Reflecting...

The weeks leading up to the boys birthday have me thinking about the months & weeks leading up to their birth. How we came to be a family of 5 when for a while there we weren't sure if we'd ever be parents at all. Our journey was long & treacherous with more curves than we could have ever imagined but we kept our faith & pushed forward even when we thought we were down for the count.

I still giggle at the thought of Donna not only not being present when I "got pregnant" but being in another state. I also laugh out loud when I think to myself "my dad took me to get pregnant" kind of like him taking me to get my ears pierced or me taking him to a Drag show, lol... oh the stories we will be able to tell...

We drove back & forth from North Carolina to Orlando for our first couple of ultrasounds. We loved our nurse practitioner & really wanted her to give us the news, good or bad, from our ultrasound. For those who weren't around back then, ultrasound #1 at 6 weeks resulted in twins, ultrasound #2 at 8 weeks resulted in triplets!!! All I could do was laugh, I think it took hours before Donna could close her mouth again after the jaw dropping news. I texted the news to a close friend who called right back & said "I just have to hear you say it out loud" lol...

11 week 3D/4D ultrasound

 

I loved telling people but after losing our twins we were terrified of another miscarriage so we kept the news to ourselves with the exception of our parents, siblings & a couple close friends. We waited for the second trimester/New Years to share our joy with everyone.

We had a scare at 14 weeks with a placental abruption but everything ended up being fine with that.

At 23(ish) weeks we had a preeclampsia scare but it ended up just being a UTI. After 3 days in the hospital I was able to go home but only after failing not one but both glucose tests. Well really I only failed the second one but I barely passed the first which is why I had to take the second one. I went home with insulin & a modified diet which got thrown out the window when my MFM found out about it. A diabetic diet & a 3000 calorie diet didn't really coincide so I went back to eating whatever didn't make me ill & they adjusted my insulin accordingly, I barely needed it at all but they played it safe.

At 26 weeks & the day my dad arrived to hang out with me while Donna worked out of town, I woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. Donna took me back to the hospital & I was admitted for the duration. My UTI had moved into my kidneys & I had no cervical length. This is when I moved into the ante pardum department & made myself at home, lol...
Donna put my dad to work & they painted the nursery & got the furniture in place. I spent Easter & my 34th birthday in the hospital & lasted just 3 weeks before the boys decided it was time...

29 weeks, thats a size large maternity shirt =)



I was being monitored frequently, like every 4 hours, babies heart rates & contractions. The boys were always good & I never had any real or regular contractions. One night after Donna arrived from work I felt uncomfortable, more so than usual so the nurse decided to call the doctor & have me "checked." They had not checked my cervix in over a week at that point & there had been nothing going on the last time they did check. Well this night I was dilated 3cm & won a tip back to Labor & Delivery for monitoring there. Thankfully one of my favorite nurses was on that night so we were comfy knowing she would take good care of us. She even let Donna shower & shave her legs in my bathroom, lol (Donna didn't realize it was going to be an all mightier when she arrived) I never did have regular or strong contractions but I did continue to dilate through the night. I was 5cm by the time shift change came but the day doctors were still going to wait a little longer...

I had been asking Donna for days what April 28th was? She couldn't think of anything but I felt like it was someone's birthday or an anniversary I was forgetting. We talked about it again that morning. Well a few minutes passed & the doctor came back & said, April 28th is the day you will meet your boys, Happy Birthday! And that is when the party started!!! Within seconds my room was filled with doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, perinatologists, you name them they were probably there. There was basically a team for each of us, me & each baby. They say there were about 30 staff members in the operating room(s) (we took 2) for the delivery.

All I really remember about delivery was it taking forever for them to get my spinal block in right (they kept hitting the wrong spot & it hurt) then Donna came in & I threw up :) I asked her to tell me when they cut me & she said that they already did, thankfully I didn't feel a thing! The boys were very active, kicking & punching, making it difficult for them to pop their amniotic sacs but in 5 minutes time we had 3 beautiful screaming baby boys & Donna was making her rounds with each of them & coming back to check on me. I got to see & kiss each of them before they were whisked away to the NICU.

The boys were about 3 weeks old here

 

It was a very scary & nerve wracking journey but an amazing one also with the best possible outcome, 3 happy, very healthy boys who fill our lives with smiles & laughter. Motherhood has been more fulfilling than I had ever imagined!!!

 

I have about 8 more days to harrass you all into voting for us in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Moms of Multiples blog contest, so, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!

Thanks so much to those of you who have been voting & remember you can vote everyday. (every 24 hours)