I was pregnant with identical triplets
and suffered from atrocious morning
sickness. By my 15th week, I was just
becoming adjusted to the idea that we
had triplets and was beginning to feel
better. I had just recently begun to
show and went out to the bank to run
an errand. I knew I had a partial
placenta previa so when I felt a gush
of fluid at the bank, I thought -- oh
no, it's more blood. When I went to
the bathroom to check, it was worse -
the fluid was clear. I knew that my
membranes had ruptured and I panicked.
My husband was traveling on business
at the time so I was alone. I drove
straight to the Emergency Room,
shaking - the whole time wondering if
this was the end. The admitting nurse
was very kind and they moved me to the
head of the line right away. Soon I
was up in Labor & Delivery Triage.
They tested with the nitrate strip -
yes, it was amniotic fluid. I called a
friend to be with me. Soon the
ultrasound arrived and they checked -
Baby A had lost almost all her fluid.
My AFI was a 3. I would be admitted
immediately to the hospital.
The next few hours were filled with
scary stories, not the least of which
was that they gave me, max, a 10-12%
chance of continuing on with the
pregnancy. The next two weeks would
tell - most people, they said, go into
labor within a few days, the rest
within a few weeks. They said they
might deliver baby A and try to keep
the other two in, though sometimes
that didn't work. Baby A could die in
utero and cause me to miscarry the
rest of the pregnancy. There was a
high liklihood of infection. Also if I
made it to that "gray zone" of
prematurity (23-25 weeks) and then
went into labor, the rate of
disabilities would be high. They said
induction was an option as was
termination of the pregnancy up until
that point of viability. All I knew
was, I was not yet in labor, so I
would see how things went.
The first two days in the hospital, I
was on the postpartum floor because
the antepartum rooms were full. I
could hear babies crying and wondered
if mine would live. I was paranoid
about the bedrest - ate completely
horizontal and did nothing but go to
the bathroom. I took a shower after a
few days but it was very short. After
5 days, they said I could go home,
basically to wait and see. At this
point if I went into labor, there was
nothing they could do except try to
stop the other two from being born.
Here started my journey on bedrest.
Over the next 14+ weeks, I remained in
bed except to shower and use the
bathroom. By about 20 weeks, my previa
had gone but I had started
contractions so they put me on
niphedipine. More worry. They began to
see more fluid in baby A's sac but by
25 weeks, I was back to an AFI of 3. I
was regularly checked by ultrasound
and although the baby was growing up
to week 25, she stopped growing and
her sisters surpassed her.
By 28 weeks I was back in the hospital
due to bad blood levels and the lack
of fluid. I spent 10 days in the
hospital before pre-eclampsia caught
up with me. When my numbers were bad
enough, at 29w4d, my doctor
recommended a c-section both for my
pre-eclampsia and because that baby
had not grown in almost 5 weeks. She
would be better outside than in. My
peri offered me a vaginal delivery but
thanks to the niphedipine and bedrest,
my cervix had not dilated at all.
My three girls are now in the NICU.
The other two weighed 3 lbs 5 oz and 3
lbs 6 oz. My little Baby A weighed
only two pounds even. She is tiny and
her lungs are underdeveloped compared
to her sisters, so she's been on a
ventilator much longer. Her little
feet are turned in where you can see
how they were scrunched up in the
tight sac. However she is fine and the
doctors expect her to grow normally
and for her feet to straighten with a
little physical therapy. She will
always be more delicate in her lungs
than her sisters, but overall she's
doing great. I consider these girls my
miracle babies. The pregnancy was
extremely difficult but they made it
and I couldn't be more proud of my
girls.
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