Now what?

The next few days were a crazy mix of emotions. I felt like I was in a Lifetime movie or something. Besides the general shock of TRIPLETS, I didn't know what the plan was, and therefore I didn't really know what to prepare for. You know, back at our match meeting, when we were discussing this thing that was never going to happen, all I remembered saying about *if* the impossible (in my mind) happened, I would be okay with whatever decision Chris and Keith made. But I couldn't remember if they had made a decision clear at that time or not. Because, ya know, it didn't matter, since it was never going to happen. :-\

The decision I'm referring to is whether or not to selectively reduce, an option made clear to us by all the professionals we were interacting with (RE, counselor, OB, perinatologist). Because, while modern medicine has certainly made carrying and birthing triplets a lot more viable, it's not nearly as easy as it may seem these days, with higher order multiples all over our media. A triplet pregnancy is a significantly riskier pregnancy, for the woman and even more so for the babies. Triplets are almost always born before 36 weeks, and sometimes significantly earlier, increasing the likelihood of a whole host of problems, ranging from NICU time and possible future learning issues to severe disabilities. And we knew that the identicals shared a placenta, which also opened them up to even further problems. On my end, my risk for gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and other issues was way up, and bed rest was pretty much a guarantee. A surro I know lost her uterus after a triplet pregnancy, so I was aware this would be no walk in the park.

Regardless, I knew that I would prefer not reducing, but I did my best not to put too much emphasis on that thought, because I knew it wasn't my decision to make. I had agreed that it would be up to the guys, and I knew that, like all parents, that if that was what they chose, they wouldn't do so lightly and would need my full support.

I gave Chris and Keith as long as I could to process and sort out their feelings, as much as possible at that point. I tried to make it a full week, but I think I made it 4 or 5 days before asking them if they had decided whether or not to reduce. The answer was a resounding no to reduction, and we were officially Team Triplets!

I went to the library and checked out all they had on triplet pregnancies. I knew it was going to be a tough road, but I have an incredible amount of support, both practically and emotionally, and while I was undeniably nervous about the obstacles that faced us, I was admittedly a little excited to be facing such a unique challenge. Bring it on, Babies!