Hospital bed rest day 90 W34D2:34 weeks and last day of triplet pregnancy!

Yes, we made it to 34 weeks, another great milestone for triplet pregnancy!

And the big new is, dang, dang, dang, tomorrow the babies are coming out!

Last day of my triplet pregnancy.
Last day of carrying my three babies inside me.
Last day of feeling my babies move and kick inside my belly.
Last day of feeling the weight of my three babies pushing on my pelvic when I walk.
Last day of carrying an additional 23.5kg on me.

The idea of that with effect from tomorrow I would no longer be pregnant with triplets leaves me with a strange, strange feeling.  I've got so used to having them inside me, it's hard to imagine how it would feel like without them.

DH and I had always hoped I could carry the babies till at least 35 weeks.  The NICE guidelines for multiple births recommended that for uncomplicated triplet pregnancies, a scheduled c-section be done between 35 weeks 0 days but before 36 weeks.  So when our Peri wanted to schedule a c-section at 34 weeks, I was naturally dissappointed.  Keeping the babies in longer in the womb meant less days in NICU, less changes of infection and hopefully healthier, heavier babies.  Our Peri is a very organized, careful doctor, and he explained that the risk of me going into labor and having an emergency c-section after 34 weeks was much higher.  And an emergency c-section over the weekend or in the middle of the night would not be good since they would be lacking staff.  The other problem was the ventilators at NICU.  Whether or not there would be enough ventilators has always been a big issue, especially since this hospital has a high birth rate.

So feeling very pressured to go ahead with the delivery at 34 weeks, DH and I weighed the pros and cons of doing so and waiting a llittle longer.  DH did say that the Lord has brought us so far in our triplet pregnancy and maybe we should not be greedy and ask for more, i.e. 35 weeks. Certainly waiting would upset all the medical staff off and put a lot of stress on our Peri, which would not good either.  There was another factor that helped me make the decision.  My contractions have been increasing in intensity and frequency.  They are still painless, but I do feel a bit breathless and muscle tightening not just at my uterus, but also all around my abdomen and my back.  My belly gets rock hard when I get a really strong contraction, which is often enough.  Late night till early hours of the morning are the worst.  I get a contraction every eight minutes or so. 

I've read a lot about the use of a terbutaline pump and injections to reduce the contractions, but my Peri doesn't want to use either because of the side effects.  I don't even think we have a terbutaline pump here!  So the only thing I'm on to reduce the contractions are the tiny Nifidepine pills that they give me 3 to 4 times a day.  Well, they don't seem to be working anymore.  I'm thinking maybe my contractions are an indication that my babies are ready to come out.

So from feeling emotional and a bit of a failure for not being able to keep my babies in for at least 35 weeks, I've been feeling a lot more peace about proceeding with the c-section on the 9 August 2012 - that's in a few hours time today! 

My entire family came down for dinner today and sis bought me Kenny Rogers.  Was wonderful having mac and cheese, something I have been craving for a long time!  I ate my entire chicken set meal and then took the leftover chicken that DH could not finish.  Who says a very pregnant woman with a triplet belly cannot eat too much at one go!

As of today, there is still a slim chance that the c-section will not take place later.  We were told that a set of twins were born yesterday, taking up two ventilators.  Later, the resident doctor came in and told me that they had two ventilators available.  Yet, anything can happen overnight - a new preemie baby may be born needing a ventilator.  So the c-section can only be confirmed tomorrow morning.  If there really aren't enough ventilators, then the c-section will be postponed to Friday.  If there are still not enough ventilators by then, the c-section will be postponed to Monday. This really doesn't help my anxiety!

Today also marks my 100th day of hospital stay for the year 2012 , 90 of which is my hospital bed rest.  The other 10 days in the hopital was when I was previously admitted in January at the onset of my pregnancy with OHSS.

I'm signing off now.  I need some time to pray and ask the Lord to calm my nerves.  I'm terrified about the surgery and the painful post-recovery.  You might wonder if the excitement of meeting my babies would overcome these other negative emotions, but do remember that I may most likely not get to see my babies until the day after.

The next time I write I hope I will bring good news.  Till then, a very anxious and apprehensive triplet mama signing off!

(4.30am, 9 August 2012)

Here's a picture of DH asleep on the lazy chair in my room.  He was so exhausted and unwell with a fever one night that he took a nap and couldn't wake up till noon the next day!  One important perk of having a hubbie who is a specialist in the hospital that I am in is that he doesn't get chased out after visitation hours are over.

W28D3: The At-Own-Risk discharge

(This is a much delayed post!)

If you have been following my bed rest journey so far, you know that I was admitted at 20 weeks, not due to any complication but for the mere sake of observation.  Since I first discovered that I was pregnant with triplets, I have browsed through tons and tons of triplet blogs, forums, journal articles...you name it, anything triplet related that I can get my greedy hands on.  And I have not come across a single other case where a triplet mother-to-be was hospitalized at 20 weeks for observation.  No, not even here in Malaysia!

While the hospital policy of early hospital bed rest for mother's carrying triplets is with good intentions of putting me in the safest place in the world, the psychological effects of doing so has clearly been disregarded.

