When My Twins Were Born – Part 1

I can hardly believe my twins are one year old today. I can still remember what it felt like to be in the hospital a year ago and the whole road to them being born. Two days ago I made this post on my Facebook page:

On this day, one year ago I woke up to my one year old crying. I brought her in bed with us which I never did and let her fall back asleep. Thinking back on it I feel like maybe she could sense that something was about to happen because late that evening I started to feel off. When I checked my blood pressure I was told to go the hospital. After a while of monitoring me I was admitted. That morning was our last morning at home as a family of 3! To be continued… 

Here’s the rest of the story.

February 8, 2018

I had an appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine Doctor (MFM). At this point, the appointments were weekly. During these appointments I was receiving non-stress tests (NSTs). In short, NSTs are having the babies heartbeats monitored and recorded over a period of time to see how their heart rates change as they go from resting to moving. At this appointment I was actually able to record the sound of their heartbeats which included Baby B’s hiccups. Everything was fine and I had an appointment already scheduled for the next week. That would be my final appointment before my scheduled C-section on February 19.

February 9, 2018

I had an appointment with my Ob/Gyn. Usually, I went to their office which was about 15 minutes from my job, but my doctor wasn’t there that day. Because of this I had to go to the office about 30 minutes away. My blood pressure was a little high, but we chalked it up to me rushing to get there on time. My doctor gave me instructions for the C-section and told me she’d see me then.

That evening, I was craving a burger so we went out to eat. I was uncomfortable the entire time and the food was awful. It also didn’t help that the place was busy and incredibly loud.

February 10, 2018

This is where my Facebook post comes in. As I said I let my daughter lay with us in the morning which was very unusual. I can’t remember what we did that day, but based on the pictures in my phone, we must have put some finishing touches on the nursery.

I made chili for dinner that night in my instant pot. It wasn’t much later that I started feeling bad. I checked my blood pressure and it was high. It’s kind of silly looking back now, but I remember thinking that maybe I had added too much salt into the chili. I probably checked it more than once and I more than likely called my mom. Then I called the on-call doctor. She called me back and told me to head to Labor & Delivery at the hospital. We quickly cleaned up and packed a bag for M because I had a feeling we would not be going home that night as it was already pretty late. Actually, I believe she was already in bed.

Once at the hospital, my blood was drawn and I was hooked up to the monitors for the babies’ heartbeats. They also monitored my blood pressure. I think my BP stabilized some, but my blood came back with concerning protein levels which can be a sign of complications with the liver. I didn’t remember it at the time, but apparently at some point I text my mom, who was waiting outside, that the babies could be born that night. They weren’t.

Eventually, I was checked in and given a room. I was told that I would probably not be leaving the hospital until the babies were born. I received a steroid shot to help develop their lungs. Spoiler Alert: shots in the backside hurt like crazy.

February 11, 2018

Having you blood drawn every morning is the worst part about a long hospital stay.. It seems that it’s usually done at a ridiculously early time before you’re coherent enough to truly get mad. The blood draws are important, though. My protein levels were not getting any better and I was on the verge of something called HELLP Syndrome. A problem for which the only treatment is delivering the baby (or babies in my case).

We had a pretty easy day otherwise with visits from my family who were taking care of M. That night I received another steroid shot. When possible two shots are administered at 24 hour intervals to prepare for a premature birth.

February 12, 2018

I was awakened around 5 am for a blood draw. I remember snacking on some graham crackers when it was done. This turned out to be my last meal for about 36 hours. My husband went to work that morning trying to use as little leave time as possible. I also had him drop off some quizzes I had taken home to grade because I was so worried that if he didn’t take them, my students would never get them back. Again, something that seems so silly to worry about at now.

My mom brought M and stayed with me most of the day. Sometime in the morning the doctor came in to say that my protein levels were still high and more than likely I would be having my babies that day. She told me that I could no longer eat or drink and that following my surgery I would be put on magnesium to keep me from having a seizure. Due to the heart issues I had after the birth of M, I was also scheduled for an echocardiogram. Which is a fancy way of saying they took an ultrasound of my heart.

My husband got back to the hospital around 3 pm and from that point on we were basically just waiting for an opening in the operating room. We thought it was going to happen around 5 pm, but an emergency situation came up and they needed to go first.

We got to hear my doctor call another doctor and ask him to come in and assist with the surgery. It’s kind of crazy to hear someone ask for assistance with a surgery as simply as I would ask another teacher to cover my class. But I guess everyone has a job to do.

The Birth

By about 6 pm my whole family had gathered; my mom, dad, sister, brother, and of course M. At 7 pm I was wheeled into surgery. I walked from my hospital bed to the operating table and was told to relax so that I could be given the spinal block. Yeah, that’s easier said then done. But within minutes I was numb.

At 7:16 pm Baby A was born.

At 7:19 pm Baby B was born.

Both babies came out with a strong cry. They were taken to be checked and brought back within a few minutes so I could see them. I was so happy they were here and I could not wait to hold them for the first time. Both babies were healthy and did not need NICU time, which is something we were concerned about, but prepared for. There was a part of me that was very thankful that that portion of my journey was over.

There is so much more to this story that I will have to add later in a separate post. For now, I will just say Happy Birthday to my girls. I am so thankful that we have made it one year with our strong and healthy twins.