The Induction
Monday was 38 weeks, I can't believe we made it that far. I think they would have stayed in another week or maybe two if we had let them. The doctors informed us that in the last two weeks of a twin pregnancy, the risk of delivering the babies can outweigh the benefits of keeping them in. With limited space there's a chance that one or both babies could stop thriving.
We came in at 7 in the morning, none of us had slept a whole lot....how do you sleep when you know you're going to have twins the next day?
I started the day dilated to 3cm 70-80% effaced. tested positive for the GBS (a very common skin bacteria that over 40% of people will test positive for. It doesn't affect the carrier but can affect the babies) and I needed 2 doses (4 hours apart) of antibiotic before I delivered so they started a very low dose of petocin along with the antibiotic. I wasn't really feeling any contractions at this point.
By noon I got the second dose of antibiotic and they increased the petocin to get things going. This is when labor began. I had to stay in bed or the chair for the most part because they had to monitor 2 babies. This is not the way I am used to laboring, I'm used to walking the halls and taking charge. Artificial contractions (from petocin) and being relatively imobile was not the vision I had of labor but I had the most amazing husband, nurse and midwife that never left my side. They had more confidence in me than I had in myself.
My midwife gave me the opportunity to change positions as labor intensified, she was seriously amazing...rubbing my back and talking me through each contraction.
Sara and Jon were in the room the whole time, but I was in the zone and not really speaking to anyone. Hardcore labor puts you in a completely different state of mind, almost meditative. I knew they were there though, supporting me and anticipating their babies' arrival.
At about 2:30 or so I was dilated to 6-7 and my confidence was wavering. Soon after this, the contractions were very intense and I told my midwife that I didn't think I could do it. She said "give me 5 minutes on your hands and knees and I'll get you some meds" (this is a great position to move the baby down) sure enough about 5 minutes later I was fully dilated and ready to move to the operating room for delivery. She knew I was close and I'm so glad she didn't let me cave. Johnny, Jonathan and Sara got their white jumpsuits on and their blue
caps and we were ready to go.
As they were wheeling me to the operating room I asked my midwife "What can I have?" and she said "Twins!"
It's funny to me now lol.
Delivery
Once we got into the operating room it all happened so fast. They didn't even move me to the operating room bed, I was ready to push baby Asher out, it was a couple of pushes and he was out. Jon got to catch him and emotion swept the room. They put Asher on my stomach so the cord could be cut. I am bawling right now just thinking about it.
After the cord was cut they brought Asher to the warmer I saw Sara's face at this point, she was bawling and so happy..that was the moment...the moment I had been dreaming of. A pink, vibrant, healthy baby and two happy parents. They let me hold him once he got warm, he got really quiet and was very alert. He looked JUST like Jonathan!
For that brief moment I forgot...."I have to do that again!" I realized that I had no idea how this part worked. Would I have to continue to labor? How long would it take? My questions were soon answered with a contraction and pressure, my midwife checked me and then broke baby B's water bag. They took Baby Asher back to the warmer. Baby B was ready to come out at this point. A couple more good pushes and 9 minutes after her brother, out comes Celeste, I found out later Jonathan caught her too. Like I said, it's all a bit of a blur.
They put her on me to cut the cord and a huge wave of relief hit me. I did it, two healthy babies, a family created. No words can explain the emotions in that room, elation, relief, gratitude, pride...love.
Post Birth (Possibly TMI :-)
After Celeste was born and she got warmed up they brought her to me so I could hold her. She was another perfect little peanut. After a few minutes I gave her back, it was time to get the placentas out (you can skip this part if you're squeamish). The first placenta came out without much effort but the second one was a different story. The second placenta had not detached, this is called retained placenta; this is when the placenta doesn't detach from the uterus on its own. This can cause bleeding and possibly hemorrhage. The midwife pulled on the cord and the cord detached from the placenta leaving her no choice but to manually remove the placenta. At this point they gave me some pain meds through my IV and called in the doctor. After several painful tries the anesthesiologist showed up and they decided I would need a D&C which also meant I'd be given a spinal. This is where I broke down, there was no way I just gave birth naturally to get a spinal. The doctor said she would try one last time, luckily she was able to get it.
Soon I was returned to my room and got to see the babies. Asher was 5lb 1ounce and Celeste was 5lb 9 ounces, both 18 inches long. Though they were small, both were completely healthy. Absolutley no NICU time!
I will post soon about the days following their birth along with pictures.
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