Easter has always been a special time for Rick and I. We have always celebrated Jesus'
resurrection on this day. Last Easter was a little different for us though. We didn't get to go to the Easter service at our church like we had done in years past. This was because our beautiful twin daughters were born on April 2nd and Easter was April 8th last year. Some of you may not know the trials that we went through to get our girls home with us. It's not even something that we like to talk about, but it has been on my mind and heart alot lately so I feel that this is the place to share it. I was admitted into the hospital on March 15th which was 31 weeks gestation for the girls. I was in labor. They were able to stop the labor and give me the steroid shots to help the girls lungs develop quicker. At this time the NICU doctors came in to prep us for what was going to most likely happen if the girls were born then. They told us that the girls would most likely have to stay in the NICU until their due date which was May 18th. This was a very scary thing to hear because when you dream about having a baby, no where in your head do you imagine having to leave them at the hospital. Well, I was able to keep the girls inside me for 2 1/2 more weeks. On April 2nd the doctors told me that I was once again in labor. At this point I was 33 1/2 weeks gestation. I had the girls with only a few minor complications and they were wisked away to the NICU. We were able to go and see them 1 hour after I was back in my room. Rick rolled me in my wheel chair to see them in the NICU. There were two tiny babies in two seperate beds surrounded by nurses. I don't even remember the words that they were saying to me, just that my babies were ok. I didn't sleep a wink that night. The next moring I woke my mom up and had her roll me back to the NICU to see my girls. I was able to hold them for the first time. They both had little IV's in their tiny arms and looked pitiful. We made this journey many times a day to see the girls. The doctors recommended that we be there at every feeding. On April 4th I was discharged from the hospital without my babies. This was extremely hard for us. We came home and rested before getting up bright and early the next day to go back to the NICU. This lasted two days before they told us that we could take Maddie home the day before Easter. Ella Grace had to have a feeding tube placed in her nose because she was working too hard to eat and this caused her to lose weight instead of gain. It was very hard to bring one baby home with us and leave the other baby at the hospital all alone. I cried and cried. We brought Maddie home and had a very successful night with her. On Easter Sunday we got up and got Maddie dressed to go to Easter lunch at my parents house. As soon as lunch was over we left Maddie and my parents and went to the hospital to visit with Ella Grace. I will never forget how little she looked with her "Babies First Easter" bib on. The nurses told us that we could probably bring her home the next day. Well, when Monday rolled around she had lost some more weight and they said that she had to stay another day. We were devestated. We once again had to leave Maddie to go and visit Ella Grace. Finally, on Tuesday they told us that we could bring Ella Grace home. I tell you all of this to tell you that Easter now has a different meaning to our family. We are so thankful that God gave us these two healthy, beautiful baby girls! They are truely a miricale. And the fact that we only had to do the NICU for a total of 8 days was a miricale. April 10th sure beat May 18th. I hope that you enjoy our story and get to know a little more about us and what we have been through! Here is a picture of the girls in the NICU the day that we brought Maddie home.
