Pregnancy Recap: Colten and Tyler

 This is my 3rd pregnancy so I wanted to recap the first two.
Colten Tanner Garcia:

Born: June 19, 2002
Weight: 6 pounds 1 oz
Length: 19 1/4 inches long
Emergency Cesarean Delivery
Went into Hospital @ 39 weeks to be induced. Both baby and my heart rates dropped so low that the doctor rushed us into surgery. Baby was healthy as can be and we went home within 4 days.

My weight at beginning of pregnancy: 107 lbs.
Total Weight Gain During Pregnancy: 35 pounds

When I left the Hospital I believe I weighed in at 119 pounds.
Within a week or two I was back at my original weight

I didn't start showing with Colten until I was around 5 months. The only time you could tell there was a baby in there was when I was laying down. This little round ball would stick up out of my lower belly. I literally had a cute basketball pregnancy. I looked great and felt great the entire time.

Colten ended up being a very healthy normal awesome pregnancy for me. I was never sick. I was very active and I actually worked as a waitress until I was about 8 months and a week or two.

When Colten was born he was a healthy smiling little baby! I had no worries in the world.


Tyler James Shank:

Weight: 6 pounds 1/10 of an ounce
Length: 19 1/2 inches long
Scheduled Cesarean Delivery: January 5, 2006
Delivered at 40 weeks.

Tyler was a twin. I say was, I mean he is a twin. Around two months along I went in and had a sonogram. There were TWO!!! I was shocked!! Both babies were at normal size. They both had a heartbeat. My doctor noticed that one of the babies heart rate or heart beats weren't normal? Not really sure. I remember being a little upset when he told me he wanted to monitor me. So he did. Every week I had a scheduled sonogram to see the babies.

I went in the next week and baby #1 was great. Baby #2 wasn't so great. The doctor said the heart rate was slower than the first time.

Went in the next week and baby #1 was great. Baby #2 wasn't so great again. Heart rate was faded and they could barely read it. I started to get very ill at this point. I was feeling very tired, sick, and constantly throwing up. Any time I tried to eat, I couldn't hold it down. I was very sad as well over this whole ordeal.

Went back in the next week and baby #1 was great. Baby #2 had no heart beat. I was still extremely ill. My doctor was getting concerned for my health at this point. He put me on some medications and told me to drink plenty of fluids. All I could really do was throw up and sleep. I tried so hard to keep it together.

I went in the next week and cried my eyes out. I shouldn't have seen what I saw but it was too late. Baby #1 was fine. Sitting in peace in it's own little sac. Baby # 2 was in two pieces. I started becoming hysterical. I didn't know what I was seeing. The doctor came in and calmed me down. Told me what was happening. My body detected a chromosomal defect of some sort and was naturally breaking down baby #2 to be reabsorbed by my body. He told me in his nearly 30 years of practice he had only seen this once before. He said normally a woman would miscarry both babies. Consider myself very lucky he said.

Baby #2 finally went away. Baby #1 ( TYLER) was still thriving. On what I don't know. I wasn't eating and was very ill. My doctor told me that if I didn't take the medications, prenatals, and eat that I would surely loose this baby. So I did what any fearful mother would have done. I began to feel better once baby #2 was gone and started eating like a COW!! Literally. Nothing could stand in between ME and FOOD!

My weight at beginning of pregnancy: 112 pounds
My weight at 4 months pregnant: 121 pounds

Weight  during loss of baby #2: 103 pounds
Weight at end of pregnancy: 168 pounds

When Tyler was born he had Pneumothorax. There was air trapped inside his chest cavity. The longer the air sits, the more it would expand. Allowing the air to sit in his chest, the more of the chance of the air expanding so greatly that it would crush his heart. The doctors had two options. They could insert a huge needle into his chest and draw out the air or Air Flight him to the the All Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, Mn. So at almost 1 day old, Tyler got to go on a helicopter ride. Being that I literally just had a Cesarean that morning, they wouldn't let me leave. I was hysterical. I told them that I am going where my baby goes! My doctor had to come in a calm me down. I kept telling him that I wanted to be where Tyler was. So, after pleading with me, he signed my release that very next morning. I could barely get out of the hospital bed. I don't know how I managed but I made it on the 3 hour road trip to Minneapolis to be with Tyler. I stayed in a room that was attatched to the All Childrens Hospital. He was kept in Neonatal ICU for two weeks. My precious little one finally got to come home and then I was o.k. Tyler is very healthy today. He has a speech impairment but it's part of him now. It's Tyler's personality and I love him for that.

With Tyler, I gained weight a lot faster. I started "showing" a lot sooner as well. I felt baby move sooner and I think it's just because I had an awareness. With Colten, something felt weird but I had no idea what it was so I just asumed it was gas or something. Then I could feel butterflies. Crazy feeling. With Tyler it was even crazier. He was a little jumping bean. Just moving around constantly. With Tyler everything came sooner. I mean everything. I got to the point where I couldn't really tie my own shoes :)

My weight gain was so worth having a healthy little one though. Too bad I felt like a huge whale. Every time I would bend over my brother or Kurt would do the BEEP BEEP BEEP As if a semi truck was backing up? LOL.

Weight after I had Tyler: About 140

I was able to loose some of the weight. I stayed at around 120-128 pounds for the last almost 6 years. I felt a lot bigger than I was ever used to. I sometimes felt sad because I had always been so tiny But on the other hand everyone told me I was much "healthier" looking than before.

I do wonder every once in a while what having twins would have been all about. I do get a little sad from time to time when I look at Tyler and imagine him having a twin brother or sister. It's amazing that out of the whole pregnancy with Tyler that I have a wonderful baby boy living and breathing today. I consider him my little miracle baby.

The coolest part about finding out that I was pregnant with twins: I called my parents of course and broke the exciting news. Not but a few months later my brother calls me and tells me that him and his girlfriend were also pregnant with twins. Amazing story of siblings. My brothers girlfriend carried her twins through. They both are living today and are as beautiful as can be. It's just an amazing story. Tyler's brother or sister is in heaven now and one day I might get to meet him/her. I am blessed to have one of them today. My little stinker! Tyler Shank!