They gave me an epidural and we were wheeled into an operating room, just in case there had to be a c-section. I was amazed that they wouldn't give me anything more if I did get a c-section: an epidural is strong enough already- wow! Ethan- baby a- was heads down, but Jonah- baby B- was heads up. Often they would just do a c-section if that was the case, but my dr. was willing to try and deliver him breech if need be. An intern wanted to see a twin breech birth so he asked if he could watch. I said sure. We had the dr., the intern, a nurse and Josh all standing around waiting for me to go from a 9 to a 10.
Finally, after an hour, of just waiting I was at a ten. It was 10:51 pm Sunday May 16th, 2004. A few pushes and out came Ethan. They whisked him away after showing me him. A few more pushes and out came Jonah- he turned after Ethan came out- and they whisked him away too. They took them to a different room and lots of people started rushing in to the room. I told Josh to go investigate. He went and said that the babies were pretty blue and they needed some oxygen. They were both around 5 pounds. Then they whisked them to the NICU without me seeing them again. I was taken to another room and slept and finally walked up to the NICU to see them. They were tiny with that preemie kind of look to them. We learned that they had twin to twin. Jonah had been taking most of Ethan's blood and now his heart was enlarged and he had cardiomyopathy. Ethan was weak and needed to have a blood transfusion right then.
What a crazy time. The boys were in the NICU for a month- Ethan four weeks and Jonah five. I spent my days spending time with Elizabeth at home and then driving to the hospital to pump and feed the boys. Jonah took longer to recover. Since he was the sicker one we could always tell the two apart. He came home on several heart mediciations and a sleep apnea monitor. They had to stay home for a couple of months as to not get sick. Now, they are healthy, happy 5 year olds going to Kindergarten. I am so grateful that they were given to me from God and they get to me in our lives!
This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.
Finally, after an hour, of just waiting I was at a ten. It was 10:51 pm Sunday May 16th, 2004. A few pushes and out came Ethan. They whisked him away after showing me him. A few more pushes and out came Jonah- he turned after Ethan came out- and they whisked him away too. They took them to a different room and lots of people started rushing in to the room. I told Josh to go investigate. He went and said that the babies were pretty blue and they needed some oxygen. They were both around 5 pounds. Then they whisked them to the NICU without me seeing them again. I was taken to another room and slept and finally walked up to the NICU to see them. They were tiny with that preemie kind of look to them. We learned that they had twin to twin. Jonah had been taking most of Ethan's blood and now his heart was enlarged and he had cardiomyopathy. Ethan was weak and needed to have a blood transfusion right then.
What a crazy time. The boys were in the NICU for a month- Ethan four weeks and Jonah five. I spent my days spending time with Elizabeth at home and then driving to the hospital to pump and feed the boys. Jonah took longer to recover. Since he was the sicker one we could always tell the two apart. He came home on several heart mediciations and a sleep apnea monitor. They had to stay home for a couple of months as to not get sick. Now, they are healthy, happy 5 year olds going to Kindergarten. I am so grateful that they were given to me from God and they get to me in our lives!
This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.
Comments
I HATED leaving my girls in the hospital once my recovery from the C-Section was done. It's tough, that's for sure!
So they told you AFTER you delivered, that they had TTTS. So it was never something that entered the picture while you were still carrying them?
I can't even imagine feeling torn between spending time with your baby at home and having to go to the hospital to visit your preemie babies....that's hard!
Fortunately my girls were my first, so there was no other child needing my love and attention at the time.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Are your boys, like, super close? My girls are pretty much inseparable. They are just soooo attached to each other. I love it, though.
There's nothing like identical twins! Gifts from God, FOR SURE!