Baby "C" Update

From James...

So this is the first time I've written on our blog. Jess insisted that I write this one, not quite sure why.

This morning we had another growth check to see if the last two weeks in the hospital has had any impact on baby "c".

It started out with baby "a" who is progressing along very nicely. His head and stomach are symetrical and his legs and arms are growing as expected. He's currently weighing in at 2lbs 5ozs.

Next was baby "b" who is also progressing along very nicely. His head and stomach are also symetrical and his legs and arms are growing as expected. And what do you know, he also weighs in at 2lbs 5ozs.

Ok...enough messing around. I know why you're all here...

Baby "C" is doing amazingly well. The two weeks in utero at the hospital have definitely helped. Since our last appointment 14 days ago he's gained 5oz compared to 2oz at the last growth check. He's currently weighing in at 1lb 5oz. For those of you who aren't pregnancy savy, growth is measured in days. In the last 14 days since the last growth check he's grown the equivalent of 11 days. For comparison, at our last appointment it had been 13 days and he had only grown the equivalent of 4 days, so needless to say a large impovement. Dr. P is amazed at what's happening. Although this is very good news we aren't completely out of the woods. He still has absent distolic flow (but no reverse flow) and Jess is borderline pre-clampsia. For now we continue to monitor and see how things go. The promising news is that Dr. P had us schedule another growth check for 30 weeks, confident we'll make it that far.

God truely does answer prayers. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. It's amazing how many of you there are.

So for now we wait...

Explanation of Baby C's Absent Diastolic Flow

So, I know a few of you are actually wondering what it is that is making Baby C so sick. I finally found an explanation for you, because I could NOT remember what the doctor explained it as. I know James heard it all, but I didn't. So...

Absent diastolic flow in the umbilical cord is when blood moves forward only when the heart is contracting.

If Baby C gets bad enough, he may end up having this... Reverse diastolic flow in the cord. When the blood moves back toward the heart when the heart relaxes. (Found this info at http://www.tttsfoundation.org/questions_explained.php)

So, we want to keep praying that it is just absent and never gets to reverse. We also want to make it the next 2 1/2 weeks to 30 weeks! That is what we have our sights set on right now! I only pray that God keeps C and all the rest of us safe until (or past) then.

Thank you for the continuing thoughts and prayers.

No change

We had a doppler this morning on Baby C's cord. There is still no diastolic flow (which was expected, but we could hope there was.) However, there wasn't any reverse flow either, that would be bad if there was.

So, things have not changed. C is still having a hard time keeping up with his brothers. I still have pre-eclampsia, though just a mild case.

We have a growth check next Wednesday to see if C is growing. Please keep those prayers coming that he grows. We don't want to have to bring him into this world too soon.

I have say thanks to everyone that has helped James and I so far. We appreciate all the visits, help with the house and Jet, and the emails and letters that people are sending. It is very encouraging to know we have such a great circle of friends and family around us, praying for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ahhh... a Bit of Fresh Air!!

Check this out!

Isn't that a pretty picture?! That is the view outside my window tonight. The view from my bed. It is so peaceful and nice that I get a very nice view. (The flowers on the left are from James, Grant, Alex, and Ethan, and the ones on the right are from my boss, Karen.)

I would go crazy if I had to look the other way. The other way has just 2 really tall buildings right across the street. This is one of the rooms with the best view. See?

I am glad that is what I see on days like today.

Well, here is an update! I am 27 weeks today!! WHOOOO HOOO!! Another step closer! As for the babies- Their monitoring looked really good today. We had to get the ultrasound out this morning to make sure that we were getting all three babies on the monitors and we found that Baby B was laying on top of C. We had to do some wrangling to get all three on the monitors without overlapping, but we got it.

Then for the afternoon monitoring, Baby C had rolled as far away from his brothers as he could. It was interesting that he was not even near the same spot he had been just a couple of hours before. Oh well, shows he is still grooving in there!

