24 weeks

By the time we arrived in the delivery room it was a few short hours before our 24 week mark. It certainly didn't slip my mind that if we hadn't had the change in time (due to us going from daylight savings to regular time) or if we had delivered in Ontario instead of BC things would have been slightly different timing wise, and maybe even life altering for some of us. Instead, we played with the cards that we were dealt and so we were prepared to lose one of our babies and in our hearts we were so optimistic that despite the pending loss, we were doing everything we could to save one of our babies.

We were told that to best protect Baby A (and hope for labour to stop after Baby B was born) I couldn't push out Baby B (as it could cause the uterus to continue contracting) and that because Baby B was breech we were told he would probably get stuck in the birth canal and would probably be still born.

To our amazement, Dayne Edward came out fairly quick and even tried to take in a few breaths (Dwayne almost missed his birth by going to the bathroom).

He was beautiful. Born at 2:47 am, Dayne Edward weight 735 g (1lb 10 oz).

Though you could see the effects of the pPROM (he had a club foot, a turned in leg, slightly squished nose and no fat on his cheeks due to the pressure in utero) he was absolutely perfect in every way and each and every one of those effects would have been easily corrected over time had he been born just a few weeks later.

His heart beat for an amazing 1 hour and 20 minutes. Could we have saved him if the doctors had tried to do everything possible?? Who knows. The doctors certainly weren't prepared for a live baby and certainly weren't prepared for such a big baby. We still don't know how developed his lungs were due to the lack of fluid. Regardless, we are forever grateful that we got to love him and hold him while he was alive rather than have him hooked to tubes and needles in the NICU only to lose him later due to his extreme prematurity and the effects of his ruptured membrane.

Dayne had so many features of his Dad. He had his dad's straight nose, his lips, his hair colour and his hair line. We are so proud of him. His will to fight and live for so long despite the odds that were stacked against him.

Following Dayne's birth the docs administered the steroids in the hopes that we could mature Baby A lungs. Though 48 hours is ideal, even having the baby get 4 hours of the steroids is known to make a huge difference in their chance of survival at this early stage.

5 hours later (after continuously telling people that I could feel Baby A moving further and further down) the docs finally checked Baby A using an ultrasound. Yes, Baby A had moved well into the birth canal...unfortunately, there was no heart beat.

Daniel David (very surprised and pleased with another boy) was born sleeping at 8:32 am. Weighting 725 g (1 lb 9.5 oz), he was perfect in everyway and he took after his mom with his turned up nose, dark, low hairline (that strangely ran into his eyebrows) and the overall shape of his head. Though he would have very much been a replica of his mom, he had his dad's lips. His cheeks were chubby and though he stayed rather dark due to not getting oxygen, he too was simply gorgeous.


Dayne (left) and Daniel (right) (click to enlarge photos)



The remainder of the day was spent talking to and holding our babies, taking pictures and dressing them into tiny outfits made with love and donated by some very thoughtful stranger. We took footprints of each boy and made every effort to remember each and every detail of how they looked.



We will never forget November 7th. It will forever be in our hearts as the day we witnessed unconditional love for each other and our boys but also a day we learned how precious life really is.

We are blessed that we were able to hold our baby boys their entire lives. They brought us so much joy and filled us with absolute wonder.



It is absolutely true that life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.