Three Little Piggies

On August 2nd, I got a phone call from Robs' partner telling me that the babies were on their way.  I could hear Robs in the background working on her computer, so I figured there was no reason to worry.  Robs had undergone IVF and had two eggs implanted, thinking one would take, like when they had their first.  Only, they got one heck of a surprise.  Not only did both eggs take, but one had split.  Instead of one baby, they were getting a set of identical twins and a singlet.

The triplets were at the 31-week mark, just a week shy of their goal, but Robs sounded in good spirits and was trying to finish up a project for work before they wheeled her into the OR for her C-section.

I didn't hear from Mandy the rest of the day and started to get worried.  The docs had been able to identify some issues via ultrasound with a couple of the babies and I started thinking the worst.

I finally got to talk to Mandy on Saturday, the day after the babies were born, and found out that they were all alive, but that Robs had started to bleed out during her C-section and was currently in the ICU.  I headed down to Denver to meet the babies and make sure my Robs was okay.

Since I don't have blog names for the babies, I'm going to continue to refer to them by their ultrasound names, Babies A, B, and C.

Baby A was born first, at 1:26 pm and was perfectly healthy, for being a 31-week old multiple.  She was tiny, but the biggest of the three, at 3 lb 6 oz and 16 inches.

Three weeks old, with Mommy Robs

Baby B was born immediately after her identical twin, Baby A, at 1:26 pm.  She was 3 lb 5 oz and 15 3/4". They had been watching Baby B carefully on ultrasound because her heart seemed to be shifted to the left.  Turns out, she only has one lung.  She spent 8 days on a vent and had a chest tube, but is now only on oxygen and doing well.

Three weeks old, with Mommy Robs

Baby C had it rough.  She was born at 1:27 without pulse or respirations. She was only 2 lb 6 oz and 15".  The docs resuscitated her, but basically told Robs and Mandy that she wasn't going to live through the night.  Mandy doesn't come across as deeply religious, but she is, and she had faith that Baby C was going to make it.  By the time I talked to her on Saturday, not only was Baby C alive, but she was doing well.  I got to the NICU with Mandy just as they were extubating Baby C.  No more vent!  The NICU nurse told us that sometimes the babies "just need a minute" to make the transition and that's what Baby C needed.

24 hours old with Mommy Mandy

3 weeks with Mommy Robs

After getting to meet the girls, I went to see my Robs.  It was very hard to see someone so vibrant laying in ICU, pale as a ghost.  Mandy told me Robs actually had some color compared to the day before. All I could think was "wow".  I can't imagine how scared Mandy had to have been the day before, watching her partner bleed out and being told that her baby wasn't going to live through the night.  I'm glad Mandy's best friends were there with her, and that Robs' parents were there for Robs.  I felt incredibly guilty for not leaving work when Mandy called me, but with Robs being so incredibly healthy (other than being pregnant with triplets), I figured I would just be in the way.

The last three weeks have been rough, but the girls are now doing well and the NICU nurses are doing their best to let Robs and Mandy still have their "firsts" with the girls, such as their first baths.

It's going to be amazing to watch these little ones grow up.