Thursday May 10, 2007
10:30am
We got to the hospital and had to do all sorts of paperwork and the babies heartbeats were hooked up and monitored. It was neat to watch their rates for almost 2 hours. They got the IV in and started fluids for me. I asked to be catheterized after the spinal (they wanted to do it before) and they agreed. However, I am latex sensitive so they had to “cobble” a cath together for me (this is an important detail for later.)
I walked down to the OR just after 12:30pm; I was very nervous and excited. Bill stayed in the room and they gave him a lunch and some juice and told him to wait to get dressed so he wouldn’t get overheated since the gown was kind of rubber like. He wisely put on the booties and mask just to be ready.
I got to the OR and got up on the table. The room was packed; each baby had a team of a doctor and nurses as well as some medical students and a neonatologist. My doctor and one of the other docs in the practice talked to me the whole time. Dr. Slotta went to school with Bill’s cousin, Jimmy. Small world and the conversation kept me entertained while they worked on getting the spinal going. It took a while and the anesthesiologist was just getting ready to switch to a bigger needle when he was able to get the smaller one in. It did not hurt as much as I thought, just like little bee stings. I had to put my legs up on the table and they immediately started to tingle and I felt the sensation traveling up my legs and torso. I also started to feel a little sick so he gave me some anti nausea medication in my IV and the oxygen mask instead of the nose tubes. He did the check to make sure I was numb and then he asked that someone go get Bill. It was almost 1pm. I kept asking for Bill because they had started the surgery. Finally he got there. He said the nurse ran in the room and told him to hurry since the surgery had started, so he dressed as he ran down the hall. Not sure why they waited so long to get him.
At 1:05pm, Dr. Zart said “It’s A Girl!” “Hello Baby Reagan!” I was so relieved and happy and she started crying right away. Another huge relief, but I was still holding my breath to hear another cry. I kept asking Bill if he could see her and if she had hair, they said she had a little hair. A minute later, Dr. Zart said “I see a head, oh I see feet, oh we have a swimmer!” “It’s a Boy, Hello Baby Nolan!” Another cry and another wave of relief for me.
The crying in stereo was loud and was the sweetest sound I ever heard. Bill was told he could go over and take a look at the babies so he took some pictures and brought them back to me. It was all happening so fast. Next time Bill came back he had Reagan in his arms. After I was all put back together they gave me both babies and wheeled us back to the room where we started in for assessments and recovery. It was very chaotic as my BP had dropped very low and they were started to get worried about me, all I was worried about were the babies. They put one baby on my chest to warm up both of us since I was shivering so badly.
The babies both had low sugar so they were given a bottle right away and had to have their sugar tested every 3 hours and then fed. Their sugars came up after about 12 hours. They ate voraciously.
Once I was stable the neonatologist came to my bed to tell me her assessment of the kids. She ordered an ultrasound for a dimple on Reagan’s back. This really scared me because I asked what it could possibly be and she mentioned spina bifida. Nolan had two things she was concerned about, a brachial cleft cyst, on the side of his neck, which will be removed when he is 6 months old, and his forehead suture (plate) looked fused and they wanted to ultrasound and x-ray that. Nothing like worrying a new mom right off the bat! We have to watch that his forehead fills out or we will have to investigate further.
We moved over to our regular room and Daddy changed the first diaper. The look on his face was priceless, he was trying to comfort Reagan but you could see he wanted to gag. He did such a good job though.
The rest of the day was a blur; I tried to get each of them on the breast. Nolan tried, but Reagan’s mouth is so incredibly small that she had a really tough time. They each did suck a little and just getting to look at them up close was amazing. Over the next several days in the hospital it became frustrating for all of us and the babies enjoy their bottles, so that among lots of other factors lead me to the decision to not breastfeed. It was very hard and very upsetting for me, but in the end it is what is best for all of us. I just have to let the guilt go and remind myself that I am doing what is best for my situation. I remind myself of that daily when I get down about it.
At 2am they decided my cobbled together catheter was not working so they had to pull it and insert another. That really sucked, but within 30 minutes I had doubled what I had put out all day.
On Friday, they got me out of bed and that was the worst pain I have ever experienced. Not the incision so much, but the right side. They said it was from my doctor cranking down too much on the retractors during surgery. OUCH! The first two times I stood up I literally saw stars and instant tears. By Saturday I was able to shower and felt better, but the side pain still persists a week later if I overdue it.
On Sunday the babies came to the room about 6:45am and they had a Mother’s Day card waiting for me in the drawer of their bassinets. Daddy got to the hospital around 7am with bagels (I had enough of the hospital food) and a Mother’s Day gift from the babies. They got me emerald (their birthstone) earrings and Bill made me a t-shirt with iron on transfer that says “Mommy of Twins (Two Against One). It was a very special morning for us. Three years of trying and waiting and finally we had our rewards, and I couldn’t have written the story better myself. I got to bring home my babies on Mother’s Day.
They each had to pass a one hour car seat challenge test because of their small size and after that we started the discharge process. Being wheeled down the hall with one baby on my lap and Bill carrying the other car seat was overwhelming. They were all ours, our two babies to love to teach.
May 17, 2007: It all happened so fast and a week is gone already. I’m just trying to soak in every minute of them. I know I have a lifetime of moments, but these are so precious.
My first thoughts of the babies…. Reagan has the smallest face and petite nose and mouth that I have ever seen.
Nolan is perfect too and I thought he looked like Bill, but upon further inspection he looks like Mommy and Reagan looks like Daddy.
