Twins born at 23.4 weeks

I had been having mild contractions for about a week. They started becoming more frequent and I began having some pink discharge. It was the weekend, so I waited until Monday to call the doctor. I don't like feeling like I'm high maintenance. The nurse assured me that it was nothing and that it was probably just related to the weight of twins. She said that if I wanted to, I could have it checked out at the hospital, but it was probably nothing to worry about. So, I thought that I was just worried for nothing and decided not to go to the hospital. By Wednesday, the contractions became worse. I thought that if I went to bed and relaxed, the contractions would go away. Well, they didn't. They only got worse. I got up and took some benedryl. That didn't help, either. So, I took a warm bath and called the doctor while I soaked. It was 2:00 am. The nurse on call told me to go directly to the hospital. We got our 2 year old out of bed and headed for the hospital. I was sure that I would get a shot to stop the contractions and be sent back home. I was only 23 weeks, so there was no way I was having the babies. We got within a block of the hospital and my water broke. Now, I knew I was in trouble. They rushed us to a high risk delivery area. They didn't want to check me for dilation - They were afraid of causing infection. They quickly began a sonogram. The songram showed that I could possibly already be fully dialated. They gave me some literature to read about the odds of survival and complications of babies born at 23 weeks. I was supposed to make a decision in the next 5 minutes whether I wanted my babies to be resuscitated or not. The information showed that the babies had a 17-23% chance of surviving and had a good chance of having Cerbral Palsey, delayed learning, and mental retardation. All I could think about was that there was a chance my babies could survive and would be completely normal. So, of course I wanted them to resuscitate. Kinnick was born very quickly. I was unable to have a c-section. I had no idea what the risks were having her vaginally vs c-section. But, had no choice since she was already in the birth canal. Carver's bag hadn't broken. So, I was given a choice. Have a c-section or deliver vaginally. They were only 1 lb, so I thought that it wouldn't be a big deal to just deliver vaginally. So, that's what we did. However, the doctor suggested delivering him with his bag in tact. We were able to deliver him with bag in tact. It wasn't until later that I was told about the possibility of brain hemorrhages. If I would have known that, I may have chosen to have a c-section. Both babies were breach. Kinnick was frank breach. Carver was side-to-side. The doctor turned him and delivered him feet first. Thanks to the drug surfactant, they were able to resuscitate both babies.