Its Baby Time

I wanted the title of this post to be, "The Babies Have Arrived." However Crystal would not let me. I will give a quick update on Crystal and the babies. Crystal had an ultrasound with Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) this week where they measured the babies fluid levels. Miles still had little to know fluid, Lilly had some fluid and Jaxon was still swimming. They were able to observe some fetal breathing from Lilly, which apparently is a good thing and shows her lungs are developing. We did have a discussion with Dr. Seale regarding the low fluids and what that means. Long story short they are not worried
                                                                                 about the babies fluid levels. If you want a more detailed explanation please see the FAQ post. Crystal was able to get wheelchair privileges as mentioned on a previous post. One of the things we have enjoyed is going down to the pond and taking a walk in the fresh air. As we walk around the pond we are able to see two different families of geese who have had babies. The first family has five goslings and the second has three. Just the other day we saw a family of ducks that had 7 or 8 babies ducks. On top of the baby fowl our post-partum ward is quite busy. I heard today that 30 women have delivered babies this week. Earlier in the week there were five women on ante-partum watch (before birth) Crystal being the only one with triplets while one other mother has twins. I believe now there are four of us now as one of the singletons delivered. Lastly I wanted to send out another thanks to the Elders Quorum for mowing the lawn this week.

Week 29!!!

On Saturday we reached another monumental goal of 29 weeks!!!! Each day we get is exciting and each time we start a new week it is a party. Crystal and babies are doing well. The babies are monitored every morning. Miles and Lilly are always very easy to find and for the most part stay on the monitor for the full 20 minutes needed to say that they are still doing fine. Jaxon on the other hand is difficult. Today we had four nurses in the room trying to figure out where he was, so they could monitor him. What takes a normal pregnancy 20 to 25 minutes takes us at times over an hour to say the babies are doing well.

Crystal has been such a trooper and her spirits have remained high. As I have left during the day to go to work she has been able to stay busy with work, watching T.V. or visiting with the many visitors that have come by. We had two highlights this week, the first was, Crystal was given wheelchair privileges. One time a day she can leave her room and go for a wheelchair ride anywhere on the hospital campus. This has served as our daily date. The second highlight was Crystal was approved to order from the "secret" menu. The secret menu is really just the cafeteria menu but she is not limited to the room service menu. We were also given vouchers so I can go pick out her food at the cafeteria and charge it to the room.

Lastly we have had a lot of questions regarding the babies amniotic fluid levels. Miles has little to no measurable fluid, Lilly is most likely in the same state as Miles at this point, and Jaxon in the words of our perinatologist is living it up in the penthouse. While the amniotic fluid is important the doctors are not concerned about the low levels of fluid, unless the babies start to show signs of distress, thus we are monitored on a daily basis. At our last perinatology appointment they told us they wanted to do bi-weekly ultrasounds on the babies. Because Crystal and babies are doing so well they have changed that to weekly ultrasounds that take place on Wednesday. I will try and update on Wednesday and again on Sunday to keep everyone updated with our progress.

The Best Ward Ever

When Crystal and I decided to buy a home I had one requirement. The toilet in the master bathroom had be enclosed within its own little room. We looked at many beautiful homes. We searched all over, we spent hours on KSL/MLS, then one night I had a prompting to look at homes in West Point, I found one home that I thought would be good to see. The next day we went out with our realtor (Scott), I had a long list of homes to see and I didn't give much weight to the one is West Point as it was new construction and somewhat out of the way. We had a long day and saw what felt like a million homes that all felt wrong, yet we still hadn't seen the West Point home. Frustrated we decided to call it a day. Scott then told us that he had found a home in West Point that he thought we may like. I was discouraged and thought to myself, "Great here will be another home that we wont like." Scott talked us into going and looking at the home and I mentioned there was a home that I found that we would like to see. It ended up that we didn't like the home Scott found but we did like the home I found. We also noticed the home next door was for sale as well. Neither one fit all of our wish list, neither had my toilet requirement but something felt right. Long story short we ended up buying the home next door to the original one we found. We knew that was where the Lord wanted us.

