An Unexpected Day At The Dr.....

Unexpected but good. :) They did a Biophysical Profile (BPP ) on all 3 babies. We will be doing these weekly from now on. What it is, is basically an Apgar from the inside. They score the babies based on their fluid levels, heartrates, whether or not they are practice breathing and how the blood flow looks in the cord/uterus. All the babies scored 8/8 today! They were all huffing and puffing away. VERY weird to see that but so nice to know that they are working their lungs. Baby C, Emilia, does have a lower fluid level than the other two, but the Dr. still called it adequate. They like to see at least a 2x2 pocket, and Mia has a 3x3 pocket. Baby A, Roslie and Baby B, Gwendolen have about 5x6 and 6x6. It could be because she's a bit bigger, it could be her position, or it could be that her fluid level is getting low. It seems low to me, but as I said, the Dr. isn't concerned so I won't be. They also didn't do a cervical check or an fFN. I was hesitant at first about it, but Dr. W (my favorite) explained why he doesn't. He said that from now until Tuesday (which is when I am 32 weeks)he would try to stop my labor. After Tuesday, he won't. This is because he believes, that the 32 week mark is a very good time for the babies. They are in no danger of being born. Again, it's not ideal, but it's ok. He believes that the medication that they would use to try to stop the labor would do me and the babies more harm then if they were just born. He also believes that if I do go into labor, then my body is trying to tell me something. Either my body, or one of the babies and in this case, Baby C and her fluid level. I agree with him 100%. I like that he wants to listen to my body and my babies and not try to force them to stay in if it really will be better for them on the outside. Sometimes, they just will grow better out than in. And sometimes, your body and the littles inside you know best. My mom always says that "When baby is done, baby will come" I think it stands true in this case too, even though they will be preemie, how do we know that they are coming because my body needs them to, or they need to? I've got a pretty good track record of holding babies in until they are safe, I am confident that these babies will be no different. As for the cervical check, mine has been so consistent, that he sees no reason to "mess with things in there". And again, we go back to the 32 week thing. We will do the steroid shots next Thursday. Dr. W. likes to do 2 sets of them to prepare the babies lungs for the outside should they decide to come early. The shots last for 2-4 weeks so doing them at 32.5 weeks is good. I'll do one set Thursday and another set 24 hours later. He sees no need for the fFN or the cervical checks since we are preparing for the just in case, and either way, the babies will benefit from the steroids, even if they last until 36 weeks, the shots will have taken affect on their lungs. He did say he might do the cervical check next Thursday before the shots, but it was a maybe so we will see. :)

And a quickie FYI for everyone who has asked and everyone who is wondering. I get this question alot, "Since you have named the babies and have bonded with them at these names, how will you know who is who once they come out"?

Answer: The Dr's have the babies labeled in utero. They do move around inside their placentas but since their placenta is attached to the uterine wall, they don't completely switch places. They move inside their sacs, but not positionally inside my belly. Make sense? So, they are labeled from the "opening" of delivery and clockwise from there. Bay A is closest to the cervical opening. Then move around my belly, clockwise from there. When they make the incision at the C-section, Baby A will be the first out, then Baby B, then Baby C. Did that make sense? I'm going to try to take a frontal belly shot and label the babies positioning so you can see it better. We'll see how good my photoshop skills are. I may have to recruit Madeline to help me.