Birth Story - Part 1

From the moment I found out I was having twins, I received hundreds of unwanted comments about how I would end up on bed rest and probably have the boys really early. As if I needed something else to worry about! So, imagine my surprise (and my doctors', too!) when I walked into the hospital to be induced at 38 weeks and 2 days!

On June 27th at 5:30 in the morning, Kevin and I arrived at the hospital. We were both so nervous on the 30 minute ride there...I couldn't believe it was really happening! And to be 100% honest, I was absolutely terrified. Obviously there was no turning back, but I kept asking myself "Can I do this?", "What if I can't handle them?". The whole day, people kept asking if I was excited and, all I could say was "I'm so scared." We filled out tons of paper work, changed into that ugly hospital gown, was checked for dilation (still  at 2 cm and 80%, which I had been for THREE weeks!) and got hooked up to all the monitors. My boys hated the monitors and kept moving from them. It took the nurse forever to get a good reading on their heart rates! Around 7:30 they started my IVs and I hated it. I'm absolutely terrified of needles...can't even watch them take my blood! So, of course, my luck they had an awful time getting the IV started. That blasted thing was the most annoying part of my day!

Our parents and sisters were the only people we wanted at the hospital with us until after the boys were born, so they arrived around 9:00 am. We told them not to be in any hurry, but they weren't having it. They wanted to be there for all of it and I'm glad they were. They kept me calm! They started the pitocin drip around the time they all got there, but my contractions never really picked up.  I was in pain, but I think a lot of it was due     to me just being so uncomfortable in that stupid bed and having to stay still to keep their heart rates on the monitors. Kevin was such an amazing help. He sat right by my side and held my hand whenever I was hurting. He refused to leave my side, especially when a nurse or doctor came in. They wanted to get my epidural started, but I was being a baby and wanted to put it off as long as I could. Which was silly on my part because the doctor didn't want to break my water or anything like that until after I was numb and the nurse didn't want to up the pitocin until then either, so I was basically just wasting time.

Finally, around 1:30 or 2:00, I got the epidural. I was as ready as I could have been before that, but they were in a c-section and I had to wait. My luck, huh? I will admit, I bawled like a baby when they came in. I couldn't help it...I was so scared! I had heard so many horror stories and I just did not want it. My two nurses and Kevin stayed right with me and coached me through it. Turns out I was worried for nothing! I didn't feel any pain at all, just pressure. I felt like a brand new person! They also checked me at this time and I was at 3 cm and 90% effaced. I took a nap and talked to our families for a bit and they came back two hours later, at 5:30, to check me again. I was at 4 cm! Wahoo! My nurse told me that I was in real labor now and that I should progress at 1 cm an hour. We all settled in because we figured it would be a long night. Imagine my surprise, again, when they checked me two hours later and the first thing the doctor says was "Oh, this is great! The baby's head is right there! You're complete!"

This is starting to get a little long, so we'll end it here! I'll leave you with some pictures and I'll post the rest tomorrow!

Me, after the epidural:

Whit & Kevin getting ready to head to the OR: 

Here we go!