Mya and Lyla's Story

     We found out we were expecting early June. I scheduled a doctor's appointment for the next week hoping to find out how far along I was, that is not all we found out! While getting my first ultrasound the woman played the baby's heartbeat, she kept staring at the screen not saying any words so I asked if that is indeed the heartbeat. She told me yes it is...and here is the other one. I began laughing while my fiancé asked if she was joking or not, she informed us that she does not joke about twins. She kept looking at the screen after we heard each heartbeat and then told us the doctor would want to speak with us.

     The doctor came in and proceeded to tell us that they did not see a membrane dividing the twins and there is a small chance they could be monoamniotic, but majority of the time they are able to find a membrane later on.  I went home to Google "monoamniotic twins" (big mistake) and really scared myself.  All I was able to find is that this occurs in about 1 of every 60,000 twin births and that my babies only have a 50 to 60% chance of survival.  I knew the girls were monoamniotic but Chris kept trying to make me feel better by insisting that they will find a membrane. Our next appointment we were able to find out the gender of our babies but also our last chance to search for that membrane.  I was ecstatic to find out we were having girls but that was quickly trampled when we were ensured that there was no membrane making my pregnancy extremely high risk.

     Our next step was to make a plan because that doctor could not handle such a high risk pregnancy.  After seeing a few doctors, all telling me to not get too attached because there is a 50% chance I will not get to have my girls, I settled on a doctor in Pennsylvania.  We made a plan to go inpatient at 26 weeks  and to be monitored 3x daily for an hour.  Getting to 26 weeks was extremely difficult.  I was skeptical about having a baby shower because I was afraid of my girls not making it. I was afraid to sleep fearing I would wake up and not feel any movement.

     Finally 26 weeks came and I was ready to be admitted. Being inpatient was hard to say the least.  Chris was finishing school so he could not be there as much as he would have liked which was hard for me. I cried every night I was in the hospital, I felt isolated from the world and everyone was going on about their life without me. I especially hated getting my IV switched every other day. One member of my family would visit every day and that was what I would look forward to every day.

     I had one major scare during my late night monitoring where Baby B's heart dropped into the 70s for a few seconds. I was so scared and pushed my call button 100 times. The ultra sound tech came running in and could not find my baby's heartbeat, finally my doctor pushed him out of the way and found it. Words cannot describe my relief.  I was given oxygen and they kept me strapped up all night. Between the straps being so tight, my tears and my fear I did not get one minute of sleep that night. A few weeks went by with no major issues and other than being in a hospital for five weeks I was doing well.

     My doctor gave me the option of delivering at 34 weeks or 32 and I did not want to take any risks so I chose 32. Thanksgiving rolled around and Chris was finally able to stay for a while. November 26, 2013 I was on my last monitoring session of the day when Baby B's heart dropped into the 70s. I was given oxygen and my doctor told me he was just going to keep me on the monitor for a while longer and told the nurse to give me another round of steroids.  Her heart rate went back up but I would not take my eyes off of that screen. Twenty minutes later her heart rate dropped again, this time to the 50's.

     My doctor ran into my room and asked "Can I deliver your babies today?" I was so scared I could not even speak. I looked at Chris and he responded "Let's Go!" Everything after that happened so quickly. I was rushed into a bright room and Chris was told to stay behind. They put me on the operating table and everyone was scrambling around me. My doctor was yelling that the anesthesiologist was taking too long and getting his instruments ready which did not help my nerves, finally it was time to put me under.

 

Mya and Lyla

     I woke up asking the nurses if my girls were ok and if they had hair, she responded yes to both questions. I was sent to recovery and was dying to meet my angels. When I saw my girls for the first time it was like a dream. My girls, my sweet babies who I had been told might not make it were finally here. Lyla weighed 2lbs 14 oz and Mya was 2lbs 15 oz. Their cords were not only tangled but Lyla's wrapped around Mya's neck. After four days we were finally able to hold Mya and the next day Lyla! I thought being inpatient was hard, but that was nothing compared to leaving without my girls every day which never got easier.

   I visited my girls every day sometimes up to 5 hours a day. The girls spent about 5 weeks in the NICU with only a few minor setbacks. Lyla came home January 11 and Mya the following day. My girls are 6 months old now and are absolutely perfect.  I love them more than I knew I could. I still stare at them in disbelief the same way I did when the night they were born.