Joseph and Grant turned 9 today! It's a tradition in Joe's family that during a birthday dinner, mom gets to tell the story of the birthday boy/girl's birth. Since none of you will be having dinner with us, I'll share the story with you here on our blog.
Five months after Joe and I were married, we were so excited to find out we were having a baby. Early in the pregnancy I had an ultra sound done to determine my due date. The doctor showed us a little dot the size of my pinky nail and said, here's the baby...here's the heartbeat.....took some measurments....said I was about seven weeks along...etc. Then he moved the scanner around a bit and he got this kind of excited look in his eye. His leg started bouncing up and down. He scanned one way and then another again going back and forth. Then he smiled and said, "I think we have twins here!" I was so indescribably surprised. I remember starting to feel light headed as everything ran through my mind at once. I was so taken aback I don't even remember looking at Joe to see his reaction. After the initial shock subsided, I felt an overwhelming sense of excitement at the thought of having twins.
The pregnancy progressed well and when I was 27 weeks, about six months along, I went in for a checkup appointment and the doctor said I was already softening and possibly dilating. He sent me to the hospital to be monitored. I kept having contractions so they gave me a shot of tributeline (sp?) which is used to stop labor. It didn't work, so they put me on the dreaded magnesium drip through my IV. It was a horrible medication that I would never wish on anybody. I was loopy while on it, but I remember feeling hot in my chest cavity, and throwing up uncontrollably, and not being able to eat or drink even though my throat was completely parched. I begged Joe and the nurses to give me something to drink but my requests were always rejected. After a night of being on the stuff, I had dilated 1 centimeter and that's when the doctor decided to life bird me from Pullman hospital to Sacred Heart in Spokane. They wanted me at a facility that had a newborn intensive care unit that could care for 3 month premature babies.
After arriving at the hospital, I was still out of it from the medicine. When I came to, the spokane doctors told me that the labor had stopped. They did an in room ultrasound and estimated that the babies were each 2 1/2 pounds. They said that I had to stay there on hospital bedrest until the babies were born. They were going to try to keep them inside as long as possible to give them the best chance of health and survival. They took me off of the magnesium drip and put me on a pill that I had to take every night to keep contractions at bay. I also had to get a steroid shot twice a week for as long as I stayed there which would help the boys' lungs get stronger. Most patients were there for a max of a week, maybe two before they ended up having to deliver, but I ended up lasting seven weeks! If I had lasted half a week more, they were ready to send me back to Pullman!
Joe had been driving up from Pullman to see me every Friday after work, and driving home every Sunday night so he could be back at work Monday morning. It was a Sunday evening when I began to have contractions that were closer together than normal. Joe was getting ready to leave and I felt silly asking him to stay if it was just a false alarm. Something inside told me to ask him to wait a while. I was glad I did because the contractions didn't stop. The doctor came in, they monitored the babies heartbeats, and when Grant (Baby B's) heartbeat dropped for two contractions in row, the doctor checked my cervix. I was dilated to five centimeters. He said that because the heartbeat dropped he wanted the babies out ASAP and since Grant was breech that meant a c-section no matter what anyway. They immediately prepped me for surgery, got me in the operating room, and checked to see if the epidural had numbed me sufficiently. I could still feel the pain in the pinch so they decided to give me general anesthesia. I remember counting down from ten and never making it to number one. I was out like a light and didn't wake for several hours.
When I woke up I was in another room and Joe was standing next to me. I was in the post-surgery daze and mumbled to Joe, "Are they out of my tummy yet?" He said they were and told me all about it but I don't remember a word he said. I kept going in and out. He tried to show me a video that he took and I remember being happy to see them, but it was all a blur.