Mommy didn't have as much of a good day. Yesterday I was notified that I had a little to much protein in my urine so we had to do a 24 hour analysis. That came back this afternoon and I still have protein in there. So, I have the beginnings of pre-eclampsia. This is such a mild case right now that all they are doing is observing and going to do another 24 hr analysis in about 3-4 days. I do have a bit of high blood pressure, but even that keeps changing, so they aren't extremely worried about it right now.

If the pre-eclampsia progresses it could mean that we would have to deliver the babies early. But right now, that is not likely. They are doing everything they can to keep me from developing it worse.

On another note, they are starting me on Heprin to keep me from getting blood clots. Since I am a bigger woman, on bedrest, and pregnant with triplets, I have a much higher chance of getting blood clots than others. So they will start the Heprin shot (2 times a day) tonight. I also have these compression things that are on my legs (they feel like a massage, kinda nice) that help the blood flow too.

So, I really know that I am in the best place possible. As much as it is hard to be here and not at home, I know I need to be here for my health and the health of the babies.

One exciting note!! I got wheelchair privileges today!!!! That means when James, or my mom (or whomever I deam) comes to visit, if I am just itching to get outside, I can go on a 20 minute wheel chair ride outside or around the building! James took me on my first one today. We went outside and he tried to walk along the sidewalk but the bumps from the splits in the sidewalk started irritating me. So we went across the street to a nice little courtyard and just sat out there and talked. It was a wonderful little bit of fresh air. (I get to do it 2 times a day if I want, but only with nurse approval!)

Please keep those prayers going up to God! We still are in need of the miracles only God can provide! Thank you to all of you for the thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Jessica (and Grant, Alex, and Ethan)

Who knew a pregnant lady on bedrest could be so busy!!

I can't believe how busy they keep me in this place. Seriously, I hardly have time for naps during the day (but of course I am still getting into the routine of things, and naps will come as they are needed.)Here is a typical day (weekday) for me.

Wake around 7. Order breakfast. Check emails and internet while waiting for food to arrive. Eat breakfast around 8. Around 8:30 nurse and NP come in to check on me and hook me to the monitor to monitor the babies for an hour. (The process of finding all three usually takes around 1/2 hr to 45 mins!) Go "swimming" at 10. (Its really just a warm therapy pool, but we can float and have some social time with the other preggy ladies.)

11 out of pool. 11:15 order lunch. Maybe get a nap in before lunch gets to my room around 12. Eat lunch. Check emails and play on computer for a little while, try to work some. About 1:30 nurse comes in to hook up monitor for hour again. Go to pool at 3. Get done at 4, shower and figure out if dinner is being brought in for me from James or if I need to order dinner. Dinner at 5 or 6ish. Then I have about 2 hours to socialize with visitors, James or to just be here and do what I want.

About 8:30 nurse comes in again to check on me and hook up to the monitors for the 3rd and final time for the day (again for an hour once they find all three babies.) Then when monitoring is done, medications, and its usually time for me to sleep!!


I seriously did not think things would be this busy. I am either in bed or in the pool. But even in bed, I have a lot going on around and to me.

And things are looking good so far. Baby C is holding his own right now (pray that he still does and grows for the next at minimum 4 weeks!!) The other two are doing well also, still kicking and squirming. I am doing fine now that I have a new bed and a bar over it to help me get up and down (they call it a trapeze.) I'll have James take some pictures some time soon so you all can get the idea of the contraption that is over my bed! :)

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. You are all wonderful! God can do great things if we just lean on Him for support!

In the Hospital Until They Come Out...

Yes, you read correctly. I am in the hospital now until the God decides that it is time for the boys to be born. I'll explain why in the recap of yesterday below...

It was a very, VERY long day yesterday. (It still really hasn't ended for me, cause I can't sleep in this bed.) I came to the hospital for my nurse/office visit at 3:00 pm. Everything looked great there. My blood pressure was 116/74, not protein or glucose in my urine, my weight gain was ok (only 2 lbs) and everything else looked just fine. We chatted with the nurse just like we would be going home at the end of the day.

