babies yet!

***cliff notes:  babies and moms are doing well.  looking at a couple months in the NICU but blessed beyond words.***

So I started a great post about how good everything went on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.. guess I should have tried to finish it a bit sooner.  Cullen called an audible later Sunday evening and started running some different plays.

Sunday was great.  Britt was relaxed, had a few visitors, was feeling good.. They even took her off of the magnesium and put her on another drug that does something similar but without the flu like symptoms.  She still wasn't allowed to sit up or get out of bed, but she was being a trooper.  They brought her some solid foods that she (we) ate like a champ.  No sickness.  Mom went home for the evening...

We'll stop there for a minute.  If any of you decide to have twins and decide to have them 11 weeks early, I highly recommend having an RN that used to work in labor and delivery as a mom.  Holy moly thats a big help.  We (or at least I) would be in for it.

Nurse Dicque right before kick-off

Sunday evening we were feeling good.  Watched a little TV for the first time.  John & Kate plus 8... or whatever it is called now.

We had an evening guest and then started winding down for the night.  I got my blanket and pillows ready about the time Britt says "am I having a contraction?".  I looked at the chart and the answer was yep.  No big deal though.  She was down to about 1 or 2 an hour all day Sunday.  A few minutes later.. "am I having a contraction?"  Yep.  Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.  For the next 3 or 4 hours the nurses gave her a few different medicines trying to regain control.  She would have a few contractions 7 or 8 minutes apart and get our hopes up and then she would have 4 in 4 minutes.  Around 11:00 they checked her cervix again and she was now at a 7-8.  They called her doctor and I called the nurse (mom). 

Dr. Westmoreland brought her pillow up to the hospital (not kidding, I saw her walk in with it).  She checked Britt out and thought we could make it to a normal hour in the morning so we started planning for a 7am c-section.  Cullen is pretty stubborn though.  He kept after it and about 1:30-2ish D Dub (dr) came back in and said "let's stay in control and get these babies out now".  Versus an emergency c-section at 5am.  They started calling in their team of NICU nurses, anesthesiologists, etc.  Brought me some daddy scrubs and said "game time".

This is us with D Dub making the decision.

Before I knew it, we were heading back and I was sitting outside the operating room solo, waiting for them to administer the spinal tap.

I kid you not, it was probably 45 seconds from when they said "Mr. Oliver are you ready, please come in" until they carried Cullen around the sheet and introduced us.  I may be exaggerating by about 5-10 seconds... Literally I am not sure I had even sat down yet when Britt asked "Have you started?"  and D Dub said "oh ya.. as soon as I made the incision this boy stuck his arm straight out into the air!"

We heard a few cries that resembled a kitten and that's when the anesthesiologist said you can stand up and watch if you can handle it.  So I did.  I will spare you the photos... because I did take some... and bloody details.  But it was absolutely amazing.  Those doctors were lightning fast and smooth.  They carried Cullen around the sheet and showed him to us and then the NICU nurses took over on him.  About this time, I saw D Dub with one of Presley's legs coming up from the middle of my beautifully brave wife's abdomen.  Unbelievable.  I got to watch them cut the cords and carry her precious self around the sheet for the introduction.



Moments later the NICU nurses had them both cleaned up.  Brought them over to give mom a smooch and wisked them away to their luxury suite in the NICU (they don't accept hotel points, but I made sure and let them know I was a diamond member with all the majors ;)).

Cullen

Presley

They asked me if I wanted to follow the babies to the NICU but I declined to stay with their mama while she got put back together.  A few minutes later the NICU nurse practitioner stuck his head in and said "no really.. you should come".  I didn't let Britt know but at first, I thought that was a bad thing.  'Why does he need me right this very second'.. But by the time I got in the hall he said "Come see!  The grandparents are in meeting them now."  So I relaxed a bit and realize he just wanted to give me the opportunity to see my babies. 

Those NICU nurses have nerves of steel.  Seriously.. while Daddy and Grandparent's are watching at 3:40am they are running around sticking needles in veins the width of an eye lash and the texture of angel hair pasta.  An amazing thing to watch.  Not to mention.. preemies don't always remember to breathe on their own.  So they'll relax and get lazy and ya.. just lay there not breathing until the nurse gives them a little tickle.  Talk about pulling at your heart strings.  Whew.

Alright.. I took a few pictures and then went back to mama.  I walked back in while they were finishing her up.  She was beautiful.  They took her back to her room and promised a driveby the NICU on the way up to where she would spend the next few days.  We got a few pictures and then headed up for rest..

Post op photo op with D Dub 

Post op Photo with nurse Paula

..so I thought.  Britt felt great.  We moved rooms, I tried to crash on the little couch (its around 6am) and she spent the next several hours on the phone.  And then folks started to show up. 

And somewhere in this post, I lost my wallet.

More later.

Oh ya.. I also went to one of Britt's baby showers and she joined us via Skype :)