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Challenge: NICU Parenting

Our NICU stay

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When I was 17 weeks pregnant with my twins, I learned that they had Twin to Twin Transfusion syndrome. My high risk OB went through all of the risks associated with this condition, including the possible death of one or both of our twins. He sent us to a specialist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital for a surgery designed to treat this particular condition. This fabulous team of surgeons, nurses, social workers, etc...answered all of our questions and addressed all of our fears. The day after the surgery, we were overjoyed to hear that both babies had strong heartbeats and that the surgery was a success! In our minds, it would be smooth sailing from here on out. Not so... At 30 weeks, my water broke. I was admitted to the hospital and put on bed rest. The boys managed to hold on for 2 more weeks. At 32 weeks, my OB did a C-section. For the next 7 weeks, we were in the NICU. This was the most terrifying experience for me and my husband. The alarms going off, the set backs in feedings, the tubes everywhere....it was all very overwhelming. However, the nurses and physicians were AMAZING! They really do love your kids as if they were their own. We had 2 more kids at home, so we were only able to visit our babies during the day. The night nurses would always keep us informed of any milestones, big or small. They really became part of our extended family. They celebrated with us, held us when we cried and encouraged us along the way. They took what was easily a dark time in our lives and they helped shine the light on it.

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