At 4:00 pm we stepped inside the ultrasound room. They did growth checks on all the babies and here is what they found. In the 1-day-short-of 2 weeks, Baby A went from 1lb 5oz to 1lb 10oz. Baby B went from 1lb 7oz to 1lb 14oz. Baby C went from 14oz to 1lb (or 16oz).

Baby C finally showed us his heart and it looked really good. He also waved at us a couple of times as we first started looking at him. However, when they went to measure the (I think) diastolic pressure in his umbilical cord, it was absent. (I think I am getting these terms right. It was a lot of medical jargon that I am not used to.) Basically, in layman's terms, he is having trouble pumping blood out and to the placenta. It is resisting him for some reason. This is the reason he is small.

"What can be done about this?" you may ask. Well, not really anything to cure it. They admitted me to the hospital to regulate how much I am on my feet and so they can monitor the babies 3 times a day.

Basically, Baby C is going to have this issue from now on. Dr. P wants us to try and eek out another 4 weeks that he can grow. Then when C decides that he needs to come out, all 3 of them will have to come out. Dr. P said it's not if Baby C gets sick, its WHEN Baby C gets sick (or stops growing) that they will bring them out. (We just hope it is at least 4 weeks from now and not any sooner.)

The other issue that we have is since the placenta is acting up, it is also putting bad stuff into my body. Putting me at a much greater risk for Pre-eclampsia (click on the word for information). Since I also have a history of this in my family, that puts me at a greater risk also. So, they want to closely monitor me for this.

Dr. P ordered that I go swimming 2 times a day, at 10am and 3pm (the hospital has a pool!). I told him that was great!! (That's way more than I would be able to go on my own.) He said that the swimming will help push some of the nasty stuff that we are all getting out and keep the swelling down a lot. Hopefully this works (as it seems to be working well with me just at home, so 2 times a day here should work wonders.)

So, I was allowed to go home and gather my stuff and go out to eat one last time with James before I had to check in. We went to Olive Garden and stuffed ourselves. It was hard to leave Jet at home, because I know he is going to miss me like crazy since I have basically been home with him every day.

I checked in at 8:00 pm and we did a mountain of paperwork. We monitored the boys for the first time (an hour each time we do it) and they all looked good. Though they did say that you could see that C was having a more difficult time than his brothers. I then got swabbed for Strep B, got a steroid shot (which will help the babies develop faster), and had my blood drawn for a couple of lab tests.

The nurse finally left me to go to sleep at 11:30pm. I was sooooo exhausted, or so I thought. I tried to get comfortable on this bed, but it has this weird airbed feature that inflates and deflates every-single-time I move. It got very annoying and the nurse didn't show me how to turn it off. So, I have been up quite a bit and now it is 6:00 am Thursday and I have probably only gotten 2-3 hours of sleep. I guess I will have to nap quite a bit today.

So, long post, I know, but I thought some splainin' was needed. I am at Presbyterian/St. Luke's hospital and I am allowed visitors. However, no one under 18 is allowed due to the threat of H1N1 still. If you want to come visit, just give either James or I a call on our cell phones and let one of us know. (James will be working still, but he will call me if anyone calls him.)

We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers. God can do great things and we just pray that C continues to grow for a while longer.

Kicking and Fighting (or maybe just bouncing...)

I have been trying to catch the boys move on video and they are very camera shy. They move tons, but as soon as I get the camera out, they stop. Well, I had just enough patience earlier to catch Baby C bouncing away. It is kind of hard to see and only lasts for a few seconds, but here it is.

The picture circles the area you should watch on the video. Watch carefully, it looks a bit like a twitch, but it's C bouncing/kicking/already fighting with his bro's. The majority of the action is in the first about 10 seconds of the video. You kind of have to watch despite my breathing too. Sorry, its hard to see.

What a Roller-coaster Ride!!

