Week 25 (part 2)
Went in yesterday again for more ultrasounds. The girls are "stable" right now. Our little girl showed some improved blood flow coming from her placenta, so the doctor told me it "bought me" a few more days out of the hospital. However, our other girls heart is looking a little enlarged, so that was the not so great news. We will wait until next Wed, but I think if their fluid does not equal out, we will have to have an amnio reduction to take some of the excess fluid off.
We are set on names: Caitlin, Madison, and Ryan, but don't want to name the girls based on their conditions so we just keep calling them the big/little one and will name them in the order they come out!
The doctor also armed us with a dose of reality. I will be most likely going into the hospital soon for the duration and the likelihood that I make it to 32 weeks is not very great. Not easy to hear, but I'm glad it gives us some time to be prepared for it.
WEEK 25
Hi everyone,
We had another appt today with some mixed results.
First the good news: I have now gained 25 lbs, and my cervix looked better than last week, my blood pressure was low and urine was good. I think this bedrest is paying off. The babies have all gained weight. Ryan is 1 lb 15 oz, The bigger girl is 1 lb 13 oz and our little one is 1 lb 3 oz. We could see food in the little ones stomach and her bladder was full. All of their heartbeats looked good and the doppler measurements on their blood flow appeared to be good also.
Then came the concerning news. The amniotic fluid has not started to correct itself the way my doctor thought it should by now. He wanted to consult with the Seattle doctor to see what his thoughts were. Unfortunately, he was in surgery, so we went home and had to wait until he called back. Another very long few hours. As my doctor had mentioned possibly sending us back to Seattle, or putting me in the hospital, I'm sure my blood pressure was not as low as before!
My doctor called back and said that Dr. Walker in Seattle thought it would be too risky to fly out there again. He was happy about the babies gaining weight and there was some improvement in the little one's fluid (from almost nothing to 1.5 cm) So what we are going to do is just start going for ultrasounds 2x a week and monitor the babies dopplers very closely to make sure they are doing ok. I get to stay home unless something happens to cause concern. I have to go in Tues/ Wed for a 2 part series of shots that will help the babies lungs start to mature, just in case something may happen. He is still hoping I can make it 5-7 more weeks. I did ask him also if the babies could be born with no problems after all of this and he said YES.
So that's what we're banking on. What a roller coaster ride! We think there was a lot positive news wrapped in there today. So I am just going to keep drinking all my protein shakes Joe makes me and get these kids as big as possible.
Other news: JP went to the dentist today and had no cavities. Still a little under-bite, but the dentist said he has beautiful, white teeth.
Congratulations to Carolyn and Paul on the birth of their little girl! Congratulations to Sean and Anne and their little one on the way!
Love, Kelly
WEEK 24
We just wanted you to know that we had an appt/ultrasound yesterday and everything went as well as possible. It is really too soon to see any major changes, but we could see a bladder in our littlest girl yesterday. Joe & I thought it looked bigger than in Seattle last Tues. The fluid around both is still not corrected, but the doctor did say it would take 2-3 weeks to show improvement/level off. All three are moving around a lot in there, so I think that is a good sign also!
Thank you again to everyone for your prayers, emails, meals and flowers. We really appreciate it so much.
So now my job is just to take it easy and hopefully carry these guys as long as possible- it may be Apl or May. JP and I were talking last night and he said he can't wait for me to race him up the stairs at night again- that will be a very happy day for me too! He will be a great big brother. He sings to the babies every night and tells me he's going to tell them about all the kicks they gave him when they were in my tummy!
WEEK 23
First of all, we really want to thank everyone for all their positive thoughts and prayers. We appreciate it so much. The last few days were probably just about the toughest in our lives, but we have made it through and now it is just wait and see.
