What a Difference a Year Makes


What a difference a year makes! Who would have thought that a year ago today, Tommy and his sister Cali would come into our lives 3 months early?! This year has been full of joy, sorrow, challenges and victories, but this little boy has made it all worth it, and we couldn't imagine our lives without him. He was fiesty from the minute he came into this world so it's no surprise he's a surviver!

Here's the story.........

November 20th, 2012 I woke around 8am with some cramping. I thought it was just gas so I sat on the couch for a bit. I mean....... it didn't even cross my mind that I could be in labor. I was a day shy of 28 weeks!  The pain was getting worse and worse so after 3 hours I told Mike that I needed to go to the hospital. Something was wrong.

When I arrived at the triage, I was told I was 9 cm dilated! 9 cm? Don't women start pushing at that point?! We were told that they could see Tommy's feet and that I needed an emergency C-section fast! I remember looking at Mike and he had tears in his eyes. It was scary and chaotic, but I really didn't have time to think. I had to go into surgery in 45 minutes, and the pain from the contractions were a huge distraction. Oh, and YES contractions hurt! 

Now here's the thing. As scary as that day was, it was also the most exciting day of our lives. We both went full force into the whole experience! I knew it was early, but after meeting the NICU doctor I felt confident everything would be okay. So, there I was laying in the operating room in awe of the amount of people around me. Little did we know, with twins, we would have 2 doctors who each had 2 nurses to deliver the babies. Now add the anesthesiologist, NICU doctor and another 4 nurses and a couple other random people. It was NOT the birthing experience I was expecting, that's for sure! I turned to one of the nurses and said,"Where is my husband?" She said they were prepping him and he would be in soon. Before I knew it here comes Michael barreling through the door and he says," Sorry honey! I was trying to find more people to bring into the room!" Everyone laughed. Leave it to Michael to bring humor to the situation. Then, before we knew it, there they were. First Tommy, then Cali. Michael was taking pictures with his iphone of the whole experience. I glanced at the NICU doctor in my foggy state and eveything seemed calm. He looked at me with a reassuring smile and at that moment I knew everything was going to be okay. Of course Mike's phone ran out of battery, so one of the doctors gave him her phone. Very sweet of her! He took a few more pictures, and then they wrapped the babies up, brought them to me to kiss, and wisked them off to the NICU. They were the most beautiful, perfect little babies I had ever seen, and they were OURS!


That was a year ago, and as most of you know the story doesn't end there, but today is not the day to go into it. November 20th is, and always will be a day to celebrate.
Tommy got to blow out TWO candles. One for him and one for his sister. We will always light a candle for Cali. Even though she's no longer with us, we know she is here in spirit.
Happy Birthday to Tommy and our little angel baby Cali. We ♥ you!

Not all twins walk side by side, sometimes one has wings to fly.


6 comments

tracey ann burroughs said...

Wow. Beautifully said. Xo

Bonnie O'Connell said...

You are amazing always. We will never forget our little Cali...she is always with me.

Mama Up! said...

Beautiful - I work with parents of preemies and I love how you put it: Not all twins walk side by side, sometimes one has wings to fly. It's a reality of prematurity so many people don't know anything about.

Michelle said...

Happy Birthday Tommy!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful, you are amazing and Tommy is so cute day by day...
Kisses from Chile.
Pilar

Anonymous said...

So glad we could celebrate with Tommy! Sweet Cali will always be in our hearts. We love you guys! xoxo - The Riesens