Lilypie Premature Baby tickers

Lilypie Premature Baby tickers

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

29 Week Checkup - Superstar Status:)

Once again, nothing but good news to report from today's visit!!  The kiddos are all looking good.  Their heart rates are all in the 130 and 140 range again.  For the third visit in a row, they are all in the same position, so  I guess that they are running out of room to scoot around.  Baby A (the lowest) is still breech, Baby B (on my left side) is still head down and Baby C (on my right side) is still more or less sideways.  So basically, all 3 of them literally have their heads put together right in the middle....already conspiring against me!  That leaves Baby A's feet free to kick my bladder, Baby B's feet shoved up under my rib cage and Baby C's feet constantly pushing out my right side.  Like I said, they are already in cahoots to make my life difficult...  We still have to wait 2 weeks for another growth scan, so we won't know how big they are getting until then.  Also, my cervix was measuring at almost 5 cm today which is unbelievably good at this point in the pregnancy.  The ultrasound tech came to the conclusion that these babies are in absolutely no hurry to make their grand entrance which is just fine by me!

Otherwise, my blood pressure was 134/82, so still an acceptable reading and my blood sugars have remained good for the most part.  Of course, it was Christmas this week so I had a few high sugar readings, but the doc said that they were awesome, all things considered.  It was at this point that he declared me to be his "superstar patient"!  I may not have a lot of talents in life, but apparently I am a Samoan triplet growing fool!  I'll take whatever compliments I can get at this point.  Of course, he then said that there was really no point in measuring my stomach...it's large, so we'll just leave it at that.

He also pointed out that we are at the point now that any time anything feels weird, I need to come in and have it checked out.  So, any unusual cramps, back pains, etc at this point are a cause for concern.  Hopefully I don't get too paranoid trying to decipher unusual pains from the usual ones.  He has still given me the OK to continue my modified bedrest, but has encouraged me to start taking advantage of any handicapped  transportation available in the stores.  So basically, he wants me to start riding the motorized cart around Wal-Mart...that should be quite the sight.  Wade has been trying to get me to do this for weeks now, but I figured it was mostly so he could take pictures and make fun of me!

Well, 29 weeks and 2 days down.  Yes, I feel the need to include the 2 days because I figure that every day counts at this point.  We'll go back next Wednesday for 30 weeks (and 2 days) checkup, so hopefully there will be nothing else to report in the meantime.

Hope everyone has a Happy New year!  Have a New year's drink for me...it is definitely going to be an interesting 2011!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

28 Week checkup - Another (thankfully) Uneventful Visit

Well, another good doctor's visit today! Just a quick ultrasound to check heart rates.They were all in the 130 and 140 range which is a little lower than they usually are, but the girls were all pretty quiet this morning so that is probably why.  They may finally be getting kind of squished in there because they were all in the same position this week that they were last, which is the first time that has happened.  Also, my cervix measurement was back up to 4.5 cm this week so that is always a good sign that there will (hopefully) be no labor this week.

My blood pressure is still hanging in there as well at 130/82 and blood sugars are in normal range as well so no problems there.  Physically, I'm starting to feel a little wear and tear, but really it is not nearly as bad as I would have expected.  I'm starting to feel a lot more pressure and some achiness in my lower back, but nothing that is really troublesome.

So, 28 weeks is another big milestone.  Babies born at 28 weeks have a survival rate of 90-95%, but we are definitely not ready for that yet.  I'm setting the next short term goal for 32 weeks...after that point, I figure anything can happen!

Well, there is not much else to tell, so I guess that I will keep this short and sweet this week.  Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas! 

Monday, December 13, 2010

27 Week Checkup - Growth Scan Ultrasound

Today we had our 27 week checkup which included our 4 week growth scan.  I have been looking forward to this for the past couple of weeks...it definitely feels like the babies have packed on the weight lately!  We were hoping that they would all be at least 2 lbs., and for the most part we were not disappointed.

Baby A - 1 lb. 14 oz. (gained 12 oz.) - 19th percentile
Baby B (formerly known as Baby C) - 2 lb. 5 oz. (gained 1 lb. 2 oz.) - 45th percentile
Baby C (formerly known as Baby B) - 2 lb. 4 oz. (gained 1 lb. 2 oz.) - 45th percentile

So, while we were extremely pleased with the growth of Babies B & C (both of whom doubled their weights again), I immediately started stressing out about why Baby A was suddenly falling behind.  Up until this point, they had all weighed pretty much exactly the same.  As usual, Baby A was curled up and very low in my pelvis, so I'm not really confident that we got the best measurements on her.  Also, after the ultrasound, apparently the ultrasound tech found the doctor and told her that she thought that the weight of Baby A was a system error because the measurements were pretty much the same on that Baby as they were on Baby B and C, so there should not have been that much of a weight difference between them.  The doctor said that regardless, we could not expect that all three of the babies would grow at the same rate because all babies develop and gain weight at their own pace and that we would not be concerned with the weight of Baby A unless she fell below the 10th percentile.  As long as she continues to grow (even if not at the same rate as the other two), then everything is OK.  It is when they stop growing completely that we have a problem.  So, I was hoping that we could do another growth scan in the near future to monitor her more closely, but the dr. didn't feel it was needed again until 4 weeks, which will put me at 31 weeks .... so it is extremely possible that it will also be my last growth scan.  My daughter, Simone, was a pretty small baby, only weighing 6 lbs. 2 oz. when she was born, so I am already lugging around more actual baby weight then I was when she was born...and hopefully I will be carrying around at least twice this much before we are done!

