What Are the Odds?

Stats 101 came in handy on Wednesday when Kelly and I had our consultations with neonatologists and high-risk pregnancy Dr's at the University Hospitals in Iowa City.  

The purpose was clear: to education Kelly and myself about all the things that could happen with a multiple pregnancy from now (just beginning 10 weeks) until whenever the little peeps come out, hopefully around 32-34 weeks.  

Here are some numbers to chew on: A singleton pregnancy has a >99% chance of survival at anything > than 28 weeks.  Now, for three little ones, you multiply that rate by three, which lowers the chances for all the kids.  

So after 28 weeks the odds of three surviving are like this: .99*.99*.99 = 97% chances for all three kids.  So after 28 weeks gestation approximately 97 out of 100 babies born as triplets survive.   (Yes, our heads were swimming at this point).  The main point is the longer they are carried, the increased chances for survival.  Got it. 

There were a lot of other odds of things that could befall kids and mom on the way to triplethood.  I won't go into them, because essentially there is a small chance of a lot of things that can happen, and you just hope you aren't one of the 2 or 3 people out of 100 that have these things happen.  

We also toured the neo-natal care wards in the Iowa Children's Hospital, because chances are good that we'll spend some time there (we are hoping for 32-34 weeks gestation, which would put the kiddos in the care ward for 2-4 weeks).  

This was the comforting part because the facilities are top-notch.  I think they had 70 separate rooms for babies, each with its own care center.  They also have a pharmacy on site, a blood lab and they are close to delivery rooms. Moms and dads can also check into the nearby hotel in the hospital...Quite impressive.  There are worse places to spend a couple weeks with premie babies. 

After four hours of talking with doctors who will forget more about pregnancies and little babies than we will ever learn, we were worn out!   To end the crash course of multiple pregnancies, we met with Dr. Kelly, who was closer to our age, had a couple kids of her own and had personally worked with 10 separate triplet pregnancies.  She'll be our rock at the UIHC as we move forward.  

Our next visit is in a few weeks to see how the peanuts are growing.  In the meantime, we are counting down to week 12 when the morning sickness should subside...please?!?  

***

I picked up the Odyssey with my co-worker Zach tonight, and I must say it is an impressive vehicle.  Rides nice on the highway, plenty of power and pretty comfortable.  The usual mid-week sack of groceries was swallowed by the cavernous storage space behind the 3rd row seats. I can't wait to see how many golf bags will fit back there...

And to finish, we noticed one of the neatest features I have ever seen on a minivan: the windows in the big sliding doors actually roll nearly all the way down.  Nice!  I guess that also means little kids sitting in the second row will have ample space to chuck projectiles at passing cars.  I know I would have.  

  The window goes down a little further than this...

Now are there any suggestions for our U of Iowa license plate?  We still have "INRLMNT" from the old car, the Honda Element.  In case you are wondering, it means "In Our Element".  Don't be shy, comment away!  Here are some early favorites: 

1) TMNRIS (Team Norris) 

2) 3ZCMPNY (3's Company) 

3) TBL45PL (Table for 5 Please)