t good. The day before was what I came to refer to a Milestone Thursday - and on that particular Thursday I'd made it to 29 weeks! That Thursday night, I had some contractions, but nothing serious, nothing concerning to me or the doctors. As they'd told me so many times before, I was expected to contract but as long as I didn't dilate, there was no issue. During the morning and early afternoon on Friday I felt fine. Mike went home to take care of some laundry and other errands that needed get done. He was only gone for a few hours and by the time he was on his way back, everything had changed. I can't quite remember the times very accurately. It all seems to blend together in one big blur now, but at approximately 4pm I started to have contractions. These contractions were so different than the ones I'd been having for so many weeks prior. These contractions were painful and very consistent. One quick check of my cervix and sure enough, I was 5cm dilated, 100% effaced, and on my way to labor and delivery. In an effort to stop the contractions they gave me a dose of Indocin, a medication that had worked to stop my contractions a couple times before. Mike walked into the room just in time as they transported me from the room that had become my home to the labor and delivery unit. I was only in labor and delivery for about an hour before they realized that the Incodin couldn't help me this time. I was in active labor with contractions every 2-4 minutes and now 6cm dilated. Deliv
ery was eminent. The nurse handed Mike a pair of scrubs and suddenly it all became very real. Wow, this is actually happening! By 7:15pm I was being prepped for a semi-emergent c-section and my water broke. By 7:30pm I was in the operating room getting a spinal. Mike had to wait outside while they finished getting me ready, for what he says felt like forever. Then he came into the operating room and it was time to meet our baby girls. At only 2lbs and 14 1/2 inches long, Baby A, Madison made her grand entrance first, at 7:40pm. She came out white as a ghost and only making a few short, very soft cries. At 2lbs 12oz and 15 inches long, Baby B, Melia made her grand entrance only 1 minute later at 7:41pm. I was allowed to see them very quickly.I wished them each a happy birthday and then they were off to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with a team of doctors and the new proud daddy following behind to make sure they were okay. 
Madison needed to be intubated immediately in the delivery room as she wasn't able to breathe on her own and she was placed on a ventilator when she arrived in the NICU. While her lungs were premature, she didn't require any medication to assist her lung development. She needed a blood transfusion that night due to her red blood cell count being low. She was given antibiotics and placed under a phototherapy light for jaundice. Extensive testing was done throughout the night in order to determine the exact level of treatment that Madison would require.
Melia was able to breathe on her own for a short while, but once in the NICU she was placed on a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) which blows air into the nasal passages at a prescribed pressure through a mask placed over the nose. Melia's lung were a bit more premature than Madison's, and so she was placed on a medication called Surfactant which is used to help her lungs mature. Similar to Madison, she was put on antibiotics and extensive overnight testing was done in order to figure out what else Melia would require to thrive outside of the womb.
After finishing my time in recovery, the nurses wheeled my bed through the NICU so that I could see the girls for a brief moment. It was completely surreal and unfortunately, like most of that night, it's pretty foggy in my head. Tomorrow would be another roller coaster of a day....
And now, for Daddy's take....
Friday June 5th changed forever for me right around 6 o'clock that night. That is about the time I remember the doctor doing the second check of Amanda's cervix, and then asking for a second NICU nurse to be paged in. Right after that, I was being handed scrubs. I asked if these needed to be put on immediately, and was told yes. I get into the bathroom, and frantically started getting dressed. It was at this very moment that a I started to feel a huge rush. I then realized I was going to be a dad today. The concern of the previous 29 weeks left me then, and a new feeling of joy took its place. I came out of the bathroom, only to be hounded by the paparazzi (actually, it was just my sister, taking a few quick pictures). Amanda was very emotional at this point, but all the doctors reaffirmed to her what a great job she had done. They were great about it, and they were right. We showed up at St. Barnabas 6 weeks earlier and had to meet with a neonatologist around the 23rd week. We were being asked if we wanted them to do everything possible for our babies. That was a scary moment. But now, we had reached 29 weeks, and honestly, I was pretty confident that my girls were strong enough to make it at this point.
Amanda then gets wheeled into the room were she is going to deliver. Unfortunately they leave dads out of this event. Dads have to stand outside the door that reads "Restricted" and wait while our wives get prepped for birth. It was one of the worst parts of our stay at St. Barnabas. I am pacing back and forth, and staring through the little glass window on the door looking like a puppy at the vet. It felt like hours. At one point, a worker in the hospital passes me and asks "nervous?".
Finally I get a wave from the anesthesiologist and I come rushing in. They are in the middle of the show already, and things are happening quickly. There were about 15 people in the room. But I get low behind the blue curtin, and check on Amanda. She is shaking, and looks a little out of sorts, but she is holding strong. No more than 10 minutes later and we are introduced to baby A(Madison). I'm slightly concerned, because I dont hear much noise. Then there is a splash on the other side of the curtin (they needed to break baby B's water). Shortly after, I hear some crying, and see that baby B (Melia) had entered the world. Amanda and I both just keep staring at the tables to see how our girls are doing. Melia sounded great, and the nurses told me I could come over and take some pictures. I then turned, and they allowed a quick picture of Madison, but I could tell they had their hands full with her, because the blue bag was out, and she needed immediate assistance to breath. The nurses then let mommy see the girls quickly, and we then headed to the NICU. I could tell there was concern, with the pace they wanted Madison moved.
Once in the NICU, it felt like a million things were happening at once. I'm sure with one baby alot goes on, but with two getting there at the same time, it felt a little chaotic. One nurse pulled me to the side, and saw the look in my eyes, and assured me everything was ok. She told me what they needed to do to each baby. Madison needed assistance breathing, and was going to be placed on a ventilator. Melia was breathing on her own, but needed CPAP. It felt like things were happening at a 100 miles an hour, and I really wished I had Amanda there.
Once the babies were stabilized, I went to check on Amanda. My timing was perfect, as she was being wheeled to the recovery room. She looked pretty put together, considering what had just happened only an hour ago. I then went outside to meet with my mo
m, my sister, my father-in law, and rosie (unfortunately, not everyone that we would've liked to have been there was able to make it, like Amanda's mom, because everything happened so quickly that we just weren't able to get everyone there in time). I informed them that both babies were healthy, and were in the process of getting acclimated to the NICU. Amanda was able to see the girls briefly, as the nurses wheeled her through the NICU, and I'm still mad at myself for not snapping a picture at that moment. Everyone present was able to meet Madison & Melia that night. It was truly an amazing night. I'm not articulate enough to try and do justice to the feelings that were going through me at the time of their births, but I will say, I will never be the same.
