According to the WHO today is the second annual World Prematurity Day. And today I am so very very thankful for modern medicine which helped me carry the boys for as long as I did. Two years ago today I was in a hospital in Omaha praying that the boys would stay in there just a little while longer. And thank God they did, they were born pretty darn healthy at 34 weeks and 5 days gestation.
My first two trimesters of pregnancy were a breeze. I had no morning sickness, just the unrelenting exhaustion that comes along with pregnancy. I was one of those women who had the glow of a happy pregnancy. I was thrilled to finally be pregnant and I loved those two little beings growing inside of me from the moment I knew they were there. Our blissful state came to a crashing end when I was just 25 weeks along. It was just a few days after my baby shower and exactly one week before Thanksgiving. I had been at work all day and I just didn't feel right. I couldn't exactly put my finger on it, but I just knew something was going on. A bit of TMI here, but I kept having this weird feeling down very low like you have to go to the bathroom but nothing ever happens when you run in there. So I called my ob office after I got off work and the on call dr. told me I should head off to the hospital. Not the one I had toured and was thinking about giving birth in, but a hospital more prepared for emergencies that John and I had yet to go to. I was driving home and was about halfway between home and the hospital, and I remember arguing with John that I was indeed going to come home and pick him up before heading off to the hospital. We only had one working car at the time and I was not about to go to this new hospital all by myself. And I am so so thankful that I insisted on picking him up before heading to the hospital so he could be there with me. When we got to the hospital I still wasn't too terribly worried, I figured they would check me out, hydrate me, and then send us home. It turned out though that at just 25 weeks I was already 2cm dilated and starting to efface, I was in some very preterm labor. The memories of the week I spent there are a bit fuzzy, I think mostly because of the magnesium drip I was on the first several days, that stuff really knocked me out and left me with that really drugged feeling. I remember there being a flurry of doctors and nurses and lots of drugs to try and stop my labor and to help us if they couldn't. I got two steroid shots to force the boys lungs to develop more quickly in case they were born early. They were the most painful shots I have ever had, but I am so glad I had them. When the boys finally did come, they did not need any breathing assistance at all, and that was a HUGE deal. I remember the hospital sending up a nurse from the NICU to try and prepare me for what may happen if the boys came so early. They would have about a 60% chance of survival (that would increase every week I could stay pregnant) and a high chance that something could be permanently wrong with one or both the boys. They would most likely stay in the NICU until at least my due date, which was in February. The first 24 hours were the scariest, but thankfully they were able to stop my labor, and I was actually able to go home on strict bed rest the day before Thanksgiving.
My big goal I set for myself was to make it to 32 weeks, and I celebrated every week that passed that I managed to stay pregnant. In all honesty though I was not a happy pregnant lady at the end. I was in a lot of pain and discomfort and I just couldn't wait to be done. I was tired of going to the hospital constantly and getting ivs and shots, and then being sent home again empty handed. I remember calling my mom several times and complaining about how unhappy I was. She kept reassuring me that once the boys were born and I held them for the first time that it would be all worth it. I really didn't believer her until I did get to hold them, and my whole life changed in an instant.
I would wind up back in the hospital 8 more times for preterm labor before the boys were finally born. I was sent to the hospital that final time because my blood pressure had spiked, it was a Wednesday evening in January and I was 34 weeks pregnant. I had to have a 24 hour urine test to see if there was protein in there, which would show if I had developed pre-eclampsia. At about 1am Friday morning my contractions started again and luckily my ob was just a few rooms down delivering a baby. She got my test results and it turns out I had developed pre-eclampsia. That coupled with my contractions returning, I was scheduled for a c-section that afternoon. I had to have a c-section because Oliver was breach and Owynn was transverse, my ob had told me that if at least one of them were in the correct position I could try for a vaginal delivery. I was terrified of having a c-section, and I got no sleep that night knowing that in less than 12 hours our boys would be born. They ended up pushing my c-section up, which sent me almost into a panic, but that way I had less time to worry about having it. The c-section itself was a whole lot easier than I feared it would be, I was in and out in less than an hour. It was the recovery that I had the most difficulty with. Owynn was born at 11:26am on Jan. 14, 2011 at 4lbs 7.8oz 18&1/2 inches long. Oliver was born two minutes later at 11:28am at 5lbs 2oz and 18 inches long. I remember I was absolutely thrilled they were born with hair, I don't know why I was so obsessed with that at the time, it was the first question I asked after making sure they were ok. They needed no breathing assistance at all, which was amazing, and were able to stay with us in the OR until the doctors were done with me. John and the boys went down to the NICU while I was sent back to my room to recover. I had to go back on a magnesium drip for the first 24 hours after my c-section because I had pre-eclampsia. I couldn't leave my bed, never mind see the boys. It was awful. I was elated when the nurse finally came in and said I could go see them. By the time she got me up and prepped, I was so incredibly weak and light headed that I needed to stay and eat lunch before I could head down to the NICU.
Thankfully they boys were born big and healthy, just extra early. They only had to spend 9 days in the NICU, we got to bring them home on the day I would have been 36 weeks pregnant. I was discharged the Wednesday evening following their birth, and going home without the boys is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I cried the whole way home. The nurses at the NICU were all super nice and very supportive, they all loved taking care of the boys, they said the boys were some of the easiest babies they have ever had to care for. The boys loved their sleep, and liked to eat. The nurses would actually have to wake the boys up every 4 hours just to eat. Before the boys could come home they had to be able to regulate their own temperature, get over their bit of jaundice, and show that they were eating and growing well.
Today the boys are normal 22 month olds, Owynn weighs 25lbs and Oliver weighs 28lbs. Here are some pictures of them while they were very tiny and still in the NICU.
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| Oliver being fed by Daddy |
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| Owynn wearing newborn sized jammies |
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| Oliver, Mommy, Owynn |
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| Owynn, Daddy, Oliver |
all photos are property of DoubleOTwins.com
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