Week 29 Appointment

This Wednesday we had our 29th week appointment. Everything went really well - there were no issues at all really. We had an ultrasound to check the babies' heart rates and fluid levels, and these were all normal. Then John and I talked to one of the doctors about my symptoms and lab work, and that all was fine as well. Smooth and steady so far!

A lot of people have been asking when the amigos are going to make their debut, so I thought I'd write a little bit about that. Gestational age, or the age of the baby, is calculated from the first day of the mother's last menstrual period. The average length of gestation for a single baby is 40 weeks - many people also think of this in terms of 9 months. For triplets, the nationwide average gestation is 34 weeks. The reason this is so much shorter is that the uterus is meant to grow to a certain size, and then the body knows it's time to give birth. All sorts of hormones are released saying "It's time!" Well, if you've seen my recent pictures, you know my body must be really confused! It's thinking it's time, but nothing's happening! This is why bed rest is so important. The weight of the uterus being pulled downward by gravity can also lead your body to think it's time. So everything we're doing now is to prevent my body from going into labor, just because of the physical size of my belly!

Even if I were to start into labor, that doesn't mean I would have to deliver the babies. There are all sorts of things that the doctors can do to stop labor in most cases. This could include administering drugs called tocolytics and/or being on super strict hospital bedrest.

OK, so the average gestational length for triplets is 34 weeks. My doctor's average is 35 weeks, so that's our goal. Why is one more week so important? Well, at 34 weeks, that's when most babies have developed the ability to breathe on their own, due to the presence of surfactant, a substance that helps keep the lungs open. The babies also should have developed the sucking reflex around 32 weeks, which means they should be able to eat on their own when born. At 34 weeks, all organ systems have been developed and the babies will just be growing bigger. The bigger the babies are, the less time they will probably need to spend in the hospital after birth. So our personal goal is 35 weeks, and 4.5 lbs. per baby. That makes the magic date October 29. We haven't scheduled the borth yet, but if everything goes well for the next couple of weeks, we will schedule the C-section! It seems like it's really coming fast!

Kindness of Friends

This has been an amazing experience so far, being pregnant with triplets. One of the most noteworthy and truly unexpected aspects of it has been the way that everyone has responded to this pregnany. John and I have had so much kindness from family and friends, that it's almost hard to believe.

First, to know that there are people all over the country praying for our health is just awe inspiting. My family is in mostly in the northeast, in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland; John's is more spread out, in Connecticut, Kentucky, Georgia and here in Arizona. I know that we have prayers coming from every corner of this country and that is more comforting than any good doctor's report we receive!

We both work for Honeywell, and have received countless good wishes and gifts from the wonderful people we have been blessed to work with. Before I left work for bed rest, they had a shower for us that was so cool! Almost all of the people in my group (about 60) attended. Lots of guys said it was the first baby shower they had ever been to, which I thought was really awesome! (We didn't make them play the diaper game, thank goodness!). We received so many supplies from those guys that the boys could have come home that day and been in pretty good shape. The funny thing was that it was a surprise to me, and I had come into work on that Monday and said I was going to leave work a week earlier than planned. I had no idea the frenzy that caused, until Thursday came around and I saw what they had pulled off. Just amazing!

Then on top of that, a dear friend of mine, Erin from Denver, came to Phoenix with her beautiful daughter Karli to have a shower for friends from the neightborhood, church and work to attend. Again we were inundated with gifts, both from those attending and from family that couldn't be there. It was so special that we had my mom Robin and sister Shelby join us over the Internet through Skype. We set up a laptop right in the circle of chairs and it was almost like they were there! We ate yummy food, played one game (won by Mother Betty, for you Honeywell folks!) and ate cake. It was super fun, and I appreciated everyone that was a part of it.

Finally, we have had people delivering dinner to us every Tuesday and Thursday for a couple of months now. This was set-up by dear Lisa and Misty from our church, who thought it would take some of the pressure off of John to bring meals. It has done that, and it has the extra benefit of bringing me visitors now that I'm sequestered in the house! What an amazing thing for people to volunteer to do.

We could never thank all of you enough for your support, prayers and friendship during this awesome time of our lives. To be able to share this blessing with so many makes it even more special.

