On Friday, September 9, 2011, our sweet little twins, James Harrison and Catherine Grace, entered the world. James was born at 8:14 and Catherine followed at 8:17 AM. Because James was breach, I had to have a c-section.
Pre-Op. Don't let this smile fool you. I was terrified. At one point, I told Matt that I was going to get off the table and go home. I don't think I would have made it very far. As scared as I was, I was ready to have these babies.
And everything went great. There was a fleet of people in the OR. Kind of intimidating, but looking back on it, I'm glad they were all there. Everyone had a function and with two babies coming, it's good to know they were prepared for anything.
James was born first. He weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and was 19 1/4" long.
Dr. Daddy
Next came Catherine weighing 5 lbs and measuring 18 3/4".
The babies were doing great, so Matt got to hold both of them for a few minutes.
First shot of "womb-mates"
I was feeling pretty good afterwards. And then Matt gave me the sweetest mom present. It's a necklace with 6 hearts. Hard to believe it represents our new family of SIX!
After the babies were born, the doctors felt like they needed to be watched for a little bit. Even though they were considered full-term for twins, they were still on the small side. After a few hours in the newborn nursery, the doctors decided that James was "grunting" too much when he breathed, so they sent both babies to the NICU for further observation.
So unfortunately, I didn't get to see the babies until late Friday afternoon. At this point, James was put on a CPAP breathing machine. Not a big deal, and it wasn't even to supply oxygen, but it was still sad because I couldn't hold him yet.
Catherine was fine. She was hooked up to some monitors though.
But I was able to hold her for the first time that afternoon (Friday).
Then her fan club arrived for a brief visit.
Will is over the moon with pride for his new baby brother and sister.
It took Andrew a few days to warm up.
But he was very interested in taking pictures of them.
Will, Pop Pop and Catherine
The next day (Saturday), James was taken off of the CPAP machine and I was able to hold him.
By Monday, James and I were able to go home, but we stayed an extra day because they wanted to monitor Catherine a little further.
James-all tucked in and ready to go home on Tuesday
The best dad. He deserves an award for sitting in the little box of a hospital room for Tuesday. He was certainly ready to get back home and get back into his routine, but he never complained and took very good care of me.
Homecoming for James
On Tuesday, Catherine was cleared for release and our 5 day NICU stay was over! 5 days really isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things (especially for having twins), and I am so thankful we didn't have to stay longer. But on the bright side, the NICU nurses did a fantastic job of establishing a schedule for the babies and we're trying to continue it now at home.
Leaving the NICU
Matt put the car seats in and said, "Whoa. That's a whole lotta babies!"
Big brothers are so proud! First shot of all FOUR of our children!
After being in separate NICU rooms and going home on different days, I think they're glad to be snuggled back in together again. :)
First Headband
Sweet Baby Boy
Bathing Beauty
Swaddled Tight!
And everything went great. There was a fleet of people in the OR. Kind of intimidating, but looking back on it, I'm glad they were all there. Everyone had a function and with two babies coming, it's good to know they were prepared for anything.
Dr. Daddy
Next came Catherine weighing 5 lbs and measuring 18 3/4".
The babies were doing great, so Matt got to hold both of them for a few minutes.
I was feeling pretty good afterwards. And then Matt gave me the sweetest mom present. It's a necklace with 6 hearts. Hard to believe it represents our new family of SIX!
After the babies were born, the doctors felt like they needed to be watched for a little bit. Even though they were considered full-term for twins, they were still on the small side. After a few hours in the newborn nursery, the doctors decided that James was "grunting" too much when he breathed, so they sent both babies to the NICU for further observation.
But I was able to hold her for the first time that afternoon (Friday).
Then her fan club arrived for a brief visit.
Will is over the moon with pride for his new baby brother and sister.
It took Andrew a few days to warm up.
Will, Pop Pop and Catherine
The best dad. He deserves an award for sitting in the little box of a hospital room for Tuesday. He was certainly ready to get back home and get back into his routine, but he never complained and took very good care of me.
Homecoming for James
On Tuesday, Catherine was cleared for release and our 5 day NICU stay was over! 5 days really isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things (especially for having twins), and I am so thankful we didn't have to stay longer. But on the bright side, the NICU nurses did a fantastic job of establishing a schedule for the babies and we're trying to continue it now at home.
Matt put the car seats in and said, "Whoa. That's a whole lotta babies!"
Big brothers are so proud! First shot of all FOUR of our children!
After being in separate NICU rooms and going home on different days, I think they're glad to be snuggled back in together again. :)
Had to get our Mom and Dad shots...
There he goes!
