So I'm going to start with some background info, I'm really recording this for myself, so if you don't feel like reviewing the last year, you can skip to the bottom 2-3 paragraphs!
RJ and I found out last March that we were expecting! My doctor said he wanted to draw labs to see how everything looked, but that they don't usually see patients until they are 8-9 weeks pregnant. After my initial labs, Crystal, my nurse, called me the same day to tell me that I was "definitely pregnant" based on a high hcg level. They wanted to go ahead and check another level a week later. The follow up hcg was still extremely high, and Crystal said she thought I was almost definitely having twins, and maybe TRIPLETS!! We were shocked/scared/excited/thrilled, etc! We went in the following week (March 23rd) for the first ultrasound, and we saw THREE heartbeats!! We found out we were expecting triplets, one fraternal and one set of identical twins (monochorionic, diamniotic twins). WOW! All I could do was laugh, I didn't know how else to respond to the news! RJ looked like he was about to pass out! We were most definitely excited, but shocked initially at the thought of 3 babies!!
My care was transferred to the high risk team at Barnes and the plan was to deliver there so the babies could be at childrens if needed. I had ultrasounds every 2 weeks throughout the pregnancy. At 13 weeks, we found out we were having 3 boys!! At 21 weeks, they told us that they thought baby C (Noah) might have "double bubble" or duodenal atresia. They said they would continue to watch for it on subsequent ultrasounds, but explained to us what this might mean. Basically, there was likely a narrowing or closure between his stomach and his intestines, preventing the passage of food (amniotic fluid) through his digestive system. If this did turn out to be the case, Noah would have to have surgery after birth to repair the atresia. Subsequent ultrasounds did determine that duodenal atresia was present. Before the boys were born we were able to meet with Dr. Segura, one of the surgeons at SLCH to talk about what the surgery would likely entail. We were very fortunate to know about the atresia prior to birth-most babies are only diagnosed with it after they begin spitting up everything they eat. Since we knew ahead of time, they were able to plan for the surgery prior to delivery.
My pregnancy was actually great and relatively uneventful until I hit 30 weeks. I worked full time and didn't have any issues at all! However, at 30 weeks and 1 day, I worked a full day and then went shopping after work. I apparently did too much that day, and also probably dehydrated myself slightly. I started having contractions every 2-3 minutes that night after I got home. We called the on call doctor and were told to come in to be evaluated. They determined that I was slowly progressing, changing from 1cm dilated to 2cm dilated after several hours. I was admitted to L & D for observation, IV fluids, and Magnesium Sulfate to stop the contractions. The magnesium causes extreme muscle weakness and fluid retention, so they put a foley catheter in to monitor my intake/output closely (this will be relevant later :)). After several days of magnesium and fluids, I wasn't having any contractions and hadn't progressed any further than a 1-2cm, so I was sent home!! However, the following morning, I woke up with contractions and heart palpitations, so we went back to be evaluated again. This time they had a little more trouble stopping the contractions. I was put back on the magnesium and given more fluids. We ended up finding out that I had pyelonephritis (kidney infection, likely caused by a lack of sterile technique when the catheter was inserted). Apparently many pregnant women end up in the ICU when they get this, so I guess I was lucky! Anyway, UTIs/pyelonephritis can cause contractions, so that was the cause of the 2nd round of preterm labor. Since we'd found the culprit, I was allowed to go home again! However, I was told not to return to work, which was fine by me! I had gained 20 lbs in fluids with all the magnesium, and none of my clothes or shoes fit anymore!! I was pretty miserable! I spent the next approximately 3 weeks on my couch, with my feet elevated (didn't help AT ALL!!). For those of you that know me, I almost went crazy during those 3 weeks!! I couldn't sleep, couldn't get comfortable, couldn't really go anywhere, couldn't clean my house-basically, couldn't do anything but watch TV! That was a VERY long 3 weeks! I struggled between wanting to get the babies out, and wanting to keep them in as long as possible, since it would be best for them!