Here's what I read from a mother-to-be of triplets' blog:

For now, I need to remain mostly on the couch, sitting or laying on my side, with a little walking around my house. I am not supposed to pick up my daughter, take too many trips up or down the stairs or do any housework or carrying. I asked if I could go places (besides doctor's appointments) and she said she encouraged it for mental health, but I need to go somewhere and sit, not go somewhere and walk around. ..She is going to get me a handicapped parking sticker to use for appointments to minimize even that walking. She reminded me that I can ride in a wheelchair through the mall, or use a motorized scooter at Target. I laugh when I picture this...

When I was first admitted at 20 weeks, I felt really down.  Add to the fact that I was stuck in a a hospital ward when I felt perfectly fine with my pregnancy, albeit the usual discomfort that comes with carrying triplets, DH was still doing his training in KL, which meant that I only got to see him two to three times a week.  Hospital bed rest at this government hospital meant that I was not allowed to leave the ward at all.  I had no wheelchair privileges either.  We tried to ask for time off so that I could get out of the hospital for a few hours, but the request was denied.  Needless to say, by week 24, I was miserable.  I texted DH and told him that I couldn't take it anymore, I needed to leave the hospital and I was ready to take an At Own Risk (AOR) discharge.

MIL had a plan, though.  My brother-in-law was getting married in the same town where I was hospitalized, and it was going to be a small, simple family gathering.  She thought that it would be a good time for me to take a break from the hospital.  After all, I was going to miss the subsequent garden wedding that would take place several months later, so this family affair would be a good reason to get a discharge.  DH thought that this was as good idea, our babies were safer at 28 weeks, than 24 weeks, and so I agreed to hold on for another month.

The hospital was adament about not giving us their consent for me to leave.  DH called this defensive medical-legal practice - they didn't want to accept liabilitiy for any mishap that might happen when I was out of their care. The resident doctors briefed me a few times about the risked involved an I was made to sign an At Own Risk discharge form.  I was informed that they would not keep my room for me should there be another patient who wanted a single room (I had one of the only two single rooms in the ward, and the other single room was currently occuppied by another long-staying mother-to-be).  Worse still, if the 1st class ward were to be filled up with new patients while I was away, I would have to go back to 3rd class to wait for an available bed in 1st class (shudder, shudder).  I have good reason to fear being in the 3rd class ante-natal ward.  It was packed with 40 over pregnant mothers, hot, noisy and uncomfortable.  Also, both the two mothers-to-be of triplets who were also admitted at 20-weeks and who were boarded in the 3rd class delivered prematurely, one at 24 weeks and the other at 30 weeks. Certainly, if a mother-to-be is not comfortable, this would not be good for the baby/babies.

I was also warned that while I am away from the hospital, they would not reserve ventilators for my babies, so should I go into pre-mature labor, there might not be enough ventilators for my babies.  This was absolutely bullshit, because when I was admitted to the labor ward at 24 weeks and then again at 32 weeks for threatened premature labor, there weren't enough ventilators anyway.

Anyway, in order to minimize our risks and keep my room, we decided that I will take an AOR day trip, instead of an overnight trip as originally planned.  I was so excited yet apprehensive about finally being able to leave the hospital!  DH came to pick me up in the morning and we were supposed to go directly to the church.  However, DH forgot to bring my clothes and though I had a maternity t-shirt, I was so dissappointed that DH agreed to drive me back home to pick up the forgotton clothes!  It just felt so great just to be normal and be able to put on some pretty clothes after being in a hospital gown for two months, and to wear some make up!

MIL treated me like an invalid throughout the entire day.  She was so afraid that I would fall!  I was extra careful though, I hated the idea of something bad happening and the doctors saying, "Ï told you so!" and then they would use my case as an example to other pregnant mother inpatients as a way of warning them not to leave the hospital premises AOR!

It was just so, so good to be outside in the world with other people!  After the wedding, we went to a nice restaurant for lunch and it was so, so good to be eating freshly cooked food served hot at the table, instead of from canister containers!  They were going to send me back to the hospital after lunch, but I hadn't tasted enough of my sweet freedom, so I said I wasn't ready to go back yet! So instead we went back home to rest.  I discovered, though, that sleeping in a non-airconditioned room on a flat bed that was not adjustable though piled with cushions was not so comfortable.  The kids were loud and noisy and unfortunately, this being an old house, the rooms were not soundproof.  The plan was for us to go out for dinner together as a family.   Yet, much as I would have loved to go for another outing and enjoy good food before returning to my dungeon, I decided that I'd better not push my blessings too much and requested to go back "home" to the hospital.

I was readmitted very quickly and back in my old room at the ante-natal ward.  Changed into hospital clothes again.  Life in the ward would continue as usual.  I was only half way through my hopsital stay back then.  Yet the day out of the hospital was exactly what I needed to give me the oomph to continue my hospital bed rest journey!  I was psychologically refreshed, energized and my spirits were lifted.  And, I finally got to take a pregnancy picture with DH!

This is a keepsake for our boys!