Tuesday, April 21, 2009

All is well!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that all the blood work came back within normal ranges! YEA!

Thanks for all the prayers and positive thoughs.

We'll update again after our appointment on Thursday.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Time keeps on ticking....

We saw the perinatologist on April 13 and I am once again happy to report that all babies are doing well! Although none of them wanted to really pose for pictures - it is getting very, very crowded in there.

It was a detailed growth scan so we now know how much babies weigh! Here are their respective measurements at 28 weeks, 5 days:

Baby A - 2 lbs. 15 oz. with a heart rate of 158

Baby B - 3 lbs. 0 oz. with a heart rate of 153

Baby C - 2 lbs 12 oz. with a heart rate of 155

So, that is a total of 8 lbs 11 oz of baby - exactly what Joshua was when he was born. :-) These weights are really very good for triplets and, actually, track pretty closely to what the babies would be if they were singletons at this gestation. While the chances of their survival now is quite good if they had to be born, our obvious goal now is to just keep them in for as long as possible and let them grow.

As for me, my blood pressure remains very low and I continue to gain weight. They keep telling me that the weight gain is going to slow down, but I've stopped believing them! As some of you know, we had our first mini-issue arise last week. I was exhibiting some of the classic symptoms of cholestasis of pregnancy. This is a rare condition that impacts gall bladder & liver function during pregnancy. Moms carrying multiples are more at risk because of the increased pregnancy hormones. Essentially, the gallbladder overproduces bile salts that the pregnancy hormones prevent the liver from processing. You then end up having an allergic reaction to the bile salts in your system. However, the first part of the tests they performed on me came back normal and we should have the second part of the tests back sometime this week. The doctors are very optimistic that all will be well and that I've just developed super-sensitive pregnancy skin.

We truly are in the home stretch now. We will start having Biophysical Profiles ("BPPs") weekly starting next Thursday April 23 until the babies are born. What is a BPP you ask? I'm so glad you asked!

A BPP is a test administered via ultrasound to assess each babies' health. The sonographer will look at each baby for its heart rate, muscle tone, movement, breathing, and the amount of amniotic fluid. Each category is scored. A score of 8 or more is perfect and all is well. If the score of one of the babies is 6 or 7 they may have us come back the next day to repeat the test. If the score drops to around 4 or below then it is a sign that there is more they can do for the babies outside of the womb as opposed to inside and the C-Section will be scheduled ASAP. Each baby will be assigned a score each time and my understanding is the baby with the lowest score controls.

For those of you that just MUST have more info :), see:

http://www.webmd.com/baby/biophysical-profile-bpp

I think that's it. Consider yourselves officially caught up! More after our next appointment on the 23rd!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Easter egg hunt

Joshua had an Easter egg hunt at his day care today. It was great fun, and here are a couple of pictures from the big event!



Looking for eggs!




"I think I have my limit!"



"Look what I got!"

Sunday, April 5, 2009

We're getting there!

First let me say, I’m OK! My last blog post generated many a call and e-mail making sure that I wasn’t about ready to jump off the edge. I promise each of you that I really am fine!

Am I tired of being pregnant? Yes.

Is carrying triplets probably the hardest thing I’ve ever physically done? Yes.

Am I emotionally drained a lot of the time? Yes.

But will I make it through this & be OK? Absolutely! I have a great husband, an adorable child, a loving puppy & countless family and friends (both near and far) that are supporting all of us. So don’t worry everyone – we’re good!

In other news, we saw the perinatologist on Monday March 30th & once again, everyone is doing well. The babies were very active & looked great. In fact, the ultrasound tech told us a couple of times that we are growing 3 “beautiful babies.” :-) It was just a relational look so there are no updates on weight etc., but here are a few pics:







As for me, my blood pressure remains low & my weight continues to climb. Although they keep telling me that the weight should slow down now that we truly are approaching the end. We also had the test for gestational diabetes. And I am happy to report that I do not have to give up my nightly bowl of ice cream.

We go back on April 13 for detailed growth scans and will then go every week thereafter for Bio-Physical Profiles. More on the BPP’s later.

One final note, we will hit our first goal of sustainable viability on April 8 (28 weeks)! Only 4 weeks until 32 weeks and only 7 weeks to our overall goal of 35 weeks!!! We’re almost there!