1998 Pregnancy

John and I started IVF (in vitro fertilization) in April 1998. We started taking hormones that would help me ovulate but unfortunately, they over-stimulated me so we had to stop for 3 weeks until we got my hormones under control (those of you who know me know that my hormones aren’t ever REALLY under control!). We started the hormones again and everything looked good this second time around. I produced 7 good sized follicles so they scheduled me to have them removed. I went in for the retrieval on June 14, 1998. They were able to retrieve all 7 eggs and proceeded to try and fertilize them.

We were on pins and needles waiting 24 hours to hear whether any of the eggs fertilized or not. Finally we got the call that 4 had fertilized. Again we waited 24 hours to find out if they had divided to the 4 cell stage – they all made it. We were then scheduled to have the eggs transferred back inside me on June 17, 1998.

When we arrived at the hospital, we were told that only 3 eggs made it but that was good because they usually only want to transfer three eggs anyway. We then started a drug called Progesterone which helps to ripen the lining of the uterus for implantation and we got to wait some more. This time we had to wait two weeks to find out whether or not we were pregnant.

Finally, on June 29, 1998 we got the news – we’re having a baby!

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July 13, 1998
(6 weeks 1 day)

I’m not quite sure how, but we’ve actually made it to week 6. I think we made it because they count the two weeks prior to your conception date as part of your pregnancy so it’s like getting 2 weeks free! The baby is now in a gestational sac that measures 4mm. His/Her face, ears and nerves have already begun forming. His/Her heart has started beating. We are scheduled for our second ultrasound on July 20th when we’ll get to see the heartbeat for the first time.

Not much exciting is happening, it’s still too early to “feel pregnant”. Although it’s not too early to be getting nauseated (I could have made it without that). I’ve been having a lot of cramping but the doctor says that normal.

Most people don’t realize that when you go through IVF you are put on an extreme amount of hormones causing your ovaries to enlarge. If you become pregnant after these hormones, your ovaries don’t shrink until the second trimester. Because of this, I’m having a lot more cramping than a normal pregnant woman and I look like I’m four months pregnant. Good thing I like maternity clothes!!!

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July 20, 1998
(7 weeks 1 day)

What a roller coaster this has been! As most of you probably know, John had to rush me to the emergency room Saturday night because we thought we had miscarried. The doctor was able to assure us that everything was okay and we finally got to see the heartbeat. Although I have to admit I wish I had seen the heartbeat under better circumstances.

We had a repeat ultrasound today and much to our surprise and the doctor’s, we are having TWINS!!!  We saw two very strong, beautiful heartbeats.  They are a little dark but you can get the general idea.

The doctor has me on bed rest for the time being and will do another ultrasound on Monday, July 27th. We are almost afraid to go back for fear of finding more!

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July 27, 1998
(8 weeks 1 day)

The appointment today went well. Both babies are doing great. Baby A was 12mm and had a heartbeat of 100. Baby B was 13mm and had a heartbeat of 108. Unfortunately, I have a very large pool of blood 57mm x 31mm so I’m still confined to the bed. The doctor is however letting me attend my sister’s wedding in Chattanooga, Tennessee as long as I’m in bed every day except the ceremony. Other than bleeding, everything is progressing perfectly. We’ll keep you posted.

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August 5, 1998
(9 weeks 3 days)

Today’s appointment went very well except for the fact that I have a major cold. Both babies are doing good. Baby A has grown from 12mm to 18mm and Baby B has grown from 13mm to 20mm. The most exciting thing happened today – we were able to see them moving. Baby A was kicking up a storm and Baby B was moving his/her arms about like a band director.

Unfortunately, my blood pool hasn’t gotten much smaller and I’m still bleeding. So it looks like I’m confined to the bed for at least another week. Oh well, there could be worse things than being waited on hand and foot! <grin> We have another appointment in a week so we’ll keep you posted.

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August 12, 1998
(10 weeks 3 days)

Today’s appointment was incredible! The doctor found both babies right away. They both looked great and were very active. Baby A is now 36mm and Baby B is 38mm (approximately 1¾ inches). Both heartbeats were good and strong. The blood pool has practically disappeared and is no longer a threat to the babies. I am officially off bedrest! I’m still on light duty but at least no more bedrest! The best part was the doctor has released me to a regular OB/GYN. My first appointment is August 27th.

