The Big Arrival
I have to start this blog with a warning to any pregnant women out there. I’m not writing this with the intention of freaking anyone out, just sharing my birthing experience, which was anything but textbook.
I had been in labour for close to 24 hours when they wheeled me into the operating room to deliver the twins at just 31 weeks and four days gestation.
I had had enough time to get two rounds of steroids for the twins’ lung development and a healthy dose of magnesium for their brains, thank goodness.
My advice, if you know there’s a possibility that you could go into labour early get the steroids, as I go on to explain, I think it really made a difference.
Back to the OR. I couldn’t believe the amount of people there for the delivery. Twelve people just for me and four for each of the babies!
Before I knew it my feet were in these enormous bright yellow stirrups. I don’t know if it was the epidural drugs but I remember thinking that they looked like they were part of a weird ride at Wonderland. Like i said, it might’ve been the drugs.
The epidural enabled me to feel pressure and know when to push but dulled the pain so that I could focus. It was such a great experience. Baby A (as expected) was coming out vaginally. After about 15 minutes of pushing I was asked if it was alright for them to give me an episiotomy.
My first thought: Oh God, you’re going to have to cut me? But really, what other option did I have? The baby was face down and stuck and needed to come out.
Unfortunately (and here’s why I posted a warning at the start of this blog) the freezing didn’t ‘take’ evenly for me and I felt part of the episiotomy. Not excruciating pain, but enough to make mention. They quickly gave me a needle to immediately freeze the area and we were back in business.
My husband was right there beside me cheering me on and even managed to snap a few pictures. A few more pushes and I gave birth to Baby A.
My tummy was still in the way and I couldn’t see if we’d had a boy or a girl.
The nurses told my husband to tell me what we’d had.
“It’s a girl!”
To which I replied “It’s a girl???!!”
I was so excited! I was convinced I was having boys. What a great surprise.
Zoey Mae arrived at 1:27 am on March 3rd.
She came out pink and crying and when they put her on my chest I started crying too. What an incredible experience. It was love at first sight.
I then realized. Oh my…I still have another one in there!
Thank goodness for the epidural because the doctor had her hand up there trying to grab Baby B (who was breach) and turn her to get her out. After a few failed attempts the doctor was so upset to tell me that she’d have to come out via caesarian.
I knew this was a possibility, but had hoped it wouldn’t be my reality. But I had always said, whatever’s best for my babies, so c-section it was.
I was terrified and crying. I knew that it was a 50/50 chance that I could have a caesarian, but now that chance had become a reality.
Remember how I said my epidural didn’t freeze evenly? Well that was the case for Baby B as well. They kept asking me what I could feel and I kept saying, “Like I’m getting a tattoo.”
My husband said the anesthesiologist had about four different lines of pain killers running into me and said if the last one didn’t take then he’d have to put me out.
Oh no! I can’t be awake for one and not the other!
Thank goodness it took and all I could feel was pressure.
And oh what pressure it was! I’m not sure what a c-section feels like with a singleton but when you have one with twins it feels like the doctors and nurses are beating you up!
After a few minutes Baby B had arrived, but the room wasn’t full of baby cries this time. In fact there wasn’t much noise at all. Ella Blythe was born at 1:57am and was very pale in colour. She was quickly rushed into the next room After a few minutes, that my husband says felt like hours, the nurse who had carried her off came to the door and gave him the thumbs up. He breathed a big sigh of relief.
Our girls had arrived!
