Birth Day

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Our twins were born today at 1:43PM. Baby A weighed 2 pounds 14 ounces and Baby B weighed 3 pounds 11 ounces. Despite their premature delivery and low birth weight, both babies are doing well. J is recovering after an emergency C-section and a blood transfusion.

J began experiencing contractions on Friday evening. While they felt similar to the Braxton Hicks contractions she had been experiencing for weeks, they were more frequent than her obstetrician had told her was acceptable. Thus, she called her obstetrician's emergency number, and the doctor on call advised her to go to the hospital. Neither she nor I were overly concerned, believing the contractions would subside like they had so many times before. However once she arrived at labor and delivery, a fetal fibronectin test was performed, and the result was positive. Although I knew this meant she might deliver within the next week, I believed the doctors could still be successful in preventing her from going into labor. Nonetheless, I tracked down my husband, who was playing a gig an hour away, and urged him to be on alert until we could better assess the situation. J was admitted into the hospital, and procardia to slow her contractions as well as steroids to speed maturation of the babies' lungs were administered. Her contractions responded somewhat to the medication, so she advised us to wait until the following mornng to make the trip to the hospital (three and a half hours away).

J's contractions continued through the weekend, but the medication was able to stave off active labor. Her obstetrician informed us that they would only continue the procardia for 48 hours in order to give the steroids enough time to work, but then they would "let nature take its course". On Sunday evening, just hours before they planned to stop the medication, her contractions worsened. The doctor on call gave her terbutaline to slow the contractions and a shot of morphine. The intervention was successful, and by the following morning her contractions were more controlled than they had been all weekend, despite the fact that she was no longer on medication. We began to think the worst might be over and were hopeful that J would be released from the hospital and we could return home.

We already had a growth scan scheduled for that afternoon, and it was a short walk from the hospital to the attached clinic for that appointment. At the ultrasound, J's obstetrician detected that Baby A was under severe fetal distress. He had gained less than half a pound in three weeks, and he was not moving. The doctor ordered an emergency C-section, and we were whisked away to be prepped for immediate surgery. I entered the operating room absolutely terrified about the condition in which we would find Baby A and how both babies might fare overall at 32 weeks gestation. Baby B came out first, and she looked and sounded healthy. Baby A was noticably smaller, but he cried immediately, and I was so relieved that he was alive and sensient. Both were taken to the NICU, and the neonatologist told us he would return with a full report.

I waited in J's room while she recovered. Shortly after the surgery, she began to pass large amounts of blood. There were some very tense moments as the nurses rushed to stop the bleeding. But by that time, she had lost enough blood that she needed a blood transfusion. She was admirably strong through the entire ordeal (including the c-section which she had hoped to avoid), but it was sobering for both of us to realize the degree to which she had put her life on the line in order to have our babies.

The neonatologist returned an hour later (!) and informed us that both babies were doing well. Baby A is on a nasal cannula but Baby B is breathing fine on her own. Their prognosis is excellent, barring an unforseen complication. We have been told to anticipate a five week stay in the NICU. Although we have good reason to be optimistic, we know that the coming weeks will bring highs and lows. We would appreciate your good vibes for the health and safety of our babies and a speedy recovery for J, whose sacrifice on behalf of our family is beyond measure.
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