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| Andrew Wilson Rail - about 30 minutes old, in recovery room |
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| Andrew and Daddy in recovery room |
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Andrew Wilson Rail
Andrew
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First shot of the Triplets at 8 weeks
This was the first shot (and basically the last) where we had ALL three of them in one frame. Taken 11/23/10
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Andrew Wilson Rail
Joshua Lee Rail
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| Joshua Lee Rail - Full head of dark hair like Mommy Probably more hair than Daddy!  Joshua and Mommy's hand |
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| Oh Hey, it's Mommy! |
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| Mommy holding Joshua for the first time |
A couple of other shots...
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| Nana (left), Gram (center), Papaw (right), Mommy lower right checking out Noah |
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| Andrew: Who needs that paci? Or maybe he's just a future rock star! It's most definantly NOT "Hook 'em horns" |
Wednesday Evening Update
We have been so blessed not only by the arrival of three beautiful and healthy (although a bit preemie) baby boys, but have felt the support and love of an absolutely incredible group of family and friends. It truly is just amazing!
As of Wednesday evening, everyone is doing good.
Dina is off of the IV pain meds and magnesium (as of last night), and is feeling a lot better today. She has had some elevated creatinine levels (which is a measurement of how well her kidneys are – or are not – functioning). They have continued to give her some IV fluids to help her kidney function, which has maintained some swelling in her extremities. Overall, she’s doing remarkably well and has been an absolute trooper in getting through all of this. The nurses and doctors in the NICU have just been amazed that she was able to carry triplets to 34 weeks and has two 5+ pound babies. As Dr. Wendel said, she is just a machine!
The babies are doing very well for 34-week preemies. The smallest, formerly known as “Baby C” – Andrew Wilson, weighed 3 lbs 13 ozs, and had Apgar scores of 9 and 9. Apgar is named after an anesthesiologist, Virginia Apgar, who devised this system for grading newborns. Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration (apgar) – which measure for: Skin Color/Complexion, Pulse rate, Reflex, Muscle tone, Breathing. The two scores are for 3 minutes after birth and 10 minutes after birth. The scale is from 0 to 10, and it is almost impossible to rate a 10. For the little guy in the group, he came out absolutely the most healthy, and was breathing air on his own with no assistance from the word go! Of course, he had been stretched out, reclining on top of his brothers for months! One of the first nurses to work with him called him her “little dynamo!” Several folks have said Andrew favors me somewhat.
Formerly known as Baby B – Joshua Lee weighed 5 lbs 6 ozs, and is the bruiser of the bunch! His apgar was 8 and 8. He had been the hardest to measure for several months and came out the biggest. Although he is not on oxygen, he does have an air helper (or an air push) to make it easier to breath in (similar to a pap machine for those snorers). He has a head full of dark brown hair and really does resemble Dina a lot.
The first born, formerly Baby A – Noah Alan weighed 5 lbs 3 ozs. When he was removed via the c-section, the cord was wrapped around his neck and he had a couple of other issues. Unfortunately, his lungs are still a little under developed. He is on oxygen, around 30%, to keep help keep his blood oxygenated. They sort of expect that condition with preemies, but are very hopeful he will straighten it out. Right now he is really having to work hard to breathe, but they think he will be fine over time.
It really has been a blur the past 48 hours, but things are going extremely good. Dina is resting and I hope to get another pretty good night’s sleep tonight also (if I quit posting and responding to emails)!
Thank you again for all the prayers and good thoughts.
God has truly blessed us, and we are incredibly thankful!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
They're HERE!!!
I am almost completely exhausted from about an hour or so of sleep last night and all of the events of today.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Well…it’s about THAT time!!!
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| I’ll try to post more details later… but a quick update for now. This afternoon, Dina’s feet and legs were swelling, so she called the doctor and after a brief visit, he had us admitted to UAMS hospital. Her blood pressure had spiked for several reasons, but was about 160/110. After getting to the hospital, we got in a room, had blood drawn for the initial lab work, and got hooked up on the fetal monitors and blood pressure monitor. They have her on an IV and pushed magnesium sulfate to help avoid any seizures, and it also helps lower blood pressure somewhat. The initial lab work showed an elevated AST enzyme in her liver. At 12:30 am (Tuesday), they took another sample to the lab, and her blood pressure has remained down somewhat (140s/80s-90s). We’re waiting for the lab results (should be around 1:30am) and her parents should be here any minute, but not before the downpour started (fortunately it is covered parking). That will make Dina very happy and I'll very happy they made it safely here. I’ll post more later. |
Sunday, May 22, 2011
OK…I know it’s been over 2 weeks and I’m REALLY sorry I have not made any updates.
