March is a month full of big days for Alicia and I – on March 6th, 2008, we got engaged in Memphis, TN, on March 28, 2009, we got married in Pineville, LA, and now on March 19th, 2012, our twin boys, Griffin and Jack, were born at 8:56 am in Shreveport, LA. They came a little early (31.5 weeks) and were certainly a surprise to us. We were hoping (ok, I was hoping) to make it to at least April 5th (my birthday) but we should have known they’d make their appearance in March.
So, what happened?
As many of you probably know, Alicia had been on strict bed rest from the 24th week of the pregnancy due primarily to early and frequent contractions. Her doctors prescribed a couple of medications to relax her muscles, slow/reduce the contractions and generally just keep her pregnant for as long as possible.
On Saturday, March 10th, Alicia was in an extraordinary amount of pain so we called the on-call doctor who instructed us to go to the Labor and Delivery unit at our hospital immediately. Upon arrival, Alicia and the babies were monitored for a few hours and it was determined to just be stronger than normal contractions so we scheduled an appointment to see her regular doctor on Monday and went home for the rest of the weekend.
At the appointment Monday, Alicia’s doctors decided, as a precaution, to admit her to the hospital for a couple of days to administer a two steroid shots. These shots help the babies lungs develop in case of pre-term delivery. (Good timing, huh?) They also did a protein test which is supposed to be about 99% accurate in determining whether a woman will go into labor within the next two weeks. Our test was negative so we left the hospital on Wednesday and headed home for more bed rest. Our goal of making it to April once again seemed realistic.
By the weekend, Alicia started to have some restless nights full of painful contractions and cramping. I remember Friday night was very uncomfortable for her, Saturday not as bad, but then came Sunday night. She was in misery most of the night and at about 4 am she woke me up and said “I think we might have to go to the hospital.” Stupid me, I thought this was more of the same painful contractions/cramping from the previous few nights so I suggested we wait a few hours until her regular doctor was available to see her. (Yes, for those of you wondering – I am a bonehead!)
At about 5:30 am, Alicia looked at me and said “this is different, we’ve got to go.” So, we got ready and grabbed the bag we had packed and loaded up the car. I started backing out of the driveway and, before reaching the road, Alicia told me to “stop!” I thought she’d forgotten something so I stopped the car and was looking for the garage door opener when she jumped out of the car (“jump” doesn’t exactly describe what she did – it was more of a quick waddle), rushed over to our lawn, and threw up. Hmmmm – this was different. (yes, bonehead, this was different). I got her back in the car and off we flew to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital sometime before 6 am and the nurses there did the usual thing. They hooked her up to the baby and contraction monitors , then they said the usual thing – the babies are fine, you look fine, it’s probably nothing. At this point, Alicia threw up a second time. Hmmm – this was different. By this time we were both telling the nurses that this was not the usual contractions/cramping but they didn’t seem concerned and we waited for Alicia’s doctor to arrive.
At about this time I called Alicia’s parents to tell them that we were back in the hospital and that I thought she’d be admitted again for a few days. Katy, Alicia’s mom, asked if they should start heading toward Shreveport and I told her to wait until we’d seen the doctor, thinking this would be a fairly routine visit. Katy must have heard something in my voice or her maternal instinct must have kicked in because she left home and started the drive to Shreveport immediately.
The doc arrived at around 7:45 am and immediately checked Alicia’s cervix, etc., and told us she was 100% effaced and a few other things I don’t remember. I’m not sure if I started panicking at this exact moment but if not, full scale panic was right around the corner. The next words out of the doc’s mouth were “it’s baby day!” I said “What? You mean today? We’re having babies today?” Alicia and I looked at each other as it sunk in. For me, the news brought a mixture of panic (today?!?! I’m not ready, I need a few more weeks to get everything ready), worry (is Alicia ok? Will the babies be ok?), excitement (holy $#!%!!!! I’m going to be a dad TODAY!!!! Oh…and there are two of them! holy $@@!#$), and after that , more panic.
