The babies are here -Sadly our little boy didn't make it

On Thursday 23rd October I went with hubby for our routine 31 week scan. It was a great shock to us when our consultant found and confirmed no heartbeat in our little boy. I had no idea. My main concern going to the appointment was that he may not have grown much more since the last scan. Things then began to move quickly- decisions about what was best for me and the girls. The girls weren't in any imminent risk because they were protected by their own membranes and placentas, but I was more likely to go into labour. The plan was to keep me in and hope I might be able to go another week before they carried out a c-section, giving the girls just that little bit longer before facing the world.
I was in too minds about this - the womb had always seemed the safest place for them, but now I had lost my little boy - I was anxious for them. In addition to this stress I had also been very concerned for my mum, seriously ill with terminal cancer in a hospital 160 miles away.Doctors were saying she only had days left and she was either sedated or distressed by her pain and struggling to breath. My brother was by her bedside giving us a regular update - I just wanted her to be comfortable, even if that meant she was asleep most of the time.
I went up to the maternity ward with niggling contractions every half an hour or so. In the morning the contractions were every 15 to 20 minutes and stayed like that for quite some time but then they started getting more painful and I sent hubby off to get a tens machine. I really needed it by the lunch time, there was no doubt in my mind then that I was in labour.
Things then started to really speed up and by 2pm I was in theatre. The babies were born at half two. Rowan Michael came out first - they kindly put him in a cot beside us whilst they sorted out the girls. He was just over 2lb, hadn't grown much since the last scan. My darling baby boy.
The girls were a devil to get out, it took a great deal of skill from the surgeons to remove them, and I was in theatre for over 2 hours. The girls were whisked away, needing immediate attention from the neonatal teams but hubby went and saw them a little later and they were doing well - needing intensive care but coping.
Ava came out after Rowan and finally Esme arrived.

Born 24th October 2008 2.30 pm (hubbies birthday)

Rowan Michael (RIP)
Ava - 3lb 5
Esme - 3lb 6

The second installment of this story will follow shortly.

False alarms and the Gaviscon wino

Hi there everyone. Thank you for all your comments, e-mails, appropriate gasps and exclamations. Thank you too for your thoughts and prayers (we do need to keep the little bleeders cooking in there for as long as possible - 6 weeks plus should have them about done, or me done in at any rate). TFK reckons I can stretch (quite literally) to 35 weeks, the consultant smiles knowingly and says 'most mothers have had enough by 34 weeks'. 'Not this mother ship - God bless her and all who sail in her'- exclaims hubby (thanks Nicole for offering up that wonderful analogy, now used at every opportunity by TFK!!) We shall just have to see. It wouldn't surprise me if TFK ran bets on it - he had the audacity to run a book on my haemoglobin levels in the first trimester - I must admit I was a little hurt when those claiming to be my friends were coming back with offers - 9, 9.5, 10, any offers on 11? - he'll have me in the school fate next 'Guess the weight of the Gestating Giant'.




My waist measurement is increasing as predicted - and is now 48 inches. I must admit I do feel a little competative about that now. I shall try and beat your 51 inches Jenny, although to be fair I'd need to reach 51 inches by 29 weeks as that's when your little angels decided to put in an appearance - I don't think any amount of apple pie, custard, cookies, twirls or tobelarone will increase my waist measurement by 3 inches in one week -but hey, I'll give it a go.


So any way - the false alarm - this happens a lot when you're expecting triplets (or so I have read). The text books have a list of signs to watch out for, your suppose to ring the hospital if you tick any of the boxes. I waited until we had two boxes ticked - regular (although painless) contractions (or contraptions as I like to call them) and heavy pelvic pressure. My insticts told me every thing was ok, but I had read enough testimonials of women who regretted not reacting sooner with what turned out to be early signs of premature labour. So - to be on the safe side - in we went to the labour ward at 10.45 pm last Friday. The night, of all nights, when the world and his wife were going into labour. We eventuallysaw someone at about 2am. This someone had the curious title of 'Research Fellow' I'm not sure what he was researching - lab rats presumably - he didn't seem to know much about triplet pregnancy any way. His recommendation was that I stay in the hospital overnight to be 'monitored'. This monitoring consisted not of machines that go ping, not of checks or tests of any kind, not even a temperature reading, but relied entirely on me letting the nurses know how I felt - presumably after a dreadful night sleep in one of their crappy hospital beds with no pillows. TFK and I were not happy with this 'plan'. The ward matron, sensed our frustration -probably had complains from a few lab rats previously under this 'research fellow's care- and arranged for us to see a lovely Senior Registrar, who checked my cervix, assured us that all was well, reassured us that we were right to be cautious and allowed us to go home - back to pillow land - We arrived at 3.45 am. I think I'll wait until we'veticked three boxes on the check list in future or at least go in armed with half a dozen pillows.