So, I was totally excited for my growth check ultrasound Thursday. Everything on my side went really well. BP was good, weight gain was a bit on the high side but still good, and glucose/protein in the urine was negative. I am still without restrictions, which is a good thing. No bed rest yet.

The babies did fairly well. They all looked very good at first. Fluid levels were good, and they were all moving and kicking (they don't like to be poked and prodded.)

There is a slight problem with Baby C. He isn't growing as well as the twins. A month ago they were A-11 oz, B-12 oz, and C-8 oz. Thursday they were A-1lb 5oz, B-1 lb 7oz, and C-14oz. C was in the 9th percentile of where he should be. A month ago he was only 2 weeks behind his brothers in growth, and now he is 3 weeks behind.

The doctor, Dr. F just gave it to me straight. They are not sure why he isn't growing as well. She said it could be a couple things. It could be a placenta issue, where he isn't getting enough oxygen or something. It could also be a possibility of Downs (though he doesn't show signs of it any other way, such as the bridge of the nose, etc). They gave me the option of doing the amnio, but said that it could put everyone at risk for really premature birth. Plus, my nurse practitioner said unless we were planning on doing something (abort if the test is positive) then the amnio most likely isn't worth the risk. There may be the option of delivering early, if they have to, but only if it doesn't put A and B at risk.

James called our other doctor, Dr. P, today and he sounded WAY more optimistic that the other Dr. F. He said that he would almost completely rule out Downs and placenta problems because baby C is growing symmetrically. (Usually something like the stomach would be way off compared to everything else if that was the case.)

He didn't rule out possibly a genetic problem though. We haven't been able to get a good picture of C's heart yet (its hidden behind my belly button, and gets shadowed out) so there could possibly be a heart problem, which could make him small. He also said it could possibly be a different genetic issue, but those would have to be found out after ruling out the heart issues, and only through an amnio. He said the risk of the amnio isn't too bad since we are so far along (we will be 26 weeks at the next appointment). If the amnio does find something then, it may change the way they are treating me and all the babies.

James also asked Dr. P if there was a possibility that C was just small and behind the others, and he said that is very very likely and probably what is going on, but they just have to make sure on everything else.

So, I am feeling better today and we will be rescheduling our next appointment with him instead of Dr. F. Dr. P is the one we were referred there to anyway.

We are still needing all the prayers/thoughts/whatever that you can muster for my little guys in there. It was a hard Thursday but I have to trust that God is in control and He has a plan. Today is a new day, and we are all still doing well, so we just need C to grow! GROW C, GROW!!! (We do have a couple of ultrasound pictures of the three and profile of C-he was being very photogenic-so I will post those once I get them scanned in.)



Other than that, we had a great July 4th weekend. My parents stopped in town on their way back from California. I wish I could have been able to go, but alas, 3 babies keep me close to home. We hung out with my aunt, uncle and cousins on Friday and just chilled most of the weekend. Mom cleaned our loft for us, and now we have a nice big space for the babies to have tummy time, instead of having to move everything out of the living room downstairs for that.

We went to the fireworks on the 4th and sat fairly close. Actually, so close we had ashes and debris from the fireworks falling on us. It was very very fun though. My dad has some pictures of it that I will try to get and post soon.

The boys just jumped and kicked the entire time in my belly. I don't know if they didn't like it, or were kicking and dancing in approval. I am guessing they kept getting startled. It was fun to feel though.

My parents headed home Sunday morning and James and I went to church. I have found out that my voice has dropped almost a full octave, and I can no longer sing soprano, much less alto. Every hymn/praise song we sang I had to sing an octave lower. C below middle C is NO PROBLEM for me to hit right now. I am singing tenor with the best of them... I HOPE MY VOICE COMES BACK. I think it is probably all from the testosterone that is running through me right now from these boys!! :)


They loved hearing our pastor preach though. They were all awake at the same time and kicking and punching through the entire sermon. It was fun to see. Hopefully this is a sign that they will like sitting in church and listening!! :)

Well, I will wrap this up for now. I'll post pictures soon. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.