When I woke up the next morning, I was alert and anxious to get to hold my babies. They were doing well but couldn't be removed from the NICU (newborn intensive care unit). The nurse came in and said they would wheel me over there once I was able to sit up well. I did all the little exercises to get my post c-section body to a sit up position on my own. They told me I was all set to go to the NICU but they had to do one more set of vital signs first. They took my temperature and told me I had a fever! That meant that I was not allowed in the NICU because I might have an infection. I burst into tears. All I wanted was to see and hold my babies. They told me they would wheel me to the window and hold them up for me to see them. It was a very small consolation. When I got to the window and saw them, I was amazed by the beautiful little miracle they were and as they wheeled me away I started sobbing because I couldn't hold them and let them know I was their mother. That day happened to be my birthday and I got lots of phone calls congratulating me on the birth and wishing me a happy day. I feel bad because everyone who called me was greeted not by a joyful mother, but by an emotional post partum wreck who broke into sobs every time they asked about the babies. I remember when one woman from church called and excitedly asked how the babies were doing, I said through choked sobs, "I don't know because I haven't got to hold them yet!" The poor lady had no idea...
The next day my fever was gone and I got to hold my sweet little babies for the first time. I was love struck and we bonded instantly.
Five months after Joe and I were married, we were so excited to find out we were having a baby. Early in the pregnancy I had an ultra sound done to determine my due date. The doctor showed us a little dot the size of my pinky nail and said, here's the baby...here's the heartbeat.....took some measurments....said I was about seven weeks along...etc. Then he moved the scanner around a bit and he got this kind of excited look in his eye. His leg started bouncing up and down. He scanned one way and then another again going back and forth. Then he smiled and said, "I think we have twins here!" I was so indescribably surprised. I remember starting to feel light headed as everything ran through my mind at once. I was so taken aback I don't even remember looking at Joe to see his reaction. After the initial shock subsided, I felt an overwhelming sense of excitement at the thought of having twins.
The pregnancy progressed well and when I was 27 weeks, about six months along, I went in for a checkup appointment and the doctor said I was already softening and possibly dilating. He sent me to the hospital to be monitored. I kept having contractions so they gave me a shot of tributeline (sp?) which is used to stop labor. It didn't work, so they put me on the dreaded magnesium drip through my IV. It was a horrible medication that I would never wish on anybody. I was loopy while on it, but I remember feeling hot in my chest cavity, and throwing up uncontrollably, and not being able to eat or drink even though my throat was completely parched. I begged Joe and the nurses to give me something to drink but my requests were always rejected. After a night of being on the stuff, I had dilated 1 centimeter and that's when the doctor decided to life bird me from Pullman hospital to Sacred Heart in Spokane. They wanted me at a facility that had a newborn intensive care unit that could care for 3 month premature babies.
After arriving at the hospital, I was still out of it from the medicine. When I came to, the spokane doctors told me that the labor had stopped. They did an in room ultrasound and estimated that the babies were each 2 1/2 pounds. They said that I had to stay there on hospital bedrest until the babies were born. They were going to try to keep them inside as long as possible to give them the best chance of health and survival. They took me off of the magnesium drip and put me on a pill that I had to take every night to keep contractions at bay. I also had to get a steroid shot twice a week for as long as I stayed there which would help the boys' lungs get stronger. Most patients were there for a max of a week, maybe two before they ended up having to deliver, but I ended up lasting seven weeks! If I had lasted half a week more, they were ready to send me back to Pullman!
Joe had been driving up from Pullman to see me every Friday after work, and driving home every Sunday night so he could be back at work Monday morning. It was a Sunday evening when I began to have contractions that were closer together than normal. Joe was getting ready to leave and I felt silly asking him to stay if it was just a false alarm. Something inside told me to ask him to wait a while. I was glad I did because the contractions didn't stop. The doctor came in, they monitored the babies heartbeats, and when Grant (Baby B's) heartbeat dropped for two contractions in row, the doctor checked my cervix. I was dilated to five centimeters. He said that because the heartbeat dropped he wanted the babies out ASAP and since Grant was breech that meant a c-section no matter what anyway. They immediately prepped me for surgery, got me in the operating room, and checked to see if the epidural had numbed me sufficiently. I could still feel the pain in the pinch so they decided to give me general anesthesia. I remember counting down from ten and never making it to number one. I was out like a light and didn't wake for several hours.
When I woke up I was in another room and Joe was standing next to me. I was in the post-surgery daze and mumbled to Joe, "Are they out of my tummy yet?" He said they were and told me all about it but I don't remember a word he said. I kept going in and out. He tried to show me a video that he took and I remember being happy to see them, but it was all a blur.
