Not What I Had Planned...

On Friday, May 10, I attended a routine check-up with my perinatologist.  He noticed that Baby B, one of our little girls was not growing.  He had concerns that she may not make it to birth and we needed to decide how to proceed.  Our first option was to go home and hope for the best.  Of course, if something happened to her and she passed away in utero, she could cause harm to her twin sister and possibly her brother.  Option number two, was to go upstairs to the operating room and deliver the babies immediately in hopes of giving her a better chance, but possibly risking the lives of her siblings.  Option number three was to be admitted into the hospital so that I could be monitored several times a day and if the medical staff noticed that Baby B was in distress, we could deliver all three babies immediately.  

I chose to be admitted into the hospital immediately and was wheeled upstairs to labor and delivery.  When we arrived we had to make some tough decisions, most importantly we had to decide if I should go on a magnesium drip to help with the babies' neurological stability. The only scary part would be that the medical staff would not be able to monitor all three babies while I was on the IV and therefore would not be able to see how they were tolerating the medication.  I went with my gut and decided that we had to try everything possible to help the babies.  I was put on the drip and given a shot of steroids for the babies' lung development.  The magnesium drip made me have hot flashes and needless to say, I did not sleep for the first two nights in the hospital.  On Sunday, I was transferred to ante-partum after my IV was completed and I received a second round of steroids.  I took this to be a good sign because it meant that they weren't planning on delivering me anytime soon.  Each time the nurses put me on the monitor to find the babies' heart rates, I thought they had been successful in finding all of them and it reassured me that everything was okay.  After all, I was planning on staying in the hospital as long as possible so that the babies had the best chance of survival and minimal time in the NICU.

On Monday, my perinatologist squeezed me in for an ultrasound (he was supposed to see me on Tuesday).  He found that Baby was taking on water and her heart was working very hard to keep her alive.  We needed to deliver the babies as soon as possible.  I was scared and was rushed back to labor and delivery.  One nurse was trying to put in an IV while another changed me into a gown.  This was happening much different and more quickly than I had ever imagined.

Monday night, May 13, 2013, I delivered our triplets via emergency c-section at 5:24, 5:25 and 5:26.  The doctor approached us after about 20 minutes to let us know that Baby B, Tyler Patricia DiDomenico, our first born daughter did not make it. Our two other children, a girl, Harper Rose and a boy, Aven Kelley were born at 2 lbs 2 oz and 2 lbs 8 oz.  They were whisked to the NICU before we could see them, to be placed on IVs and constant monitoring. Currently, they are stable in the NICU and making small progressions each day.

Although we are saddened by the death of our daughter, Tyler, we feel very blessed to have two beautiful twins and are hoping that they will continue to make progress and eventually be able to come home.  

On Tuesday, May 21, Tyler was laid to rest in a cemetery close to our home. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.  Damian and I are trying to remain strong for our living babies and we know that Tyler is now our guardian angel watching over our new family in heaven. Please continue to pray for us and keep us in your thoughts.