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August 15, 1998
(10 weeks 6 days)

More hills to the roller coaster ride. I started bleeding heavily again last night and it was fresh blood. The doctor told me to meet him this morning. The babies are both great despite the heavy bleeding. Baby A was 41mm and had a heartrate of 152; Baby B was 42mm and had a heartrate of 140. Both the doctor and nurse are predicting that Baby A is a girl and Baby B is a boy (based on the heartrate wives tale that girl’s have higher heartrates). He put me back on injections and bedrest. Everything seemed good until approximately 1:00 when I lost about a half a cup of blood and almost passed out. I called the doctor and he said he was about to go into surgery and would call me when he got out to see if the bleeding had calmed down. By 3:30 the bleeding had not improved so he told me to go to the hospital. He checked me out again and the cervix was closed tight and both babies were kicking up a storm.

He has no idea what is causing the bleeding but says that the babies are fine and are not currently in danger. He’s put me on iron supplements to keep from getting anemic and I’m back on “don’t sit up” bedrest. Thank God the babies are both okay!

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August 21, 1998
(11 weeks 5 days)

Today’s appt. went really well. Both babies are doing great.  Baby A (on the right in the picture) is now 51mm and Baby B (on the left) is now 53mm. Both heartbeats were strong even though the doctor didn’t time them. There was a small pool of blood but the doctor wasn’t worried. I’m now on modified bedrest which means I can sit up! YEAH! Provided nothing bad happens, this will be the last time I see this fertility doctor. I have my appointment with a regular OB on Thursday the 27th.

It’s hard to believe that I’m almost out of the first trimester.  We’re also excited because the babies have passed the 2 inch mark. It sure is amazing how quickly they grow.

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August 27, 1998
(12 weeks 4 days)

Today’s OB appt was unbelievably miserable so we won’t talk about that. We got to hear a heartbeat but don’t know which baby it was and the doctor wouldn’t look for the second baby’s heartbeat! ARGH!  We’re looking for another doctor and will keep you updated.

 

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September 1, 1998
(13 weeks 2 days)

I was having a minor panic attack about not hearing the second baby’s heartbeat so I convinced my OB to order an ultrasound. I’m so glad he did.  You wouldn’t believe the detail we saw today. We saw the brain, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, arms, hands, fingers, bladder, kidneys, stomach, buttocks, legs, feet and toes. It was so amazing. The twins had obviously just eaten because we could see their stomachs were full and their bladders were half full. Good to know all the parts are functioning properly (and in the right place). Baby A was 7.6cm (just over 3 inches) with a heartrate of 150. Baby B was 7.2cm (3 inches) with a heartrate of 162. If you look at Baby A’s picture closely enough, you’ll see 3 fingers above his/her mouth. On the ultrasound screen you could see him/her scratching. There was still some blood but it’s now over the cervix and should be expelled completely.   So far – all is GREAT!

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September 17, 1998
(15 weeks 4 days)

Today’s appointment went great. Both babies are measuring 4.5 inches and were both kicking up a storm. My uterus is measuring an inch below my belly button and the doctor said that is consistent with a 19 week singleton pregnancy. I’m going to be as big as a house before it’s over! (not that I’m complaining)

It’s a little early to think about it but he said that he doesn’t expect me to make it past 33-34 weeks but if I do he will schedule the c-section between 36-37 weeks. So if looks like I might be getting Valentine babies! Doesn’t matter when they come as long as they are healthy. He also said that he’ll probably start steroid shots around 26 weeks to help develop the lungs. So hopefully even if they come really early they won’t be in NICU very long!

The best part (other than seeing them kicking) was there aren’t anymore blood pools in the uterus! (yippee) I’m still spotting but at least there aren’t any pools! Next u/s is in 2 weeks and then I’ll get them every 3 weeks after that. Seems like everything is starting to be somewhat normal. It’s about time!

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October 1, 1998
(17 weeks 4 days)

What a GREAT appointment today. Unfortunately though John couldn’t make it so he’s having to rely on pictures today.  Both babies are healthy and growing. Both weigh a little over 7oz, had heart rates of 144 and are approximately 5 to 5½ inches long. It’s a little too early to make a commitment but it looks like Baby B could possibly be a boy but don’t be surprised if that changes.  Baby A was just too darn stubborn to give us a peek (takes after mommy).

Momma is doing great. I haven’t had any bleeding in a week and the doctor was thrilled. I still have to modify my activities but with the growing size of my belly that isn’t a problem! 🙂 I’m still down 10 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight but the doctor is still pleased because I put on lots of weight to get pregnant.

