The Hopperton Family: 21 weeks and bed rest

Bed rest here I come.....14 weeks max of this....this should be interesting. I guess you will be hearing alot more from me now:) I never thought that when I went to the doctor yesterday that I would be going on bed rest immediately. I went to my TSM (tri state multiples) meeting the night before and they warned me that bed rest could happen anytime but I just thought I would last a little longer....I guess God had other plans! So far there are no serious complications they are just hoping to prevent any from happening and get Baby B fattened up a bit. Baby B is weighing a few pounds behind the others and they are hoping that with bed rest I will have increased blood flow to her in order to continue to allow her to grow at the rapid weight of the others. So far this isn't a problem but could result in one if she is being constricted too much or it could be that she is just going to be the small one of the bunch. The doctor used the example of a marathon runner. When they run in marathons they never stop to use the restroom and that is because that part of their body is shutting down in order to continue to allow them to function and keep them alive and moving. Same with me, my body is working hard to keep me going...since I was going a mile a minute....and shutting down some of the nutrients to the babies in order to keep up with my pace...obviously not baby c though. We are remaining optimistic that this will help or that she is just going to be our little one of the group. Otherwise just looking at them on the ultrasound you can't even tell she is smaller and they said that was a positive. They also want me off of my feet do to the severe swelling of my legs and feet. They are testing me for preeclampsia and I will be collecting and storing my urine in the fridge for 24 hours...oh joy...hopefully brad won't think its lemonade:) I have gained another whooping 20 lbs in just 4 weeks...so I am now up to 183 and that's almost 60 pounds pre pregnancy (so maybe 50 for me b/c I had about 10 pounds to catch up on) so they are concerned that something else maybe going on besides just the excess of fluid. They will be monitoring my weight when I am on bed rest weekly to be sure that it is decreasing in hopes it is just the fluid build up. The doctor made it clear that I should not even be sitting up that I must be lying down on either side preferably. I have been given the okay to attend my multiples class at the hospital on Tuesday (yeah a few hours out of the house) but I must wear special support hose at all times when sitting up. This will help with the circulation and prevent the swelling from coming back. So maybe I can start a new fashion trend!

During the ultrasound, the babies were as active as ever. They are growing wonderfully and all of their organs and development appears to be working properly. Baby C is definitely the haas of the group and each time we were looking at Baby A and B you could see some part of him...he is just stretching out up on top (like someone else we know that likes to stretch out...aka brad) and we have confirmed that it is his big head that is poking out of the top of my stomach and not just a monster. I told Brad that I am making him fully in charge of the little guy and I will take care of the girls....boy is he going to have his hands full. Their Heart rates are as follows: Baby A 146 bpm ,Baby B 151 bmp ,Baby C 146 bmp which are all great. All of the babies weights have at least doubled since the last ultrasound....4 weeks ago. Baby A weighs 15 ounces (doubled plus 1), Baby B 12 ounces (doubled), Baby C 19 ounces (doubled plus 3). So, Baby C needs to stop stealing all the food:) We didn't get too many good pictures this time but there are a few!

Even though its only been a day of bed rest, I have enjoyed the opportunity to just take pleasure in my babies. I can feel them moving so much more than I could before and that is such a blessing. God is so Good!!!

Baby B holding her index finger up (saying wait a minute) she is such a ham and baby a is on the lower right