Journey’s End…Sorta

So, roughly 24 hours ago, Kristina and I were at the final routine visit before the scheduled delivery of the twins on November 1. There had been a little excitement earlier in the day as Kristina was trying to decide whether an incident was simply some pregnancy-related incontinence or whether she may have had a sign her water might be about to break. With her first pregnancy there was a similar incident that occurred a few hours before her water broke.
 

She had somewhat dismissed the event – mainly because several more hours had passed on no major indication like the last pregnancy. She had pretty much determined it was merely one of those things that happen in the third trimester.
 

When we were discussing the images and the measurements with the ultrasound tech, things just didn’t quite add up for the size the machine was interpolating for Grayson. He had lost nearly a pound from two weeks before. She re-measured and mentioned that it appeared his fluid level in the sac seemed a bit low as an explanation. We immediately knew something was not quite as it should be, but we couldn’t be certain what that was.
 

The tech went to ask the doctor to come look. Before even looking at the screen, she asked how we felt about having the babies right now. Um…what?
 

She explained that the boys were 35 weeks, far enough along to be fine for delivery, and that the sac around Grayson had indeed been compromised. He needed to come out in the next few hours. We did not really understand how serious the situation was for a several hours after the delivery.
 

It’s probably too late now to say “long story short” – but the summary is we walked through the underground passage from the Physician’s Building to the Hospital, went directly to Labor and Delivery, then prep’d for the Operating Room. In less than two hours from the doctor’s question about how we felt, the reality of two baby boys being here had happened.
 

The concern over Grayson turned out to be a case of nearly perfect timing. Weighing only 4 pounds 6 ounces, he came out strong and breathing on his own. Bennett, on the other hand, although the bigger of the two, at 5 pounds 2 ounces, was not flowing air through his lungs as a full-term baby would. A mask with oxygen was placed on his face straightaway, and he was being whisked away to the NICU. I was allowed to carry Grayson as I followed his brother. There was a very brief moment that Kristina got to see both the boys, but it was very short-lived and fell short of the expected skin-to-skin post-delivery experience.
 

The boys are both still in the NICU. Grayson has been given some antibiotics because of the concern of infection that might occur due to the sac rupture, but much of the fears have turned out to be nothing more than precautions. Of course, had the fluid loss gone on much longer undetected, it could have been quite serious. But Providence prevailed, and the timing of everything was perfect to ensure Grayson came into this world safely.
 

Grayson might be discharged in only a few days, but it is still too soon to say that with a high degree of certainty. Nonetheless, we are very optimistic about the time table. Bennett, however, will likely be here for about a week and possibly longer. There is no real danger, but at his gestational age, his lungs just aren’t quite ready to act like they will in another week. Bennett’s struggle will be solved with nothing more than time and patience. Of course that is easy to say but a bit tougher to endure (for us).
 

The primary point of this post is to announce that our journey to babyhood has come to its destination, as our baby boys have made their miraculous way into this world. I phrase it that way because I noticed the subtitle to our “49 Steps” blog is “Our Journey To Babyhood.” Well, technically, that is complete.
 

Of course, it another way, it has only just begun.
 

Grayson

Bennett