Things are still going exceptionally good. Dina is starting 34 weeks today, (Sunday, 05/22/11).
To catch things up just a bit…
32 Weeks – (05/12/11) – and another fantastic doctor’s visit
Well…she’s still a rock star! Dina is doing great! The doctor was pleased with her progress, actually very happy about her current condition. While her blood pressure was up just a tad bit again this time (134/90 vs. 136/84 last visit), there was only a trace of protein, which he said was not an issue at this point. He said the elevation in blood pressure is to be expected with triplets at this stage, but the good thing is that it has been a very slow and gradual increase, and nothing drastic. They did hook up monitors to check the babies (that’s another post for later), and they all sounded good. Overall, he was very pleased and again said she was doing great.
33 Weeks – (05/20/11) – still doing great
Actually, she’s doing amazing!
A couple of the staff members at the doctor’s office were just amazed that not only is Dina still able to get up and around, but that she is still smiling and seems to be in a great mood. When she was walking (ok, she now admits she is waddling just a bit) from the ultrasound room to an examination room, two of the nurses just stopped and said they couldn’t believe how well she was doing at 33 weeks and with triplets, “and you’re still smiling!?!”
This week we were scheduled first thing for an ultrasound (2 appointment slots). Bless the tech’s heart and bless Dina’s heart, they both have their work cut out for them in these sessions. It literally takes about 40 minutes to find everybody, try to keep them straight, and get their measurements; all while irritating them by poking on them, and they move around. Dina really has the worst of it and gets kicked and poked from both the inside and the outside, and ends up bruised all over.
For the ultrasound, it is getting to the point of being very crowded in there and hard to tell whose parts are whose and which pieces are in the way of seeing the others. The tech had some issues trying to get good measurements on baby “B”. Baby “A” is transverse (head down, and has been pretty much the whole time) and on Dina’s left side, with his legs and feet stretched up toward her ribs. “B” is on her right side, also transverse, and is somewhat cramped up and very low. He was the most difficult to get good readings. Baby “C” is somewhat horizontal across the top of the other two, with his head almost against the top of her right-side rib cage. To quote one of our friends, “C” is just kicked back up on top and enjoying the ride (as she mimics putting her hands behind her head and stretching out).
While the ultrasound is a ‘close guess’, we have babies that ALL are in at least in the 4 pound range. The smallest (and again, the most difficult to measure accurately) “B” appeared to be around 4 lbs 4 ozs. “C” is in the middle this time at 4 lbs 5 ozs, and “A” looks to be hogging up the place at 5 lbs 1 oz. The heart rates for them were good, ranging from 138 to 150 during the ultrasound. Again, the weights are really just ‘guesstimates’, but it is quite amazing that Dina is carrying 4+ pound triplets, and has made it through 33 weeks. The biggest factor is that they all appear to be progressing at about the same rate.
In the exam room, they decided to try and hook up the monitors again, which wasn’t quite as traumatic this time around, but was somewhat problematic in that “B” was not cooperating. The heart rates for “A” and “C” were steadily in the 132 to 148 range. After about 8 minutes of struggling with getting a good reading for “B”, the doctor came in, looked the monitor for “A” and said “perfect”, looked at the monitor for “C” and said “perfect” and said he wasn’t really worried about “B” on the monitoring, since we had gotten a good reading in the ultrasound.
Unfortunately, on the blood pressure, it appears to have been the start of a continual increase. The rise appears to be on a fairly ‘flat’ slope, but it’s still climbing a bit (144/84). Dr. Wendel said he was not overly concerned about it due to the simple fact that she is pregnant with triplets at 33 weeks and things are just going to happen. Again, there are reasons the national average for delivery of triplets is 31 weeks. His primary concern at this point is looking for symptoms of preeclampsia (sudden headaches, swelling of the face, blurred vision, and upper right quadrant pain). For weeks, she has had some swelling of her feet and ankles, if she is vertical for too long, and her hands have been a bit swollen and get numb, but none of the more severe symptoms he talked about.
Overall he said he was beyond pleased at this point. He again said that she was doing just incredibly well and said when this is all said and done, “I want you to come back and teach a class on carrying triplets! …you’re just doing amazingly well.”
