Lucky I got that night out...

So I guess it was a good thing that I got to get out of the house on Monday, but because I won't be getting out of the hospital now until the babies get here (and, yes, I was assured, it wasn't because I went to a movie). So here's the full scoop! I had a routine appointment yesterday and went in expecting all to be well with babies (me, is always questionable since I didn't even know that I was having contractions when I went into the hospital the first time, but the babies they are strong). At some point towards the end of my ultrasound the tech said something about running numbers and Dr. L-S having to decide what to do about Baby B since he was measuring small. At this point, I didn't know how small! Well, we got the numbers back and Baby A and C are both weighing in at a healthy 2 lbs 11 and 12 oz (this is the 60% even for singletons), but Baby B is only 1lb 11oz (this is the 14%) and his cord blood isn't oxygenating the way it should. So what does this all mean?

Well, first it means closer monitoring for all involved parties, which means I spent the night last night with 5 monitors hooked up around my belly-1 for each baby, 2 to measure any contractions I might be having. From here on out I only have to do that twice a day for an hour. (Sometime, I'll take a picture of this fun adventure!)  I was also placed on a round of steroids which helps the babies lungs mature so, if they should have to be delivered early, this will lesson the amount of time that they need to spend with respiratory assistance once they get here. They've also placed me on a course of magnesium sulfate (you all remember, this is my favorite--but since I was going to be kept up all night on monitors which not add throwing up, shakes and hot flashes to the party!) this will quiet the uterus for the tests that are to come and will also help to prevent some brain bleeding issues that can cause cerebral palsy which is common in preemies. 

Now comes time for the tough stuff, "what is happening to baby B?!" Well, he is hanging in there. He's moving like he should and his heart rates is still going strong. We have two possible causes of what is happening. One (and thankfully, the vastly most likely scenario) is that his placenta just simply is aging faster than it ought to and causing him to decide "what's the most important place for the nutrients that I AM getting"--the answer would be brain and heart. His brain and heart are both measuring fine, it's his belly measurements and ratio between that and the head that is off. The other, very rare, and very scary scenario is that he has a chromosomal issue that hasn't had any markers on the previous ultrasounds to show us that it could be there. The scary part is that all three of the chromosomal issues that could cause this disparity in weight gain and head to body ratio are lethal within the first few days of life. 

So what do we do with this new info? We start with having an amniocentesis on just baby B to find out for sure if there is a chromosomal issue. This will determine how we react to what happens if Baby B takes a turn for the worse. Since we have three lives to consider, we have to determine what is best for ALL of our babies. If there is no chromosomal issue, then as soon as B starts to take a turn for the worst, we deliver all three babies, and fight with everything to keep ALL these little guys going! If there is a chromosomal issue that will take Baby B's life very early on, then if he takes a turn for the worse we let nature take it's course and keep Baby A and C growing as long as possible so they have the best start possible. This is an impossible scenario to imagine and I can't fathom how we get through it, but like I said it is rare, so we first start with lots of positive thoughts and healthy growing energy for our little guy so he gets the same chance his brothers do.