Well after several weeks of praying that she would just "get admitted to the hospital already", Julie finally got her wish. So as I write this update I am sitting in a room at the hospital where Julie will be delivering the triplets sometime in the next 5 weeks. This is actually our second time to visit a hospital in the past week as a result of Julie experiencing premature labor signs. The first visit was last Saturday after Julie began having a series of contractions that were somewhat worrisome based on the gazillion warnings that we have received from books and doctors about the signs of preterm labor. During that visit the hospital staff did a couple tests and four hours later declared that Julie was not experiencing preterm labor and we were sent home.
Everything was fine (if you can call being 31 weeks pregnant with triplets "fine") until yesterday when Julie again began having contractions that were fairly close together and therefore cause for concern. Since we were going to be going to the doctors' office that afternoon for an ultrasound anyway, we decided to just wait and tell them when we got there. The ultrasound went well and all three babies weighed in somewhere between 3.5 and 4 lbs which is excellent at this stage in the game (Julie hit 31 weeks yesterday). It also appears that our little guy, Baby C has caught up somewhat to his siblings and now all three of them are within a few ounces of each other. After the ultrasound we spoke with the doctor and she recommended that we go to the hospital for a 24-48 hour observation period and a steroid shot (which helps quicken the babies lung development). So after running home to pick up some clothes and making arrangements from someone to watch the cats we were off to the hospital yet again.
So far Julie has been examined, tested and monitored by various doctors and devices and everything has indicated that she is still not experiencing preterm labor. In fact they are pretty impressed with how well her body is holding up to the stress of the pregnancy. It has been good for us too because we have been able to see the hospital, meet the staff and learn our way around (or I guess I should say my way around because Julie isn't really going anywhere). Other than having to change rooms at 1:30 in the morning, we have been satisfied with the hospital and the staff. It is also extremely reassuring for me to have Julie watched over and cared for by actual medical professionals rather than just me whose medical knowledge is gleamed completely from a couple books and whatever I can dig up on WebMD. This visit is also saving me a trip to Norfolk on Saturday as I was going to come down for a tour, which is basically unnecessary now.
My biggest complaint so far has got to be the chair that converts to a "bed" for overnight guests. Its not that I expected a Sealy Posturepedic or anything but this thing is only a step up from sleeping on the ground out in the woods. My guess is that they design these things so that you will wake up every 2-3 hours in order to prepare you for the many sleepless nights to come after the babies are born. Meanwhile Julie gets to enjoy what is basically a craft-o-matic adjustable bed which she doesn't want to get out of.
That is all we really have to report right now. Initially they said that we would probably go home sometime this morning but so far we have not heard anything so we could end up staying until tomorrow. If that happens I will be sure to post something to keep everyone apprised of the situation. Thank you all again for your support and prayers!
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