Your probably asking, "What happened?"

As most of our family and friends know, we were expecting twin girls on January 5, 2008. Just as with our first pregnancy, everything was going perfect, no pain, no problems, perfect ultrasounds, and a healthy mom. Then our biggest surprise ever...


Most of the first 48 hours of this ordeal was a blur, so please bear with me. It started Thursday, October 11, 2007. Emily called me that morning to say she didn't feel right, but was not worried about it. She had called the Dr. to be sure and they told her not to worry, but made an appointment for the following morning. That night around 6:00, Emily, Evelyn and I were eating dinner and she kept telling me she was getting "these pains" in her back and lower abdomen, but still really didn't think anything was happening. She could tell me when they came and went, and only lasted about 10 seconds each. We finished dinner and I told her to rest on the couch for the remainder of the evening. She kept telling me she could "feel it", so I began to write down the time and length of each. Emily was convinced what she was feeling were Braxton-Hicks (sporadic uterine contractions - sometimes painless but felt as early as 6 weeks). I became more and more concerned it was something more serious because I had measured the last six "feelings" Emily was having and they were exactly 10 minutes apart lasting between 10-20 seconds. I finally made the decision to take her to the hospital on the last one because I saw her wince. "That's it" I said, "we are going...". Even on our way to Mercy Memorial, she was telling me it was nothing and that she was going to be embarrassed because they were just going to send her home. "Great", I said, "then you have nothing to worry about..."


Uncle Andrew and Tara took Evelyn for the night and Emily's mom and dad accompanied us to the hospital. We got to Mercy around 9:00 PM, that's when our lives changed forever. The first nurse that checked Emily determined that she was fully dilated. "What?", no one in the room could believe it. The nurse nonchalantly told us she hoped she was wrong and was going to get another nurse. As you can probably guess, it was confirmed, the second nurse said "these babies will be here within 24 hours..." A collective feeling of disbelief overcame the room. They attempted to give her medicine to delay the labor as long as possible and corticosteroids to help the babies lungs develop as fast as possible. For the next four incredibly intense hours, they monitored her progress as the contractions became more frequent and more painful. Emily was finally given an epidural to ease her pain and stress on the babies. The prenatal team from Toledo Children's Hospital was put on notice to prepare for delivery and transportation to Toledo. Because of the high risk and seriousness of the pregnancy, the Dr. decided around 2:30 AM that she was going to take them by emergency c-section at 3:00 AM. I knew this time would come, but my heart dropped into my feet. Neither of us was prepared for this and my mind was racing as to what might happen to my wife, my unborn babies, and our daughter Evelyn. "How can this be happening?" I thought, the pregnancy was going great. It was time, I didn't have time to think anymore, all I did was pray for Him to watch over my family and give all of us the strength to make it through this difficult time. Our families were by our side hoping and praying as well (Thank You!).



We were in the operating room by 2:55 AM, the Toledo team had arrived (all 40 of them it seemed), and we anxiously waited to meet our newest baby girls. Less than 10 minutes later, both our babies were out and we heard them cry for the first time. The last six hours had come out in a flood of tears, I had never been overcome with so many emotions and questions in my lifetime. Are they breathing? Are they healthy? Do they have 10 toes? 10 fingers? What do they look like? Did I really hear both of them cry? All I could see was 30 people frantically trying to answer all of these questions for me. The Toledo team was spectacular and worked like a well-oiled machine. I could not believe how well orchestrated their work was, each knew what the other was doing and when. I could not have asked for a better outcome. I was still holding Emily's hand at this time trying to get a glimpse of my new daughters with no avail, I simply heard two cries and the dark hair on Kathryn's head. As fast as they had come, they were taken from the room to be evaluated by true undervalued professionals that I now have the utmost respect for.


For the next two hours (which felt like twenty), all we did was wait. It was not until around 5:00 AM that we got the news they were as well as could be expected for being delivered 12 weeks early. They were prepared for transport to Toledo and we had a couple of minutes to say goodbye to them. By this time Emily and I (and our families) had been up for almost 24 hours now, but in the last 8 hours Emily had gone into preterm labor, delivered twins, and they were now in the Toledo Children's Hospital NICU.


I apologize for the lengthy explanation, I just wanted to be sure everyone understood the exact circumstances that occurred. That night, our two newest angels on earth blessed us with their presence in a very special way. With all of that explained, I would like to introduce both of them to everyone. They were born on 10/12/07.


Kathryn Lydia Short
2 lbs. 8 oz.
15" long
3:02 AM

Sophia Grace Short

2 lbs 8 oz.
15" long
3:04 AM


Kathryn's middle name is from her great great Grandmother (and second cousin of the exact same name BTW) on my mom's side and Sophia's middle name is from her Emily's Grandmother. Kathryn is a dark haired brunette and Sophia is a light haired strawberry blond, no identicals here.

Enjoy some very early pics below.

Kathryn sleeping on her birthday, hugging her favorite blanket.

Kathryn already sucking on a standard pacifier

Mom holding Kathryn for the first time

Kathryn's tiny little fingers holding onto Daddy

To lower thier Bilirubin levels, they had to be placed under phototherapy lights to reduce jaundice, the nurses thought it would be cute (and it was) to draw "sleepy eyes" on thier eye covers. On top is Kathryn, on the bottom is Sophia. They look peaceful don't they?

Close up of Sophia being held by Mommy for the first time

Daddy holding Sophia for the first time (can you see her eyes open?)

Finally Sophia bundled nice and warm instead of being under the lights

More updates and pictures coming soon...