The Twincesses Are Here

It has been a busy couple of weeks... the twins have arrived! The girls were born Aug. 14 and I'm happy to report they are healthy and we're all doing well. The birth was beautiful, drug-free, and earlier than expected. Here's their birth story. I apologize now for the length, but moms are proud of their birth experiences...

I was 36 and a half weeks and my doctor was talking about inducing me around 37-38 weeks because she felt twins could be safer on the outside at this point. I am not a fan of inducement unless ABSOLUTELY medically necessary and this didn't seem like enough of a reason. There was no evidence to back it up and just because it made her "uncomfortable" didn't seem like enough to induce. So I was telling my husband that I just wished the twins would come on their own, whenever they were ready. Just a few hours later, when I got into bed that night I felt my water break. It's a crazy sensation when that happens. Almost like you've peed your pants and you can't stop (not that I have experienced that, but I can imagine). So I ran to the bathroom and told my husband to call the doctor at the hospital. This was about 11:15pm.

I knew it was time to head to the hospital, so we got our daughter out of bed and took her to a friend's house on the way. We got to the hospital about 12:30 and by that time I was having a few, SMALL contractions. Nothing painful yet, just contractions to let me know that things were happening. I was excited b/c I was afraid that because my water had broken without contractions, the doctor would have to give me pitocin to kick things off (again, inducement). So luckily my body responded without any need for intervention.

While this is going on, my sister (who is a labor and delivery nurse at my hospital) was planning to be there for the birth as my doula, just like she did for my first child. However, this night she was out of town for a funeral for a member of her husband's family. ONE night she was going to be gone. Of course that's the night I went into labor. I called her on the way to the hospital and she called her nurse friends to get the "Dream Team" assembled for me and then she hit the road to try to make it back for the birth.

Back at the hospital, they hooked me up to the 800 monitors (okay, just 3, but there were a lot of wires in my way) to watch both babies and monitor the contractions before the doctor would come in. After about half an hour, the contractions were about 2 minutes apart and very INTENSE. I knew things were progressing rapidly. The doctor came in to check me around 1:30 and I was already past 6 cm. The doctor was very nice, but highly recommended that I get an epidural. He said he understood I had done this once before without medication, but for twins it would get very uncomfortable if he had to turn one of the babies if I didn't have an epidural. I said thanks, but no thanks.

NOTE: I didn't choose to give birth without medication to prove a point or to be some sort of superhero. The truth is that there is nothing heroic about it. It isn't a superhuman feat. It's simply about taking control of my birth experience and allowing my body to do what IT WAS MADE TO DO. Being a woman is pretty frickin incredible sometimes and giving birth has to be the best experience you can have. To fully experience birth, I think FOR ME (not for anyone else) it involves allowing myself to feel it. My favorite quote is: "We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong." It's like running a marathon, it takes hard work but the reward is feeling empowered knowing how incredible the body can be.

Back to the birth story... the next half hour after I saw the doctor seemed like one long contraction since they were coming one after another, almost on top of each other. I was thinking that it took me 5 hours to go from 6cm to delivering my first child and I didn't think I could last another 5 hours if my contractions stayed this intense. To explain contractions to someone who has never had them is difficult. It's not constant pain. It's a tightness or cramp in your stomach. A SEVERE cramp that is so intense you can't speak while it happens. It's a wave that comes in and then washes away, usually lasting less than one minute. Transition (the period between 7cm to the complete 10cm) is the most difficult. Contractions are closer together and much more intense than at any other time during labor. It helped me to think of each contraction as a wave and after it washed away, that would be the last time I'd ever have that contraction. And with each contraction, I was one step closer to meeting my daughters.

My husband was a wonderful supporter, who rubbed my back and cheered me on, giving me confidence to continue. When I felt like I was at a breaking point with the contractions, my FABULOUS nurse sensed it and asked if I wanted to be checked again. I was 10cm and we were ready to head to the Operating Room for the delivery. Apparently it's hospital policy to give birth to multiples in the OR, just in case there is a need for a c-section. The c-section rate for twins is about 50% (higher than the 30% rate for all women), so I was desperately trying to avoid that. The more medical interventions you receive (inducement, epidural, etc.), the more likely you are to have a c-section.

It only took 30 minutes to go from a 6 to a 10, so my labor was progressing fast. My bed was wheeled into the OR and it wasn't as scary as I had anticipated. There were a lot of extra people in there (NICU nurses for the babies, anesthesiologist, etc.) and it was bright, but not as cold and sterile as I had expected. My doctor came in and we talked for a little bit. He seemed surprised and told me, "Wow, you're really in control of the situation." I explained that I was fine to chat between contractions, and you really get a break when transtion is over. Instantly you feel the urge to push, but after that ends (again, like a wave it comes and goes) you don't feel any pain -- but certainly there is constant pressure.

Back on the interstate, my sister got the update from my nurse that I was heading into the OR. She was still 3 hours away and knew she couldn't make it back in time for the birth. She pulled over into a Jack In the Box parking lot (this was after 2am), and one of her nurse co-workers stood in the gallery of the OR and gave my sister a play-by-play of the birth over the phone.

In the OR, I pushed for about 15 minutes (only pushing with the contractions, which were each a few minutes apart) and Baby A was born! She was perfect and they placed her on my chest while they cleaned her off. She weighed 6lbs 15oz, which was a good size for a twin born at 36 and a half weeks. Immediately after her birth, the doctor asked how I wanted to manage the birth of Baby B. He said he typically breaks that baby's water immediately and gets Baby B out quickly. I said since we are still monitoring Baby B, let's just take a break and let me catch my breath before we get started on Baby B's birth. I knew the more you intervene, the more likely Baby B wouldn't be ready to come down and we could end up with a c-section for her. The more time we could give her to move down on her own, the better.

After about 15 minutes, the doctor said there was too much bleeding and he wanted to get started on Baby B's birth. I agreed and he broke her water. She came out in one push! She was much smaller at 5lbs 7oz, which is typical of the second twin. She was placed on my belly while they cleaned her. Suddenly I was a mom of 3!

I had an amazing rush after their birth. It's hard to explain, but I would say it's similar to a runner's high. After being exhausted, suddenly you feel renewed and ready to take on anything. After all that hard work, I felt uplifted and full of energy.

We feel so blessed and are excited to start our life as a family of 5. The best way to describe my life is something I'll steal from a recent Julia Roberts interview: Our love is so amazing it burst into 3 people.