The Birth
On February 11, 2013 at 32 weeks 4 days pregnant, I was having my normal contractions that had gone on throughout the night for months resulting in little sleep due to discomfort and bladder pressure. Around 4:30 am during one of these contractions I felt a little leaking, and then again a little more. I thought to myself "this is it" as I hit the button to call my nurse. I told her, "I think my water just broke" and as the flow increased substantially, I told her "it definitely just broke or I am wetting the bed." She checked it with a pH strip just to be sure but by that point it was obvious. Since I had just woken up and because of the intense bladder pressure, I also had to go to the bathroom badly but she would not allow me to do so without leaving the bed...I guess labor is one time in adulthood during which wetting the bed in a room full of people is not as socially awkward as you might think.
My nurse rushed out of the room to call my OB while I called Brent. When he picked up the phone I informed him that "my water just broke and the nurse is calling the doctor now." I don't know if it was because he had been sleeping, but he seemed confused as to what he was supposed to do. "So when do you want me to come?" "NOW, my WATER just BROKE, go wake up my parents and get here safely!" Brent decided not to startle my parents at 4:45 AM by barging into their room so he called their cellphone and let them know. My mother said they both woke up immediately when they heard the phone ring and knew immediately why.
Brent left the house first and arrived as my contractions were increasing in severity and pain and my parents arrived shortly after. The room filled with nurses catheterizing me, hooking me up to IVs, and taking blood samples. My OB had informed them he intended to do the C-Section by 6:30 am. Unfortunately, since I had intended to have a planned C-section, or possibly an early one due to medical concerns for myself or the babies, I had not prepared myself for the concept of having active labor pains. The hour to hour and a half of constant strong contractions was torture and I didn't know how I could possibly make it from one to the next. That experience made me admire my mother and sister so much more who went through natural births! When the OB arrived and saw how much pain I was in he moved the C section up to 6 or 6:15 AM and instructed them to give me terbutaline which gave me almost immediate significant relief. I could not believe none of the nurses thought to request this for me earlier when I was begging for pain relief that they said they could not give me anything for.
After what seemed like forever they wheeled my bed to the OR, slid me onto the operating table, and as I slouched forward with my legs hanging off the side, the anesthetist did the spinal tap which surprisingly did not hurt all that bad. I immediately felt a rush of warmth down my legs, they laid me back, and soon I was numb to all sharp sensations and could only feel pressure below my chest. Brent was then allowed in and took his place by my head and off we were. There were at least 15 medical staff in with me including 2 OBs, neonatologists, nurse teams for each baby, and a couple anesthesiologists.
I finally started to feel some pressure when they began tugging around in my uterus and then at 6:26 am a cry (Hayley who was the one who called jail break at 4:30)! And then a second baby crying (Reagan)! And at 6:27 am Michaela came last, but I did not hear her crying. Brent explained that she was trying to cry but couldn't catch her breath and she ended up needing to be on CPAP. Brent said the OB showed him how my uterus shrunk back up to see how amazing it was that it had housed three babies.
Hayley Hope 3 lbs 5 oz 15.25 in long
Reagan Grace 3 lbs 16.5 in long
Michaela Joy 3 lbs 13 oz 17.75 in long
After the girls were out I began to feel very nauseous and the anesthesiologist kept giving me doses of zofran but it was not doing anything for me. When the nurses swung by my head to show me the babies, I didn't see much because I began throwing up. After I was closed up, I was wheeled out to wait a couple hours in a recovery area before they could take me to my new room. Brent was able to leave to see the girls in the NICU while I was left with my parents wondering if I would ever be able to move my leaden legs again. I continued to have waves of nausea and vomiting despite being pumped with zofran. I kept telling the nurses that whatever I was given months ago during my hysteroscopy was the only thing that helped my nausea after surgery, but no one ever looked into what it was.
Finally when my wait was up, my bed was wheeled to the NICU so that I could meet the girls. Immediately when I was wheeled in I began to feel more nausea again and informed the nurse that I was going to throw up and needed something to throw up in ASAP. She said she didn't know what to get me and reacted incredibly slowly to my desperate urgent warnings with my hand firmly pressed to my mouth. It was not long after she stood looking absently around the room for a solution that the vomit exploded through my fingers all over me and my bed. That set her into action finally and she rushed to get me a pink bin to continue with, but it was too little too late. I am sure all of the other parents in the NICU were pleased to see a woman spewing vomit in the same room as their tiny sick babies. Somehow we managed to get sheets over the majority of the vomit and change my gown in front of everyone so that I could briefly see my girls.
Once in my room, the vomiting continued for hours until one nurse gave me an anti nausea medication injected into my hip that started with an F that I immediately recognized as the one I was wanting all day and it stopped my nausea immediately. Once again, why couldn't they figure that out hours ago?? I stayed in the hospital until that Thursday, and I must say the pain from the surgery was excruciating whenever I attempted to change positions or get up. My legs also blew up like elephants. Between the pain, visits to the NICU, pumping milk, eating, and sleeping, the week was a blur. Our girls were each on separate rows of the NICU which was not ideal for a barely mobile mama.
Here is a pic of my legs still swollen several days after the C section. They became the butt of jokes in the house. One night at the table we were laughing about something but it hurt to laugh. I told Brent to stop making me laugh. He said, "look at your legs." I said "that's not funny." Brent said "exactly." Thankfully they are pretty much back to normal by now.
The girls did great from the start. Hayley and Reagan were on room air from the get go and Michaela was off CPAP and on room air the day after birth. They all lost their IVs within the first week and have only been hooked up to the usual vital sign monitors and nasal feeding tubes. Each of the girls have spent some time in and out of the lights for jaundice but have all been out for a few days now.
Once home, the pain and exhaustion from 20 weeks on bedrest have been huge obstacles. As of a few days ago, the pain has improved immensely but I was hit with a random high fever for two days and was not allowed to see the girls which was awful. I have recovered from that too and am feeling the best I have since surgery and my endurance is slowly returning. The girls have all been moved to the same row and we have gotten into a routine visiting them a couple times each day for at least a few hours each time.
I have been blessed with a large milk supply that has allowed us to exclusively feed all of the girls fresh breast milk and stock the NICU's freezer with the extra. The nurses can not believe how much I have been producing. Due to the feeding chaos that will ensue when they come home and I have to return to work, I'm not sure how long I will last pumping and am hoping to have lots of stores ready. The NICU ensures me they will give back everything they have frozen, but I still frantically question them about it on a regular basis to make sure nothing is discarded.
The girls are growing steadily and taking feeds better but still inconsistently from the bottle. Brent is proving to be a wonderful daddy holding and sing to the girls and changing diapers, bathing, and swaddling like a champ. it fills my heart with love to watch him with the girls. Hayley and Michaela have small VSDs-a small hole between the ventricles that cause a murmur. It is an extremely common defect that normally closes on its own. Everyone I have talked to in my triplet boards and elsewhere whose children have had one say that it eventually closed on its own and was a nonissue. Poor little Hayley who was squished head first on my cervix for the majority of the pregnancy with her sisters on top of her has very tight neck muscles and prefers to keep her head to the right. She is working with the PT to tolerate other positioning and I try to gently massage and range her little neck when I hold her and she seems very content while I do so. Michaela was the first to reach 4 lbs yesterday and thus was the first one to put on clothes and test her temperature regulating abilities. We will see when we go back today if she had to switch back to warming in the isolette or not. Yesterday Hayley was up to 3 lbs 8 oz and Reagan was up to 3 lbs 3 oz!
We are so very blessed at how well they are doing and appreciate the continued prayers!
Hayley
Michaela
Reagan
