The Burkett Bundle

Finding out I was pregnant was wonderful! Finding out I was having twins was wonderful, but a little stressful. I knew they were going to come early, but we didn't know how early. We were hoping to make it to at least 34 weeks, but God had other plans.

From the beginning of the pregnancy, I was nervous. We didn't tell people I was pregnant until after the first trimester, but if I could have hid it, I would have waited until after 24 weeks. That was the magic number for me - the age of viability. I didn't want to talk about names until then. I didn't want to think about buying a mini-van until then. I didn't want to buy nursery furniture or clothes or anything else. I kept saying the last thing I want is a minivan and no babies to put in it.

The first 20 weeks went perfectly. The babies were growing well. I had no morning sickness. They were moving around a lot. Everything looked good in the anatomy scan. We were having a boy and a girl. I was finally starting to feel like things would be ok. At the 20-week appointment, though, I was told I had gestational diabetes. Not necessarily a bad thing, but for a picky eater who was terrified of needles, it did take some work. Because of the diet, I was not losing weight, but I wasn't gaining at the same rate as the babies. In the books I'd read, it said I needed to gain 40-50 lbs to have healthy twins, and I had only gained 18 pounds by 24 weeks.

When we went in for the 24-week appointment (which was actually closer to 25 weeks), I was a little worried, but thankful that we had hit the magic 24-week mark. That was when the bad news started. My cervical length was down to 1.5 cm. The doctors wanted it to be between 3 and 5 cm. I was immediately put on strict bed rest at home and the doctor ordered a home monitoring system for me. This appointment was on a Thursday, and I first used the monitor on Friday night. It showed no contractions, so I went to bed feeling pretty good. The next morning it showed 5 contractions in one hour, and the doctor said to go to Labor and Delivery to be checked out. I told Jason that I didn't think I'd be coming home that day, but I never dreamt I'd be at the hospital for three weeks.

The hospital monitors showed more contractions, so they started an IV of Magnesium Sulfate. The next three days were very blurry. I was "magged out" as the nurses called it. I had Jason keep the room at 60 degrees and I was still hot. I could barely eat and I wasn't allowed out of bed at all. I could only lay on my side and watch the contractions going on the monitor.

We had a fetal-fibronectin test done, and it came back negative. We were told if it came back positive, there was a good chance that I would deliver within the next two weeks, so a negative result put us a little at ease. The doctors didn’t seem to have as much faith as we did, because I was given a shot of Celestone to help boost the babies' lung development, in case they were born within the next few days.

The Celestone sent my blood sugar through the roof, so for a week, the nurses took over my care. They had to prick my finger every two hours and give me all of my insulin injections. Since I needed to eat on a schedule, sometimes waiting for the nurses to come in and give the insulin was very, very inconvenient and possibly unhealthy. I lost six pounds the first two weeks I was in the hospital, but the babies were continuing to grow well.

Two nights later, we had a consult from the neonatologist. That was probably the scariest night of my life. Blind...brain damage...deaf...75% chance of something wrong...crippled...vegetable... before 26 weeks the option of a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate). I couldn't believe she was talking about my babies. Of course, we told her absolutely not on the DNR. These were our children and we would cherish whatever God gifted us with.

On the fourth day, I was placed on a terbutaline pump. This was just a needle that went into my thigh and put a constant stream of the medicine in me to help control the contractions. At this point, I was allowed to get out of bed only to use the bathroom, with a warning that my water may break, so to be very careful.

From that moment on, even after the "mag", I was almost too scared to move. I didn't want to get out of bed to use the bathroom, as they had scared me about the possibility of my water breaking and needing an immediate C-section since Kyran was breach and the weight from Karyssa would surely start to push him out. I was ready for them to just hang me upside down from my toes and leave me there until February.

