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.