At 33w6d, I went in for a doctors appointment and was found to be hypertensive, at about 140/90. They decided to admit me overnight AGAIN for observation and work-up for preeclampsia. They drew labs and found that my platelets were down to 85!! The doctor came in the next morning (10/4/11) around 10:00 and told me we were having babies today, around noon!!! YIKES!!! I was alone at the hospital, my phone was dead, I couldn't call long distance from the hospital (everyone I know is long distance from the hospital), and RJ was at work! The nurse let me use her phone charger, and I caught RJ on his way into a meeting. He cancelled it and headed right to the hospital. I tried to call my mom, dad, sisters, brother, sister in law, mother in law, etc, but NO ONE answered! I left lots of voicemails, and had to turn my phone off since it was going dead. They took me right to labor and deliver and started prepping me, consenting me, etc for a c-section! By 12:15 I was walking into the OR!!
The boys were born on 10/4/11, at exactly 34 weeks! Cooper Quinn was the first born, at 12:35. He weighed 3 lbs, 14 oz and was 18 1/4 inches long (longest and smallest!). Mason Eli was born next at 12:36; he was our big boy at 4 lbs 6 oz and 17 3/4 inches. Noah Griffin was last at 12:37-he weighed 4 lbs even and was 17 1/4 inches. All three boys were doing very well initially-Mason and Noah needed a little bit of oxygen via nasal cannula, but they were all breathing on their own.
Cooper and Mason were taken to the special care nursery where they were classified as "feeders/growers". They both had IVs and feeding tubes so they could take their feedings via tube if they didn't take them by mouth. Noah was taken to the NICU at SLCH as planned. In addition to an IV and all the monitors, he had a replogle, which was a tube that went through his nose, down into his stomach to relieve gastric distension. Noah had to wear oxygen for about 24 hours, but after that he was satting well on his own! As expected, Noah did have duodenal atresia, so he was unable to eat anything by mouth. He would be started on TPN and lipids (nutrition that goes through the IV), and his surgery would be scheduled when he reached 2kg (a little over 4 lbs).
I didn't get to meet the boys until over 24 hours after they were born. Since I had become so severely preeclamptic, I had to be put back on the magnesium for 24 additional hours! RJ went and met all the boys and took lots of pictures for me! He even got to give Cooper his first bath!! Grandma Bev, Aunt Nikki, cousin Conner, Aunt Kim, and cousins Alexis and Alyvia all came to visit the first day! They all (minus the kids) got to meet the boys before I did....I will admit, I was slightly jealous! Mostly though, I was proud and wanted to show them off, even if I wasn't there with them!
On Wednesday afternoon, I finally got to meet the boys and hold everyone! I was actually the first person to hold Noah! I was pretty sore from the c-section, but started feeling better every day. On Friday, Grandma Dorothy and Uncle Gabe came to visit! Gabe got to meet Mason and Cooper, but he wasn't allowed in the NICU because he was only 14 and had to be 15.....boo!! Mason and Cooper were actually transferred to the NICU later on Friday, not because they needed it, but because it would be more convenient for us! That was definitely much appreciated and helped a lot! I was discharged from the hopsital on Saturday; it was very weird and very hard to leave the boys and go home. I felt like I had forgotten something, plus I was so worried that they wouldn't get enough attention in the hospital.
We spent the next 2-3 weeks visiting the boys in the NICU. Mason and Cooper got to come home on October 24th! Our first night home was rough! We tried to put the boys in their pack n plays in our room, and Cooper didn't sleep AT ALL! At about 4:00 am, RJ finally took them to their room and put them in their cribs, and they went to sleep! So after that, they've always slept in their cribs and they do great in there! The next few weeks were the hardest-Mason and Cooper were home, but Noah was still at Childrens. I wanted to visit Noah all day, every day, but I also had to take care of Cooper and Mason, pump, sleep, recover (I was still dealing with complications from my c-section), eat, etc. I tried a few times to take the boys with me to the hospital without RJ, but it was just too hectic! We decided to make sure at least one of us visited him every day, but we only took the boys on the weekends, when we could all go together! I frequently went to visit after RJ got home from work, and he stayed home with the other boys.
