Unexpected Delivery

Holly thought she might be leaking amniotic fluid this morning when she woke up.  She talked to the on-call doctor and was told to go down to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital around 10 a.m. and got checked in.  The nurse took all our information and discussesd many possibilities and went over several tests to figure out what was going on.  Just before she left to take the tests down to the lab she decided to check and see how dilated Holly was.  She couldn't tell because Holly's water sac was half in and half out like an hour glass.  She didn't want to puncture the water sac while checking the cervix so she went and got our doctor who was in another delivery.  The doctor came in and checked her cervix.  He reached around the water sac but couldn't feel her cervix and told us that she must be dilated all the way to a 10.  He told us we were going to have to deliver these babies today.  He did a quick ultrasound and found that the babies were both breech so we were going to have to do a C section.

Holly and I were shocked with the what was going to be a pretty normal low key Saturday and what really transpired in just a few hours.  The decision was made and the preparations were all done so quickly.  Holly's Dad came down and helped me give Holly a blessing just before Holly went in to the surgery room.  We had doctors and nurses visit us several times to give us expectations for lots of different things.  The one thing that stuck in our minds and surprised us the most was that they have a 85-90% survival rate when born at 25 1/2 weeks.  I decided not to watch the C section and sat next to Holly until the babies came out.  Baby A was born at 12:22 and weighed 1 lb 12 oz and is 12 1/2 inches long.  3 minutes later Baby B came out weighing in at 1 lb and 13 oz and is 13 inches long.  It was crazy to see such tiny little girls.  I tried my best to follow the babies and keep Holly updated on what was happening.

With all the craziness and trying to sort out all that has transpired in the last few hours, we were told to expect the babies to be in the NICU until the time of our due date, which is May 20.  We were forced to choose 4 people and 4 people only that will be allowed to visit the NICU and they have to be 18 years or older.  It will be hard for all of you not to be able to visit and might be difficult for our other kids to fully understand what is happening since they won't be able to see them.  You'll have to rely on pictures.  We've been told by many that this is the best NICU and they couldn't be at a better place.

Baby A right after the delivery.

Baby B after arriving in the NICU.

Holly's first contact with Baby A.