Arrival of the Manning Triplets

Shortly after the blood draw on Friday morning, an x-ray technician came in to take radiographs of my chest due to the shortness of breath that I was experiencing.  I assumed it was just the babies pushing against my lungs as I sat semi-reclined in a hospital bed.  I don't imagine that is particularly comfortable for any pregnant lady.  Unfortunately, the situation was not quite so simple.  The radiograph showed rapidly progressing pulmonary edema which is the accumulation of fluid in the air spaces of the lungs.  Pulmonary edema can lead to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest due to hypoxia; these are of particular concern during an acute episode like the one I was facing.  Basically, the constriction of the blood vessels that is characteristic of preeclampsia and was causing the headache, high blood pressure, and fluid retention that I was already experiencing had moved into my lungs at an alarmingly fast rate.  Quickly, the situation moved from urgent to emergent; within minutes, they were preparing me for surgery.

While Ryan finished putting on scrubs, they wheeled me into the operating room to administer a spinal block and finish cleaning me up for surgery.  The surgical room was a madhouse.  There were about five people attending to me and each baby had it's own team preparing to take care of them as they were born.  They put up a curtain at chest level and Ryan sat next to my head.  A lot of what happened next was a big blur and some of it I did not find out about until after the surgery was over.  Due to the placement of the babies, the doctor only had one path of entry into my uterus to retrieve them.  This path required him to cut through blood vessels that immediately led to hemorrhaging.  He was left with the task of retrieving all three babies very quickly in order to protect them as well as myself.  As soon as the hemorrhaging began, the anesthesiologist attempted to place IVs in order to administer medication to slow the bleeding.  In addition to having very fragile blood vessels, I've also had so many injured over the past year of IVF, blood draws, etc., that there was very little for him to work with.  He put in IV line after IV line with no success.  Anyone who has had an IV placed can attest that it is not the most comfortable procedure.  I can locate about 16 places up and down my arms and hands where IVs were attempted both during and shortly after the procedure.  

While the anesthesiologist was trying desperately to place an IV, the doctor was working to get the babies out and control the hemorrhaging himself.  I could feel my body rocking violently on the table as he worked.  Then I heard him say "Rupture!" and a baby cried.  This happened two more times as each child was pulled from my womb and handed to their team for analysis and life support if necessary.  I could feel myself beginning to drift at this point (presumably due to the blood loss), and looked over to see Ryan being fanned and whisked away by several nurses.  "Is he ok?" was the last thing I remember saying before things began to go dark all around me.  

Recovery from the surgery was a slow and arduous process.  I became somewhat lucid again back in the hospital room.  At first, I couldn't speak.  I didn't even have the mental capacity to ask about the babies.  After being given multiple medications and several units of blood, I could finally hold my head up long enough to talk coherently to Ryan and my family so I could find out how the babies were doing.  Due to my own recovery from surgery, it would be 27 hours between their birth and laying eyes on them for the first time.  

Our babies were born on Friday, June 21st at 10:10 am, 10:11 am, and 10:12 am at only 29 weeks and 5 days gestation.  They are all healthy for their gestational age with their only maladies being those associated with preterm birth.   We are in for a long NICU stay as they finish their growth and development outside of the womb.  

Keira Selene Manning, 3 lbs, 15.75 in

Lincoln Nolan Manning, 2 lbs 15 oz, 15.75 in

Violet Layne Manning, 2 lbs 6 oz, 14.75 in

I get discharged from the hospital today and will write soon about each of our little ones who are quickly developing personalities and preferences.  In the meantime, I've noticed people tend to worry about our tiny Violet because of her size.  Don't.  She's the healthiest and rowdiest of the bunch so far.