The Huwe Family
September 30th 03, 03:01 PM
First I want to thank all of you who were praying for me, and for those who
sent me words of encouragement. They really meant a lot.
I went to my doctors for a biophysical exam around my 30th week of
pregnancy. Everything looked good, but the doctor was a little concerned
with my girl because her heart was beating very fast. After the
biophysical, I had other things checked, such as my protein count, swelling,
weight gain, cervix, etc. Protein showed traces, swelling has been bad, and
was getting worse, causing me to gain A LOT of weight (around 10 lbs a
week), and when the doc checked my cervix, he found it to be 2 cm dilated,
showing signs of preterm labor). So he admitted me to the hospital.
That day they told me that they were going to give me steroid shots to help
mature the baby's lungs, and that I would probably deliver on Friday or
Saturday, of that week.
To make a very long story, a bit shorter, everything seemed to settle down.
The trace of protein in my urine went pretty much away, Elena's heart
settled down, and everything else seemed to go well. The docs decided to
wait a few more days before they took the babies. This went on for 2 weeks.
Every other day or so, my protein count would shoot up, causing the docs to
be concerned, and the following day, it was back down to a place of
no-concern. It was quite a roller coaster ride of anticipation and
disappointment.
To top off the anxieties of possible delivery, the day I was admitted I
broke out in hives that itched like nothing I have ever experienced before.
It took the hospital almost a week to do anything about it. Largely was the
fact that no one seemed to know what it was and what caused it. They
started giving me hypo-allergenic bedsheets (and the hives spread), they put
me on antibiotics, anti-fungals, antihistamines, steroids, brought in
internal medicine docs, infectious disease docs, and dermatologists, and
took a skin biopsy (and the hives continued to spread). By the time I went
into delivery, my entire stomach, the majority of my legs and arms turned
from spots to large areas of nothing but red. After 1 1/2 weeks of being
driven crazy with the itching my doc told me that he believed what I had was
a condition called PUPPP. PUPPP is not a common occurrence, but it shows up
in women in their third trimester, usually to women pregnant with multiples.
He said that if that is what was wrong with me, there was nothing they could
do to get rid of it. He said as soon as I delivered, it would all
disappear. I was so miserable, I wanted him to take the babies "right now".
He ended up giving me a "goal" date to push for that was a week away.
I realized the next day that the only thing that seemed to make the rash
bearable, was to take lots of long showers. Colder felt better. So
everytime it got to the point of not being bearable, I would step into the
shower. I was very happy that I had a private bath. And then after the
shower, I put on moisturizer. This seemed to work pretty well.
Well, to continue to shorten this story, I made it to my goal date 33 wks
and 1 day. I gave birth to my triplets by c-section on Wednesday, September
24.
Andrew Brian was born at 8:29 a.m. weighing 5 lbs, 2 oz and 17 2/3" long.
Benjamin Gary was born at 8:31 a.m. weighing 4 lbs, 5 oz and 16 3/4" long.
Elena Gayle was born at 8:33 a.m. weighing 3 lbs, 8 oz. and 17" long.
As the doc said, the red patches were gone within a few hours after birth.
I still itch in places, but these are areas where I still have severe edema,
or areas that are drying out from the edema.
As of today, the babies are doing great. They are now 6 days old. None of
them had to be put on ventilators, and only Elena has been in an isolate
because of the fact that she doesn't have enough fat on her body to maintain
body temperature. They started eating by bottle the following day, and only
took a bit of formula by feeding tube. By the time of my release from the
hospital on Sunday, the babies were stable enough to have them transported
to a level 2 hospital located about 10 minutes away from my home. The doc
is projecting a hospital stay of only 2-4 weeks.
Well, that is pretty much my story. As I said, I'm sorry it is so long.
The only thing I can add is my observation as a first time mom. I cannot
believe, how much LOVE I feel for these three precious bundles. I can't
even think about them, or look at their pictures without tears welling up in
my eyes. My husband calls me "pathetic" because of how many times I cry
throughout the day. I'm ready to send a "Sorry" card to my mom because of
the way I treated her while growing up, now knowing the extent of my love
for my children, thinking about the hell I put her through.
Again thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.
