A pregancy with triplets..... Now what

As soon as we found out that I was going to have triplets, all of our plans changed. We had to think about all of the logistics involved with having multiples. From what car to buy to how many diapers we were going to use a day. We also had to consider the posibility of having complications. And just the though was very scary. We were advised of everything that can go wrong, from having premature labor to children with health problems. We were also told by our Neonatologist that we could choose to reduce the amount of babies we had. Something that we would never do. In our hearts we wanted all of them. The price was steep (it could cost my life or the life of the babies). But we could not play God and choose one to be reduced.

It is our belief that God only gives you what you can handle. And he is right. The first 20 weeks of pregnancy were mild in comparison with what other have gone through. I went to the emergency room only twice. Just to be safe, and get check up.

At 18 weeks, we were able to find out if they were boys, girls of a mix of the two. My husband had his heart in his hands during the ultrasound. The technician started with baby A. Well, this one was easy, its a girl. And then baby B, another girls. When she got to baby C, my husband already knew, it would be another girl. I could see his heart breaking and rejoicing at the same time. He would not have his highly desired boy this time, but three more beautifull girls.

At 20 weeks, my doctor put me on bed rest. But as you know, I have a two year old, who at the time was only 18 months. She could not understand why Mommy could not carry her anymore. It was very frustrating for both of us. She was still a baby after all. But I could not jeapordyze the health of the three babies.

So with time she accepted this new situation. but bed rest was not a piece of cake, as most may think. i was feeling very odd, my heart was racing, I felt dizzy at time, tired all the time. i was not able to stand for long periods of time. It definetly made things harder. But as time went by, we kept thinking of how the little ones were growing. And they did that very well. Every visit that we had showed them healthy and growing according to plan.

By 27 weeks I started having contractions frequently. These were what they call braxton hicks contractions. I was very scared. we went to the ER another 4 times. During one of these visits we actually stayed for two days. The doctors decided to give me steroids for the babies lungs, in case I was having premature labor. But luckly the contractions went away and we were sent home.

By 30 weeks, the doctors were very hapy with our progress, and determined that the best time to deliver the girls would be at 34 weeks. I was a little skeptical. I wanted them to be in my belly until they were ready. I seam odd to me to determine the day they would be born. But the doctors were certain they would be ready at 34 weeks, and if we waited longer the risks would almost doubled.

We were getting close to the delivery day, and we began to have doughts about delivering at 34 weeks. Was it really the right thing to do?

to be continued...........

Who are the Richardsons

So now you may be asking yourself "How did it all begin?" Well here it is....

About five years ago, T and C met, and before you knew it were getting married. Only a few months later I found out I was pregnant with A, our first daughter. She is beautiful, and very smart. But C and I always wanted to have more children. Our goal was to have at least 3. So a year and a half later we decided to try again. We wanted our kids to be close in age, so it seamed right to start soon after A turned 1 year old.

In February of last year I started to feel odd. Most women can tell when they are pregnant. I had my doubts but I figured I should check. I had a pregnancy test left over from when I got pregnant with A, so I decided to take.

Long and behold, I saw the little box light up with the two pink lines. That was the confirmation I was waiting for. We were pregnant. Only this time, it seamed very different. But everyone tells you that no two pregnancies are alike. So I figured that was the case with this one.

I decided that it would be best to wait until I got the OK from my OB/GYN before we celebrated. So a few weeks later I went for a visit with him. He examined me and confirmed that I was. For some reason C and I started joking around about being pregnant with twins. I ask my doc if it was possible, he said he did not think so.

At our 8 weeks check up we had an ultrasound, and the first thing out of the technician's mouth was : "Did you guys use Fertility?", NO. And then "Did you guys use IVF?", NO. Oh My GOSH! She said: "You are having triplets!!!" Our reaction: "No way! Your machine is broken", 'Are you sure?". We saw the three little peanuts floating on the screen. I almost passed out. Natural triplets, how was that possible.

I found out from my family, then, that we had a case of triplets in our family. My grandmother's sister had triplet girls, 30 years ago. How come no one told me I could have them too? We were delighted and at the same time scared.

This meant that we would be faced with some hard decisions. We were going to have to endure a bunch of Doctor visits, possible complications, the unusual delivery. The possibilities were endless. But the only thing in our minds at that point was how are we going to manage three more babies.

As with most multiples pregnancies, there are several medical complications that could happen at the blink of an eye. I was sent to a specialist, a Neonatologist, for the duration of my pregnancy. I was also told to be prepared for the worst. Although my first pregnancy went smooth, this one was very unusual. Right off the bat it is considered a high risk pregnancy.

I was also told to expect to be on bed rest at 20 weeks. I figure it would not be a bad thing considering the out come. I could stay in bed as long as needed if it meant having healthy babies. So the journey began, on February on 2008, we were in for the long hall.

to be continued......

Welcome to the Richardson Family Blog

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the Richardson Family blog. We are delighted that you decided to check us out. We are new to this blogging thing, but we hope we can keep up with it and be able to share our experiences with all.

As a family of 5 girls, we have rescently had the addition of three beautifull girls. Yes, triplet girls. You must be thinking fertility, IVF? No, they were natural. I guess no one told us that it runs in our family. We are very blessed to have three healthy little baby girls after an uneventfull pregnancy. They were born at 34 weeks, via a scheduled c-section with no complications.

So who else is part of this group of 5? Since you asked, we have the 6 year old who is so happy to be the big sister. She is great help on a day to day, by putting binkies back on, shaking rattles, holding bottles. She is slowly graduating to more complicated tasks such as changing diapers, etc... But she is really looking forward to having three little sisters running around the house chacing her.

And there is also the two year old, who is still a baby herself. She has accepted her three new sisters very gracefully. We catch her hugging and kissing them often. She is very gentle, as gentle as a two year old can be. She is at the point where she can speak in full sentences, so we alsway get an earfull of opinions. The newest one is "no, mommy, i don't like it".

As the years go by we realize how lucky we are to have such a beautifull family and an amazing life. God has blessed us in every way. Stay tunned for more updates on our family.

Sincerely,


The Richardsons