Home For The Holidays, Part TWO!!

So...I have no idea where to begin so I'll start from Monday morning around 0930. (Oh yeah...this is Dan)

So there I was, no joke, driving to Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and delicious breakfast sandwiches and maybe a donut or two. That's when our well laid plans took a sharp turn. Holly called to tell me that she had just gotten off the phone with the hospital who needed us to bump our induction date up by 24 hours due to ongoing concerns with her blood pressure and protein levels. They needed us to come any time that day so we took our time getting ready (after eating our DD of course).

We got to the hospital around 1130 and we were finally admitted around 1600...no big deal, we weren't going anywhere for a while anyway. We were told that Holly had developed preeclampsia which is a disease of the placenta which was a significant danger to Holly and since the kids, by all accounts to date, were healthy enough to be delivered without any issues, off we went!

Side note...a couple we met at one of the classes we attended was 4 weeks behind us with twins and the mom had developed the same issues about 6 weeks ago. We ran into the dad on Monday who told us that they delivered their kiddos about 6 weeks ao and they had been 10 weeks preemie and were due to go home this week. So needless to say, the docs weren't messing around with us.

After alot of tests and IVs, the doc checked Holly's cervix and found out that she was already 5cm dialated! That was without any induction drugs and when asked if she had been having contractions, Holly's response was, "Some mild discomfort but nothing I thought was a real contraction..." Long story short, we got wheeled into the operating room at around 0200 on 14 December. All multiples are delivered in the OR in case they need to perform a c-section immediately. Not including Holly & myself, I counted 13 people including 4 OB docs, 2 pediatricians, 1 high risk doc (this guy was awesome), 2 anesthesiologists, a flemish peasant woman, that John Madden impersonator from those TBS commercials, and a duck. Alright, I made those last couple up but you get the idea.

After two unbelievably heroic hours of pushing, Abby's head was just barely beginning to crown. That's when the head guy decided to ask Holly if it was okay to use the vacuum to which she replied, "I asked for that thing an hour and a half ago. YES!" Now...as a man, there are two schools of thought on whether or not to watch the birth of your child. The first is, "Are you out of your mind? That's the most disgusting I've ever seen. Do not do it Danno!" The second is, "You're crazy not to. It's the most amazing thing you'll ever see. You have to watch it!" There's no other way around it...I took a tiny peak and I was hooked. Once I saw Abigail's little teeny head (don't tell Holly I said it was teeny) poking through, that's all she wrote. Abigail Marie Hayden was born at 0428 hours on 14 December 2010.





One of the reasons that Holly and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda for short) is that it's a learning hospital and we were very adamant that as many people learn from us as humanly possible. But given that it was two o'clock in the AM, their weren't a whole lotta folks there for the next set of fireworks. Bridget had shown to be breech for the majority of the pregnancy and was a prime candidate for a breech extraction. For all intents and purposes, a breech extraction is when you find the feet and pull. We entered the pregnancy with a very open mind about it all but were also pretty sure that if a c-section could be avoided, awesome. A whole bunch of things came together on this one. A) we were willing participants, B) Bridget was breech (didn't have a choice in participation), C) the doc was willing to come in just for us so he could oversee the extraction, and D) it was a teaching hospital.

Again...to look or not to look. The doc told us that while breech extractions aren't necessarily rare, it is slowly becoming a lost art due to the increasing popularity of the speed and precision of c-section deliveries. Since he told us that it is not uncommon for him to graduate residents who had never seen one, what were the chances that I would ever see one? Therefore, I watched the whole thing unfold and at 0430 hours on 14 December 2010, Bridget Suzanne Hayden was born by way of breech extraction and it was totally awesome!

On a very personal note, Holly is my hero...no doubt about it. All you dads out there know exactly what I mean. I don't care what anyone says, women are stronger than men. Furthermore, how on earth am I supposed to be a firm and disciplined parent to these two girls when I can't even hold them without tearing up?!?! I don't stand a chance...don't think that I ever will.

Back to our story...the first day & night were an absolute blur and of several -ologists, doctors, nurses, lactation consultants (who are very passionate and very anti-supplement/pacifier) and Navy Corpsmen (the equivalent to Army medics...but don't tell the Corpsmen I said that...or the medics for that matter). Long story short again, after just 2 days in the hospital, Holly and the girls got a clean bill of health and off we went!

We think Bridget may have been riding a roller coaster disguised as a double stroller!

Here is Bridget signaling a TOUCHDOWN, IRISH!

So that's our story and I'm stickin' to it. I really hope you enjoy the pictures...these kiddos may be twins but couldn't be more different.

Did I mention that she's my hero?

Bridget always has her eyes open when she's not sleeping...meanwhile, Abby is simply always sleeping!

WHOAH!! Wasn't this crib empty when we left the house the last time?!?! Where did these kiddos come from?