I was actually looking forward to March 31st, 2011. That morning I had a routine doctor's appointment and afterwords I was meeting two of my friends at Central Market for lunch. I had been seeing my doctor on a weekly basis at this point, so I was familiar with the routine. They had me pee in a cup, took my blood pressure and pulse, and then they wheeled in the portable ultrasound machine. Since I was pregnant with triplets every doctor's appointment (and there were a lot...two a month at the beginning and then at the end I saw my OB every week and my perinatalogist every other week) included an ultrasound since it was the only way to be for sure all of their little hearts were beating. We took a look at my little babies and then the doc measured my big belly (at that point I was measuring 45 weeks...a full term pregnancy is usually 40 weeks). She left for a little while and then came back with a skeptical look on her face. She told, "Rachel, you're not going to like this, but I'm going to have to admit you into labor and delivery. Your blood pressure is slightly elevated and I want to preform a 24 hour urine test. You could usually perform this test at home, but since we're so close to the weekend it would take too long for me to get the results back. I'm going to have you spend the night here and then you'll get to go home tomorrow." My biggest complaint was that I didn't have an overnight bag.
They settled me into a room and refused to even take my birth plan, since I 'wouldn't be having those babies yet'. My first phone call was to my friends to let them know I wouldn't make lunch (they came to the hospital). I then called my husband, Jenya, to let him know I would be in the hospital. I told him to not even take off of work and he didn't have to even come by when he was off. He was planning on going to San Antonio for a basketball game the next day. I then called my mom and told her I was fine and she didn't need to drive to Austin.
That night I asked for a second dinner and they refused to feed me. The next morning, they refused to give me my breakfast and then at 9am, the doctor came by. She told me that everything looked fine except for my platelet counts, which were dropping by the thousands (an indicator that my liver was failing, so I've been told). She then told me that my babies would be born either that night or the following day. Something a pregnant woman never wants to hear when she is 29 weeks 5 days (roughly 2 1/2 months from full term), but as soon as I found out I was having triplets I had started to prepare for this moment and this conversation. I picked my doctor and the hospital I deliver at with the knowledge that the average triplet pregnancy is 32 weeks. I did my research and knew that this NICU would be this best for my kiddos.
After that I called Jenya and told him that he was not going to get to go to the game. Can you believe his first response was, "well if their not born until tomorrow I can still go to the game"! To that I just replied, "you're not going." Later that day, the doctor came by to let me know she would feel better if we went ahead and delivered that day, so I spent the rest of the day talking to different doctors for both me and my litter. Once it got close to my surgery, something crazy happened that night in labor and delivery. After I had been scheduled a string of preterm pregnancy that were much more urgent than me showed up in the hospital. My c-section kept getting moved back. In all nine babies went up to the NICU that night...A record for the hospital. Finally at around 7pm it was my turn. I was shaking, I was terrified, but I did it and at 6:52pm I became a mother, and then again at 6:53pm, and then for a final time at 6:54pm.
The most difficult thing was that because of my low platelet count, I had to be on magnesium or I would have seizures during the surgery. Because of the magnesium, I absolutely could not leave my bed for anything until 9pm on April 2nd. That means I had to go 26 hours without meeting my newly born babies. It was tough. It's hard to believe that was a year ago.
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