Everything is GREAT! We have another appointment on the 16th but that’s just to check vitals and listen to the heartbeats. Our next ultrasound is the 21st and hopefully the babies won’t be so shy about showing us their sexes!

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October 2, 1998
(17 weeks 5 days)

I FELT MOVEMENT! It was so totally amazing! I was laying down reading a magazine and I had my hand on my belly (like I frequently do) and all of the sudden – thump! It was such a strange sensation that for a second I thought I was just having a hand muscle spasm. I picked my hand up and shook it and then put it back. A few seconds later – thump – there it was again. I thought “this is too good to be what I think it is”. So, I pressed a little harder and wiggled my hand back and forth. All of the sudden – thump, thump, thump. There was definitely a response to my stimulation! I tried to find the second baby and was able to get him/her to kick also. Then I was able to feel both of them at the same time! It was just such a dream come true.  There really are babies in there!!!!!

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October 21, 1998
(20 weeks 3 days)

I had GREAT appointments today. I had an appointment with a hematologist because my blood work has been coming back “off”. He said that since I don’t have a spleen and I’m pregnant with twins the levels will fluctuate more than a normal pregnant woman – I never could do things the “normal” way!

My ultrasound was great!   Baby A was totally uncooperative in telling us who s/he is. Baby B on the other hand was quite proud to let us know he’s a BOY!! Baby A is weighing 14.78oz and Baby B is weighing 13.9oz.  It’s hard to believe that in 3 short weeks they have doubled their weights! It’s also hard to believe that they are almost a pound each.

I feel great and have more energy than ever. I’m loving every moment while it lasts because I know that pretty soon I’ll be too big to enjoy it!

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October 27, 1998
(21 weeks 2 days)

Well, I had my first trip to Labor & Delivery today.  Nothing serious but I was having some cramps and the doctor wasn’t in the office today so he wanted me to go to the hospital and get checked out. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and monitored the babies heart rates and my contractions. They monitored me for 2 hours and everybody is doing great. I only had 2 contractions (which are normal) so they sent me home.

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November 2, 1998
(22 weeks 1 days)

Today was another of many firsts. I actually saw the babies moving. It was soooo cool! I was just laying in bed and all of the sudden my stomach started popping up. My stomach looked like a bag of Jiffy Pop Popcorn!! It’s truly an amazing experience seeing babies move inside you!

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November 6, 1998
(22 weeks 5 days)

John felt one of the babies move today. He was so adorable, all he could say over and over again is “There are babies in there”.

We had another Marvelous Multiples class tonight and we got to tour the NICU. There we got to see a baby girl born at 25 weeks. She was so tiny! It’s hard to believe that a baby that tiny could actually survive.

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November 10, 1998
(23 weeks 2 days)

This must be the month for firsts because I had another one today. I was reclining on the couch, talking on the phone with mom, when all of the sudden I saw a body part just underneath my belly button. Can’t say for sure which part or whose it was but from the look of it, it was an elbow! Way COOL!

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November 12, 1998
(23 weeks 1 day)

I had another great appointment today. My uterus is measuring 29-1/2 cm which if I were carrying a singleton would mean that I’m 29-1/2 weeks along in the pregnancy. With twins they want you to measure well above the weeks you actually are. For those of you who didn’t know, in a singleton pregnancy after 20 weeks your uterus will measure that many weeks in centimeters. So if I were carrying a singleton I should measure 23-1/2 cm today.

We finally got to see the sex of Baby A – IT’S A BOY! So if you can believe the ultrasounds, we are having two sons. Baby A weighs approximately 1 pound 7 ounces and Baby B weighs approximately 1 pound 8 ounces. Both had great heartrates! Can you believe how big they are getting??

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November 18, 1998
(24 weeks 3 days)

I spent 3 hours at Labor & Delivery yesterday for some unusual abdominal and back cramps. Everything turned out fine and I followed up with the doctor today. Turns out I have a small cyst on my left ovary causing me some discomfort.   Nothing to worry about as this happens a lot during pregnancy especially if you are prone to cysts. Both babies are doing great and now both weigh approximately 1 pound 12 ounces. My next ultrasound isn’t until December 2nd so it will be interesting to see how much they grow between now and then.

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November 22, 1998
(25 weeks)

We’ve hit another milestone in the pregnancy! We have now entered the “viable” stage. If the babies had to be delivered now, there would be a 50%-80% chance of survival. Of course even a full term baby can have problems and not survive but it’s reassuring to know that there is at least a chance now! We’ve started our countdown. Since the doctor is going to schedule my c-section sometime around 37 weeks, we now have 12 weeks to go until we’re holding babies!

