lovethe1story: Twin Birth Story

Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:52 PM

"I was scheduled for an induction on December 23 between 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. We decided to induce because the babies were full term for twins and Kiernan's size was noticably larger than Kenzie's. This happens with twins sometimes when one baby hogs the food and nutrients from mom."

The Beginning

Eric and I were actually able to get a good night's sleep on Saturday night and were so bummed out when the hospital said they were full and we should call back at noon. Talk about waiting anxiously! Finally at 11:00 a.m. the hospital called us! Yay!

At noon Eric and I checked in and got to our room. Everything was very fast since we had pre-registered all our paperwork and they were expecting us. First thing we had to do was get me hooked up to the IV. I have never had an IV and my body sort of freaked out. I overheated and felt like I was going to pass out. Eric was so nice and went to get me some water and ice chips, but I think I actually freaked out more because he was not with me. Several nurses came running in and they put an oxygen mask on me, called my doctor and had to move the fetal monitors around to find Kenzie's heart rate... which was in decel. So, the first 10 minutes were definitely the scariest.

Waiting for Contractions

After that commotion, I just hung out for about eight hours. I had some contractions, very mild. My family and Eric's family visited and did anything possible to kill the time. At 8:00 p.m. the nurse told us our options were to stop the IV, reschedule an induction for a later date, or continue on with the IV and hope that it was not too much pressure and stress on the babies. This decision was very difficult because we ultimately want what is best for the babies and there was really no way of predicting what that was since I had not made any progress. After deciding to stay on the IV for 4 more hours, everyone left the room and I got to rest a bit.

Whoosh! The Water Breaks

At 9:00 p.m. I laid on my left side and was almost asleep when my water broke. It was a very unusual sensation and at the same time I knew this meant the babies were coming! Of course the nurse button had fallen on the floor behind the bed, so I couldn't reach it and Eric was out in the waiting room so I had to call him on his cell phone. When he came running down the hallway, the nurse had no idea what he was doing. She said that since the water had broken, the decision had been made by the babies... they were ready! Things progressed rather quickly after that. The contractions were more intense. I had to really focus my breathing and Eric had to talk me through them. At the shift change we got an excellent nurse and she let me get off the IV and labor in the jacuzzi tub. It did not lighten the contractions, but it was very nice to get out of the hospital bed. The nurse said that my pain tolerance looked like I was dialated to about 3 cm. I labored some more on the bed and she called the anethiesiologist to get the epidural started.

At 1:00 a.m. I got my epidural and Eric again did an excellent job talking me through the process. Since I had such a bad reaction to the IV I was a bit tense, but everything worked out perfectly. After the epidural, the pain of the contractions was much lower and more manageable. I started to get the shakes and the nurse said that it was probably the "3 cm shakes," meaning, she guessed I was dialated to a 3. She checked and everyone was shocked to realize I was dilated to 8!! What progress! It was really exciting to know the babies were even closer to being born. Eric and I were able to get some sleep while I dialated from 8 to 10 centimeters.

Time to Push 

At 4:00 a.m. the nurse said she would call the doctor and we would start moving toward the operating room at 4:30 a.m. Since twins are considered high risk (even though I had no complications during the entire pregnancy) only 1 "partner" can be in the delivery room with me. This was a huge bummer because for months Eric and I had planned on having both of our moms in the delivery room with us. We finally convinced the nurse to let my mom join us and she only agreed on the condition that she could kick mom out if she needed to. Eric and I were both very upset that his mother could not join us, but, looking back, we are thrilled that she was able to be in the hospital room for the majority of the labor process.

Kiernan is Born

At 4:30 a.m. Trina, Eric, and Debbi went to the OR. It was a very large room and not at all as 'homey' as the birthing suite. Dr. Evan showed up right away and we got started pushing. I had to push for 4 counts of 10 for each contraction... not easy! It is hard enough just holding your breath for that long, never mind the fact that I was trying to birth a child... or two.  Finally Kiernan's head came out. I had to stop pushing so that the doctor could unwrap the cord from his neck and then... presto... he was on my belly! Eric got to cut the cord and then went with Kiernan to the baby station to watch his apgar test and see him take his first breath!

Kenzie is Born

Since our little lady was still inside, the doctor had to perform a quick ultrasound to see if she had turned or flipped now that she had all the space to herself. Like a perfect girl, she did not. She was head down and ready to go. McKenzie's head was out in 1 1/2  contractions, 6 pushes. The doctor had to cut her cord from around her neck because it was wrapped so tightly. She was not laid on my belly, but taken to the baby station immediately. Eric still got to cut her cord and see her first breath. It took her a bit longer to get going, but soon both babies were swaddled and in Daddy's arms.

Debbi took video of the kids' clean-up process and some still shots of Momma, Daddy and babies.  It took about 30 minutes and then we all went over to the birthing suite and babies got to meet their Grampa Terry, Nana Dianne, and Grampa Rick.

What an amazing Chirstmas Eve morning!

Have a great story of your own? Email it to ewalters@theknot.com!