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The paramedics handed us the babies, Anna took the girl and I held the little boy. They were preparing to take everyone into the hospital, but for a split second, we got to see our precious babies.
“They’re so tiny,” I said, and again I worried maybe they were too little. They were alive, but that was just the first step. I knew there were so many possible complications in the days and weeks to come.
Within seconds, the babies and Anna were loaded into the ambulance, and I was right there with them, on the way to the hospital.
* * *
Anna was in a room, and our babies had been whisked away to the NICU. We were told that as soon as they were set up and stable, we could see them. They were born several weeks early, but the doctors were optimistic.
Anna appeared to be sleeping, and she needed the rest. I sat by her side, hand in mine. Every few minutes, another nurse or doctor would poke their head in and check Anna’s vitals or look at her stitches, but no one had any news about our babies. We just kept hearing, “Soon.”
A knock came at the door and a female doctor came in with a cheery smile. “My name is Dr. Fitzgerald,” she said, “And I’m a neonatologist. I’m taking care of your babies in the NICU.”
“How are they?” Anna asked.
“They’re doing wonderfully. Have you picked out names for them yet?”
Anna looked at me and we both nodded. “Emilia for the little girl and Theodore - Theo - for the boy.”
“Great names,” the doctor said with a smile. “Well, Theo’s lungs haven’t fully developed, but this is common in preemies. He’s going to need a little help breathing, but I’m confident we can help his lungs develop and that he will be just fine. And Emilia, she is the bigger of the two babies, but still rather small. Her lungs need a little help as well, which again, is normal. They are going to be here for at least a week… but I would count on them being here longer.”
“Whatever it takes to make sure they’re okay,” I said.
“I’m confident we can get them where they need to be,” the doctor assured us.
Anna sighed. “I’m relieved to hear that. When can we see them?”
“I can take you to the NICU right now, if you’d like.”
“Yes,” Anna said, and she tried to stand. Both the doctor and I reached for her at the same time.
“Not so fast! Let me get a wheelchair for you,” the doctor said. “You just had two babies; you need to take it easy.”
“I’m fine.” Anna was stubborn as ever.
“It will take her two seconds to get the wheelchair,” I said, speaking softly.
Anna relented with a huff and stayed on the bed while the doctor ran out into the hallway. “I just want to hold my babies,” she mumbled, her voice cracking.
“I know, me too, sweetie.”
A second later, a nurse came in with a wheelchair and helped Anna into it. The walk down to the NICU was mostly done in silence, with the sound of the hospital beeping all around us. The nurse pushed Anna up to a window and I stood beside her, looking into the room filled with incubators and tiny little babies.
“Yours are right there,” the nurse said, pointing to the two in front, closest to the glass. The name “Berkshire-Callaghan” was clear to me now. Their first names had not been added yet, but I knew Theo was the smallest of the two.
They were too unstable to be held, and I knew it pained Anna. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at our babies in their little incubators, unable to get to them.
“Soon,” I told her, giving her hand a squeeze. “We’ll bring them home soon and we can cuddle them all we want.”
Anna nodded. “Soon.”
Chapter 31
Anna
The babies had to be in the NICU for three weeks. Eventually, we were able to hold them as they got stronger, but every day, I wished more than anything to take them home. Every day, though, I was thankful they were there because I knew they were safe.
Our home was finished being built, and I took the extra weeks to work on the nursery. It was ready for our little angels as soon as they were released. We, of course, went with an animal-zoo theme. Light green walls with outlines of the jungle with a border of lions, tigers, elephants and of course, kangaroos.
