WOW!! Things can happen fast!

As you probably saw, Becky posted a blog at about 12:30 this morning.  Well . . . just a little over three hours later, she was waking Pete, urgently telling him, "PETER, MY WATER JUST BROKE!!"  I (Becky's mom, Sue) will attempt to retell the "rest of the story" (though no one can top Becky in the storytelling department!). 

After her water broke, Becky called the doctor and was told to head into the hospital to be put on bedrest until the babies reached 34 weeks.  She and Pete started getting ready to go, but when Becky made one more stop in the bathroom, she discovered "something bulging" and realized that one of the umbilical cords was coming out ("prolapsed umbilical cord" = not good!!).  This time the doctor stated, "This is an emergency, call 911!"

Within minutes, Mounds View police (who are friends of Pete's buddy, Nick) showed up, with the ambulance not far behind.  With no time to spare, Becky left the house in only her tank top and underwear, and was told to get on all fours with her head down on the stretcher.  (Pete says he tried suggesting they cover her with a bathrobe, but things were moving too quickly).  Becky (who always finds a way to see the humor in situations) couldn't help but wonder what the neighbors would think. As the ambulance driver got ready to leave, he told Pete, "don't try to follow me, we'll meet you there". 

At approximately 4:20, my cell phone rang and I knew right away that "something was up" when I saw Pete's name on the caller ID.  In a very calm voice, Pete told me "we are on our way to the hospital".  As he filled me in on what had transpired, I suddenly realized that I could hear Becky's ambulance in the distance (we live about 2 miles apart, with 35W in between us).  Pete then said, hmmm, the ambulance must have gotten lost ... they are behind me!  (We learned later that even though Becky's plan was to go to Abbott Northwestern, they almost took her to Mercy Hospital because of the urgency of the situation (Mercy is closer, but Abbott is more equipped for this kind of emergency).  It sounds like they made a wrong turn and ended up realizing they might as well go to Abbott. (Becky is VERY relieved it worked out this way).

Because they had been in the hospital a few weeks ago, Pete knew right where to go and even got to the right place before Becky did!  When he arrived, he was greeted by a huge team of people who were ready to go the minute Becky arrived. Within minutes of Becky's arrival, the team determined that both babies had heartbeats and moved instantly into emergency cesearean.  Pete was instructed to put on scrubs, but by the time he was ready, he was already being told the news that he was the new daddy of two little girls!  (The whole procedure took about 3 minutes!). 

When it was all over, we learned that baby "B" (the one with the reputation of wiggling, turning, etc) is the one whose water had broke and whose umbilical cord was slipping out.  This situation put the baby in danger, and is what made the situation urgent.  Though the positions of A and B usually mean that A would come out first, B made it out first (and thankfully was ok!!).  This made things a little confusing for Becky and Pete because now the baby they considered to be "B" was being referred to as "A" and "A" was now called "B".  Since they had planned names related to each baby, they made sure to clear this up before announcing their names.

By the time Bob, Marcus and I arrived (about 5:10 a.m.), the babies were born and staff were thrilled with the outcome.  The doctor told us that she was thrilled with the way the paramedics and all of her staff had handled the emergency.  We were amazed that soon after we arrived, Becky was out of the operating room and chatting away with nurses and gushing to everyone about how "cute" Pete looked in scrubs!  (She kept smiling at him, touching him and saying, "Pete, you look so cute in scrubs!"  Everyone praised both Becky and Pete for their calmness through the whole situation. 

Here are the "stats" on our precious little angels . . .

Baby "1" (formerly known as Baby B):  Etta Ellen  (Ellen is for Pete's mom)
                                                            3 lbs. 12. oz.
                                                            4:51 a.m.
Baby "2" (formerly known as Baby A):  Elsie Susan (Susan is for me!  What an honor:)
                                                             4 lbs. 8 oz.
                                                             4:52 a.m.

The babies are receiving top notch care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Gillette Children's Hospital.  Becky has taken one trip (in her bed) down the elevator, through a tunnel and up another elevator to see the babies.  Becky and Pete won't be able to hold the babies for awhile yet, but they are happy to know that they are receiving such excellent care.  According to hospital staff, the babies are doing pretty well considering their age (they delivered at 31 weeks).  They will be in the hospital for awhile as they continue to grow and develop. 

Because of the babies' premie status, visiting is limited.  Please check with Pete if you are thinking of visiting!

One more part of this story that should be told is that Pete's mom had surgery yesterday.  She is not going to be happy she missed this big event - she struggled with the decision to go ahead with the surgery, but as Pete said, better for her to get the surgery behind her so that she will be able to help when the babies come home.  We'll all just have to fill her in on the stories when she is recovering. 

Stay tuned for Becky's version of the story . . .  I'm sure it will be far more entertaining than mine!!!

"Grandma Susan"