*****CCCTwins****

The-Anti-Bride

Hey, thanks for responding to my NICU post!  I just wanted to say that our babies were born on the same day!  I also came home on the same day!  How many weeks were your babies?  Did you have twins?  Boys, girls?

I can definitely understand the crying at inopportune times.  I'm actually avoiding calling my boss back, for fear that I may crack on the phone with her...  So, I totally feel a little kinship with you for so many of the same reasons!! 

Our hospital is 40 minutes away, so its difficult to make more than one trip.. We usually go and stay for about 3-4 hours.  We hold them during their feeding and then see the oncoming nurse for the second shift...

We haven't gotten to bottle feeding yet though.  Our boys are totally off IVs and are relying on gavages.  One of the twins had been on C-pap for a few days and both were under the lights for jaundice for a while... Hopefully we can bottle feed soon!  Someone in the responses said that would make a big difference in terms of bonding - I hope so!

ccctwins

Hey, I was hoping you would message me!  I posted my birth story yesterday and attached it for you below.  It is crazy how our dates are the same!  I would love it if you keep me posted about your boys and their progress.

That stinks your hospital is far away, but it really is exhausting making two trips each day.  I wanted to let you know that this morning our visit was really emotional and rough and left DH and I in tears and filled with worry.  Then, our night visit we just returned from was simply lovely.  Please remember this if you have a rough visit day.  You may want to call back a few hours later because you could get a more uplifting message (weight gain, etc.)

I got to give my second bath tonight and really enjoyed that.  Our little girl is still not doing well with her one bottle per day but our little boy is doing great with his 3 nipple feeds per day.  I meet with a lactation consultant tomorrow and we are going to try BF him at one of his feeds!!!   They took both babies off of caffeine therapy today to see how their apnea episodes fare.  They are also concerned the caffeine may be causing their reflux and wheezing noises.

Hope to hear back from you if you have time.  My LONG birth story is below.

Last Wednesday on 6/24 I gave birth by C-section at 33w2days to my b/g twins.  Claire Corinne was 17 in, 4lb 7 oz.  Adam Joseph was 18 in, 4 lb 13 oz.  They are doing great and have been moved from the NICU to the Special Care Unit (Level 1/2 unit) and are essentially feeders/growers with some apnea episodes.

Long birth story below:

On Monday 6/22 I noticed my belly shape changed and I felt like my baby boy had dropped.  My baby girl had been vertex and in the same spot for the entire pregnancy. 

On Tuesday 6/23 at 12:30 I noticed a very small amount of clear fluid or discharge in my underwear.  I had a doctor's appointment at 3 pm, so decided to wait until my appointment to address it.  At 2 pm, I felt a "strange" sensation, went to the restroom, and realized I was losing my mucus plug.  I calmly called my husband (in another state) and told him.  He told me to lie down immediately until my dad arrived to pick me up for my appt.  I called my dad and asked him to come over immediately because I needed to get to my appt early. He read between the lines and sped over.

My doctor said my cervix was very soft but not dilated, but had lost my plug.  I had been having menstrual-like pains since the previous Friday, but they had checked out as nothing.  I was admitted for 23 hr observation. The fern test confirmed that my water had broken, so I was told I would be on hospital bedrest until I delivered.  Baby B, my boy, had polyhydramious so the risk of a severe and heavy membrane rupture from the high fluid volume/weight was high.

Ultrasound showed that both babies were down low in the vertex position.  When I was hooked up to the contraction monitor, it showed that I was having contractions every 1.5 minutes, but was not really feeling them.  I was given antibiotics for a ruptured membrane and a steroid injection.

My husband jumped in the car and made it from out of state to the hospital by 1:30 am early on Wednesday morning.  At this point I had started to feel some of the contractions and was really starting to hurt.  The contractions waxed and waned in frequency all night.

The doctor came in at 9 am on Wed morning and said we could try to wait a few days, but would prefer to go ahead and deliver based on several factors.  Because of the polyhydramnios, he said Csection would really be better and that we could do be in the OR at 10 am.  

We had enough time to call family and take one last belly picture.  The epidural was fine, I was just relieved to get rid of the discomfort.  I partially watched the surgery in the OR reflective overhead light and got to see the top of DD's head before she was delivered.

Claire Corinne (baby A) was born at 10:20 and cried immediately.  They showed her to us and DH was able to take a picture.  Adam Joseph was born at 10:21 and also cried immediately and was photographed.  DH went to the little rooms adjacent to the OR while they were cleaned and snapped lots of photos.  The babies were wheeled by me in the OR once they were cleaned and I got to reach my hand in and touch each baby!

They were both brought to the NICU.  Claire needed oxygen for about 1 day.  Both babies are considered growers/feeders, have received phototherapy for jaundice, and are on caffeine therapy for episodes of apnea.  They are doing great and I am so in love with my little sweeties!!

After my C-section the doctor told me that Adam had a knot in his cord and it was good that we had went ahead with delivery.  I cried when he told me this because I had been very nervous about agreeing with delivery while I was 33 weeks 2 days.

I was discharged from the hospital on Sunday and have been dealing with leaving them behind at the hospital. On Monday they were transferred to the Special Care Nursery (step-down from NICU).

FWIW, I really enjoyed my C-section experience and have found the recovery to be much less than I had anticipated.   Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, please!!