Trina's Story

Wednesday Trina started having very sharp pains in her abdomen that came every 3 minutes. They only lasted 5-10 seconds, but they were excruciating. She called her "contraction monitor nurse" who told her to do another hour on the monitor. Nothing registered so it was chalked up to "baby movement". After the monitoring, Trina started getting nauseous and the pains kept coming. She called the nurse back who, in turn, called the doctor. They told her she wasn't in preterm labor since no contractions were registering, but that if she felt the need to get checked, to do it. At some point during the day, one or two calls were made to our peri's office as well. Basically everyone just told her that at 34+ weeks pregnant with triplets, these misery inducing symptoms were long overdue. She could either stay home and ride them out until the c-section on Friday or come in and get checked and possibly prescribed something to ease the pain & nausea. At 9 o'clock that night Trina started vomiting. We decided, preterm labor or not, it was time to go to the hospital.

Trina wouldn't let me take the time to pack up her 7 thousand pillows or her comfy pants or a few other odds and ends that I wanted to grab. As far as she was concerned, we were going to go down there, get checked out and come home. The fact that the nurses seemed so nonchalant about her ordeal made her doubt the validity of her concerns. She vomited 3-5 times within the first 30 minutes she was there. I could not have been less surprised when the nurse told her there was no way she was leaving at 34+ weeks gestation with triplets and a scheduled c-section less that 48 hours away. They did a non stress test on the boys, or at least tried to. As always, Linus refused to cooperate for them. They also did a contraction strip that showed nil. These tests lasted longer than they should have since Trina kept having to sit up and vomit. They finally got done, ran some blood and placed an IV. They gave her fluids, Z0fran & Amb1an to help ease all her woes.

Our peri came by the room first thing the next morning to tell us that although the blood, NST & contraction monitors were all clear, she had no problem doing the c-section a day early to ease Trina's misery. Trina declined saying that she could ride out the 36 hours of pain to make it to the boys' scheduled OR time. During that time the nurses did 2 more fetal monitoring sessions. Linus showed up for neither. Apparently he was low in Trina's pelvis and completely underneath Simon. They basically just checked to see if he was still alive & left it at that. During the 2nd one, they had to go track down a doppler to find him with. What a stinker he was being.

Trina did her best to sleep through the last day and a half of her pregnancy. If she was awake, she felt every stabbing pain and wave of nausea. Sleeping, she could miss all but the worst of it. It seemed like nurses were popping in every few hours through the day and night, so sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time was difficult.

When it came time to get ready for the c-section, it didn't seem real. I got into some scrubs and we loaded Trina into a wheelchair. As we got to the door where Trina and I had to part ways for a bit, she started crying. It broke my heart that I couldn't go with her because I knew she was scared. The thought of getting an epidural, then a c-section was terrifying to her. I paced in my little waiting room for the full 30 minutes before someone came back to get me.

The OR was buzzing with activity. Trina was doing ok, but was very nauseous. The anesthesiologist was a personable guy who told me he'd let me know when to stand up to see the action. Trina kept retching so I was focused on taking care of her. The anesthesiologist took my camera so I'd have some shots of the boys popping out. Everything was a blur. Even though I did stand up once they starting coming out, I have only flashes of memory. They each cried and it was such a relief. I was shocked to see how blue they all were as they were whisked by.

After they were all out, I could tell there was a sense of urgency in the room. Apparently Trina's uterus would not tone back up and she was bleeding out. The doctors were working so hard on her that she was literally lifted off the table at the waist a few times. From what I could gather, the anesthesiologist topped out two medications and was starting a third. Trina started getting woozy and a nurse took me out of the room. I was told before hand that they would make me leave if there was a problem, so I was really worried.

The nurse took me to a stabilization room where Simon and Linus were being worked on. I was able to snap a few pictures in the midst of all of the fray. Someone asked if I'd seen Dexter yet and took me to him when I said no. He was in another room with his own team. Boy was he angry! :) I snapped a few pics of him, too. Then it was time for Trina to meet the boys. Simon was doing very well so he was handed to Trina so she could put him on her chest. She only held him for a moment then started feeling dizzy. The doctors were still working on her, but I figured if they let me back in, things must not be too bad. Both Linus and Dexter were wheeled in in isolettes so Trina could barely see or touch them. I followed the boys upstairs to NICU observation while the doctors finished up.

