Gained 21 lbs. C-Section still on for June 7. Told the Dr. no tubal. Very quick appointment. Still not feeling it with their staff which is unfortunate.
Category: Our Story
Where it all began — infertility, IVF, and the road to the triplets.
March is OUTTA HERE! 29 Weeks and counting!
What a month it has been. I’m certain that I just saw March coming in. It seems like it just got here and now I’m not sure where it’s gone.
I think in this blog post I’ll work backwards. Today I had my 7 month appointment. I’ve gained 14 lbs. total, which is good. I’d like to not go over 15lbs, but that’s what happens when I eat cupcakes. The sugar is just undeniable! Anyway, baby is doing great. Strong heartbeat and very uneventful appointment. The best part was that we are scheduled for a c-section on June 7. YAY!
5 Month OB Checkup
Big day today! 5 month check up. Still not crazy about the doc, but its OK.
We had a huge ultrasound today. We are having a boy! Great pictures for the file for sure! The appointment took about 1 hour. So much different from the triplets. Chip thinks it’s because we aren’t “special”. Maybe. This pregnancy is so different.
There is so much that is different. Different place, different time. However, it feels colder. I don’t know what to make of it really. We came home and told mom first. Then we posted on Facebook. (Five years from now I’ll look back at this blog and go OMG…I can’t believe it was just FB then. LOL).
First Big OB Appointment – Nov. 2, 2009
We met our new Reno doctor and had our first appointment with Sierra Women’s Health. Dr. Farringer. Good midwest boy. Very to the point. Took a ton of history and did an ultrasound. We did see very clearly the normal development. We will deliver at Renown and I plan to have my tubes tied after the birth. The doctor also moved our due date out from 6/5/2010 to 6/11/2010 based on the size measurements on the ultrasound. He said everything looks good and that I’m a good “baby maker”. That was based on how long I carried the boys and the “unremarkable” births with the girls.
Its a truly weird experience to have 2 babies, then multiples and then another single (that was a total surprise). Being here vs. Vegas hasn’t been great with medical people. I’m hoping this experience will change things.
I certainly didn’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling about the new doc, but Chip told me to give it time. I am seriously emotional and kind of sad this pregnancy. I can’t explain it. Well, maybe I can a little. I feel so up and down about this one. I love all of my children and they are ALL a blessing. Everything happens for a reason and I believe that about this too. Everything seems very amplified though. Work isn’t fabulously fun, life is challenging in general and adding another child to the mix is going to be interesting.
Anyway, the appointment was a long one and it as informative and good to spend so much time together. 4 weeks until the next one.
Family and Baby – Video 1 – Birth to 1 1/2 yrs.
I’m really proud of this video. Fun to do and hopefully fun to watch.
Love you all,
Sherri
3 Weeks Old
Babies are 3 weeks old! It’s been a short 3 weeks, but sometimes seem long…the nights are long, but the days fly. The boys are changing and getting bigger every day. We still miss little Gary while he finishes antibiotics via IV at Spring Valley Hospital. They tell us if all goes well, he’ll be home on Friday. I can’t wait!
Ben and Ryan are eating well and we and the babies are up every 3 hours to feed to help these little guys grow. They are all over 4.5 lbs. and growing! They have a little chub in their cheeks and are starting to see more meat on their legs and body. They are still so very small, but wow, much bigger than when they were born.
Our home looks like a baby village, stuff everywhere, but it’s all good. We have our first pediatrician appointment on Tuesday. I have lots of questions. We are also learning that RSV (a respiratory virus) season is coming and our boys will need an extra set of immunizations for that :(. Poor little guys, poked and prodded in their young life. In any case, we may have to limit their exposure too. Not sure. We also are anxious to see how much weight they’ve gained.
Sleep is still interesting, we are still looking for a pattern that will work for us. Sometimes Chip lets me sleep and sometimes I let him sleep. We manage to work it out, but I’d like a firm “schedule”. My type A persona rears it’s ugly head!!! I’m trying to let go of so much planning and let it be. The goal is to enjoy these boys and watch them flourish. Hard to keep that in mind at 2 a.m., but then when the sun rises, it’s all so much better. Especially after a good cup of coffee to help me wake up. Chip is super daddy already! He was initiated a couple of days ago with a diaper that leaked and was all over! He handled it like a trooper as I understand it. I was visiting Gary, so I wasn’t home to help.
I am working on thank you notes for the wonderful gifts from people. Thank you all in advance for all the thoughtful gifts, emails and phone calls. As soon as I can, we’ll send off a note to everyone as well.
Babies have ARRIVED!!! – 9/8/07
We arrived at 6 a.m. at Labor and Delivery at Summerlin hospital. The staff there asked us to wait until 6:30. So we sat in the waiting room and watched TV and joked a little bit. At 6:30 we were directed to triage to find the babies on the monitor and start my IV and asked tons of questions. I was tired because I hadn’t slept much the night before because I was both excited and fearful. Excited the boys would be here, but scared of having a c-section. So right away, I learned that I had “done it wrong” because I had 3 sips of water and did not know that it’s not a good idea to eat or drink anything 8 hours before major surgery. The nurse asked me “haven’t you ever had surgery before?”. Nope, never. So I was shaken up because the anesthesiologist ultimately made the decision and opted for an epidural instead of a spinal block for the c-section. So my first nurse encounter wasn’t very fun and I began to cry. Then nurses Nina and Stephanie came in and took great care of me. Dr. Biscoff is also my hero for putting in a great epidural and talking me through so much. It really made things easier. Also, Dr. Bohman, my favorite doc stopped by and and eased my fears before cutting me open. My parents had come in from Winnemucca the night before, so it was very meaningful to have them there. They came up to the hospital at 8 a.m. and we were rolling into the O/R about 45 minutes later. Mom and Dad stayed in the waiting room, but I’m sure it wasn’t very long.
