My husband, Jeff and I got married six years ago, and my sons Jeffrey (11) and James (7) are from a previous marriage. Jeff and I both love children and tried to get pregnant. We talked to our doctors and they suggested Clomid. When Clomid didn't work, we tried IUI, and after the first round of shots we were pregnant with another boy.
Because of my age, turning 35 the day I got pregnant, I was talked into doing an amniocentesis to detect any problems. The amniocentesis made me lose this precious little angel, John William. He was stillborn at 20 weeks. I was heartbroken. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him. Our priest, Father John, helped us in dealing with his death and placed his ashes around a beautiful tree in Potomac, Maryland.
Jeff and I met with a high risk doctor who had delivered multiples and he didn't discuss reduction. He said that I would probably go on bed rest at 20 weeks and be hospitalized at 34 weeks until the end of my pregnancy. He really wanted to get me to 36 weeks.
I went to my doctor the following afternoon, still bleeding, but it was dark blood. He did a sonogram, thinking there would be no good news. He showed me the three little heart beats and later said that he thought that the cysts and fibroid I had were causing the dark blood.
For the next eight weeks I bled. I was on bed rest, only allowed to go to the bathroom, take a quick shower or get my water bottle filled. I was going to the doctors every other week. At 20 weeks our sonographer said that it looked like I was carrying all girls. Jeff thought he saw "boy parts," so until delivery, we didn't know.
Bed rest was hard. I missed James' first day of kindergarten, his birthday, Halloween, and I was too big to enjoy sitting at the table for Thanksgiving. Both Jeffrey and James seemed to be handling my bed rest just fine. Thanks to the Triplet Connection and their reading materials, I read that bed rest is so important for growing healthy babies. The laundry can wait, the dishes can wait. I crocheted the babies their blankets, one with green colors, one all white and one with purple colors, since I didn't know if they were boys or girls. Jeff bought me a laptop, my connection to the rest of the world. He took the boys to daycare, cooked dinner and helped with bath time. I could help with homework. Father John and Deacon Bill visited me every Sunday while Jeff took the boys to church and Sunday school.
At 22 weeks, Jeff took a pleasure trip to Colorado and he drove. I didn't want him to be mad at me, but I really didn't want him to go. My mom was staying with me at night to help with the boys. It was really too much for me with him being gone, and I went into pre-term labor. I was sent home on medication to stop the contractions. I had to take this until the end of the pregnancy. At 28 weeks, I started itching. I developed a rash on my tummy, and thanks again to the Triplet Connection, I received information on pregnancy itching. My doctor put me on medicine since the itching also made me very irritable.
The NICU doctor said that the girls would be in the NICU for three to six weeks, if not longer. Jaclyn came home from the NICU on New Year's Eve. Julie and Jessica were both home within three and a half weeks. Their doctor told us that the girls were doing so well, that we needed to take them home. I used the colors from their blankets for their pacifiers, green for Jaclyn, pink for Julie and purple for Jessica. Jessica has red hair, and a green safety pin on Jaclyn's clothes and a pink one on Julie's clothes helps us know who's who.
People ask me what I thought when I was told I was carrying
triplets. I always wanted three children, but God must have
thought I meant three children at one time. I am a firm believer
that God only gives out what we can handle, so he must have
thought that we could handle the bed rest and taking care of our
five children. Jeffrey and James' elementary school and our church
organized volunteer help and they are truly wonderful. Families
from the school and the church have also been bringing dinners
by during the week. My hope is that one day, when I can, I would
like to give as I have been given.