(22w5d)
I am down for the count.
For the rest of the pregnancy.
Horizontal.
And surprisingly it isn’t due to contractions.
No, we now have a bigger problem.
Dr. Peri believes I am heading into preeclampsia.
Fabulous.
As a result, I am on bed rest.
And will be monitored twice a week.
Dr. Peri believes my high blood pressure is being partially masked by the P.rocardia I am taking for contractions. The first time I spill trace protein into my urine or if my blood pressure increases further I will be hospitalized.
I have never seen Dr. Peri be so concerned and serious.
According to him, if we still had quints, the pregnancy would be over by now.
As Dr. Peri said, all I can do is what I have been doing… staying down.
Am I scared?
Sure.
But for a woman who is one urine dipstick away from pre-viability hospitalization, I’m doing fine. I can only hope this home confinement bed rest lasts for weeks to come…
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Rollercoaster Ride, Anyone?
(22w2d)
See I was feeling quite smug.
I had managed to pull off attending my brother’s wedding.
Pride… always the downfall :-).
Don’t get me wrong.
The wedding itself was fabulous.
The reception, in a lush outdoor setting went off without a hitch.
The bride, as always, was stunning (see picture below if you think I am just blowing smoke). She is a great addition to the family.
Dave managed to get around despite the air cast boot he drags around on his right leg (complete with crutches). Yes, in true David fashion, he managed to rupture his achilles tendon a few weeks ago and then pull the wedding off with utter style.
As for me and the little buggers... All in all it went very well. I rested between the ceremony and the reception and tried to take it easy in general (very difficult for anyone that knows me well!). Some contractions here and there with the increased activity, but nothing to get my panties all in a bunch about.
Sunday morning after breakfast with my Mom and Jen's family, Matt and I headed back to Vegas. I reclined on my left side the whole way and then stayed on the couch the rest of the day just for good measure. I was very, very grateful all had gone well.
And then Monday dawned.
The first thing I noticed when I woke early was that I was contracting.
A lot.
When 11am rolled around and despite being down on the couch all morning and chugging a half-gallon of water, I was still contracting at least 10 times an hour… I contacted the clinic. In my best “I’m-not-really-worried-just-thought-you-should-know” demeanor, I explained the situation to the nurse (I’m sure I was utterly transparent…).
P.rocardia was doubled and I was instructed that if the contractions didn’t drop to less than four an hour I was to come in that afternoon for monitoring. Luckily the increased meds seem to have shut Womb-Thing up for the time being. It probably doesn’t hurt that my now-more-ample-than-ever backside has only left the couch to hit the bathroom and warm up food. Confined to the couch, I am. For now, the contractions seem limited to about once an hour or so. Such numbers do wonders for my sanity.
I have a fetal echocardiogram scheduled for tomorrow and I am hoping to be able to report to Dr. Peri that Womb-Thing is still behaving at that point. I am fantasizing that he will let me try to decrease my dose after a few days of minimal contractions. One can always hope.
Clawing my way towards viability….
See I was feeling quite smug.
I had managed to pull off attending my brother’s wedding.
Pride… always the downfall :-).
Don’t get me wrong.
The wedding itself was fabulous.
The reception, in a lush outdoor setting went off without a hitch.
The bride, as always, was stunning (see picture below if you think I am just blowing smoke). She is a great addition to the family.
Dave managed to get around despite the air cast boot he drags around on his right leg (complete with crutches). Yes, in true David fashion, he managed to rupture his achilles tendon a few weeks ago and then pull the wedding off with utter style.
As for me and the little buggers... All in all it went very well. I rested between the ceremony and the reception and tried to take it easy in general (very difficult for anyone that knows me well!). Some contractions here and there with the increased activity, but nothing to get my panties all in a bunch about.
Sunday morning after breakfast with my Mom and Jen's family, Matt and I headed back to Vegas. I reclined on my left side the whole way and then stayed on the couch the rest of the day just for good measure. I was very, very grateful all had gone well.
And then Monday dawned.
The first thing I noticed when I woke early was that I was contracting.
A lot.
When 11am rolled around and despite being down on the couch all morning and chugging a half-gallon of water, I was still contracting at least 10 times an hour… I contacted the clinic. In my best “I’m-not-really-worried-just-thought-you-should-know” demeanor, I explained the situation to the nurse (I’m sure I was utterly transparent…).