When I came back to stay with Trina in the recovery room, I was shocked to see that her lips and hands were blue. She was shaking violently and was terribly nauseous. It broke my heart, but I didn't show her how worried I was. I just told her how good the boys were doing and let her rest. She was so thirsty and her mouth was dry, but she wasn't allowed any water. The nurse finally brought her some ice chips and told me to give her only one every few minutes. She slowly stopped shaking and the color started returning to her face and hands. She still felt cold to the touch, though. Trina's always warmer than me so this is totally out of the ordinary. A few hours later they took her to a room. She was starting to look better, but couldn't keep her eyes open. When she did come to, she told me to go be with the boys. I was torn. There was no way to be in 4 places at once. Who's bed side did I stand by? I followed Trina's wishes and went to the boys. Luckily their beds were lined up so I just bounced back and forth between the three trying to stay out of the nurses' way. To my surprise, the first thing Trina did when coming to was pump. I spent our whole hospital stay running milk up to the NICU every few hours. She's amazing!

The next morning Trina was dying to see the boys, but the nurses told her she wasn't well enough, she'd lost too much blood. I'd already taken 200 pictures and shown her, but it's not the same as seeing them in person. Finally at 17hours after their birth Trina put her foot down and told the nurse to bring a wheelchair. She was going to see her sons dammit! As the nurses got her up and helped her to the restroom, Trina promptly started losing consciousness. This did not bode well for a speedy NICU visit. They got her back to bed and told her to rest. She was heartbroken, but had no recourse. Four hours later she felt ready to try again. This was a winner. 21 long hours after their birth. Trina finally got to see her baby boys. She was only able to stay upright for about 30 minutes before getting dizzy again, but it was beautiful and tear inducing to say the least.

Over the next 6 days, Trina had a bevy of complications that lengthened her hospital stay. It semed that every day they'd say, if we can get *enter issue here* under control, you can go home tomorrow. Unfortunately there was always something to take that problem's place. She was crazy anemic due to the blood loss during the c-section. She popped a fever twice. Once after the surgery due to meds given to stop her bleeding and once for an hour the night her milk came in. Her blood pressure was higher than it ever was during her pregnancy. She swelled up like the Stay Puft marshmallow man requiring several days of Las1x. Due to the stress and antibiotics, she had a yeast outbreak in several uncomfortable places. Finally at 10pm on the 6th day post op, She was released from the hospital. I immediately drove her to The Children's Hospital to see our Linus. It'd been 4 days since she laid eyes on him. :(

Since her discharge, Trina has done marvelously. She's pumping almost enough to keep up with all 3 boys' milk needs. She's in very little pain other than when she coughs, sneezes, etc without warning. She's been walking a lot and wears a belly brace to help with any discomfort. I can't believe how strong she is and how quickly she's healed. These boys are SO lucky to have her as a mom.

Now for the part you really wanted. Pictures!

34Week Belly, 49", +57lbs

35Week Belly, 42", +19lbs

AKA

-1 Week Belly, 42", -38lbs

Notice how there are only 2 blue sensors? That's because they gave up on finding and keeping Linus on one.

Trying to sleep away the discomfort.

Our last picture as a 2 person family.

My awesome OR outfit. Stylish, no?

Trina holding Simon.

Trina touching Linus.

Trina seeing Dexter.

Taking Trina to the NICU for the first time.

Holding Simon

Holding hands with Linus.

Lookin at Dexter's precious punam.

The Boys Are Here!!!

I am proud to announce the arrival of our three sons. They waited until their scheduled c-section on Fri, Oct 1 to make their big debut.

