NICU

20 days.
15 subway sandwiches.
40 (or more) drives to centennial.
Countless tears.
At least 60 bottles of pumped milk.
This is our story of the NICU with twin boys.

Our boys were born via c-section at 35+3. They weighed 6.4 and 5.11. Good size and good gestational age. I was naive to really what 35 weeks meant for us. I had read in a book that we should tour our NICU, of course I didn't really think we needed to do that. We should have. I had no idea what to expect...
Garron was in the NICU As soon as I had him. They brought him to my room and said they would be taking him up. The doctor said it was just precautionary and I felt like he wouldn't be there long. The next morning we called and the nurse said he had come off his oxygen (didn't know he was on) and would be ready to feed soon. When we got up there we had to cover our clothes and scrub in (I never want to see a scrub brush again). Garron was in isolation but had a great nurse who helped me try to nurse him. She thought he would be able to go home with William and I on Sunday. Later that day he was moved to step down, taken off temp regulator and was looking good! Doctor said he would likely leave with us (me still being totally dumb about NICU).

Then comes Friday. William can't keep his body temp, and is taken to the NICU. They move both back down a floor and put them on temp regulators. Garron is going backwards. I was by myself that night for their feeding so I walked up there. I was almost in tears just from the walk (Garrett had been wheeling me around). I was nursing William when he got choked, quit breathing, turned blue, and alarms went off like crazy. This would just be the first of many spells, but I cried hysterically for the rest of that feeding. The nurse that night was less than helpful. She told me I ahould probably just give them formula..why would I do that when I have plenty of milk!?! I requested to not have her again. Request filled-never saw her again! Later that night Garrett was back and garron had two spells, not a good night! The next day our first nurse was back, we talked with a NP who was the first person to really let me know how they were doing, and I felt a little better. That night, we got moved to our final room. It was a converted patient room and it was us and one other baby. One nurse would be in there caring for them. This was soooo much better than a room with 12 babies and all of their monitors going off! That drove me crazy!

They spent the next two and a half weeks in that room. We had a lot of breathing spells, and I spent my whole time there looking at the monitors. I must admit I was scared to even touch them. I wanted them to just lay there and continue to breathe normal so we could go home. I would change, check temp, nurse, supplement, burp, swaddle, and back in their beds. I rarely (in the beginning) just sat and held them. After a few days they were put on a bily blanket for raised jaundice levels. They were only  allowed off of those for 30 minutes at a time- so no choice but to not hold them. After about two weeks and me realizing they weren't leaving soon, I decided to do things how I wanted. I held them when I wanted. I fed around their schedule, not to the minute like some of the nurses wanted. If William wanted to nurse for an hour, I let him. I was growing weary of so many "rules". Days past, and finally William was close to five days with no spells. Luckily, the two days before he was going home he had the sweetest little nurse who knew how to calmly handle the babies. She didn't force them to eat and make them sick, or panic with every drop of oxygen. I was so thankful for Mrs Mary!

In order for William to be released we had to spend the night and prove we could get up and take care of him. I've done a newborn before, I got this. Anyway, while we were there staying with William garron was still up in the NICU. We had a nurse that night we had never had. She was super nice, but new and right by the book. She calls us at 3am to tell us to check Williams temp (I think I made something up) and that Garron had a spell- we were on day 3. The next morning, after shift change, I went to voice my complaint about this spell. Luckily the day nurse was on my side and we convinced the doctor not to count it.

Garron was ready to come home two days later. They initially said he would have to stay all day to get five full days spell free. So I made plans for that. Garrett went to the office and we planned to pick him up that night. They called me at 930am and said he was ready to go. Of course he was. I had William (who had been home one full day) alone with me. We packed up and headed to get garron. Luckily my mom could meet us there and take the day off to help!

I don't wish the NICU on anyone! But I did learn some powerful lessons:
My babies don't have to be held around the clock. They can be put down.
Preemies are fighters.
Those nurses , even though some annoyed me, love on the babies so much
We have a lot of people in our lives who love us
Prayer is a powerful thing
I am blessed beyond measure
We have cute babies😄

The C-Section

For some, it is the best decision they ever made. Get up, do your make up and hair, head to the hospital and the scheduled time, and meet your little one in just a few hours. No labor, no pushing, no hours of waiting. Well, for me, this was not my ideal way to have my babies. When I found out I was pregnant with twins I knew it was a possibility. As we got closer, it was pretty evident that I would have one. Baby A (Garron) was breech, and had no interest in turning. So I had to prepare for a c-section. I went to the doctor on Tuesday. My OB said I should be ready within the week things seemed to be progressing quickly. I was being checked twice a week at this point (35 weeks), and so I would be back on Thursday to be checked again. Wednesday is library day- so Anders and I headed to story time as we always did on Wednesday. I was having contractions pretty consistently, but wasn't ready to go to the hospital yet. I laid done for a nap after the library, and woke up to much stronger and more intense contractions. We decided we should head to the hospital. That night happened to be Trunk or Treat at church and Anders was too excited to miss. My mom left work and came to get Anders and get him ready for church. He was a pirate! Sad I missed it! Garrett and I headed to the hospital. They got me set up on the monitors, determined I was in active labor, and got me upstairs to get ready for my c-section. I was keeping in touch with my mom and Garretts mom while they Trunk or Treated. A few people were at the hospital with me. We got all the information and paperwork squared away and headed down for the c-section. They took me into a small OR room and Garrett waited in the hall. We started with the spinal which made me numb from the neck down immediately. That was crazy! I wasn't prepared for it to take effect that fast. They laid me down, gave me oxygen, put the screen up, and brought Garrett in. The two doctors who administered the spinal stood at my head and chatted through surgery. One had 8 week old twin boys! My OB came in and got started. All I really remember is a lot of pressure on my ribs. It felt like he was pushing and pulling on my rib cage. I also remember a horrible smell, Garrett said that is what open flesh smells like-yuck! It took about 10 minutes to get both babies out. They came out crying and went straight to their cribs to be checked out and cleaned. There was NICU staff and regular nurses in the OR just be cautious since they were early. I got to hold him them just for a minute, and they took them to the nursery. I got cleaned up and was taken back to recovery. I had horrible shakes afterward which I did with my vaginal too. Just stress and the epidural I guess. My friends and family got to see the babies down at the nursery. It was forever until they came to my room. I hated that about the surgery. I wanted to hold them right away. I felt like I had been cheated out of the chance to have a baby, and I had just had surgery. The days to follow were the worst! It hurt to to do everything. It felt like I had done the most intense ab workout all day! So, a c-section is not for me! I guess the quickness of the process was a plus, but that is it! But, to each their own. Whatever it takes to get a healthy baby, I'm all for.

Next blog- the NICU