Yesterday at 4:13 and 4:15pm we had 3 beautiful babies that came in to the world screaming. Due to Kyra's increasing blood pressure over the night on Wednesday, the decision was made to perform the C section yesterday afternoon to avoid the potential for eclampsia in mom or injury to the babies.
All the babies were a good size, baby A was 3lbs 4oz, baby C was still a bit small at 2lbs 14oz, and baby B at 3lbs 6oz. They were admitted to the NICU for obversation and some minor interventions; baby C is on CPAP (nasal cannula that provide positive pressure to prompt them to breath), the rest are on room air.
I think we're so fortunate to have things go so well for us, especially when triplet pregnancies can involve so much complication. I'm off to the hospital to hold some babies!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Week 31 And More Waiting
We've reached week 31 and week 3 of Kyra's hospital capitivity; she's definately ready to come home. There aren't many new developments other then more waiting, but we did receive news that there would be no going home for Kyra, she was there for the duration of the pregnancy due to the potential for things to go bad quickly. I'm glad she's there for the health of our children, but I miss having my wife at home after so many weeks.
We've also been told that we have a maximum of 3 more weeks before an elective C-section, provided that the growth scan this coming Friday is as expected. As I mentioned before, if baby C doesn't grow enough, they'll perform the C-section to benefit his health as he's just not getting the nutrients he needs despite all of them having their own placenta.
Time for more waiting!
We've also been told that we have a maximum of 3 more weeks before an elective C-section, provided that the growth scan this coming Friday is as expected. As I mentioned before, if baby C doesn't grow enough, they'll perform the C-section to benefit his health as he's just not getting the nutrients he needs despite all of them having their own placenta.
Time for more waiting!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Preeclampsia and Week 29
It's been a while since I've had the chance to blog anything due to our weeks being filled with constant activity related to the babies and selling our house. Kyra did really well until large amounts of protein started showing up in her urine (Kidneys aren't filtering well) and her BP was beginning to climb - in the 140/90 range when she was previously normotensive.
The decision was made by the team that she should be admitted for a 24 hour urine collection to further assess her proteinuria (protein in the urine) and do some ultrasounds on the triplets. Her initial 24 protein count was 1.2 grams, if memory serves me correctly mild pre eclampsia is >300 with a change in blood pressure. Her repeat a few days later was much better at only 700mg, but she still got a ticket to stay in the hospital for observation, which makes me feel better knowing the babies will be more closely monitored.
Since her admission she has been on bedrest, fluid/cord flow ultrasounds twice a week and growth scans every 3 weeks. The initial growth scan showed baby C 7 ounces smaller then A and B, which wasn't an immediate concern to the OB team, but if he shows no or little growth at the next scan a C section will follow rather quickly. They are moving and practicing their breathing as they should be - it's definately cool to see!
Now it's just a game of hurry up and wait.
The decision was made by the team that she should be admitted for a 24 hour urine collection to further assess her proteinuria (protein in the urine) and do some ultrasounds on the triplets. Her initial 24 protein count was 1.2 grams, if memory serves me correctly mild pre eclampsia is >300 with a change in blood pressure. Her repeat a few days later was much better at only 700mg, but she still got a ticket to stay in the hospital for observation, which makes me feel better knowing the babies will be more closely monitored.
Since her admission she has been on bedrest, fluid/cord flow ultrasounds twice a week and growth scans every 3 weeks. The initial growth scan showed baby C 7 ounces smaller then A and B, which wasn't an immediate concern to the OB team, but if he shows no or little growth at the next scan a C section will follow rather quickly. They are moving and practicing their breathing as they should be - it's definately cool to see!
Now it's just a game of hurry up and wait.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Fetal Movement at Week 23
Today was the start of week 23 for our babies, and we got a little surprise of palpable movement through Kyra's abdominal wall. While I think she has been feeling light fetal movement that's often called fluttering since week 18-19, this is the first time that there is no mistaking it. It was pretty awesome to feel, it really makes you realize that there's little people in there growing day by day, I sometimes forget that when I just see little (but cute) images on U/S.
Kyra contines to do well with her blood pressure and cerivcal length, I think the fact that she's resting whever possible is really helping out. Hopefully things will continue to go well for us and our babies.
Kyra contines to do well with her blood pressure and cerivcal length, I think the fact that she's resting whever possible is really helping out. Hopefully things will continue to go well for us and our babies.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Week 20 Repeat Anatomy Scan
Last Wednesday we went for our repeat anatomy scan. The reason it was repeated wasn't due to any abnormality, but rather due to the early anatomy scan done at week 17. The fetal monitoring center initially did first anatomy can a week to two weeks early in the event there was something visibily wrong with the babies, then it would give us more time to selectively reduce if we chose.
The repeat scan looked great, all the babies were active and with good heart beats. Unfortunately, for a proud dad like myself, I don't get any of those nice U/S pictures that singleton fathers do because of the crowded house in that uterus of Kyra's. Never the less, we do get some neat, seemingly random shots of head, hands, feet, etc. The one below is of baby "A" scrunched up with his head on the left and legs on the right, the arrow pointing to his boy parts (the U/S tech did that, not me).
Kyra looks great, she really appears pregnant in the last couple weeks, and has had some trouble sleeping due to hip pain. We went and bought a "Snoogle" and that seemed to really help. She eats very small meals and drinks plenty of water which seems to help her not get nauseous at all.
