First Night Home

July 28^th brought us home to sleep for the first time in almost a week. First things first Monkey (our cat) was excited to see her mom.

MONKEY ASLEEP BETWEEN LAUREN'S LEGS

Coming through the front door brought us what seemed like a wave of emotions. Almost a week ago, we walked out the front door to head to the doctors office for a routine ultra sound. A time when we could hear the beating of our boys’ hearts, see their little organs and extremities take shape and the progression from the week before. Seeing the couch where Lauren spent the last five weeks doing her best trying to keep the babies in the safest spot possible. The book what to expect when expecting, our calendar full of appointments and planning, the paint chips for their bedroom, and mostly the memory of those four little arms and four little legs pushing and kicking inside Lauren’s belly, gone, just a memory. Just a memory, with nothing to replace the emptiness we now felt as the boys lay in an incubator and we walk in to our home helpless to the fact that all we can do is pray and hope that Carter and Easton are in the hands of only the best, most skilled professionals. We, the two of us were at a place, not home, but a house where we finally recognized the surroundings and could breathe. As we lay helplessly in bed we did the only things we could. I prayed for our family like we had done every night since the time we found out we were pregnant and Lauren pumped. The two things parents could do and we did it to the very best of our abilities, as if someone’s life depended on it, because not one life did but two.

A phone call to the Hospital around 11:30 pm brought a sigh of relief as we told the nurse our secret pin number to verify who we were. The information seemed to bring us a calming sensation, to let us take that deep breath. Carter had been completely weaned off the Dopamine and was on room air, the ventilator, only assisting him in is breathing, not breathing for him. His Co2 levels were at an acceptable range and his blood sugar levels at a point where the insulin was not needed. Easton had had continued his recovery from the surgery, his tattoo was now pasted to the side of his incubator. Easton’s levels were able to satisfy the doctors to move him from the oscillator to the ventilator. Easton is still in need of a PICC line as we draw closer to that 7 day mark where infection becomes a risk with his umbilical IV line.

But the best news was that the boys were continuing to make progress.    

CARTER HOLDING MOMMY'S THUMB

EASTON ON VENTILATOR

CARTER BUNDLED UP

Easton's Surgery Day

Tuesday July 26 th, we decided along with the information given by Dr. Chiou, that Carter would be the first of the twins to get the P.D.A. ligation (patent ductus arteriousus). So just a reader's digest version of a P.D.A.  but feel free to google it later.

P.D.A. is a congenital disorder in the heart wherein the babies artery duct fails to close after birth. Symptoms include increased work of breathing and poor weight gain.

So back to the story, Carter was lined up as a fill in on the surgeon's schedule, However the surgeon was delayed in the O.R. all afternoon. Carter was not to get the surgery Tuesday. Over night things changed, as many know at this stage things change hour by hour and minute by minute. When we had our Dr. consult on the morning of July 27 th, Dr. Chiou felt comfortable with the positive effect the dopamine was having on Carter's Blood pressure. So the next topic was to add Easton as a fill in on the surgeon's schedule. By the 4:30 care time (diaper changes and temperature checks) Dr. Du Bois the pediatric surgeon was in the room prepping the NICU to be his new O.R. Easton was on fair amount of machines this time and they felt it was critical leave him in the NICU. Dr. Du Bois felt confident in the operation and described how he would make a small incision on Easton's back, left side, move the precious little lung to the side and place a clamp around the duct, careful not to puncture the lung or heart. NO PROBLEM RIGHT, just like playing operation, which i sucked at and hoped he didn't.

By 5pm the anesthesiologist had let me lay my hands on my son, give him a kiss and off i was. As Lauren and I sat there, all we could do was pray and wonder. One hour and twenty minutes later we saw the first signs of completion as Carter's Nurse Theresa Came out and told us from her perspective everything went good for Easton and that the surgeon was charting and would talk to us soon. A few minutes later, Dr. Du Bois knocked on our family bedroom just three doors down from the room that our two precious boys were being so cautious watched over. "Surgery was a success and had gone as good as i could have hoped for." The next few hours will be critical (as if the past few days hadn't) as we needed to watch bleeding or gas buildup in his precious little body.

