MyMommyVents is kicking off the month of October by celebrating\u00a0\u201cPhenomeMoms.\u201d \u00a0Each week, we\u2019ll profile a phenomenal mom\u00a0who has faced tough challenges and managed to come out stronger. Every day, we see celebrity moms featured on magazine covers and websites for their fashion, weight loss, or personal struggles\u2013but we\u2019d like to celebrate the every day moms who are truly making a difference. We\u2019re recognizing the phenomenal moms who\u00a0sacrifice to give their children what they need, the moms who go above and beyond\u00a0to do the best for their kids. This month, we\u2019re honoring YOU.<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s PhenomeMom is Fiona Slade, a North Carolina wife and mom of \u00a0seriously adorable twin girls Madison (Maddy) and Laila.\u00a0After\u00a0struggling with endometriosis, Fiona discovered she was pregnant with twins\u2013but her pregnancy and the months after the girls\u2019 birth wouldn\u2019t be easy. Read on for this phenomenal mom\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

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How did you feel when you first learned you were pregnant? Do twins run in either of your families?<\/strong>
\nWe were elated! After trying for so long it seemed so unreal that we were finally going to be parents! In 2012 I was diagnosed with endometriosis and after testing and ultrasounds discovered I had blockage on my left and right fallopian tubes. I had surgery in June of 2012 to remedy that. In November of 2013, (almost after a month of being late) I went in for a routine doctor\u2019s appointment and that\u2019s when we found out the great news! There are one set of twins on my side which are very distant cousins and one set on my husband Patrick\u2019s side so we were quite shocked on Christmas Eve when we went in for my first OB appointment to find out that there were two heartbeats and 2 sacks.<\/p>\n

But soon after the joyful news, trouble would hit. At just five and a half months into her pregnancy, Fiona\u2019s doctors put her on bed rest for her health and the health of her children.<\/em><\/p>\n

How did you entertain yourself while on bed rest (because I was bored out of my mind!)?<\/strong>
\nOh no the \u201cB\u201d word ha! Bed rest, hmm. I felt so incapable. I watched TV, read magazines, finished about 20 levels of Candy Crush, online shopping etc. There was only so much I could do because I was hospitalized. My husband was there with me the whole time until the girls were born. He would leave to go to work in the evening and a couple of times per week go to our house to check the mail, do our laundry and make sure everything was okay.<\/p>\n

Fiona\u2019s doctors were concerned about the girls\u2019 development, and she had ultrasounds daily to check their progress. Approximately three weeks into her stay at the hospital, a routine ultrasound showed that one of the babies was in distress, and Fiona would have to deliver them by an emergency c-section.<\/em><\/p>\n

When you learned that the girls would have to be delivered by c-section, were you scared? Nervous? How did your husband react?<\/strong>
\nWe were not expecting that news because even though I had been having complications, everything seemed to have been going okay. After the ultrasound technician completed the ultrasound, the Maternal Fetal Care doctor came in shortly after and dropped the biggest bomb on us. My baby B (Laila) was in distress. She was almost a pound smaller than baby A (Maddy), because of the blood flow from her heart to the umbilical cord. This is known as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). If they didn\u2019t deliver both girls that day, Laila would not make it. We completely lost it after hearing this news. We cried, we prayed, and cried some more. My hospital room quickly filled up with nurses prepping me for my c section, which would take place 4 hours later.<\/p>\n

Once Maddy and Laila were delivered, they were rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where they would remain for until they were well enough to go home. Maddy stayed in the NICU for three months, and Laila stayed for four, transferring to another hospital for surgery and another month of recovery.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Maddy and Laila were in the NICU, how did you cope? What was your schedule like during that time?<\/strong>
\nWhile the girls were in the NICU, it was quite an emotional time for me, especially for the first month or two. I was on maternity leave during the first 3 months of their NICU stay and spent at least half my day at the hospital. I became a familiar face among the staff. I wouldn\u2019t miss a day away from them, even though for a while I was unable to even hold them. I would also spend time every 3 hours to pumping. It was always my plan to breast feed once they were born so this was something I knew I needed to dedicate myself to.<\/p>\n

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Did you blame yourself at any point? (With my first son, I thought it was something I did, or that it was because of my gestational diabetes)<\/strong>
\nThere were many days when I would beat myself up for what happened but then I came to a realization that everything that happened, happened for a reason. I was definitely somber for a while after the girls were born and was even diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There were days when I just wanted to be by myself. The doctors would often assure that there was nothing I could have done to prevent my pre-term labor and that the sequence of events that took place with my pregnancy was often common with other moms pregnant with multiples.<\/p>\n

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Did you form relationships with other parents whose children were in the NICU? Do you still keep in contact with them?<\/strong>
\nAll of the parents I met that that had babies in the same unit that the girls were in were great. All were very friendly and supportive to one another even though we were all there for the same reason. There was however, one mom that I clicked with instantly. Her daughter and ours were born only 3 days apart. There were many days while our girls were in the hospital that she and I would pray together, celebrate milestones that our girls were achieving, and support each other on days when things weren\u2019t going as well. One year later, and we still keep in contact and will be getting together to celebrated our little miracles\u2019 birthdays together!<\/p>\n

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