Momma's doing pretty well. They didn't check my blood pressure, but I have had absolutely no signs or symptoms of high blood pressure and my daily urine dipstick is not showing anything alarming, so everything seems okay on that front. And my cervix has not changed at all over the last week- hooray!
I've gained another couple of pounds over the last week (with no increase in ankle swelling!), so that is awesome. Who knew that I'd be rejoicing over my own weight gain? The morning after we found out we were carrying triplets, I read that the average weight gain for a triplet mommy is 50-70 pounds, which had originally led me to bawl like a baby thinking of the toll that would take on my body to gain that much (I've always joked with Jason that we might need to widen the doorways if I ever got pregnant, and that much of a weight gain made it seem like that would be a significant possibility!).
For those keeping track, I've officially gained 55 pounds so far, and I am still trying to gain a lot more. The dietician that works with the Mommies of Multiples program has told us that with higher order multiples, increased maternal weight gain is associated with a DECREASED risk of premature labor. So bring on the food, and bring on the weight gain! This usually means that I start my day with a lovely breakfast around... 3:30 am. I'm basically like a hobbit- first breakfast, second breakfast, midmorning snack, first lunch, etc...
The babies seem to be doing pretty well too, so keep those prayers coming. All of their heartbeats are right where they should be and it still thrills me to hear them on the monitors. Our boys are so strong!! I seriously think my heart skips a beat when I get to hear theirs.
They are all sitting in ample amounts of amniotic fluid, which is amazing as well. The amount is very, very slowly going down (totally to be expected with any pregnancy) due to a couple of factors. First of all, the little peanuts actually swallow amniotic fluid while they are in the womb, which helps them develop their lungs and digestive systems. Second of all, as the triplets themselves grow, there is just less physical room for amniotic fluid.
Each of the babes was measured in multiple ways (head circumference, femur length, etc.) which is how they determine an estimated baby weight. Baby A, the one positioned lowest in my pelvis, is weighing in at 2 pounds 12 ounces, which puts him at the 7th percentile on the growth chart. The doctors have been concerned about his low weight for weeks now, BUT they keep reminding me of a few things. Firstly, it's actually quite common for either the baby lowest in the pelvis or highest in the uterus to gain weight the slowest. Secondly, he IS gaining weight. Since the last time he was measured, he increased his weight by almost 50%! Way to go peanut!
They also checked the blood flow through his umbilical cord to make sure that there weren't any problems with cord insufficiency or blood flow to account for his slower weight gain. We were so grateful to learn that there is nothing wrong in that area. Basically, our little peanut just has the misfortune of being on the bottom and having two little piglets sitting on his head. :) He still has his head resting on my cervix, which makes me think of him as the "gatekeeper". Whereas his brothers might think, "Hey, let's get out of here and see what's out there", he's just patiently protecting their exit point! :)
Baby B continues to hang out in the middle of my uterus and is weighing in at 3 pounds 14 ounces, which puts him at the 87th percentile on the growth chart. He's my little performer, always putting on a good show for us during the ultrasounds.
Baby C is at the top of the uterus and is topping the charts at 4 pounds 5 ounces. He's comfortably sitting at the 98th percentile on the growth chart. Apparently I'm growing some really big, healthy babies!!
All three of the babies were moving around and kicking during the ultrasound, which made capturing some of their measurements a little more challenging than normal for Athena, the ultrasound queen (I love her. I seriously love her). I didn't have the courage to tell her that it may have been my fault that they were moving so much- I'd decided to treat myself to a decaf caramel frappachino from Starbucks about 30 minutes before the ultrasound. The babes were on a sugar high!
While we (Janelle came with me- she's been so amazingly supportive!) waited for the doctor to come in and talk with us about Baby A's weight gain and any changes to the plan of care, I was a hot mess. I was so worried about Baby A and whether or not his weight gain was enough to justify them letting me continue the pregnancy (versus inducing labor). They should have checked my blood pressure then- I'm sure it would have been off the charts! Janelle was so patient with me as I was trying not to freak out (too much)- a nice hand massage came in quite "handy". Because Jason wasn't there, I was so scared that I'd have to call him and tell him to hightail it over to the hospital...
Dr. McElvey (one of four doctors in the office- I've been seen by all four at one point or another) came in and while matter of fact with me, she was actually pretty positive as well. Yes, Baby A's slower weight gain is nothing to be ignored, but it doesn't warrant any additional interventions at this point (thank you, thank you, thank you). And she felt that the next scheduled ultrasound, which is in two weeks, was just fine. We talked about bedrest and if I need to add in any additional restrictions, but Dr. McElvey thought that my self-imposed bedrest and activity restrictions were just fine!
So we've officially hit the 30 week mark (Happy 30 Weeks everybody!), and things are just cruising along pretty nicely. Even though I've shed more than a few tears of worry for Baby A over the last 24 hours, I'm feeling so blessed that things are going as well as they are. All things considered, we are just so lucky that they boys are doing as well as they are and that my body is tolerating everything as well as it is. I will continue to deal with all of the not-so-pleasant physical issues associated with the pregnancy (and celebrate them too!) if it means that it will give the munchkins more time to marinate in my tummy. Everyday that they spend in there is a gift.
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