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“What we did was counsel them about the basic risks that may occur during the course of the pregnancy and then prepared a plan of care for them,” Dr. Van Eerden said.

“It was a village taking care of us.”

For Jon and Sadie, their “little pumpkins” were monitored and everything turned out better than expected. They wouldn’t need the NICU after delivery, but there was comfort knowing it was there just in case.

On November 8 at 6:45 a.m., they arrived at the Sanford Family Birth Center. But the hours went by and no babies.

“It was a long day!” Sadie said. “But just to think how great the staff was … one of our nurses even stayed over her shift because she wanted to be there for the birth.”

Jon agreed: “It was a village taking care of us and they were all cheering us on.”

The final push

The OR was ready. The NICU was just down the hall. Twenty skilled medical professionals coaching Jon and Sadie. Everything was prepared for Sadie and those two babies.

“You knew it was being done right,” Jon said. “They’re a well-oiled machine.”

Just after 11 pm that evening, Liv entered the world, followed by Hadley. Two healthy babies. Two joyous parents.

What a trip

For the Ericksons, everything worked out in the end, thanks to the skilled, coordinated care provided by their team at Sanford.

“We just could not have done it without them,” the couple said.

Today, the Ericksons are in the preliminary planning stage of outdoor adventures with Liv and Hadley. While the couple debates over Lake Superior or somewhere in Wisconsin, the two babies sit in their laps, cooing and content. Happy and healthy. [AWM]