Welcome Malia Rose & Austin Russel (yes, with 1 L, now deal with it!)

As I was being escorted into the OR, I was taken aback by the small army of people preparing for their arrival.  It had been about 20 minutes of prep until I was allowed in there, so all of Cheryl's lines were in place and the anesthesiologist had already begun his process.  I walked into quite a commotion, as Cheryl had clearly just gotten sick in the general vicinity of the area I was to sit.  I helped her clean herself up a little and get ready for the delivery.  In the insterest of not being the dad to take a nose-dive into the floor, I opted to stay behind the curtain in fear that the sight of all the blood might give the docs a 4th patient in the room (I maintained my consciousness throughout, thankfully).  And then the doctors said, "okay, so it's gonna go by pretty quick from here on out."  They weren't kidding.  Maybe a minute or two, Cheryl and I were listening to the first battle cries of Austin, born at 10:57AM.  Cheryl began to tear up, and I stayed close, reassuring her evrything was going just fine.  One minute later, Malia Rose pulled out crying, and was shuffled off to her table next to her brother (see photo below)

As the docs worked on Cheryl, I made it over to get my first gimpses of the kids, although it was hardly unemcumbered.  I managed to snap a few shots, and got my first look at those tiny hands on Austin.



Shortly after, they were packed up in the transport incubators, and briefly shuffled by Cheryl for a quick glance before being transported to the 6th floor NICU.  Each baby was placed in their stations, just about 15 feet from one another.  This is the farthest these babies have ever been apart, ever.  Must have been a strange experience, don't you think?  Below is my first shot of Malia.  Pretty damn cute...

Meanwhile, on Austin's side...

Remember, it was cold in there!  I swear!

Once situated, both babies were put on CPAP for breathing assistance.  Although their Apgar scores were both 9/9, the CPAP is there to take the "work" out of breathing for them.  While they could probably manage for a little while on their own, when they get tired they are at risk for a more pronounced bout of apnea.  In Malia's case, her blood gases were not ideal with just the CPAP, so she got the next step up with a ventilator tube.  Although invasive, they were able to administer some surfactant meds to her lungs to ensure better gas exchange and surface area.  Before and after

Once Cheryl was taken out of the OR to the recovery room the nurses were trying to stabilize her because her blood pressure had crashed to 64/30. The anestheiologist had to act quickly to come to Cheryl's need. they gave her a shot of epinephrine to jump start her blood pressure levels. After close monitoring foranhour Cheryl finally stabilized. Cheryl was then moved to her new room on the 6th floor, where she could be a quick walk away from the NICU to see the babies.  She still had some recovery time to put in, so it wasn't until much later on Friday night that she was actually able to meet the babies and see them up close.  Ironic that they shared a space with their mom, and yet she was one of the last they got a visit from.  Yet another one of the mothers' sacrifices I suppose!  Below is a precious picture of Malia's tiny hand in Cheryl's.

So that wrapped up an eventful and surprising day for the Vlasich and Nodalo families!