Gayle Huwe
--
Thanks,
Rob & Gayle Huwe
/
sent me words of encouragement. They really meant a lot.
I went to my doctors for a biophysical exam around my 30th week of
pregnancy. Everything looked good, but the doctor was a little concerned
with my girl because her heart was beating very fast. After the
biophysical, I had other things checked, such as my protein count, swelling,
weight gain, cervix, etc. Protein showed traces, swelling has been bad, and
was getting worse, causing me to gain A LOT of weight (around 10 lbs a
week), and when the doc checked my cervix, he found it to be 2 cm dilated,
showing signs of preterm labor). So he admitted me to the hospital.
That day they told me that they were going to give me steroid shots to help
mature the baby's lungs, and that I would probably deliver on Friday or
Saturday, of that week.
To make a very long story, a bit shorter, everything seemed to settle down.
The trace of protein in my urine went pretty much away, Elena's heart
settled down, and everything else seemed to go well. The docs decided to
wait a few more days before they took the babies. This went on for 2 weeks.
Every other day or so, my protein count would shoot up, causing the docs to
be concerned, and the following day, it was back down to a place of
no-concern. It was quite a roller coaster ride of anticipation and
disappointment.
To top off the anxieties of possible delivery, the day I was admitted I
broke out in hives that itched like nothing I have ever experienced before.
It took the hospital almost a week to do anything about it. Largely was the
fact that no one seemed to know what it was and what caused it. They
started giving me hypo-allergenic bedsheets (and the hives spread), they put
me on antibiotics, anti-fungals, antihistamines, steroids, brought in
internal medicine docs, infectious disease docs, and dermatologists, and
took a skin biopsy (and the hives continued to spread). By the time I went
into delivery, my entire stomach, the majority of my legs and arms turned
from spots to large areas of nothing but red. After 1 1/2 weeks of being
driven crazy with the itching my doc told me that he believed what I had was
a condition called PUPPP. PUPPP is not a common occurrence, but it shows up
in women in their third trimester, usually to women pregnant with multiples.
He said that if that is what was wrong with me, there was nothing they could
do to get rid of it. He said as soon as I delivered, it would all
disappear. I was so miserable, I wanted him to take the babies "right now".
He ended up giving me a "goal" date to push for that was a week away.
I realized the next day that the only thing that seemed to make the rash
bearable, was to take lots of long showers. Colder felt better. So
everytime it got to the point of not being bearable, I would step into the
shower. I was very happy that I had a private bath. And then after the
shower, I put on moisturizer. This seemed to work pretty well.
Well, to continue to shorten this story, I made it to my goal date 33 wks
and 1 day. I gave birth to my triplets by c-section on Wednesday, September
24.
Andrew Brian was born at 8:29 a.m. weighing 5 lbs, 2 oz and 17 2/3" long.
Benjamin Gary was born at 8:31 a.m. weighing 4 lbs, 5 oz and 16 3/4" long.
Elena Gayle was born at 8:33 a.m. weighing 3 lbs, 8 oz. and 17" long.
As the doc said, the red patches were gone within a few hours after birth.
I still itch in places, but these are areas where I still have severe edema,
or areas that are drying out from the edema.
As of today, the babies are doing great. They are now 6 days old. None of
them had to be put on ventilators, and only Elena has been in an isolate
because of the fact that she doesn't have enough fat on her body to maintain
body temperature. They started eating by bottle the following day, and only
took a bit of formula by feeding tube. By the time of my release from the
hospital on Sunday, the babies were stable enough to have them transported
to a level 2 hospital located about 10 minutes away from my home. The doc
is projecting a hospital stay of only 2-4 weeks.
Well, that is pretty much my story. As I said, I'm sorry it is so long.
The only thing I can add is my observation as a first time mom. I cannot
believe, how much LOVE I feel for these three precious bundles. I can't
even think about them, or look at their pictures without tears welling up in
my eyes. My husband calls me "pathetic" because of how many times I cry
throughout the day. I'm ready to send a "Sorry" card to my mom because of
the way I treated her while growing up, now knowing the extent of my love
for my children, thinking about the hell I put her through.
Again thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.
Gayle Huwe
--
Thanks,
Rob & Gayle Huwe
/