The days dragged on and all I could think about was my babies. I didn't really want visitors, I couldn't see the TV without straining my neck. I could barely concentrate on a book enough to read. I did a lot of praying and sleeping, and I listened to my "baby" playlist that I had created right after I got pregnant. I did get peace from God that everything was going to be ok, but I was still scared.

By the time I was sent home, I was ready to leave the hospital. I had made it over 27 weeks with only a half centimeter change in my cervix, and the doctors felt confident in my ability to monitor myself. It also helped that we only lived 10 minutes from the hospital. The next two weeks were much better, as I was allowed to get up to get my food and could lay on the couch and watch TV, and sleep in my own bed with Jason.

I was shooting for at least 32 weeks, maybe 34. Jason decorated the house for Christmas. My mom and one of my best friends threw me a baby shower. I vaguely remember all of these events now, but I do remember being happy to be home.

We had a follow-up appointment scheduled for December 19. I was both nervous and excited. At 29 and a half weeks, I had already made it much longer than everyone predicted and truly believed that I would be coming home after my appointment. But the appointment brought bad news. Two cm dilated and 75% effaced. I was going straight back to the hospital, and back on the "mag".

The good news was that in the five weeks that I was on bed rest, the babies had doubled in size, growing from around 1.5 lbs to about 3 lbs each, according to the ultrasound.

At first, the "mag" didn't seem to help, and I was sure our babies were coming that day. But it was two mornings later when I woke up and ordered breakfast, just to have the nurse come in, give me a shot and tell me not to eat until after the doctor had examined me. Jason had just come in at that point, and we waited for the doctor together. The examination showed I was 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Because Kyran was still breach, that meant one thing...emergency c-section.

We called my parents and they came over immediately. Jason's dad was also on his way down and would be there in five or six hours. As scared as I had been during the last five weeks, an almost eerie calm came over me. We had another consult with the neonatologist and it was much more postive, although still very uncertain. This time we were talking about when, not if, they would come home.

While we were sitting in there, I asked to see the pictures of the most recent ultrasound and someone, I'm not sure who, noticed that on each baby there was a shadow that looked like a man's hand. I knew that was God's way of letting us know that they were in His hands.

They wheeled me into the operating room and I was still very calm. From the beginning, I knew that the likelihood of a c-section was very strong. Both babies would have to be head down for a normal delivery, and even then Karyssa could have flipped after Kyran was delivered, making the need for a c-section anyway. Before the bed rest, I was worried about the c-section...the pain, recovery...everything. That morning, all I could think about was Karyssa and Kyran.

They sent Jason out of the room to do the epidural, and that, which had scared me so much, was nothing. So much so that when the first one didn't work enough, I didn't even mind that they had to do a second. I think that the "mag" helped it not hurt a little, and I was so numb during the second one that I didn't feel it at all. Then, Jason was back in the room and they went to work. Just a couple of minutes later at 11:17 a.m., Kyran Jason Burkett was born, weighing 3 lb, 4 oz and measuring 15 3/4 inches. I held my breath while I waited to hear that first cry. Although it was soft, he did cry, and so did I. Almost immediately, I heard the nurse say "11:18, no, make that 11:19", and I knew that Karyssa Josilyn Burkett had entered the world, weighing 2 lb, 11 oz and measuring 15 inches. Her first cry was also soft, but beautiful.

I wasn't able to see them until they wheeled them out of the room, both in plastic bags inside their isolettes. I saw Karyssa's beautiful face as they wheeled her by, and actually was able to touch Kyran's arm, although I couldn't see his face. Jason followed them to the NICU as they finished up with me and took me to recovery, where he was waiting with pictures and video when I woke up.

I learned that they were doing well and their APGAR scores had been pretty good. Kyran went from a 5 to a 9 in the first five minutes, and Karyssa from a 6 to an 8.

On the way from recovery to my room, they wheeled me into each baby's room, so that I could see and touch them.

It would be a month before we were all together as a family in one room, but in my heart, we were all together, and I learned a new meaning of true love.