Birth Story

I'm incredibly exhausted, but want to write a brief story of how/why the boys were born so early.

I had my weekly doctor appointment on Tuesday. My (stupid) medical insurance denied paying for more weekly BPPs at my doctor's office so I had to go to the hospital to have it done before the doctor appointment. My mom took me to the hospital at 8:30 am. I was admitted and had the quickly ultrasound done (which, by the way, the boys got another 8/8!). I was done and at the doctor's office by 9:15 for my 10:15 appointment. I figured I'd get in early an Mom and I could get some breakfast during my weekly outing.

We waited for an hour and a half because Dr. McKernan had two deliveries. I was next in line when the office manager came out and said that Dr. McKernan had an emergency delivery and that we could see another doctor or the PA if we didn't want to wait. Since I thought everything was fine with me accept that I was really exhausted after having to walk through the hospital and wait in the doctor's office for so long, I said I would be seen by the other doctor in the office. I'd seen him before and really liked him, so I didn't think it was a big deal not to see my doctor in one of my last prenatal appointments.

They took my blood pressure (which is usually 110/70) and it was 140/90. I just figure that I needed to go home and lie down after being out for so long. The doctor came in and asked if I was having any vision problems, pain under my right breast or headache. I said no but he said he wanted me to go to L&D triage to get some blood work done and be monitored because he thought I was at risk for preeclampsia.

At this point, I was getting pretty crabby and just wanted to go home. I went back to the hospital and waited in triage for almost an hour before a nurse came to see me. They did some blood work and hooked me up to a blood pressure machine and Mom and I waited. And waited. And waited. After two more hours (and by this time it was around 2:30), Mom went out to the nurse's station to see if my lab results were back and if she could take me home since my blood pressure was back to normal. Dr. McKernan was there and said he was just looking at my chart and would be in to see me in a few minutes.

He came back to see me and said, "Well, I'm going to make your day and we're going to deliver these babies!" Ummm...what the heck? I was beyond stunned. I was packing up to go home! He said that my lab results came back abnormal and that I was at risk for preeclampsia. He said he didn't want to risk me going home and getting sicker (I was sick?) and perhaps having a seizure. Totally stunned....I was totally stunned. By this time, it was 3 and he wanted to deliver the boys by 5!!

I called Eric who was at school studying (he had a big standardized patient exam the next day) and told him to go home and get my back and come straight to the hospital. He made it by 4:45 and had time to get into the OR gear they had for him. What a whirlwind of a day!

I was incredibly nervous going in to have the surgery mostly because I didn't want to be awake knowing I was being cut open. When I got into the OR, some of the monitors didn't work and they had to fiddle with them until they got them to turn on (made me SO nervous!). But, the anaesthesiologist was great and did an excellent spinal block. The entire procedure was very unpleasant though. I felt like I had a ton of bricks on my chest and couldn't breathe. And I was given pitocen which made me shake like a leaf! It was awful! Dr. McKernan and Dr. Luley (the doctor I'd seen in the office that day) did a great job. Carter was out quickly and cried right away. Brandt (who was transverse in my belly) was a little more difficult to get out because his shoulder was stuck, but also cried right away. What a relief!

Eric went with the boys to the NICU and I was taken back to the recovery room. Because of the risk of seizure, I was put on magnesium sulfate (refer to the week 29 posting) and had to endure the recooperation of the surgery plus the nasty side effects of that crappy stuff. I got really sick and was throwing up all night and couldn't sleep. When I thought I had a break from the nausea and vomiting, the nurse wheeled me to the NICU so I could see the boys in hopes that by seeing them, I'd feel better and be able to sleep.

In the morning, Eric came to the hospital before his exam and we went to see the boys and I got to hold Brandt for the first time. Robert and Melissa (friends from Midwestern) showed up and Robert and Eric went to school for their exam. Melissa was such a help and stayed with me while I moved rooms to post partum and got me started breat pumping. Thank you again, Melissa!!

The next few days were spent sleeping, pumping, and teaching the boys to feed from a bottle and then from the breast. I was discharged from the hospital last night and had to go home without the boys. How heartbreaking! Going home without them was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I know they still need to be in the hospital.

They continue to do great. They went from being in the NICU to cobedding in an incubator and are now cobedding in a crib. They are eating almost 60 cc's each per feeding. Until they show they can maintain their own body temperature and are gaining weight, they have to stay in the hospital. We hope they will be able to come home sometime this week!

Thank to to everyone who has been praying for us. The Lord has truly blessed us with these precious boys and is watching over them. We are so grateful to Him as He touches these boys with His healing hands and can't wait until we can bring them home!