Very soon I was in the O/R and nice and numb. Chip was at my head and was doing a great job being supportive. I was having a bit of a difficult time keeping my emotional composure, but was so ready for the boys to be brought into the world. Chip said they were starting and I didn’t even know it! The next thing I knew, I heard Dr. Bohman say “10 seconds until first baby” and then I heard a beautiful cry. I started to cry too. Then more crying came from both me and the babies as each baby came out. There were 17 people in the delivery room when the boys were born, including Dr. Litner, the head of Pediatrics for Valley Hospitals as well as several nurse practitioners and nurses. It seemed like forever before I saw a doctor and or nurse come over to show me the babies. They were beautiful! WOW! It was all over in 15 minutes. I’m fairly certain that it took much longer to sew me up. Dr. Bohman did a fantastic job.
Chip, now a proud papa, and mom and dad went off with the boys to the Level III NICU. Soon they were back with me in recovery before heading to my room. Several people were in and out of the room and it was nice to see so many friendly faces. I really wanted to go to the NICU that night, but just didn’t have the strength until much later.
Chip did a fantastic job with the videos and pictures. How he supported me, watched the boys, and took pictures and videos. Mom took a ton of great pics too! Once in my room, I was tired and slept some. Mom and Chip called family. There was a nice hum of activity. It was so good to hear all the kind words and congratulations to our family. We never realized we had so many that cared about us! It was amazing. Both photos and movies with instructions on how to download them can be found via the links below:
Here is the main photo link:
http://www.metaforge.net/personal/publish/1%20McVey%20Babies%20Due%2010-25-07/BIRTHDAY/
And here is a link to a page that gives some info about the movies:
http://www.metaforge.net/personal/publish/1%20McVey%20Babies%20Due%2010-25-07/BIRTHDAY/1%20-%20README.html
The movies are very large. Please use the .avi files to watch smaller and quicker videos.
My nurse for the first 2 days was Andi, who was really laid back and helped manage the pain. I didn’t realize that it would be a longer stay than I wanted, but I tried to just take it all in and sleep. I wanted to sleep, but with all the excitement I just couldn’t. Also, the pain had set in. The doctor had prescribed Percocet and I had a terrible reaction. After changing to Loratab, things were much better.
I spoke to lots of friends and family and hope I was coherent because I genuinely thought I was really with it.
Chip and I finally talked that night and it was a conversation I’ll never forget. His smile was so bright with happiness and pride. Both of us had tears in our eyes, knowing that this is what we’ve been wanting for 3 long years. It had not always been an easy road and we were so close to giving up. His love for his sons very clear and apparent. We agreed that it was one of the most amazing moments we’ve ever shared. That we have this family of seven now that we are so proud of. The overwhelming emotion of love for these new little lives almost didn’t need words. We are so happy and feel so fortunate to have been blessed with these babies.
Daddy Chip bedded down next to me on a rollaway bed provided by the hospital. I’m sure it was uncomfortable. Despite his feet hanging over the end and being pretty uncomfortable, he stayed every night with me which was great because the nights are the hardest and the staff is the worst at night, except for Nurse Mona who was fabulous.
Overall, hospitals are no fun. Bad food and even worse service! If Chip wasn’t there to help me to the bathroom and take care of me DAILY, I think it would have been 100 times worse! I must say the whole healthcare industry really scares me. I ended up staying at the hospital for 5 days and needed a blood transfusion – they gave me 2 units of blood. I was severely anemic and when they tested my hemoglobin, it was 6.2. The average persons hemoglobin is about 14. I felt like crap, but thought it was just the fact that they cut me open. My doctor said I didn’t lose a lot of blood, but somehow became anemic. They said I could go home after the transfusion, which took like 6 hours. I thought I would never get out of there. I was done at around 5 a.m. and Chip and I left as soon as we could after that! We arrived at our house about 6:30 a.m. Mom had put the couch bed out, so we dropped there and got some sleep.
The last day of babies inside – 33 Weeks, 1 day
Well, most of you know we are scheduled tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. at Summerlin hospital to welcome these boys into the world. Chip and I thought we’d post one more belly pic since this will be our only experience – believe me 3 is enough – but we’re trying to cherish every moment, even when I am complaining at how uncomfortable and miserable I am. We are so grateful that science could help us get to this.
Here is the Summerlin Hospital information:
Summerlin Hospital Medical Center
657 Town Center Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89144
(702) 233-7000
We saw our doctor yesterday for monitoring and our twice weekly ultrasound scan, which was fine. We discussed how miserable I have been along with a urine dip that turned up some indicators of the babies taxing my liver, which is the beginnings of Toxemia. Blood pressure was good, but I’ve also been seeing spots periodically and waking up with headaches. So with pain in my muscles, back and belly along with serious heartburn, Dr. Bohman decided it is time before anything else happens to me that may make me sicker. So he asked us if we could be at the hospital at 6 a.m. for an 8:30 a.m. c-section. We looked at each other and said absolutely! Both of us were surprised that we could get in so soon. We fully expected for things to take at least a week. So I had a steroid shot yesterday to help develop the babies lungs and then again today to ensure the best possible outcome. Oddly, I had the best night sleep in awhile. Not sure why, but I felt so much better waking up this morning. Maybe it’s because now we know the end is near. I’m not sure.
We then sent our messages and called family all afternoon, which was nice to touch base with everyone either via phone or email. Everyone has been so supportive and warm. It has been so meaningful to us. As soon as we can we will post photos of the babies.
Talk to everyone soon!