Next summer they will be about six months old and enjoying weekends at the lake, maybe even on the boat. Then next Christmas they will be almost one and able to tear into their gifts. There is so much to look forward to. So much that I can't wait to see. So much growing to watch and videotape. Before any of that though, they have 5-6 more weeks of growing in the belly. I keep saying I can't imagine it can get any bigger, and it seems like every morning we have gotten bigger. I can't wait till Tues when we get to see what their weights are now.
For now I will just keep cuddling and talking to our little ones.

30 week Doctor Appointment..

Technically we are 29 weeks and 5 days, but since I turn 30 weeks on Thurs they count this as my 30 week. All the babies looked good on ultrasound and we get weights next week. It is funny, they are so big now that it is hard to tell who's limbs are whose and get good clear pictures. I suppose that is a good thing. Next week they start Biophysical profiles on each baby. Basically each baby has 30 mins to show them they are practicing breathing, big movements, and fine/ small movements. Hopefully these guys keep up their usual activity and it won't take the whole 30 mins. Normally the ultrasonographers have a hard time because they are always moving and turning now.
Cervix is still measuring over 4 and no funneling which has amazed everyone. They said today I have been the only triplet mom in years that hasn't had a cerclage. They also are amazed that we don't have any steady contractions and that we are on no meds to helps with that or my Blood Pressure (BP is great).
Now to the bad... My dinner sugars (2 hr after dinner) have been the 120's since going on the glyburide... so he wants me to take another 2.5 at dinner as well as my one in the am. I am not sure how I feel about this. Also I went almost a month gaining nothing and then this week (after starting the glyburide) I gained 7 lbs. It didn't occur me to ask them about it until I got home, but I wonder if this has to do with playing with my sugars?
All in all everything is going great and everyone is pleased by the progress.

Criton Dancing??

Well I have been feel some odd movements the last couple of days, and mostly from Criton. It feels like a lots of little waves. Are they dancing? Are they trying to do the wave? Are they laughing? Do they laugh in the womb?
I would love to be able to see inside to know what this movement was. To think, hiccups were the fascination prior to this craziness...lol
Tomorrow is another doctors appointment. Maybe Criton will do that while she is looking at him and I will get to see what this movement is.

Dancing Phalanges!!

No Snow!!

I have found an advantage to being on modified bedrest... I won't have to drive in any snow or ice this year. Be a passenger, yes, but I won't have to actually drive through it. This is the first winter I can remember that I haven't had to drive in that mess.
The dogs have had a ball this morning playing in the first "wanna be" snow fall (maybe about 1/2 inch). It's so cute to watch them. I can't wait till they are knee deep in it and trying to tackle each other.
What do you think about when you think of winter? What memories jump to mind?
I can't wait till these little ones are old enough to go sledding and play in the snow! It is going to be great.

4 am Play Dates...

Ok, so I have been noticing a pattern here. If I wake up about 3-4 in the morning for my bathroom break, inevitably when I go to lay back down the kids get up. It's not just one either, it is all three kicking, squirming, and turning. This goes on for about a half an hour to an hour then they settle back down and go to sleep.
Now, I am ecstatic that they are moving and playing, but since they have gotten so big, I can't sleep though it. Which means I am lying there awake, with nothing to do, as they have their 4 am playdate. I love them and want them to stay in there till 36 weeks, but when we reach 36 weeks I will be very happy to have my body to myself again...lol
I miss sleep....

The Yellow Mile...

Before I got pregnant I would sleep though the night without any problems. When I was out, I was out to the world. It was great. Since being pregnant though I get up on average about 2-3 times a night, which is really tiresome.
Well last night was a break point. I am exhausted and the bathroom is roughly about 30 feet from my bed. I woke up about 3:30am, sat on the side of the bed for a few moments, and then flopped to my side. I didn't want to get up for anything, but three little people playing on your bladder tends to make the decisions for you. I made a silly joke to my husband when I finally dragged myself up (he is a very light sleeper so I woke him up). I said this was my Green Mile... like from the movie. He just laughed and said no, it was my yellow mile. I couldn't help but giggle about it because not only did it fit, he just sounded so cute saying it.

28 week check up...

We are 28 weeks (just a couple days shy of 29). Everyone still seems pleased with the progress, cervix still 4.2, babies look good, and nothing to really report. I think I bore them. My Peri did decide to put me on 2.5 of glyberide (blood sugar medication) even though all my sugars look good (100-118 two hours after meals). He said it would at least give me something to do... to be honest I don't think he was joking. They did an A1C to see what my sugars did before now and it came back great. Sometimes they don't make any sense. Depending on which one I see is depending on what they want to do. Craziness... but as long as the babies look good and and are healthy, that is all I care about.
We will get weights on the 15th... I am so excited to see how much they have grown! The belly is now measuring 43 weeks (3 weeks over a fullterm size) so surely they are getting big. My hope is that they are all above 3 lbs by then.