After the Doctor had left our room we couldn't help but thank our father in heaven who so graciously looked over or miracle just down the hall. As we entered the NICU we noticed our 5 day old son had received his first of many scars and hopefully his one and only TATTOO. the surgeon had taken the time to draw a little picture on his little bandage, something we found out later he enjoys doing as one of his little trademarks. The joy of knowing that the surgeon enjoyed his job and cared about his patients enough to take the time to give them a tattoo was overwhelming, we truly knew that someone was looking out for us and our family.

Today July 28th we were advised that over night Easton's stats had gotten better even though a PICC line has still not been established. Easton has been weaned off the Nitric oxide completely and will be taken off the oscillator and be place on a conventional ventilator  soon.  

A special Thank You...

I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of those that helped me get through my five weeks of bedrest. For those who sat with me during countless hours of boring TV shows, who crocheted blankets for my boys, brought me warm meals, made me yummy treats, and provided magazines and other things to keep me occupied...
I give you a thank you from the bottom of my heart for you truly made this trying time a whole lot easier.

To Kendall,
My amazing sister,
I could not have done it with out you while Steven was gone. From making me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and knowing you had soo much more you could have been doing. You graciously spent hours upon hours looking out for my best interest and the best interest of your nephews. To never hear you mummer or complain, you so lovingly helped me with anything I asked, you have done more in the past few months than I could have ever asked for. I only hope you will be blessed as much as you have blessed me. Thank you and I love you soo much.
-Lauren

Our Journey

First and foremost, Thank you so much for all of your love and support so far in the beginning of this journey. We really feel your love.
Starting from the the we were married we knew we wanted to have children. For the last two and a half years, having children has been our top priority. In 2010 we used the fertility drug clomid for six months with no success. In January 2011 we decided the time was right and began the I.V.F. Process. For eighteen days Lauren was taking stem medicine (five shots a day) to produce as many eggs as possible. On February 13th, We had sixteen eggs successfully retrieved. Thanks to Dr. Vu and the wonderful staff at Kaiser Permanente's Point West facility, we had six "grade A" embryo's ready for implantation after five days. Due to a last minute push by Steven, we decided to implant two embryo's on February 19 th, saving the other four embryo's for more babies at a later date.

On March 5, 2011 Lauren and I found the news we had been hoping for, PREGNANT with TWINS!!!

Now as a side note, sometimes during I.V.F. a side effect of having the eggs retrieved, is that your body wants to replace those eggs with fluid. Most of the time a person can eat lots of protein and through urination, get rid of that fluid build up. Lucky for Lauren, her body could not filter the fluid fast enough, and she went from looking three weeks pregnant to looking six months pregnant. Lauren had a tap, where they removed the fluid with a needle from the abdomen. The first tap successfully removed over 5 liters of fluid. Now I say first time because Lauren was so fortunate that her body really wanted that fluid there. The second tap, a week later resulted in an additional 3 liters being removed. Between the taps and Steven being under soo much stress (ha ha) I took off with Russ and Kyle (Lauren's father and brother) to March Madness in Arizona, so my love and support had to be over the phone.

When Lauren was approximately 12 weeks pregnant, she started the second round of bedrest, the first being after she was inseminated. After a week, Lauren was able to return to work. During week sixteen we had made an appointment to go to Sonotech to get an ultrasound revealing the gender of our babies. "TWIN BOYS" read the caption of our facebook pages as the excitement stirred in the family. The Wunderli's were estatic to have their first grandsons and the Klippel's were glad to see karma coming back to Steven.

Starting week nineteen, Lauren and i went to the doctor to get our week 19 ultrasound and have them tell us the gender of our boys, which we already knew thanks to sonotech at week sixteen. While finding the gender of our boys we were informed that Lauren had a shortened cervix. Normally the cervix should be around 4 centimeters, while Lauren's was right around 1 1/2 centimeters. Lauren had also been experiencing contractions from pre-term labor. This visit also brought us to bedrest round three. Lauren was on bedrest Friday through Monday.

