By Sylvia, Raleigh NC
PROM at 24 weeks + 1 days. Delivery at 28 weeks + 5 days.
Story added: 2002-02-03

I found out in early January 2000 that I was carrying twins. I had undergone in-vitro fertilization around Thanksgiving. We were numb at first but were happily settling into the idea. We had a son who was born in 1997 with IUI. My pregnancy was progressing well and I was doing well except for 3 colds back to back. I had no morning sickness and except for the colds and fatigue was feeling great. Around midnight on April 27, 2000 I awoke from sleep to the sensation that I was wetting the bed. When I awoke fully I realized that it was my water breaking. I was only 24 weeks 1 day along. We rushed to the hospital that I was set to deliver at. They did a sterile speculum exam and determined that my water had indeed broken but that I wasn't dilating or contracting. I was transferred by ambulance to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, NC. They did an ultrasound and determined that the water had broken around baby A (our son) We were perplexed because the doctors at the first hospital determined that the water had broken around baby B (our daughter). They determined that they weighed 1lb 6oz (baby A) and a mere 14oz (baby B) They didn't give us much hope that I would get farther than 48 hours with ruptured membranes and I would be lucky to get 1 week. I was admitted on hospital bedrest. My water would re-rupture about once a week and I made 3 trips to labor and delivery, but I made it to 28 weeks 5 days before I started spiking a fever. My time was up but my babies had gotten 5 more weeks. On May 29, 2000 (Memorial Day) my twins were born via C- section. Our son Liam Nicholas was born first. I didn't get to see him when he came out but we heard him give a tiny cry. My daughter Olivia Faith was next and doctors discovered that indeed, it was her sack that had ruptured not her brother's. She gave an even tinier cry. Both babies were taken off to the NICU. Two hours later my husband came back with a status report. Liam weighed 2lb 14.5 oz and Olivia weighed only 1lb 15.5 oz. Both babies were on a ventilator but were breathing over it and were stable. Liam was taken off the vent the next afternoon and Olivia came off late that night. When I visited the NICU the next day both babies were missing! They'd remained off the vent and were stable enough to be transferred out of intensive care and into the intermediate nursery. In fact when I looked at Olivia her face was cluttered only by a feeding tube. She didn't even need supplemental O2 and she was satting at 99% on the pulse ox. She eventually began to tire and needed some low flow O2 and had days where she needed high flow and a couple where she needed C-PAP. Liam did well too and went back and forth from C-PAP to cannulas several time. My babies had 8 and 10 weeks hospital stays mostly because they had persistant episodes of A's and B's. Both babies were sent home on apnea monitors but had no problems once they came home. My little miracles will be 2 this year and have done extremely well. No problems noted yet and they're now on the growth chart in all areas with term babies their own age. We are so thankful that God saved our babies and that they're doing so well.