I like seeing the twins play. They’re so full of life. They’re giggles remind me of the times when I was very pregnant. I started with a pre-pregnancy weight of 150 lbs. (yeah, pretty heavy). I reached about 194 lbs. on July 1 (the day I gave birth by C-section). Nicholas was 6.3 lbs. and Antoinette was 5.6 lbs. The twins are pre-mature babies.
Nicholas was a round boy. His chubby cheeks were very prominent and I could tell the moment I kissed him that he will be like his Dad – funny but gentle. I am seeing that now. Antoinette, on the other hand, was tiny. She was very tiny that I was so scared I might hurt her when I kissed her. She looked so fragile.
At the recovery room, about 30 minutes after my operation, a woman from the nursery brought Nick and Toni to me (well, Nick first and then, Toni) for breastfeeding. Nick was the hungry, little rascal. He immediately latched on and was having the first moments of his life on Earth drinking Mother’s milk. Toni was different. She didn’t latch on. She didn’t want my milk, I thought. I overheard the woman said that she was on breathing support (nasal prong oxygen) the moment she came out of my womb. Problem with breathing, I heard.
I asked her several times how Toni is. She won’t give me an answer. Everything was all clear to me and I knew that something was wrong. But she won’t tell me. I was wheeled inside Room 914 about 10:00 p.m. and I saw my brothers, Hendrix and Kevin. I asked them: “Where is Jeff?” They said he went out so he won’t be tempted to fall asleep. My husband arrived five minutes later. I started telling him about Toni. He already knew. He said she will be alright and if anything happens, the nursery will call us.
I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to tell him to call the nursery and ask about Toni. He refused. Jeff told me to rest because I will need every ounce of energy to recover fast. The next three hours was excruciatingly long. I wanted to know how my Toni was doing. She was the fidgety, little alien inside my belly. How come she had those things in her nose? Something was wrong.
At 6:00 a.m., the pain (from my C-section wound) was unbearable so I had Jeff call the Doctor. While in agony, I reminded him to call the nursery (again!) to ask about Toni. He said not to worry and that everything will be alright. I fell asleep.
I woke up to the annoying sound of the telephone. Jeff answered it. My eyes was still closed. I could tell that was the call we were waiting for.
“Thank you,” he said to the person on the other line.
“What happened?” I asked him.
“Toni is okay. She was on (nasal prong) oxygen for eight hours because she had trouble breathing. It happens to premature babies. But she is okay now. Everything is great.”
I had to be sure. So I told Jeff to take my phone and take pictures of the twins. He came back with 40 pictures or so. SO tiny and precious.
Every single time, I look at them play, I remember those moments in the hospital. When I had to trust my life and their lives to God to use the doctors as his instruments of love. I am one blessed woman. The pictures below will tell you why I think I am very blessed.
Enjoy!
It was May 9 (Saturday) at 6:00 a.m. Jeff has a mid-morning flight to catch and I had to take his shift in taking care of the twins. So we played…
With this face for a son? How can I not be happy…
And a daughter so pretty…
Back-to-back fun!
The morning was so wonderful and it became even more wonderful when I saw Nick doing this:
Awesome!
The day was tough – changing diapers, preparing milk, feeding baby food – and I thought it will never end. I do mind the stress. Haha! But these kids are my responsibility. I can’t let them go hungry or dirty!
Time for afternoon nap! Twins tried to bargain for more hours of play. See Nick’s face!
Oh, those looks!
