The Journey Begins - Owen Thomas & Eli Daniel

I know that many of you received the email telling of our exciting news this weekend, but for those of you that we missed, I wanted to give a quick summary of the birth of our boys.

Friday started like any other day. I was 34 weeks and 4 days along and not feeling like anything was going to happen any time soon. I had a consultation with a lactation specialist that afternoon and then picked Charlie up at work to go to our ultrasound. We hadn't had one in a month and were both really excited to see the boys. I had been feeling a little anxious about it, really not wanting the doctor to tell me that their birth still looked a long way off. Little did I know...

They looked great on the ultrasound and were measuring at a good size, but while I was there, I was having contractions (very weak ones) about 9 minutes apart. I didn't think much of it because I had them all the time, but the hospital was right across the street, so the doctor suggested that we go over just to be monitored. We literally walked into the hospital because we were so sure that we'd be leaving just a few minutes after seeing someone to confirm that we weren't in labor.

Well, I wasn't in labor. The nurse even said that she thought they would send us home, however, the twist was my blood pressure. It had been great at my last appointment on Tuesday, but was high when we got to the hospital and kept getting higher. They did a urine sample and found protein, which is a sign of pre-eclampsia (very dangerous in pregnancy), which is why they decided to admit and induce me. The contractions started to get very regular and very strong, but we had to wait for the epidural guy for about 2 hours because he was in a c-section at the time. Turns out that the epi doesn't work on me anyway after an hour and a half, which is how I ended up with a drug-free delivery (NOT my first choice!!)

Long story very much shortened, I went from 1cm to 10cm in 4 hours and was ready to start pushing just as the epidural wore off. Perfect timing. I was wheeled into the OR at 5:30am and it took about an hour and a half for Owen to arrive. 8 minutes later, Eli arrived on the scene. It took awhile for the doctors to examine them both, which they did in the NICU. I hadn't had a good look at them yet! In fact, (another long story short), because of my blood pressure, I didn't get to see them until almost 36 hours after they were born. My BP skyrocketed and I was put on meds to make sure that I didn't go into seizures. I was stuck in my bed and they were stuck in the NICU, never the two to meet... well, not never, but you get the drift.

I came home about 4 hours ago and the boys are still in the hospital, and will be for at least a week, but much more likely, closer to two or more weeks. They need to gain some weight, prove they can eat well, prove they can remember to breathe all the time and keep their temperature up before they'll be released.

I never thought that I would have babies and not come home with them, but I know that they are getting great treatment right now and that I'll be able to care for both of them better with a little recovery time of my own. Charlie and I feel so incredibly blessed every time we look at them and CAN'T WAIT to bring them home. All four grandparents were able to make it to CT to meet them over this long (and appropriate) Labor Day Weekend, which we're so thankful for too. We look forward to many more visitors and for life as parents to really begin! Thanks for all of your prayers and emails over the last few days - we are so lucky to have such amazing people in our life!

Love, Beth, Charlie, Owen and Eli

Owen Thomas Fox - 5 lbs 10 oz, 19.5", born 7:08 AM 8/30/2008

Eli Daniel Fox - 4 lbs 7 oz, 18.5", born 7:16 AM 8/30/2008

Just checking! Everything looks great, despite all the wires and incubator.