Did That Seriously Just Happen??

I keep asking myself that about my summer and all the time I spent in the hospital. I now have the knees and joints of a 90-year old and can't use my back and neck muscles for very long before they get fatigued. Combine that with swollen ankles and c-section pain and I'm a hot mess!

However, it all seriously happened. Fast and furiously. I'd still be counting down until my scheduled c-section if our little Zachary hadn't caused so much commotion! :) Clark did a good post of all our excitement and today it's the triplet's one-week birthday! Lots has happened in just one week so I'm going to try and keep up with it all and document what I can.

Well, nothing can prepare you for leaving your new babies at the hospital and coming home empty handed. Although coming home after 10 weeks was pretty monumental, it felt wrong. I was admitted to the hospital so unexpectedly and have been totally consumed with this pregnancy for so long. So driving away without any babies in my belly or in their car seats....just felt wrong. Heartbreaking. Clark and my Dad had cleaned and prepped the house so it looked spic and span. I also had a gorgeous bouquet of roses on the table. I toured the house looking at all the wonderful projects Clark had completed while I was gone. Pretty amazing. All in all it was a good homecoming.

After the c-section I was totally out of it. Once my epidural wore off Clark took me down to the NICU but I couldn't keep my eyes open for more than 5-10 minutes. The nurses there were totally overloading me with information too so I didn't get much out of that first visit. We've been back everyday though and it's fun to see how quickly they change, progress, and how much more we love them everyday.

All babies were immediately put on CPAP to help them breathe right away but were taken off about 48 hours later. Little Leah wore a nasal cannula for a few days to give a little bit of oxygen to remind her to breathe. She no longer has that or her IV so the only wires stuck to her are the monitor wires and feeding tube! She has the normal preemie apnea and dips in her heart rate but she always resolves it herself. She is now big enough to wear a t-shirt and be swaddled and I think that has made her a little happier. She loves to have her binki and her hands near her face which makes me think that's how they were in utero. She's doing great and looks just like her mama! I try to do kangaroo care (skin to skin holding) with her every morning and she seems to like being close and warm with me.

Weight: 3 lbs 11 oz

She, along with the others have lost weight since arriving but are slowly gaining it back.


Grandpa Nelson




Zachary, the smallest, is feisty and doing so well! He had to be on photo therapy for a couple days because his bilirubin levels were high but those have resolved and he doesn't have to wear those terrible eye covers. I think he liked being under the light though, getting his skin all tan. The light certainly made all his hair very noticable! Boy is he hairy. He likes to stretch his legs out and is REALLY strong. He, like Leah, is just hooked up to the monitors and a feeding tube. No more IV! I felt so bad that they all had to have IV's and be poked so many times. My nurse prepping me for surgery failed on her IV twice!! The third one finally worked but seriously, it wasn't pleasant so I'm glad these guys no longer have them. Zachary likes his binki too and seems to have the sucking mechanism down. He has the least bouts of apnea and heart dips and we're always so surprised with how he's doing considering he is the smallest.

Weight: 3 lbs 5 oz





Last, but NOT least, is Caleb. Some of the same story for him. No IV but still hooked up to feeding tube and monitors. Normal preemie apneas and heart dips. Because of his weight he's able to wear real clothes and was actually taken out of the isolette to an open crib. However, he had difficulty maintaining his own body temperature so today he was put back in the isolette. That's fine with me. I want him to be nice and toasty warm. He tries with a bottle twice a day. Sometimes he's into it, other times he's so sleepy that he forgets to breathe. So depending on how alert he is dictates whether we try the bottle. He could care less about the binki and seems to be able to soothe himself well enough without it. He's very mellow and rarely cries. Just sleeps....ALOT! He eats twice as much as the other two and is doing great. So cute...and smells so good. We kangaroo'd today and he was out!

Weight: 4 lbs 8 oz





The little white thing in my shirt is called a cuddle doll. You stick them against your skin for a while and then put them close to the babies nose so they can smell their mom and dad. I smell it and can't smell anything but apparently they can! :) None of them will be coming home very soon but they are all stable for now and we are moving forward!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Leah, Zachary and Caleb, Happy Birthday to you!

I am filling in for JoSue today as she is really trying to take the day easy. This would seem like an easy task, but between all the nurses, hospital admin, and a Tornado warning it is 8pm and she is still exhausted.

Against the wishes of the countdown calendar "which had 9 days", the babies decided they had waited long enough and decided to make their grand entrance into the world on September 7th 2010.



While it was unexpected and seemed to come very fast we both we're really happy that the waiting had come to an end.

JoSue got word of the upcoming C-section at 5pm as her doctors consulted and decided that baby B's amniotic fluid was low and the discrepancies of weight between baby B and baby C had continued to grow. From there she was quickly prepped in a gown, hooked up to an IV, and wheeled down to labor and delivery. To make JoSue a little more comfortable about her backless gown I decided to wear this sweet white get up and hair piece.



