But I've been busy being a momma to the two sweetest, tiniest little boys I've ever seen.
Last time we talked, I was waiting on my Level II u/s with the specialist. Well, I had the appt and the dr didn't like what she saw. The appt was on a Friday morning and I was admitted to the hospital by 10:30 am that same day. I was hooked up to the monitors to keep an eye on the babies' heart rates, given steriod shots and started on a magnesium drip by 11:00 am. Everything moved so quickly!
Long story short - Baby B wasn't getting enough blood. His cord had reverse blood flow. The plan was to monitor for 48 hours and to give me 2 rounds of steriods to mature the boys' lungs. After the 48 hours, we were supposed to have another u/s to check Baby B's cord and go from there. Worst case = deliver on Sunday afternoon; Best case = in the hospital until further notice. Well wouldn't you know it, my body had other plans.
Part of the monitoring plan was to check my urine for protein. When I got to my room, I had to give a urine sample before being hooked up to the monitors. There were "trace" amounts of protein in my urine. Due to this and my high BP, the OB ordered a 24 hour urine test to monitor/detect pre-E. Keep in mind that I had just been to my OB's office the day before with a clean urine test. Well, by the time the 24 hours was up I had full blown pre-E....the swelling was out of control, LOTS of protein in my urine and of course my BP was elevated. But what did they expect??? I had gone from being a pregnant lady with 8-10 weeks left to a woman about to possibly have outside babies a day less than 30 weeks? Who wouldn't be freaked out, worried and have BP through the roof?
We never did the 2nd u/s. By Saturday night, the doctors were just as concerned about my health as that of Baby B. My c-section was scheduled for 1:00 on Sunday afternoon. Of course, they were running late. I was taken back around 2 pm and after what seemed like the longest prep time ever, Mr. MBC was brought into the OR. Baby A was born at 2:44 pm and Baby B was born at 2:47. Both were whisked away by the neonatology team, but Mr. MBC was allowed to go with them. After seeing both boys, he came back to the OR and told me they were both stable and would be rolling them in shortly for me to see them. I remember seeing them in the clear isolettes and remember thinking "they're so small".
I was right:
Baby A - 2lb 10oz
Baby B - 1lb 7 oz
I cannot begin to tell you how small 1lb 7oz is. His brother looks like a giant compared to him, but when compared to other babies "big" brother looks so small.
We're still at the hospital. After spending just over 2 weeks in NICU, we've graduated to the Continuing Care Nursery. Both boys are doing exceptionally well considering their size and young gestational age. There's still about a pound difference between the boys - they are about to reach 3 lb and 2 lb. Right now, the focus of the medical team is to help the boys gain weight at a healthy rate and then we'll start working on bottle and breast feeding.
Although it hasn't happened as I planned, being a momma to my boys on the outside has already been fabulous. Of course there are good days and bad days. Mr. MBC and I have learned which beeps and dings are a big deal and which ones are not. It's a trying situation, but I'm confident that we'll make it through it.
I think this will be my last post as Missing Baby Carriage. I've found my baby carriage, and it's bountiful. I plan on starting another blog to record our life as a family of five. I will post the new blog link when it's up and running. I hope that all of you will continue to follow our journey :)
