The waiting time is long..
In early 2019, I had stumbled along the corridors of the women's clinic, sometimes to examinations, sometimes hurriedly from the emergency room to the delivery room, back home and back to the ward. In January, we received confirmation that our fraternal twin daughters were in danger, their shared placenta was not providing nutrition evenly to each of them and soon we were on the operating table, fearing the worst. Laser surgery was used to correct the situation, although it exposed the risk of labor starting. Since the pregnancy was very few weeks old, and the fetuses were small, the decision was made that resuscitation measures would not be taken when labor started.
When the surgery was over, the doctor checked to make sure both of their hearts were beating, then the monitors were turned off and I was removed from the ultrasound sensors for about a day, when the risk of miscarriage was highest. I don't know if any of my three previous pregnancies felt as extremely long as that day.
I monitored the fetuses' movements all night long, and they sent me messages at regular intervals to comfort me about their existence. In the morning, when the midwife hooked me up to the ultrasound machine, I was tired but very hopeful that two little beginnings of life were still fighting in my belly, and so it was, two strong hearts were still beating in the morning.
We are having premature babies.
Week by week, day by day, hour by hour, until the very end, we lived in ignorance of how the journey would end. Very soon we were prepared to meet our children as tiny premature babies who would most likely be rushed to intensive care as soon as they were born. The method of delivery was confirmed as a cesarean section. Then we waited and hoped for more days.
One small, soft voice
Out of nowhere, labor started with strong contractions at week 30 + 4 when the placenta separated. Without a moment's hesitation, I was taken to the operating room where my husband rushed in again, this time for real surgery. After losing a lot of blood, my strength was exhausted and I couldn't speak or open my eyes anymore, I focused on listening to the two small signs of life, nothing else mattered. It felt like I had lived an eternity in that moment until I heard a small, gentle cry that was immediately taken to the next room to prepare for further treatment in the intensive care unit. Soon I was told that labor was over and that they would start sewing the uterus closed, but where was the second cry, I only heard one?!
Baby A was born lifeless, so I didn't hear any crying. Very soon I was informed that the girls were in critical condition on their way to the intensive care unit, where I was very soon taken as a convalescent in case baby A couldn't make it... thus, lying in my bed with misty eyes, I caught a glimpse of two small, barely three pounds, delicate creatures fighting for their lives.
First touch from behind the glass
Early in the morning, a few hours after giving birth, as soon as my condition allowed, I was helped in a wheelchair to the intensive care unit again, where countless lights, monitors, gauges and devices flashed before me, as well as two premature cabinets where my two little purposes in life slept peacefully, attached to tubes and wires, fighting for their lives. How small they were, how fragile and at the same time so infinitely strong. All the events closed me into an even deeper bubble where emotions lurched from one extreme to the other. I wish I could take them in my arms and carry their burden, I wish I could breathe strength into them, but I barely dared to touch them. Instead, I gently placed my hand on them and we greeted each other for the first time, from behind the glass... This was the beginning of our journey, they were my little ones, we had made it this far and little by little the thought that maybe we would still get them home began to surface.
Now they are two-year-old perfect little girls who know a lot, even most of the letters!
Premature babies' own birth poster was born
Not all of us are born full-term and round babies. I had long dreamed of a popular birth poster for my children and I was inspired to draw my own version of it. Very soon I noticed that my creation aroused great interest among many parents. However, there was a conflict between the baby figure I drew and the appearance of those born prematurely, so I decided that our premature babies needed their own figure. And thus a new product was born that is dedicated to all the little big fighters! An entrepreneur and a company called Dreamstuff were also born.
A company called Dreamstuff
The name Dreamstuff means a lot, not only that I get to make the products of my dreams come true, but also that the customer has the opportunity to customize the products to their own liking. Dreamstuff is still a young company, but I have a long history in the printing industry. Many printing houses offer tools for a really wide range of production, this inspires me as an entrepreneur every day to find ways to expand the product range!
Collaboration with Kevy
The birth poster has become a big hit in recent years, but as we know, not all children are born baby round. Together with Kevye, I want to bring your own birth poster to your attention by offering Kevye members a 20% discount on all our premature posters.
You can become a Kevyt member at www.kevyt.net
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