Things moved quickly from that point on. One of the nurses brought me paper scrubs which, by the way, were about 4 sizes too small and quite snug (understatement of the year) and the others started prepping the operating room for the c-section. I called her family to tell them to get their rears in gear and get to Shreveport. Lloyd, Alicia’s dad, told me that Katy was already on her way, no doubt breaking speed limits and blowing by cars all the way up I-49.
The anesthesiologist came and checked on Alicia, the docs told us the logistics of the operation, where I should be, etc., and then we waited nervously for the nurses to come and take Alicia back. They took Alicia to the OR around 8:15. She was in good spirits and the excitement of what was happening was starting to build. I had 20-30 minutes to kill before they’d be ready for me in the OR so I did what any soon-to-be new dad would do – I paced nervously up and down the hall leading the OR, I tested, re-tested and re-re-tested the camera to ensure all was in working order. Then…the call came. They were ready for me in the OR.
When I arrived, there were already about a dozen people inside – MD’s, RN’s, techs, you name it. I took a seat at the head of the table and held Alicia’s hand while the docs prepared to make the incision. Thankfully there was a curtain just below Alicia’s neck that kept us from seeing everything that was going on but the anesthetist and Alicia’s doc kept us informed with a ‘play-by-play’ call of what was happening.
My memory from here is a little fuzzy but I’ll do my best. The incision was made and at some point one or both fetal sacs were punctured and fluid gushed out. The doctor joked about it and kept making her way through the different layers to get to the babies. Just minutes (or maybe seconds?) later, she told us she was bringing baby ‘A’ out.
Time for a quick sidenote here – Alicia and I did not know the gender of our twins. We tried very hard throughout the pregnancy to keep in secret and, despite a few close calls, were able to make it the whole way without someone accidently telling us what we were going to have. Alicia always felt that baby ‘B’ was a boy but both of our feelings/guesses on baby ‘As’ gender fluctuated from one week to the next and, of course, we knew we could be completely wrong about both.
Baby ‘A’ (Griffin) emerged and the doctor announced “It’s a boy!” and Alicia and I heard our little Griffin cry for the first time. The doctor handed him to a nurse who took Griffin to a nearby table so they could take care of him. I followed and was lucky enough to watch every step as the team of medics did their work. By all appearances he was a healthy little guy with a ton of brown hair covering his little head.
I then turned my attention back to Alicia and went to her to tell her about our beautiful baby boy! I was with her for just a second when baby ‘B’ made his appearance. Once again, the doctor yelled out “It’s a boy!.” Two boys! I could hardly believe it. Ten minutes ago I was just some schmuck roaming the hallways and now I was a Dad to two beautiful little boys! Anyone who doubts the existence of God has not experienced that moment. Two miracles of life came from my wife’s body into the world and lie there kicking and screaming before us. Wow! I can still hardly believe it. Thank you God for blessing us in such a way.
Baby ‘B’ (Jack) made the trip to his table and the medical team performed their magic. He too looked strong and healthy and he too had a head full of brown hair. Another blessing. Each of the boys was wrapped up in a blanket and brought over to Alicia so she could get a good look at her babies. She was overjoyed and in tears. She’d worked so hard to make it to 31 weeks and now she could finally see the reward. Thank you, Sweetheart, for being a good Mom from the day we got pregnant. You are the best and I love you!
At about this time, I was kicked out of the OR so the doc could sew Alicia back up and get her into recovery. I followed the boys into the next room where the work on them continued. Everyone agreed that they looked great for being born at 31 weeks and being twins, but they still needed special care for a few weeks to allow them to continue to develop.
The rest is a whirlwind. Alicia’s mom had arrived by the time I returned from the OR and the rest of her family was there within 45 minutes. I started to make calls and send messages to people. Of course everyone asked what the boy’s names were. I was a little embarrassed that I couldn’t tell them but we hadn’t settled on the exact names yet. We had three boy names picked out that we liked, but hadn’t fully decided yet and I couldn’t go final with the names until I talked to Alicia when she got out of recovery. Once she came out and we had a moment alone, we made the final decision on names and now a few days later, it's hard to imagine calling these little guys anything but Griffin and Jack.
