*Michael*
I stared through the glass of the NICU at my newborn babies, feeling an indescribable combination of love, joy, and trepidation. My gaze traveled from my newborn son in the first incubator to his twin sister in the second, unable to comprehend the torrent of emotions coursing through me.
They were so small, my son two pounds three ounces, and his sister just an ounce more. My heart swelled with love as I counted each precious finger and toe, the tiny digits twitching against the nurse's gloved hands as he checked their vitals.
Both babies’ heads were covered in a downy, blond fuzz that always seemed prominent on preemies. Their faces are slightly covered by the tape holding the feeding tubes that went down one nostril, as well as the oxygen tubes that helped their lungs get much-needed oxygen.