I mentioned it before, and will likely mention it again, Dina and I have talked about the fact (and are thankful beyond expression) that we are incredibly blessed, not only by the fact we have triplets on the way, but by the incredible amount of strength and support we have from our friends and family. It is almost beyond comprehension the number of thoughts and prayers that are being offered up on our behalf. One of my co-workers told me last week that he was in Sunday School during a time of sharing joys and concerns, and one of the couples mentioned they had friends who were expecting triplets and wanted to ask for prayers. He said that caught his attention and after class was over, he asked the couple who it was they were talking about with triplets. As it turns out, the couple was Allen and Lori, some very good friends of ours. Allen and I grew up two blocks apart and have been friends it seems like forever. Another example of Little Rock really just being an over-grown small town, and one of the reasons I like this place.
Again, we are extraordinarily blessed to have the friends and family which surround us, both near and far. I cannot begin to articulate how grateful we are for each of you in our lives. Not that we didn’t realize it before this whole adventure began, but we certainly have been made acutely aware of it during. These two words don’t seem nearly enough, but with as much sincerity and humility as I can offer… THANK YOU!
So… today, we are starting 34 weeks!
Things are still going exceptionally good. Dina is starting 34 weeks today, (Sunday, 05/22/11).
To catch things up just a bit…
32 Weeks – (05/12/11) – and another fantastic doctor’s visit
Well…she’s still a rock star! Dina is doing great! The doctor was pleased with her progress, actually very happy about her current condition. While her blood pressure was up just a tad bit again this time (134/90 vs. 136/84 last visit), there was only a trace of protein, which he said was not an issue at this point. He said the elevation in blood pressure is to be expected with triplets at this stage, but the good thing is that it has been a very slow and gradual increase, and nothing drastic. They did hook up monitors to check the babies (that’s another post for later), and they all sounded good. Overall, he was very pleased and again said she was doing great.
33 Weeks – (05/20/11) – still doing great
Actually, she’s doing amazing!
A couple of the staff members at the doctor’s office were just amazed that not only is Dina still able to get up and around, but that she is still smiling and seems to be in a great mood. When she was walking (ok, she now admits she is waddling just a bit) from the ultrasound room to an examination room, two of the nurses just stopped and said they couldn’t believe how well she was doing at 33 weeks and with triplets, “and you’re still smiling!?!”
This week we were scheduled first thing for an ultrasound (2 appointment slots). Bless the tech’s heart and bless Dina’s heart, they both have their work cut out for them in these sessions. It literally takes about 40 minutes to find everybody, try to keep them straight, and get their measurements; all while irritating them by poking on them, and they move around. Dina really has the worst of it and gets kicked and poked from both the inside and the outside, and ends up bruised all over.
For the ultrasound, it is getting to the point of being very crowded in there and hard to tell whose parts are whose and which pieces are in the way of seeing the others. The tech had some issues trying to get good measurements on baby “B”. Baby “A” is transverse (head down, and has been pretty much the whole time) and on Dina’s left side, with his legs and feet stretched up toward her ribs. “B” is on her right side, also transverse, and is somewhat cramped up and very low. He was the most difficult to get good readings. Baby “C” is somewhat horizontal across the top of the other two, with his head almost against the top of her right-side rib cage. To quote one of our friends, “C” is just kicked back up on top and enjoying the ride (as she mimics putting her hands behind her head and stretching out).
While the ultrasound is a ‘close guess’, we have babies that ALL are in at least in the 4 pound range. The smallest (and again, the most difficult to measure accurately) “B” appeared to be around 4 lbs 4 ozs. “C” is in the middle this time at 4 lbs 5 ozs, and “A” looks to be hogging up the place at 5 lbs 1 oz. The heart rates for them were good, ranging from 138 to 150 during the ultrasound. Again, the weights are really just ‘guesstimates’, but it is quite amazing that Dina is carrying 4+ pound triplets, and has made it through 33 weeks. The biggest factor is that they all appear to be progressing at about the same rate.
In the exam room, they decided to try and hook up the monitors again, which wasn’t quite as traumatic this time around, but was somewhat problematic in that “B” was not cooperating. The heart rates for “A” and “C” were steadily in the 132 to 148 range. After about 8 minutes of struggling with getting a good reading for “B”, the doctor came in, looked the monitor for “A” and said “perfect”, looked at the monitor for “C” and said “perfect” and said he wasn’t really worried about “B” on the monitoring, since we had gotten a good reading in the ultrasound.
