Our story

After we'd been TTC a little less then a year we went to the doctor as I hadn't had my period in a few months - I'd been taking pregnancy test after pregnancy test, was sure I must be pregnant but they were all negative. Low and behold I found out I have PCOS. We tried Metformin, then Metformin and Clomid and eventually were recommended to a Fertility Clinic about 8 hours away from where we live.
We signed on for IVF and finally this past March were back and going through the procedures. The first week didn't look so good, my numbers were bad and we weren't sure if we'd even get a chance... they had me coast but only for a day. On April 1, 2011 they implanted 2 3 day embryos. After the 2 week wait we found we were pregnant and a few weeks after that found out we were pregnant with twins. We couldn't have been happier or more excited. We loved these babies before we even knew they were there. We went to our ultrasound and saw their beautiful beating hearts and heard their hearts beating at the doctor's office twice. We had 3 prenatal appointments and everything was going great. The last prenatal appointment was on Thursday July 7, 2011 - we heard the heart beats, both of them and they were perfect - everything was good on my end too. I was 16 weeks just the day before this prenatal appointment.
Only a few days later, Monday July 11, 2011, I woke up at 2:30 am to go to the bathroom and I felt weird down there... I had to pee but it felt like something else too, something heavy... so I let my husband go first and told him "I have to pee, but I feel weird...like there is something there" and when I sat on the toilet and tried to pee Twin A came out, still attached of course and I screamed and when my husband asked what was wrong I told him I'd just had a miscarriage. He came in and looked, we were both in absolute shock and panicked. He called 911 where they told me I had to lay down, he helped me to the bed. I don't recall any cramping at that time, but I was bleeding. Eventually the Ambulance came and they asked my husband if he wanted to cut the cord, which he did, and we were off to the hospital. There was another miscarriage that had arrived just before we got there so it was a while before we saw a doctor. The nurse that was with us asked if we wanted to hold the baby, which we both did and were so glad that we did - it was hard - we were still in shock and they never cleaned off or posed baby. When the doctor came he did an ultrasound and Twin B's heart was still beating and baby was still moving around, I asked if that meant baby wasn't in distress he said that he didn't actually know, he had no idea and didn't want to say so he was going to call a specialist... at that point I was honestly worried about the baby being upset or in pain. The doctor came back with bad news... because my cervix was open the odds weren't good for Twin B, we would most likely be losing baby in the next several hours or days. He had heard of miracles, he said, but the odds were not favorable. They said this loss was likely due to incompetant cervix. After an hour - maybe more- we were taken to, luckily, a private room on the maternity floor. They had me scheduled for an ultrasound later in the morning and Twin B was still such a trooper. Amazing heartbeat and incredible movement. Things were dim, but looking better because so far Twin B appeared unaffected. They kept me monitored at the hospital for a few days and on bedrest. We were able to listen to the heartbeat on a dopler a few more times and everytime it was in a great range and you could hear the baby doing it's gymnastics, until the last listen, it started off in the normal range and then went a bit below and we heard no movement... we figured baby was sleeping, but I was a bit alarmed and wanted to hear it again. They wouldn't do it again. The next day, Wednesday July 13th we went for another ultrasound. Twin B's heartbeat was in the normal range and baby was sucking it's thumb and kicked near the end. I felt better. We found out the sex, which I won't say -- we feel guilty for not finding out the sex of Twin A, although I suspect I know. The tech even told me, in confidence (this tech was male and so kind! They had to do both internal and external ultraounds so he had to have a female tech in with him during the internal when I said 'I suppose you can't tell me how my cervix looks and I'll have to wait for the doctor' and he said yes. Once she left, though, he whispered), 'it looks good!' Which our doctor confirmed later. He said the baby looks great and your cervix is closing. I felt hope again. They were going to send me home that night, on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy, but I wasn't feeling great. I thought I was constipated, so did the nurses and even the doctor, after feeling my belly. The next morning (Thursday July 14, 2011) at 2:30 am after getting up to pee, once I got back in bed my water broke. (Thankfully I hadn't been feeling good enough to go home the night before). We knew what this meant of course. I was in labour for 18 hours total. This was such a different experience than Twin A. They sent me for an ultrasound just to confirm for themselves and probably find our where baby was at this point... this was at 3 pm. They angled the screen so I couldn't see this time. I found out after that baby was still in my womb but had already passed. My contractions were still there but had slowed down so