Twins

Now that the twins are three months old (today!), I suppose it's finally time to blog about them.

So, to be honest, the end of my pregnancy was pretty rough. As you can see, I was huge. None of my maternity clothes were long enough anymore. I was seeing my OB every week, going to the specialist every three weeks for ultrasounds, and getting non-stress tests at the hospital once a week. The doctor started checking me at 30 weeks and I was already starting to dilate, so he put me on partial bedrest. Basically, I was supposed to stay off my feet and relax as much as possible. No walks allowed. I didn't mind that much though because I was pretty tired, my stomach and back hurt all the time, and I had contractions every time I had to walk up the stairs to our apartment. The rest was definitely needed.

Anyway, 36 weeks came along and I had my final ultrasound with the specialist. He said I should deliver by 37 weeks at the latest. So we passed the info along to the OB at my weekly appointment, which was on a Thursday, and he said, "Why don't we do it tomorrow?" So we scheduled an induction for 36 weeks 5 days.

The next morning we got up bright and early, left Will home with some friends, and headed over to the hospital in town.

They told me to be there around 6:30 and we got there right on time. It took a while to get us checked in, and then they started me on IV fluids. After a couple hours of that, the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural, and then we had to hang out and wait for epidural to kick in before they would start me on the pitocin.














I have to say, having a working epidural makes a big difference! With Will I didn't get one long enough for it to work, but this time I didn't feel a thing! When I came in that morning I was already dilated to a 3+. They started me on pitocin around 11 a.m. and I was fully dilated before noon.

Because I was having twins, prepping for delivery was kind of a big deal. I had to deliver in the operating room just in case something happened with the second baby. Getting me wheeled in there with all the cords and wires on me was quite the ordeal. Then they had to get the OR set up all around me and prep me as if I were having a c-section.

Physically, delivering was a breeze. I only had to push a couple times with each baby, and they came just four minutes apart. Baby B just slid right into place for his turn. Because of my epidural I really barely felt a thing, and I didn't tear at all. Mentally, delivery was a little bit tougher. I felt like I had no idea what was going on around me, I was strapped down to the table so I couldn't see anything, and I had to wear oxygen so I had a hard time hearing what people were saying to me. It was a very different experience than what I had with Will. Even though it was a lot less painful, I think I preferred being able to feel when to push and knowing what was going on.

So, welcome to the world Henry and Charlie! Henry James was born at 12:18 pm weighing 5 lbs 11 oz and measuring 18 1/2 inches long. Charles Dean was born at 12:22 pm weighing 4 lbs 14 oz and measuring 18 3/4 inches long.

Neither baby had great apgar scores, and they were both pretty small, so I didn't even get to see them for about two hours. The nurses assured me that everything was fine, but it's really stressful not being able to hold your babies! Luckily, both babies really were fine. They were both having a hard time keeping their temperature up, so they had to be double swaddled and hang out under a warmer for a day or two, but they were healthy enough to come home when I was discharged. They let us go home on Sunday morning, after they decided that my blood pressure was low enough and the babies looked healthy.



Will wasn't sure what to think about the babies, especially after we left him home for two days while we were at the hospital, but he's learning to love them!