28 week Appointment

Yesterday (Wednesday) we had our 28 week appointment to check on the amigos. It was really uneventful, which is wonderful! We had an ultrasound where the technician observed each of the heartbeats, and they were all normal. She also measured the amniotic fluid level of each of the babies. Each baby is in his own amniotic sac, which is really good for the babies. Even though it seems like they must be all scrunched up in there, they have cushioning by being in their own sacs. All of the fluid levels looked good, with one level slightly elevated. There are all kinds of reasons for elevated fluid levels, and also all kinds of treatments, but there is no reason to be concerned at this point. The doctors were happy with everything they saw!

I also got another fetal fibronectin test. This is the test that predicts preterm labor for the next 2 weeks. I haven't gotten the results yet, but there are no other indications that anything is going on, so we should be fine on that account too!



We're on to weekly appointments now, which will be fun. It's always nice to see the boys in there squirming around! It's so funny to see them moving around like crazy! I don't know what they're doing, but I think it must be fun!



Oh, another interesting tidbit... I measured myself around today and it's 48.5" - just over 4 feet! Attached is the 28 week picture as well - large and in charge! In honor of the beginning of football season, GO STEELERS! The Quest for Seven begins!

First Hospital Vist

Well, we had our first hospital visit on Friday! I'll just say up front that everyone is fine, nothing to worry about now. We just had a little scare and it had to happen at the worst possible time!

For those who don't know, I talk to a nurse every morning and evening after I monitor for contractions. They go through a list of questions to make sure that everything is going well, and usually everything is. This time though, Friday night, I had to admit that I wasn't feeling the babies move as much as usual. For singleton pregnancies, it's pretty easy to check on whether the baby is doing well by counting fetal movements for an hour. You expect at least ten movements during that time. Well, it's not so easy when there are 3 babies all spread out in there! I can distinguish between the movements of at least 2, but not all 3, because of their positions. I can't then just count movements, because I can't say for sure that it's not only 2 of the babies moving. Well, over the last couple of days before Friday I was feeling much less movement than normal, but I didn't want to overreact. Finally on Friday, I told the nurse, hoping she would give me some helpful tips of ways to increase the movement and set my mind at ease. Instead, she called my doctor's office, they called me back and said to go to the hospital immediately.

It couldn't have been worse timing! John's kids (Caleb and Haley) were up for the weekend, and everyone was tired from the long drive from Tucson. AND it was John's birthday! We had a nice dinner, opened presents and had cake and ice cream. By the time this was done. I monitored much later than usual, and it was 10:30 at the time they told me to go to the hospital. So we all packed into the car and headed all the way down to Banner Good Samaritan - we couldn't even go to the local hospital, because my doctor's office always has a Perinatologist on call at BGS.

Once we got there, everything was very efficient. I got into a bed in the Obstetrics Triage area, strapped into a contraction monitor, and then a doctor did an ultrasound to check the babies' heart rates and movement. Can you believe that every baby was squirming around so much it was almost hard to read their heart rates?? I'm telling you, it's like they just had an espresso or something, and I couldn't feel a thing! The doctor said that sometimes it's just the way that they're positioned that makes it difficult to feel movements.

I felt so bad for making everyone trudge down to the hospital in the middle of the night, and everything was fine. Now that I have had some time to think about it and discuss with others, I feel like we did the right thing. It's better to know that everything is alright, and I have to be prepared for the fact that there will probably be several more of these trips. Hopefully not, but in reality, most multiple pregnancies experience these sort of things. The nurses at the hospital were amazed that this was my first trip. I had been hoping to just sail through with no problems, and in reflection, this wasn't a problem, just a precaution.

So everything is fine now. The babies have been moving (and I've been feeling them) as much as ever. It helps that John gives them strict instructions to move around a lot, so I think that's what's done the trick! Happy Labor Day!

