After pushing for about a half hour, LT made his first appearance into the world! He came out kicking and screaming and was a beautiful sight to see. He weighed 3 lbs 14 oz. Although he was able to breath, it was very hard for him, so they put him on a c-pap. Other then that though, he had no problems!



After delivering LT, my contractions stopped, so they started me on Pitocin. About an hour and fifteen minutes later I was ready to start pushing again. BP was delivered exactly an hour and a half after LT. He was still in his sac when he was delivered and stopped breathing for a short while after he was born. Honestly, I didn't know exactly what was going on; I couldn't see him and the doctors were busy all around me. But, he did start breathing and was crying and screaming a ton. It was a wonderful sound! He was 3 lbs 10 oz and had the same problems breathing as LT, so he also was put on a C-pap.



After delivery my husband went with BP up to the NICU (LT was already in the NICU)and I stayed down in Labor and Delivery for recovery. After about an hour they moved us up to the OB/GYN floor, which is also the same floor as mother-baby (which we would have gone to, but they were full) and as the NICU. We headed down to the NICU to visit our babies briefly before passing out for the night.



The next 6 weeks seemed to drag on and on, but at the same time, looking back, I know we were there that long (originally the doctors said we'd be there 3 weeks, max) for a reason. The first two weeks went really well; the boys adjusted to being outside the womb and even started breastfeeding a little bit. But, then when the boys were about 2 weeks old they developed hyperbilirubin (they became VERY jaundice and almost had to get a blood exchange. BP's bili levels were in the 30's and LT was in the upper 20's) and had to go under the bilirubin lights for the second time (they had already gone under them once, but that was a pretty normal thing for newborns). Because of this we had to stop breastfeeding (they didn't want the boys out from under the lights for more then 1/2 hour twice a day) which delayed our coming home. About a week or two after the bilirubin levels resolved they both became extremely anemic and needed a blood transfusion. Although that was a super scary night for us, it was also amazing because that night Joseph was delivered. Joseph was by far the smallest baby I have ever seen. He weighed about 1 lbs when he was delivered and was 12 inches long. He is now a beautiful, strong baby boy, at home and seems to have few, if any, long term complications! For a long time my husband and I wondered why the boys were still in the NICU (seriously, they took a LONG time to breath on their own, feed on their own, all that good stuff), but I really believe part of it was so we could meet Jessica and Richard (Joseph's parents) and encourage them.

Eventually the grandparents decided they couldn't wait any longer and they wanted to come out to visit us in Hawaii. Nanna came out first and spent a week playing with the boys, changing diapers, and cleaning our house. The later was especially a blessing since my husband and I had been living at the hospital (they let breastfeeding moms room in and we had a private room so we could both stay) and the house had been thrown into disarray.



The day that Nanna left, my husband also had to leave for about 3 weeks to California for training. Thankfully the next day my mom flew in. She spent the next week helping me out as much as possible; getting up for every feeding, playing with the boys and changing diapers. It was WONDERFUL to have her there, and on Friday of that week, the boys got to come home! Six weeks and one day after they were born, they finally got discharged from the hospital (the nurses had taken to calling them the 'wimpy white boys' because they took SO SO long).



It was WONDERFUL having my mom at home with me...I don't think I would have even been able to drive home without her there. She even heard the boys when I didn't and woke me up to feed them. :) Elizabeth also flew in that night, which was great because it was my mom's last night with us. Elizabeth is basically our nanny. She came out to Hawaii for three weeks to help me out with the boys while my husband was gone and then when we moved to Missouri she lived with us.



Although we had been discharged, the boys still were pretty anemic and 5 days after we were discharged we were re-admitted for a blood transfusion. This second one was actually harder then the first. The boys did not take well to the IV's and wouldn't sit still. LT's line went bad at one point as well, so we had to get the IV put in again, which did not go well and he did not like. Eventually we went up to the NICU (this time we were on the peds floor) and they managed to get the IV put in. Thankfully this ended up being our last transfusion!




Since this time we have pretty much been healthy! We know that God had His hand on all of this and while we couldn't always see the 'good' in it, we know that there was a reason and it was good! Looking back, we are so grateful to all of our friends and family for their support, love, and prayers during this time. We are very thankful to all the doctors and nurses who took care of our babies. Also, we are very thankful to our church out in Hawaii for all the support and prayers they gave us. Honestly, I don't think we could have made it through that time without them.