They're Here!!!!!!!

On January 3rd, the boys decided to arrive. They did not give much warning and seemed quite anxious to be with us. My water broke just before midnight and not long after contractions started. By the time we arrived at the hospital, I was already dilated to 9 cm and in A LOT of pain. I begged for an epidural, which they tried numerous times to give me, but the anesthesiologist just could not get it in the correct spot. Finally, I realized Caleb wanted OUT. He was born at 2:44 am (less than 3 hrs after my water had broken). I got to rest for a few minutes, then they attempted the epidural again, due in part to not knowing if Luke was going to cooperate and get into position, in which case I would have needed c-section. After numerous more failed attempts (i felt like a pin cushion) the contractions started again, as did the feeling that Luke was ready to be born. Finally, he got the epidural in and told me it would take about 15 minutes to work. I knew I didn't have that long. As soon as I laid down, Luke's water broke and a minute or two later he came FLYING out (3:24 AM). (The epidural did help with the pain AFTER they were born :)

Caleb weighed 5 lbs 15 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. Luke weighed 5 lbs 10 oz. and is 19 1/4 inches long. Big babies for being born at 35 weeks.

Right away, the doctors began giving Luke extra attention. It was obvious he was having difficulties with his breathing. Caleb, however, seemed to be doing fine and we were able to hold him for a while.

Luke was whisked away to NICU and we have not been able to hold him yet. His breathing is very labored and his lungs are quite premature. He does not respond well to sound, light or touch, so our visits with him are very brief. They have him on a nose canule (sp?) as well as in an oxygen bubble. Currently, they are also giving him IV fluids. He has also shown some cardiac issues which I don't completely understand. It seems that along with a murmur, there are some vessels that should be closed but are open, due to his prematurity. There are also some places where there is bidirectional flow and he has pulmonary hypertension. This information all came after an echocardiogram and they said they will do another in 2-3 days. They did say his heart looks better that they had originally thought and that most if not all of these issues should correct themselves as he grows and matures.

As I said before, Caleb was allowed to stay with us for a while. We were able to hold him for a bit, until the nurse noticed he was struggling a bit to breathe. They took him to the regular nursery to be monitored. After a couple of hours, they decided he would do better in the NICU as well. HIs breathing issues are much milder than Luke's. He also has an IV and a nasal canule, but is receiving less oxygen than Luke. I was finally able to hold him again around 1 this morning, which was nice.

The doctors say the soonest either baby will come home is in about a week, but either could be here up until there due date, which is in 5 weeks. It is very difficult to not be able to hold and feed them right now, but we are crying out to the Lord in our time of need.

Please pray that the boys would gain strength and maturity in their lungs quickly and that Luke's cardiac issues would clear up. Please also pray that we would be able to touch and bond with Luke soon, as it is not possible to do so yet. Lastly, please pray that we would be open to learning what God would want to do in us and through us during this time. We want to be a light to the NICU staff and other parents and we want to hear from the Lord.

I will update as they give us more information. Thank you for your prayers.