Donovan and Laurence born at 27 weeks

I had a twin pregnancy, identical boys and everything went as well as it could until 23 weeks and 6 days when my waters broke at home. I was alone as my daughter was at school and my husband was at work. I was brushing my teeth and gagged and there was a huge gush, I panicked and hoped I had wet myself. I attended labour and delivery via ambulance and was examined and started on antibiotics.

I had to be transferred to a hospital 2 hours away from where I received 10 days of antibiotics before being discharged home, not before being scared to death by statistics and told that my babies would not survive.

Twin 1 had no measurable fluid and twin 2 had good measurable fluid meaning that the thin membrane between them hadn't been compromised and it was twin one who was head down who had lost all waters. I stayed at home for just less than 2 weeks before infection hit, I went back to labour and delivery and again transferred to a hospital 2 hours away.

I delivered my twin boys naturally 5 days later at 27 weeks. It was a very terrifying and traumatic experience due to the hospital being unprepared. Both babies cried at birth and twin 2 baby Laurence came out with his eyes open.

Both babies were taken to the neonatal intensive care unit. Donovan progressed so well with barely any hiccups along the way which was surprising because he had zero water's we feared he would be the most poorly turns out Laurence was exposed to the infection more because he had his waters and at 10 days old developed meningitis, due to this he had a grade 4 IVH (brain bleed) and lung bleeds we were told many of times to switch him off but my heart said no.

He had a hell of a journey and had many surgeries at different hospitals for ROP and hydrocephalus. Laurence was touch and go and we were told he would never come home and never come off the ventilator but months later he did and after 111 days he came home. He has cerebral palsy, is deaf and blind and has hydrocephalus with a programmable shunt and stent and PVL amongst other things but he is perfect and an absolute joy to care for.

Donovan spent 70 days in the NICU and came home on his big sisters birthday.

If someone could have shown me now back then I would never have lost all that sleep worrying the way I did.