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My unexpected birth story - LONG

RiverSong0527RiverSong0527
in Multiples

Their stats: Page Juliet, 5 lbs. 13 oz, 18.5 inches long, 12:20 am, and Levi Rowe, 6 lbs. 13 oz, 20 inches long, 3:17 am, born at 38 weeks exactly, August 31, 2011.

As a few of you know, I worried so much about the type of birth I was going to have ? one baby was breech for awhile before flipping; I questioned if I should try vaginal after severe tearing with my son.  Ultimately, I chose to deliver vaginally ? my doctor and I set some guidelines for the birth so as to avoid a severe tear. I got myself all empowered about it and?. I had to get the dreaded double whammy L

I saw my OB for a regular visit on Tuesday the 30th and she determined I was leaking fluid. An ultrasound showed Baby A?s fluid was lower than B?s, so off we went to the hospital for the induction. (A sidenote: the leaking was going on for days and I barely noticed ? I had thought leaking would look more like plain water, but it was always mixed with discharge. I assumed it was my mucus plug and never called. Lesson learned ? don?t assume, just call the doc!)

The first part of the induction was smooth. My doc broke my water when she put a lead sensor on Baby A, and from there my contractions came on like crazy. A nurse put me on Pitocin but ended up taking me off because my natural contractions were so strong. Had an epidural, rested, and right before midnight we went to the OR to push.

Baby A, the girl, came out after about 20 minutes of pushing. It was SO easy compared to my son?s birth, which included over two and a half hours of pushing.  She came out and I thought, this is so easy, this is awesome! I fully expected to push Baby B right out.

Baby B?s birth, the boy, started off wrong immediately. My contractions slowed WAY down and I could only push about every 6-7 minutes. The epidural wore off on one side, and when I received more, it was too much and hard to sense the contractions. I began vomiting continuously. It was awful. I felt like all the work was going nowhere. And I pushed and pushed, and while everyone was cheering me on, I could see in my OB?s face that all the pushing was not working.  The baby was not getting past the pelvis. She tried the vacuum 3 times, but no luck. After 2 hours, she gently asked me if I wanted the C-Section.

At that point, I was so tired, I just wanted him out. As they prepped me, the reality hit and I felt like such a failure. I couldn?t stop crying.  My husband and my doc were so kind and supportive, but I was a wreck. Thankfully, the surgery was so easy, I barely felt anything, and quick ? but it was hard for me to even get excited about his birth because I was such an emotional mess.

Ultimately, my doc let me know he was sunnyside up, which usually isn?t a problem, but his head was in a position that each time I pushed, his chin and head pushed back rather than down into his chest to fit out. She assured me I probably had very little chance of pushing him out successfully.

My immediate recovery was hellish, as my epidural wore off and the pain medicine they gave me wasn?t working. I went through a good hour of feeling the incision until they found the right drug and the right amount. Then the pain was gone, but I was a space cadet! I couldn?t focus on people?s faces or even talk right. At one point I convinced my husband I could try breastfeeding, only to hold the baby and literally start dozing off.  It took about half the day to get the pain medicine worked out. At least we look back now and laugh at how ridiculous the situation was. My husband said he was panicking, wondering if I was ever going to go back to normal and taking care of the 2 babies by himself.

After the first day, though, things settled down, and my recovery has been totally manageable. I had a small episiotomy, but recovering from the vaginal birth has been really easy ? just a little sore.  As well, I was sore from the C-Section, but I was surprised how each day I felt less and less pain. Overall, I found the C-Section experience so much easier than I thought it would be.

I have the best doctor, as she came to see me to apologize for how things worked out.  She has no reason to apologize, but it made me feel so good to know how empathetic she is and how much she cares that she would even think she had to.

I felt like, almost embarrassed, about having to get a double whammy, foolish or something, like I made a bad decision.  Ultimately, one thing I decided to focus on the fact that my daughter?s birth was something special. When my first son was born, he was in distress, so I didn?t get to see him right away as they whisked him away to the pediatric team. I got to watch my daughter be born, hold her and touch her right away ? the vaginal birth I always wanted, basically. And the other thing is that my son was worth the sad surprise of the C-Section, of course, and all that matters is they are very healthy and strong. They are here, so I didn?t fail.

I guess my rough delivery owed me some positive karmic retribution, though.  I don?t mean to brag, AND I know they could fashion themselves into hellions in a few week, but they are just so easy right now.  They took to breastfeeding right away, got themselves on the same schedule, and are sleeping well at night.  My son is excited about his ?new family? and though he has a clear preference already for his little brother, he spends time talking to and holding each.  Being a new mom this time around just seems so peaceful and natural, without all the anxiety I had with my son. I am grateful, especially when I watch him interact with his siblings, that he taught me how to be a mom.

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far. I wrote this because I love reading others? experiences, and I just felt like I needed to get my story out of my head and think about the emotions I felt about my unexpected birth experience.  

Best wishes to all the other MoM?s to be ? no matter what your birth experience will be, it will be special, and you will be blessed several times over when you meet your multiples.

Pics below!

 

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