Simon Keats 7:07pm 4lbs 13oz

Linus Grey 7:07pm 4lbs 12oz

Dexter Vaughn 7:08pm 4lbs 10oz

I'll try for a birth story later, but here are a few details to tide you over. The first 24 hours were magical. Simon is cool as a cucumber, Dexter is a fireball of strong opinions and Linus is a happy medium between the two. They are perfect in every way. Well, almost... As most of you know, when he was around 36 hours old, Linus was rushed to Texas Children's Hospital in cardiac crisis. He was diagnosed with critical aortic stenosis and was in surgery less than 3 hours later. It has been a hard week for our little family. We still have a very long road ahead, but things are getting better. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and good vibrations. We need them all.

Finally Admitted

This will be short. Yesterday Trina was having intermittent sharp abdominal pains. She wasn't contracting, just having pain. Later she started getting nauseous. Around 9pm she started vomiting. There were about 6 phone calls to 2 sets of nurses throughout the day and they all seemed to think she was ok, just super pregnant. Well, after the vomiting started, we decided it was time to go to the hospital. It was a good decision too, because when she started vomitting, she didn't stop. They drew labs and did a NST on the boys and a contraction strip for her. Labs came back normal, minimal contracting and the boys seem fine. The admitted her anyway. She's on an IV and Zofran. She is still having severe sharp pains and she's still nauseous. Doc doesn't think there is any danger, only pain and discomfort. She asked Trina if she thought she could tough it out until our scheduled section tomorrow and she said she could. Trina REALLY wants that Oct birthday. As long as all goes well today, we'll have our boys tomorrow. 34w3d and our first L&D admission. Not too shabby. :)

Induced Lactation

After our "Breast Feeding For Multiples", class I started thinking about inducing lactation. There are several reasons why I considered it. Firstly, it would solve the "more babies than boobs" issue and hopefully provide enough breast milk that formula supplementation could be avoided or kept to a minimum. Also, being able to take over some of the feeds when I'm home will give Trina some much needed breaks. It would give me another way to bond with the boys and help ensure that they each get enough skin to skin time. We don't want them shorted just because they out number us. All in all it seemed like a good idea so we contacted the lactation consultants at our hospital. They gave us some advice and are very supportive of our plan. They even offered to go talk to the NICU when the boys are born to make sure they understand our situation and accommodate us in every way.

About a month ago I started taking herbs 3x a day, began using a hospital grade breast pump every 2 hours when I was home and awake (3-5 times a day) and ordered domperidone. I added the dom to my protocol 2 weeks ago when it came in. I've only gotten some clear fluid here and there with no particular rhyme or reason. Until tonight that is. About an hour ago I got my first drop of real milk! Yes, it was only a drop, but I'm very excited that I managed to start producing "something" before the boys got here. :)

34 Weeks!

Thursday we went to L&D Testing for, well, testing. The first time we went there we had 3 very sweet nurses working on Trina and the boys. This time we had 1 not so friendly nurse. She wasn't mean per se, just not warm or talkative like the other ladies. After much "arguing" with Baby A, the nurse gave up on his NST. His super low position makes it nearly impossible to monitor him or even measure him on ultrasound. I hope he's not this difficult when he's out in the real world. :) Babies B & C both cooperated a little better and were given A+ on their heart rates and reactions and Trina's blood tests came back great. Along with her usual +1 urine protein, she also had some elevated leukocytes. I wondered if they'd put her on antibiotics "just in case" but they said it wouldn't be necessary. We left feeling very accomplished and with huge smiles on our faces.

Monday we went to the peri's office and saw one of our dr's associates. Our doc is out of town at a conference. Dr K was super nice and very warm. We liked him quite a bit right off. When he walked in the room he looked Trina over and asked "How many weeks along are you?" Trina said "34weeks today" with a grin. "And how many babies do you have in there?" "Three" bigger grin. "Well you must be doing something right, that's impressive" I thought it was very sweet of him to say. Then he started the ultrasound and got a sort of surprised look on his face. It scared me a bit until he said "These are NOT small babies!" in shocked sort of tone. I said "That's what we hear" huge grin. Once again Baby A made the doctor's job difficult, but with some poking, prodding and mumbling, he was measured. The boys are now estimated at 4lbs12oz, 5lbs1oz and 4lbs12oz and they are all head down! Looks like they heard about Friday's appointment and are preparing to come out the old fashioned way. As much as Trina would prefer it, that is just not going to happen. No way will our doc attempt a triplet vaginal delivery. And the best part of the appointment was pictures! Our first ones in forever!

