8/30/08 - Happy Birthday Times Three!

Email update from John on 9/1/08

After last Thursday's update, Caroline took a turn for the worse in the hospital. Friday morning the fluid in her lungs wasn't getting any better leading to breathing problems, and then she started running a temperature of 101. After a battery of tests and meds, it was determined that she contracted some type of viral respiratory infection (probably from the hospital). It being viral, antibiotics weren't effective, so they loaded her up on Tylenol for the fever and a bunch of pain meds to knock her out for the night. During the night her contractions returned. And seeing as how the last round of anti-contraction meds took a toll on her body, the decision was made Saturday morning to not try and suppress her contractions this time around. So they moved her from Antenatal to Labor & Delivery - Saturday was going to be the big day.

The first thing they did was ultrasound the babies to see what position they were in. Upon admission to the hospital, Baby B was breached, but the ultrasound Saturday morning showed that both babies were now head down. This uncommon situation with twins gave us the fortunate opportunity of having a vaginal birth. Greater than 70% of twins are delivered by cesarean. Caroline did receive some additional meds to speed the labor process up and regulate her contractions. So by 7:00 she was fully dilated and ready to start pushing!

After being prepped, Caroline pushed for about 20 minutes in our room with the nurse coaching her on what to do and expect. Once Baby A was crowning, they wheeled her on down to the OR for the actual delivery. With twins, there's a good chance that the second baby will rotate out of position after the first is delivered. This would result in an emergency cesarean, so they deliver multiples in the OR to be safe. Once we were all set up in the OR, Caroline only pushed for three more contractions until Baby A was born. James Paul Laviolette was born at 8:12 pm on August 30th, 2008. He weighed 4lbs and was 17.5 inches long. His proud daddy got to cut his umbilical cord.

After James was gone, Baby B squirmed around for a minute or two before finally settling down - she finally had some room! Luckily she settled head down. Once ready, Caroline started pushing again and Baby B literally squirted out and landed in the doctor's arms on the first push. She was a little smaller than James and was therefore much easier to deliver. Lauren Elizabeth Laviolette was born at 8:16 pm on August 30th, 2008. She weighed 2lbs 13ozs and was 16.25 inches long. Her proud daddy also cut her umbilical cord.

We are still in the hospital, but expect to be discharged tonight. The babies are in the NICU where they will be monitored around the clock for the next 4 to 8 weeks before they can come home. James is having some minor breathing difficulties, but the doctor says that he's doing great for his age and it's to be expected. He's breathing on his own with 26% oxygen (normal air is 21%). She also said he's average size for a 32 week singleton baby, which makes him large for a twin baby. Lauren, on the other hand, is doing great! She is breathing much better than James and is requiring no additional oxygen. Apparently, baby girls develop quicker than boys, so it's normal for the sister to be healthier. The doctor said she's right about average size for a 32 week twin baby.

It has been a difficult 12 weeks (of bed rest) and an even more difficult week here at the hospital, but we are very fortunate to have two healthy babies. Besides being James & Lauren's birth days, it was also Caroline's 30th birthday. She wasn't too happy about the idea of sharing her birthday before their birth, but she now realizes they were the best birthday present she could ask for. And it'll be easy for me to remember, though expensive!