33 Weeks & 3 Days

Home again, home again, jiggity jig! Oh wait..... I am not home, I am at my new home away from home. Yes that is correct, I am back in the hospital!

This morning I had my appointments and things started off as well as could be expected. There was no protein detected in my urine screen but my blood pressure was up again to 138/100. I met with Dr. Dixon and he attributed the higher blood pressure during visits to the additional strain that is associated with me getting myself to the appointment. He was ok with me continuing on home bed rest with visits to his office twice a week. He concluded my visit with a follow-up appointment on Tuesday. However, he wanted to speak to the Maternal-Fetal Specialist, Dr. Willis, once the boys were evaluated. I then headed upstairs for my next visit.

This visit was the growth check that we had been waiting for since a couple weeks ago when we were told their growth had slowed. The ultrasound revealed all three boys are still breathing well. Baby A's position still prevented him from having his weight determined so his weight remains a mystery. I can't wait to meet Baby A because we know so little about him compared to his brothers. Baby B weighed in at 4.5 lbs and Baby C weighed in at 4 lbs. The doctor stated this was about the 18th percentile which is great interval growth since their last check. I was relieved to hear their weights because they are finally hitting a weight in which they would do well outside of me.

Dr. Willis proceeded to take my blood pressure since I was admitted the week prior for high blood pressure. My pressure at this check was 158/100. He was not pleased. He then proceeded to call Dr. Dixon to discuss next steps. Both agreed that there is not a need to deliver at this point; however, he felt I needed to be admitted to the hospital until I deliver (ugh!). While this was his recommendation, he left the final decision up to Dr. Dixon since he is my primary so there was still hope.

I was sent back downstairs to meet with Dr. Dixon. He was still considering at home bed rest until he read Dr. Willis' report which put the recommendation for hospitalization in black and white. Once he saw this documentation, he was left with no options but to admit. And... here I am back at the great Tallahassee Memorial Hospital! I should mention that my first blood pressure reading once settled into bed was 134/91. It was already starting to come down once I was in a resting state.

There is one more symptom of the mild preeclampsia that I am starting to notice and that is the swelling. I am starting to swell more each day. This is evidenced by the amount of water weight I have gained in the past 2 weeks. At the 31 week mark, I had gained 30 pounds with the pregnancy. This was low for triplets. Well….. in the past 2 weeks, I have gained 24 lbs! Oh my is right! I am quickly catching up to where I should be but this is all due to the fluid retention. The good thing is that I should loose this pretty quick after delivery.

They are very nice here and treat me very well. Everyone is so interested in the fact that I am having triplets! As such, the staff from housekeeping to nutrition to the nurses seems to take a little extra care with "us." While I don't want to stay here very long, everyday in the hospital helps the boys prepare that much more for their eventual arrival. My target now is 34 weeks and after that we can focus on 35 weeks.

I will post again if our situation changes!

Take care,

Kellie