P.rocardia was doubled and I was instructed that if the contractions didn’t drop to less than four an hour I was to come in that afternoon for monitoring. Luckily the increased meds seem to have shut Womb-Thing up for the time being. It probably doesn’t hurt that my now-more-ample-than-ever backside has only left the couch to hit the bathroom and warm up food. Confined to the couch, I am. For now, the contractions seem limited to about once an hour or so. Such numbers do wonders for my sanity.
I have a fetal echocardiogram scheduled for tomorrow and I am hoping to be able to report to Dr. Peri that Womb-Thing is still behaving at that point. I am fantasizing that he will let me try to decrease my dose after a few days of minimal contractions. One can always hope.
Clawing my way towards viability….
Monday, June 23, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Womb-Thing Down For The Count
(22w0d)
Alpha (the girl) remains the guard at the gate, firmly and consistently stretched out over my cervix. The two boys are now feet-down... on her. Already piling on top of her. Typical boys :-).
My cervix was still long (oh, happy day!)
Aftercomplaining explaining that it appears my new inability to sleep lying flat (due to the nasty habit my stomach now has of sending food I ingested... like... EONS ago up into my mouth... quite the wake up call!!) heralds the end of my Second Trimester "Honeymoon" *sigh* (and you ain't never seen a woman soooo happy to have gotten TO such a honeymoon, much less past it...), I went on to explain why I ended up seeing his partner last week.
I was possibly a bit nonchalant about the whole thing (perhaps a little smug since at that point I knew my Cervix of Steel remained firmly entrenched?). See, although the contractions remainedvery somewhat disconcerting (and when active continue several times an hour), I assumed it was my "new baseline" and I had learned to minimize and live with them. I was just grateful that the frequency had decreased significantly. I figured they were "just" BH contractions, and I hear all the time about women who have BH contractions through their pregnancy and don't have to be medicated. I didn't want to be a freaky pregnant lady (*snort* too late for that!). I clearly had lost sight of the mantras... "triplets are very high risk", and "this is NOT a normal triplet pregnancy".
He said BH are by definition contractions that don't change the cervix, "So unless you are managing to measure your cervix at home in a way I'm not familiar with. Or unless you, like T.om C.ruise, have your own ultrasound machine at home, you can't be sure they are actually BH".
*for a brief second, images of me attempting to... no, never mind. Believe me. It wasn't pretty.
"Ummmm. Good point", I conceded.
Score one for Dr. Peri.
He was happy with my new lack of activity (something about how since the contractions are much worse when I am up and around, the whole "Hey doc, my arm hurts when I do this" thing applies). And still much approves of my daily pool time. Although my cervix hadn't really changed, Dr. Peri wanted to calm down my eager Womb-Thing so that I would be able to tell if things start changing and will know when to call into the office.
He started me on low dose of P.rocardia which we filled ON OUR WAY OUT OF TOWN TO MY BROTHER'S WEDDING!
After nearly 24 hours and a long wedding dinner later.... bingo, bango, bongo... I have had only 2 contractions.
We have the whole fam damily here except... for Dad. He is serving as Mission President for our church and is therefore unable to leave and come to to the wedding :-(. But having everyone else (including nieces and nephews) at the dinner last night meant a good time was had by all... well, except one nephew who hit his head so hard on the wall the sound reverberated through the restaurant :-). It was a raucous good time, Fuhriman-style!
Life couldn't be sweeter.
Alpha (the girl) remains the guard at the gate, firmly and consistently stretched out over my cervix. The two boys are now feet-down... on her. Already piling on top of her. Typical boys :-).
My cervix was still long (oh, happy day!)
After
I was possibly a bit nonchalant about the whole thing (perhaps a little smug since at that point I knew my Cervix of Steel remained firmly entrenched?). See, although the contractions remained
He said BH are by definition contractions that don't change the cervix, "So unless you are managing to measure your cervix at home in a way I'm not familiar with. Or unless you, like T.om C.ruise, have your own ultrasound machine at home, you can't be sure they are actually BH".
*for a brief second, images of me attempting to... no, never mind. Believe me. It wasn't pretty.
"Ummmm. Good point", I conceded.
