We were so thankful for the safe and healthy arrival of our two sweet baby girls! I want to document all of the other parts of our hospital stay and their birth that were such an important part of the event.
Surgery Recovery - I was fortunate to have a very easy recovery from surgery. As soon as I found out I was having twins and then later that I would indeed have to have a c-section due to their positioning (Annabelle was breech and Ashley transverse), I was nervous about the surgery and recovery. Despite it taking a couple of tries for the epidural to work, the surgery was very painless and easy. I couldn't feel a thing, not even the tugging and pressure that some report of feeling. I did shake quite a bit from the epidural and was pretty swollen, but I will take that in exchange for no pain. I had been told to get up and get moving as soon as possible. My epidural came out Wednesday morning, and I immediately starting walking around. First, it was just to the restroom in my room but later that morning, I was able to shower and get dressed and by the next day was walking the 10+ minute walk to the NICU 5-6 times a day. I think this was HUGE in having an easy recovery. By the time I left the hospital, I was barely on pain medicine and at the one week point was completely off of it. My doctor preached activity and walking and thank goodness she did. I credit that totally to feeling better quickly.
Visitors - We have the best friends and family in the world! We had so many sweet visitors, and they were troopers considering the babies weren't in the room with us. They either didn't get to see them or had to make the trek down to the NICU and scrub in for a peek at the tiny angels. The evening of their birth, we had our whole families, plus the Sudbecks and Stacy. Over the next few days, we had Kim, Makennah, Hannah and Hilari from ACA, Al, Stacy, Kathy, Lindsey, Joanna, Pete, Anne, Tyler, the Pazourecks, Kyle, Emily, Dr. Kaufmann (our wonderful fertility specialist) and of course our families on a daily basis. Thank you to our sweet friends who visited and brought gifts and company. You are so appreciated!
Coming Home from the Hospital - Part 1 - George and I came home from the hospital on Saturday, February 1st. I had all of these big plans about our homecoming and what the girls would wear, but that was put on hold since they had to stay in the NICU. One thing I learned was that moms are never meant to be separated from their babies. To say it was hard leaving them at the hospital is a huge understatement. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. There were lots of tears the first few days of their lives because of the circumstances, and I sobbed uncontrollably having to leave them. I knew I'd be back early the next morning but that didn't make it any easier. We had been together 24 hours a day for 34 weeks, and it felt so unnatural and cruel to be apart from them. My parents had
stayed at our house all week and thank goodness for that. They cleaned and grocery shopped and Saturday evening cooked a delicious meal for us when we got home. The Buckmasters and Dom and
Rachel also came over for dinner. I barely remember that evening because I was so upset. As if leaving them at the hospital wasn't bad enough, then we had to come home to this house that had been prepared for months for babies, only we didn't have babies. There was no "trying to be positive" and "looking on the bright side of things." The reality was that it was horrible, upsetting and just sad. Stacy had experienced a NICU stay with her first born and I clung to her words of wisdom that it would feel like an eternity while they were in there but that I would get through it. I don't think any truer words have been spoken. I looked forward to the second homecoming where we got to bring the girls with us.
NICU Stay - The girls were in the NICU for 14 days. Lucky for us, they were two healthy babies just a bit premature and needed to grow. Their biggest hurdles were gaining back weight lost from birth (they lost just over 10% before going back up), maintaining body temperature, keeping their jaundice levels down, and finishing all of their feedings. They had to be put in isolettes after a couple of days because they were continuing to lose weight and the doctors believed they were working too hard to keep their body temperatures up. They were right because their weights starting going back up after a day or so in there. Ashley had to have an NG tube in her nose because she was having trouble eating. One thing they told us is that the suck and swallow reflex is developed about week 33 and babies practice it until delivery. Since our girls didn't get a lot of practice time, they were having to learn and practice this skill in the NICU. This is why finishing feedings could be difficult. Ashley had the NG tube for 10 days and although we were warned several times that Annabelle may need one too, she managed to escape it.
