11/29/2011 Complications at 26 Weeks

This is Brian writing, so I know it will not be as eloquent, but I am stepping up under the circumstances.  Cassie will be 26 weeks tomorrow.  Monday afternoon we got a major scare and are still in the midst of it.  I was home from work and Cassie was lying down on the couch. She told me that she was having painful pressure and cramping.  She really didn’t want to call the doctor because she was certain she would make her come in.  To be safe, Cassie called and described her situation.  The nurse told her to come in to Baptist OB Triage.  Cassie was smart enough to pack a bag, thinking that by preparing for the worst, she would just be checked-out, everything would be fine and she would be sent home.  At the hospital the nurse starts to monitor Cassie’s contractions and the heartbeats of the boys.  She was contracting every 30-45 seconds.  The nurse said the contractions weren’t big, but caused by an irritated uterus. 

Before the nurse did any other checks she told us that we would be staying the night at the hospital.  When she checked Cassie’s cervix she was able to tell that it was open and there was pressure.  This brought on the emotions.  Frustrated and scared were the first ones. We will love these boys beyond measure when they get here, but they do not need to arrive in this world for quite a few more weeks.  If I get to pick, a minimum of 6 weeks and we would be happy for 8 more weeks of cooking at this point.  Upon discovering the dilation, the nurse shifted into a faster gear and told Cassie about the wonders of Magnesium Sulfate and all the side effects it would have on her.  The point being, to calm everything down, relax the cervix and stop the contractions, but all the while putting Cassie through hot flashes, nausea and as discovered today, body aches.

From the monitors on the babies and then the ultrasound we were given some good news.  The babies’ heartbeats were good, they looked fine and Cassie’s cervix was still long.  By the way, don’t let all the terms fool you, I am just trying to repeat some of the things I have heard, and it may mean something to half the population. 

The good news that the babies didn’t seem too effected by everything going on helped us.  Around 7pm Monday night, Cassie had an IV for fluids, Magnesium Sulfate and had been given a steroid injection to help develop the boys’ lungs.  At this point I asked the next important question for Cassie….when can she eat.  The answer was more bad news….not while on the Magnesium.  As I am writing, she hasn’t had real food since 3pm Monday.  Yes, that is a very long time for anyone….especially a beautiful pregnant lady of triplets.  She has been given various other drugs like pepcid and raglan for heartburn and today they added antibiotics.

It has been an adventure but things do seem to be continually improving.  The same nurse has helped Cassie on the night shift last night and tonight and has been awesome.  Cassie was told she would get to stop the Magnesium and may be moved to a step-down room Wednesday.  Hoping and praying all goes well and that she gets to go home and rest soon.  Cassie said she is more than willing to just lay around at home just so she doesn’t have to be in the hospital with all the contraptions and to keep the boys cooking as long as possible.

Continue to pray for the babies and Cassie.  Specifically, that all the contractions and irritation will stop, allowing the babies to stay put, growing bigger and healthier as long as possible.  And don’t forget to pray for me and Brock, it is time to put our organizational, care-taker, home-manager skills to the test.  I pray that Brock is not adversely affected too much by all the changes now and in the future and I pray that I have the strength, energy, and knowledge to do what needs to be done for my family. No more time for procrastination.

11/17/2011 Dr. Appointment Update

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my regular OB and wanted to give you a brief update.  Currently, I see both a high risk OB and my regular OB, Dr. Haney, who delivered Brock, and will likely deliver these three boys.  Dr. Haney was encouraged by what she saw on the ultrasound report but was still cautiously optimistic.  She shared that these babies are viable at this point but we obviously do NOT want them to join the world just yet.  The longer they stay inside the better, up to 36 weeks.  After 36 weeks they have found that triplets no longer thrive in the womb, and they will deliver them if by a miracle they are still holding on.  Of course at that point I'm sure I will be begging to deliver.  Prior to looking at the ultrasound and talking to me, Dr. Haney had intentions of putting me on a more restricted bed rest schedule.  However, since things are going so well, she has allowed me to stay on my current "mortified bed rest" schedule,  resting two uninterrupted hours, on my side, each morning and afternoon.  She did encourage me to spend every two or three days doing nothing and laying around most of the day.  I know this sounds wonderful to all of you with busy schedules and I am trying to enjoy these quiet, relaxing moments, but I also long for the energy to be up preparing for the arrival of these little ones.  So how big am I?...Well maybe someday I will get the courage to post a picture.  To put it in prospective, I am 24 weeks and a normal 24 week pregnant women's uterus would measure 24 cm.  I currently measure 33 weeks.  This measurement has not changed in the last couple of weeks, likely because my little miracles are in line and are spreading out wider.  I honestly feel pretty good.  It would be great to have more energy but I know that is God's way of keeping me on the couch.  If I don't feel like getting up and going then I don't.  Thanks for all of your continued prayers.

24 Week Ultrasound

Today we were excited to see our three little guys.  Lots of good news!  All three babies are growing and everything looks great.  Two boys are head down and one is in the breach position. The approximate weight and percentiles of each baby are as follows:
  Baby A  1 lb 7 oz  52%
  Baby B  1 lb 5 oz  30%
  Baby C  1 lb 8 oz  67%
These percentiles are very encouraging since they are being compared to singleton babies and triplets are often smaller. We met a new doctor today, who was very encouraged by what she saw on the ultrasound, but like all my other doctors she is also realistic.  Just as we have been told several times, this doctor told us that I would likely spend some time in the hospital before delivery (attempting to keep the babies inside a little longer or to more closely monitor my health and the health of each baby).  She also shared with us that triplet babies often like to join the world between 28 and 32 weeks.  This is pretty scary since we are only four weeks away from 28 weeks.  Obviously, everything can change quickly so we will continue to have regular ultrasounds.  We hope to update this blog with each doctors visit and with specific prayer requests.


