life with three little pretties: Scarlett and Hazel's Birth Story...

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Let me start by saying, I must have known these babies were coming soon. I had said on several occasions that I needed to get a pedicure and my hair done before the babies came. Monday, my sister did my hair, and Wednesday I got a pedicure. I was actually hesitant to get a pedicure, because in my head I was thinking, "Watch me go into labor as soon as I get my toes done!"

Anyway, we have been on baby watch since...well, I feel like the entire pregnancy. We knew twins were likely to come early, and identical twins were likely to be even earlier. We had been warned 28-32 weeks was average for our mono-di twins. We were still praying to make it to 36 weeks (Exactly mommy and Gigi's birthday). Around 28 or 29 weeks we had a bad doppler reading for baby B and went back to the maternal fetal medicine doctor, where both twins were diagnosed with growth restriction. Everything else looked great though, so we went forward with being monitored twice a week by the OB and MFM. We were told we may have to deliver at anytime, or our babies could stay weeks longer in the womb- it would be day by day (appt. by appt.) decisions. I think around week 30 my blood pressure started creeping up. Nothing alarming, but my numbers were borderline.

My OB decided to go out of town for 10 days and told me not to let anything happen then. Of course, that would be when these babies decided it was time to come. We went to our OB appt. at exaclty 33 weeks and my blood pressure was officially "worrisome", the OB I saw in place of my OB sent me to triage in Labor and Delivery to be monitored. Jared and Grey were both with me, so we headed up and hung out in the triage room and had my blood pressure checked every 30 minutes or so and had monitors on for the babies. The OB said 90% of the time it's nothing and we would get to head home, so we were expecting that. However, my blood pressure was not looking good, my liver enzymes were elevated, and there was protein in my urine (all signs of preeclampsia) and the decision was made to get my first steroid shot to help babies' lungs and be admitted. The doctor said with preeclampsia we needed to plan on being in the hospital until delivery, and that delivery would likely be on Saturday. OH.MY. We immediately called my mom and had her start the 4 hour drive to our house from Hot Springs. Jared took Grey home and our sister in law came over to watch her until my mom arrived, while my brother in law came and hung out with me until Jared got back to the hospital. Thursday night was pretty uneventful- just monitored blood pressure, the babies, and tried to sleep. Friday morning around 3am I started having contractions. At first I just thought they were more Braxton Hicks, but they were coming on pretty consistently and I started to shake. My entire labor with Grey, I shook the whole time. I asked the nurse to hook me up to the monitors so we could check on the babies and see if I was indeed contracting. Sure enough, I was. I knew I was in the early stages of labor, and was even having to breath through some of the contractions. It felt just like labor with Grey. The OB on call for the weekend came in early, around 6/6:30 and decided to check to see if I was progresssing- I was dilated 2-3 cm and 70% effaced. He said we needed to go ahead and deliver that morning- we were having a C-section due to them sharing a placenta and their breech and transverse positions. We called our parents right away to let them know we would be having these babies TODAY, and SOON. I got my 2nd steroid shot and was prepped for the OR. I was a little mad, I forgot to have Jared pack my make-up...yes, I know that sounds silly. But the one reason I was okay with a C-section was that I knew I could have my hair and make-up done up all nice, without labor interfering...I called it "glamorous C-section" mom. Ha! I was anything but glamorous. All of this was such a whirlwind.

Since I had Grey vaginally, I was a little nervous about the C-section- mostly the epidural because I wasn't in terrible pain yet. I was so ready for the epidural with Grey. It was all very routine though and wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Jared and I prayed before they started and the doctors let us know when Jared should start snapping away with his camera. We have tons and tons of pictures from the C-section and it is really cool (but not for the weak of stomach) to see them pull my girls from me.

On Friday, July 24th, at 33 weeks and 1 day gestation, Scarlett Gene and Hazel Lynn Granberry were born. Scarlett came out first at 9:44 am weighing 3 lbs 7oz, and Hazel quickly followed at 9:45am weighing 3lbs 8 oz. Jared did a great job going back and forth between the babies and relaying to me what was happening. Hearing their cries was the best sound in the world, and the moment they brought them to me, my heart melted all over again, expanding and ready to love two more little girls. Meeting these blessings that we had been praying for before they were even conceived was overwhelming. I still cannot believe our Creator has entrusted us with these tiny little miracles.

After delivery I had to be on a 24 hr magnesium drip to ward off siezures that could come from having pre-e. Jared went with the girls to the NICU, while I was wheeled to a different room and started on the magnesium. The first 24 hours were miserable- I puked, a lot. I was in what felt like a drunken fog/hangover. I couldn't hold my babies or see them (except for a quick wheel chair ride by their isolettes.) This was so, so different from my delivery with Grey, where she never left my side the entire hospital stay.

As soon as I was off the magnesium drip, we headed to the NICU, but I was still too week to hold them. Later that afternoon I felt a little better and finally got to hold Scarlett...

My blood pressure was all over the place and it was finally decided that I would start BP meds and will be on them for the next 6 weeks. I have never had high blood pressure, and it has not been a fun experience. I was forced to rest way more than I wanted too. The C-section has actually been a pretty easy recovery compared to my vaginal delivery. The worst part of recovery (other than magnesium) has actually been a really sore neck- I'm not sure if I strained muscles in it, or if it was gas build up from abdominal surgery- but it was terrible. I have had instant relief from my pregnancy congestion, but my carpal tunnel seems to have gotten worse.

Another thing I wanted to remember was something my real OB said when he returned from his vacation and saw me while I was still in the hospital. He made a point to say how great it was that I actually went into labor on my own. We didn't have to make a decision about when to deliver or try to wait until he returned. It was time for those babies to come out for their safety and mine. God knew what he was doing. And there is nothing more true. God's timing is so perfect. Having our girls so early was certainly not our plan or what we wanted- it has been a really hard and stressful past week and a half, and yet I have such peace in God's plan. He is already teaching us so much through this journey. And we are so glad to have our little girls here- to hold them, love them, cheer them on.

Grey, Hazel, and Scarlett are our hearts. They are children of God, and have been given to us to raise and love. Overwhelming.

I plan on blogging more about our NICU stay. The girls have now been in there for 11 days and while it's definitely not what we prayed for, we know God is using this experience to shape us and teach us. We are hoping they will get to come home on the next couple of weeks. They are primarily "feeders and growers", which is such a blessing. We love them more than words can express.