The neonatal care is why we came back to the States. We knew with twins there was a chance for them to come early. It is also why we chose this hospital. We were prepared geographically, but not emotionally. We went from having a pretty uneventful pregnancy to 2 boys in the NICU in what seemed like minutes.
After they finished sewing me up, Jimmy went immediately to visit his sons!
Jonah Lawrence (The middle name is after Jimmy's dad.)
Silas Henry (The middle name is after my dad, plus it was my grandfather's and great-grandfather's name. They called the latter Hank... too cute!)
We didn't know it at the time, but both boys had wonderful nurses that day... the day it really counted! We would get to know them well over the next month and appreciate them even more! Jonah's nurse was Suzanne and Silas' nurse was Rosemary.
Robin, my completely awesome labor and delivery nurse, rolled my bed right into the NICU on the way to my new recovery room!!! I am pretty sure that is not allowed!
Both babies were breathing on their own with just the aid of a cannula. Later on when the results of their blood toxicity levels came back they realized Silas' CO2 was way too high. God was protecting him. He was immediately placed on a ventilator and given surfactant to help his lungs.
You have to scrub into the NICU each time. Grandparents get two 30 minute visits a day.
Thankfully Jimmy had called his mom at 3:30AM to tell her the boys were coming. I kept telling him they weren't but somehow he knew. She quickly bought her tickets and was there a little after noon.
These blue armbands, one for Jonah and one for Silas, are our parent badges. They get us into the hospital at all hours and into the NICU. We will wear them until they get discharged. It is still surreal that we have 2 sons especially since we cannot bring them home yet. The armbands are like proof it isn't all a dream when we're not in the NICU. One of our friends said this photo reminded her of the ring shot you take at your wedding. Now these rings represent the new lives we created together. I thought that was sweet!
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WE can completely understand what you guys are going through. Jimmy met our Anna when he was over here. She was born at the same gestational age as your boys - but she was a few ounces smaller (3lb, 14 oz) and 14.5 inches. She spent 4 weeks in the NICU. Daily visits were an absolute must for Diana. I just couldn't peel away from work every single day, but got up there at least 5 days per week. It was so hard - as they didn't want us to even touch her skin for the first few days.
ReplyDeleteBut with God's help, we obviously endured - and blessed Anna with quick growth - she was already right at 50% percentile UNADJUSTED for being premature - at 3 months.
We are praying for you guys!
I love the "ring shot" comment...how sweet!
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