I am so thankful for the lactation consultants and therapists in the NICU. They visited me daily and were so helpful in helping me to get started with breast feeding and be successful. I never realized the commitment of breast feeding, especially for two. Starting from day 2 of their lives, I pumped every three hours (and yes, this means setting an alarm and waking up to pump throughout the night). I had several people say, "Well at least you will get a full night's sleep while they are in the NICU." Not so! I was still waking up every couple of hours to pump to have breast milk for them and keep my supply up. It was absolutely worth it though to be able to provide for our girls. So far, we are still going strong and exclusively breast feeding, but I will admit that as the girls eat more it becomes harder to produce more and more. We joke that our house is a dairy! I would love to breast feed until a year, but am focusing on a week at a time and will do ultimately what's best for our family and the girls. To aid with development (since they were preemies), the NICU has us mixing in a half of a teaspoon of supplemental formula with every ounce and a half of breast milk. This not only gives them some extra nutritional benefits, but increases the calories they are consuming which is important when you're trying to gain weight!
During our two week stay in the NICU, we were lucky to have wonderful, compassionate nurses and doctors. They will all hold a special place in my heart as they saw me at my worst, in tears and so very sad, and they took the best care of our girls so they could come home sooner rather than later. The girls were on a schedule to eat every 3 hours. They ate at 8, 11, 2 and 5 each day. Our feeding time schedule consisted of diaper changing, temperature check (they had to be above 98), and then feeding. Once a day, they had vitamins mixed in with breast milk. It took a while for them to get used to this and they made little faces at the first taste of them each time. I could smell the vitamins and don't blame them for the faces. They smelled icky! Feedings were stressful to me because the girls only had 30 minutes to finish. The doctors said that if they were taking longer than that, then they were burning more calories then they were getting. If they didn't finish within 30 minutes then it was recorded as an "unfinished feeding." Two of those in a row and they were given a feeding tube. So stressful! I just held my breath every time we fed.
After coming home from the hospital, my daily schedule was leaving at 7:30 every morning for the NICU. I would stay through one for the 8a.m. and 11a.m. feedings. Then I came home and rested (and pumped) and then went back at 4:30 and stayed until 9:30-ish for the 5p.m. and 8p.m. feedings. George joined me for those after work, and it was so sweet seeing him interact with his girls. Seeing the girls progress was such a great feeling. They begin to gain weight and finish all of their feedings. Then Ashley had her feeding tube removed and they began to maintain body temperature. We were told that they'd have to pass the car seat test, and then we could room in with them at the hospital and finally take them home. This was such music to a mama's ears! All I wanted was to have my babies home! I am so thankful for the NICU and the wonderful staff, however I looked so forward to not being on such a stringent schedule and just being able to hold and cuddle with my sweet baby girls. On Sunday, February 9th, both girls passed the car seat test and we were told we could room in with them at the hospital that night. If all went well, our baby girls would finally have their homecoming the next day!
Rooming In - At our hospital, they like parents to "room in" before taking babies home from the NICU. This means that George and I returned to the hospital and stayed in a hospital room with the babies for their last night. They were still patients, so we had the nurses available if needed and it was a way to kind of "practice" getting through a night since we had never all had one together. The babies were taken straight from the OR to the NICU when they were born so we never had that typical "rooming in" time that most new parents get during their hospital stay. A nurse came in at 1:30 for an official weight and temperature check and the at 4:30 to check on us again. If all went well then we would head home around noon (after being discharged). I had so much anxiety about rooming in! But as soon as we were alone with our sweet girls, I felt much better. The night went well and they completed all of their feedings. Their temps stayed up and they gained weight at their daily weigh in. Annabelle was up to 4lbs, 14oz and Ashley was up to 4lbs, 6oz. Both had surpassed their birth weights and were deemed ready to go home!
Homecoming - Part 2 - After completing all of the necessary check ups and meetings, we were on our way home! There aren't words to describe how wonderful it felt to bring our baby girls home. Finally, we could start our lives as a family of four! Finally, we had our babies. After two years of tears, struggles and prayers and then a pregnancy that was relatively easy and complication free until their premature delivery at 34 weeks, we finally got to start the life we had wanted for so long. It was a very nervous drive home for Daddy George. Once we got home, we introduced them to the pups. They did so well with them and have continued to impress us with how they've reacted to having two little humans in the house. George and I soaked up the rest of the day and just loved on our sweet girls. His parents and Dom and Rachel came over to see them that evening, and my parents came in for the weekend a few days later. We felt so content, happy and fortunate to have our little angels home and healthy!
