8 Long Days in the NICU

Once the triplets were born, they were sent directly to the NICU. Not because there was anything wrong, but just in case. I actually did not get to hold them until 12 hrs after the delivery. I was hoocked to a morphine drip, so I don't remember much. the first time I saw them in their incubadors I cried. Because it is hard to see your child in such a scenario, with lots of cords every where. But I was thankfull that my little ones did not need oxygen, IV liquids or a feeding tube.

Those little peanuts were eating from a bottle the minute they were born. After speaking with the nurses and the Neonatologists on staff, we found out that they were very healthy. But no one could tell us how long they would be in the NICU. The only thing they could do is give us milestone to watch for.

In order for the babies to come home they needed to be doing three things: eating well, gaining weight and maintaining their body temperature without assistance from the incubador. The first few days were so hard on me, I was feeling bad from the c-section. The pain pills were only helping slightly. My body was swollen, I could barely stand up for 5 minutes.

Every visit to the NICU was painfull phisically, and emotionally. It seamed like they were taking two steps forward and one back every day. But everyone was very optimistic. By day four, they sent me home. I was feeling better but still not enough to be active with my two year old.

We made sure that there was always someone at the NICU with our babies. I visited them every day. By day 7 the nurses had told us that baby A and C were ready to go home any time now. I got confirmation from the Neonatologist that we would be able to bring them both home on the 8th day. But baby B was still slowly catching up.

By that night, baby B had made a huge progress on her weight gain, so she was allowed to come home with her sisters the next day. We were so excited. I could not wait to have them in our home, in their bedroom, at arms reach.

We placed all three in the same crib and snapped this picture.

They looked so adorable. But this is when the true work began. We were on a three hour feeding schedule. And believe me we followed it to the minute. We had lots of help but it was very hard to get enough rest. My two year old did not understand that mommy needed to sleep. She wanted to be on the go all the time. Who can blame her? Three screaming babies at home, what else would you want but to run away. I amde sure that she did not feel left out, so she got to hold them (to an extent), kiss them, hold their bottles. She was truely happy to be the big sister.

At Last They Have Arrived.....

As I laid on the operating room table, wondering "Has it started yet?". I thought I was supposed to feel something, but instead I felt like a warm blank over me. The anesthesiologist kept asking me if I was OK. Yes, so far I am OK. But I was worried, "Has it started yet?" My husband was next to me, but I could not see much. He had a huge mask covering most of his face.

All of a sudden, here comes the first cry. It sounded so beautifully. It is baby A, she sounds strong. Only one minute later, another cry. Oh My! It is baby B. She also sounds strong. My husband moves towards these little crying babies. And before I knew it, one more cry. There she is, baby C. They are here. And they sound great.

This is probably the only time I would be glad to hear all three crying at the same time. The room was busy. People moving everywhere. All I could see were the nurses backs. I want to see my babies! Where are they? The nurses got them cleaned up, and brought all three little bundles over to me. It was amazing to see them together.

I could not believe it. My babies are here, healthy and strong. They were taken straight to the NICU for assessment. For the next 24hrs, we would know how long they would stay. My job was done. Or has it just started......

Delivery Day Arrives.... Finaly we are going to have triplets!!

So the day we were scheduled to deliver was very exciting. The surgery was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. I was very nervous, after all, everything was going great. In my mind, I kept thinking if we should wait another week. The last thing I wanted was to deliver too early. Were they really ready to come at 34 weeks. The doctors kept assuring us that it would be fine. But I did not want my babies to stay in the NICU one single day more then needed.

There was really no way to predict what would happen once they were out. The doctors could not tell me if they were healthy enough. All they could do is say that the time was right, and that the more we waited the risks would increase.

That morning, I walked into the hospital very scared. I really did not know what to expect. Everyone tells you that c-sections are not bad, but you can't know for certain until you go through it yourself.

As they guided me to the waiting area, I kept thinking "Is this the right day?". Should we wait. But at that point I was so big that my body was hurting. My skin was burning, my legs were hurting. Everything was hurting. I was ready. My belly was 50 inches round. I weighed in at 220 lbs. Smaller then I thought I would be at this point, but the babies were measuring 4 lbs each.

The nurses came to get get me ready. IV here, fluids there, monitors were everywhere. I was getting even more nervous. But my family was around me, keeping me calm and tranquil. But I was still worried. I had not met my doctors yet??? Yes, the actual doctor scheduled to do the surgery. I had not met him. I had been going to a group, so there was not a specific doctor. It would be the on-call doctor doing my surgery.

At 8:20 a.m., I was wheeled into the operating room. There must have been 30 plus people in the operating room. The anesthesiologist advised me of the spinal. He got his work done. It was enough time for me to lay down, and that was it. I was numb. But as i looked around, spread eagle on the table, I saw several nurses running around, getting ready. But no Doctor. Where is the doctor? Stuck in traffic. Come on.... Lets get this over with.

I was very nervous. Soon after they connected me to all of the machines, here comes this skinny guy, with a mask on. "Hi" he said, "I am your doctor, do you have any questions?". What was I supposed to say: "hi Doc, nice to meet you!"

If you ask me today, I don't know how he looks like. So with the introduction out of the way, he got started on me.

to be continued.......