We're coming up on Week 22 this Thursday, and Kyra's cerival length continues to measure more then what they would be happy with. With every passing week and no cervical changes I feel better about healthy triplets. It's still hard for me to be convinced healthy triplets arrive in this world every day when I see a 23 week singleton that received CPR for several minutes, Epi, and was intubated like I did last week. Kyra's doing an awesome job looking after herself, so I hope better for mine.
The repeat scan looked great, all the babies were active and with good heart beats. Unfortunately, for a proud dad like myself, I don't get any of those nice U/S pictures that singleton fathers do because of the crowded house in that uterus of Kyra's. Never the less, we do get some neat, seemingly random shots of head, hands, feet, etc. The one below is of baby "A" scrunched up with his head on the left and legs on the right, the arrow pointing to his boy parts (the U/S tech did that, not me).
Kyra looks great, she really appears pregnant in the last couple weeks, and has had some trouble sleeping due to hip pain. We went and bought a "Snoogle" and that seemed to really help. She eats very small meals and drinks plenty of water which seems to help her not get nauseous at all.
We're coming up on Week 22 this Thursday, and Kyra's cerival length continues to measure more then what they would be happy with. With every passing week and no cervical changes I feel better about healthy triplets. It's still hard for me to be convinced healthy triplets arrive in this world every day when I see a 23 week singleton that received CPR for several minutes, Epi, and was intubated like I did last week. Kyra's doing an awesome job looking after herself, so I hope better for mine.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Week 18/19
Kyra just went for yet another weekly OB appointment and things continue to go well (knock on wood). The clinic has been checking her cervical length every week for the past 3 weeks to ensure there's no thinning which would signify premature labor. Her length has been >4 cm, which our clinic (and most others) consider normal for the second trimester. I wasn't able to go to this weeks appointment, but Kyra tells me the babies are doing well on U/S; they're all quite active with good heart beats.
As far as momma, she's been having a bit more difficulty. A couple weeks ago she began to have a lot of groin pain which seems to have subsided in recent days. Her "baby bump" has continued to get noticably larger with the occasional Braxton-Hicks contraction, which are normally seen in the second trimester and thought of as practice contractions. She's had a bit more difficulty getting around, bending over, and shortness of breath with exertion, which I'm sure will get worse in the coming weeks.
As far as momma, she's been having a bit more difficulty. A couple weeks ago she began to have a lot of groin pain which seems to have subsided in recent days. Her "baby bump" has continued to get noticably larger with the occasional Braxton-Hicks contraction, which are normally seen in the second trimester and thought of as practice contractions. She's had a bit more difficulty getting around, bending over, and shortness of breath with exertion, which I'm sure will get worse in the coming weeks.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Big News from the Anatomy Scan
Our anatomy week 18 anatomy scan was done on June 1st, which is a bit early, but they wanted to do that since our initial genetic testing wasn't early enough due to triplets. It took 3 hours for all the triplets, and they examined very fine details of each one to rule out defects and genetic problems.
Obviously the brain was examined to make sure all of it was present, they looked for what appears as a dark spot in the lower brain which is known as the cavum septi pellucidi which is where part of the brain known as the corpus callosum will form. They remeasured the nuchal thickness again, checked lateral ventricles, and a couple other structures. Things like humeral lengths and 5th digit (finger) bone formation were checked to help rule out Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome); the upper lip and palate were checked for a clef with is often present in Trisomy 13. The vertabrae were also examined to rule out a neural tube defect such as spina bifida. There was much more done, but those are the main things I can recall from the scan.
When we first found out Kyra was pregnant, we weren't going to find out the sex of the baby, however, since triplets were in our future we decided we would for planning purposes. One of the exciting parts of the scan was checking the sex, it didn't look like much, but you could definately tell a boy from a girl. Kyra and I were happy to find out we were having 2 boys and a girl, what a great mix, now we can start to buy pink and blue stuff instead of yellow and green all the time!
So everything seems to be going well right now, they're watching Kyra's cervical length until week 23, it looks normal so far. Once we get to week 23-24 (viability) I'll feel a bit better, then when we reach week 28 I'll feel a lot better, but ultimately my goal is for them to stay put until week 32.
Obviously the brain was examined to make sure all of it was present, they looked for what appears as a dark spot in the lower brain which is known as the cavum septi pellucidi which is where part of the brain known as the corpus callosum will form. They remeasured the nuchal thickness again, checked lateral ventricles, and a couple other structures. Things like humeral lengths and 5th digit (finger) bone formation were checked to help rule out Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome); the upper lip and palate were checked for a clef with is often present in Trisomy 13. The vertabrae were also examined to rule out a neural tube defect such as spina bifida. There was much more done, but those are the main things I can recall from the scan.
When we first found out Kyra was pregnant, we weren't going to find out the sex of the baby, however, since triplets were in our future we decided we would for planning purposes. One of the exciting parts of the scan was checking the sex, it didn't look like much, but you could definately tell a boy from a girl. Kyra and I were happy to find out we were having 2 boys and a girl, what a great mix, now we can start to buy pink and blue stuff instead of yellow and green all the time!
So everything seems to be going well right now, they're watching Kyra's cervical length until week 23, it looks normal so far. Once we get to week 23-24 (viability) I'll feel a bit better, then when we reach week 28 I'll feel a lot better, but ultimately my goal is for them to stay put until week 32.
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