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!