After years of trying to get pregnant
on our own my husband and I turned to
IVF. On our first round we implanted
two embryos and were so excited to
find out that they both took and that
we were going to have twins. On the
first ultrasound at 12 weeks we were
told that everything looked great and
the tech guessed that we were having
boys and she was right! Our next
appointment was at 16 weeks.
Typically no ultrasound is done, but I
was so excited that I begged the nurse
so that we could have one. She gave
in and that is when we found out that
baby b had extremely low fluid. They
sent us to a perinatologist. The
first one we met with misdiagnosed the
baby. We were told that the baby had
Potter’s syndrome, which is an
obstruction is the urinary tract. We
were devastated. The doctor told us
that more than likely the baby would
not survive. Luckily something was
not sitting well with me and we
decided to get a second opinion. We
met with another perinatologist the
following week. After the ultrasound
the doctor said this baby does not
have Potter’s Syndrome and said more
than likely it was PPROM. Even though
I had not felt a rupture the doctor
said it was possible that there was a
slow leak that could go unnoticeable.
The good news was that the rupture was
on baby b who was at the top of my
uterus meaning that baby a was helping
to protect baby b from infection.
Regardless we were told that without
enough amniotic fluid around the baby,
his lungs would not develop and he
only had a one percent chance of
survival.
The plan was to get weekly ultrasounds
and then at 24 weeks (the earliest
that a baby can survive outside the
womb) I was to go into the hospital
and be on bed rest until I delivered.
At around 23 weeks the fluid level
started to go up, the doctor said he
thought I should wait and go into the
hospital at 26 weeks. When I was 25
weeks, I started bleeding one
morning. We went to the triage, and I
was contracting, but not dilated.
They gave me a terbutaline shot and
the contractions stopped so they sent
me home. Later that night my water
broke and back to the triage we
went. They confirmed that my water
has broken and I was admitted to the
hospital. I was given magnesium for 3
days and more terbutaline because I
was contracting again. Luckily I made
it past the first 72 hours which is
the most critical.
I ended up being in the hospital for
almost 8 weeks. Those were some long
and hard days. Thank goodness for my
family, friends, Skype and the
hospital staff or I would not have
made it. I had NST twice a day and
other than that I just waited hoping
the babies would stay inside of me for
as long as possible. One night I
started bleeding. They determined
that my placenta ruptured and I had an
emergency c section. Baby A, Aaron
Clifford was born March 29th, 2010 and
weighed 4 lbs 10 oz. He was taken to
the NICU and put on CPAP without
supplemental oxygen. Baby B, Isaac
Vinson was born one minute later and
weighed 4 lbs 5 oz. He was in pretty
bad shape that first 24 hours before
they were able to get him stabilized.
I cannot put into words the relief we
felt that Isaac had made it!! Baby A
was sent home after 3 weeks in the
NICU. Baby B sent was diagnosed with
BPD and spent 6 weeks in the NICU
before being sent home on .2 liters of
supplemental oxygen.
They are now 5 months old and doing
awesome great. Aaron is 16 lbs and
Isaac is 13lbs! Isaac is still on
oxygen, but we are hoping to have him
off in a couple of weeks. The best
advice I can offer for other couples
going though this is to never give up
on faith. Our baby was given a less
than one percent chance of survival
and he beat the odds. If they are
willing to fight then you need to
fight with them by their side. Never
underestimate the power of
prayer.
Please feel free to email me if you
have questions and/or need advise!
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