Our twin boys were born on January 4th, 2018. They were admitted to the NICU immediately after their birth. They were taken via a crash c-section due to a slow fetal heart rate for one of them. Argon & Aldridge were born at 32 weeks, so it was a little bit weird watching them grow on the outside of my body. This is what our NICU experience was like in pictures.
We got to see the babies for the first time, 6 hours after they were born. We are parents to 7, but have never had a baby in the NICU before. Being a newborn photographer, I was no stranger to premature babies, but I didn't know what it felt like to see my own baby in the hospital like this, without being able to hold him.
The isolette was their first home. These boxes kept them safe from germs. Once they were strong enough, they were moved to the traditional hospital bassinet.
Although I wasn't able to hold them, they made sure to show me that they knew I was there.
I was finally able to hold them, first - one at a time, but once I was able to hold them together, it all felt real. The hospital recommended lots of skin-to-skin contact to help the babies grow strong.
The days were long at the hospital, but there was no place I'd rather be. I loved going to see them and I know that they loved having me, because when I was there - their numbers were much better.
We did a lot of holding, and every day seemed like a big one, with milestones and growth.
It bothered me to see the babies in their own bassinets, I would hold them together as often as I could because they were calm when they were next to one another.
Bathtime was fun, they had little bins that would be filled with water, they loved bathtime.
toward the end of their time in the hospital, they outgrow the tubs.
This is what the boys look like now;
As you can see, they're just like babies who were born at 40 weeks!