When I woke up the next morning, I was alert and anxious to get to hold my babies. They were doing well but couldn't be removed from the NICU (newborn intensive care unit). The nurse came in and said they would wheel me over there once I was able to sit up well. I did all the little exercises to get my post c-section body to a sit up position on my own. They told me I was all set to go to the NICU but they had to do one more set of vital signs first. They took my temperature and told me I had a fever! That meant that I was not allowed in the NICU because I might have an infection. I burst into tears. All I wanted was to see and hold my babies. They told me they would wheel me to the window and hold them up for me to see them. It was a very small consolation. When I got to the window and saw them, I was amazed by the beautiful little miracle they were and as they wheeled me away I started sobbing because I couldn't hold them and let them know I was their mother. That day happened to be my birthday and I got lots of phone calls congratulating me on the birth and wishing me a happy day. I feel bad because everyone who called me was greeted not by a joyful mother, but by an emotional post partum wreck who broke into sobs every time they asked about the babies. I remember when one woman from church called and excitedly asked how the babies were doing, I said through choked sobs, "I don't know because I haven't got to hold them yet!" The poor lady had no idea...
The next day my fever was gone and I got to hold my sweet little babies for the first time. I was love struck and we bonded instantly.
Holding Grant for the first time
Grant weighed 4 lb 7 oz and Joseph weighed 4 lb 4 oz. They breathed fine on their own, had to be treated for a little bit of jaundice and had to stay in the hospital until they gained some weight. Grant reached his weight goal a day or so before Joseph, but didn't pass the "carseat test" where they monitor his vitals while sitting in his carseat for a certain length of time. One of the alarms went off and they said they would have to keep him and monitor him a few more days. Joseph ended up coming home after 7 days in the NICU and Grant came home after 10. When we were finally all together as a family everything felt perfect, the way I envisioned it would, and we quickly settled into life with two little newborns. Now those cute little bundles are nine years old! I will always feel that they are my little miracles.
Brothers finally together at home
Happy Birthday Joseph and Grant! Your mama sure loves you and is glad you made it safely into this world!
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9 comments:
That is such a sweet story! You are a very brave mommy. I know how it feels to not be able to hold them right after they are born. When Maddie was born she had a collapsed lung and spent 8 days in the NICU. I didn't get to hold her for a few days. It is amazing how fast time goes by. She is 7 1/2 now!
I didn't realize you were in the hospital so long! It seems like so long ago. I remember driving all the way to Pullman to see them and LeAnn and I weren't allowed to hold them! I know you were just protective of your fragile little bundles. I miss you guys!
Lauren, it's because the pediatrician told me I shouldn't let anybody hold them until they were a couple months old or they could get really sick since they were preemies. I think he was more worried about the general public wanting to touch and hold tiny little twins, and not so much worried about healthy family members, but I was so young and scared I excluded everyone but grandparents from holding them at first! I love you!
That is an amazing story! Your boys are so cute! I can't wait to be their Den leader.
Wow- I never cease to be amazed at what a strong person you are. twins are hard enough, but to go through all of that on top makes you a wonder woman! If I read your story right, it would be your birthday today-So Happy birthday to you too!
Thank you for sharing your story. I cried all the way through. -Marie
The twins always had a way of making me smile. Hey Joe: drop me a line with your contact info. I need to talk to you.
Andrew Zorich
andrewzorich@comcast.net
I'm very impressed at your memory - most women don't ever learn the drug names, much less remember them 9 yrs later. The first one they gave you was terbutaline, though I don't think it's used much anymore. Magnesium sulfate is also falling out of favor now that they've discovered nifedipine is better for the babies. So, you might have been a little more comfortable if you'd had the twins now. Not that you should try for another set....
Ali,
I have to say I am so greatful that your boys are here and safe. It seems like yesterday we were both on bedrest talking on the phone about our pregnancies. Did I tell you that Jill is having a little girl? I miss you and love you a ton. Happy belated birthday. Love Stacey
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