Pillows and Gaviscon are my new loves as well as apple pie and custard of course. I did wonder whether my reliance on Gaviscon has become a little severe, I break out in an anxious sweat if I realise that the bottle is upstairs and I'm not. We now have bottles all around the house, in every drawer, pocket and handbag, of various sizes and flavours. I wake up in the morning with chalk all round my mouth, like some deranged calcium addict.


This is normal - I presume?


I will close with some more photos, unfortunately we could only get decent pictures of baby 2 at the private 'bonding' scan we went to last Saturday. Baby 1 was tucked right down in my pelvis (hence the pressure on Friday night) and Baby 3 ( a confirmed girl by the way) - wasn't in the mood to have her picture taken. I have had to explain to people that it's not that I'm having to come to terms with having two girls as oppose to two boys, that's easy to get my head around - what I'm struggling to get to grips with is the fact that I was wrong - still can't quite believe that - how can that be? me? wrong? - no - it just doesn't make sense!!







It's weird how these pictures come out really - TFK said they remind him of the melting metal of ' The Terminator' - I know what he means but now I can't look at them without thinking of that last scene in T2 when the Terminator police man just keeps changing shape and coming back to try and kill Arnie. Thats not what you should be thinking about when youre looking at pictures of your unborn. Bloody good movie though.



'No more pictures please'


'I'm melting - I'm melting' - cute face though

Introducing 'the other' little people

So when I tentatively explained to Charlie that the babies might be arriving the day before her 5th birthday (14th November - 34weeks provisional date for c-section) I had images of an adult Charlie, lying anxiously on the therapist's couch,wringing her hands and painfully recalling how all happiness in her life was cruelly snatched from her the day before her 5th birthday, the day her mother and father wilfully abandoned her to the demands and wails of three monkey type creatures otherwise and forever more known as 'the triplets'. I held my breath and waited nervously for her response

'Oh good' she said 'they can buy me a birthday present'.

Never have I been so relieved and grateful for the power of consumerism.

Elijah's response to the triplets has also raised eyebrows. The other day he came up to my tummy with a toy medical hammer (the ones that doctors use to test your reflexes by bashing you on the knee, except that I've never actually known a doctor in real life do that) He started tapping my tummy with it - What are you doing I gently asked - fixing the babies- came his confident reply - they're broken- ahhh bless I thought, I have a son who is really going to care about his three younger siblings, what a relief - yes- he went on to say - they're broken because they've been bashed against the wall like this - he then went on to vigorously and enthusiastically reinact what in my mind would have been a scene of gut wrenching horror. He then turned, smiled angelically and wandered off. Should I worry?

Triplet photo album so far.....

When you are expecting triplets you have no end of scans- The picture above shows baby 2 and 3 at 12 weeks in what looks like little bunk beds. Baby 3 is lying under the bed somewhere!!

Baby 2 likes having her photo taken, but then she seems to always have the best seat in the house. This is her at 19 weeks.

Poor baby 1, the boy, is in a slightly less comfy position, you can just see his little feet crossed over and sticking out from his sleeping bag, the other two kind of sit on top of him - poor lad.

This is a rare picture of the illusive baby 3 - the most tricky one to photo - but making him/herself known more recently, by kicking me in the ribs mostly. This is him/her resting hand on chin at 24 weeks.

We were amazed by this picture. It is baby 2 waving at the camera like a superstar at 24 weeks - even at such a tender age she seems to resemble her older brother Eli.

Pregnant with Triplets - the story so far...

So this is me at 26 weeks pregnant with triplets. I've been on at dear hubby - from now on known as TFK - The Fertility King - to take my picture capturing my gargantuan size - I think he was waiting for my belly to fill the room entirely. My waist measures 46 inches. I'm growing about an inch a week at the moment and it's not all apple pie and custard. The little darlings are weighing in at :

Baby 1 - definite boy/ dangly bits spotted - 1lb 9 oz

Baby 2 - probable girl/no dangly bits/v. photogenic - 1lb 13 oz

Baby 3 - no dangly bits detected Drs think girl/ mother's witchy instinct thinks boy - 2lb 2oz

Then there's Freddie the Fibroid - sorry this may be too much info for some people - whose got a bit squashed, remains a steady 12 cm by 10 cm and is providing a neat little pillow for baby 3.

But hang on - lets go back a bit - some of you didn't even know I was pregnant. On the fateful day of the routine dating scan 12 weeks pregnant 11th June 2008, myself and TFK were anticipating 1 of 4 possibilities, these were:

1. No baby - just cruel joke, mother just fat and hormonal

2. Baby - no heart beat - no reason to think this but you have to be prepared just in case

3. 1 big fat baby - making mother extremely knackered and pukey

4. 2 babies - which would explain why mother is extremely knackered and pukey

We had not considered for an iota of a second - possibility 5 - THREE BABIES - mother in fact amazing Goddess and hero for coping under such circumstances, father Master of Fertility.

So when the sonogragher calmly said 'Are you ready for this.......(X Factor style pause.....) There are 3 in there..' We both burst out laughing.