Our Prayer Request
(Many of you have asked how you can help.  We humbly ask for prayers.  We strongly believe in the power of prayer it has given us peace and comfort so many times in the past.)


1.  Babies will continue to grow and develop at a healthy rate
2.  Cassie's body will continue to provide an ideal home for the babies

Our Story / Our Testimony

We know that many of you are reading this blog to keep up with our triplet pregnancy, but we wanted to give the back story to the current craziness for anyone who doesn’t know.  Many of you will understandably want to skip ahead to our pregnancy updates. 

Brian and I would consider ourselves planners.  We like the predictable and are most comfortable when things are moving along the way WE have it planned.  Thankfully God has a better plan for our lives and we have been fortunate to have a front row seat to see His amazing plan play out.  Just as He promises it ISN’T always the easy road to trust in Him, however, He is always working for the good of those that love and serve Him. 

Approximately two years after we were married we decided that it was time to add to our family.  Things didn’t play out exactly like we had planned.  After trying to conceive for over a year we were referred to the specialists at Nashville Fertility.  Many, many, many tests and a surgery later it was discovered that I have stage 4 endometriosis (a painful, chronic disease that affects at least 6.3 million women and girls in the U.S.).  I can’t speak for Brian but this was a relief to me.  It explained so many things and gave us a place to start.  I personally like to know what I am dealing with.  I am not a fan of the unknown, so if I know what the “problem” is I can work on finding a solution.  We tried some less invasive procedures before realizing that in vitro fertilization (IVF) was our best option.  After several months of consideration and prayer we decided to move forward with our first cycle of IVF.  This is not an easy process and takes a toll on both the husband and wife emotionally, physically, and obviously financially.  Brian and I were so fortunate to have so many friends and family praying for us.  There was a real sense of peace about what we were doing.  We had a very successful first cycle and have our four year old son Brock to show for it.  At that time we were able to freeze 20+ embryos (an almost unheard of number). 

Around the time Brock turned two I began to feel like I was ready to go through the IVF process again.  Since it worked so well for us the first time we were confident it would work again.  This time around we once again transferred two embryos.  We felt like we really wanted to surprise people with a pregnancy so we shared the process with very few and hoped we would have exciting news to share with our families.  Our second cycle didn’t work and we mourned that loss.  We were heartbroken but soon felt a peace about it and were able to enjoy our family of three. 

Approximately a year later I told Brian I was ready to try again.  This time we told most of our family and friends and asked for them to shower us with prayers.  After transferring two embryos we received exciting news that we were indeed pregnant.  This excitement was short lived and on my first day back to school after summer break I received the results of my second blood test…we were no longer pregnant.  This would be called a chemical pregnancy because it was lost so early but we felt the pain of the loss just the same.  I can't believe how much you can feel God's comfort and peace when you feel the saddest. 

Once again it took me about nine months to feel ready to give IVF another try.  Brian has always been very supportive and has allowed me to really decide when we should try again.  Without his continued love and support I would have never been able to make it through these challenging years.  Before this cycle started I really felt, in my heart, that this was the last time.  I had a peace about it (as I always did, even in the failed cycles).  I was completely comfortable being the mom of one child or even considering adoption down the road if this IVF round was not successful.  My body was telling me that I physically and emotionally could not continue with more cycles after this one.  In the spring of 2011 we began the process of what I believed to be our fourth and final in vitro transfer.  As we prepared we discussed with our doctor the idea of transferring three embryos instead of two.  She agreed and we proceeded.  As with two of my previous cycles, I also had a weekly acupuncture appointment with an amazing acupuncturist.  He was not only sticking me with needles but he was also an advisor in many ways.  During one session I asked him what he thought about transferring three embryos this time.  His response, “Well, would you want zero babies or three babies?”  At the time it wasn’t even a question…I wanted a baby and if they came in threes I would take it.  God heard me loud and clear and 11 days after transfer we received the news that we were indeed pregnant.  Feeling a little gun shy from our last cycle we only shared the news with our parents and waited to tell our friends and extended family.  After our second positive pregnancy test on July 4^th we shared the exciting news with our friends and family.  At seven weeks we returned to have our first ultrasound.  We were thrilled to get our first look at the little girl or guy growing inside of me.  Because of some bleeding we were also preparing ourselves for the worst.  I stretched back on the table closed my eyes and began to pray that everything was okay and that our little one was still growing strong. Brian on the other hand was leaning in watching the screen intently.  He later shared that he very quickly saw that there were two little sacks; which was a total shock to him since he was convinced that there was only one baby.  I finally began to open my eyes and look towards the screen when the ultrasound technician said, “Congratulations, you have three babies!”  Brian's smile expanded and I began to cry and shake a little, not because she said THREE but because everything was okay.  I felt such a sense of relief!  As minutes passed and we got a good look at our little guys reality might have started to sink in but mostly we were thrilled to be blessed in such a huge way. 

So here we are 23 weeks into our pregnancy with triplet boys and believe me, reality has hit us, but we are still feeling the enormous gift that God has given us.  We are thankful for this twisted journey that has not only brought us closer to each other but we have always felt the arms of Christ securely surrounding us!