#nicustory

I wanted to start this blog, kind of as a safe place. A place where I can pour my heart out on the hard days and rejoice in the happiness on my little ones good days. If you're reading this we want to thank you for taking the time for following our story and hopefully this can help keep everyone updated without having me to explain something a thousand times. The love and support we have received for this bundle of joy are more than I could have ever asked for or expected. I just at times do not have the heart to tell 100 different people the same stories especially on the rough days.

If you are unaware of what a micro preemie/ nicu are let me explain.

A micro preemie is a baby born 28 weeks of gestation or under, or weighing 1-2ls or less (different blogs ive seen has went by different weights)

So let me explain to you who we are .

My name is Courtney and my son is Jameson Alan,

OUR STORY

His due date was February 06 2020, but if you know anything about Jameson he is a feisty one that takes what he wants. So on October  30th 2019 we started having contractions at work. 26 weeks is pretty standard to start feeling what people know as Braxton hicks (false contractions) . So going through my work shift I thought nothing of this . Until leaving work they became two minutes apart and were very consistent. (always time your contractions ladies, braxton hicks will NEVER be consistent and will never be that close together take it from me ) so Oct 31. (happy halloween) we decided that it was best to make it to an emergency room. As soon as we got there we were immediately rushed to labor and delivery where I find out at this point we are 2 cm dilated and have what they call a “bulging bag”(aka my water is trying to break at this point so they think) The hospital I was at then gave me steroid shots to help his lungs develop fast and different medicines to try and stop preterm labor. At this point I am given the news that we would be transported into a new hospital that supports babies that could be born that young. Once we get to the new hospital I am restricted to bed rest and given the news they have stopped my labor and want to keep me hospitalized until full term  (14 weeks+ at this time) . We were in for a long night and long road ahead of us.

NOVEMBER FIRST;

The next morning i'm rushed for an ultrasound where I am then given more bad news . I did not have a bulging bag, I had actually been leaking amniotic fluid the entire time and at this point had nothing left. Again doctors told me we could still potentially stop labor and that we would continue to monitor it in the hospital over the next 14 weeks. But remember I told you Jameson is feisty and he takes what he wants. So fast forward through the day of terrrible contractions. 7pm rolls around and I feel like its the end of the world. Contractions at this point are every 2 mins again and these are ten times worse than the night before, these are getting stronger. I am checked and informed in 30 mins i had went from a 2 to 5 cam and now doctors are talking about changing rooms. Next thing I know I am being rushed into an operating room and my nurses are scrambling to find a doctor that could help  My nurse leaves to get the epidural and by the time she came back the baby was here. Mr jameson took 10 mins and 4 pushes to enter this world.

Novemeber 1st 2019

26weeks gestation.

7:22pm

2lb 3oz 15in long.

So it's been a long time since I've been here. And it's quite the story I have. One that I never thought I would experience until it happened.

July of last year I took a pregnancy test. It came back positive and instead of feeling joy or excitement I felt skeptical. At this point I had been through two miscarriages and the last one I had there was bleeding. I had spoken to the ob I was seeing and was told this was normal. I had my ultrasound that Monday and there was no baby.

The doctor had the nerve to ask me what made me think I was pregnant in the first place. I had morning sickness plus the seven tests I had taken that came back positive.

So when I saw the little positive sign this time I felt almost nothing. I didn't read too much into it and asked my cousin who she had seen for her pregnancies. I didn't want to go back to the ob I had seen.

Fast forward to my first prenatal appointment. I gave family history and then I was put on a lifting restriction. I worked in a warehouse at the time and when I handed over the paperwork I was told to hand in my keycard.

I called the doctor office and asked if the restriction could be lifted and was told no. My rights as a pregnant woman were protected under a discrimination law. I could not be fired for being pregnant.

They sent a copy of the law to my work and I was still told that this had to be checked with HR.

I was sent home until my boss heard what HR had to say. I still my job after that.

That was the first hurdle with this pregnancy but not the hardest.

My first ultrasound came up and I expected there to be nothing and to be told I had miscarried again.

