It all started on Tuesday, May 21st. I had a routine NST at my Perinatologist office in the morning; and everything was normal. Both girls were doing excellent, and, apart from my continued swelling, everything looked great for me too.
I'd had a bit of a cold for a couple weeks and my throat had started to bother me so I went in to my OB's office for a strep throat screen just to be on the safe side. Well, the strep test was negative, but my BP was 158/96! Of course they immediately had me lay down on my left side and had my doctor come in to see me. She rechecked it and it was still that high, so she wanted me to go to the L&D unit of the ER for observation for a few hours. She also ordered a 24 hour urine test.
Well... I left the hospital 10 days later and 25lbs lighter.
My blood pressure stayed elevated in the ER and my OB had me admitted for "24 hour observation and to collect the 24 hour urine." For the sake of not making this post insanely long, I'll leave out all the extensive details, and try to keep things brief.
I was admitted to OB Special Care and for an entire week my blood pressure would sky rocket and the doctors would say I'd probably deliver that night or the next day, and then my blood pressure would drop back to normal and they'd say I could leave in the morning. On top of the issues with my blood pressure, I was having serious GI issues! My first night there I suddenly started having vomiting and diarrhea that lasted about 18 hours, stopped for 24 hours, and started up again for another 18 hours. This went on for probably a good 4 days.
Fortunately, the girls were not being negatively affected by any of my issues. I had NST's twice daily and an ultrasound while in the hospital and everything looked perfect. Also, since I was admited at 33w5d, my OB ordered that I get steriod injections, just in case I did deliver early.
By Monday, I had had it! I was fed up with not sleeping, with being sick, and with just being in a constant state of limbo. My blood pressure had been completely normal for a few hours, then all of the sudden jumped again and wouldn't come back down. That night I started having mild, but regular contractions, and the nurses told me to be ready to deliver in the morning.
Tuesday morning when I saw my OB, Perinatologist, and my daily slu of residents, they decided that it was no longer safe for me to be pregnant and I was scheduled for a c-section for 1:30 that afternoon. (34 weeks and 5 days pregnant). I called Bob and told him to get his butt to the hospital because the babies were coming.
Because I was pre-eclamptic, I had to be on a magnesium drip prior to, during, and after my c-section... not fun! It makes you feel sick to your stomach and causes terrible hot flashes! The spinal wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated, but I did get a little sick from it. I think I was in the OR for a grand total of 40 minutes from beginning to end.
In the OR were Bob and myself, my OB, 3 L&D nurses, the anesthesiologist, the anesthesiology nurse, 3 NICU nurses per baby and a Neonatologist. The happiest moments of my life were when each baby was delivered and they immediately started screaming!! I was terrified that they would need breathing assistance.
Baby A:
Abigail Hope "Abby"
5/28/13 @ 1:42pm
4lbs 12 oz
17 in
Baby B: Josephine Grace "Josie"
5/28/13 @ 1:43pm
5 lbs 0 oz
17.5in
Even though they were both doing well, they were taken to the NICU for evaluation; Bob was able to go with them though. After surgery, I was taken to recover for an hour... still not having seen my babies except from across the OR. :(
On the way back to my room they wheeled my bed to the NICU so I could hold the girls for a few minutes before being taken back upstairs. Perfect moment :)
Unfortunately, it was more than 24 hours before I was able to see my babies again. Even thinking about it now makes me get teary eyed. As a result of the magnesium and the catheter, I was having serious issues with passing out and with bladder control. I was kept in the hospital for 3 days after the c-section, but the girls still needed NICU care. They had to master the "suck, swallow, breathe" reflex.
Abigail - 2 days old
Josephine - 2 days old
The girls had specific things they needed to achieve to come home. 1) Breathe without assistance (which they didn't have any issues with) 2) Maintain body temperature - which they both did within a few days 3) Eat on their own. They also needed to maintain blood sugar and have normal bilirubin levels. Our girls' biggest issue was the eating. The day I was discharged was one of the hardest days of my life. I had to leave my babies at the hospital for an indefinite amount of time. Bob and I were able to go to the hospital every day to visit them, but every night I left in tears.
The NICU strongly encourages "kangaroo care" or "skin-to-skin" It was awesome for me and Bob too.
It was incredibly frustrating that they'd do really well for 3, 4, or 5 feedings and then just be too tired to take any more by bottle. To come home they needed to "nipple" all their feedings for 48 hours; after the first 24 hours, they could have their feeding tubes removed.
Abby's tube was removed 6/613 Josie's was removed 6/9/13
The next hardest thing we ever had to do was take Abby home while Josie stayed in the hospital for a few more days. It was emotionally draining trying to divide our time between our daughters with them in different places. But thankfully, it was only 3 additional days. After almost 2 weeks in the NICU,
Abigail came home Friday, June 7th.
And Josie came home Monday, June 10
This is their first day home together :)
I know a lot of friends and family have already seen these pictures, so I'll do another post with some new pictures too. But, I figured this post was already too long as it is.
Oh my goodness they are so adorable!!!
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