28 Weeks Part II

Gabe and Zeke arrived today!  Both are doing well for being 28 weeks old.  More details to follow on their progress (pictures at the end).

Gabriel Workman Stevenson: 4:40pm weighing 2lb 15oz.
Ezekiel Wade Stevenson:4:41pm weighing 2lb 5oz.

Here's the play by play of how the labor and delivery unfolded:

2:30pm: Jared gets back to the hospital after spending the night and part of the workday back in Utah County.  Unloads groceries (we have really moved in) and starts doing some work on his laptop.
3:30pm: Nanette tells Jared that she is having some serious contractions and they are ~10 minutes apart.  We start to monitor them.
3:45pm: The contractions are 5 minutes apart now and we call in the nurse.
3:50pm: Nurse comes in nonchalantly with the fetal heart tone monitor.  Nanette tells her that this is it and that she needs to go to Labor and Delivery.
3:55pm: Doctor comes in and agrees that Nanette should be in L&D.
4pm:  Roll bed to L&D.
4:05pm:  The L&D nurses casually ask her how she is doing and tell her the doctor will come by in a few minutes to do a speculum (unique tool, look it up) exam.  Meanwhile they start to put on the baby heart monitors and the waist belt (stretchy stuff that wraps around the tummy to hold the monitors in place).
4:07pm:  Nanette tells the nurses (several are in the room noq) that she is going through transition and needs to be in the operating room right now.  They tell her that the doctor will be in soon to do an examine.  Nanette tells the nurses that she has had several babies and knows what is going on.  Jared tells the nurses that Nanette is in transition and that she needs to be in the OR.  Intense contractions are right on top of each other.
4:10pm:  The doctor comes in, sees Nanette's condition, drops the speculum, and does a quick manual examination.  Nanette is 7cm dilated.
4:15pm:  Nanette is wheeled to the OR.  All the nurses and doctors follow her.  As Jared leaves the room last in line, a nurse tells him to stay in the room.
4:16pm:  Jared waits in the L&D room by himself, thinking that Nanette will have to be under general anesthesia---in which case he may not be present---and he will miss the births.  Nanette is taken to the operating room and the doctor asks if the contractions are still on top of each other.  She says no.  The doctors decide to try a spinal.  Two more contractions come right away.
4:20pm:  Doctors poke Nanette to decide how well the spinal is working.  Jared is given hospital scrubs, hair net (he was flattered), face mask, and shoe covers.
4:30pm:  Nanette's poke test has indicated that the procedure may begin.  A nurse comes to get Jared, saying they have already started.
4:35pm:  Jared sees Nanette's determined and calm face behind the blue sheet.  Laying on her back with her wrists strapped to the perpendicular arm extensions, Nanette looks like she is on a crucifix and it creates a visual reminder of her sacrificial devotion to our helpless baby twins.
4:40pm:  Watching the Discovery Channel pales in comparison to watching a live c-section.  It is intense.  Bloody.  Amazing.  Chilling.  Heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time.  After a serious struggle getting Baby A's head out, Gabriel is born.
4:41pm:  Ezekiel comes out relatively easy.
4:42pm:  After getting the placenta out, it is a matter of putting the puzzle back together.  I was not aware that the uterus comes completely out of the body during this portion.  It is remarkably smooth and round, just smaller than a volleyball.  Apparently, this is a puzzle the doctors are good at putting back together.  They wrap up the whole thing in 20-30 minutes.  Some staples and Nanette is ready to go back to her L&D room.
5:10-9:30pm:  Nanette recovers.  It is crazy.  Continuous bleeding.  Uncontrollable shaking.  Drugs of all kinds.  Nausea.  And the occasional update from the newborn ICU.
9:30pm: Moved back to our old room in the Women's Special Care unit.  I walked by the bed pushing the morphine-like drug (drug pusher, I guess!).  Feels like home here.  Alisha is one of our favorite nurses and is our nurse tonight.

Gabe, about 1 hour old.

Zeke, about 1.5 hours old.