July 14, 2011 - The babes are getting big!

Today we hit 27 weeks and 4 days!  We are finally down to single digits left - they will take the babies by 36 weeks if I haven't gone into labor myself, so we have less than 9 weeks left - whew!  I don't know if my body or mind can handle another 9 weeks, but I just have to keep taking it day by day.

This past Monday, we had another ultrasound and things look good!  The babes were measuring 2 lbs 3 oz (two weeks ago Baby A was 1 lb 10 oz), 2 lbs 6 oz (two weeks ago Baby B was 1 lb 13 oz) and 2 lbs 7 oz (two weeks ago Baby C was 2 lbs).  They are all still measuring a couple days ahead of schedule.  The best news is that they are all fairly close in size (which can be a major issue by now).  They also checked Baby B's kidneys and both measured within a normal range.  That eased a lot of stress of concern that there was a problem with one of our little girls!  They also measured my cervix again and it is holding out at about the same measurement.  Hooray!  Much better than our news two weeks ago!

I really appreciate all of the well wishes and encouragement over the last two weeks.  The last couple weeks have been really hard for me.  I felt so defeated.  For the longest time, I have been so optimistic and feeling like I could carry these babes to 36 weeks.  Our last appointment in Fargo made me fear that I was going to be going into labor sometime in the next week or two - which obviously, did not happen.  Our wonderful Obstetrician, Dr. I said a lot of encouraging things to me as well this past week (thank you :) !!).  She believes that with everything that I have already pushed through that we will make it well beyond the average of 32 weeks.

So I now have found my way back to that optimistic person I had been for the majority of the pregnancy!  Thank goodness!  This past week, Craig and I toured the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and that was quite an eye-opener.  I saw one really small infant in what they call an isolette (the clear box/crib with two holes in each side for your arms to reach in and care for a baby inside).  It was so emotional for me to see and experience.  I guess, you see photos of these from time to time, but you never picture your own baby needing to be placed inside something like that (more or less picturing three of your children in those).  It was scary to see, but also reassuring that they will take good care of our babes whenever they decide to come.  Bottom line is that seeing a small baby struggling for his/her life makes me want to fight even more to carry these babes another day, week, or even two months!

Like I said before, I really appreciate all of the encouragement over the past two weeks!  It really has helped me keep my head up as the discomfort continues to grow.  We see the doctor every week now, so I should have another update next week.