My parents and I are going to paint the nursery this week and some time before Christmas John and I will purchase the cribs and dresser. Then on January 9th I will have my baby shower. Hopefully after that there won’t be too much left to do.

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December 2, 1998
(26 weeks 3 days)

Today’s appointment went well. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and after an hour and a half, I didn’t show any signs of contractions. Of course, as soon as they unhooked me I had a contraction (figures). My cervix is closed and tight as a drum so there are no signs of preterm labor – YIPPEE!  The ultrasound showed both babies are healthy and strong. They were EXTREMELY active! Both are measuring approximately 2 lbs. 7 oz. Can you believe it?

The bad news was I failed my 1 hour glucose tolerance test which means I’m at risk for gestational diabetes. I go back on Monday for a 3 hour test and if I fail that then the doctor is going to put me on insulin – ICKY! Oh well, thank God they can control diabetes so me and the babies would be okay.

The nursery is now painted and all we’re waiting on is the border (antique bears of course). We also bought both of our cribs and put one of them together. It’s really neat watching the room slowly become a nursery. I’ve waited a LONG time to see that dream come true!

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December 7, 1998
(27 weeks 1 day)

I didn’t think I was going to do it but I did – I PASSED my glucose test.  YIPPEE!!!!  I can eat sugar during the holidays.  Let me tell ya, my first stop after fasting for 12 hours was Chick-Fil-A where I proceeded to get a very large sweet tea and a very large sweet brownie – yummy!

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December 15, 1998
(28 weeks 2 days)

I started my bi-weekly injection of steroids yesterday which will help develop the twins’ lungs in the event that they are born early (which we already know they will be born at least 3 weeks early).  I’ve done tons of research and spoken to lots of twin moms who received the shots and there were no adverse effects so it’s better to be safe than sorry.  I’ve also talked to a few moms that wished that they had done the shots so their babies wouldn’t have been in NICU for so long.  Starting next week, I also get to go in twice a week to have non-stress tests done (which are anything but stress free).  Basically I lay there hooked up to a fetal monitor for 1+ hours listening to the babies’ heartbeats and monitoring contractions.  Doesn’t sound too bad until you imagine 14+ pounds of babies smushing your insides while you lay on your back for 1+ hours.  Not too comfortable let me tell ya!

Not too many complaints, just the usual third trimester stuff.  I’m having LOTS of back aches, pelvic pressure when I walk/stand, indigestion, acid reflux, sleepless nights and oh yeah did I mention my HUGE belly!  Strangers have all of the sudden felt the need to point out just how large I am and how large I’m going to get (like I don’t already know!).

I’m having another ultrasound on Wednesday the 23rd so I’ll let you know how the boys are doing and how big they’re getting.   From the look of my belly, they’re getting pretty big!

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December 18, 1998
(28 weeks 5 days)

Well, last night I spent my first night in the hospital.  Thankfully it was only the one night.  At around 11:00 p.m. I started having contractions every 8-10 minutes.  As instructed, I laid down and started drinking lots of water to hydrate myself.  After 2 hours the contractions hadn’t stopped so we got ready and went to the hospital.  Once there they informed me that they doctor wanted me to stay the night and get monitored and take Terbutaline which is an injection that stops contractions.  They got me all hooked up to the fetal monitors and gave me my first shot of Terbutaline.  Because of the horrible side effects of Terbutaline, they also give you Vistaril which is a muscle relaxant.   Everything seemed to calm down but then about an hour and a half later I started contracting every 8 minutes.  They gave me another dose of Terbutaline.  When the doctor got there the next morning, he checked me out and there weren’t any cervical changes (thank God) and technically the contractions I was having were Braxton Hicks and not pre-term labor contractions.  The true definition of pre-term labor is cervical changes so luckily I wasn’t in pre-term labor.  They gave me a third shot of Terbutaline and sent me home on bedrest.  WHEW!  What a scary night!  One which I hope not to repeat!!!!!

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December 23, 1998
(29 weeks 3 days)

I had my 3 week ultrasound today and the boys look GREAT!  They are both getting big and strong.  They weigh approximately 3lbs 4ozs and 3lbs 5ozs.  I can’t believe how big they are getting.   Mommy (that’s me) is doing great too.  I’m measuring like I’m 37 weeks pregnant and boy do I feel it!  I feel and look as big as a house.  Not complaining because that means the boys are big and healthy but boy does my back ache! 🙂

Many of you have asked about names so assuming they actually come out as two boys (you never can tell until they are born) they will be Nathaniel Ray (Ray after John’s dad) and Carter Edward (Carter after my mom and Edward after my dad).   Twins are wonderful because you can name them after both families and not hurt anyone’s feelings!  On the off chance that one surprises us and is a girl, she will be Natasha Rae.  We don’t anticipate having a girl but like I said, you never can tell!

