Amazing Husband

This week started out quite rough. I wasn't feeling well on Monday and that evening my contractions picked up a bit, were more intense and were accompanied by cramping, never a good sign. My doctor had already been considering giving me steroid shots at 26 weeks (which was Sunday) to help the babies' lungs development in case they arrive earlier than 28-29 weeks and with these changes she decided to proceed. Then, Tuesday's sonogram showed some cervical changes that were cause for concern, though still not telling of exactly when the babies would make their appearance.

I received a shot two nights in a row with Keith by my side to hold my hand. Yes, I am still a wimp. Tuesday wasn't much better but by Thursday I was feeling better. My uterus is now expanding into my ribs which can be quite painful. However, the babies aren't quite able to reach my ribs with their little limbs yet. My doctor said on Tuesday that the babies are each over 2 pounds, which is great! My stomach is now the size it would be during a singleton pregnancy at 37 weeks along confirming that my discomforts are legitimate.

Keith continues to be an amazing husband during this process, visiting me every evening, spending full days with me on the weekends, constantly getting things for me and making my time here easier. For Thanksgiving we had planned on having my mom over for a store- or restaurant-bought meal. I was truly content with this but Keith had another idea. He fooled me into thinking he worked late on Wednesday and slept in on Thursday. I quickly realized I was wrong when he walked in the door greeting me and my mom with a large bag and picnic basket.

He had spent all afternoon the day before and Thanksgiving morning cooking turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, tabouli (a Melker tradition), cranberry sauce and apple crisp - all from scratch! He also brought stuffing and pumpkin pie. Man, were my mom and I spoiled! I truly feel blessed to have a husband that is not only excited about three babies all at once (I don't think all men would be), but is also loving and giving during my current helpless state. I am truly blessed!

The Melker Weigh-in

The babies and I were weighed this week and everyone is growing well. I am 161 pounds and still trying to pack on the weight for the babies. My triplet book said that it is important to gain most of the pregnancy weight by Week 24 because after that it is extremely difficult to meet the metabolic demands of three growing babies. And research shows that the weight gained before Week 24 has a greater effect on triplets' rate of growth than the weight gained later in pregnancy. Despite my smooshed stomach and complete distaste for most foods (I am so over eating!), I am still trying to get the calories in there and eat often. However, having three babies fatten up at the same time makes it hard to keep up!

The babies are getting their fair share though and on Tuesday weighed in at:
1 lb, 12 oz.- Baby Girl A (50th percentile)
1 lb, 14 oz. - Baby Boy B (Our little basketball player?)
1 lb, 10 oz. - Baby Girl C (Our "baby girl?")

Both girls gave me a good yawn on the sonogram while our little boy was hiding and harder to see this week. He didn't feel like competing with the girls for attention!

A Day in Ante-partum Life

Everyone has been asking me, "What do you do all day?" So, here's what a typical day in the hospital looks like for me as an ante-partum patient:

7:15/8:15 - Wake-up and have my blood pressure taken
8:30 - Order breakfast and get "ready" for the day
9:00 - Eat breakfast and watch the Today Show
9:30-10:30 - The nurse monitors contractions and babies' heart rates for an hour, administers my meds
10:30 - Watch TV, read or talk on the phone, eat a snack
11:30 - More of the above and/or have visitors
12:00-1:00 - Order and eat lunch, watch Martha
1:00-3:00 - Internet, catch up on missed primetime shows online or read
3:00 - Watch Ellen, eat another snack
4:00 - Watch Oprah, take more meds
5:00 - Internet, TV or reading
6:00-7:00 - Order and eat dinner, flip through TV channels
7:30-8:00 - Keith arrives (hopefully)
8:00/8:30 - Another hour of my nurse monitoring contractions and babies' heart rates (miss primetime shows)
9:00 - Shower (if I didn't get to before monitoring) and get ready for bed, eat yet another snack (can you tell I'm not enjoying food these days?)
10:00 - Take more meds
10:00/10:30 - Keith goes home and I go to bed
4:00 am - Wake up to take meds

Throw in a bathroom break every 20-45 minutes and having my blood pressure/temperature taken every 4-6 hours and that's about it! As you can see a day of nothing can fill up pretty quickly. And my new best friends, Martha, Ellen and Oprah, help keep me entertained and informed about the outside world. The worst part of my day is at night because I am exhausted, achy, contracting a lot, frustrated, experiencing back pain and restless legs, etc., but it is also the best part of my day because Keith visits.

We are now taking belly shots weekly. For Week 25 we thought we'd get a shot straight on and it turned out looking a lot bigger than I thought I would. It may be hard to tell but my belly button is at least an inch off center to my right.

Here to Stay

My first day in the hospital was a stressful one though I may have hid that a bit in my last entry. I was first admitted to labor and delivery for monitoring and I was contracting more than the doctors would like to see. After a few hours of trying to get them to slow down using meds, Keith made a short trip home to pack up some things for me. During his time away, I had a visit from a neo-natologist (NICU doctor) about the risks and complications of having babies born at 23 weeks. I also had a visit from an anesthesiologist to sign paperwork. I just wanted to tell everyone, "We're not doing this now!" It was very scary and troubling to hear about having to resuscitate our babies, etc. though I know they just had to send everyone to speak with me as a part of their checklist. The nurse also monitored the babies' heart rates for a few hours and thankfully they looked great and showed no signs of stress.

My contractions eventually spread out enough to show I wasn't in pre-term labor and before midnight I was transferred to the ante-partum unit - basically the wing of the hospital where expecting mom's grow their babies until they are ready to arrive or as long as possible.

Today marks the first of what I hope will be many weeks at the hospital. What does my day look like? Well, I am monitored for contractions for at least 30 minutes twice each day along with the babies' heart rates. After a week of monitoring and an exam yesterday, my doctors have decided that it is best for me to stay in the hospital on bed rest until the babies arrive. At this point I am allowed to get up by myself to take bathroom breaks and can take wheelchair rides and participate in occasional ante-partum social activities (which happen weekly or biweekly). Even though I have between two and six contractions an hour, sometimes more, my exam and sonogram yesterday showed that they are not causing me to progress at this point which is very good. My doctor thinks I have 4-6 weeks before the babies arrive, if not more. We can't be sure and only time will tell. Sunday was a big day for us because we reached 24 weeks which is the point where babies reach viability and their chances of surviving go up significantly, though not without a fight and possible long-term complications. Each week and even each day is vital to their chances of survival and good health and the closer we can get to week 36, no matter how uncomfortable for me, the better.

I keep having to remind myself that their birthday is preordained and I use this scripture as a reminder to bring our babies and my worries for them to the Lord each day:

Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them.
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
- Matthew 19:13-14; Mark 10:13-16

These precious preemie sleepers were given to us as a gift and I have them hanging in my room as inspiration to rest and eat so they can fill them out when they are born! Here's a picture of me reaching our first triplet milestone - 24 weeks!