My pregnancy wasn't too bad. I did get morning sickness a little and I'm wondering if it was from the little oranges I would eat every morning, because later in my pregnancy I found out that when I would eat oranges or drink orange juice I would get nauseated. I worked full time during my whole pregnancy and I handled it pretty well. We had a ton of ultrasounds done, which was awesome cause it's such and incredible experience to see your little babies growing bigger and to see them moving inside you. On week 28 my dr asked me to start doing non-stress tests starting on week 32 and to go get a special ultrasound, because he was worried about their stomachs. They were a little small for week 28. So starting the Saturday on week 32 I went in and had my first non-stress test done. Everything looked good and my blood pressure looked good as well. So they sent me on my merry way. On May 10th I went in and had the ultrasound done. Everything looked great so I went back to the hospital the next day to have my second non-stress test done. I went in at about 9:00 a.m. and they decided they didn't like my blood pressure so they wanted to keep me overnight to monitor me and do some lab work. This is where it all gets a little crazy.
The dr. came in and talked to me and told me that at the hospital I was at they wouldn't deliver babies that were less than 34 weeks along. I was almost to 33. They told me my options were to hopefully go home on bedrest and make it another week, deliver at that hospital and have my babies transferred to another hospital, or they could transport me and have me deliver my babies at the other hospital. At that time my platelet count was low so they didn't know if they could transport me, but I would wait till the morning to see if my count went up. They also started a 24 hour urine test to check my protein. They gave me a steriod shot to help develop the babies lungs. So Jed came and played games with me and stayed the night with me at the hospital. The next morning my dr. came in and told me that I was getting an IV started with Magnesium, and that we had 30 min to get ready for transport, and that I would deliver that day at the other hospital. The reason it happened so fast is that in 24 hours I only put out 200 ml of urine. They didn't even run the protein test. My body was producing toxins and making me sick, and my body was shutting down. They told me I had toxemia and pre-clampsia and that I was really sick. Over night I went from about 125 lbs to aroudn 150 lbs. I started gaining a ton of water weight because my kidneys started to shut down. So they transported me and in about 45 min of being at the other hospital my babies were born. It was such a crazy experience. I remember getting so frustrated because there were so many people around and I just wanted everything to be over. It seemed to take forever even though it only lasted about 45 minutes. I had a c-section and Jed was there with me and I remember that once they delivered our babies Jed was gone and he went into straight into the NICU with the babies.
We named our babies Kaden Roger and Brooklyn Ranae. They were born at exactly 33 weeks. Since I was only able to get one steroid shot to help develop their lungs Kaden was put on the ventilator. Brooklyn was put on the c-pap machine to help her breathe. The next day Kaden was able to get off all the help he needed to breathe. Brooklyn on the other hand was put on the ventilator and she stayed on any type of help until about 1 1/2 weeks before they came home.
I had to stay in the hospital for 8 days after the babies were born because my blood prossure was high and they couldn't get it under control. They still never got it completely under control, but one dr. decided to give me different meds and he sent me home. It was such a crappy week. Although it was nice to be so close to my babies.
Having preemie babies in the NICU was such a great experience. Even though it sucked, we have learned a lot about our babies and how to handle them. Their nervous systems were not quite developed so they get startled really easy and they need special care. Taking care of them is so different from a full term baby. Everything from holding them to feeding them was different. They advised us not to hold them too much, because they would get overstimulated. We also bottle fed them 2 times a day and that is when we would hold them. We finally got to bring them home last Thursday the 23rd of June. It was kind of scary, but we were so ready to finally have our babies home.
It has been tiring, but fun at the same time. They only get up about 2-3 times a night. They are so cute and it's so fun to see them getting bigger and staying awake longer and having them recognize us and love for us to hold them. I think they are both finding ways for us to pick them up, cause they love to be held. Brooklyn will act like she's hungry and then when we pick her up to feed her she won't eat. Kaden will act hungry as well and do a little of the same thing.
I'm so grateful for my little babies. They have brought so much joy into our lives already. It has been a crazy adventure, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm so happy that our Heavenly Father blessed us with these babies and I hope that we can teach them and raise them the way he would want us to. I already can't imagine my life without my precious baby girl and boy. They have been such a blessing for our family.