Week 26 Appointment

On Wednesday John and I went to the 26 week appointment for the amigos - a growth ultrasound. We get an ultrasound every visit, because that's how we check the heart rates; but every four weeks, we get a growth ultrasound. This is when the technician measures each babies' head circumference, belly circumference and femur length. These values are then used to determine the size of each baby, which is expressed in terms of weight and gestational age. Now, just because the babies have different gestational ages doesn't mean they weren't conceived at the same time - they were. It just means that if each was a "standard singleton" this would be the expected gestational age for their size. It's a little confusing, but here's what we found for our guys: (remember, their true age is 25 weeks 6 days)

- Baby A - weighs 2 lb 3 oz with a gestational age of 27 weeks and 2 days

- Baby B - weighs 2 lb 1 oz with a gestational age of 27 weeks

- Baby C - weighs 2 lb 5 oz with a gestational age of 27 weeks and 5 days

Basically, they're all monster big for their age! This is wonderful news - the bigger they are, the better (especially since I'm having a C-section!!) They all measure larger than a singleton at the same gestational age. This may slack off with time, but let's hope it doesn't!

I wrote in the last post about a fetal fibronectin test that predicts preterm delivery, and we got the results that that test was negative. This means that there is a 99% chance that I won't go into labor in the two weeks following the test. We will repeat this test every two weeks from here on out. Everything else was great!

The babies can hear now, so John talks to them a lot. They definitely respond to his voice, which is super-cool. He even got a kick to the head one time he was down there "communing"!

We tried one last time to get 3D ultrasound pictures of babies B and C, who didn't cooperate the first time around. Now that everything is getting so crowded in there, it's hard to get clear pictures. I've attached one photo each of Baby B and C. They're not the clearest, but it's probably the best we're going to get.

Baby B has his foot right up next to his head, on the left as you view the picture.

Baby C has his arm in front of his face. Aren't they adorable!! I can't wait to hold them in my arms - only about 9 more weeks to go!

25 Weeks Appointment

Yesterday I went to our 25 weeks appointment with the doctor. This was also a follow-up regarding cervical length, as I talked about in the last blog. Well, everything was great! The doctor didn't actually call me a rock star, but if he were less professional, I think he would have used those very words! Just kidding! Really though, the results of everything were outstanding. So far, I have been amazingly blessed with no complications.

I got the results of the Glucose Screening Test from last week. This is a test to check for gestational diabetes, a high blood sugar condition that some women get during pregnancy. It was negative, so I can go ahead and continue to eat whatever I want. ;)

My cervix also showed no signs of premature labor. To be on the safe side, I had my first fetal fibronectin test. Since you're at an increased risk of preterm labor with multiples, the doctor orders this test if you're having premature contractions. Fetal fibronectin is a protein in vaginal secretions that can be a signal that your body is getting ready to give birth. If the test shows no sign of the protein, there's a good chance you will not deliver within the next week or two. If the test is positive, the doctor may need to take extra steps to prevent early delivery. It's a relatively quick turn around for this test, so I will get the results today. There is no reason to believe it will be positive.

The doctor reinforced to me yesterday that weeks 24-28 are crucial for the survival of the amigos. Every week that passes is hugely important, and as of today, we're at week 25! So please remember us in your prayers that the next three weeks pass quietly and we'll be well on our way to 3 healthy, hopefully happy boys!

Just for everyone's amusement, here's an updated picture of me. It's not pretty, but hopefully it's all worth it!

24 Week Appointment

Today John and I went for the 24 week appointment, which included an ultrasound (as we have at every appointment) and a consult with the doctor. Everything went really well - thank goodness! In the ultrasound, they measure the babies' heartrates and fluid levels. These were all within normal levels. I have attached a picture to show how they measure the heartrates. Because there are 3, they can't listen with a stethoscope - it's all jumbled together. So they measure it visually. They are all between 140-161 beats per minute.

They also scan to measure my cervix, to make sure it's not opening. The cervix is where the uterus (womb) opens into the vagina. The scan will look for early signs of the cervix opening before the baby is due. This is a hard measurement, because the cervix is a muscle that can change under normal circumstances. Well, the measurement this time was significantly smaller than last time. The doctor wasn't worried, because it's still considered an acceptable length, but I have to go back in next week (instead of in 2 weeks) to make sure it doesn't continue to shorten.

OK, now for the fun stuff! We got 3D pictures of baby A!! He is always really easy to see, and he was the only one that we could get really good pictures of, but he is adorable! I know, every mother says that, but I think he really is amazingly cute! I'm sure you'll all agree!