Ok so,
Oh gosh, where to begin...well, they're here. It was an eerie Christmas Eve to say the least. The wind was howling like I had never heard before and things were being jostled and tossed about outside. Boopey the cat was acting strangely. There was something brewing, I just knew it!
Turns out, I was right. I began to feel labor pains that were quite strong. I don't think I really knew what to make of it since I had been through premature labor at 29 weeks pregnant and it felt differently from then. Now I was only 32 weeks and thought the same scenario might play out again. That is, I'll just take the medication that stops contractions that they had given me- easy as that. Well, I took 4 and the contractions grew worse. To make matters worse, Dr. Gupta, my perinatologist was on vacation in Canada.
Four and half hours after the contractions began, Augie and I decided to go to the nearest Kaiser where another perinatologist was on call for Dr. Gupta. I labored at Kaiser Woodland Hills for another 7 1/2 hours before they decided to wheel me away for a c-section. Lily was breech and I was dilating fast.
At 7:17 am on Christmas morning Isabella Anne was born weighing 3lbs 8oz followed at 7:18 by her fraternal twin sister Lily Beth weighing 3lbs 2oz. They were both 16 3/4 long.
After being wheeled into the recovery room, I began to hemorrhage rapidly at which point I received 5 bags of blood and plasma. It was a close call, but we all held on. We made the news! At 8 weeks premature, Isabella, Lily and I were called "Christmas Miracles" and our story was featured in the Daily News.
My girls will be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for a few weeks while they grow and I am recovering slowly and am very humbled. What Christmas presents I received this year!
Here is Isabella Anne:
Lily Beth makes her debut:
