san fran shan
Twin Mom
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
- Messages
- 2,668
- Reaction score
- 0
Ok, this is long....sorry!
I was scheduled to be induced Monday, November 26th 2012 at 36 weeks. Sunday night I felt pretty calm and went to sleep on the couch as usual (my bed hadnt been comfortable for about 6 weeks) with a water proof pad under me just in case. I had been sleeping with it there for weeks but never really thought I would need it. I woke up around 4 AM to pee for the 3rd time. I laid back on the couch and reached down to scratch my leg when I felt a trickle of liquid. I stood up and felt more liquid come out. In my head I was thinking, NO WAY! Could this really be happening on its own the day I am supposed to be induced? I went back to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and water flowed out. My water really broke!! I called to Ryan who was asleep in the bedroom and yelled my water broke!! He jumped up and got really excited. I called Labor and Delivery and let them know we were coming in. I wasnt in any pain and wasnt feeling any contractions. Our bags were mostly packed and we scrambled to get the last minute stuff. I took my last bump pic and we headed out the door. It was all so weird and it didnt feel real. I was still really calm but did get emotional a couple times on the 15 minute drive.
We got checked into the hospital around 5:30 AM. They hooked me up to the heart monitors and contraction monitor. I was having contractions but they were mild and not that close together. My doctor arrived around 8:30AM and checked my cervix. It was about 3cm. He decided it was time for pitocin. They added the pitocin to my IV and set it to a low dose. Not too long after, I was having more contractions and they were starting to get a little uncomfortable. The anesthesiologist visited us about the epidural and said when it got more intense he would be back. I kept thinking how I had everything under control and I was still surprisingly calm. Ryan held my hand through all the contractions and helped me breathe. The contractions were starting to get more intense but I was able to get through them. I did keep closing my eyes and forgetting to breathe correctly. At one point a nurse was in there showing me how to breathe.
I am not sure what time it is at this point maybe 11:30AM, and the contractions were coming on FAST and were getting REALLY painful. I could no longer breathe though them and was just staring at the ceiling screaming, moaning, and cursing. Ryan had no idea what to do for me! Things get blurry here. The doc and anesthesiologist came in and said it was time for the epidural. Ya think?!?! They raise my bed up really high and I lean forward all the while having these horrendous contractions that felt like there was no break in between. They got the epidural in and it took what felt like forever to kick in. I laid on my right side first then on my left to get the drug to take effect. There was one spot on my left side that took forever to go numb. They inserted a catheter (didnt feel a thing). The doc checked my cervix again and I was expecting him to say I was 5-6 cm. He checks and says, OK you are at 10! Lets get to the operating room NOW! I was in shock and disbelief. I wanted it all to happen fast, but had no clue it would be this fast!
At about 1:00PM they wheel my bed into the operating room which is standard for twin delivery. I start crying my eyes out when we get in there. I was so scared and also couldnt believe this day was actually here. My pregnancy was over. I was about to meet my babies. All the worrying and questions over their health were about to be answered. The doc saw how upset I was and assured me everything was ok and the number of people scrambling around was totally normal. At some point an internal fetal monitor was hooked up to Owens head (maybe back in my delivery room?) and the doc saw his heart rate drop. They got the vacuum ready and I had a one nurse holding up one leg and Ryan holding one and they also had me grab behind my legs. I couldnt feel anything so they had to tell me when to push. The doc tells me its time and I push once, maybe twice and then he tells Dad to peek over my leg and look and out pops Own! All I kept thinking was, Wow! Thats it??
I see Owen whisked away to the side of the room and hear him cry. Ryan heads over to him to cut the cord and take pics. After Owen was out, my cervix started to close and Emma changed position. I look down at the doc and see he is manually adjusting Emma to get her in position to get her out. It was a really freaky thing to see and there was a lot of blood. I was super happy I couldnt feel anything! Emma is out in a couple of pushes and Ryan goes to cut the cord. The doctor delivers the placentas. I glanced over and saw one. Gross!
Things are a little blurry here, but I remember being wheeled back to my room where my parents were already waiting. There was so much activity. Nurses take O&E into the sink area and give them a good bath, then brought them to me. They smelled so good. Ryans mom joined us in the room as well. At some point it was decided that Emma needed to go to the NICU because she was not breathing as well as they wanted her to. Her nostrils would flare which I guess isnt good.
We got taken to our long term room with Owen. He wasnt latching on. I kept pumping and getting out as much colostrum as I could. We would use a syringe to feed ½ to Owen and Ryan took the other ½ to the NICU for Emma. The first two nights were a blur as well. Because the babies wouldnt latch, we tried other methods like finger feeding with formula and a tube taped to our pinky to sort of simulate breast feeding. That didnt go well either so we finally just had to give them bottles of formula since I had no milk yet and the nurses kept on top of their blood sugar to make sure it didnt drop. Emma got to stay with us the 2nd night. On day 3 we were discharged.
A home nurse came two days later and took their weights and temperatures. Both were having a hard time keeping their body temp up despite our efforts to keep them warm. The nurse had us take them to the doc and then they were readmitted to the hospital that Friday. We stayed another two nights in the pediatric unit. The babies stayed in isolettes and Ryan and I were right there with them the whole time.
The next few weeks are just a blur. I dont remember much! So exhausted, then we all got sick and the babies got RSV. I was really down and cried a lot. I wasnt making enough milk, they were sick, no sleep. But things improved and we sort of got the hang of it. Ryan was off work the first two weeks and my mom stayed with us for 9 weeks.
They are almost 11 weeks old now! Emma is almost 11 pounds and Owen is almost 10 pounds! Breast feeding is better but they are still pretty lazy at it. The bottle feeding has made them lazy! I pump around the clock and feed them every drop. After 4 hours I can pump 5-6 ounces. Usually their bottles are ½ formula and ½ breast milk. During the day they eat about every 3 hours and at night they can go about 6 hours. We have a good routine down. They have been in their own cribs since about 2 weeks. We swaddle them and can put them down awake and they usually will fall asleep without protest. During the day I let them nap whenever they feel like it. I sing to them, dance with them, read them books, and play on the floor with them. They can turn from their front to back if they start propped up on their arms they could do this weeks ago. They smile a lot now which melts my heart every time. Emma can entertain herself on the play mat for 30 minutes or more and then just fall asleep there.
What else?? They drink about 150-160 ml at each feeding. Emma just started trying to refuse bottles. She sticks her tongue out, gags, and screams just putting it near her mouth. We now have to walk around the room and sway a little to get her to take it. Very naughty of her! Owen is a champ eater. He takes the whole bottle without a break, barely burps, and never spits up. Emma spits up A LOT!! When we set her down we put a burp cloth under her head and another one wrapped under her chin. We burp her twice during her bottle and always get huge burps a lot with spit up behind them. They love napping on their stomachs, but at night they are always swaddled and on their backs.
OK, this update is all over the place now and just rambling. I am tired and should really be sleeping. Babies have been asleep for an hour and a half already.
I was scheduled to be induced Monday, November 26th 2012 at 36 weeks. Sunday night I felt pretty calm and went to sleep on the couch as usual (my bed hadnt been comfortable for about 6 weeks) with a water proof pad under me just in case. I had been sleeping with it there for weeks but never really thought I would need it. I woke up around 4 AM to pee for the 3rd time. I laid back on the couch and reached down to scratch my leg when I felt a trickle of liquid. I stood up and felt more liquid come out. In my head I was thinking, NO WAY! Could this really be happening on its own the day I am supposed to be induced? I went back to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and water flowed out. My water really broke!! I called to Ryan who was asleep in the bedroom and yelled my water broke!! He jumped up and got really excited. I called Labor and Delivery and let them know we were coming in. I wasnt in any pain and wasnt feeling any contractions. Our bags were mostly packed and we scrambled to get the last minute stuff. I took my last bump pic and we headed out the door. It was all so weird and it didnt feel real. I was still really calm but did get emotional a couple times on the 15 minute drive.
We got checked into the hospital around 5:30 AM. They hooked me up to the heart monitors and contraction monitor. I was having contractions but they were mild and not that close together. My doctor arrived around 8:30AM and checked my cervix. It was about 3cm. He decided it was time for pitocin. They added the pitocin to my IV and set it to a low dose. Not too long after, I was having more contractions and they were starting to get a little uncomfortable. The anesthesiologist visited us about the epidural and said when it got more intense he would be back. I kept thinking how I had everything under control and I was still surprisingly calm. Ryan held my hand through all the contractions and helped me breathe. The contractions were starting to get more intense but I was able to get through them. I did keep closing my eyes and forgetting to breathe correctly. At one point a nurse was in there showing me how to breathe.
I am not sure what time it is at this point maybe 11:30AM, and the contractions were coming on FAST and were getting REALLY painful. I could no longer breathe though them and was just staring at the ceiling screaming, moaning, and cursing. Ryan had no idea what to do for me! Things get blurry here. The doc and anesthesiologist came in and said it was time for the epidural. Ya think?!?! They raise my bed up really high and I lean forward all the while having these horrendous contractions that felt like there was no break in between. They got the epidural in and it took what felt like forever to kick in. I laid on my right side first then on my left to get the drug to take effect. There was one spot on my left side that took forever to go numb. They inserted a catheter (didnt feel a thing). The doc checked my cervix again and I was expecting him to say I was 5-6 cm. He checks and says, OK you are at 10! Lets get to the operating room NOW! I was in shock and disbelief. I wanted it all to happen fast, but had no clue it would be this fast!
