My surrogate Life: my perception of a miracle part 14

Since there was only about 6 weeks left before the due date, Missy and Dave formulated a plan. They were going to pack up their car and drive to my house on Monday, December 29. Then, at the end of the week Dave would fly home and Mis was going to stay with me until the debut of Squirt and Crush.

I had to go back to the doctor on Tuesday, December 23. I had to go to the hospital first to have a stress test (because they only had that machine for twins there) which was going to be have be done weekly from then on. Everything was perfect so I headed across the street to Dr. Harris' office. Everything was great...not dilated at all. I called Mis and gave her the update because if there was any indication that it might be sooner rather than later, they would change to plan B....which was for them to come on down.

Christmas morning and came and brought many games and toys for the kids. One gift in particular was a huge hit. It was a professional grade karaoke machine (Santa is very tech savvy at our house). Chris brought it upstairs and hooked it up in out room so I could remain in bed and still be part of the fun. All day Friday we continued the Christmas fun and Friday night was karaoke night at the Armstrong's. The song of choice was "We're Not Going to Take It" by Twisted Sister. The kids played it OVER AND OVER sang it at the top of their lungs! They finally wore out and we all went to bed.

Saturday morning, December 27 at 4:30 am I woke up and I reached to pull the covers up and something VERY STRANGE happened. I wasn't really sure what was going on because both of my kids were induced..... I never went through the whole water break /labor at home thing. So I looked down and realized that my water broke. Now I'm not going into all the details but in order for you to understand the urgency, I must share the fact that there was a GREAT deal of blood! I wasn't sure if that was normal because, as I said I never went through this part naturally. So I grabbed my cell phone and called Dr. Harris. I woke him up and told him what had happened. I asked him if this was normal and he said it was going to be ok, but I needed to go to the hospital immediately...and he would meet me there. I knew there might be a problem because he was/is the calmest person I had ever met and I could hear the concern in his voice. I woke up Chris and told him we needed to go. I called Missy's cell phone but there was NO ANSWER!!! I had to stop and think where they were and remembered they were in Ohio at her parents' house. I called their house and Missy's mom answered. I told her I needed to talk to Missy.

Wen she got on the phone I told her my water broke!!! "Uhhhhh...what EXACTLY does that mean???"   I said as calmly as possible "it means that you need to get here as quickly as possible!!!" I got to the hospital about 10 minutes later and when I walked in they knew it was an emergency. They wheeled me up to labor and delivery and they began hooking me up to machines and sticking needles in me simultaneously!!! Although everyone was trying to remain calm, I could see panic in EVERYONE'S eyes. As Dr. Smith (the doctor on call) was doing an ultrasound he was telling the nurses to call the anesthesiologist and pediatrician stat!!I was 34 and 1/2 weeks so it was still early plus the bleeding was getting worse. I asked if  there was any way we could wait a few hours to do the C-section because I didn't want Missy and Dave to miss the birth, but I knew with all the immediate activity and rush that it wasn't going to be an option. Dr. Harris arrived a few minutes later and I could see on his face that there was a major problem! But in true Dr. Harris form, he calmly explained to me that they were going to have to do an emergency C-section because I was experiencing what was called placental abruption. I had heard the term before but couldn't recall what it really meant and the potential repercussions (thank god)!!

It was about 5:30 am and I asked if I could call  Missy and give her an update. Chris was getting his scrubs on and the video camera ready. I called Mis and told her I was about to go in. I didn't mention the rest because there was no point in worrying her any more then she already was about them being early and their ability (or lack of) to breath on their own.

They rolled me into the OR and the room was full of people. Once the last doctor arrived, it all began. Chris started filming and at 5:53 they pulled Baby A out and announced it was a BOY. He was screaming at the top of his lungs....obviously not happy....but that scream was the sound of pure joy...it meant is lungs where good!!! I immediately said "they have 2 boys" because I was SURE that Baby B was a boy the entire pregnancy! As Dr. Thorne checked out Baby A with his glorious screaming, they pulled out Baby B and and announced it was a GIRL!!! WAIT...WHAT????  I said they must be wrong because I knew Baby B was a BOY for sure!! But they said that SHE clearly passed the visual test...GIRL! She was crying but no where near like her brother!!! A boy and a girl.....our little Christmas miracles were here!! As they brought them over to me to see them I began to get sick. They quickly injected me with something and I was over it. All I wanted to know is if they were ok??? We didn't have a NICU in our hospital so if there was an issue, the would have to go to a hospital at least an hour away!! He said they looked good...the baby boy was only 3lbs 14 oz and the baby girl was 5lbs and 2 oz!! They were breathing well but he needed to monitor their oxygen levels before he could make the call!

They were HERE... and relatively healthy!!!!! They sewed me up and said for me to go ahead and call Missy!!! So about 6:15 am Chris and I were the only 2 in the room I called them to let them know they were parents!!! "THEY ARE HERE AND THEY ARE GOOD!!!  DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE????"  And she said NO...they wanted to wait until they got to the hospital.......WHAT????  Seriously???.....SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!?!?!?

They were at the airport already in Dayton Ohio and were about to get on the plane!!! She said that they were in the security line yelling "We're having twins...we need to cut line... We're having twins NOW!!

In about 3 hours they were going to MEET THEIR BABIES!!!! AND I wanted to feel NO PAIN...and a DIET COKE....stat!!! So they pumped me full of drugs and a 6 pack of Diet Cokes..... All was right in the world again!!!