All babies looked good during the ultrasound.  Baby A and Baby B had heart rates of about 145 and Baby C was 160.  Apparently they still have some room to move around because they are always in different assortment of positions every week.  Baby B has been the only consistent one who has been head down for the past few weeks.  Baby A was breech this week and Baby C has somehow managed to get in a transverse position and is shoved way up under my ribs with her butt sticking out of my side.  I guess that's why the right side of my stomach always sticks out further than anyplace else.

Then, of course, there was the dreaded cervix measurement.  Last week I was back up to 4.5 cm, but this week it has dropped down to 3.5 cm.  This is still considered to be a good length, but all I can think about is that if it drops another cm this week, then that puts us at 2.5 cm which is getting into the danger zone and would probably mean much stricter bedrest for me at the very least.  Hopefully that shouldn't be the case, but I guess I'm getting to the point where every little change stresses me out!  Especially considering that most triplets are born at 32-34 weeks, and 32 weeks is only 5 weeks away!  I still have every intention of making it until at least 34 weeks.

The good news is that my blood pressure was much better than last week at 136/88.  Not perfect, but it beats the heck out of 160/100, so I didn't have to have an additional blood pressure med added yet.  My blood sugars are also hanging in there so we have avoided increasing the insulin amounts also.

Otherwise, things are pretty boring around here.  I'm STILL waiting to get the border for the babies room, so that project is still on hold.  This weekend we will be celebrating our first of 4 Christmases, so that gives me something to look forward to.  Also, it was nice to have a little snow this weekend and have a perfectly legitimate excuse to do nothing except stare out the window and watch it!

Hope everyone has a great week.  Out next appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday...let's hope it goes well so that I can at least make it through the holidays without any additional restrictions on my activities.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

26 Weeks - Dr. Visit and Tour of NICU

One more week down!  We had a pretty good doctor visit today.  The only glitch is that my blood pressure kind of skyrocketed in the dr. office (160/100 - yikes!).   All of my home blood pressure readings have been good, though, so I think the key is to rest as much as possible.  When I get out and about is when the blood pressure starts creeping back up...not to mention my uncanny talent for making my blood pressure shoot up anytime I get within 100 ft. of a doctor's office.  So, for the first time in well over a month, the doctor increased my labetalol to 500 mg. three times daily.  If that doesn't do the trick, then we have to add another medication to try to keep it under control.

Other than that, the babies all looked fine.  I can't remember the heart rates, but they were all normal.  Also, my cervix measurement was back up to 4.5 cm.  That was a relief after last week when it dipped down below 4 for the first time.  Next week we will finally do another growth scan on the kiddos....I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they are all at least 2 pounds.  I had to have some routine lab work done today as well.  I'm not sure what all it was for, but let's hope I don't get any calls from the dr. office in the next day or two saying something doesn't look right.  The past two times I've had labwork I've gotten phone calls like that so hopefully the third time's a charm.

My mom went up to Columbia with me today so we decided to head over to labor and delivery and the NICU to take a tour since I had never been there and I wanted to feel like I was more prepared.  The labor and delivery area was pretty much what I expected.  The antepartum and postpartum rooms are very nice, very big and private (thank God).  So, if I end up on hospital bedrest for a while before this whole thing is over, it doesn't look like it will be quite as bad as I had imagined it would be.  In the same area is the well baby nursery and the Level II nursery, which is where the babies will eventually end up most likely when they reach the point of being "feeders/growers"...which means that they are healthy, but they just need to gain weight before they go home.

We then went downstairs to the NICU, which is in all likelihood where the babies will spend at least some time after they are born.  I am extremely glad that I took the opportunity to check it out for several reasons.  The biggest reason is to mentally prepare myself for what the babies will probably look like when they are born.  I realize that I will be lucky if these babies are all 4 pounds or more when they are born, but until I went to the NICU and saw all of the preemies, I don't think I really had any concept of just how tiny a 4 pound baby really is.  If I hadn't gone to the NICU, I think it would have really been a shock to me.

The other reason I'm glad we went on the tour is that any time that I think I am just completely miserable being pregnant and that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have the babies a little earlier, all I need to do is remember how tiny those babies were and all of the tubes and ventilators they were on.  That will quickly cure me of any concerns over my own discomfort and remind me that the ultimate goal is to keep these babies cooking as long as it is healthy for all of us to do so.  I'm still sticking by my goal of 34-36 weeks, which will be anytime between January 31st - February 14th.  We'll see...ultimately I guess it's not really under my control!

There's really nothing else exciting going on.  We got the Christmas decorations put up, so that was the highlight of the week.  Honestly, if it wasn't for the kids, I don't think I would've even bothered with them this year, but I'm glad we did now that they are up.  Physically, I'm still feeling pretty good.  My carpel tunnel has been pretty frustrating this week and often wakes me up at night.  I've also found that I've gone from wanting to sleep all the time and taking lots of naps, to being up and down all night long and not really napping at all.  I guess that's to be expected as it becomes more difficult to get comfortable and as Baby A grows bigger and takes up residence right on my bladder.

I was hoping to have the nursery done last weekend, but unfortunately I am still waiting for the border to arrive before we can go any further.  The tracking number shows that it was picked up by the post office two weeks ago but has still not been delivered!  I'm starting to get frustrated because I would really like to see that room get done! 

Well, no new pictures to post...once again the girls were completely uninterested in posing for the camera.  Maybe next week when we do the long ultrasound.