What It Was Like
Posted on November 30, 2008
This will be my last post in November to honor National Prematurity Awareness Month. During the month I’ve been blessed to find new bloggers and resources that focus on both infertility and premature birth. These two topics go together more often than we realize. If we all work together we can raise the level of awareness about both infertility and prematurity. This is my story of what it was like four years ago when my twins were born too soon…
It was October 6, 2004. The Ob/Gyn who had refused to discharge me from the hospital just 2 weeks earlier when I was 28 pregnant was standing at the foot of my bed in the labor and delivery unit. He was explaining my options, basically he had decided a c-section would be the best option if my contractions didn’t stop. I was only 30 weeks pregnant and not ready for my twins to enter this world so early, so small, and so vunerable.
A little while later the neonatologist from the Neonatal Intenstive Care Unit (NICU) walked into my room and sat down. She made herself comfortable, she was planning on staying awhile. She explained the equipment that my babies would be placed in and hooked up too. After telling me that 28 week babies have the same survival rate of a full-term baby, she started to explain all of the complications that my babies might experience since they were 10 weeks too soon. Within a matter of minutes I was both reassured and scared to death.
A few hours later my body decided it was time for my babies to arrive. The doctors and nurses couldn’t stop my contractions with medications. My contractions were so strong that Baby A started to crown before they got me on the operating table. They didn’t have time to prepare me for the spinal tap (thank God) and Baby A was born naturally. Baby B, on the other hand, was transverse so they had to place me under general anestesia for an emergency c-section. Baby A was 2 lbs 11.0 oz and Baby B was 2 lbs 9 oz. They were wisked away immediately after their birth, placed on ventilators and encapsulated in an incubator.
Eight hours after their birth I would find out that my twins were both girls and shortly thereafter I would see them for the first time. It was 24 hours after their birth before I would touch them for the first time. I remember asking the nurse when/if I could hold them. The next 7 weeks would be full of ups and downs. The NICU is a place of wonder, but also a place of emotional trials.
One of our daughters, Baby B, was what they call a “feeder/grower” as she had mostly good days in the NICU and was able to progress easily with feedings and into a big girl crib. She was the rock that helped keep me sane while Baby A struggled almost daily.
Baby A got sick at day 9. They diagnosed her with NEC – a preemie disease of the intestine. When she was 5 weeks old she had her first surgery to remove the damaged portion of her large intestine. She had 2 strictures in her intestines that were blocking food from reaching her stomach. After surgery she had a colostomy for a few months. At 6 months of age she had surgery to reverse the colostomy and she’s been healthy since. The weeks prior to and immediately after Baby A’s first surgery were some of the most difficult of my life. Many days I thought she was going to leave us. I lost count of the number of times I saw her bagged (a form of CPR) because she stopped breathing. I’m sure there were times that the nurses and doctors didn’t inform me of – sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Shortly after Baby A became ill my labor and delivery nurse was walking the halls of the NICU. I stopped her and showed her my precious girls. I told her about one of the times Baby A stopped breathing and her blood oxygen levels were 3 percent (they’re supposed to be above 95 percent). She told me that all new moms are afraid their babies aer going to die. While I can appreciate the fear of a new mom, thankfully few of you have or ever will experience what I have. It’s not something I would wish upon my worst enemy.
There are many moms who have lost their babies. My heart goes out to them as I cannot truly appreciate how heartbreaking it must be to lose a child. Over 540,000 babies are born premature each year. Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn deaths, yet it receives very little publicity. I only hope that someday infertility, loss, and prematurity will receive more attention and more dollars for research and prevention.
I’m lucky that both of my babies survived. I’m thankful each and every day of my life for my good luck!
» Filed Under Infertility, Premature Births, pregnancy
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Kelly,
It sounds like you went through a great deal! I’m so glad that things worked out in the end but sorry you had to go through so much to get through it all. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m sure it will help others.
Jeanne