Kim's
Multiple Birth Story
Because of my age (37), we were considered high risk, so we got alot of special
attention throughout the pregnancy.
It wasn't long before we learned that Baby B (Emma) had a cleft lip. We were
sent to a perinatologist for more testing. We had to make sure there were no
other problems, since a cleft could be indicative of other problems.
The first visit with the specialist was a little alarming. The twins had a 20%
size difference. Emma was much smaller than her sister. This was cause for
concern, because anything more than 20% could mean that one twin was feeding off
of the other (even though we were pretty sure they were fraternal).
We met with the specialist again after a month for another u/s. This time, the
size difference was only 13%. We discovered that Callie was actually big and
Emma was perfectly normal.
The rest of the pregnancy was fairly uneventful. I did wind up in L&D twice to
stop contractions. The doctor had already warned me that I probably wouldn't go
past 35 weeks (since I only made it that far with Josh).
I was put on moderate bedrest in December. Basically, after Christmas, I wasn't
allowed to leave town. 
I
worked at home in December & January.
I started my leave at the first of February. I was pretty miserable and really
didn't feel like doing anything more than laying on the couch.
On February 16, I had a dr appointment - just my normal weekly appt. It was a
fast, noneventful appointment. The Dr took me off of moderate bedrest and said I
could do anything I wanted to at this point (in other words, they wouldn't stop
labor if it started).
We knew I would have a C-Section because Callie was breech and Emma was
transverse. We weren't going to schedule it until the following week.
Well, that night, at 2:30, my water broke. At first, I wasn't sure if that's
what it was or not. I hadn't been able to use the bathroom very well that day
and I almost thought it was my bladder finally releasing itself. 
I
ran to the bathroom and stood in the tub. Phil called the doctor and we talked
for a minute and she told me to come on in.
I had obviously made a mess on the floor, because Phil was trying to clean it
all up. HA! Here I was still standing in the shower and he was cleaning up. We
still had to get Josh out of bed and dressed. Needless to say, he was really
excited when he learned his sisters were coming!
We got to the hospital a little after 3:00. They confirmed my water had broken
and admitted me. It took about an hour or so to get me ready for the c-section.
We called our parents and mine came up to the hospital to take care of Josh.
Phil's parents live a couple of hours away, so they didn't get there until
around 8:00 in the morning.
We got to the OR around 4:30 and at 4:57 & 4:58, Callie Jewel and Emma Grace
were born.
Callie weighed 6 lbs 2 oz and Emma weighed 4 lbs 14 oz.
Both were taken to the nursery and eventually brought to me. I really do not
remember much about what all happened that day. I do know they took Emma over to
Children's Hospital and admitted her in the NICU. She was breathing a little
fast, but by the time she got to the NICU, she was fine. She did spend 10 days
in the NICU just trying to learn to eat (because of the cleft). She wanted to
eat, but it was a learning process for all of us!
The week she was in NICU was difficult because we now had 2 children at home
that needed attended to! We somehow managed to go visit her at least once a day
(we wanted to visit more - it just wasn't physically possible).
They are now both home and very healthy. Emma has learned to eat great with the
Haberman nipple.
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