The First Two Crazy Weeks

Back to when the babies were first born...

The day that we were discharged from the hospital was on Friday, June 4th.  My doctor decided to have us stay in the hospital an extra day since I had had twins.  The babies' pediatrician came in to check on them and ordered a bilirubin count test to be done.  Even though they had had one a couple of days before, she thought they were looking kind of yellow.  It was starting to get late in the morning and they still hadn't done it, so I reminded the nurse and she came in and did it.  I started to get ready to be discharged and she came in with the discharge papers and we got those all signed.  The nurse assured us that we didn't need to wait for the results of the bilirubin count, so all of us went home.  It was kind of fun riding in the wheelchair holding both babies.

When we got home the kids and Grandma were all waiting to see the babies - and me, I hope.  After a couple of hours, Michael reminded me that the doctor would like to see the babies on Monday, so I called to make an appointment and the receptionist asked if we were home - she seemed a little surprised.  About 10 minutes later, the pediatrician called and was pretty upset because the hospital was NOT supposed to release us until the results from the bilirubin test had come back.  It turns out that the bilirubin count was high enough that Zac should not have been discharged.  She told us that she was very sorry, but that we would have to take him back to the hospital to be under the lights for jaundice.  I was a little too emotional to do it (and I had another baby to take care of), so Michael took him back to the hospital armed with a diaper bag and a few bottles of breast milk.  The procedure was to put him under the lights for 4 hours, take another bilirubin count, wait 4 hours for the results while he was still under the lights, take another bilirubin count, etc, etc, etc.

Michael, Sam, and I went to visit him on Saturday.  I was able to nurse him while we were there for a couple of hours and then we went back home.  It was very difficult to leave him, but I knew I had to take care of Sam and that Zac was receiving the care that he needed at the hospital.

By Sunday early morning, his count had gone down to about a 10 (it had to be under 12) so they took him off the lights and took one more test to be sure that the count didn't skyrocket again.  It only went up to an 11, so he was able to come home later that morning.

Sunday, June 6 - Zac (L) and Sam (R) on the day Zac came home

We took him to see the pediatrician on Monday and she felt that he still looked pretty yellow, so we took him back to the hospital for an outpatient bilirubin test.  The test came back at a 12, but he was a little older, so it was still okay.  She sent us back to the hospital Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for the bilirubin counts and the numbers kept climbing.  By Thursday, the numbers were about 18.2, so on Friday (which was when we got the results), he was again admitted to the hospital.  I took him and Sam to the pediatric unit (since he was now too old to be in the newborn area) and he got a nice corner room.  I stayed there for a couple of hours and Michael came to see how he was doing.  We left about an hour later - I mean, it IS a hospital with a bunch of sick people there.  With Sam still being so young, we didn't want him to be exposed to all those germs if he didn't have to be.

The nurses at the hospital were so good, they moved Zac to a room straight across from the nurses station so that they could keep a close eye on him.  He had some really wonderful nurses while he was there.  The hospital sent down nurses from the NICU to take care of him since he was so young.  

Saturday, June 12 - Zac in the Children's Hospital

I was able to visit him on Saturday morning (without Sam this time) and stayed with him for a couple of hours.  I fed him and got to hold him for a while, then went back home to feed Sam.  Zac's bilirubin count went way down by Sunday and he was able to come home.  When Michael brought him in, I immediately noticed how wonderfully pink and light his skin was.  It was wonderful to have him home with his brother!

Wednesday, June 16 with the quilts that Aunt Betty made

Above: Zac and Sam, Below: Sam and Zac

Thursday, June 17 - Zac with Katie

Sam with Nathaniel and Zac with Eliza

Birth Day Times Two

Since Michael did so well documenting the day that the twins were born, I'll just add some pictures and fill in any gaps.

This is just before we went to the hospital. Eliza and Nathaniel left for school just before we left.

In the labor and delivery room.

I was hooked up to two heart rate monitors and a monitor for my contractions. The pink strap had Zac's monitor on it (on the right side of my belly) and the one on my left was for the contractions. The blue strap had Sam's heart rate monitor.

After we went into the OR, they prepped me by giving me a lovely hat, oxygen and a pulse monitor on my finger. We waited for a while until I was a 10 and felt the urge to push. Meanwhile Zac's heart rate monitor kept slipping, so they put a monitor on his head. I started feeling cold so they put a warmed blanket on my legs. I started getting pretty sleepy after that.

A few minutes later, I finally felt like I had to push and my doctor had me push through a contraction. I then asked him if Michael was allowed to come in. There were so many people in there and I think he was so focused on the babies and me that he forgot about Michael!

After a few contractions, Zac was crowning and the doctor turned around to grab something. Zac continued to progress and the nurse told me to stop pushing. I told her I wasn't, so my doctor turned around real quick! A couple more pushes and he was born at 5:51 p.m. on June 1.

Immediately after Zac was born, Jen, the resident doctor, did an ultrasound to check the position of Sam. I know our prayers were answered because he had continued from transverse (sideways) to vertex (head down). I had to push A LOT to get Sam down.

It was strange because after Zac was born, I didn't feel the urge to push anymore. It was difficult to tell if I was pushing the right way. The nurse kept telling me to push down the center and I couldn't really tell if I was. Maybe if I didn't have an epidural I would have been able to feel it better...

After almost 20 minutes of pushing, Sam was born at 6:13 p.m.

When Sam was born, the cord was wrapped around his neck and he was having trouble breathing, so they had to take him to the NICU. I was pretty sad because I didn't get to see him and scared, too. But I was glad that he was getting the medical attention that he needed.

They gave me Zac and took me back to my labor and delivery room. I got to nurse him and hold him for quite a while. Michael held him when they brought in my dinner and went with him when the nurse came to take Zac to the nursery.

When the nurse and Michael came back, we went up to the NICU to see Sam. I noticed when we first got there that Sam looks different than Zac, but it was sad to see him with so many wires. The tube in his mouth was for oxygen and the silver heart on his stomach was for his heart rate. The pink spot on his chest was to monitor his breathing. He also had an IV in his hand and a monitor for the amount of oxygen in his blood.

Even though I couldn't hold him, I got to hold his hand. It was really hard to leave him, but I wanted to go see Zac, too. I felt like my heart was in two places at once.

After we saw Sam, we went down and I got settled in my room. They brought me Zac after a while and we got a little better acquainted.

It was a physically and emotionally long day, but I was so happy that my babies were finally here!