Score one for Dr. Peri.
He was happy with my new lack of activity (something about how since the contractions are much worse when I am up and around, the whole "Hey doc, my arm hurts when I do this" thing applies). And still much approves of my daily pool time. Although my cervix hadn't really changed, Dr. Peri wanted to calm down my eager Womb-Thing so that I would be able to tell if things start changing and will know when to call into the office.
He started me on low dose of P.rocardia which we filled ON OUR WAY OUT OF TOWN TO MY BROTHER'S WEDDING!
After nearly 24 hours and a long wedding dinner later.... bingo, bango, bongo... I have had only 2 contractions.
We have the whole fam damily here except... for Dad. He is serving as Mission President for our church and is therefore unable to leave and come to to the wedding :-(. But having everyone else (including nieces and nephews) at the dinner last night meant a good time was had by all... well, except one nephew who hit his head so hard on the wall the sound reverberated through the restaurant :-). It was a raucous good time, Fuhriman-style!
Life couldn't be sweeter.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Hook In Hand
So as promised… an explanation of my new hobby.
See, being neurotic and all… I have been preparing for bed rest in some form for weeks now. You know, collecting books I want to read, uploading DVDs of movies and TV shows to keep me occupied. I also have a few computer projects all ready to work on. But I realized there is only so many hours a day that I will want to lay on the couch staring at the TV. I like to be doing at least two things at once. I used to enjoy cross stiching while watching the boob tube. So I headed out to get some new fabric, thread and maybe a pattern or two to keep at least my fingers from atrophying while I go through my blob phase. While at the craft store it occurred to me… “Why not crochet?” Well the most obvious answer is I have never crocheted before and didn’t know anyone who could teach me. But with the thoughts of hundreds of captive hours ahead of me (and the siren song of this really cool funky yarn), I wasn’t dissuaded. A few beginner books, some hooks and other various thingys along with some cheap practice yarn later, I headed home. Marsha dropped by that night and showed me how to hold the hook and start the yarn.
After a week, I have managed, with the help of two books, to teach myself a few of the major stitches.
I know these don’t look like much, but I am as proud as if I had given birth to them (that is with an extremely short gestation period and virtually no labor pains). These are my practice swatches…
Single Crochet
Double Crochet
Not exactly even on the edges... something I had to practice a few more times before getting right.
It appears I have managed to teach myself how to crochet (kind of)! So off I ran (actually waddled) to the craft store again (yarn 50% off!!!) and I have started an afghan*gasp*. Grandma Day would be proud.
On the whole Womb-Thing front… Things are pretty status quo. Still doing the BH contraction thing but they remain not very intense and essentially only occur when I am up on my feet.
Fingers crossed that Womb-Thing hasn’t talked Cervix of Steel into joining in some lively pre-term activity. Will post tomorrow with Dr. Peri’s verdict whenever my wireless internet decides to cooperate (see… I will be on my way out of town to David's wedding… positive thinking…).
See, being neurotic and all… I have been preparing for bed rest in some form for weeks now. You know, collecting books I want to read, uploading DVDs of movies and TV shows to keep me occupied. I also have a few computer projects all ready to work on. But I realized there is only so many hours a day that I will want to lay on the couch staring at the TV. I like to be doing at least two things at once. I used to enjoy cross stiching while watching the boob tube. So I headed out to get some new fabric, thread and maybe a pattern or two to keep at least my fingers from atrophying while I go through my blob phase. While at the craft store it occurred to me… “Why not crochet?” Well the most obvious answer is I have never crocheted before and didn’t know anyone who could teach me. But with the thoughts of hundreds of captive hours ahead of me (and the siren song of this really cool funky yarn), I wasn’t dissuaded. A few beginner books, some hooks and other various thingys along with some cheap practice yarn later, I headed home. Marsha dropped by that night and showed me how to hold the hook and start the yarn.
After a week, I have managed, with the help of two books, to teach myself a few of the major stitches.
I know these don’t look like much, but I am as proud as if I had given birth to them (that is with an extremely short gestation period and virtually no labor pains). These are my practice swatches…
Single Crochet
Double Crochet
Not exactly even on the edges... something I had to practice a few more times before getting right.
