Happy Birthday Week

Hello all, never in my wildest dreams did I dream that the next time I updated the blog I would be telling you about the birth of our children but that's exactly what I am going to do. :)

If you remember, last week I was in a lot of pain and the doctors thought I had a UTI. Turns out my clutures came back negative on Sunday which was a huge dissapointment because I was still in pain and didn't know what was ever going to make my pain go away. The hospital had been hooking me up to check for contractions but nothing would show up on the machines because all the pain was in my back. I had plans for friends to come up and help celbrate my birthday on Sunday night but I was in so much pain I canceled. It was hard not knowing what was going on and why my back was in so much pain. Saturday night I also started spotting slightly. It was a light pink color which my doctor said was normal because of the stitch in my cervix being irritated from the small contractions that they were seeing.

Monday (my 30th birthday) brought me no relief. My back still hurt and the doctors still didn't know why. Contractions would show up periodically but nothing that would cause them concern so no one suspected I could actually be in labor. Again I canceled plans to celebrate my birthday because it just wasn't fun. I wanted to feel good and it's not fun for people to sit around and watch you be in pain. Not ideal for my 30th birthday but all I asked was that I still be pregnant for my birthday and that was still happening so I was trying to be happy. I was bleeding a little more overnight on Monday but still nothing that my doctor was concerned about. She said if I started bleeding quite a bit they would need to take a look at my stitch because it could be ripping but a small amount of blood wasn't a concern.

Tuesday morning things seemed to calm down. My pain dropped to minimal levels and the bleeding stopped so I thought things were going to get better. I hadn't slept at all over the weekend when I was in pain so I was excited about taking a nap. I told the nurse about 11 that I was going to lay down. No sooner did my head hit the pillow the pain started to return in my back. I called the nurse in and asked if there was anything she could do because I was so tired I just wanted to sleep. She gave me a pain med but the pain just wouldn't go away. At 2:00 after disucssing the situation with the doctor they decided to check my cervix to make sure it hadn't changed. They tried to stay away from this as much as possible becuase they knew that the stitch was the only thing holding my cervix together.

When they got in to examine my cervix they discovered that now only had it changed. I was dialated to 7 cm and the Baby A's head was showing through the opening. The stitch had ripped and the reason I had been in so much pain was I was in active labor. They told me to call Corey and tell him to get here as soon as possible because the babies were coming NOW. I called Corey at 2:40pm and then the nursing team took over. They got me all ready for a c-section, Corey showed up and threw on a gown and they took me to surgery. My spinal tap was put in, they brought Corey in and they started surgery to get the babies out.

Dillan Marie Skandel was born at 3:25pm weighing 2lbs 3oz and 14 inches long. Tyler William Skandel was born 3 min later at 3:28pm weighing 2lbs 10oz and 15.25 inches long. Corey got to watch Tyler being born and he said it was amazing. They brought Dillan up to my face and I got to kiss her before they took her to NICU. Tyler came by my head next but he decided to pee so I didn't get to kiss him. Corey went with both babies up to NICU and stayed with them while they finished up my surgery.

Both babies are stable right now and doing well. They both have breathing tubes but only to help them exhale. The doctors told Corey they just need help getting the CO2 out of their bodies and that's what the tubes are helping with. They are not getting any extra oxygen, they are just breathing room air. Tyler is very close to breathing on his own. They may try to challenge him with that soon to see how he does. Dillan is happy breathing with a little help so they plan to leave her for a bit so she can just get stronger.

Corey and I are adjusting to pumping schedules and trying to recover. Yesterday I was up just a little bit and the goal is to get me up more today and moving around. We will make a couple trips to the NICU to see the babies today and hopefully bringing Grandpa Arnold down to see them. He has been at work since they were born and he's so excited to see them.

I hope to post some pictures soon. We have a bunch already we just haven't had a chance to download them yet. Stay tuned.

So, Happy Birthday to our precious little babies. I know the NICU will have it's ups and downs but we can only hope and pray that they stay strong and continue to grow big and strong. We will be so excited for the day they can come home with us. Until then we will prepare for their home coming and we will visit them daily.

Thank you all again for your continued thoughts, prayers, and support. It has been overwhelming for Corey and I and we really appreciate everyone making this journey as easy as possible for us. We really have been able to focus on the babies and their health instead of worrying about other things. It's been a blessing.