Now that my twin boys are 9 months old &
a healthy 20lbs each, I can finally
share my story...
When my doctor told my husband & I that
we were having twins, we very extremely
surprised. (Our twins are natural -no
IVF- & we do not have a family history
of twins.) She went on to say that they
would probably be delivered early -
somewhere between 36 to 38 weeks, if all
went well. My husband and I both were
extremely optimistic about me being able
to carry the babies for the entire term.
(I had to be induced at 42 weeks with
my 1st son.)
Well to make a long story short, one of
the amniotic sacs ruptured in the middle
of the night at 26 weeks. My husband &
I did not know what to expect as we
drove to the hospital. They took us
directly to labor & delivery. I was
given steriods & antibiotics. Luckily,
I did not go into labor & remained at
the hospital on bed rest until my boys
were delivered by emergency c-section @
29weeks/6days.
My boys were 2lb15oz & 3lb5oz (the twin
with the ruptured sac was the smaller of
the two). Both boys were placed on the
ventilators immediately. The larger
twin was able to move quickly from
ventilator to CPAP & then home after 2
months.
The smaller twin had more difficulty...
On the 1st night, the neonatologist on
staff called me at 2am to let me know
that my son was very sick & they were
trying a few last options to help him.
When I arrived at the NICU ~15 minutes
later, they explained that he had
"persistent pulmonary hypertension".
After an unsuccessful attempt to
oxygenate with varies ventilators, he
was placed on nitric oxide (NOX),
paralyzed & sedated. He was switched to
ventilated oxygen 4 days later & then
switched to NCPAP 2 days later. For the
next month, he went back & forth from
NCPAP to nasal cannula. He was finally
able to maintain his oxygen level with
nasal cannula & remained on nasal
cannula for another 6 weeks. After a
total of 3 months in NICU, I finally had
both twins at home.
We came home with oxygen (for feedings),
apnea monitor & ~5 different
medications. After numerous check-up
visits & alot of prayers, both boys are
perfectly healthy. They are delayed
developmentally, consistent with most
premies, but they show no signs of
developmental problems & continue to
grow stronger each day.
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