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December 29, 1998
(30 weeks 2 days)

Hard to believe I’m actually in week 30.   After such a rocky beginning, John and I just thank God everyday that we’ve made it another day with two healthy beautiful babies!  This is the third week of my steroid shots to develop their lungs and they are going well.  Spoke to the doctor again about whether or not he still plans on doing the c-section between 36 and 37 weeks.   He was cute with his response “if you make it to 36 weeks then I’ll expect you to go to 37, if you make it to 37 then I’ll expect you to go to 38.”  He never went past 38 so I hope that I won’t have to go past 38 weeks.  Twins are technically full term after 37 weeks so surely he won’t make me go past 38 weeks.  Although I personally would love to go at 38 weeks because I’ve already picked out a really cool birthday – 2/22/99 – isn’t that cool for twins?

We’re having my shower in two weeks on January 9th so I’m getting really excited about that.  Since I’m not working out of the house it’ll be great to get together with all of my friends and celebrate the pregnancy.  Even with all the pit falls, it’s been a great pregnancy and it will be a little sad to see it end!  That is until I hold my little angels in my arms.

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January 8, 1999
(31 weeks 5 days)

Well, this isn’t exactly the way I wanted my first entry of the new year to read but here goes.  The day before yesterday, the 6th, I woke up at 4:45am with contractions.  The contractions were coming 3-5 minutes apart so we called the doctor and headed over to the hospital.   Once at the hospital they did their usual unpleasant cultures and tests, hooked me up to an IV and fetal monitor and started Terbutaline to stop the contractions.  When the doctor got there he examined me and I did have a very slight change in my cervix.   So, he said I would remain in the hospital for 24 hours getting Terbutaline every 4 hours to get the contractions under control and to watch the babies.

The next morning he came in and said that he wanted me to start wearing a Terbutaline pump (T-pump) which is a tiny device like an IV pump that dispenses medicine 24 hours a day but yet is portable so I could go home.   Unfortunately due to insurance politics, he was having difficulty getting it approved.  I was to remain in the hospital until he got the pump approved.  Well you guessed it, it took all of 1/2 a second after he left for John & I to get on the phone with the insurance company.  Finally at 4:00pm everything was in place and a registered nurse came to the hospital to bring me my pump.  The pump is the size of a beeper and it is attached to IV tubing that is then attached to a tiny needle that is inserted into my upper thigh.  The needle has to be changed every 3 days and the medicine inside the pump has to be changed every 24 hours.  These are all things that I have to do so it’s lucky for me that I got used to doing my own shots while going through IVF treatments.  I was excited to get my pump and know that I was finally going home.  Well, that trip home wasn’t going to happen as quickly as I had hoped.   The doctor said that after receiving a T-pump you have to remain in the hospital for 24 hours so that they can make sure the dosage is right, the pump works, I feel comfortable using it and that the babies are tolerating everything okay.

This morning the doctor comes in and announces that as long as my cervix hasn’t changed anymore, I can go home.   Everything looked great so an hour later I was at home – YIPPEE!  Because of the cervical changes, I’m officially classified as being in pre-term labor.   Surprisingly the doctor hasn’t ordered strict bedrest he just said I should be a couch potato (my favorite pass time *grin*).  Also to my surprise he basically cut up my drivers’ license.  The side effects of the T-pump are increased heartrate and tremors so it’s just too dangerous for me to be behind the wheel.  I did ask him if he thought I could make it to at least 34 weeks without going into full blown labor and he seems confident that with this pump, I can make it to 36 weeks if not 37.  That was music to my ears.

So, I’m to stay on the T-pump until the babies are born.  I’ll continue my bi-weekly monitoring sessions and my bi-weekly steroid injections and hope for the best.  The babies would be okay if they were born now but they would have to be in NICU for a couple of weeks.  Obviously we are praying that we can make it a little longer so their lungs can develop further.

I have another ultrasound next week so I’ll let you know how they are looking and approximately how big they are getting.  If I do make it to 36 weeks, that means that approximately 4 weeks from Sunday we’re going to have babies – what a scary concept!  That would make our estimated delivery February 9th.  I just can’t believe how close we are.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we can make it just a little longer.

