As you may recall, Carrie’s cousin has had a pretty scary pregnancy with her twins. Well, some great news (and even more good news). They were born this weekend! Here’s the scoop from the dad:
Sorry for the lack of any recent updates. Things had been going well so we took the superstitious (pitcher in the 9th inning of a no hitter) approach, thinking that if we didn’t talk about the boys – things would stay positive. Two huge positives happened yesterday, October 13th, at 7:22 and 7:24 pm as Connor Guillermo C**\* and Calvin George C***** came into the world. The boys have the treat of sharing their birthday with my mom and their middle names with their grandfathers.
Christie’s water broke at 2:30am on Friday at home and she began to labor throughout the day at the hospital. The OBs did a wonderful job and helped Christie avoid a C-section and deliver both boys in just around an hour once it was go time. As she did during the whole pregnancy Christie did not complain one bit and did everything she had to do to bring the boys into the world. After they were born they were quickly handed off to the neonatologists in the OR and they were sent down to the NICU after they were stabilized in there.
We are very lucky that the twin to twin transfusion syndrome appears not to have progressed past Stage One. We did have some scares along the way that their condition had worsened (and subsequent trips to the hospital) but now that they are here, it appears that they don’t have some of the more severe side effects of the condition which is tremendous news. They will need to be checked for some of the ill effects of the syndrome that appeared to have started in utero but the Doctors are optimistic that there has not been any substantial irreversible damage to the boys or their organs.
Connor – the donor baby, aka Baby A – was born at 7:22. He is the older but smaller brother at 17in, 3 lbs 14 oz and Calvin – the recipient and the younger big brother, aka Baby B – was born at 7:24 at 19in, 4lbs 9 oz. I likened Connor to a full back leading the way for his brother as Calvin was delivered breach after his brother.
We feel incredibly fortunate that the boys wound up staying with their mommy for just over 32 weeks which gave them a head start far beyond what we could have hoped for when Christie originally started laboring at 24 weeks plus. Numbers wise 32 weeks is a big hurdle from a developmental standpoint.
Now that the boys have cleared their first pre-life hurdle they are off and running and fighting already. Like many preemies they are having difficulty breathing on their own. Calvin had to be intebated and has been given medication to help his lungs along. Connor is trying to breathe too fast and will probably have to go the same route as his brother. The doctors were also worried that Calvin might have an infection so they did a spinal tap. He didn’t squirm at all and appears to have learned a thing or two about pain thresholds from his mom. He was the baby who was batting at the amnio needle with his hands in utero so he must not be afraid of needles. Based on preliminary findings the docs are optimistic that it is not strep, pneumonia or meningitis. We still await the results from the lab.
We’ve been told that they could be in the NICU for at least 4-5 weeks or more so the boys will be moved to the new Prentice Hospital sometime next week. They Dr.s say the first couple days are the “honeymoon period” and you really figure out how things will go down the road after about 48 hours. We remain extremely positive but are mindful that there is a tough road in front of the boys. They are getting great care and are in the best place that they can possibly be.
As new parents we have, in just a few hours, experienced great joy in the boys joining us in the world; tremendous pain in watching them in a less than an ideal situation; incredible admiration for our boys’ who have already been a huge inspiration as they fight; but most of all an overwhelming feeling of love and thankfulness that they are ours and that they’ve given us the gift to help them fulfill their dreams and experience all that life has to offer. We continue the hope and faith that everything will continue to improve and turn out well in the long run.
And even more updates – here’s what Katie (the new aunt) emailed us today:
Just to let you know a quick update on the boys.
Calvin is now breathing on his own now and Connor never had to be intubated!
Both of the little guys are doing really well. They are digesting some of the breast milk (feeding tubes still) and sucking on their pacifiers.
Christie gets to hold Calvin today!!!
Thanks for all the prayers.
Thank you to everyone who kept these boys in their thoughts.