September 2009 - I first found out I was pregnant on September 3, 2009 after taking 3 home pregnancy tests (I had to be sure!). I scheduled my first appointment with my OB/GYN for September 8th. I assumed the appointment would be more in depth, but instead they only did ANOTHER pregnancy test. She scheduled an ultrasound for September 22nd. Normally I would not be able to get an ultrasound so early in the pregnancy, but she said she would code it as "viability" so insurance would pay for it. So, there we are on September 22nd getting our first ultrasound. The tech says to me, "Were you using fertility drugs?" It didn't even occur to me why she would ask such a question, so I just said, "No." She quickly responded with, "Well, you're pregnant with triplets." Boom - just like that. I felt like I had been hit by a MAC truck. The first image that came into my head was a very large stroller. (As an aside, you have to understand that I hate strollers, and I think they should be banned from the mall. Now, here I come with the largest stroller ever. One word - Karma) I immediately burst into tears, and Robin burst out laughing. And, just like that the ultrasound was over. We were taken to a different room where a doctor came in to "answer any questions we might have." We were told that this is a high risk pregnancy, and they would not be able to see me. I was referred to Dr. Heyborne, a perinatologist, at Swedish hospital. The next couple of days were a blur. I was overwhelmed with emotions and concerns.
I first saw Dr. Heyborne on September 29th. One of my first questions for Dr. Heyborne was whether I would be able to go on the cruise that we had already booked for November. He responded with, "Did you buy travel insurance?" Of course, we hadn't. We booked the cruise in June 2009. We knew we were trying to get pregnant, but we didn't foresee triplets. Every visit I always asked if I would be able to go on the cruise.
October 2009 - I had another ultrasound on October 14th.
I continued to be seen by Dr. Heyborne every two weeks.
November 2009 - Time to cruise! During my 17th and 18th weeks of pregnancy, Robin and I took what promises to be our last great big vacation for several years. We cruised for 10 nights. We left Miami and stopped in Labadee, Haiti; Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica and Grand Cayman. It was amazing. Looking back, I'm surprised that Dr. Heyborne let me go. I can now see how many complications could have arisen. Luckily - none did.
January 2010 - I had my first of three (how fitting!) baby showers on January 2nd. It was thrown by my co-workers. On January 16th, I had a baby shower with my family. Then, on January 30th I had a baby shower with all of my close friends.
February 2010 - I decided to start my maternity leave effective February 1st. I was starting to get very tired and needed some time to finish the nursery while I still could! On February 2nd, I started to leak fluid. I called the doctor, and went in for an ultrasound on February 3rd. My cervix was still very long, but it appeared that one of the amniotic sacs may have ruptured. It was hard to tell, so they told me to come back the next day. On February 4th, I went back for another ultrasound, and I didn't leave the hospital until February 19th. I was admitted on the 4th because it appeared that Baby C's sac had broken. Aside from the great food (I'm serious!), life in the hospital was horrible. I had to be monitored three times a day for one hour each time. Now, that may not seem so bad, but it takes a long time to find three heartbeats. And, it's hard to sit still with an aching back for that long. On Valentine's Day, I started to bleed pretty heavily. The nurse didn't really listen to me, which in the end made me happy because I did not want Valentine's babies. On Monday February 15th, Dr. Heyborne delivered my three little girls at 29 weeks, 6 days. Katherine Dorothy - 2lbs 11oz, Margaret Elizabeth - 2lbs 9oz and Isabella Josephine - 3lbs 1oz. Their official due date wasn't until April 27th.
This picture was taken February 14th at 29 weeks, 5 days. I had no idea it would be my last "belly" picture and that my girls would arrive the next day.
The birth announcement:
Glad to see you're blogging! The girls are gorgeous! And I saw Dr Heyborne as well for my daughter's pregnancy!
ReplyDeleteLOVE!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to share through a blog, so you don't need to retell the same story over and over hehehe...
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, you've made a written gift for your babies and you might helped others who are expecting twins or triplets. When I was pregnant I was even scolded by my Ob/gyn when I asked him why I was so tired, uneasy to sit and it didn't feel the same with the first pregnancy. I couldn't eat, had to throw out after eating (and it was going on throughout the pregnancy, except for eating ripe mangoes). It turned out that I have twins. I don't really remember when was we first knew it, perhaps almost twenty weeks of pregnancy.
I waited for 5 days in the hospital and it was already between 36/37 weeks of pregnancy. I can imagine how hard it was for more than 10 days of bed rest. Good that it is all turned out well, enjoy your days with those beautiful baby girls. Time flies, soon you'll be amazed of how quick they grow up...