Triplets!

When Mark came home at lunch time and told me he had triplets to deliver I couldn’t my excitement.  Quickly I looked through our stash of baby blankets, hats and newborn clothing to see what would work.  Not knowing if we had boys or girls I set aside three girl blankets and hats and three boy blankets and hats.  I knew this would not matter to the Ethiopians, but in my American mind they had to be the ‘right’ colors.  He went back to work and I waited for him to call.  I waited and waited and finally thought he had forgotten me.  I wanted so bad to videotape the delivery and see them born.  But finally the call came through at 5:00 that the spinal was in and I should come. I put on Mark’s blue scrubs, a surgical hat, grabbed the clothes and cameras and headed for the OR.

The room was bustling with excitement.  There were three midwives waiting to take care of the babies along with the normal surgical crew. Each baby had a towel and blanket along with its own bulb syringe waiting for them in the large bassinet.   I showed them the blankets and hats I had brought and we laughed about what colors we should use.  All of us had an opinion about the sexes.  Some thought two boys and a girl and others two girls and a boy.  No one ventured to think they would all be the same sex.  The only thing missing was the father.  He and the grandmothers were waiting outside surgery. Fathers are still not allowed in the operating room.

It took a while for the spinal to take but finally the surgeons were ready.  Mark had his first year resident, Dr. Ronald from Rwanda make the incision.  Many thoughts went through my mind.  No. 1…I’m glad I’m not queasy when I see blood. No. 2…in just seconds three new lives will enter this world…it was a humbling thought that I would witness their first breaths and 3…I was so proud of my husband who was allowing his student to do most of the case. It was only Mark’s second set of triplets to deliver. They reviewed the procedure once again, made sure all of the instruments were ready with the scrub tech, said a prayer, looked around one more time to make sure everyone was ready and the surgery began.  It seemed like a long time from the initial skin incision until the uterus was opened but in reality it didn’t take more than five minutes.  The first baby emerged quickly and took her first gasp for air and cried lustily.  The room erupted in excitement. It’s a girl!  Our head midwife, Bekalu immediately scooped her up in his arms and began to work on her.  Within in seconds baby two was delivered and again the room happily noted it was another girl!  The next midwife, Tigist took this baby in her arms and began to clean her and suction her out.  And then we waited.  I watched and videotaped as Dr. Ronald searched for baby three.  Mark put pressure on the abdomen and finally (it seemed like forever) baby three emerged in his own meconium stained sac.  It’s a boy everyone shouted.  He was so little but his arms flailed and his cry was hearty as our third midwife, Meskeram, scooped him up and placed him in the bassinet. Each baby was weighed in the OR and then we discussed which blankets and hats to wrap them up in. It was a magical moment for Soddo Christian Hospital.

The triplets. L-R No. 1 girl, No. 3 boy and No. 2 girl

Staff popped their heads in the OR wanting to see the babies and checking on the mom.  Finally the cleaned up babies were wheeled over to the mother who had, up to then, only heard their cries.  She already seemed weary as her tired smile took in her three new children.  The midwives wheeled the bassinet out of surgery and into the outdoor corridor where the father and his family stood waiting to see their babies.  I think he was a tad overwhelmed when he took in the magnitude of three little babies, however he smiled and the grandmothers standing next to him were ecstatic.  The babies were then quickly wheeled into our ICU ward.

Dad sees his babies for the first time

Two days later I went down to the hospital to see the babies, pray for them and give a gift to the mother.  I used the nice bag sewn by Kainey Church and packed it full of three outfits each for the babies donated by Muskegon area women.  They actually paid for us to bring two suitcases back with baby clothing. This family is very poor and it was a privilege to share your gifts from the USA with this very deserving family.  This time we did not have “naked twins” but fully clothed healthy triplets.