On this day three years and one day ago...

  I was laying on a triage table madly texting one of my former students on how to get through the Nazareth Area High School graduation ceremony without me there to conduct the choirs or play the piano.  I'd like to quickly recap my birth story before I forget any more of the details!  Warning -- may be too much information in this one!  Feel free to fast forward to the year in review pictures!

  I had gone to work that day but was feeling a little off.  At the end of the day, I walked down to the school nurse and asked her to take my blood pressure.  After she took it, I could tell by the look on her face that something was wrong - my blood pressure was sky rocketing.  She advised me to get to my hospital as soon as possible.   I drove myself to St. Luke's in Bethlehem not feeling too nervous -- just thinking it was another little bump in the road during a pregnancy with twins.  However, I knew I was not going to make it to the high school's graduation that night and thus began crazy texting in between getting checked out by an onslaught of doctors.  When my mucous plug fell out (too much information????) I asked if I should call my mother to come down.  One of my biggest regrets in life is that I did not make that phone call. I kept asking the doctors if they thought I should call her and they continuously told me that I would not go into labor that night and I would probably be pregnant for 2 more weeks.
  I was eventually admitted to a regular hospital room where they gave me medicine to help protect the twins' lungs and brains just in case they were born.  At just 29 weeks, they still had a lot of growing left to do.  However, I was again told that these were just precautions and that they were going to keep the twins in there for quite a bit longer.   
  Then the contractions began.  Then they got really, really bad so they decided to give me a little something to help me get some rest as it was around 3:00 in the morning and I (nor Mike) had slept.  I woke up an hour later with the strongest urge to push.  Mike called for the nurse and she proceeded to advise me not to push and that the doctor was doing his rounds and would be in in a little bit.  I beg to differ lady -- I HAD to push!  The doctor came in about 15 minutes later, checked things out down there, and said, "Get her to the delivery room, now!"  I don't even think we made it to a real delivery room.  As I was wheeled in, I asked, "Epidural?" and they said, "Nope, just start pushing."  Cameron came first at 6:41 AM weighing in at 3.1 pounds and measuring 15.1 inches.  I then proceeded to lay on the delivery table and wait around for an hour and forty minutes.  Allie did NOT want to come out.  I even asked if it would be ok to leave her in there but the chance of infection was too high.  It was the weirdest feeling to know I had to deliver another child but to just be hanging out with a bunch of doctors discussing our summer plans.   A dose of Pitocin and breaking her bag led to little Allie being born at 8:20 AM, weighing 3.1 pounds and measuring 15.75 inches.  I did not get the chance to have that moment of awe and complete love as the doctors laid your child on your chest....they were immediately whisked away to the NICU.  I remember asking Mike if they had all of their fingers and toes -- this was the least of our worries!
  As I was laying in the recovery room, I looked over at Mike and said, "Nobody knows the twins are here."  That was such a surreal moment.  Nobody knew the ordeal we had all gone through...and how do you tell people that twins who were not supposed to be here until August 18th had arrived on June 5th?  Many of my friends can remember exactly where they were the moment they read the text message from Mike or when they found out I was pregnant -- here are some of their memories:

Mikey D:  So I found out about the babes being born when I was driving back to school from a doctor's appointment and saw Mike's text message. I almost veered into a parked car when I read it! (don't read texts and drive kids!) I then got a phone call from Frank Anonia 2 seconds later asking if this was for real. After work, we proceeded to the hospital to visit the tiny babies.

Bizzy:  I remember being on a 5th grade field trip at RoseBowl when I got Mike's text about the twins being born. I thought he was joking because it was too early, but then I realized there was way too much detailed information and it had to be true. That afternoon we all went to see them. I remember scrubbing into the NICU and they were so little. We were all so amazed that they didn't have nipples!

Meridith:  I was at the reveal party and I captured the event for YouTube (16,948 views and counting!)  I remember visiting the babies at the hospital in their incubators and they were so tiny and cute.  I think it was around July because I remember red, white, and blue outfit you changed them into. 

Eva:  For me it was finding out you were pregnant... Rocchi told me in the hall and I screamed and jumped for joy and people were looking at me like I was nuts... Not sure people were supposed to know yet so I composed myself, punched him in the arm and loudly said, "Good job, Coach"! Good cover up I thought! 

Frankie:  You told me about being pregnant with the twins during a Restaurant Club meeting.  It was the Mexican place in Hellertown - Original Tavern House I think.  As soon as I sat down, you gave Mikey and me packs of Double Mint Gum.  I was dumb - I didn’t figure it out.  Mikey had to fill in the blanks for me.  And this picture was the first time I saw them.  A bunch of us came over after school that day.  Mike had texted us early that morning.  

Auntie E - I was on a conference call.  It was in the middle of the day and I panicked because Michael never calls me in the middle of the day.  I completely blew off my call and Michael simply said, "Well, you're Auntie E now."

Gammy Rocchi -- I was on a new job, sitting at a new desk and Elizabeth called and I was worried, of course.  She then said, "Hold on, I'm patching Michael in.  So then Michael's voice came on and he said, "Hi Grandmom" and I said, "What?"  People around me were all turning in their seats and looking at me because they could hear the panic in my voice.  He then said, "Well, the babies were born." So there I was at a new job and I didn't know what to do because I couldn't just leave.  My one co-worker Nicole said "Just go!" so I did.  I picked up balloons and came and saw you and the rest is history!

Poppy Rocchi - I was at the shop working and he called and he said, "It's official.  You are now a Grand-Pop".  And I said, "What??"  Ha -- and that's it! 

Bah-Bah - I was working on a compression sight through the company, Libery, in Towanda when Kelly called.  She asked me if I was driving and I said yes and she asked me to pull over.  That's when she said, "The twins have arrived" and I just couldn't believe it. 

Grandma Stanton as told by Nick, my nephew:  I was outside working on mulch, and I remember Grandma Stanton coming out hysterically bawling. I was a little concerned and I thought something terribly wrong had happened so I sprinted down to the house and tried to get her to calm down enough to tell me what was going on. After she was able to get out what she was trying to tell me, she felt much better about it.  We called my mom and I don't really remember much else. She was so excited that it made her scared. I'm sure a common experience mothers have! 

Next up -- year in review pictures!!

June, 2014 - 2nd Birthday Party!

June

June

July

July

August - First day of daycare!

August

September

September

October

October

November

December

January

January

January

January

February

February

February

February

March

March

April

April

April

May

May

May - Reading a book my mom recommended way back when..."The Paper Bag Princess"

And today -- Happy Third Birthday, my sweet twinjas!!!!

I will again be at Nazareth's High School graduation (I promised my students I would make it this year) so I am looking forward to celebrating their birthdays all weekend long!