The Greatest Day Ever....

Flowers from my parents

Well, much as happened in the past weeks since my last post. So I guess I'll start where I left off Week 27.

I had an Ultra Sound done on the Doppler flow on the Friday May 6th and unfortunately the results were not as great as they had been in the past on our little Baby A. The readings were now 'absent' so although this meant the baby was still getting nutrients sometimes it also meant that sometimes the baby wasn't. We didn't hit any panic buttons yet but our Dr. decided it was time to step up the monitoring. She had us go in on the Sunday for another Ultra Sound to see where things were at. So that Sunday morning we awoke and nervously got ready for our appointment. Todd surprised me and presented me with an incredibly thoughtful Mothers Day Card and some very lovely gifts. One of which was a silver pendant for the charm bracelet he had given me on Valentines. The pendant was of a tiny silver baby bassinet.... my very first Mothers Day gift!

We then headed out for our Ultra Sound.  Unfortunately the news was not good. The flow was now showing 'intermittent reverse' for Baby A and on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the worst.....that's a 4! The doctors didn't waste anytime. I was quickly admitted and then set up for another Ultra Sound later that evening. Todd went home to gather some things for me and we anxiously waited for the evening and our next scan. Thankfully the next scan showed better results ( a 3 out of 5) but I definitely wasn't going home any time soon as I would now need to be monitored daily (at a minimum) so I was officially admitted on Mothers Day, day one of Week 27.

On top of this Todd and I had to decide on what the 'plan' would be if any of the Ultra Sounds showed any hint of 'reverse' flow. Options were limited and for us there really was only one option. Todd and I would do whatever we could to bring all of these babies that we had waited so very long for, into the world. We had to really believe and have faith that everything was going to be ok with our babies and we knew that whatever happened we would get through it all together, that we would find strength in each other just like we had so many times before. If the flow did end up going 'reverse' everyone would be delivered immediately we were not going to take chances with any of these precious babies. After that the survival of our triplets would then be in the hands of a higher power and of course the amazing Doctors and Nurses at Children's Hospital.
We had to meet with one of the Neonatologists and discuss what delivery of these three babies would look like at 27 weeks.

So I made it through two solid weeks in the hospital and surprisingly I hadn't really started to become all that bored. I caught up on some reading, watched the entire four seasons of Mad Men, had lovely visits with my friends and family and spent about 2 to 3 hours a day with the babies being hooked up and monitored. Of course Todd came to visit me every day and my OBGYN even treated me to an in room pedicure to help me pass the time.  I also had a few 'day passes' that allowed me to get out of the hospital for a few hours every few days (of course I made sure that theses passes coincided with the Stanley Cup Playoff games). The toughest part were the nights. They were really hard. That's when all the real worries decided to come to my mind for a visit. It was tough not being with Todd, already impossible to sleep since I was getting larger by the moment and the fact that I wasn't in my own bed didn't help. It seemed just when I was getting my best few hours of sleep a nurse would knock on my door or breakfast would arrive (before 8:00am every day). Oh speaking of hospital food, the dinners were not pleasant, lots of what I like to call 'Mystery Meet' so thank you to everyone who brought me dinner and not to mention all the lovely treats; it was shear delight.

Mystery Meat??

Visit from the ladies

Saturday May 21st I woke up and had my usual daily testing done and then I was to be free for the day. Todd's parents picked me up and the four of us went out for lunch. Todd and I then went home, I slept in my own bed for a while and then awoke to watch the hockey game. At about 9:00 that night I started to feel incredibly uncomfortable it was as though Baby A was doing somersaults on my bladder. Hard to describe it any other way....it was just so different from anything else I had felt. About 5 minutes after that I went to go to the washroom and apparently my water broke. It was hard to know at the time. I just really wasn't sure what had happened. I know that sounds crazy but when you drink as much water as I had been drinking and when you have a baby whom literally lives on your bladder not to mention you have never been pregnant before; it's hard to really know what's going on.

So we headed back to the hospital (time to go anyway). I told Todd to drop me off and that I would call him if he needed to come back (thankfully we only live 14 blocks away). The nurses did the usual evening testing and all heartbeats were coming up strong and regular, nothing out of the ordinary. It was surmised that perhaps I had just lost control of my bladder?? Hmmm, I wasn't convinced.

About an hour later I called the nurse back in, I was having what I believed to be contractions approximately 5 minutes apart.  A few more tests and a visit from the on call Obstetrician and it was determined that yes some of my membranes had ruptured (aka my water broke) and that I was in fact in labour.  The babies wanted out and we weren't going to stop them. I had made it to 29 weeks exactly!   It was now about 3:00AM; I made the phone call to Todd and then I was quickly transported down to the surgical suites. There was some brief debate as to whether they would wait until 7:00AM when there would be more staff in the hospital but one final check from the OBGYN and it was determined there was no time to wait. I couldn't help but hear the sense of urgency in the doctors voice. The next two hours were so intense and so scary! Everything happened so very, very fast. I have never had major surgery before; and wasn't really sure what to expect although I had read up on it all. Todd of course was by my side the entire time. This wasn't a scenario we had prepared for, an emergency C Section at 29 weeks. In a room full of strange and unfamiliar voices and faces, we were both scared, so we just focused on each other and the belief that our three little babies that we had waited so very long for would be born healthy and that everything would be ok.

