So, we have officially made it to Week 20 which is exciting because we are over halfway there; however, it also means that the bed rest begins which is not as exciting. The person who was replacing me at work started on Monday and so I spent all week taking her out and meeting all of my caregivers. It was sad to say good-bye to them and I will miss it, yet I am sure the new person will do a wonderful job. On Wednesday, I went to my practicum site for the very last time (yay!) and I did my final eval with my supervisor and then they had a potluck lunch for me which was very sweet. Some people even bought us some baby presents and it was fun to open them and see everything. We got some wonderful onesies, bibs, a sound machine, and some adorable little shoes. It was a lot of fun!
So, then Thursday came :/ It was a difficult and emotional day for me as I had to leave behind my career as well as some co-workers whom I really enjoy being with. I know that one day I will return to my career and for the time being I am taking a break, yet it was difficult to give that up especially when I just finished my Master's and I want to put into practice everything I have learned. I am looking forward to being at home with these babies for a while; however, there is always some sort of mourning when you leave something behind that you love. It was a wonderful last day though and my co-workers threw me an amazing baby shower. We went to PF Changs for lunch (one of my favorites!) and then I opened up presents. We got some amazing gifts! We are so blessed with everything that we received and everyone's generosity towards us. It was fun to open up the presents and see all of the little baby items. I am amazed at how small they are going to be when I hold up the little clothes. And then when I see bigger size clothing (like 6 months) I am amazed that they are going to get that big! I am excited to meet these three little people and be able to hold them. So, then I finished out the last things that I needed to do at work, turned in my keys and badge, and then drove home. It wasn't easy...
So, then Friday came (bed rest Day #1) and we got to go see Dr. Bellardo. However, he is thrilled that I am not working anymore. Dr. Bellardo has been my sweet little doctor/therapist for the past five years, yet now he is a lot stricter with me and firm--he knows I am stubborn and need it :) We went and had an ultrasound first to check out the babies. It is my favorite part and also a part that I dread a little. I feel wonderful after I see everyone moving and I see their little hearts beat. I have been able to feel them a little bit more yet due to having an anterior placenta (all three of them do) I cannot feel them as much as I want. Once again I have never had reason to doubt that they were not okay, yet it is such a reassuring moment when I see them on the screen. Michael and I joke that we should have a daily check-in with them and if they could each kick me one at a time so I know that everyone is still doing okay :) The ultrasound also made everything make a lot more sense because I got to see their position in my body. Baby A is in the normal position of a baby if I was just carrying one baby--so he is down lower closer to my cervix. However, Baby B and C have found their home in my upper abdomen. Baby B is taking full advantage of her space and is spread out with her legs going into my ribs. Baby C spent most of the ultrasound laying face-down on top of Baby B. It looked cute on the ultrasound though because Baby B had her head on Baby C's chest. So, it makes sense why I feel more pressure up top and it is a little more difficult to breathe. Baby C was kicking me last night and I tried to push him down a little bit--I don't mind them being up high but it would be a little nice if everyone moved a little to their right and got out of my ribs :) They checked everyone's heart out again and took pictures--we still didn't get a wonderful picture of Baby C's heart because of his positioning. The ultrasound lady tried bouncing and jiggling my stomach to get Baby C to move--yet he seems comfortable with where he was and didn't want to move. But by everything they can see his heart looks fine. Maybe next time I can jump up and down a little bit to get him to move :)
So, then we went and saw Dr. Bellardo to talk about everything. According to the reports Baby A is now 13 oz, Baby B is 11 oz, and Baby C is 12 oz. They are all growing concurrently and are on track for where a baby should be for 20 weeks which is wonderful news. My cervix is still doing well and is remaining long--as long as we stay above 3cm then it will be considered long. We got to look at Baby A's kidneys again and he still has blockage. You can see the urine on the side of his kidneys that he needs to release. Dr. Bellardo is not too worried about it yet as it can correct itself sometimes and it is fairly common in boys. However, when they are born and if Baby A still has blockage then they will have to do a procedure to unblock him--poor little guy. So, Dr. Bellardo isn't worried about it--but it would make me feel better if it was resolved next time. Overall I am doing really well though and so are the babies--my blood pressure is still great and my weight is good. We thought we would have to go to weekly visits now but since everyone is doing well we don't have to go back for 2 weeks. So, Michael and I celebrated by going to Krispy Kreme because it was their 75th Anniversary and you could get a dozen glazed for only $0.75 if you bought a dozen. Don't worry though-- I only ate a couple and Michael took them to work :)
We are still continuing with all of the medication I am taking as it seems to be working. I am having a mild allergic reaction to the shots but Dr. Bellardo told me its common and to take some Claritin or Zrytex. We are having more difficulty getting the shots though--it's ridiculous. Wal-Greens called me on Wednesday and told me that as of August 1st pharmacies are no longer able to compound this medication and you have to take the name brand. I have my prescriptions through CareMark but they denied my request for the medication because the FDA has only approved the medication for singleton pregnancies and I have triplets. My insurance says that they cover the name-brand medication 100% but I cannot get anyone to dispense it for me because the pharmacies want the doctor's office to buy it and then bill it. However my doctor's office doesn't do that because it's $3,000. So, we are back to square one again--so I am going to go through a mom & pop pharmacy here in Nashville that compounds and Michael and I will just pay for the medication out of pocket (it is A LOT cheaper than the name brand). It doesn't make any sense and we talked to Dr. Bellardo about it. It doesn't make any sense to him either but he said that they would rather pay for it in the NICU rather than in preventive care for me. I told Michael it feels like they are discriminating against my babies because I am not pregnant with a singleton. I did ask the insurance company why they thought it would help one baby but not three and they said they didn't know. Oh well--I am off of my soap box now :)
So, now I am on bed-rest. Today is Day #2 and it's okay right now but I would rather be doing something more productive. Michael made me waffles in bed before he left to go to work this morning so that was nice. I started writing some thank-you cards yesterday for the baby presents we have received. I plan on writing some more today--I want to stay on top of that. I also have to put together my practicum binder and turn it in to my supervisor--that is my goal for next week. I have some books that I can read and I watch some TV. Our Sunday School class set up a meal calendar for us to get a meal once a week on Thursday nights because it is one of Michael's late nights. We really do feel blessed by everyone's generosity. Overall, I would say that I am not that impressed with bed rest though :)
I have some new pictures of the babies as well that I will post to their pages so make sure you check it out! And if you are in the area and want to stop by--please do! I will always be here unless I am at the doctor's office :) Thanks again for everyone's support of us--we truly are blessed and we feel so loved by everyone!
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