At about 1:00PM they wheel my bed into the operating room which is standard for twin delivery. I start crying my eyes out when we get in there. I was so scared and also couldnt believe this day was actually here. My pregnancy was over. I was about to meet my babies. All the worrying and questions over their health were about to be answered. The doc saw how upset I was and assured me everything was ok and the number of people scrambling around was totally normal. At some point an internal fetal monitor was hooked up to Owens head (maybe back in my delivery room?) and the doc saw his heart rate drop. They got the vacuum ready and I had a one nurse holding up one leg and Ryan holding one and they also had me grab behind my legs. I couldnt feel anything so they had to tell me when to push. The doc tells me its time and I push once, maybe twice and then he tells Dad to peek over my leg and look and out pops Own! All I kept thinking was, Wow! Thats it??
I see Owen whisked away to the side of the room and hear him cry. Ryan heads over to him to cut the cord and take pics. After Owen was out, my cervix started to close and Emma changed position. I look down at the doc and see he is manually adjusting Emma to get her in position to get her out. It was a really freaky thing to see and there was a lot of blood. I was super happy I couldnt feel anything! Emma is out in a couple of pushes and Ryan goes to cut the cord. The doctor delivers the placentas. I glanced over and saw one. Gross!
Things are a little blurry here, but I remember being wheeled back to my room where my parents were already waiting. There was so much activity. Nurses take O&E into the sink area and give them a good bath, then brought them to me. They smelled so good. Ryans mom joined us in the room as well. At some point it was decided that Emma needed to go to the NICU because she was not breathing as well as they wanted her to. Her nostrils would flare which I guess isnt good.
We got taken to our long term room with Owen. He wasnt latching on. I kept pumping and getting out as much colostrum as I could. We would use a syringe to feed ½ to Owen and Ryan took the other ½ to the NICU for Emma. The first two nights were a blur as well. Because the babies wouldnt latch, we tried other methods like finger feeding with formula and a tube taped to our pinky to sort of simulate breast feeding. That didnt go well either so we finally just had to give them bottles of formula since I had no milk yet and the nurses kept on top of their blood sugar to make sure it didnt drop. Emma got to stay with us the 2nd night. On day 3 we were discharged.
A home nurse came two days later and took their weights and temperatures. Both were having a hard time keeping their body temp up despite our efforts to keep them warm. The nurse had us take them to the doc and then they were readmitted to the hospital that Friday. We stayed another two nights in the pediatric unit. The babies stayed in isolettes and Ryan and I were right there with them the whole time.
The next few weeks are just a blur. I dont remember much! So exhausted, then we all got sick and the babies got RSV. I was really down and cried a lot. I wasnt making enough milk, they were sick, no sleep. But things improved and we sort of got the hang of it. Ryan was off work the first two weeks and my mom stayed with us for 9 weeks.
They are almost 11 weeks old now! Emma is almost 11 pounds and Owen is almost 10 pounds! Breast feeding is better but they are still pretty lazy at it. The bottle feeding has made them lazy! I pump around the clock and feed them every drop. After 4 hours I can pump 5-6 ounces. Usually their bottles are ½ formula and ½ breast milk. During the day they eat about every 3 hours and at night they can go about 6 hours. We have a good routine down. They have been in their own cribs since about 2 weeks. We swaddle them and can put them down awake and they usually will fall asleep without protest. During the day I let them nap whenever they feel like it. I sing to them, dance with them, read them books, and play on the floor with them. They can turn from their front to back if they start propped up on their arms they could do this weeks ago. They smile a lot now which melts my heart every time. Emma can entertain herself on the play mat for 30 minutes or more and then just fall asleep there.
What else?? They drink about 150-160 ml at each feeding. Emma just started trying to refuse bottles. She sticks her tongue out, gags, and screams just putting it near her mouth. We now have to walk around the room and sway a little to get her to take it. Very naughty of her! Owen is a champ eater. He takes the whole bottle without a break, barely burps, and never spits up. Emma spits up A LOT!! When we set her down we put a burp cloth under her head and another one wrapped under her chin. We burp her twice during her bottle and always get huge burps a lot with spit up behind them. They love napping on their stomachs, but at night they are always swaddled and on their backs.
OK, this update is all over the place now and just rambling. I am tired and should really be sleeping. Babies have been asleep for an hour and a half already.
I'm glad they're doing so well! And you're super brave to go for a vaginal birth with twins. I was too afraid 
Luckily if caught early it is fixable with no long term neurological problems. There's also a good chance the MRI will show nothing is wrong. It sucks to wait though.
