Weekly Checkup - 10/21

We had our weekly checkup today in Minneapolis.  Both girls look really good!  Measurements are looking good with Baby A weighing 15 ounces and Baby B at 14 ounces.  B once again showed a bladder so that's great.

Sara needed to have some blood drawn as she has been itching quite a bit the last few days.  Dr. Block said it could be cholestasis of pregnancy, but we will wait for the lab results to confirm.  If it is cholestasis of pregnancy, luckily there is some medication Sara can take to help alleviate the itching.

Sara was also told that she needs to put on some more weight, so it looks like I will need to start baking.  Might be time to call Betty Crocker Darin Albrecht for some recipes.

Lastly, when Sara had the last procedure done on October 10, they took some amniotic fluid and sent it in for chromosome testing.  We received word today that the results of the test came back normal, so that was also good news.

Next checkup Tuesday, October 28.

cw

Good Update

We had a checkup today in Minneapolis.  We were mainly hoping and praying for two heartbeats and two beautiful heartbeats is exactly what we got!  Baby B is now also showing a very small bladder, which means that she is likely starting to produce her own fluid and that makes us cautiously optimistic that the two procedures Sara had were hopefully successful.

We are still sad and grieving the loss of Tenley and she will forever be in our hearts and minds.  But we are also hopeful for the future that the other two girls will continue to be healthy and thrive.  We will have routine weekly appointments from here on out.

It has been a roller coaster of emotions the past few weeks and we have greatly appreciated your thoughts and prayers.

Angel Wings

This morning at about 9:00am, DLS did an ultrasound to check the girls prior to our discharge.  Unfortunately, Baby C - Tenley Lane Wilke - did not have a heartbeat.  We are obviously heartbroken by the news.  DLS didn't have an explanation  as to why or what might have happened at this time.  She had a good heartbeat as of her last check last night at 7:00pm.

We are comforted by the fact that when Tenley entered heaven last night, she was greeted not only by Jesus, but also by my Grandma LaVonne, Sara's brother Joel and others who have gone before us.

Babies A and B both had good heartbeats and looked good as of this morning.  We are planning to check them here in Hutch this weekend to see how they are doing and for some peace of mind, as we don't have another appointment in Minneapolis until Tuesday.

We are so thankful for the care we have received at both the MN Perinatal Institute along with the Mother Baby Center in Minneapolis.  They are phenomenal.  We are also very thankful for your thoughts and prayers throughout this process.  We will continue to need them as we go forward, in hopes that our other two girls will continue to be healthy and survive.

Surgery complete

Sara came out of surgery about 2pm.  The procedure went well and she and the girls are resting comfortably.  They were able to seal off 7 blood vessels between B and C.  DLS said he hopes that Baby B will now start making her own fluid.  We won't know that for probably a week or so.

During the procedure Sara's block wore off again and it started to get painful toward the end of the procedure.

DLS took some pictures of the girls while he was in there.  It's unbelievable to see their little faces, noses and lips in something other than an ultrasound.  Sure makes it all real.

If everything continues to go well, we will head home tomorrow sometime.

Procedure/surgery again today

DLS took a look at the girls this morning and everyone still looks stable.  Because they're all stable, he said now is the time to seal off the blood vessels between B and C.  Sara is having surgery at Noon today.  I'll update after she is out of recovery.

Checkup today - stable

We went in for a checkup today and things are stable.  The twin to twin transfusion is between B and C and it is possible, even likely, we will need to do the laser procedure again on those two, to seal off the blood vessels.  Baby B still shows very little fluid, but her heart and dopplers all look good, as is the case for all of the girls.

We are going back on Friday morning for a check up and under the assumption we will do the procedure that day again.

Check Up - Good

DLS did an ultrasound this morning and checked the girls.  All three of them look to be doing well.  All have good heartbeats, dopplers look good.  They seem to be a little closer in there, but that is to be expected after 3 pounds of fluid is removed.

We are home now and Sara is resting.  We head back on Tuesday for a re-check.  Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers over the past few days.  We really could feel all of you lifting us up.

Procedure Went Well

The procedure went well this morning.  We arrived at the hospital a little after 5am.  Sara went in at 7:30am and was in recovery shortly before 10am.  The babies did awesome during the whole procedure and their hearts rates were/are good.  Dr. Lynch-Salamon (DLS) drained fluid from both A and C down to about 6 and was able to seal off blood vessels on A.    Sara is having some contractions, which is to be expected since they drained fluid.  Hopefully this means that B and C will now share fluid nicely.  DLS will be back tomorrow morning hopefully around 8am to take a look at the girls and see how everything looks.  After that, we can hopefully go home.

Procedure Needed

At today's checkup, Dr. Lynch-Salamon said we are at the point where we need to do something.  The fluid levels in Babies A and C have risen to 10, while Baby B continues to not have much fluid, which indicates the twin to twin transfusion syndrome has progressed to stage 2. 

That being said, we are scheduled for the laser ablation procedure tomorrow morning at 7:30am.  Sara will be awake for the procedure and will need to spend one night in the hospital.  If all goes well, she will be able to come home Saturday morning.  He is leaning toward sealing off the blood vessels of one baby (likely A), then monitoring to see how things progress.

We don't know the prognosis or outcome as this is such a rare case (Monochorionic-triamniotic triplets).  They will watch Sara to see if they need to do a second laser ablation surgery on Baby C in the near future.

There is good news, too.  The perinatal cardiologist took a look at the hearts of all of the girls and she said they look "beautiful".  And overall, the girls all look good health wise.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow and in the days to come that the procedure would be successful and that Sara and the girls would come through the procedure safe and sound.

Thank you!
cw