Emerson and Nolan were born to proud parents Courtney and Tyler at just 26 weeks 3 days gestational age. Weighing only 1lbs .8oz and 1lbs 14oz, these twins have overcome so many obstacles. Check out their story below.
Share your pregnancy journey. Were you expecting NICU time or was it unexpected?
We became pregnant with twins after a long fertility journey, a miscarriage, and three medicated IUIs. The pregnancy was somewhat bumpy from the start, with two large subchorionic hematomas that caused a bit of bleeding and multiple ER visits. The hematomas eventually resolved, and everything went smoothly for a little while, until we started to notice a growth discordance between the twins (one twin was larger than the other). This discordance kept growing larger, and at around 23 weeks, our high risk OB started to notice that Baby B had some absent end diastolic flow (in other words, the blood flow in his umbilical cord would intermittently stop). As this started to get worse he prepped us to transfer to another hospital with a higher level NICU, and the name of the game was to keep the babies in for as long as possible. At around 25 and a half weeks they decided to admit us to the hospital for closer monitoring and they prepped us for the potential to have two very preterm babies. At just after 26 weeks B's cord flow became reversed, and they gave us another rescue course of steroids and made the decision to go forward with a c-section at 26w 3d. They've been in the NICU since then.
Share your NICU journey so far. How long have you been there? What obstacles have the twins overcome?
We've been in the NICU since the babies were born on August 10th, 2022, and it's been a roller coaster ever since. The twins have overcome so much. For our little one, his biggest issue has been his lungs. His first obstacle when he was born was getting him incubated. It took three doctors four tries in the OR when they were delivered to get his breathing tube in. They used the smallest size they had, and once they got it in, he was intubated for about a month before they were able to extubate him. He had to spend some time on a high frequency jet ventilator and needed a round of steroids to get off of that, and he's been on cpap ever since - we're hoping to take more steps with his respiratory support very soon. For our bigger boy, he's had to overcome a lot of concerns with his belly. We were concerned about NEC and there were a few times when we had to give his belly a break and just give him fluids through an IV with no food in his belly. After a lot of work and a long bowel regimen, he's taking a good chunk of his feeds now via breast or bottle (though he still has some rough belly days)
What do you want people to know about having two newborns in the NICU?
Having two newborns in the NICU is unlike anything we've ever been through. For the first few days (and weeks), I barely had the capacity to respond to people. Everybody wanted an update (understandably), but I sometimes just didn't have it in me to respond to text messages and I straight up ignored some of my closest friends and family members. I was spending all of my time in the NICU, pumping, eating, sleeping, caring for the babies, holding them (once I was able to do so), trying not to cry or worry or lose my mind. It's the hardest thing I've ever gone through and there's no right thing to say. The most helpful things that people did were buy us food (and just drop it off and not expect to stay and us to entertain them), and do our dishes for us/help straighten up the house. People wanted to hang early on, and we just weren't able to do so. So I think I want people to know that if you don't hear back from a NICU parent, give them grace and understand that their whole world has changed and their sole focus is what's going on with their baby. Celebrate each ounce gained with them and just offer support with nothing needed in return.
Update: November 2022
We actually were FINALLY able to bring Nolan home! He's doing really well here so far and we're loving every second of it! Emerson still has a ways to go, but he's made some good weans on his respiratory support, and he's gaining weight really well! We're hopeful that he'll be coming home by the end of the year.
Tiny But Mighty
Your NICU Journey
Tiny But Mighty sessions are a mix of documentary and lifestyle portraits that capture your baby and life in the NICU. Our mission is to bring a bit of joy and normalcy to NICU families, while raising awareness of NICU life. These sessions are 100% complimentary for families with babies in a Rochester NY hospital.
