January 14th, 2011

On Friday, January 14th at 2:04pm our three little angels were born.

Baby A = Alton Robert 4 lbs; 17.5 inches
Baby B = Baxter Alfred 4 lbs 8 oz; 17.5 inches
Baby C = Charlotte Morgan 2 lb 4 oz; 16.5 inches

I figured that I would write-out the story since it's fresh in my head. This may read a tad like a long journal entry, so forgive me --- someday the babies will want to read this, so I'm just getting it down.

The Routine Check-up
Friday was a wild day. It started with a 9am routine ultrasound check-up to review the measurements of each baby. My sister was in the room with me during the appointment and all was going well with the two boys. We finished with the little girl and it quickly became obvious that the data was not what we wanted to see. Baby girl C was only measuring at 2 lbs and a few ounces which is half the weight of her brothers'. The doctor came in to review with me and Laura remained calm and asked good questions as I stared blankly at him. It was all so shocking after such a "good run". Basically, baby c's placenta was not getting her the food she needed for the past 4 weeks, but luckily we were at 32 weeks gestation.

Triage
The doctor said it was time to check me into the hospital for close monitoring. I robotically walked into the sitting room where my mom was waiting and informed her of the fact that I needed to be admitted. It was an intense moment of whispering and quick gathering of items with many questions silently whirling around us. We got to triage and were reassured that we were probably not delivering and I was just being monitored. With that, all of the sensors got strapped onto me and we watched the normal heart rates on the screen. I called Kreg and told him to stop by the hospital after he wrapped up his second class downtown.

Well, once they laid me back on the bed baby c's heart rate dropped and the room was immediately filled with a flurry of activity. They got an IV into me and strapped an oxygen mask on my face. I texted Kreg and said "Come now - call my mom". That's all the poor guy got...yikes.

Swept Away
Soon after, baby C's heart rate came back up and all was calm again. The doctors and nurses were fine with our status but wanted me to visit the lady's room since contractions were beginning to show up on the monitor. When I got back on the bed the nurse put the sensor back on my belly where little girl C was and she immediately said "oh, come on little girl, don't do this to me". The doctor was rushed in to review and everything happened at once. He turned to me and said "it's time to go." The only questions left were whether I was going under general anesthesia or having a spinal where I could be awake...oh, and if dad can't make it, who should go in with me. As they rushed me down the hall, I told them to send my mom in if Kreg did not arrive in time.

The OR
I suddenly found myself in the freezing cold operating room with tons of people running around me. The anesthesiologist made me focus on him and answer his questions as nurses put a pen in my hand to sign paperwork in a hurry. The doctor checked baby c's heartrate in the operating room and determined that she was stable which meant we could move forward with a spinal and I could be awake. I was determined to be calm and cool and made jokes with the staff as they swabbed my spine. They complimented me on my disposition as I visibly shook like a leaf on the steel table with a smile on my face still trying to make jokes. I was laid down and breathed deeply as they put up the divider sheet which I had seen so many times in those silly "baby shows" on TV. The difference was it was me, I wasn't ready for it, and I no one was beside me except for the wonderful anesthesiologist who talked me through it all.

The Arrival
I stared at the nice anesthesiologist as they were pressing and tugging at my stomach. I heard them calling out "where's dad" or "exactly how far away?". Then they said "it's baby time, bring in mom". I then heard them say "Mom's not dressed" ... and I almost lost it. I yelled "forget them, get the babies out, Go Go Go" since I was becoming very nervous about the babies. The anesthesiologist made eye contact with me and said "It's okay, your mom's coming in ... someone should be here to experience this miracle. Triplets are amazing." With that my mom was rushed to my side as I heard them calling out "here comes baby a! he's a boy!". Within seconds they yelled "here comes baby b! he's a boy!" and then "baby c, she's a girl!". The whole time my mom was crying and telling me how much she loved me and overflowing with joy as each baby came out. It was amazing to experience it through her since I could see nothing and was focusing on remaining calm. Within those seconds Kreg arrived and my mom was whisked away. I started to cry when I saw him and we had a moment. It was all a blur and he went to check on the babies in the room and I listened for cries.

The Jones Family
I laid there uncomfortably as they continued with the operation and Kreg came back to my side visibly moved and shaken by the entire experience. He said "they are all okay and they're amazing". The nurses wheeled Alton and Baxter over to us and I got to kiss their little heads. They then wheeled tiny Charlotte over and we stared at her through the plexiglass. It was all very amazing. We talked and Kreg held my hand as we managed through the rest of the operation which was not fun ... for either of us. Kreg witnessed a little too much of the operation since he was soon against the back wall asking for juice with his face as white as a ghost. I felt bad for him, but somehow it was a bit of comic relief for me. I knew that, in whatever shape or form or state of being, we were all there and we were going to be okay.