@MrsP419's birth story!

MrsP419 · June 2014

Short version: Audrey Marie and Margot Sara were born at 10:45 and 10:47 am on June 5 via scheduled C-section. Audrey was 5lbs and 7 oz, 18.5 inches long, and Margot was 5lbs 8oz, 19 inches. Both are doing amazingly well, and tandem nursing is going great. We came home today and are so happy and blessed!

Photos below: Audrey has the purple hat, and is the one wearing the hat in the individual photo. Margot either has the pink hat or no hat. In the photo where they both have no hat, Audrey is on the left :-). Yes, it gets confusing.

The super long version:
I finally have a moment to say hi to you all and write our birth story. Our internet was really weird in the hospital and for some reason, it specifically did not like the Bump. Oh well. Thanks so much to all of you for your congratulations and love! This is the best group. And I am so thankful for my LB @CAMags for keeping y'all in the loop and for being someone for me to talk to as she shared her wisdom as a new twin mom, too!

This birth story is so much stranger than any other one I have written. A planned C-section is just a surreal experience after having two spontaneous vaginal births. I knew that I could still go into labor any time, but I just had a feeling that I would make it to my C-section date (and after a point, I really wanted to make it to that date because I did not want to go into labor just to have a C-section anyway). It was so crazy going to bed last Weds night knowing I would wake up and proceed to the hospital to have our girls. My whole family (DH, DD, and DS and I) stayed at my in-law's the night before. Their house was a bit closer to the hospital, and DD and DS were going to stay with them while we were having the babies. I was very uncomfortable and anxious, but also excited. DH and I caught up on some episodes of Glee, I ate a weird "final meal" of baked Lays and Frosted Flakes, and we went to bed around midnight. I barely slept at all the night before due to nerves and reflux. But soon enough, morning came and it was the girls' birthday! DH and I kissed our big kids goodbye, and left for the hospital around 7 a.m.

After checking in, I was taken right back to the room that would be my recovery and postpartum room for the whole stay. We had about 2 hours before surgery time to do vitals, paperwork, put in an IV, etc. It was so weird being in this room and seeing the two cradles and the sign on the wall with spaces for two names and birth weights. The staff was so incredibly friendly and upbeat; they really wanted to make this a special day for us. We were visited by the nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologists, all going over last minute questions and procedures. For the most part, the time flew by. DH and I watched the Silver Linings Playbook DVD while I got my IV, and we waited for go-time.

At almost 10 exactly, we were taken down the hall to the OR. DH was left outside the OR to change into scrubs, and I was taken back to get my spinal. There were SO many people in the room! Because we were having twins, they need two of everyone. I was shaking with nervousness at this point. Like literally shaking. I had never had an epidural or any medication before while in labor, so I was terrified of that spinal. There was a nurse there who seemed like had the sole job of standing in front of me, making eye contact, and keeping me from freaking out as I say on the operating table and leaned to get the spinal placed. Thank God for her, because the spinal took a while (they had a hard time finding the right spot), and I was freaking out. It did not hurt to get the spinal placed, but it definitely felt weird, especially when I was feeling the placement more than once as they tried to put it in. After what felt like forever (probably more like 5 minutes), they swung me onto my back and I felt my body start to go numb. They did various tests pricking and poking me, and I really didn't feel anything after a while. My arms were put out to my sides, but not strapped down; they just put heavy blankets over them. I was starting to feel relaxed and more excited.

DH came in and I started getting more meds and such from my nurse anesthetist (she was the BEST!) DH was given a seat by my head and they rolled up the giant blue curtain so I could see nothing but blue and DH next to me. My nurse anesthetist offered to take photos, which was awesome because DH gets queasy. Very quickly and anticlimactically, my surgery began. Just like I was told, I felt no pain; just lots of tugging and pressure at times. A few times, I felt super nauseous (the NA said it was when my BP dropped), but she put anti nausea meds into my IV and I would feel relief immediately. I had no idea what was going on specifically, but I felt calm overall.

Since I had never had a C-section before, I had no idea what to expect once the babies came. I knew I wanted to do skin-to-skin as soon as I could, but I was totally preparing myself for the possibility that they would be whisked away. I had no idea if they would cry or not, so I tried not to wait for that sound. I tried to keep my expectations reasonable and vague as I waited. Finally, I heard the doctor say "Baby A is coming out!" I felt a ton of pressure, like someone was standing on my chest, then a pull, and then I heard this glorious cry! I asked the OB what side she came from (since that is how I knew who was who) and he said my left. I said "that's Audrey!" and she was taken away to be cleaned. Everyone said she looked and sounded great, and apparently came out peeing all over the doctor. Not moments later (2 mins to be exact) I felt the same pressure as the OB announced Baby B is coming out! Again, maybe a bit later, I heard a beautiful cry, and told the nurses that one was Margot. I could not see either of them yet because of the blue sheet, but I was feeling very joyful and peaceful because they sounded so healthy. I told DH to go over and be with them, and just enjoyed hearing them cry (in unison! It was crazy!) as I was stitched up. Very soon after, a nurse brought Margot over to meet me, and I kissed her and wished her a happy birthday. Audrey came not soon after for a kiss. It took maybe 10-15 minutes to close me up, with DH taking photos of the babies and me sending a message to our moms telling them the babies were here, and then I was moved onto a hospital bed. At that beautiful moment, both girls were placed in my arms so I could marvel at them. They were perfect and healthy. Together, we were wheeled back to my room.

Since then, it has been a blur of amazingness. Other than being under warmers in our room for a little while on Day 1 and needing to have their billirubin and temps monitored a bit, they have been in perfect health. We spent 4 nights in the hospital due to my C-section, and while I am sore, I feel much better than I thought. I have loved having skin-to-skin time with them separately and together; it is so special having two, and really much less terrifying than I thought. The biggest gift to me through all this is how well they are nursing. I was really afraid of the logistics of nursing twins, and nervous about if they would be good nursers. I knew that maybe I would need to spend time nursing separately to work with each one, but hoped for at least one successful tandem nursing session to give my confidence. Thank God, they have been tandem nursing almost all the time. Margot tends to be a bit lazier and wants to cut nursing quicker than Audrey, but overall, I can feed them at the same time, then supplement a little breast milk after. I could not be more thankful for how well we are doing. We just came home today, and DD and DS are loving us all being together. I feel so incredibly blessed.