One year ago today I left work mid-morning for a 26 week
check-up. An hour later I was driving
over to the hospital for a 6-week bed rest.
Two hours later I was in tears as I was told the babies were
unexpectedly coming within the hour as I was whisked away to the OR where they
were delivered a mere 20 minutes later.
We never got the chance to take birthing classes, take a hospital tour, put
a nursery together, buy baby essentials, have a family baby shower – all things
typical in the third trimester which I never reached. Some of my extended family didn’t even know I
was pregnant yet! Nor was there time to
comprehend what was going on in that very moment or to know the realities of
having micro-premies. Some days my head
still spins at the thought of that day and it’s still difficult to wrap my head
around how we were hit so blind-sided.
In fact I don’t know if I will ever really feel like it was me in that
delivery room. It was Niki who was at
the appointment that mid-morning. It was
Niki checking into the hospital. It was
Niki hooked up to the monitors when all fine.
But the moment I was told the babies were coming and there was nothing
they could do it was as though a switch flipped and I was suddenly up above
watching from the outside looking in.
Maybe it was a defense mechanism to prepare for the coping of what was
to come. We went from excited expectant
parents one day to bewildered mom and dad of two whom we hadn’t even fully
discussed names for yet and had no concept of what their medical outcomes would
look like, or if they would make it for that matter. It took a few days to realize all that had
happened. Every day of their survival
was a triumph within those first few weeks.
But after one year, and for every day to come, what is not difficult is
being thankful every day for getting to have Jace and Jocie in our lives – and
the way they entered into this world one year ago today and the fact that they are healthy, both
medically and developmentally, just makes them that much more of a Wonder. Happy Birthday to our precious Wonder Twins!!!
Pictures of their one year photo shoot to come soon! Here is a picture of them with their birthday ribbons on today - their first birthday!!!
