Since Danielle was under the influence of multiple drugs (magnesium, spinal, etc.) leading up to and during birth, she asked that I tell the story from my sober perspective.
I should probably start on the night of September 24th. Danielle and I were up all night. She was experiencing what I would call sever flu like symptoms, while I sat close by, helpless. Time crawled along and her contractions would not subside. Around 3am, Danielle finally mustered together enough energy to walk to the restroom; however, her magnesium sulfate drip and extreme exhaustion caused her blood pressure to crash. She passed out right after sitting up and I, of course, freaked out. After a frantic call to the nurse, a team of 7 people came rushing in. The scene was chaotic and resembled a medical tv drama. Thankfully, Danielle slowly recovered as they stopped her mag drip.
A few hours passed as Danielle was finally able to get some much needed sleep. Oddly, her contractions slowed down while she was off the drip.
I noticed Danielle's contractions picking up steam around 5am. I figured her contractions would start to calm down as the morning progressed, as this had been the pattern for the last couple of weeks. I decided to take a quick shower and at the same time Dr. Nilson showed up. He has a talent for showing up the minute I leave the room. He expressed his concern about her contraction pattern and suggested Danielle go back on mag. We decided, in accordance with the doctors advice, to wait a few hours and see if the contractions would calm.
Two hours passed and the contractions intensified. Once again, the mag drip was taking its toll. Dr. Nilson returned and suggested to proceed with the c section. Her contractions were frequent and intensifying, and the doctor felt that in the best case scenario Danielle might last two days. Worst case scenario was an hour or two. The benefits outweighed the tremendous risk of her cerclage tearing and water breaking unexpectedly. We made the decision to proceed with the procedure.
On the way to the operating room~ LOVED getting to see our moms, so thankful they were there at that exact moment.
At this moment, Danielle and I were trying to grasp onto the reality that our babies would be born on that day. We had been trying to prepare mentally for that moment for months. The best word to describe the situation is surreal.
After the spinal they let David come into the operating room...I felt instantly more at ease.
The c section was crazy and fast. Dr. Nilson announced the moment of incision and all of the babies were out in three minutes. He took an instant to hold up each baby just high enough so I could see, and also told me to peak over at the instant Estelle emerged while she was still in her water! Each baby let out a muffled cry, baby Dane's cry being the loudest. These three moments were the best of my life. My children were seeing the world for the first time and I was there to experience that as a father. I'm still adjusting to the fact that I am a dad. I'm sure my family is also.
Baby Dane with a mouth full of bubbles
Baby Estelle and Baby Betsy
Each child was quickly taken to the resuscitation room for triage. Once stabilized, they were wheeled across the hospital to the nicu. I had the privilege of following Dr. Jackson, our neonatologist, and my new daughter, Betsy, across the hospital to my babies' temporary home. Once in the nicu with Betsy, I patiently waited for the arrival of Estelle and Dane.
Baby Betsy on the way to the NICU
Once they arrived and the Dr informed me that they were all stable, my emotions finally caught up with me. I was overcome with an abundance of joy while simultaneously feeling an overwhelming sense of worry. What an introduction to parenthood!
Betsy's room, sweet thing has to be by herself because they do not have a triplet room :(
Dane and Estelle sharing a twin room right next door to their baby sister
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