Our three precious baby GIRLS were born at 4:22, 4:24 and 4:25 on May 22nd, 2011 (the Greatest Day Ever for us...)
Evangeline Jenna Kennelly 1.14 pounds
Violet Elizabeth Kennelly 2.15 pounds
Victoria Rose Kennelly 2.9 pounds

Our girls are now 1 week old and although they are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital we are thrilled to say that they are doing very well with little assistance. Victoria and Evangeline are currently on CPAP just to help them breathe a bit (this is the hose and mask you can see in the picture)  and in their case it is only room air that is being gently pumped into their lungs allowing their little bodies to focus on other things like growing and Violet (our big girl) does not need any help with her breathing at all! The Neonatologists and the Nurses all seem very please with their progress and we are so thankful and grateful. They are all eating well (via a tiny tube to their little bellies) and they are gaining weight. We cannot say how much we have appreciated everyone's love and support, the prayers, the phone calls, the texts etc. it means a lot to know that you are all thinking about our little girls and sending 'the love' and talking to your hire power on behalf our three sweet little triplets. Thank you from all 5 of us

I promise more updates to follow.....

Week 26 - Ultrasounds and Baby Seats

Well, we are happily in to Week 26! A lot of historic events have been going on around the world these past two weeks and our little world is proving to be no different and by the way, where did this month of May come from? Time is moving quick.

Our latest Growth ultrasound results (done every two weeks) show that our sweet little Baby A is still unfortunately lagging behind his or her siblings. Officially Baby A has been diagnosed with Inter Uterine Growth Restriction which is not something uncommon when multiples are involved even twins and singletons can encounter this issue. Basically the definition of this is that the baby is measuring below the 10th percentile. In our case Baby A is measuring even below that. So, we are talking about one tiny baby! Although very concerning and very stressful the news from all the Ultrasounds continues to be good. The baby is very active, has a strong heart beat, good amniotic fluid levels and is getting a steady flow of nutrients through the arteries, good flow to the babies brain etc. - so all of these things are wonderful and we are positive are only going to continue. Every one is being watched extremely closely. We are now receiving Doppler Ultrasounds every 2nd day (which monitors the flow through the arteries and also measures how much amniotic fluid is surrounding each baby) Our OBGYN (have I told you how fantastic she is and how lucky Todd and I feel to have her in charge of our care?) is also watching everything very, very closely.  I have been given a round of steroids to help mature all three babies lungs, brains and bellies just in case we need to deliver everyone early. I still have my mind set on the 34 week goal  (which is just less then 8 weeks away) but our Dr. is thinking it will be more around 32 weeks - considering this is the delivery average for triplets - and of course that is actually less then 6 weeks away but....we shall see....I think most of you are familiar with my level of faith and determination. Our plan has not changed. To carry these babies as long as possible, this is both mine and Todds number one focus and I will consume whatever I need, sleep whenever I have to and drink as much water as I possibly can to make sure that everyone continues to grow strong and healthy and stay in the oven - as they say.

Finally took some time to figure out if these three little car seats actually fit into either one of the vehicles. The fantastic news is....we are able to hold off on buying the mini-van (for now)! All three seats fit across the back row in our Nissan Xterra. Haven't tried the Passat Wagon yet but as long as they all fit in one of our vehicles - that's really all that matters at this point! Whew!

My body is still holding up fairly well. Although I must admit I have encountered numbers on the scale that I never dreamed I would ever see in relation to my body....that being said I am totally and completely ok with it! I never in my wildest dreams thought we would be blessed with three miracle babies at once and whatever I can do to help them gain the weight they need I'll do it! Driving unfortunately is now no longer an option for me...not that my Doctor has said not to drive but the reality is - it's extremely uncomfortable and even hurts a bit and anything in my life that makes me more uncomfortable is quickly being eliminated. So, I am missing being able to leave the house whenever I want but a big upside is that friends now have to come to you and usually they bring something yummy to eat. Delightful!

I didn't really have any nice photos to post this week as I am feeling incredible HUGE but I stumbled across some recent shots on facebook and managed to steal them for your viewing pleasure. One of my oldest and closest friends Marla was in town on the weekend participating in the Vancouver Marathon and these shots were taken by members of her Seattle running group at the 'Celebratory' dinner. So here we are....this I imagine could very well be one of my very last outings for pure pleasure - aka. eating.