Our Sweet Daughters

Early on Sunday morning, November 20th, our sweet little girls came into this world.  It was definitely a surprise for us.  On Saturday night, Brett and I spent the night just hanging out and right before we went to bed, we decided for some reason to finalize our name choices and their spellings.  Since we found out about the twin to twin transfusion, we decided we wanted to give the girls names that had strong meanings, just like people did in the Bible.  We chose the names Abriella (Ella) Anne which means "strong one of God" and Eva Marlene which means "life" (which we say like Ava).  Each of the girls' middle names are after each of our maternal grandmothers.  My grandma was Anne and Brett's grandma is Marlene.  They are people who have had a great impact in our lives and we wanted to honor them!

SO, after we finalized the names, we went to bed.  Around 2:00 am, I woke up with some stomach pains, and after a few minutes, I realized I was having contractions.  It was the first time that I had pain with my contractions, so after a half hour or so, I called the nurse in.  They put me on a monitor and eventually decided that I needed to be moved to a labor and delivery room.  When we got down there, I started feeling really bad.  I was having chills and feeling like I had the flu.  They took my temperature and it was around 102.  A few doctors decided that because of my temperature, there was a risk for infection and they needed to get the girls out as soon as possible.  By 5:00 a.m. I was in the OR prepped for a c-section and Ella was born at 5:52 and Eva was born at 5:53.  

The hardest part for me was not being able to see my sweethearts for two hours after they were born.  They needed to get the girls stable and I needed to be stitched up.  After I recovered for a while, they wheeled my bed up to the girls' room.  Seeing them for the first time was wonderful, what a miracle they are.  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were pretty rough for me.  I started feeling better on Wednesday and was discharged from the hospital (after a month of living there!)  I thought I would feel so happy to leave there, but I cried the entire way home.  Leaving my babies at the hospital was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  I felt like I was abandoning them, and even now it makes me a little sad to think about it.  I'm sure I will get used to the feeling and it will become more normal, but it's still so fresh.  

                                               Meeting Eva for the first time

                                               Abriella Anne Oftedahl (3 lbs. 6 oz.)

                                               Eva Marlene Oftedahl (3 lbs. 1 oz.)

As for an update on the girls, they are both doing very well and have been doing pretty well since they were born.  When they were born they were both treated with antibiotics through IV because of the threat of infection.  They have a feeding tube that goes from their mouths directly to their stomachs, as they are so young and do not have the suck/swallow reflex.  They started out getting most of their nutrients from an IV, but with each day that passes, they are getting more breast milk and less IV.  They also had nasal canulas (cpap) which supported their breathing for the first few days.  Today was the first day they came off of those and did really well!  Eva has had a few episodes of apnea where she stops breathing for a few seconds and her heart rate drops significantly, but always brings herself out of it.  They aren't concerned yet because it's pretty normal for premies.  Other than that they were both jaundice and had to use bili blankets to get their biliruben levels lower.  They've been off of the blankets for a few days.  Overall, they are doing well!  We know the NICU has it's share of ups and downs, but we pray that they continue to thrive.  They are strong and have been fighters since the beginning. 

 

                                             Holding Eva for the first time

They expect the girls to be there for another month or so and Brett and I now adjusting to our new lives. We will spend as much time at the hospital with them as we can. I will most likely spend part/most of my days there and Brett will join me after work for a few hours.  We also have so much to do around here that we will try to get everything ready here for them when they come home.  After three months of not being able to do anything, I am enjoying my freedom again.  We will continue to keep you all updated and I hope to continue to bring good news!  As always, thank you so much to you all for your prayers, calls, texts, gifts, cards and support.  It would have been hard to get through this without you, so thanks.  Here are some pictures of our girls!

                                                        Changing Eva

                                              Eva's first onsie, soo tired!

