Still very much to our surprise, my water broke in the wee hours of the 24th and we rushed into the hospital. Because we were not yet 34 weeks (a big benchmark in twin development) they gave me magnesium sulfate to slow and hopefully stall my labor. It worked, and we were able to gain some time. I was given steroids to help develop the maturation of their lungs, which are given in 2 doses 24 hours apart. After the 48 hours they took me off of the mag sulfate (which has some pretty intense and awful side effects) and within 4 or 5 hours my contractions started up again around midnight. They gave me a shot of terbutaline to see if we could postpone labor any longer, but all that did was make me incredibly shaky, make my teeth chatter...and basically make me angry. You can't stop a freight train, and within 8 hours both boys were here, the first morning of their 34th week.
Both boys went up to the NICU, where we still are one week later. They have both been doing remarkably well overall. While Levi needed a little help with oxygen the first day, he came off of that within 12 hours and both boys were without IV's within 36 hours. The only issue we're really dealing with at this point is getting them to take all of their food orally, but we've been working on nursing and Isaac is proving to be a champ. Levi is taking a little bit longer - it seems he just doesn't have the stamina yet to nurse or bottle feed for long, but I'm confident he'll get there soon. In the mean time, Erik and I are just trying to take everything day by day and are still adjusting to the fact that we have TWO BOYS. Talk about the most amazing and sweet surprise of a lifetime!
The girls have been handling everything really well and taking it all in stride. We're incredibly lucky that my parents were able to get here the night before the birth, and they have basically been keeping our little family chugging along for us. The girls are soaking up some serious "Gran & Poppy time" and Iris has asked several times if they can "stay forever". They've made a few trips up to the NICU to meet their brothers, and have been very sweet with "petting" them, kissing them and singing to them. I've been home a few times, but have been basically living at the NICU, and Erik has been trying to balance work and life and has making lots of trips back and forth and everywhere in between. This is obviously a tough time for us and we're trying to find our balance, but I just can't wait until we can all be at home together.
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