Last updated on November 25th, 2023 at 07:58 am
After going from a routine checkup to “you’re having the babies today”, parents-to-be Andi and Leon welcomed their twins boys into the world 13 weeks early at 27 weeks gestation.
Leon relates, “No one believed us when we made the phone calls to tell them the boys were coming. But it was a relief when Andi’s dad and stepmother walked in the hospital room! We had called them at 11 and they got there.”
The parents-to-be were also a relieved that both of the OBs that Andi had been seeing would be present for delivery. Andi had been dreading the surgery and the thought of the needles in her back for the epidural had her shaking. “But before I even really knew what was happening, I was totally numb from the waist down!”
The boys were born only about 10 seconds apart (if that) and have the same birth minute. “We are sure that this small amount of time won’t matter to Aiden when he spills those famous words, ‘I’m in charge because I’M the oldest!’” Andi jokes.
Aiden weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces and Kyan weighed 1 pound, 12 ounces!
Leon already followed the boys to the NICU while Andi recovered from the surgery. That was exactly where Andi wanted him to be. He learned everything about the babies so that he would be able to let Andi know how they were doing, since for the first few days while Andi recovered she was only able to make it up to the NICU a couple times a day. But she was comforted by the fact that Leon was up there all the time.
By their second day in the NICU, the boys had been given the infamous name: THE WILD WILEY BOYS! Their parents say the name still fits them today.
“The nurses and staff of the NICU were with us every step of the way, with every blood infection, lung, heart, and body temperature issues, etc. We were given all information necessary to make each decision and we (Andi in particular) formed many heart bonding and lasting relationships.”
When Andi was released from the hospital, she was not allowed to drive for at least two weeks so her dad stayed with her so he could drive her back and forth to the hospital each day to be with her boys – sometimes picking her up as late as 2 a.m. “We are forever grateful for this act of kindness because Leon was still working and without this help, Andi would not have been able to get to the hospital every day. He ended up being with us close to three weeks.” This is one of the greatest gifts he could have given Andi to help her see her boys every day.
Then, Leon got laid off. This turned out to be a big blessing in disguise because it allowed him to spend as much time as he wanted with his preemies in the NICU.
Coming Home
“Several of the nurses had been trying to get us to do something for ourselves for weeks and we just could not be convinced that it was okay to go off while the boys were in the NICU. After 7.5 weeks in the NICU, we decided that we would never again have such skilled babysitters, so we decided to go away for a night. The next morning we got a call – AIDEN WAS READY TO COME HOME! We raced back to bring our first boy home! After much crying about not wanting to leave Kyan at the hospital by himself, we headed home with Aiden – 3 pounds, 5 ounces at the time. We were told it would be about two weeks before Kyan was ready to leave the hospital.”
“Those first nights were SCARY to say the least! We looked at him in total amazement! Andi went back and forth to the NICU everyday – always crying when it was time to leave Kyan there alone. BUT… 4 days after Aiden came home (not two weeks), we got a call that KYAN WAS READY TO COME HOME! After much crying again – this time at having to say goodbye to the folks of the NICU who had become (and remain) like family to us, and also because we were scared to death that we would BREAK HIM – Kyan only weighed 2 POUNDS, AND 14 OUNCES when we brought him home. Both of our boys came home with no monitors and only taking a daily multivitamin. Tiny but totally self- sufficient! We are so full of gratitude to the delivering doctors and all in the NICU who cared for us. Andi tried for weeks and weeks to write a thank you card but she could not do it because every time she even thought of what she wanted to say, she would break out in a crying fit. This is still true to this day.”
“Sleeplessness reigned in our house. How do you sleep when you have baby that weighs less than THREE pounds in your home!? YOU DON’T!”
Thank you Andi and Leon for sharing your story with us!
