Looking Back.....4

Carissa was nice enough to remind me that I haven't finished my twin pregnancy story, so here it is.

A peek into my journal...continued.

31 weeks finally came! We were getting closer! My doctor came in early that morning to talk to me, as she did every morning. At this time, she informed me that she was heading out of town in a few days and wouldn't be around on our planned delivery date. We discussed all of our options. 1-We could deliver a few days earlier than planned. 2-We could deliver a few days later than planned. 3-We could have another doctor do the delivery on our original planned date. We made the decision to deliver the night before she was leaving out of town, which was Monday, May 22, 2006. This put our delivery at gestational age 31 weeks 4 days.

When Monday, May 22 finally came, I was so excited! Mixed with nervousness! I was so glad that this pregnancy was finally going to be over and that I would be able to go home with my family. I was so excited to meet my sweet little girls and be able to hold them in my arms and know that they were both healthy.

I was so nervous about having a c-section. In addition there was so much uncertainty as to whether or not both of my girls would be healthy and ok.

Our delivery was scheduled for that evening and it was a very long day waiting.

This was right before surgery.

For me, the surgery went very quickly. I didn't feel any pain. A few minutes into surgery, I was told that baby A was coming out. Then the assisting doctor held her up so I could see her for about 2 seconds, before whisking her away to the adjacent room where several NICU doctors and nurses were waiting. Abbie was born at 6:46 PM. Exactly one minute later, they held up baby B in the exact routine as they had done with Abbie. Ellie was born at 6:47 PM.

The window shades were open, and I could see my girls being worked on in the next room as my surgery was being completed. We were told that they were both doing very well for 31 weekers. We were also given their weights, Abbie weighed 3 lbs 1 oz and Ellie weighed 3 lbs 14 oz. It wasn't until 2 days later that we found out we had been misinformed. Abbie had actually weighed in at 3 lbs 10 oz which was quite a difference. This was good news to us.

An hour or two later, they wheeled my hospital bed into the NICU so that I could see my sweet little girls. I just kept saying "They are so small! I can't believe how little they are." They had a bunch of wires attached to their stomachs and chests. they also had IV's and were on ventilators. It was very hard to see them like this. I was so glad that they were getting a good start. Throughout my pregnancy, I was told by doctors that by 32 weeks, we might not have 2 live babies. Yet here they were. They were very, very small. But I knew that they were in good hands and that they were going to have a fighting chance to live. I was overjoyed. And exhausted. And proud of myself for making it through this amazing day without crying!

This is a different angle to my famous "twin heads" picture.
This was the very first time they put the girls in together.

The girls were only on their ventilators for a couple of hours and the oxygen a day or two. The main reasons they needed their NICU stay was to learn to eat and obviously to grow. It was very difficult to come home without them. At the same time, I knew they were much too small to come home. It was also difficult juggling my recovery, my 2 older kids, and twice a day visits to the hospital. It was definitely a roller coaster ride of emotions. Somehow we managed it all.

This was the 1st time I got to hold them together! I was thrilled!

The girls were in the NICU for 32 days and they came home together. Finally, our family was all together!:)