Day 14 of my captivity

I slept fairly well last night. My nurse kept her visits to a minimum to help increase the chance of me getting rest. It worked. She only came in at 8pm, 11pm, and 5am so that was nice. Usually there's at least one more visit in there. I worked today and got a decent amount of work done for my client so that felt good. It definitely helped keep my mind off my pain. As I mentioned before, each day gets much harder. From this morning to tonight I feel that much worse and now am out of breath constantly. My belly is swelling from the pressure and well... it hurts.

Dr. J is the Perinatologist in the hospital this week. He came in to visit me mid-morning and presented a journal article to me regarding triplet pregnancies. The article (along with other statistics he shared) showed that a triplet pregnancy at 35 weeks was acceptable for delivery if the babies have been growing well and thriving in the womb. Fetal, neonatal, and maternal mortality begin to increase in triplet pregnancies extended beyond 35 weeks of gestation. He said he was very proud I was able to make it this far and told me research says it's okay beginning on 35 weeks and 0 days to deliver. He said the best timing for delivery is before I begin to have other complications (high blood pressure, swelling of the feet/ankles, preeclampsia, etc.) Otherwise, healthy babies might be born but then I am too sick to care for them. So, he told Ben and I to consider the research and he would show the research to Dr. V. this morning. He spoke with her and she read his research and agreed 100% that now is the time for delivery since I am healthy and the babies are doing so well. Waiting another week was just increasing the chance of something going wrong. So, they scheduled the babies' birthday for Thursday, July 23rd at 7:45 am. I am the first c-section of the day. At this hospital, babies born at 35 weeks and 0 days are not automatically admitted into the NICU. Since we have triplets, it is common for them to be taken to the NICU for testing to see if they are healthy enough to go to the regular nursery. Sometimes the babies are held in the NICU for 24 hours for observation. Please pray that our babies are healthy and able to go to the regular nursery and can come home with us once I am discharged. My stay will be anywhere between 3-5 days depending on my recovery. The first 24 hours for me will be spent in recovery, etc. I am nervous about the surgery. Please pray all goes well. Dr. V. will perform the surgery and Dr. J will be her assistant. Each of the babies will have a team of nurses and a Neonatalogist. The NICU will also have 1 nurse available for each baby in the event they are born sick and a doctor on standby. It will be a full OR (operating room). Ben will get to be with me as long as it doesn't turn into an emergency situation, which it shouldn't. He will try and take some pics of the babies when he's allowed.

Knowing the babies are coming this week is definitely helpful in dealing with my pain. I still can't believe how much more I hurt every day. Just when I think it can't get any worse, it does. I'm praising God for us making it this far and for our babies doing so well. God is good!

We will update you as we learn more. Hooray - the babies have a planned birthday!! :)