There are many different ways to announce that you’re expecting, and when Matthew Ziesemer received a T-shirt with “World’s Best Dad” emblazoned on the front, he knew his life was about to change forever.
The T-shirt was a gift from his wife Nicole Ziesemer, who had finally fallen pregnant.
But neither Matthew now Nicole knew just how much their lives were about to change…
Matthew and Nicole believe that pregnancy should flow naturally, with few hospital visits, medications and controls.
The pair refused to have even a single ultrasound.
Nicole had planned to give birth at home, with the help of a midwife. Although planned home deliveries are becoming more common, only about one in one thousand pregnant women opt for a home birth. Nicole’s baby was scheduled to arrive on January 30th.
But to the couple’s suprise, Nicole’s waters broke on December 29th, 2017.
Because she was only in her 36th week of pregnancy, the couple were forced to change their birth plans. It wasn’t the right conditions for a home birth, and Nicole went to the hospital.
Matthew drove Nicole to Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial Hospital in Michigan. The city had been hit by a heavy blizzard, and Matthew had to snowplow the driveway before they could begin their 2 hour drive.
They reached the hospital at 4am on Friday. Nicole’s contractions continued throughout Saturday and her plans for a natural birth, without the help of medication, changed.
Matthew wrote on his Facebook page:
“We had another check at 11AM and she was still at 7cm and for the first time ever in my life I saw the look of giving up in my wife’s eyes and it absolutely killed me.”
Refused medication
Nicole didn’t want to take any mediaction during the birth. But Matthew saw that his wife was suffering terribly.
“After watching her suffer for the last 30 hours pushing and breathing and screaming I knew we had to do something else so I consulted several people and Nicole and we decided to start a small dose of pitocin; well this really got contractions going and got her dilated to a 10.”
After struggling for 4 hours, Nicole had an epidural to help with the pain. 48 hours after her waters broke, her daughter Blakeley Faith Ziesemer came into the world on December 30th at 10:06.
Doctor Megan Forshee was ready to help remove the placenta, but instead she felt another head. Son Cade Matthew Ziesemer was born December 30th at 11:05.
Nobody in the room, including the parents, had been prepared for the arrival of twins!
The proud, but shocked, parents understood that everything wasn’t going to turn out exactly the way they’d planned…
“My first thought after delivering the second baby, ‘oh crap!’ we need a second crib, a second car seat, a second everything,” Nicole tells WZZM13.
“So even though I’m more of a natural person things happen for reasons and there are definitely times for medical intervention and this was one of those times,” Matthew writes on Facebook, and continues:
“God definitely has a greater plan for us and showed us that we don’t control anything in our lives.”
Doctor Megan Forshee, who delivered the twins, had never seen anything like it before.
“I definitely will not forget this couple or these two babies,” she tells Wzzm13.
Don’t you agree that Cade and Blakeley are two tiny miracles?
What a wonderful and unbelievable suprise this must have been! Both Cade and Blakeley are now growing and doing well, and the whole family has returned from the hospital.
Now I hope that this family can settle into their new life, even though it isn’t exactly how they pictured it.
Like and share this story if you also think that children are the greatest blessings!
