We had a big surprise last night. Kjirsti began to have stronger and more frequent contractions than usual. After seeing the doctor on call, Kjirsti was whisked off to Labor & Delivery, and I got in the car to make the two-hour trip to LaCrosse. When I was 30 minutes away, Kjirsti called to say they were going to deliver the babies by c-section, and that they would wait for me.
I got to the hospital, hustled upstairs, and found Kjirsti getting ready for the surgery. I put on a disposable jumpsuit that made me look like the Easter bunny and followed Kjirsti into the operating room. I sat by Kjirsti's head and watched over a curtain as the doctors and nurses delivered the babies. It went very quickly. It took about 15 minutes from the time of the first incision to the delivery of the second baby. It was amazing to watch. The babies were taken straight to the NICU and were worked on there while Kjirsti was sewed up and sent back to her L & D room to recover.
After a couple hours, we got to see the babies. They are so tiny! They are in these amazing pods that regulate the heat and humidity and all sorts of things I don't understand. They are currently both intubated and requiring a little assistance breathing. They have begun to feed through a Gavage (sp?) tube. Here are their names, weights, etc.:
Clara Marcia Nilsen
Born 10:56pm, March 11, 2007
3 lbs. 2 oz., 15.5 inches
Elsie Doreen Nilsen
Born 10:57pm, March 11, 2007
2 lbs. 12 oz., 14.5 inches
We have chosen family names for our daughters. Clara was Kjirsti's grandmother, Marcia is Ryan's mother, Elsie was Ryan's great aunt, and Doreen was Kjirsti's mother.
We don't have very good photos yet, but here is a picture of Elsie and my hand, and one of Kjirsti with Clara and Elsie shortly after the delivery. More photos to come!
Thank you for all your prayers and support!
--Ryan
26 comments:
It is good to hear details. Congratulations on these wonderful additions to your family. I can't believe you have three kids now. It blows my mind. God has blessed you in so many ways and I look forward to the day when we can visit and see your expanding family. We love you all and will talk to you soon!!
It's good to know that Kjirsti is doing okay! :-) Congratulations on your new beautiful girls! I love the names....what a wonderful way to remember family members.
We are praying for you guys as you adjust to having the twins around and that both Kjirsti and the girls heal and just thrive so that everyone can come home soon.
congratultions!!! has owen seen the girls yet. i know right away when ryan called mom to tell that you guys had had them. mom was like, "no! our kidding" and i was like, i bet ryan and kjirsti had the girls. i can't wait to see them. well ttyl.
annie
Congratulations! Wow! What miracles those little girls are...and so precious! We are praying for you all.I can imagine how the grandparent's wish they could hold, love, and bond with them because I'm sure feeling that with our new grandson! God's blessings!
Oh wow! Congratulations! We will definitely be praying for continued growth and strength for those little girls and for the rest of the family! Amazing.
Congratulations guys! you have lots of new NICU lingo to learn. :) Get on that "kangaroo care" as soon as they let you. It works and heals your babies so much faster! The girls are about the same size as Hannah was at her birth. She was born at about 28-30 weeks and you would never know she was a preemie now with her fat legs and chubby cheeks. We are praying for you guys and your little babes - you will be amazed at how strong those little ones are!! God is good - all the time. :)
Congratulations! Thanks for the call this morning, and it's great to see the pictures! I'll be excited to see more! I've been thinking about you all day, praying for those sweet, tiny girls, and the nurses and doctors -that they'd make all the right decisions. Everyone here in blog-land will be excited to see the updates on how things are progressing with them! Talk with you soon ~Kari
Oh, I just enlarged the pictures. Wow!! To see Ryan's hand with Elsie's little one is amazing. You can really see her smallness. Then, to see the complete joy on Kjirsti's face looking at her daughters brought tears to my eyes. I'm such a sap! I've had LOTS of tears (joyful ones!) lately!
Congratulations! Your little girls are in our prayers (as well as you guys).
Congratulations on the safe delivery of the girls! We will be praying for these healing days to go quickly so that you can all be home together.
Congrats on the babies. We'll be praying for all of you and praying that they grow strong and healthy so you can all go home soon. God's blessings.
Praise the Lord! Ever since Marcia called on Sunday night to say Kjirsti was in labor, we have been praying...for all of you! Kaleb and Christian are excited to have 2 more second cousins! Kaleb couldn't believe how small the baby looked compared to Ryan's hand! God is good and we are thankful with you for your precious little gifts!
Love,
Steven, Rochelle, Kaleb and Christian Swensen
Congrats on the birth of your girls! I was so surprised to see that they are here, but so glad to hear that everything went well! We will continue to pray for them and you as you recover. We hope that they do well enough that you are able to take them home soon!
Wow! Congratulations! We will be keeping those precious little girls in our prayers. Praying they will be in your arms soon.
Congratulations! We can't believe that all these little cousins decided to be born on the same weekend! What a trip it has been for all the families involved.
You all are certainly in our prayers and thoughts. God is a mighty Deliverer and He will sustain each one of you in the days and hours ahead. It is so good to be able to trust in Him!
Congrats you guys! We are all praying for your beautiful little girls here in Washington. We will put you on the prayer chain for now so please know you are being prayed for all over the country!!! What an exciting time. Beth and Ross
Love you, Little Sis, and your precious family! We're praying for you all. Talk to you soon. Love, Dana, Aaron, Derek, & Darin
Congrats Ryan and Kjirsti! Seeing the pictures reminds me of seeing pictures of myself in 1987. I was born at 28 weeks weighing 2 lbs. 3 oz.
We'll be thinking and praying for you during this time.
Becca Johnson (Dan and Brenda too)
Wow! What a wonderful surprise! We are so thankful that both girls were delivered safely and that they are healthy. We hope that Kjirsti is feeling ok and that her recovery goes well! Congratulations you two!! Our best wishes to you both!
Congratulations! We'll be praying for all of you!
Congratulations! Wow nice job mommy we were so surprised to hear the news . Beautiful names.Owan is going to be a wonderful older brother and we can't wait until Mia can meet her new cousins.
Wow!!! Congratulations!!!!!
Love to you both!!
congratulations! We have all been praying for you out here since hearing about the twins! Love you!!
Congratulations! We are praising the Lord for the safe delivery of these two precious little girls and we will continue to lift them up in the days and weeks to come.
It's hard to find words to express the beauty of these tiny lives. All we can say is - Praise the Lord!
Congratulations on the birth of your new daughters! You will all be in our prayers. God's blessings on you all.
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