Lauren at 19 weeks

Monday June 20th we had a follow up appointment with a high risk specialist who delivered another hit below the belt. The specialist informed us that the cervix was beginning to funnel as the amnionic fluid pressed closer to the end of the cervix. We were advised that our only option at this point was a cerclage. Lauren was then admitted to the labor and delivery department at Kaiser Roseville. After the surgery and a four day stay we were advised Lauren would be on bedrest (round four) until the babies were born. The L&D doctors shared the saddening news that the chances of keeping these babies to a viable stage would take a miracle. Lauren fought harder than ever to be the best bedrest mom you had even seen, rarely showering and spending countless hours in bed or on the couch. Each week we surprised the Doctors as we showed up for our scheduled appointments still pregnant.

Twenty three weeks was the landmark of landmarks, we were told that would be the very soonest we needed to carry these babies to have a chance at keeping them. Friday July 22nd at 2pm we showed up to yet again prove the doctors wrong as we had successfully hit the landmark WEEK 24, that very day! While in the ultrasound room Dr. Moreno-Hunt began an ultrasound heard through our little world. To put it in the Dr's words "oh no" the amnionic sac had pushed through the cervix and partially through the cerclage stitch. With no time to wait we were rushed to the Labor and Delivery room 221, where Lauren was put into a trendelenberg position. Magnisium sulfate was given to Lauren to help keep the pregnancy going and prayers were said. Lauren had been dying of on and off back pain which undetected by the sonar was found to be "back labor". At this point the Doctors said the inevitable, "we are going to be having twins tonight." By 7pm Lauren was dilated to an eight. Around 7:30 pm we met with a group of doctors who strongly suggested that a natural birth would be the way to go, with the best outcome for the direction the babies were positioned and for future pregnancies. Lauren requested an epidural at this point and was given two as the first one had little to no effect on her lower body.

At approximately 9pm Lauren was rolled into the operating room and a football team of Doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, NICU staff, and anastesialogists formed a tight huddle around my wife to formulate a game plan to remove the cerclage and safely deliver the twins. At 9:30 operation "save the babies" began. Success first started as the cerclage was removed, and Lauren had gathered about an inch of my forearm under her nails, as she dug in from the immense pain of a failed second epidural. One step down, three to go. "Let's get ready to push" said the doctor. And a sudden hush and humming of whispers started when the doctor yelled in a silent room "stop pushing and call a code C." this is where I turned white and was rushed out of the O.R. I couldn't bear to think to leave my wife as she was prepped for an emergency C-section. As I exited the room I heard the doctor tell Lauren that baby A's umbilical cord was prolapsed (coming out first) and the doctor was actually pushing His head back in to keep him from getting tangled or twisted in the cord. Everything went from smooth sailing to a sudden storm, people rushing in and out of the O.R. Alarms going off and curtains drawing closed. Lauren recalls having a knife test to see if she could feel the point of the blade as the incision began. Lauren stated she could feel the blade and the anesthesiologist gave her a general, knocking her out for the rest of the procedure. Lauren recalled a voice telling her it was over and that she had two baby boys in the NICU.

Side step for a minute, you know when you are in the hospital and that nice womans mono-tone voice comes over the loud speaker and says calmly "code C to O.R. 1" yeah well that is all I heard as I sat in the recovery room, the place I was supposed to be sitting with my wife and newborn children somewhere around, I don't know, week 36 maybe...

Back to the action.

At 9:47 pm July 22nd coming into this world at an astonishing 1 pound 10.7 ounces and an impressive 13 inches was the first of two, Mr. Carter Steven Klippel.

At 9:48 pm July 22nd coming into this world at heavy 1 pound 8.5 ounces and a "just shy of his brother" 12 1/4 inches was the second of two, Mr. Easton John Klippel.

AND SO OUR JOURNEY BEGINS...