Noah reached his goal weight and his surgery was scheduled for 10/26. Grandma Bev came down to babysit Cooper and Mason, while RJ and I spent the day at the hospital. Noah's surgery went well, but he wasn't able to be extubated right away because he was so sleepy-the doctor said that is fairly normal with babies. He was able to be extubated easily the next morning. The doctors and nurses said he seemed very comfortable without pain meds, but they did give him some tylenol just to make sure he wasn't in pain. He continued on TPN and lipids for a week following his surgery, and then they did an upper GI scope to make sure he was completely healed from surgery. The scope looked great, so Noah was able to eat for the first time on 11/2-the nurses were nice enough to wait for us to get there, so I got to give him his first bottle!! His goal was to eat 5 ml, and he ate about half of that! Over the next few days/weeks, they would gradually increase his feedings until he was eating his goal (based on weight so it varied). He did so well initially that they increased his feedings too quickly and he started spitting up frequently. They had to backtrack a little bit, so we had a small set-back. However, as we neared mid-November (the goal discharge date), the nurses and doctors said he should still be ready to come home around 11/15!
Unfortunately, right before he was set to come home, Noah started having episodes of bradycardia (heartrate slowings). They were brief, and always resolved on their own, but the doctor said they had to keep him for 5 more days (he would have to be free of any episodes for 5 days before being released). It seemed like every time we got close to the 5 days, he would have another episode. As we got closer to Thanksgiving, they said they would try their hardest to let him come home by the holiday! They worked him up for GERD (acid reflux), did a head ultrasound to look for a hemorrhage (bleeding), and did an ECHO (ultrasound of his heart) to see if they could find a cause, but everything was inconclusive. Finally, they decided it was likely due to his prematurity and they said he would gradually outgrow it. Unfortunately, he did not get to come home for Thanksgiving. My family came to our house this year for Thanksgiving and cooked at our house! We went and visited Noah after we ate! Finally, on 12/2, they decided to let Noah come home with a heart monitor since he kept having the episodes occasionally. yay!!! Finally everyone was home together, which was a huge relief!! Having 2 boys at home and 1 in the hospital was definitely the hardest time.
Noah was discharged on a Friday, which was great because we had the weekend to adjust to having all 3 boys home before RJ had to go back to work! Having 3 babies at home actually wasn't THAT much different than 2.....just slightly more time consuming! Initially, we both got up in the middle of the night for all feedings (usually every 4 hours, so only once during the night and once early in the morning!). Eventually, we learned how to "prop bottles" and were able to tackle feedings by ourselves! I did the night feedings and RJ did the morning feedings. RJ initially tried to come home whenever he could during the day as we adjusted to this crazy new life! Overall, I think we were doing ok-we both showered everyday, ate every meal, RJ went to work everyday, and I was able to continue pumping for the boys! Don't get me wrong, it was extremely hectic, but we were making it work!
WHEW!! This "overview" is getting long!! I'll make the rest of this brief! We've spent the past couple months perfecting our routines and finding the most efficient way of doing things! I think we've gotten things worked out pretty well, except when our routines are altered by doctors appointments or nurse visits! So far, we haven't hired anyone to help out, but when I go back to work (likely working the night shift), we will hire someone to help out when I get off work so I can sleep for a few hours.
The boys are growing like crazy! The most recent weights for the boys are: Mason-12 lbs, 5.5 oz, Cooper-10 lbs 11 oz, and Noah-11 lbs 9 oz (he was more recently than the other two-he's still the smallest). They all started smiling responsively right before Christmas-we counted 12/23 as the first smile for all 3 of them. Mason was the first to roll over, on January 15th, then Noah rolled over the following day, January 16th. Cooper waited until he had an audience and rolled over on January 21st. Considering they were 6 weeks early, they are right on par developmentally! They are still small for their age, but they are catching up-I think they are all on the growth charts now, instead of being negative! They are really starting to develop their own personalities and are so entertaining! I'll elaborate more on each of their personalities later!
OK......I'm going to end there for now-I will try to start posting weekly now, with updates only, not a HUGE post every time! I'll also work on adding some pictures and/or videos this week!