The Elders quorum in our ward banded together last night and worked in our yard. I was told they filled up SEVEN garbage cans, SEVEN. We had so many weeds and the grass was overgrown. I had every intention to get out and get the yard done, but it always seemed that something came up. I was trying to finish up school so I could graduate, take care of Crystal, finish the basement, between these three things I was exhausted, on top of this I had a business to run and fulfill all my responsibilities with my full time job (I work for two sister companies, one in which I have ownership the other I work as their Director of Finance). The yard and flower beds were a very low priority for me. People offered to help but my pride wouldn't let them. I got a call from our good friend Cory who told me the ward would be coming to clean up our yard. I told him I didn't want that to happen and he told me to get over it and let the ward help. They came last night and completely cleaned up the yard, from the pictures I've seen it looks amazing. 

We weren't sure why we moved to West Point, and why we bought a home that didn't have a lot of what we wanted. I now know, we moved here for the people in the ward. We have received so many selfless and many anonymous acts of service. Everyone wants so badly to help with these three little ones. It is comforting to know that once the babies get here I can go to work and know my wife and little ones will get the help they need so I can provide for our family. Thank you to everyone who came out and helped our has offered us kind acts of service. 

Maternal Fetal Ultrasound Appointment

Today we had a visit to the maternal fetal medicine department to have a checkup on the babies growth and the level of fluid each baby has in the sack. The babies all measured around 2 pounds each. The ultrasound revealed that Miles has little to no measurable fluid. They also discovered Lilly is low on fluid as well, although not as low as Miles. The doctors don't seem to be too concerned about the lack of fluid. Dr. Major explained that each day the risks associated with pre-mature labor decrease. At some point, generally around 34 weeks the risks have decreased to a point where they are equal to or less than the risk of Crystal carrying the babies with ruptured membranes. We continue to play a waiting game and are hoping the babies stay in their mommy for a while longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How did you get three babies?
• Crystal and I struggled to get pregnant. After a year of this our doctor put us on a low dose of clomid. After 5 months on the clomid we found out we were pregnant with triplets.
• What are the sex of the babies and their names?
• We are having two boys and one girl. This was the perfect combination for us. Baby A is Miles, Baby B is Lilly and Baby C is Jaxon.
• How did Crystal end up in the Hospital?
• Crystal was just finishing out the day in her classroom when she felt her water break. She called the hospital and they told her to come in and get checked. It turns out the fluids tested positive for amniotic fluid and here we are until the babies get here.
• When are the babies going to be born?
• We do not know when the babies will be born. Each day we get is a blessing. The doctors and nurses are monitoring Crystal for signs of infection, uterine tenderness and signs of labor while monitoring the babies for any signs of distress through their fetal heart rates. If any of these symptoms present then they will evaluate if they need to take the babies.
• What can we do to help?
• We have had such an outpouring of support. As of now there is not much that we need done. Prayers that our babies stay in utero as long as possible is the best thing that anyone can do for us.
• Can we come and visit?
• We welcome visitors. If you would like to come we ask that you keep your visits short as Crystal is here to rest.
• How long will the babies spend in the NICU?
• The babies will most likely spend a great deal of time in the NICU. Depending on when they are born they will spend between 6-9 weeks in the NICU.
• Will Crystal be having a C-Section?
• Yes as soon as we found out we were having triplets we elected to have a C-Section. 
• How can the babies survive with no fluid?
• We have gotten this question a lot so we decided to ask our doctor. Dr. Seale said the babies continue to make fluid and Crystal continues to make fluid. They are still able to breath the fluid in and out of their lungs and are still able to move around. At this point in the pregnancy the babies don't need the fluid as much as they would earlier in the pregnancy since their lungs have already developed.