The doctor and staff in Seattle were really great. We went in Monday morning and started out with about 2.5 hours of ultrasounds. (Joe says these are the most photographed babies ever.) Then the doctor went over our options. This was the hardest because what was good for one baby was not necessarily the best choice for the others. Our little boy, who the doctor calls the "innocent bystander", is doing very well and for him the best thing would have been to let nature take its course. However that would have meant out our girls probably would have only survived another 1-2 weeks. As he went though all the options, Joe & I really thought the only choice to possibly come home with 3 babies was to do the surgery even knowing that the doctor thought that the donor girl may not have more than 10% of the placenta share and may not make it once he closed off the blood vessels they share.
After we made the decision, it was 11:30 and the OR was scheduled for 12:15. Looking back I'm really glad everything was happening so quickly. I was taken right over to the adjoining hospital and was prepped and they started around 1:00. The procedure took 2 hours but I think went as well as it could. The doctor thinks that he got all the shared vessels and the babies seemed to do well. They were not affected by the anesthesia but probably wondering who was poking at them!
Yesterday morning we had another ultrasound and the the doctor is cautiously optimistic that it will work. He said he thinks the donor baby really has 30-35% of the placenta share after going in and we were able to see a bladder again on her (when a baby does not get much nourishment, they will not pee (use the bladder) and that is the really what amniotic fluid mostly is). The day before they did not really see any bladder at all. The also drained some extra fluid off of the recipient baby which should help her sluggish heart.
So now it's just wait and see. We were told it would take 2-3 weeks to see if everything is working as it should. We are getting ready to leave for the airport in an hour back to Denver. It will be great to be home and see JP. I know he had such a fun time while we were gone, that made it a lot easier on us from far away.
I'm 23 weeks today, so I'm hoping to go 11 more weeks. Only time will tell...
WEEK 22
I have been wanting to send everyone an update and decided to wait until after our regular appointment yesterday. This is not the news I had wanted to share, but here goes...
It's been kind of a crazy 2 weeks in our lives. I went in an appt a week ago Thursday and all the babies looked really good. Unfortunately, my cervix was starting to shorten. The doctor felt I needed a cervical cerclage (basically stitching me up so no babies can come out!). I went into the hospital the next morning at 7:00am and was home by 2:30. It all went smoothly. I was told to stay on bedrest as much as I could until I saw the doctor a week later. (I think I did a pretty good job :))
Yesterday. we had our 22 week appt at 3:30pm. They first checked my cervix which looked very good, so hopefully we won't have any more issues there for awhile. Then they looked at the babies. Our little boy is looking very good, dancing around as always. Unfortunately, the girls are having some problems. Within one week, they have have developed twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. This is a serious complication that can occur in 10-15% of identical twins that share a placenta. Basically, our baby c is sending her blood vessels over to baby b who is getting most of the blood and amniotic fluid. It is not good for either baby as the "donor" baby does not receive enough nourishment and will become anemic and the "recipient" baby gets too big too quickly and it puts extra stress on her heart. This condition have 5 levels. We were diagnosed between a 2 and 3.
We along with the doctor were very shocked to say the least- its so hard to believe it happened so fast. She feels the best treatment possible is to have a laser surgery done to go in and laser closed the blood vessels going to baby b and hopefully level things out again. Unfortunately, there are only about 5 places in the United States to have it done. So, here we are 24 hours later, and Joe and I have made it to Seattle, WA with an 8:15 consultation/ultrasound and a scheduled 12:15 operating time for Monday morning. (Thank goodness for frequent flyer miles, and that WA is an hour behind Denver on a Friday afternoon at 4:30)
We are holding it together pretty well and know that it is really in God's hands at this point. All prayers would be appreciated. The surgery itself only takes a 1/2 an hour and I should be released from the hospital Tues afternoon. We have a flight home Wed afternoon.
We are so grateful that Aunt Carolyn and Paul have taken JP. We talked to him awhile ago and he is having a great time with his cousin. He's even more excited that he gets to miss school :)
As I said I wish I could tell you everything was fine, but hopefully with some luck and prayers I can write that email next. I will follow up early next week and let you all know how things went.
Love, Kelly
Here's one of the girls. We're not sure which, but I guess it shouldn't matter :) Don't let their innocent faces fool you, they know how to play tough when they want to!