                                                        Ella during a bath

Mi cumpleanos

Well, my hospital stay continues and it has had its fair shares of ups and downs!  The worst part was getting a roommate for 3 days.  There were so many women giving birth that they needed to pair up the women who were waiting to deliver. My roommate was a very kind person and at times, it was nice to be able to chat, but for the most part, it was an invasion of my privacy.  I could no longer watch what I wanted on TV, or nap when I felt like it.  Brett could no longer stay with me at night, and the time we did have together was hard because it's hard to have quality time with a complete stranger next to you.  I was so happy to find out on a Friday night that they were finally able to give her another room, just in time for my birthday! :)

A week ago Sunday (11/13) it was my 26th birthday.  I wasn't super excited to spend my birthday in the hospital, but who would be? I even asked one of my doctors if I could leave for an hour or so to go out somewhere to eat.  He said no, and proceeded to tell me that he had given a lecture on being a disciplined doctor.  As much as he knew I wanted to go, he thought it wouldn't be in my best interest.  They told me that we could use a room by the cafeteria if we wanted to have some people come and have a change of scenery.  I was crushed, but got over it!

So despite the circumstances and conditions that I was in, Brett, our families, and our friends did everything they could to make my day special.  I didn't eat hospital food that day, which is always a plus!  Later in the evening, a few of our friends came to the hospital to eat dinner and cake with us.  We ordered a large thing of pasta from Benvenutos, pizza from Ians, and my mom got me a cookie cake. Definitely not a healthy food day, but oh was it delicious!  I feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.  I got to spend the day with the people who mean the most to me, so I guess in the end, that's what makes a birthday special. :)

                                                             My cookie cake!

                                                        My family and friends

                                                      My sweet husband

Hotel Meriter

Hi friends!  So many of you already know that I am in the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy, but I will just fill you in quickly on what happened.  Two weekends ago, on Saturday, the 29th, I had a baby shower with my family.  They were all kind enough to make the trip to Madison since I have not been able to travel.  We had a great time!  My aunt Laurie planned everything and the food was wonderful, the activities were fun, and it was so nice to do something "normal".  I feel like so many things in this pregnancy have not been normal, so it was fun to have a shower.

                                                  Decorating the onesies!

                                              The diaper cake my aunt Laurie made

                                                 We matched and didn't plan it! :)

                                                       Brett trying to fit in!

I made it through the shower and felt great.  After everyone left around 4:30-5, I decided it would be best to spend the rest of the night on the couch and rest.  The Badgers were on, and Brett was just cleaning up the house from the shower.  I got up around 7:45 to use the bathroom, and my water broke.  For those of you that know me, I am not great at remaining calm when these kinds of things happen.  I freaked out and called Brett into the bathroom.  We called OB triage and I explained what was happening and they told us to leave immediately and come to the hospital.  At this point I was only 28 weeks and 4 days pregnant, and I was so scared that I would be having these babies too early.

We got to the hospital and they did an evaluation.  I was not showing any signs of labor (no contractions and I was not dilated), but they put me in a labor and delivery room and monitored me very closely over night just in case.  I was also given my first of two steroid shots, which help develop the babies' lungs more quickly and was put on IV antibiotics to prevent infection which is a concern when your water breaks early.  The antibiotics made me very sick to my stomach and I puked for the first time in probably 5 years.  I felt terrible.  In the morning, when they decided that I was "stable", they brought me to a different room where I have been since.  I continued to get IV antibiotics for 48 hours and I got my second steroid shot.

Ever since, I have been stable and the girls are hanging in there.  I am 30 weeks today.  Our baby girls are so strong and they continue to amaze the doctors!  Many of the doctors are very surprised that I am still pregnant, and our goal is to make it 34 weeks (Dec. 6), which is when they told us they would deliver them.  Yes.. I have a countdown on the whiteboard in my room (28 more days).  As much as I know these girls need to stay put for a few more weeks, I cannot lie.. I am SOOO ready to be done being pregnant.  I told Brett the other day, on Dec. 6th if I haven't had them yet, I am walking down to labor and delivery and telling them that I'm ready.  :)

                                            My home for the next 28 days. (blah!)

This pregnancy has been the most challenging thing I have ever done, but I know it will be worth it when I can hold my baby girls in my arms.  Well, thank you for continued prayers!  Please continue to pray that the girls can grow and stay healthy in the next few weeks.