It appears I have managed to teach myself how to crochet (kind of)! So off I ran (actually waddled) to the craft store again (yarn 50% off!!!) and I have started an afghan*gasp*. Grandma Day would be proud.
On the whole Womb-Thing front… Things are pretty status quo. Still doing the BH contraction thing but they remain not very intense and essentially only occur when I am up on my feet.
Fingers crossed that Womb-Thing hasn’t talked Cervix of Steel into joining in some lively pre-term activity. Will post tomorrow with Dr. Peri’s verdict whenever my wireless internet decides to cooperate (see… I will be on my way out of town to David's wedding… positive thinking…).
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Somewhat Quiet On The Uterine Front
(21w3d)
I have avoided posting for the last few days.
Because (like any infertility veteran) I am feeling a bit superstitious.
I was afraid I would jinx myself.
Last Thursday, Dr. Peri's partner debated whether or not to place me on P.rocardia (which I would be stuck on for the remainder of this crazy pregnancy), or I.ndomethacin which would be a short course (2-3 days at most as it can cause low amniotic fluid levels with prolonged use). He decided on the I.ndomethacin, apparently in an attempt to reset the uterine ticker since the activity started so abruptly. The idea would be that if after the 2-3 day course I continued contracting like a crazy woman, I could then be started on P.rocardia.
But guess what?
*whisper*
It worked!
My last dose was Saturday night.
On Sunday the contractions returned, but not nearly as intense.
Not nearly as frequent.
And 90% of them occurred when I was on my feet.
Unlike the chaos of last Wednesday/Thursday... on Sunday the contractions essentially stopped soon after I became horizontal.
Ah Hah!
So for the last few days I have spent no more than three hours up on my feet (which I spread throughout the day).
Pool time not included.
Since doing so, my contractions have continued to decrease.
And my sanity is in good shape since constant tightening of Womb-Thing is nothing if not disconcerting.
I remain reticent to get too excited.
I am afraid the Fairy of Contracting Womb-Things will notice I slipped through the cracks :-).
Appointment with Dr. Peri is scheduled for Friday morning.
The car will be packed and we will be on our way out of town for David's wedding (fingers crossed).
Let's hope that "cervix of steel" is holding up...
My sudden increase in couch time has inspired me to pick up a new hobby... will post pictures tomorrow...
(just a little teaser there, you know, like a commercial for a tv show. Do you feel teased, huh? huh?)
I have avoided posting for the last few days.
Because (like any infertility veteran) I am feeling a bit superstitious.
I was afraid I would jinx myself.
Last Thursday, Dr. Peri's partner debated whether or not to place me on P.rocardia (which I would be stuck on for the remainder of this crazy pregnancy), or I.ndomethacin which would be a short course (2-3 days at most as it can cause low amniotic fluid levels with prolonged use). He decided on the I.ndomethacin, apparently in an attempt to reset the uterine ticker since the activity started so abruptly. The idea would be that if after the 2-3 day course I continued contracting like a crazy woman, I could then be started on P.rocardia.
But guess what?
*whisper*
It worked!
My last dose was Saturday night.
On Sunday the contractions returned, but not nearly as intense.
Not nearly as frequent.
And 90% of them occurred when I was on my feet.
Unlike the chaos of last Wednesday/Thursday... on Sunday the contractions essentially stopped soon after I became horizontal.
Ah Hah!
So for the last few days I have spent no more than three hours up on my feet (which I spread throughout the day).
Pool time not included.
Since doing so, my contractions have continued to decrease.
And my sanity is in good shape since constant tightening of Womb-Thing is nothing if not disconcerting.
I remain reticent to get too excited.
I am afraid the Fairy of Contracting Womb-Things will notice I slipped through the cracks :-).
Appointment with Dr. Peri is scheduled for Friday morning.
The car will be packed and we will be on our way out of town for David's wedding (fingers crossed).
Let's hope that "cervix of steel" is holding up...
My sudden increase in couch time has inspired me to pick up a new hobby... will post pictures tomorrow...
(just a little teaser there, you know, like a commercial for a tv show. Do you feel teased, huh? huh?)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
My Snarkey Uterus
(20w5d)
So apparently this is where my pregnancy gets interesting (again).
I am now the not-so-proud owner of anirritating irritable uterus.
Officially.
I'm told this is "too early".