The C-section was quickly started once I got in there and positioned at the top of her head. No need to have me interfering as there was 16 Doctors/RNs taking part in the big event. It was amazing to see all the people and the organization of the entire procedure. JoSue at this point had her epidural and couldn't feel anything which gives the doctor the ok to start the procedure. Our thoughts of the actual operation... it smelled like the Dentists office when they are cleaning your teeth and all JoSue wanted was the song, "When you Chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay. Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away."

The babies all came out in perfect order as we had hoped. Leah Marie,formally known as "Baby A" or "Our baby girl" was born first at 7:44 pm. She measured 3 lbs. 15 ounces and 15 inches long.



Next came our little Brian Zachary, formally known as "Baby B", "Zach" or "Get off me Caleb I am getting frickin' squished" was born at 7:45 pm. He measured 3 lbs. 5 ounces and 16 inches long.



Finally came the king of the Uterus, formally known "Baby C", "Fatty McFat Fat" or "Bronco get the scholarship ready for BYU's next O-Line sensation" was born at 7:46 pm. He measured 4 lbs. 12 ounces and is 17 inches long.



All babies are down in the NICU together and are doing well. Their body temperatures, heart beats, and breathing are all being monitored. They seem to be progressing in there. Zachary is having a little harder time since he is so much smaller, but no major worries as of right now.





We have yet to feel like parents because we are upstairs while our babies are downstairs being feed and changed by other people but know that will change soon enough.

On a side note, I did change my first diapers today. So as of right now, the count is as follows and I am pretty sure I am winning!

Clark - 3
JoSue - 0

10 DAYS!

10 days..........

14 DAYS!!

I'm hesitant to start this countdown because I'm such a pessimist. I feel like the doctor is going to say he randomly has emergency surgeries that day and can't get to me or he wants me to go just a couple more days..... However, the doctors and I have planned a c-section date for 9/16/2010, two weeks from today! That would make me 34 weeks. Unless I go past 36, the babies will still need to spend some time in the NICU so we are expecting that.

We are ready though. Two weeks seems bearable considering how long I've been here. I'm merely just going through the actions now and can't remember one day from the next. Feeling all the discomforts of a 9-month pregnant lady. Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks....

Five Years!

Well, I'm still here.

Still pregnant.

Still developing stretch marks by the second.

But, the babies are growing and doing well. Their little heart beats are strong every day and they show excitement and acceleration when I have a contraction. Hopefully they will be good and strong when they come out too. The doctor will not schedule a c-section until I'm 34 weeks so unless something happens, we're in this for the next three weeks. Eternity. Seriously.

I'm 31 weeks today and reached another goal on my white board. Today is mine and Clark's five year anniversary! Last year for our anniversary we had just drove into Dallas with our moving truck and sat down to some dinner. Never would've guessed we'd be here! Before I was admitted to the hospital, I was working on this REALLY great blog book for our first five years and had about 50 percent of it done. Unfortunately I could only work on it on the home computer so who knows when it will ever get done. It's going to be great though.

Yesterday I had a heart to heart with my doctor (during which I found out he charges for an office visit everyday when he comes over here...what?). I recently tested positive for Gestational Diabetes. I was devastated. It was just one more thing to add to my long list of things I couldn't do. In this case, things I couldn't eat. Eating has become hard enough and now having to restrict the only foods that are appealing and high in calories (carbs and sugar), I've been feeling pretty down. I still have to keep my calories up somehow because while I was in the first few days of diabetes land, I lost three pounds. I told him I need some more freedom for sanity reasons because the diabetes just might be the end of me here in this hospital bed. He is also a diabetic so I don't know how empathic he was but he did give me daily showering privileges and a wheelchair ride every other day. Exciting huh? Well, it'll do for now and hopefully get me through this next week. When I met with him a long, long time ago for our first visit he said our goal was 32 weeks. Now I'm learning he wants any extra day we can get beyond that. Then, at one point and I'm not kidding, he actually nodded off while I was talking. Eyes closed, mouth open and everything. Apparently I've gotten more boring since arriving here!

Along with diabetes comes blood sugar checks. I have to get poked in the finger four times per day to make sure my blood sugar is within normal levels. Even having an apple juice or a couple crackers can send me up and over my limit. I've started eating LOTS of cheese, peanut butter, and sugar free Hawaiian punch! Once the nurse leaves for the night, I stick a straw in my huge gallon of Hawaiian punch and gulp down as much as I can. Even though there isn't any sugar in it, boy does it satisfy my craving for sweets! Weird. Finding hospital foods to eat that are high in calories but low in carbs is quite the task. I have to beg the kitchen to just send up a breakfast sandwich and promise them I won't eat the bread...just the eggs and meat. Usually they won't and lots of times I have to get the dietitian to call them. However, I've made friends with one of the kitchen workers who sends up what I want. His name is Kaleel. :) The hard part about GD is that I know it will resolve once the babies come. So my will to go further in this pregnancy is waning each day. We are almost there though.

