My Mono-Mono Girls

by Gabriele Turley
(Clarksville, TN)

Well, I suppose you have to start at the beginning. And here's mine:

My husband is an infantry man in the Army. He was deployed for around 4 1/2 months when an RPG blew up near him and caused serious damage to his knee. (He's fine now) He came home shortly after on June 9, 2010. 2 days later we concieved babies.

Now with the Army they do not give you an ultrasound until you're 20 weeks. Yes it sucks. I had gone to a handful of appointments to hear my baby's heartbeat. They never picked up more than one...crazy huh? Well at 20 weeks i go in to have my ultrasound. The tech, jokingly, says lets go look at these twins. Well he jinxed me...lol. He tells us looks like you really are having twins and by the looks of it, they're identical.

Now I didn't know much about twins. Nor did i know what type of twins, other than identical, I was having. So they transferred me to a specialist who deals with twins down in Nashville. (Which is about 45 minutes away from where I live) I was 24 weeks when i got my appointment with my specialist. As they do their ultrasound there i find out i have mono-mono twins. And that they'd like to admit me into the hospital where they can monitor the growth of the twins.

So from 24 weeks until week 32 i was in Centennial Womens Hospital. In the High Risk Maternity Ward. I have to say it was nice, getting waited on hand and foot. I made good friends with alot of the nurses there. Actually one of the nurses (her name is Angie) was one of my first nurses, and took care of me, and also was one of the assisting nurses in delivering the girls.

For the first 6 weeks i was monitored every 8 hrs, for an hour. then the last the last 2 weeks it was bumped up to every 4 hours. It went soo smooth for me. When 32 weeks was getting near I scheduled the c-section date for the tuesday of my 32nd week so that my family could travel up from Oklahoma to be there. Coincidentally, the date was 1-11-11. At 10 am. (shoulda did it for 11, that woulda been awesome).

So here they come, At 10:01 am (Baby A) Adalyn Angela was born, 3 lbs 11 oz, 16 1/2 in. At 10:02 (Baby B) Emmalyn Michele was born, 3 lbs 13 oz, 16 3/4 in. Their umbilical cords were not tangled at all. They were in the NICU for exactly 4 weeks. They were on oxygen for 2 days then were able to breath on their own. They had jaundice, so they had the lamps on them, I was in the hospital for 5 days after i had them and was with them for hours every day. I helped change diapers and held their tiny hands when they had to get their IV's changed. I was very sad when i went home, but i had alot to do. You see, it was the first time I was home in months.

We still needed to get a bigger apartment, and move. So while I was home, I packed, and every day I'd leave at 11 so i could be there at noon when they got fed and changed. (I ignored the no driving rule, u can't keep me away from my girls)I also pumped so i would bring all my breastmilk for them. There was a point I had about 5 oz in each boob. lol! I was at the hospital every day they were in the hospital, except for 4 days. On 2 of those days we were moving, and the other 2 the roads were closed due to snow. I was very dedicated. I was told i was one of the only moms who was there as much as i was.

Eventually we got moved in and their room set up, and on February 8, they came home. Me and my husband literally drove through a blizzard to get to the girls, we stayed a night in the hospital, and came home. Now they are 6 months old, dominating baby food and rolling over. They are about 12 lbs now and healthy as ever. If you want to know anything more, dont hesitate to ask. (You can find me on facebook)