Unfortunately no one mentioned that to the triplet-bearing organ busily contracting away in my abdomen.
See, it all started last night.
Or at least that is when it really picked up.
Prior to yesterday, I had periodic contractions of varying degrees during the day-- maybe 2 or 3.
Totally normal.
Around 8 pm last night I started having several an hour.
Not the take-your-breath-away contractions.
The more benign, yet still disconcerting tightening-but-not-really-painful variety (a la Braxton-Hicks).
The activity decreased slightly with the usual treatment-- confinement on the couch and large amounts of fluids.
But during one hour I lost count after 10.
When standing for 15 minutes this morning again resulted in near constant contracting, I gave in and notified the clinic.
I was hoping they would tell me it was to be expected and to just lay a little low until my appt next Friday.
Instead, I found myself seeing Dr. Peri's partner this morning (Dr. Peri is on vaca).
I am proud to report that I seem to have a "cervix of steel" per the ultrasound tech (why thank you... quite the compliment)
The ultrasound showed three active babies.
And no evidence that the near constant uterine chaos is at this point a sign of imminent labor.
Fabuloso.
Having said that, Dr. Peri's partner is concerned that my uterus is so... "ummmm... active" this early on.
And says we need to attempt to wrangle it into something resembling submission.
At least a little.
As a result I am now on a trial of medication for a few days.
Because really, I am not on enough pills right now as it is :-).
At least the two I started today are different colors-- they compliment the other rainbow of meds I choke down every morning.
I am very relieved at this point that all remains well in utero.
Now I don't have to worry each time the tightness rolls across my abdomen.
A very large weight off my... well... abdomen.
I am dialing back my activity again, which leaves me very happy that I have spent so much time preparing to spend hours each day on the couch.
This may be my new "baseline".
Which is totally tolerable to me as long as that whole "no-imminent-labor" thing holds up.
Despite said reassurance, we remain, with the doctor, a bit concerned regarding what this may tell us about the rest of this pregnancy.
I have a feeling the rollercoaster is about to resume.
This could be a very, very eventful few months.
So apparently this is where my pregnancy gets interesting (again).
I am now the not-so-proud owner of an
Officially.
I'm told this is "too early".
Unfortunately no one mentioned that to the triplet-bearing organ busily contracting away in my abdomen.
See, it all started last night.
Or at least that is when it really picked up.
Prior to yesterday, I had periodic contractions of varying degrees during the day-- maybe 2 or 3.
Totally normal.
Around 8 pm last night I started having several an hour.
Not the take-your-breath-away contractions.
The more benign, yet still disconcerting tightening-but-not-really-painful variety (a la Braxton-Hicks).
The activity decreased slightly with the usual treatment-- confinement on the couch and large amounts of fluids.
But during one hour I lost count after 10.
When standing for 15 minutes this morning again resulted in near constant contracting, I gave in and notified the clinic.
I was hoping they would tell me it was to be expected and to just lay a little low until my appt next Friday.
Instead, I found myself seeing Dr. Peri's partner this morning (Dr. Peri is on vaca).
I am proud to report that I seem to have a "cervix of steel" per the ultrasound tech (why thank you... quite the compliment)
The ultrasound showed three active babies.
And no evidence that the near constant uterine chaos is at this point a sign of imminent labor.
Fabuloso.
Having said that, Dr. Peri's partner is concerned that my uterus is so... "ummmm... active" this early on.
And says we need to attempt to wrangle it into something resembling submission.
At least a little.
As a result I am now on a trial of medication for a few days.
Because really, I am not on enough pills right now as it is :-).
At least the two I started today are different colors-- they compliment the other rainbow of meds I choke down every morning.
I am very relieved at this point that all remains well in utero.
Now I don't have to worry each time the tightness rolls across my abdomen.
A very large weight off my... well... abdomen.
I am dialing back my activity again, which leaves me very happy that I have spent so much time preparing to spend hours each day on the couch.
This may be my new "baseline".
Which is totally tolerable to me as long as that whole "no-imminent-labor" thing holds up.
Despite said reassurance, we remain, with the doctor, a bit concerned regarding what this may tell us about the rest of this pregnancy.
I have a feeling the rollercoaster is about to resume.
This could be a very, very eventful few months.
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