Birth Story

Okay, I don't really have time to proofread this - I wrote it a while back, but I just always seem to be running out of time to post things here.

Sunday night I was noticing that my contractions (which I had been having on and off since week 18) were coming about every 8-10 minutes apart. They were painless but I also had a dull backache. I called OB around 9pm and she was not convinced that this was it. She wanted me to try and rest and see if they became harder to breathe through. So I went to bed and slept for a while. Around 2-3am I woke up and my abdomen just felt like it was locked up in a contraction and I just had this fear that something wasn't right with the babies. I called my OB and she agreed that I might as well just swing by the hospital. I took a shower, ate a little bit and brought a nutella sandwich (and boy am I glad I did).

We arrived at L&D around 4-4:30am and I was put on monitors. As the technician was adjusting machine, I had one of my contractions and right after, the girl's heart rate went down really low. The contractions were starting to feel a bit different. Following the stronger contractions girl's HR would dip really low. OB decided to keep me for further monitoring. As contractions got stronger boy's HR started acting up too. I can't remember how low they both went, but every single time an episode happened several nurses would come rushing in. It was decided that the babies likely would not do well under the stress of birth and that we would be having our babies by c-section later on in the day. 

 After hearing this and recognizing that I would be having c-section, my body all of a sudden decided to slow down labor on its own. Contractions got further spread out, which was good because it was scary to watch the monitors during every episode. The various Drs spent a while deciding who was doing the c-section. Around 3pm I was wheeled into the OR and my OB delivered the twins at 3:24pm and 3:25pm. The spinal block was the craziest sensation ever and everything went really fast and before I knew it, I was a mother of two. The room was very busy with 2 NICU teams and who knows how many other people. Spinal block made me so loopy, but hearing those babies screaming for the first time was just amazing. 

Both babies were rushed to assessment. Joshua needed some assistance breathing, while Caroline came out tiny but perfect. Both were brought to me for just a bit before going to nursery and NICU respectively (Josh had some fluids in his lungs). Hubby went with Josh and I just laid there listening to the team work, as they finished stitching me up. It was all very quick, without complications. 

Josh ended up spending 8 days in NICU for a severe case of "being lazy" (my term) and jaundice. He refused to feed and one of the first times I saw him, he was hooked up to IV, feeding tube, 4 different kinds of monitors and a nasal cannula to help him breathe. Things got pretty complicated when Caroline and I were released after 3 days. Fortunately our hospital offered us to room in on a different floor. Days were crazy Caroline was with me in the room and hubby was with Joshua in NICU. I had a really bad case of engorgement in the hospital, but since coming home, my supply has been a constant battle. Caroline is feeding with the aid of a nipple shield and Joshua has finally figured out the whole boob thing. 

The reason for my absence

As you may have guessed, I had my babies!!! And let me tell you, they were not kidding when they said that having twins completely changes your life. First off, I never knew that I could have so much love for someone I just met. These precious little munchkins just fills my heart with joy!!

I will get my act together and post their birth story. But for now I will leave you with these pictures.