When Jessica Fruchtenicht went into labor in February, she was worried for her twin girls. She was only 23 weeks into her pregnancy. It was too early to be sure of a healthy delivery.
What followed for the Bristol mom was a painful and bittersweet ordeal in which she lost one child and was finally able to bring one little girl home.
Fruchtenicht had tried for years tried to get pregnant. When it finally happened, she learned she was expecting twins.
“I cried. I was a little stunned,” she said.
Jessica's joy turned to fear as the pregnancy brought various complications. The biggest of all happened on Feb, 3, when she was 23 weeks pregnant.
"My water broke and I didn’t want to recognize it or believe it," Jessica said.
She was soon in labor, at a point in pregnancy when the chance of survival for the babies is extremely low.
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Jessica gave birth to a baby girl named Brooke. Then, to everyone's surprise, Jessica's labor stopped.
"For the second baby, we knew that baby was larger, so if we could buy some more time for that baby, the outcome would be much better,” Dr. Amy Johnson, an Ob-Gyn from Hartford Hospital, said.
It's extremely rare, but Dr. Amy Johnson said twins can occasionally be delivered at different times.
"When I called my husband to explain to him, I think he just about dropped the phone. He said, 'What do you mean? How can you deliver one without the other?” Jessica said.
Brooke survived less than a day, but Jessica kept hope alive for the baby still growing inside her.
"It's amazing how each day, at that stage, can make such a difference,” Dr. Johnson said.
Ten days later, on Feb. 13, a second baby girl arrived. She weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces. They named her Addison.
"She just has been a total fighter from the day she was brought into this world,” Jessica said.
Within hours, she was breathing on her own and after a couple month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, she's finally home.
"She's truly a miracle. The whole experience is a miracle,” Jessica said.
