Why did this happen???

Is Harper smiling in the womb???? She was very calm in the ultrasounds.

At 20 weeks, I was diagnosed with a sub-chorionic hemorrhage which my doctor said is not completely uncommon with twins or a singleton and usually doesn't cause any problems. Its a little sac of blood that forms behind the egg when it implants on the uterus. Kind of like the egg pulled away from the wall for a moment, and then settled in and attached and formed a tiny sac of blood behind it which will typically go away in a few days or weeks. Most times it resolves on its own and absorbs into the body within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, but in my case, it just would not go away, and was measuring at 7cm. Meaning it was growing bigger and bigger along with the babies, behind their placenta. It may have been growing more rapidly because I was taking a baby aspirin daily which is prescribed to people with a history of miscarriage to help the pregnancy progress. Since the hemorrhage could not be seen on the ultrasound until the 20th week, nobody had any idea it was growing back there and taking blood away from the twins, mostly Robbie, which may have created his brain bleed. It's unknown if this is what caused his brain bleed or if this is what caused their premature birth, because brain bleeds are common in preemies without the mom having an hemorrhage. It is likely a reason for something because the entire pregnancy was strange and stressful because of the on and off bleeding it caused.

I was being watched closely and the hemorrhage was being scrutinized every week. My doctor told me after their birth that one or both of the babies were possibly being robbed of the blood that was inside the hemorrhage and needed to come out early so they could continue to grow with the proper amount of blood. I think it is very possible it was Robbie being robbed of the blood and basically said, "ok sis, it's time to head on out" since she was in front and had to come out first. I believe Harper's placement was doing ok with the hemorrhage and she shows no signs of struggling because of the hemorrhage, but Robbie was struggling and that is apparent. If they had not come out early, he may have continued to struggle with the brain bleed and loss of blood and may have had many challenges in his body and brain at birth and throughout his life.

When we got to St. Joes, it was too late to stop the labor, and the babies were coming. I did get a couple doses of Magnesium to help stop the labor and research does show this can help with decreasing the chances of muscle difficulties in preemies. We delivered at 813pm and 815pm, via C-Section. Twins do not have to be born C Section, and neither do preemies, but since they were both breech, it was immediately an emergency C Section. Harper was first, but we've been telling her it's not a competition. She may have had to make a very big sacrifice to help out her brother. She may have had to sacrafice the womb to help her brother get the blood he needed.

Robbie Matty Basaldu. He was very active in the ultrasounds, always bouncing around

Pete and I have chosen to believe that our special family needs a special kind of love that we are capable of giving them. We are so much in love and so much in love with our kids that nothing can discourage us. We choose to stay strong and be grateful for what we have been given.