The babies both spent last night in the NICU. It looks as if both boys will be spending at least one day in the NICU with Alex spending probably at least 4 days. Both boys are not "in trouble" but are being given oxygen and other treatments to keep them out of trouble. They have wet, young lungs and need some extra care at this point.
Having the boys in there is very different than we were hoping. We knew that with twins and being born at 36 weeks NICU time was a strong possibility, but I don't think we were really prepared for it. We haven't held them yet so it is a little bit of a surreal experience. It seems a little like they belong to the hospital and not us right now. Hopefully, their lungs will kick into gear and we can bring Evan to the room soon.
They are beautiful little boys with super soft skin and just a little bit of hair. I can wait to hold these little guys.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Babies!
Alexander John and Evan Russell were born at 9:26 and 9:28 pm at 6 pounds 9 ounces and 6 pounds 2 ounces. Since they were early and twins and boys they are getting a little extra help with oxygen in the NICU right now. We are moving from labor and delivery to post partum and hope the boys get to come out soon.
Mom is doing great and is starting on the path to recovery.
The waiting game
We are now at the hospital waiting for things to get started. It is apparently a very busy night, but our room is quiet except for the sounds of little hearts on the fetal monitor. Kristen has her IV and we are just waiting for the doctor to come in with the game plan and an ultrasound. The boys are registering very well on the monitor and Kristen is having regular contractions.
At the hospital
Kristen and I have headed to the hospital to have these babies. Contractions picked up around 3:30 pm and as we agreed with the doctor we would head in to have the babies. We are both looking forward to meeting the little guys and just want them to be healthy.
36 Weeks
Kristen made it to a big milestone today for the twins. Today is 36 weeks, which is a big checkpoint/milestone for twin pregnancies. At this point, the twins will not be growing much more and the benefits of staying in start to outweigh the risks of carrying them longer. This is particularly true for us where the presenting baby (first one out) is breech. The chances of having a prolapsed cord are much higher if Kristen were to start active labor.
This morning, we had our 36 week checkup and both kiddos seem healthy and are practicing breathing, so Kristen is no longer taking medications that will prevent contractions. We are now home from the hospital and I am trying to work. We think that being off the medications will cause Kristen to have regular contractions which will send us back to the hospital today to have the babies via caesarean. We'll see and we'll try to keep people updated via the blog or facebook.
This morning, we had our 36 week checkup and both kiddos seem healthy and are practicing breathing, so Kristen is no longer taking medications that will prevent contractions. We are now home from the hospital and I am trying to work. We think that being off the medications will cause Kristen to have regular contractions which will send us back to the hospital today to have the babies via caesarean. We'll see and we'll try to keep people updated via the blog or facebook.
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| 28 weeks with twins |
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| About 30 weeks with one |
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| 36 weeks with twins |
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| 41 weeks with one |
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Pregnancy Update
It seems that we are nearing the end of the twin's pregnancy. Kristen is at 35 weeks and 3 days and we have a Cesarean scheduled for December 28th (36 weeks and 5 days). Alex, the first baby who would be born, is breech which means a vaginal birth is not an option (if the second baby was breech, it could be). Kristen has been on contraction preventing drugs (ibuprofen and now nifedipine) for a while now, but she has needed higher doses and they have not been working as well as time goes on. Last night, her contractions were very different and she went to the hospital to be checked out and ended up spending the night. Everything seems okay, but during the ultrasounds, they measured a very low heartbeat on Alex and wanted to monitor her all night to make sure they babies were not in distress.
We have another scheduled appointment with the doctor this Thursday at which point Kristen will probably stop taking the contraction preventing drugs and we'll "see what happens".
Here are a couple of ultra sound pictures from last week. We don't really see a lot in these pictures anymore. Just a lot of baby parts. The foot has the toes on the right and you are forgiven if you can't make out the ear. The foot is 8 cm long.
We have another scheduled appointment with the doctor this Thursday at which point Kristen will probably stop taking the contraction preventing drugs and we'll "see what happens".
Here are a couple of ultra sound pictures from last week. We don't really see a lot in these pictures anymore. Just a lot of baby parts. The foot has the toes on the right and you are forgiven if you can't make out the ear. The foot is 8 cm long.
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| Evan's foot |
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| Alex's ear |
Friday, December 2, 2011
Pregnancy Update
Just a quick update on the pregnancy. We had a growth ultrasound on Tuesday that showed the boys were growing well. Alex (twin A, first out) was measured at 4 pounds 12 ounces (52% for a singleton) and Evan (twin B, second out) was measured at 4 pounds 10 ounces (48% for a singleton). However, Alex is still transverse (lying across, not pointing up or down) and unless he turns, the boys will be delivered by Caesarean-Section (which Kristen points out is redundant phrasing). Right now, we are scheduled for December 28th which will be about 37 weeks. We are hoping that Alex does turn, but Kristen might still be delivered on the 28th; the ideal time for twins to be delivered is between 36 and 38 weeks.
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