Olivia and Isabella B. ~ Super Hero Alias: Mommy’s Little Angels & Daddy’s Little Princesses

Age: 2 years old
Weight at Birth: 3 lbs each
Weeks Gestation: 32 weeks
Time in the NICU: 2 months

Why should your children be recognized as “Preemies of the Year”?

Imagine, if you will, a warm day in the El Paso desert. The wind is rolling off Franklin Mountain like a downward facing fan, spinning the sand upwards in a tornado-like spiral. It is late August and the twins weren’t due until October. Every day of the pregnancy until that point, until that warm August day in the desert, was anything but normal. The morning sickness was twice as sickly, the swollen legs and back were less than tolerable. The food cravings were twice as much and twice as weird. The day mommy and daddy B’s day would change forever was not much different, as a matter of fact it twice as scary.

We had two sons before the twins were born, and even though those pregnancies were less than normal, nothing could prepare us for the journey of birthing twins. This particular day was omniscient. Daddy came home from working all day as an 88M, Motor Transport Operator, for the United States Army to hear Mommy say, “My back hurts!” Could you imagine what this man of hers replies with? “Yep, you’re in labor!” Like a comedian telling a bad joke. Against mommy’s maternal instincts, she let him take her to the hospital where the doctors determined she was in fact four centimeters dilated and indeed in labor. The problem was she has only been pregnant for 32 weeks. “It’s too early”, she thought. But, they were ready to enter the world. So, on the 23rd of August, 2009 at exactly 8:23 in the morning, Olivia Grace and Isabella Karen were born. Yes, you read that right, they were born on 8-23 at 8:23. Those numbers would prove to be a blessing for the B. household.

The sad part of this story is that the three pound twin girls would spend the next two months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) undergoing vigorous treatments to keep them alive so they could finally come home with their parents. Mommy and Daddy had to gather all their strengths in their bodies and hearts to trust the doctors to take care of their precious gems. It was a long arduous journey, day in and day out at the NICU. However, the little ladies finally were healthy enough to come home to meet their brothers and live a lifetime of happiness and joy at home.

Using three or more typical characteristics of a Super Hero, please describe your child.

Now, the twins are two years old and growing and laughing every day. The joy they bring to the lives that surround them is paramount. They are starting to talk and have taken in personalities of their own. Even though they are physically identical twins, they have completely contrasting personalities. They are amazing, Daddy’s little princesses and Mommy’s little angels. They have the best big brothers who love them so much and whom they love unconditionally as well. They are Olivia and Isabella B, the best little ladies who delivered so much joy through a trying time and that’s why they should be the preemies of the year.