around 6 they gave me medication to speed up the contractions again, in a little less then an hour the hard labour started. My husband had been (no surprise to me) such an amazing supporter throughout everything up until this point, helping me to the bathroom no matter the time nor how often... be it me going to the bathroom or even the bedpan. Above and beyond any of that, I can't even fully explain the amazingness he is or how lucky I am to have him in my life!! Through the labour, he was even more of a miracle. My parents had arrived maybe 5 minutes before the hard labour started (we'd been thinking once my water broke that it would happen fast so we'd been holding off anyone coming, hoping to wait until afterwards but it was getting late so a little while after they'd given me the contraction medication we'd called them and told them they could come) so my dad went into the waiting room (where he was eventually joined by my sisters and their boyfriend (younger sis) and finace (older sis). My mom stayed through the hard labour and was great as well. Mom was holding one hand, my hubby, the other. My husband was an amazing coach. We made a great team, it was as though we'd had practice or something. It came naturally. The hard labour lasted for about an hour and a half. The placenta was still attached to Twin B. Twin B was born @ 8:30pm. We had my mom leave the room, we didn't want to do anything for Twin B that we hadn't for Twin A - save the fact that we were already told the probable sex - so we didn't want anyone else to see the baby. My husband cut the cord again, this time they cleaned up and posed baby and had baby in a blanket too. We both held Twin B and tried to have our time equal with what we spent with Twin A. A nurse that had been amazing to us brought us the blanket Twin B had been wrapped in (we said it is both of the babies blanket, that they could share) and also two small teady bears with hats on their heads - different hats and the bears although very similar, there were some differences, like our little fraternal twins would have! (Well to an extent, they could have looked entirely different, being fraternal but you know what I mean). The babies were perfect! 10 fingers and 10 toes! Their faces were so precious. They were beautiful babies!! I had a little more bleeding then usual so we so had to stay another night in the hospital. My birthday was only a few days later (July 19) but I didn't celebrate... and my breastmilk came in that day too. I don't know how to get through. My husband and our families have been amazing and I couldn't do it without my husband, but the darkness feels like it is suffocating at times. Everything hurts. Any reminder of the fall or November, or December (My due date was December 21, but with twins they were going to induce me a month early). We had been so excited about so many things. We used everything as a countdown to babies, so now the thought of anything hurts. I had never been so excited about Christmas. We still consider ourselves parents, our babies are just angels in heaven. I don't know if everyone will see it that way or understand the pain, but who really cares about that. Nothing seems to matter. I feel like a robot. I have no idea what I'm doing at any given second, or what I should be doing. Nothing is important. I feel guilty for eating, drinking, sleeping showering, brushing my teeth... for everything! I fake my way through everything, I try to hide my pain as best as I can from everyone (although I know they still see it) except my husband. I've broken down quite a lot, the only person I feel comfortable letting it all out to is him. He went back to work on Monday, I'm taking some time. I don't know how much. The doctor filled out a form for me to be off until the end of August, and if I feel like I need more after that he will probably do it. The hard part about work is that at work everything was a countdown, I even had all of the scheduled ultrasounds (1 each month until the babies come) and appointments written on every calendar. I hadn't planned on going back after the babies were born. I was going to be a stay at home mama, money permitting... so I can't imagine going back there. I was never suppose to go back there. I think every day would be a painful reminder of where I should be. Problem is, I work for my Unlce and Aunt, so I wouldn't feel right about getting a different job either. Why am I even thinking about work? I have no idea. I have soooo much running through my mind. I guess thinking of anything else is better then the memories I get of the feeling of Twin A inside of me and not even knowing. Not even aware that baby was gone and traveling down me. I will never forget the feeling. Or the feeling of my water breaking of Twin B and knowing that all of our hopes were over. Those memories bring me really low. It is almost chilling. I, in some ways, still don't believe it's true. Will it ever not feel like a horrible nightmare? The flashbacks seem to come whenever they want to and often. It's always the worst when I'm trying to sleep, and once they start they won't stop.
It doesn't matter who says, or how many times I'm told, that it's not my fault, I still blame myself. I don't think I will ever not. The babies were so healthy! We heard their hearts beating just days before! We saw Twin B just hours before! Everything was going great! It's all my fault. They should still be here. How are they not still here?