Twinless Twin

“The arrow of a compass pulls to show where to go. The directions are always so precise until the compass breaks. The glass shatters when the dial falls through. What direction will you go then? After an ambulance and helicopter ride, I went into labor at 22 weeks and three days with my Di/Di twin boys. We experienced three hospitals within 24 hours. For survival, we went from 1% to 5% to 30%. But the boys heard that as a challenge and decided they should appear.

After 13 Minutes of labor, Thayne was born weighing around 14 ounces. Colter was not facing down so, they decided to keep Thayne's placenta in and wait it out. Imagine telling people you had your baby but still were pregnant. We had lots of questions from even nurses. After three days of resting, my water broke. When the doctor checked my cervix, Colter's head and arm were already out. The intercom started going off stating there was an emergency. Doctors sat between my legs as they ran me back to the OR. Once everyone started whispering, I knew something was not right. Colter got stuck, so they had to push him back in and turn him.

Colter was born at 1 pound and 2.7 ounces. Two days later, we lost him due to the severity of his brain bleeds. Our NICU journey now held our memory of losing Colter, while also watching Thayne fight for his life. Grieving while also trying to remain hopeful was the hardest battle I have been through. The stages of grief do not happen in order either. My husband was always at a different stage than I was. When they say it is a rollercoaster, don't doubt it for a second.

After 120 days, our baby is home. Thayne showed the whole NICU world how strong preemies are. Our 22-weeker went home on no oxygen, exclusively breastfeeding, and before his due date. We couldn't have asked for better NICU staff, they all became like family after 4 months of saving our boy. Our prayers were answered because God is our compass. Even if the path isn't clear, he is still the way.” NICU Mama, Taylor