Happy Birthday!

Well......our girls just couldn't wait any longer! They were born on Tuesday, May 27th - here are their stats:

Sofia Kathryn - 5:07pm
2lb 11oz
14" long

Olivia Claire - 5:08pm
2lb 12oz
15 1/4" long

They are tiny but they're holding their own. They put them on the ventilator when they were first born - standard procedure - and by later that night they were breathing on their own.

I knew my contractions on Tuesday were different - they were painful - and as the day went on, they got stronger and stronger until they were finally bringing tears to my eyes. (editorial on childbirth without pain relief later - haha) I told the nurse we were always expecting a c-section so I was hoping they weren't trying to see how far I could dilate. The doctor finally told her to check me around 3:45 or so and when she checked me she said "Honey - we're having babies today." I had dilated to 7. As soon as she checked me and made the having babies comment, she must have calmly walked out of my room and then ran down the hallway. When these nurses make up their mind about something, they move quickly because within a matter of minutes they were back in my room and moving my bed towards the OR. Mom, Robin and Carter had been there and they had taken a walk down the hallway while the nurse was in with me and they had not even gotten back to the room - we passed them in the hallway. Eva was walking into our room with bags and donuts for a mini-shower as they were pushing me out of the room and D was following us to the OR and frantically making phone calls to his parents.

I was in the pre-op area for a short time.....of course with the pain I was having it seemed like hours. Apparently they were calling my c-section an emergency c-section because I had eaten something within the 8-hours prior to the section. We could hear them following the status of my doctor......."Dr. S is 5 minutes away"......"Dr. S is on campus"......."Dr. S is in the building" - it was crazy. They gave D scrubs and he was really concerned that he didn't have the hat or the mask - haha. They had him wait in the pre-op/recovery room while they took me back to the OR. I'm always shocked by the OR - how bright and sterile it is. I had to help move myself from the gurney to the OR table and then the anesthesiologist wanted me to sit up while he did the spinal. What???!!! Seriously??!! I kept telling myself it was going to be worth it, but it sure didn't feel like it in the moment. I don't even remember feeling him complete the spinal except for a little ache that went down my right side followed by tingling in both my legs. I was numb before they were ready for me to lay back down so they had to help me lay down.

I was also surprised at how many people were in the OR. There were 2 teams of doctors for the babies - each baby had a team of at least 4 people. There were 2 anesthesiologists, plenty of nurses and of course the doctor. Seemed like there was barely any room to move. I kept asking them to make sure no one forgot D and I got a little panicked when I heard the doctor say "incision" and D wasn't in there. One of the anesthesiologists could tell I was upset and he went out and found D......they swear they had not forgotten him....I think they did -ha.

The whole c-section was quite an experience.....it was all happening so fast and I just couldn't grasp everything that was going on. D was great and he even stood a few times and looked over the curtain. The anesthesiologist was also great - he kept leaning down and telling me what was going on and what I was going to feel, etc. I don't know if they always do that or if he could tell I was scared, but I really appreciated his calming voice and knowing what was happening.

Sofia was born at 5:07 - I heard the doctor say "Dad - get your camera" and she was here. Same thing for Olivia in the next minute. They both cried a little when they were born and it was such a sweet sound. They let D come over to their isolettes after they had finished checking them over and then as they were taking them out of the OR to the NICU, they brought them by to see me. I had not cried until the moment when I saw each of our girls up close. All that hard work keeping them inside and they were finally here. I must be honest - it was bittersweet. Of course we've been so excited to meet them but at the same time I was wishing they could have stayed inside just a little longer. I know everyone did everything they could to help those girls stay in there, me included, and I have no guilt for how things happened. We've had lots of the nurses who have taken care of me over the past month and a half come by to see us since the babies were born and they all said the same thing "Think about where you were when you first got here.......25 weeks.........and those last few weeks we were able to keep them in were priceless."

The doctor said we could talk about my going home either tomorrow (Friday) or Saturday. I think ordinarily they would send me home on Friday but since the babies are here he said he could get me one more day. We've not yet decided what we're going to do..............part of me wants to stay just because the girls are right down the hall, but a lot of me wants to go home, too. It's been a while!! We'll see how I feel. I actually feel a little worse today than I did yesterday. Yesterday I was up and walking to the NICU or just down the hall. Today I'm feeling a little more pain. The pain meds make me really sleepy (hence the delay in updating this site......every time I sat down to try to type, I would be looking at 2 screens or I couldn't stop myself from closing my eyes.) and all the nurses keep telling me my job for now is to rest so that I can provide milk for the babies.

Keep checking back with us......I promise to keep the site updated with how our little ones are doing. They have told us to expect them to be in the NICU for 6 to 8 weeks and they also told us to expect a roller coaster of emotions. For now the girls are holding their own and we're taking it one day at a time.

We also hope to have pictures soon. Right now they're having light therapy for a little jaundice so their little faces are covered, but hopefully they'll be done with that soon and we can get some pictures. They have also told us to expect to be able to hold them within the next few days - I was surprised at that - for whatever reason I was thinking it was going to be a couple of weeks.

We hope everyone is doing well and we appreciate all the messages everyone has sent and your prayers. We hope to be in touch with everyone soon!