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January 9, 1999
(31 weeks 6 days)

What a dream come true today was – I had my baby shower!  I’ve waited 10 years to have a baby shower of my own and today was the day.  My friends Susan and Tammy co-hosted the party at Susan’s house.  I can’t believe how many people showed up (about 13).  Even more unbelievable were the gifts!  You would think I was having quads instead of twins!  My heart just melted – thank you everyone!

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January 22, 1999

WOW!  What a week and a half this has been!  As most of you know, the boys were born on January 12, 1999 at 4:13pm and 4:14pm.  Boy what a whirlwind birth experience we had.  So, go get a soda and a snack and pull up your chair.  Here’s our story ……

On Monday, January 11th, I started having contractions at 6:00pm.  They were my usual Braxton Hicks contractions except they were coming every 2-5 minutes.  Things slowed down and then around 8:00pm they changed and became very strong and were coming consistently every 5 minutes.  We called the doctor and got to the hospital around 9:00pm.  The nurses started my IV and started me on Magnesium Sulfate (Mag) to stop the contractions.  The contractions slowed but were still pretty strong.  They checked my cervix and it was now a fingertip dilated and soft.

On Tuesday, January 12th, the doctor came in to see me.  My cervix was unchanged and he said that they would play around with the dosage of the Mag and Terbutaline and hopefully manage to hold off labor until 34 weeks (I was 32 weeks at the time).  He tried to do an amniocentesis to see if the lungs were developed in the event we had to go early but there wasn’t a good spot to draw up the amniotic fluid.  Around 12:00pm I had a whopper of a contraction and rolled on my back to try to breathe through it.  Seconds later my water broke.  When the doctor got there he confirmed it was amniotic fluid and said that I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced.  The doctor decided it was no longer safe for the babies to be inside me and that the babies needed to come out.

I was transported to another hospital that has a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  When I got there we decided to hold off until 6:00pm to let the food on my stomach settle.  While we were waiting for some blood work to come back the doctor did another exam and said that I was 6cm dilated and that we had to get the babies out immediately.  The anesthesiologist started my epidural but had a hard time getting it in so he had to do it twice (lovely experience).   I was whisked away to the OR and John was sent to get ‘gowned’.  The surgery began fine and I wasn’t able to feel the incision BUT when the doctor got inside and was trying to get to the babies, the epidural wore off.  They stopped the surgery and put more drugs in my epidural and started giving me nitrous oxide (laughing gas).   I have never breathe so deeply in my life as I did when he put the mask on with the laughing gas!  Surgery got back underway.  Suddenly my doctor says with his Spanish accent, I-car-rumba.  John’s thinking that this was not a good word to hear during surgery on his wife!  Turns out the babies wanted out because there was a severe placenta abruption.  When they got to the abruption, John said that he could hear a water fountain noise and he looked around the drape and it was blood.   YUCK!

Because of the abruption, when Carter’s membrane ruptured he swallowed and inhaled a lot of blood so they had to suction his lungs and put him on a ventilator.  Also because of the abruption they had to put a tube in his umbilical cord to supply nourishment.  Nathan was higher in the womb and since his membrane didn’t rupture, he was healthy and breathing room air.  Both boys came out screaming and had good lung development which we attribute to the steroids that I took.

The boys were taken to NICU and the doctor finished putting me back together which unfortunately I started feeling.  They gave me some more nitrous oxide and then told me not to go to sleep – yeah right!  After I got out of recovery and was in my room John was able to go see the boys.  I wasn’t able to see them until 11:00pm because of the drugs that they had given me during surgery.

By late the next day the boys had lost all of their tubes and were ready to be moved to the Extended Care Nursery.  They became jaundice so they were put under bilirubin lamps and blankets and still had IV’s.  Thursday was the first day that I was able to breastfeed them and that was a happiness that I can’t describe.  Unfortunately, the boys are too premature to breastfeed so I’m doing the next best thing which is pumping and giving them breast milk in a bottle.

Carter & Nathan have made phenomenal progress and hopefully will be home this weekend.  John and I are so far past cloud 9 that they don’t even have numbers!

We have had an outpouring of good wishes and wonderful baby gifts and I thank each and every one of you for sharing this experience with us.  Now if you would each just take turns changing diapers, we would have it made!     I’ll try to keep the website updated as much as possible but as you can imagine, I don’t have much time for playing on the computer.