Because Mel asked......

There are lots of losses right now, and this seemed a bit happier and more upbeat than the other stuff going through my head :)

Our fantastic boys, Devin and Gavin were born on January 5, 1993.  They were born after two weeks of hard labor--mine.  The doctor was giving me drugs to stop the labor, but these boys were tenacious.  We have often said that we don't know if their purpose was for good or evil, but they certainly have a purpose.  They arrived at 29.5 weeks (for those who don't know, gestation is usually 40 weeks), just about 3 months early.

Gavin arrived first, at 4:31am and weighing in at 3 lbs, 10.5 ounces.  He had both fists up by his ears, so that made it easier---not.  Once he had his own room, Devin decided he was no longer interested in being born, and he turned over.  This meant that someone had to turn him around--you really don't want to know how they accomplished that, but I can say that seeing a hand on the sonogram is really not a good thing!  After the administration of some really powerful dilators to me, Devin was born at 4:56am and weighed in at 3lbs, 9 ounces.

I could hear them both yelling, so I knew they were breathing, but I wasn't allowed to hold either one.  I was taken to a recovery room, and they were taken to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).  A few hours after their birth, I remember telling my nurse that if someone didn't get me a picture or get me down to the nursery, there was going to be a big problem.  Someone brought me two polaroids of them.

Man were they ugly.  I don't mean "newborn, not-so-cute," I mean really unattractive.  Both had a light coating of hair all over them, and each had a stub on their toosh which was what was left of their tails.  Poor Devin was born with a black eye from where Gavin's foot had been been sitting in his eye socket before they were born.  Devin also had a giant bruise taking up a large part of his forehead from being born.  Gavin was less beat up than his brother, but both of them were in pretty bad shape.

They stayed in the NICU in San Francisco for 8 weeks, then they were transported to the regular nursery at Kaiser in Redwood City.  There were lots of procedures, a couple of little "fixes" that needed to be made and a scare where we thought that Gavin might have to give Devin a kidney, but that didn't end up needing to happen.  Gavin came home at 10 weeks old, and weighed exactly 5 pounds.  Devin came home two weeks later at 12 weeks old and weighed 4 pounds 14 ounces.

Fast forward 18 years and a few days, and they are now grown.  Devin is about 6 foot 1 and weighs about 175, Gavin is about 6 foot tall and weighs around 170.  They are both great kids, and Alex and I are so proud of all they have accomplished, and their amazing potential.

So how come all week I keep looking at them and seeing those tiny little funny looking babies?  Is it a parent thing, does everyone look at their kids and see them as little still?  I know that they are practically grown, but I would still feel better if we could send them out every morning wrapped in bubble wrap.  I don't know what the next few years hold for them, but I trust that they will make the best of whatever life hands them.

So, Mel there's the (brief) story of Devin and Gavin's birth.  There are far more interesting stories, but this one has a pretty good end, in that they survived--despite the odds.  They aren't developmentally challenged--despite the odds.  They aren't blind or deaf (except when they choose to be)--despite the odds.