Frick Twins: Day 1

Baby Henry and Jameson arrived in dramatic fashion, i.e. Raechel had her first contraction at 1pm and babies were born a little after 3pm.  By the time we got to the birthing center, Raechel was already 7 cm.  I think I managed to get three update texts out and they were wheeling her into the OR prep.  I walked into the OR and Henry’s head literally started pushing through about a minute later.  Because they’re premmie’s at 31 weeks, they did an emergency C-Section to get Jameson out quickly 9 min after Henry was born (that description is way easier for me to write than verbalize as I had to be escorted out of the OR to watch through a small window).  They came in at a teeny 3lb 7oz and 2lb 15oz, though rounding up to 3lbs for Jameson makes it sound better / us feel better.  They had them on a CPAP w/normal air to help them breath and their lungs develop for about 24 hours and are currently testing them without it to see how they breathe on their own.  They said their X-Rays were great given how young they are; lungs looked good w/o fluid.  Assuming that goes well over the next few hours, the next key phase is getting them eating beyond their glucose+protein IV feed they have right now.  Raechel’s already been doing a great job pumping getting them started on colostrum / breast milk which I hand deliver down to the NICU every few hours and they provide to the babies. 

 

In terms of expectations for how long they are in the NICU, they want us to prepare for them being in until their actual due date in early December, but hopefully we’ll get to take them home sooner than that.  The NICU staff has been amazing; very helpful, attentive, and with the perfect attitude.  We’re taking it one day at a time; baby stepsJ 

 

I attached a couple of photos of the boys when they were about 15 minutes old and first wheeled into the NICU. 

 

Raechel’s recovery has been going great; she was up on her feet for the first time in less than 24 hours post-birth, granted for a short trip across the room to the bathroom.  We’ll hopefully get to take her down to meet Henry and Jameson for the first time later this afternoon.

15 Minutes Old: Baby A (Henry) and Baby B (Jameson)