I have over 10 pounds of baby going on but things still seem to be stable. Baby B has a little less amniotic fluid than the other two but unless it gets worse, there is no reason for delivery.

Here are the most recent weights. I think they are a little overestimated but I'm happy with seeing everybody over three pounds!

Baby A: 3 lbs
Baby B: 3 lbs 2 oz
Baby C: 4 lbs 2 oz

This picture of a picture is of Baby A. We haven't been able to get a profile of her in a while and it's just perfect! Unfortunately no scanner, but it'll do.



Also, here is our anniversary wheelchair ride. Clark ran fast enough that we made it down the street and around the corner in 20 minutes! :) Not really. But he did wheel me around and now is sound asleep on the couch in our room. Love him.

30 Weeks Tomorrow!

Setting goals in this pregnancy has felt a lot like New Years. There is all this anticipation and build-up. Then the time arrives and you realize you just have to keep on going. I never did like that holiday. :)

However, I am happy to have finally made it into the thirties. Every extra day is super important but we are feeling much better about things.

After my birthday weekend I continued to have contractions regularly (every 5-7 minutes) so my perinatologist came in to check things out. Sure enough, although the contractions don't hurt, they are decreasing the length of my cervix slowly. I was down to 6mm. Barely any cervix and my bag of water for Baby A has started to bulge. As a result, I was started on a medication called Indocin which is actually a treatment in premature babies to help close their heart valves. In my case, it apparently helps by shrinking the bag of water and allowing the cervix to close again. This is our hope. Because the medication can affect the babies if used long term (don't want those valves closing when they shouldn't), doctors recommend only taking the meds for 48 hours no more than twice in a pregnancy.

We survived another week though and the peri was back yesterday to check things out again. As before, contractions are continuing to thin me out but my cervix was back up to 9mm. The bag of water is not bulging. We feel so blessed and grateful that the medication worked! Basically, I could make it a couple more weeks or things could change very soon. We're prepared for anything but certainly want more time!

The babies seem to still be growing at a consistent rate which is important in a multiples pregnancy. This was my most painful ultrasound because my skin is so stretched now and doc had a difficult time getting the pictures he needed. They are pretty mangled and mixed up in there with heads and body parts pretty deep in my abdomen. He got what he needed though and felt these weights were fairly accurate.

Baby A: 2 lbs 10 oz
Baby B: 2 lbs 13 oz
Baby C: 3 lbs 8 oz

Ya, we know. Baby C is going to be a chunk compared to the others. I just hope they all get out of the micro-preemie range soon!

Being on bedrest has really made me long for Christmas and camping/hiking/mountain air. Weird combination but I can't take responsibility for my needs at this point. Seven weeks in the hospital on Friday and let me tell you, daytime television isn't all it is cracked up to be. :) Sorry no pics. I feel like my nose has grown two sizes and my stretch marks are definitely not something to get excited about.

Birthday and 28 Weeks!

Well, one of my countdowns reached zero this week! It was my birthday on Thursday and a VERY exciting day. My mom flew in from Idaho and walked through the door with cupcakes in hand. Her and Clark had been planning for a surprise. Although I knew he was up to something......I would've never guessed! However, I can see people's feet under the room curtain before I see their face and I said, "Are those my Mom's shoes??" Awesome surprise. So even though I hate ANY and ALL pictures of me at this point, I figured I better document.

I had several gifts to open, cards to read from members of my church and nieces and nephews, balloons to enjoy, phone calls to answer, and even a song and cake from the nurses! One of the gifts from my Mom was my 'large-and-in-charge pants.' They are so comfortable and I laugh every time I think about how big they are. Clark, of course, enjoyed some fat belly laughing which made the pants even better.



We just hung out all day and I couldn't believe what a big secret they kept from me. Amidst the excitement, I was contracting regularly so I had to take the phone off the hook and get a shot to calm things down. Bummer. Mom painted my toenails and braided my hair. The picture above is second day, french braid frizz. Love it.



Clark just loves his surprises so he had a couple others up his sleeve for me. To start out, he painted our bathroom and closet. He also did some decorative trim around our master bedroom window and finally put some pictures up on the walls in our bedroom and the nursery. But the big project was his custom-made closet he did from scratch! This is no Ikea purchase people. SO IMPRESSIVE. I love it!





So even though I spent my birthday here, it ended up being a pretty good one! Ok enough about me, me, me! Now for the baby update.

Baby A: 2 lbs 4 oz
Baby B: 2 lbs 4 oz
Baby C: 3 lbs

The other two are lagging behind a bit but still growing, which is most important. My cervix is still 19mm and nothing seemed to have changed Thursday when I had my appointment. However, I've been having contractions for the past 48 hours every 5 to 7 minutes. Doc isn't treating them but instead just waiting for any changes in how my contractions feel. Pretty confusing process and the nurses get pretty annoyed.

We'll hit 29 weeks(a big milestone) and 6 weeks in the hospital this weekend. Yikes!