Well we made it through the first week! (Heavy Sigh) I want to start out by saying "thank you" to everyone who has been there for us through this time. We have had such support from family, friends, physicians, nurses, and total strangers. This experience has proven to me that there are angels walking around among us. I cannot believe the situation that we are in, there is so much to be happy about and yet so much to grieving to be done. AJ and I are taking it one day at a time, and trying to remember to stay positive. Now and then it seems impossible to think about the day ahead, so we try focus on making it through next minute. Then, we think of Michael and we smile and the world feels happy again.

Complications began on Sunday September 27th, halfway through the 29th week of my pregnancy. I had a feeling something was off, I was having some contractions, nothing like labor contractions, but uncomfortable just the same. There also wasn't a lot of activity from the boys which wasn't normal. I did what I knew to do to calm things down, but nothing seemed to work. So AJ and I put a call in to the doctors office, he told us to go to the hospital just to check things out as a precaution. When they tried to put the heart rate monitors on they had a hard time finding two separate heartbeats, not uncommon with twins. The next step is an ultrasound, as they did that I saw that Levi wasn't moving. The resident doctor said that she needed to get a tech down with a better machine to see what was going on. They didn't at that time admit that what I saw was correct. A little over an hour later the ultrasound tech arrived with my OB and they confirmed what I had already known. Levi, "Baby A" was gone, but "Baby B" was doing well. After many tears, much deliberation and 5 doctor's varying 0pinions, we decided to wait until Monday morning to make a decision about the next step. I spent the night debating what my head and heart were telling me, by the morning I had made my decision. AJ and I were in agreement that I was no longer the safest place for those babies, it was time for them to come out. Simultaneously, Dr. Shah called me and said after much deliberation he felt the same way. My C-section was scheduled for noon on Monday. Our families and a few close friends spent the morning with us crying and even sharing a few laughs. At around 11:00am the nurse told us I was bumped back about an hour and a half, which was great news. That time let my mom arrive into South Bend from Florida and make it to the hospital before AJ and I went back. It also reassured us that I wasn't in an "emergency situation," which was comforting. My C-section went well, and when we heard the first few baby cries, AJ and I were both relieved. We were quickly reminded of our situation when the nurse came over and asked if we wanted "Baby A" removed from the room. Instead we chose to hold him and spend time with him, while "Baby B" was taken to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). We told to take as much time as we needed and were reassured that he would remain nearby and we could see him anytime we wanted. Levi Camden Jones was a 4lb 7oz beautiful little boy. He is so special to us and we will never forget the moments that we had with him. There was nothing unusual about his umbilical cord, or appearance; we will never know or understand the reasons why this happened.