Our Story
Wayne and I were married on September 5, 1992. Children were something that we didn't take very seriouly until I realized that I had a problem. At my yearly checkup in May 1994, I complained of pain on my left side. My doctor thought that it could possibly be a small cyst. After a few months of continued pain she suggested that I have a very minor surgery called a laperoscopy. This would tell us what exactly was going on inside. I had the surgery and she discovered I had adhesions blocking both of my tubes. The only thing that could be done was to see a fertility specialist which she thought very highly of.
The fertility doctor was located in Indianapolis and boy I don't miss all of those 1 hour and 20 minute trips. Wayne went with me to my first visit. The doctor there is a specialist in getting women pregnant so when he told us I would need major surgery to correct my tubes, we were just happy that something could be done. The surgery went great and everything was opened and functionable. Three months of trying to conceive on our own went by and nothing happened. Our doctor ordered a vaginal exray to see if everything was still opened. The results of the tests showed one tube completely normal and the other had shortened from the surgery. That would drop our chance of conception down 50 %. My age,(30) and this factor warranted good reason to take this next step, fertility drugs.
Our first month consisted of one shot of metrodin starting on the 5th day of my cycle. We continued the shots until around day 14. A vaginal ultrasound is always done before any fertility drugs are taken and also around day 14 to see if the folicles are growing. When the folicles (eggs)are mature they tell you when to have intercourse. Four months of shots, which eventually doubled in dosage, and we were still not pregnant. The doctor couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting pregnant. Everything looked so good but none of the eggs got fertilized. Decision time: Do we keep doing what we are doing or try something else? If you know me at all, I am not a very patient person. It's definetly one of my many weaknesses but it all paid off. We conceived in October using the GIFT procedure.
GIFT stands for Gament Intra Fallopian Transfer. What a beautiful name, huh? It is a very detailed procedure. First you start with Lupron. It's a drug that shuts your menstral cycle completely down. The shots are done twice a day and can be given to yourself in your upper thigh. These shots are started on day 21 of your cycle and continued until surgery time. Once you get your period everything stops. That is when you start the fertilty shots which ultimately make the follicles grow. These are not self administered. The needle is at least two inches long and given in the hip. My hubby is quite good with a needle now concidering he gave me at least a hundered shots through all of this. We started the metrodin on day 4 and continued with 4 times as much as the first cycle and continued until around day 16. Throughout the process of the shots, regular sonograms, sometimes each day, are done to make sure everything is running smoothly. The surgery was scheduled for the the following day. Wayne would need to go and give his sperm sample and I would then have the mature eggs and his sperm put in my fallopian tube. This is all done with out-patient surgery. The eggs and the sperm do not meet until inside the tube where they can fertilize in their natural environment.
Much to our suprise, we were pregnant. Two weeks after the GIFT procedure the blood test said yes. Because of my HCG levels being so high, the doctor was pretty sure it was more than one. A sonogram revealed two weeks later that we were pregnant with triplets. Many sonograms followed to make certain that the pregnancy was going well. All looked good around 11 weeks so our fertility doctor released me to my regular OBGYN. Before being released Dr. B, (my fertility doctor), thought I should have a cerclage. It's a minor surgery where they put a few stitches in the cervix for added strength. We were all go for this, anything to help the pregnancy along.
Little did I know that all our trips to Indy were not over. My doctor here in Lafayette suggested that I see a high risk pregnancy doctor in Indianapolis. I would see one doctor one time and two weeks see the other for a very detailed sonogram. At 16 weeks we where told that we were haveing two boys and a girl. Wayne was by my side when they saw the first boy. The smile on his face made me realize it didn't matter what the other two were. Next came the girl. Believe it or not that smile got even bigger. Then another boy. Wow!! It's was all just so perfect!!
We new we had a long few months ahead of us but we also new that nothing else really mattered except getting those babies born and healthy. At 22 weeks, I was put on very strict bedrest. That meant one shower a day and only on my feet to go to the bathroom. Everything went good until at 34 weeks I caught a very bad cold and my doctor, Sara Strickler, decided that my body had had enough. She scheduled the c-section for that Wednesday, 35 weeks exactly..
The babies were born 1 minute apart and all healthy. What more could I ask for. I firmly believe that the pregnancy and the wonderful outcome is attributed to all the prayers and all the wonderful people who thought of us when we needed it the most. Elijah was born first. He weighed 5lbs 5ozs and was 19 "s long. Hanna and Ethan both tried to be born next. Both of their heads popped out only to be pushed back in. Hanna was next weighing 5lbs 61/2ozs and measuring 18 1/4"s. Then came Ethan. He weighed 5 lbs 101/2ozs and measured 19 1/2"s. What beautiful babies. I got to see them right after they were born only for a few seconds but later that night one of my nurses wheeled me down to the NICU to see them. I have never seen a man glow quite as much as my husband did just talking about those babies.
I will be the first to tell you that triplets aren't easy. Middle of the night feedings are for the birds! It all passes and these wonderful little people become independent and intelligent human beings. I can't imagine my life without them. I also can't imagine my life without my wonderful husband. Thank you Wayne for giving me three beautiful children!!
Great Backgrounds by Barbara
Go to
Before Kids Page