Unfortunately, on the blood pressure, it appears to have been the start of a continual increase. The rise appears to be on a fairly ‘flat’ slope, but it’s still climbing a bit (144/84). Dr. Wendel said he was not overly concerned about it due to the simple fact that she is pregnant with triplets at 33 weeks and things are just going to happen. Again, there are reasons the national average for delivery of triplets is 31 weeks. His primary concern at this point is looking for symptoms of preeclampsia (sudden headaches, swelling of the face, blurred vision, and upper right quadrant pain). For weeks, she has had some swelling of her feet and ankles, if she is vertical for too long, and her hands have been a bit swollen and get numb, but none of the more severe symptoms he talked about.
Overall he said he was beyond pleased at this point. He again said that she was doing just incredibly well and said when this is all said and done, “I want you to come back and teach a class on carrying triplets! …you’re just doing amazingly well.”
I mentioned it before, and will likely mention it again, Dina and I have talked about the fact (and are thankful beyond expression) that we are incredibly blessed, not only by the fact we have triplets on the way, but by the incredible amount of strength and support we have from our friends and family. It is almost beyond comprehension the number of thoughts and prayers that are being offered up on our behalf. One of my co-workers told me last week that he was in Sunday School during a time of sharing joys and concerns, and one of the couples mentioned they had friends who were expecting triplets and wanted to ask for prayers. He said that caught his attention and after class was over, he asked the couple who it was they were talking about with triplets. As it turns out, the couple was Allen and Lori, some very good friends of ours. Allen and I grew up two blocks apart and have been friends it seems like forever. Another example of Little Rock really just being an over-grown small town, and one of the reasons I like this place.
Again, we are extraordinarily blessed to have the friends and family which surround us, both near and far. I cannot begin to articulate how grateful we are for each of you in our lives. Not that we didn’t realize it before this whole adventure began, but we certainly have been made acutely aware of it during. These two words don’t seem nearly enough, but with as much sincerity and humility as I can offer… THANK YOU!
So… today, we are starting 34 weeks!
Friday, May 6, 2011
31 Weeks – we’ve made it to the national average for triplets!!!
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Our doctor’s appointment on Thursday morning (05/05/11) was good. This was the first time in this entire process where things were just slightly not great (I do not want to say they were bad, because they were not bad, just not 100% good). As he entered the room, the opening statement from Dr. Wendel was “31 and a half weeks… we’re there!” Sort of a scary thought to actually hear him say it, and then the realization and implications of it! J He did an “audio” ultrasound, which is basically a microphone connected to a monitor/speaker that you can hear the individual heart beat of the babies. All still sounded good, although he did say that “C” was his favorite. Which Dina said “Of course, he’s on top and easy to find every time!” He laughed and said that “A” was probably hacked off since he’s stuck down at the bottom and getting kicked and squished! The minor issues this time around are slightly elevated blood pressure (136/84, which was up from last time of 124/72), and +1 protein in her urine. The doctor was not too concerned and said “there is a reason the national average for triplets is 31 weeks. This is when things start to happen…” He said we would check it again in one week, and if it continued to tick upward, we would start to make plans. Fortunately we have made it this far without anything like this happening previously. Things start to happen, the body begins to react in certain ways, and it’s all just par for the course. ** This next paragraphcomment is one of those blog entries that will likely get me a “look” from Dina when she reads it** I do have to share the next comments the doctor made… the swelling and fluid retention is just part of it… “you know the Barney Rubble feet, swollen face, fat nose… but the features on your face still look good…” I really, really had to try not to laugh at the Barney Rubble feet comment (which scored me one of those looks from her in the doctor’s office too)! Bless her heart! But I really don't think she has Barney Rubble feet! J Her measurements put her at 45 weeks (or a month over-due) for a single pregnancy; so basically her body is the size of a 10-month single pregnancy woman. She is still having some issues with fluid retention and her hands being a bit numb. We’ve been very blessed and fortunate that things have gone so exceptionally good this far. I think hearing the first “not great” news at this visit sort of caused just a tinge of concern for Dina. Overall, she’s still doing fantastic. Her employer and boss have been great in that she is still working from home. Overall, the doctor said not to change a thing and to keep doing what she’s been doing. On a side-note, and what I thought would be a separate blog, the house remodel/repair is getting close. Painting and trim are about 95%, cabinets are about 95%, counter tops should be installed next week (if we can get the appliances picked out and installed), hardwood flooring is supposed to be installed today (Friday), the master bathroom is about 98% done, and the main parts of the nursery are basically done (paint, trim, and carpet). I’ll try to post some photos of that soon. We’re getting there! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! They do make a difference and we absolutely could not have made it this far without them! |
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