On Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 11:00 p.m., my husband and I awoke to discover that my water had broken only an hour after going to bed. Once en route to the hospital, I started having contractions that increased rapidly. At about 2:00 a.m., the medical staff at St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee, WI determined that our twin babies needed to be delivered immediately. My doctor drove down to the hospital and both babies were born via c-section before 3:00 a.m. Their premature birth came as a great surprise to us, as my pregnancy was very seamless, healthy and uneventful. In fact, I worked out that morning, took the dog for a walk and attended our last birthing class that evening.
Once our babies, Emma and Carter, arrived, we were only able to see them for a second before they were rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital. There, they were hooked up to continuous positive airway pressure machines to assist with their breathing. Emma was also intubated for a short time and was given medication to stimulate her lungs. The doctors placed IV lines into their belly buttons to monitor their blood-gas levels, and both babies were placed in incubators to regulate their body temperatures. At this point also, their heart rates were continually monitored, in addition to their blood pressure. At birth, Emma was 3 pounds even and Carter was 2 pounds, 14 ounces. Due to the fact that they were so small, body functions that most take for granted for newborn babies were not so easy for these little ones. They regularly stopped breathing, known as apnea of prematurity, and had to triggered by the staff to start breathing again. They could also not nurse or bottle-feed and had to be given nourishment through feeding tubes. In addition, unlike most new parents, we could not hold, hug or kiss our children for several days due to the IV lines in their stomachs. Once we were finally able to hold them together, almost 5 days after their birth, they were only allowed out of the incubators for a few minutes, as their temperatures would plummet in room temperature air.
Our children spent six weeks in the NICU before coming home. Over the course of their first year, both babies were sick off and on with respiratory infections and Carter contracted RSV, a dangerous respiratory illness that is extremely harmful to babies, especially premies who have a history of lung weakness. Emma and Carter’s early arrival certainly changed their lives, at least in their first year. They are thankfully doing wonderful now and have never been healthier. We attribute their current success to the wonderful care that we received in the NICU at St. Mary’s and from their pediatrician and his staff currently.
The course of events that made up my children's first 16 months has changed the course of our lives tremendously. As stated though, they are doing so great now. So, here's where life gets interesting...I'll share all my crazy twin stories with you in this blog, as well as some of my Twin Momma2.0 tips for surviving motherhood (with one, two or more). Stay tuned mommas!
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