Our new babies

Well this has been a journey over the last 8 days to say the least. Last Saturday night I noticed that something was wrong. I decided to go the emergency room. Brady was at the Orange street fair ready to have a long night of drinking, and partying with friends. I called him up and told him that he needed to come home immediately. Stephanie drove us all to the hospital and we went straight up to labor a delivery. They took a look and couldn't quite figure out what was going on so we thought at that point I would just be going home after a little observation. Then Ethan had a dip in his heart rate (called a D-Sat), that sparked a need for an ultrasound. After that was done, the doctor came in and told us that I wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. The doctor said that Ethan's placenta was not functioning properly and the he was half the size of his sister Madaline. I would be in the hospital to monitor him anywhere between a day and the duration of my pregnancy (12 more weeks).
We had a high risk specialist(Dr. Lindsay), come into to speak with us to let us know what our options were. He let us know that since the placenta was functioning very poorly, there was a strong chance that we would need to get the babies out on Tuesday morning. At 28 weeks and 4 days pregnant, I knew this was far too soon, but what choices did we have? No matter what there could be a risk to either 1 or both babies. At that point I had a steroid shot to help the babies lungs develop a little quicker. The game plan was to stay at the hospital and monitor the babies until Tuesday. If the there was no change, or things got worse, the babies would be delivered no later than then. If things improved, we would need to take it 1 day at a time but the babies would stay in my belly.
Tuesday morning rolled around and there was no change. We had to speak to my doctor and decide what we thought would be the best option. After tears and talks we all decided it would probably be better to get the babies out. From then, it was time to get ready for C-section surgery.
I got into the OR around 10:45am for prep. Everything went well as far as the surgery.
The Babies:
Ethan Michael Richards came first at 1 lb 5 oz and 11 inches (the length of a piece of paper) @ 11:25am. I didn't hear a cry. They took him into the room next door where there was a team of doctors and nurses waiting to help him through his first few minutes before heading over to CHOC.
Madaline Gianna Richards came second at 2 lbs 9 oz & 15 1/2 inches long @ 11:27am. I didn't hear her cry either but they took her in the other room as well where she had her own team ready and waiting for her.
Next was the recovery room. I was lucky enough for the babies to be in good enough shape where the medical team could stop in with each of the babies so I could see them. I only saw the nose and lips of Ethan since he was bundled up so much and he was really small. They also had a mask over his face to help him breathe. They brought Madaline in next. With her I was able to touch her through the incubator and tell her that her mommy loves her.
Both were transferred over to CHOC which is right next door (Thank God), were they were put in the "Small Baby Unit" NICU. This is a subsection of the NICU that just finished construction on March of this year. It was designed for babies that were born premature and weigh less than 1 1/2 pounds. Brady went with them to sign a bunch of papers and to get them set up. I stayed in recovery for a while until I was transferred into my room. (I ended up getting a private room which helped a lot. I didn't want to be in a room with another mother that was able to have her new baby in the room with her, when I couldn't share in the excitement.) Both Brady and my family were there for support and prayer (Except for Kyle & Casey. Unfortunately Kyle came down with a nasty cold, so they couldn't be there. (In sprit though)). And lots of prayers were being said from friends, family and extensions of both. All were and are much appreciated more than we can express.

The next day I was able to go over to CHOC to visit with my babies for the first time. Boy, what an emotional first visit. I can't tell you how hard it is to see both your babies in an incubator. You can touch them, but you can't caress or rub, or stroke them. I causes too much stimulation and right now the goal is to keep them as calm as possible so they can work on keep themselves stable. You can't hold them since they are far too fragile at this point. The next couple days were going to be the hardest start to a long, emotional journey for Brady and I.

Over the last few days we have had some good and not so good moments. I have been able to change both Ethan and Madaline's diapers (which are soooooo tiny!). Ethan has already pee'd on his mommy and Madaline has shown signs that she is going to be my feisty one. They both had to be put on breathing machines. Madaline's lung collapsed so they had to intubate her. When they saw that she was getting well, they thought that they could take the tube out, which her body was not ready for, and they had to stick the tube back in. They have been able to feed her though, so hopefully a little mothers milk with help make her a little better.

Ethan, at this point is going to have a longer road ahead of him since he is so small. He is on a higher breathing machine and is continuing to have some dips in his heart rate. At this time, it has been helping when that happens to turn his oxygen level up a little, and he stabilizes. They are concerned about an extra vein in or near the heart that all babies have, but closes before they are born. Because they were born so premature, his has not had a chance to close, which can pose as a problem as far as blood circulation in the areas that need it. They are also concerned about the development of the intestines. Again, since he is so small, it's one of the major medical problems preemie babies have.

It is projected that both babies will be in the hospital for somewhere around 2-3 months. During that time, they warn us that this journey is a roller coaster. One day can be good and next, not so good. There will be times when the babies will take 1 step forward and 2 steps back. We just have to pray each day and thank God for the gifts we have. We ask that they are given strength through this process as well as us. We thank God for the nurses and doctors that are there to take care of them and to help us understand what is going on.

What I am asking from you is to please pray with us.... This is the best thing anyone can do at this point. I think the best way for you to get a hold of us is to e-mail Brady of myself and we can try to get back to you when the moment allows us to.

In the mean time, now that I have finally had a chance to catch everyone up to speed a little bit, I will try to continue to post updates on the twins and post a couple pictures as well. We love you all and can't tell you how much it means to us to have your support right now and over the next couple months.

Pictures:Ethan is the top picture and the last 2 are Madaline