Week 29: A sudden delivery and meeting our babies

Pictures of our Living With Triplets' gorgeous newborns to follow...

 

So after an eventful day reaching my 29^th week, I did not realise that the next day was going to be the day we had been waiting for.

 

I woke around 5am for my heartbeat trace with the night midwife. The trace is due to take approximately 20 minutes but on this morning all the babies were playing up a bit. They kept disappearing from the trace and for the first time, Baby One's heartbeat lowered down to 105 and went up again several times.

 

It was worrying as it didn't seem to be due to twriggling around, but more like the heartbeat really did slow down. The midwife was not happy, and so she kept me on the trace. After about ten minutes, they settled again and we got a good reading for about 20-30 minutes on all three heartbeats.

 

One hour later, after being checked by the on-call doctor, the midwife took me off the trace but said it needed to be checked by one of my doctors. My consultant was due to scan me that morning and her smiley face appeared at my door as soon as she was in the building.

 

When the consultant got the Doppler on Baby One, their heartbeat could not be seen clearly. She gave them a tap and said: 'Before I continue, I am delivering these babies today.' She then scanned for what seemed to be 30 seconds and said: 'I am delivering these babies now!'

 

Naturally the shock of it all set me off crying. I phoned my husband straight away and said: "get dressed and come straight over. The babies are fine but they are coming out now." 

 

My poor husband. I was in tears when I woke him up and he probably got a real fright. When I said these words to him, I did not realise how urgently he actually needed to get to the hospital. I should have told him to get a police escort as just a half an hour later, the babies were out!

 

 

Once off the phone, my consultant whisked me upstairs and to my bed. Before I even got to my room, all the midwives in my ward were waiting for me in the hallway with a gown, tablets, liquid to down, and canula to go in my arm. My consultant helped me get into my gown and started confirming all my details.

 

Within five minutes I was gowned up and on a trolley ready to be brought straight to theatre. I did not have time to call my husband back to tell him to hurry up as it was all happening so quickly.

 

I was taken in a lift to the operating theatre and as we came into the room one of the midwives said: 'there are going to be lots of people in here ready for your triplets so just look at me and try not to worry."

 

There were anaesthetists, doctors and lots of other mysterious medical people around me - putting a spinal tap in, getting me on a drip, checking I was numb - and then my consultant was on the other side of the sheet, all gowned up and smiling at me.

 

It felt like only five minutes of preparation to get me numb, wired up and positioned before I could feel the operation had begun. Only a short time later I heard her say, "first baby safely out" loudly so I could hear her. I asked if it was a girl or a boy, to which my consultant replied: "I forgot you didn't know – it’s a baby girl!"

 

Well, I was overjoyed with happiness and crying when I heard: "and your second little girl is out, can you hear her crying?" This was shortly followed by: "and here is your little boy!"

 

Well I could not believe it. A minute or so later I was presented with my little girl (Baby Two) and once I had seen her and given her a kiss she was taken off to neonatal. Then I was told Baby Three was being sorted next and he was taken off to neonatal and then Baby One was shown to me.

 

During this I was told "Daddy is here and he is just being gowned up" and then he appeared and came right to my head and was hugging and kissing me non-stop. I told him we had our identical girls and a little boy and we were both just smiling and laughing and overwhelmed by it all.

 

 

One of the neonatologists asked my husband if he wanted to come over and meet one of his little girls, and dDddy was shown Baby One. Then once he had come back to me we chatted and decided they were to be called Rebecca, Róisín and Elliot.

 

Later when my husband got to see the babies I asked him to decide who was who and confirm that the names, along with middle names were right for the babies. So he decided that our Baby One who had called the shots so rapidly that morning was to be named Róisín Emily, Baby Two would be called Rebecca Amy and our little boy was Elliot Jack.

 

We were so overwhelmed with the speed things had changed and how quickly the babies had been taken out. An hour after my scan at 8am, I was being stitched up and in the recovery room, now a mummy to two little girls and a boy. Our three little miracles.

 

Afterwards I was asked how I had remained so calm throughout the process. After my initial upset at the shock and speed of things, I had just focussed on the job in hand. When I arrived into the operating theatre I asked God and my dad to watch over us all and let me and the babies be okay. I just kept focussed on them, taking in everything that was going on in the room as it really was fascinating. I felt very relaxed knowing that I was in the hands of the most wonderful consultant, that my dad was watching over me and that my husband was on his way to be with me.

 

I have been so impressed with the treatment we have received throughout the whole pregnancy with the most caring, professional, experienced consultant I could have asked for. I was looked after so wonderfully for three weeks in St. Monica's Ward by such lovely midwives who I felt really cared about me and my babies. During those final moments before the babies were born in theatre, I knew that although there were probably 20 people or more in the room, I was in the safest of hands. 

 

Pictures of our Living With Triplets' gorgeous newborns to follow...