"Do twins run in your family?" Was the first question the tech asked.

I blinked and asked her why she would say something like that. I was alone as well at this appointment. That was my decision since I thought this pregnancy would be a bust.

"You're right weeks pregnant with identical twins."

I had nothing to say to that. I heard their heartbeats and I saw them on the monitor. This was real and it was happening. The rest of that appointment is a blur. I really don't remember the rest of it.

I had appointments every four weeks until I hit fourteen weeks. I started bleeding with no cramps. I called the number provided to talk to the on call doctor but no one called me back. I waited until Monday and called to leave a message to call me at work.

If I was miscarrying then there was nothing I could do. So I was at work when my boss came up and asked if everything was okay. I told him I might be having a miscarriage and he told me to go call my doctor.

They got me in that day. My twins were fine. I had a subchrionic hematoma that some women develop. I was told it would go away. (It never did)

After that my morning sickness continued. I lost 10 pounds by sixteen weeks and I was throwing up bile in the mornings before work.

I went from seeing a midwife to a doctor because there was evidence of twin to twin transfusion.

My complications didn't stop there between work being on my about my productivity and fighting with Medicaid.

At 25 and 7 I woke up and thought I had peed myself. My underwear and sleep pants were wet. I got up to use the bathroom and I was bleeding again.

I made a phone call to work and said I'd be in later that day. It took me an hour and a half to get through to someone to make an appointment and even then I had to go to the hospital.

They kept me for a fee hours and monitored my twins heartbeats. Everything looked fine so they were going to send me home.

I used the bathroom and earned myself a stay in the hospital.

The next day a pelvic exam was done and the doctor didn't like the fact he didn't know where I was bleeding from. He called UVA (University of Virginia) and they had me transported.

When I arrived and got settled into a room I started talking to doctors there. (I was 26 weeks now)

I told the doc about me peeing the bed and and actual ultrasound was done. My water had broken on baby b.

I was not going home anytime soon.

I was admitted to the hospital to the post partum ward. The twins were monitored twice a day.

On Thanksgiving things started to heat up. I started having contractions and the doctors thought I was going to deliver. I was moved to labor and delivery and was put on a magnesium drip which I wouldn't recommend to anyone at all.

We survived the night without delivering the twins.

The next week my husband returned to work. He had already taken time off without pay and we had bills to pay. He didn't have vacation time he could use yet.

Fast forward to that Thursday. I got hooked up to the monitors that would track my twins heartbeats.

I remember I had to fart really bad and the nurse told me I was having contractions. They were uncomfortable but things only progressed from there.

The doctor who was monitoring me came in and started to discuss delivering my children. The conversation went well and he said he'd be back in 45 minutes to check on me. I was only 1 cm dialated.

Fifteen minutes later he rushes back in. My contractions had gotten worse and I had called the nurse.

They were going to deliver my twins. I was 27 and 2. They were going to he three months early. My mom called my husband back and told him they were going to take the babies now. She had called him earlier and he had said that this had happened last week and nothing happened.

I had to take my clothes off and be rushed to the OR. They gave me an epidural in my spine.

It was cold in that room and even though my mom was with me I was still scared. The care tech who I liked held my hand throughout the c section. She was my comfort during this time.

My first son came out screaming and I got to see him for a few seconds before he was taken away to the NICU.

My second son came out two minutes later but I heard no sound from him. The doctors acted quickly and I could hear them speaking. My son had his cord around his neck and he wasn't breathing. He was resuscitated and rushed down to the NICU as well.

I was stitched back up and I can say i survived my first surgery.

I was wheeled in to a room where my husband was waiting. I told him about the delivery and then when the doctors came in. Both boys were stable and I could see them when my epidural wore off.

My first two trips down there were overbearing. I got hot and couldn't stand to be there. I eventually got over that dreadful feeling and went back down and touched my sons for the first time. I cried.

They were early and they both were on ventilation. They were red and had little soft blindfolds over their eyes.

Even though they were only one pound eight ounces each they were perfect.