10:30am
We got to the hospital and had to do all sorts of paperwork and the babies heartbeats were hooked up and monitored. It was neat to watch their rates for almost 2 hours. They got the IV in and started fluids for me. I asked to be catheterized after the spinal (they wanted to do it before) and they agreed. However, I am latex sensitive so they had to “cobble” a cath together for me (this is an important detail for later.)
I walked down to the OR just after 12:30pm; I was very nervous and excited. Bill stayed in the room and they gave him a lunch and some juice and told him to wait to get dressed so he wouldn’t get overheated since the gown was kind of rubber like. He wisely put on the booties and mask just to be ready.
I got to the OR and got up on the table. The room was packed; each baby had a team of a doctor and nurses as well as some medical students and a neonatologist. My doctor and one of the other docs in the practice talked to me the whole time. Dr. Slotta went to school with Bill’s cousin, Jimmy. Small world and the conversation kept me entertained while they worked on getting the spinal going. It took a while and the anesthesiologist was just getting ready to switch to a bigger needle when he was able to get the smaller one in. It did not hurt as much as I thought, just like little bee stings. I had to put my legs up on the table and they immediately started to tingle and I felt the sensation traveling up my legs and torso. I also started to feel a little sick so he gave me some anti nausea medication in my IV and the oxygen mask instead of the nose tubes. He did the check to make sure I was numb and then he asked that someone go get Bill. It was almost 1pm. I kept asking for Bill because they had started the surgery. Finally he got there. He said the nurse ran in the room and told him to hurry since the surgery had started, so he dressed as he ran down the hall. Not sure why they waited so long to get him.
At 1:05pm, Dr. Zart said “It’s A Girl!” “Hello Baby Reagan!” I was so relieved and happy and she started crying right away. Another huge relief, but I was still holding my breath to hear another cry. I kept asking Bill if he could see her and if she had hair, they said she had a little hair. A minute later, Dr. Zart said “I see a head, oh I see feet, oh we have a swimmer!” “It’s a Boy, Hello Baby Nolan!” Another cry and another wave of relief for me.
The crying in stereo was loud and was the sweetest sound I ever heard. Bill was told he could go over and take a look at the babies so he took some pictures and brought them back to me. It was all happening so fast. Next time Bill came back he had Reagan in his arms. After I was all put back together they gave me both babies and wheeled us back to the room where we started in for assessments and recovery. It was very chaotic as my BP had dropped very low and they were started to get worried about me, all I was worried about were the babies. They put one baby on my chest to warm up both of us since I was shivering so badly.
The babies both had low sugar so they were given a bottle right away and had to have their sugar tested every 3 hours and then fed. Their sugars came up after about 12 hours. They ate voraciously.
Once I was stable the neonatologist came to my bed to tell me her assessment of the kids. She ordered an ultrasound for a dimple on Reagan’s back. This really scared me because I asked what it could possibly be and she mentioned spina bifida. Nolan had two things she was concerned about, a brachial cleft cyst, on the side of his neck, which will be removed when he is 6 months old, and his forehead suture (plate) looked fused and they wanted to ultrasound and x-ray that. Nothing like worrying a new mom right off the bat! We have to watch that his forehead fills out or we will have to investigate further.
We moved over to our regular room and Daddy changed the first diaper. The look on his face was priceless, he was trying to comfort Reagan but you could see he wanted to gag. He did such a good job though.
The rest of the day was a blur; I tried to get each of them on the breast. Nolan tried, but Reagan’s mouth is so incredibly small that she had a really tough time. They each did suck a little and just getting to look at them up close was amazing. Over the next several days in the hospital it became frustrating for all of us and the babies enjoy their bottles, so that among lots of other factors lead me to the decision to not breastfeed. It was very hard and very upsetting for me, but in the end it is what is best for all of us. I just have to let the guilt go and remind myself that I am doing what is best for my situation. I remind myself of that daily when I get down about it.
At 2am they decided my cobbled together catheter was not working so they had to pull it and insert another. That really sucked, but within 30 minutes I had doubled what I had put out all day.
On Friday, they got me out of bed and that was the worst pain I have ever experienced. Not the incision so much, but the right side. They said it was from my doctor cranking down too much on the retractors during surgery. OUCH! The first two times I stood up I literally saw stars and instant tears. By Saturday I was able to shower and felt better, but the side pain still persists a week later if I overdue it.
On Sunday the babies came to the room about 6:45am and they had a Mother’s Day card waiting for me in the drawer of their bassinets. Daddy got to the hospital around 7am with bagels (I had enough of the hospital food) and a Mother’s Day gift from the babies. They got me emerald (their birthstone) earrings and Bill made me a t-shirt with iron on transfer that says “Mommy of Twins (Two Against One). It was a very special morning for us. Three years of trying and waiting and finally we had our rewards, and I couldn’t have written the story better myself. I got to bring home my babies on Mother’s Day.
They each had to pass a one hour car seat challenge test because of their small size and after that we started the discharge process. Being wheeled down the hall with one baby on my lap and Bill carrying the other car seat was overwhelming. They were all ours, our two babies to love to teach.
May 17, 2007: It all happened so fast and a week is gone already. I’m just trying to soak in every minute of them. I know I have a lifetime of moments, but these are so precious.
My first thoughts of the babies…. Reagan has the smallest face and petite nose and mouth that I have ever seen.
Nolan is perfect too and I thought he looked like Bill, but upon further inspection he looks like Mommy and Reagan looks like Daddy.
1 comment:
Keep up the good work.
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