Baby A, our difficult child. :)

I love this picture of Baby B!

What the f&%# is this and why is it labeled Baby C? :)

I came home tonight to find that Trina had been practicing her swaddling on Mr. Moose.

C-Section Scheduled!!!

So yesterday we went to the peri's office for another check up. She did a quick scan for all 3 heartbeats and we were done. It was the first time we didn't get a full growth scan. I guess we're pretty spoiled that way. Trina still only has +1 protein in her urine so that's holding steady. She was a little bit swollen, but managed to lose a pound of water weight over the weekend. Her blood pressure was a teeny bit elevated, but not nearly as bad as the last time. If they'd give her 5 minutes to get settled, they'd get a perfect reading. It takes energy and lots of blood flow to move that big belly around!

The doctor was surprised at how well Trina was doing. She was expecting to take us to the OR that evening! We were shocked as we were definitely NOT expecting any such thing given Thursday's test results. She complimented Trina on what a great job she's been doing and said she wanted her back at the hospital for another round of preeclampsia testing on Thurs morning. If there were any blips, she'd deliver us before the weekend. She's going out of town for a conference and doesn't want just anyone on call to do the c-section if an emergency arises. She wants to do it herself. If all looks good with the tests, she wanted to deliver us the middle of next week. Trina blurted out "But I wanted to make it til October!". She said "Fine, I'll give you til the first, but I'm not letting you go through another weekend. I want you in testing Thursday and here Monday seeing my associate." So there it is. Friday, October 1, 2010 at 34weeks 4days we will have our baby boys. We only have 2 more appointments before we have babies. One for blood, urine & NST and one for urine & ultrasound. So freaking crazy.

33 Week Belly, 48", +49lbs

L&D: Take 2

So Thurs we went back to the peri's office. Just for giggles we decided to go on the proper day. For the last several appointments they have been taking Trina straight back to an exam room so she can lay down before her u/s instead of waiting in the lobby in a chair. Usually they send us back and come in a little while later to take he blood pressure. Well Thurs right after she climbed up onto the table and rolled over (which is quite a lot of work for a woman in her "condition") the nurse took her BP. It was 130/90. Of course it was high, but that's the reading that was put into her chart even though it was not accurate. Trina was upset because we were told if the diastolic pressure was over 90, it was a problem.

Soon we were taken to the u/s room to get started. The doc had a hell of a time trying to visualize Baby A. He was curled in a ball and way down low. After getting his skull and femur measurments she told the tech she was moving on to Baby B because Baby A "was annoying her". Baby B was nearly in C position but cooperated a bit more. As always, Baby C was a breeze. We know Baby A's estimated weight is inaccurate due to only measuring 2 of the normal 5 body parts, but she had them listed as 4lbs1oz, 4lbs10oz & 4lbs5oz. The babies look great and are growing like champs! After that was determined, the doc asked how much weight Trina had gained because she had a lot of edema. The answer was 5lbs in 8 days, we were told anything over 3lbs a week was a problem. To top it all off, she still had +1 protein in her urine. I knew that 3 checks in the "bad news" column was probably going to have some repercussions. Sure enough, doc had us go straight over to the hospital for more tests. We were told if all was well, she wanted to see us back on Tues.

The nurses in the L&D Testing department were all really nice. They came in and took several vials of blood, did an Non Stress Test on the boys, did contraction monitoring, took Trina's blood pressure every 15 minutes and had her give another urine sample. About 2 hours later we had the results. Trina's kidney and liver functions were normal, her clotting time was perfect, her blood pressure was perfect, the boys heart rates were great, she only had 1 contraction and although she still tested +1 protein, her urine was clear of blood, infection, ketones and glucose. Once again, the nurses were shocked at how well Trina was holding up and once again we avoided being admitted. Looks like we'll be seeing our peri again on Tues. :)

32 Week Belly, 48", +50lbs