Complications

I realized some of you are more aware than others in the complications with the pregnancy.  It turns out having twins is not always as simple as just having two kids.  In our case, the boys are identical and shared one placenta.  Eli's umbilical cord implanted right in the middle of the placenta and Jack's way on the end.  This meant Eli had a greater share of the nutrients.  Doctors suspected Eli's share was two thirds to three quarters and Jack had whatever was left.  Compounding/likely related to location, Jack had a two vessel cord compared to the normal three.  This all resulted in weekly ultrasounds and Kristin being on bed rest starting at 21 weeks.  We were told at the 24 week appointment that the next goal would be to get to 28 weeks.  At 28 weeks, they would then balance the risk of leaving Jack in the womb compared to delivering Eli prematurely when he did not need to be.  They also told Kristin at some point she would likely be hospitalized for more frequent monitoring once Jack's blood flow began to drop even more.  Finally, they said if she made it to 34 weeks the party would likely be over and the boys would be delivered by c-section.

Upon delivery, it turned out there were even more complications than could be told by the ultrasound.  Not only was Jack's cord on the edge of the placenta, but blood vessels stretched beyond the tissue of the placenta to where the cord started.  I guess this creates a danger in the womb as the vessels are less protected and can easily tear or pinch and cause intrauterine death.  Thankfully, this never caused an issue.  We also got to see (thought about posting pic, but I will spare you!) the placenta after delivery.  Eli's cord was twice the diameter of Jack's and Jack's even bottlenecked some more where it connected to the blood vessels at the placenta.

All in all, we are thanking the Lord these boys were born as outcomes may have been different had the labor been stopped and the pregnancy continued.