China wife’s water broke right about midnight on Christmas eve. We got to the hospital, China Wife examined, and doctor determined there was not enough time to prep a c-section. 10 minutes later at 1:20 ( 90 minutes after the water broke). Audrey was born at 5# 10 oz and Apgar = 9.
Baby number 2 was high up and in breach position. It took 40 minutes to deliver her at 2:00. Baby was stressed, blue, limp and not breathing but with a heartbeat of 90. A delivery room pediatrician resuccitated her in 1 minute, then her heart stopped. 20 seconds of chest compression and her heart restarted. It took 25 minutes for her to breath on her own. Serena was 6# 1.5 oz and had an apgar = 2 at 1 minute, apgar = 4 at 5 minutes, apgar = 5 at 20 minutes. I sat helplessly holding my wife’s hand and a million thoughts rushing through my head. The pediatrician gave us two updates during the 25 minutes. I burst into tears upon hearing Audrey’s first cries.
3:00 am transported her via incubator to another hospital with a neonatal ICU. This hospital has some tie up with the toronto children’s hospital, and has 120 babies in the ICU. Unbeknownst to me at the time but a group of my friends including a very well off entrepreneur with an acerbic streak far outsized by the size of his heart, seed funded that neonatal icu, paid and imported the specialized equipment, and got the core team of specialists trained abroad.
4:30 am 24 dec got an update that Serena was stable, but concerned her upper body was not responding well to stimulous, but her legs were better. Concerns of organ/brain damage.
I went home, got some things and then back to the foreign clinic with my wife and Audrey. We were really devistated. A little sleep, then started bonding and breastfeeding with audrey.
3:30 in the afternoon on dec 24 went back to the icu and Serena was kicking and waving her arms around in the incubator. 
although the time immediately after her delivery was the worst 20 minutes of my life, and the most stress filled waiting period ever until seeing her full of life, prognosis is excellent for no damage or lasting effects. Will do a brain scan in 2 days, and we can probably have her home in a week.
Jacqueline, daughter number 1, got to hold Audrey, and later said she “is lucky to have 2 sisters”. I also made time yesterday to wrap some prests, help Jaq put up a stocking and leave out beer and cookies for Santa. I didn’t make it home after she went to bed but her grandma should have filled the stocking and put presents under the tree.
So, now I have thee girls, including identical twins, but it’s clear from the start that they are all different.
I hope all of you have a equally joyous Christmas (albeit a less stressful).
