triplet pregnancy

Preeclampsia

~ flossie0808 ~ Leave a comment

The word preeclampsia always described a condition I had never even considered happening to me.  It was something that others had and told their stories of horror. So when I heard to word uttered by my doctor yesterday I was not too thrilled.  Had another check up (now a weekly get together – ‘how are you?’ ‘fine’ ‘any questions’ ‘no’).  I am so used to hearing everything is great that I just thought this appointment would be the same.

‘Unfortunately we will have to send you down to the day ward for more checks.’  Sorry!  I have been up since 1.30am (pregnancy insomnia).  Do we really need to do this?  My poor mother’s mind started to race – anniversary weekend with her husband vs hospital with daughter.  Not great timing!

I, of course, like any other with an internet enabled phone started googling like mad.  It turned out i had every symptom ticked by the time we got to the day ward.  Funnily I didn’t panic or start to get nervous about the situation – I just knew i wasn’t ready to meet my triplets.  The bag hasn’t been packed, not one baby grow has been washed!  So apart from high blood pressure, protein in my urine, i started to believe i had nausea, blindness etc etc…..

The first thing they do in the day ward is check your blood pressure again – mine was normal.  The second is another urine sample – mine was normal.  Thirdly a blood test to confirm and yes mine was normal.  So after a day of hanging around the panic is over and i am back to having normal complaints.

Last Friday I managed to catch a documentary about having triplets.  Probably not advisable when pregnant with triplets but I couldn’t help it.  Once committed I had to watch to the end.  But it made me realise that I am blessed.  These girls had all sorts of problems to contend with and yes this is a high risk pregnancy.  I have had nothing serious happen and yesterday was only a blip.  The babies are flying, I’m still able to carry my son let alone walk and we are nearly there.

Dear body, now is not the time to fail me!

~ flossie0808 ~ Leave a comment

Four weeks to go – yip skip!!!!

The triplets are doing amazing.  Had a check up a few days ago (now on weekly visits) and each one is growing at the same pace as a singleton.  So at nearly 30 weeks, each weighed approximately 3.5 pounds – incredible.  Based on this rough estimate I am now carrying a lot of baby, placenta, fluid etc etc!!!!!!!!

It goes without saying that as a normal female I generally will notice a couple of pounds up on the scales.  Usually you have the dreaded facing of music on a Monday morning and new focus for the week ahead.  This would include plenty of egg whites, leafy greens, bowls of porridge and a lot of exercise planned for the week – how far you get with this plan varies!  However, when the extra weight is due to pregnancy with triplets all you can do is celebrate knowing how much they are thriving, put your feet up and have an extra couple of chips.  I seem to have the celebrating down, the extra food – no problem but the feet up is not easy!  As you know, I have a beautiful 15 month old boy who still needs ‘Mama’ to pick him up, carry him and play.  For the last few weeks I have struggled along with some success but now I am stuck!  My back has gone on strike.  Sciatica pain – if you have ever had it you will never forget it.  The shooting pain travels down from your glute through the leg.  Oh my god it hurts!!!!!! So now I’m a bit of a hot mess – pelvis and back are generally required for daily life.

So this is where the breaking of the bank begins.  All hands on deck to bring me through to full term with triplets (34 weeks).  I have hired enough help to mind an army and will address the cash flow another day.  I have also discovered that anyone wishing to have children on their own must have a good support network in place.  It is true what they say – it takes a village to raise a child.  So I am very grateful for my village!  Offers of help have come from all angles and I feel very lucky to have it.

My little boy has been pretty good about the whole situation (lots of different minders) but recently has started acting out on frustration.  He is a good-natured boy who has a very contented personality.  I can tell that he is getting frustrated with me though.  I have been hit, bitten and head butted.  Now, I know this is very normal behavior for his age and thankfully he doesn’t act out with anyone else.  I have tried the ‘gentle gentle’, the taking of hand and saying ‘no!’ and now i am on to ignoring – I’m going to see if this works.  This morning was pretty bad….. I did the usually ‘will we say good morning to the babies’ and straight away he said ‘no’ and started head butting my stomach.  Of course, no harm was done to any of us but it was a very physical response and something I will need to be mindful of in the future.  I don’t think we give our kids enough credit for our perceptive they are.  Change is coming and as we all know – no one, especially children, like change.

Triplets all weigh a whopping 1lb 5oz!

~ flossie0808 ~ Leave a comment

Had my usual bi-weekly scan yesterday to check how the babies are doing. That’s the great part of a triplet pregnancy – every couple of weeks you get to check in and see how they are all doing. They are all exactly where a singleton would be at this stage and doing really well.

Unfortunately, I am now starting to feel the aches and pains of this pregnancy in a way I hadn’t considered! I had a very minor fall over the weekend while carrying my son. As a result, my pelvis is now acting up. Walking and sitting are not easy and the pain is leaving me very immobile. I know others have had pelvic issues in pregnancy but never crossed my mind what it actually meant. By Saturday evening I couldn’t walk – I was over at a friend’s house. When it was time to say goodbye I got up and the pain was horrific. It’s like you have been cut in two internally. Very sore and every step takes all will to get through. Got a bit of a fright as I had no idea how to get my son to bed (up a number of flights of stairs). Thankfully with a bit of assistance from a friend of mine, I was able to get him sorted. Carrying a little boy who weighs about 12kg is not easy anymore. As I am on my own this is a vulnerability that I need to address.   It’s funny, I’m a very independent person and have a strong will but on this occasion I need to get help.   My next step is to find someone to help at the weekends.

Seems my body is telling me to slow down. Doing the normal activity – park with son, food shop, errands etc are just too much. With only 10 weeks to go this isn’t the worst situation to be in. What would be way worse is if I do something that forces bed rest! Then I would be in serious trouble!

But today is a good day! I am blessed to have an incredibly supportive mother. My little boy isn’t sleeping too well at the moment (think its teeth). As a result I’m not sleeping at all! So off he went yesterday on a mini holiday with his Grandparents. Meanwhile, I got a great night’s sleep and have another night to look forward to. Sleep makes everything feel better!

Edging closer to D day!

~ flossie0808 ~ Leave a comment

Now 22 weeks and getting so excited. Not a thing has been done in the house to prepare for my three new delights but all will be ready by the time 34 weeks comes along. (I hope!)
Had another check up on Tuesday and everything is going great. They now each measure approximately 16 ounces. Of course, this doesn’t mean much to me but the delight on my doctors face gave me great comfort. He reckons the triplets are all progressing really well.
Still suffering with tiredness but finishing work very soon so that should help. Went to yoga last night and feeling it today in my pelvis. I’m just really stiff this pregnancy – think I might try some one on one yoga and see if I can get some good stretches incorporated into my programme. Triplet pregnancy is completely different to carrying a single baby. The aches and pains are very tough. I’m just not able to do the exercise I did when carrying my son. Even though the end was most definitely a waddle, I was out walking every day to keep moving. The lesson learnt is how much I value my fitness and being able to exercise.
It will be challenge when I next step foot into the gym to loose all the weight and get fit again. But I think that I will relish the challenge (and the head space from 4 little ones).
So roll on the next 12 weeks and please be fast! I want to meet all my ones!