Thursday, July 29th

5:45 AM - Houston we have a problem.

My water broke at 32 weeks, in my sisters bed. What we know now and didn't realize then is the chaos that would consume our lives for the next 3 days. Twins generally come early, we knew that but we certainly weren't prepared for it.

Derek and I were staying at my sisters house because we were having our hardwood floors refinished and also because Derek was away on business July 25th till the morning of July 28th. (got back just in time) Since we were staying at her house we decided to "pack" our overnight hospital bag, not taking it too seriously. All I have to say is thank god we were at Karen's because Derek and I were a complete mess! I called the doctor shortly after 6am and she said to come in right away. As Karen pulled everything together for us, we headed out to the car to find it pouring rain. Derek pulled the car up to the front door, but first backed in and pulled forward probably 15 times - like Austin Powers! We got into our cars and we were on our way to Middletown. Once we arrived at the hospital we were taken into the special holding room to see if my water had officially broken. It was here that Derek started to feel woozy, and had to sit down. I was literally sitting there, with nothing too exciting happening, and he was feeling woozy. Oh, boy, this is going to be interesting. Soon enough, we got the results, my water had broken. So now what...

We stayed in that room for 4 hours, hooked up to all types of machines while the doctors discussed the plan of attack. At one point there were 3 of my doctors discussing and we swear they all had their fingers on their noses calling out "not it"! The big conclusion, send me to Uconn Health Center because they would be better suited to handle the twins once born. And, it is better to transport them in me vs in incubators. So, I boarded the stretcher and took my first ambulance ride with Karen and Derek following behind in their cars.

Once at Uconn, I was taken to the ICU. At this point the doctors wanted to stop the labor so they gave me this drug called Magnesium. The most they could hold off labor was 48 hours so that they could give me steroids to help the lungs develop a little more. This drug is not fun, it was probably the worst 48 hours of my life. Not only does it slow down labor, it slows everything. I couldn't talk, eat, move, anything.

After the 48 hours, July 31st, I was taken from the ICU and placed into a normal hospital room with windows and I was able to order lunch! I started to eat but was starting to get uncomfortable with contractions which made me nervous and not so hungry. I was trying to play it cool but Derek and Karen were onto me. Derek was being a great coach, timing the contractions and Karen was making sure that both Derek and I were still breathing. Derek decided it was time to call in the nurses. They hooked me up to all of the machines again and we watched. I was indeed having contractions and the girls were ready to make their debut. Everything after this moved real fast. Next thing I knew, I was being wheeled to the OR, getting a spinal (in which I failed to mention to the doctors that I have scoliosis so he couldn't find the right spot), and then having the sheet pulled up to hide anything that might make Derek or I barf. I don't remember much after that besides a lot of pulling. But I do remember when Derek told me our two little girls were born, Amelia Jane at 8:43 PM weighing 2lbs 15oz and 15 inches long and Emma Jane at 8:46 PM weighing 3lbs 10oz and 16 inches long.

I got to meet my little ones later that night and it was amazing.