Well, it's hard to believe that over 2 weeks have passed since our son and daughter were born. I have not written down any of the events we have experienced, so here goes.
Leigh was originally scheduled for a 8:00 am c-section which got pushed back to 10:00 a day before we went in. We arrived at the hospital at a little after 8:00 am since I was puttering around making sure we had everything and lost track of time. Leigh was taken into triage and monitored by 2 very kind women, Kristen and Giovanna. The babies' heart rates were normal and Leigh began taking in fluids by IV. We were visited fairly regularly over the next few hours by our OB doctor, Dr. Van Gaalen, the anistiologist, a number of various assistants, and an ultrasound tech who took one last scan. At around 10:40, they rolled Leigh back and I followed in scrubs. Oh, I forgot my mom had come in to wish us well and we saw her on the walk/roll down to the OR. Just outside the OR, I was asked to wait while they prepped Leigh. At approx. 11:05 I was brought into the operating room and was ushered into a seat by Leigh's head. They made it pretty hard for me to see any of what was going on behind the curtain. Leigh looked good for being hooked up to so much equipment. They started moving Leigh's body around and for all i know they had already made the incision because at 11:08 Nora was born. Hearing her cry brought tears to my eyes and I turned to my right to see a nurse walking by with our daughter in her hands. 2 minutes later we heard Jack's cry and they asked me if I wanted to see them. I checked if Leigh was ok and went into a side room where they were cleaning the babies, checking apgar responses, etc. I got to cut the cords shorter. They told us that both babies had found their way through their umbilical cord and formed a loose true knot. This was amazing that they both did it and that they both stayed loose as this could have been very dangerous if they had gotten tight. I took a few pictures and returned to check on Leigh. They brought the babies into the the OR for Leigh to see and a nurse took our first family portrait. I walked to the nursery with the babies while Leigh was stitched up. Nora was grunting and have a bit of difficulty clearing her lungs. Leigh was taken to recovery. I spent the next hour or so going back and forth between the nursery and Leigh. The nurses called in a doctor from the NICU and it was determined that Nora would needs some extra care. Before they took her to the NICU, Leigh was rolled down to the nursery to hold her briefly and have a few pictures taken. From Friday through Tuesday we stayed at the hospital learning how to care for Jack and taking visitor which was great but also challenging. Leigh was still in a good amount of pain and needed her rest. I changed my first diapers and Leigh took her first attempts at breast feeding. All the while Nora was in the NICU. I would visit her often and was able to hold her and change her diaper. Leigh was still confined to her bed. Nora was getting better then she had a setback. It was determined that she got some fluid in her lungs and she broke an air sac in one lung when trying to clear the fluid. This is called a pneumo thorax. It was reassuring to know what was wrong but still hard to see her hooked up to so many machines. She started with a canulette to help her breathe but was upgraded to a ventilator which meant she would be feed by IV. Up until that point on Monday, she was getting Leigh's ilk by feeding tube. We were released on Tuesday and driving Jack home was intense. The road leading out of St. Luke's is up a hill and as I accelerated, his head shifted which freaked me out, so it was a long slow drive. It was great to be home but sad that we were not all together. We would need to wait until Friday for her to be released. tbc.....
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