Chaser
05-21-2006, 03:41 PM
I was considered a "high risk" pregnancy because I was over 35 (I was exactly 35) and pregnant with multiples. I'm thinking it was more because I had good insurance that'd pay for the bi-weekly visits to the fetal/maternal clinic. The good part of it was every other week I got to see a sonogram of the twins. I knew for a while that I was going to have a C-section. Both babies were transverse and not going anywhere. At 33 weeks, my doctor schedued a C-section for me, and showed me what dates they had open, so I had to pick the twins birthday. I chose April 21st, mainly because it was the first date he had open, and I was so ready to not be pregnant. He told me I'd go sooner, but we scheduled the C-section for the 21st, when I'd be 37 1/2 weeks pregnant. Well, I did make it. I went to sleep on April 20th with butterflies knowing the twins would come the next morning. My SIL and Husband came with me to the hospital. I knew DH wouldn't be in the room. He was in the room when my first child was born (vaginally), and the nurse had to ask him several times if he was all right. I did miss having him there, he does tend to inadvertantly provide a lot of comic relief. But instead, I brought in Staci- my SIL and mother of three as my ringer.
Staci was great throughout my pregnancy. She lives close by, and would came to a lot of my appointments with me, and she even came to a pre-birth C-section class that the hospital required. I so love her for it. The best was when the nurse in the class was explaining everything that could go wrong right after we'd seen a video of the miracle of life via C-section. She asked if anyone had any questions. My mind was reeling because I'd seen "THAT" episode of ER, and then hearing everything compounded the fears. Staci raised her hand and asked... "If I'm in the room with her, do I have to wear that hat?" She obsessed about the hat for the rest of the class, which kept me laughing. It was unintentional, she's that much a fashion whore, but it was still funny as hell to me.
On the 21st, I was in the hospital at 8:00 that morning where they started giving me fluids and running tests. At 10:00 am, I was given a spinal and set for the surgery, which I thought was way scarier than when I delivered my first daughter. It was sort of funny, midway through a suctioning tube broke and blood splattered on the wall in the direction I was looking. Since it made a really loud "pop" sound, I looked at my SIL and said in all seriousness "Stace? Was I just shot?" The doctor replied that part of the machine had broken, so I looked at my SIL again and in all seriousness asked "Can you ask if it was an important part of the machine?" She looked at the doctor and repeated the question verbatim. "Was it an important part of the machine?" Kind of like I couldn't talk to the doctor myself! Anyway, I'm glad she was there, she kept me updated on stuff like "I see a head, I see a head!" And I asked "Is it one of the babies'?" Being pregnant/giving birth brought out a temporary stupidity.
At 10:55 the doctor said "It's a girl!" And I was all thrilled, even though a sonogram tech had told me that months before- I knew I was having a boy and a girl. Staci repeated it to me, "It's a girl!" And I said "A girl?" Again- temporary stupidity. They went back for baby B, and he had gotten hung up on the cord, so I made my SIL ask if everything was okay. Luckily, it was and at 10:57, my son was born, dragged out feet first, and to this day he's clingy. "It's a boy!" And again we had to repeat it. "It's a boy!"... "A boy?" The babies were fine, Staci was able to hold them for me to see.
They went right into the nursery while I was being stitched up, and I was able to hold them and have them with me that evening. All I can remember is that I had wicked bad "junkie itch" from the morphine during the operation. Plus I got yelled at because I brought my own Motrin, and the nurse took it from me, telling me I could have it back when I was going home. (I like to think of her as "nurseferatu".) After 2 days in the hospital, post-partum started setting in, so I'd wheel the babies around in the same bassinet, just so people would say "look at the twins." It was pathetic, really. Luckily, I was discharged before someone gave birth to triplets.
They were born on a Friday, we all came home Sunday.
Elizabeth was 6 lbs and 19.5 inches
Robert was 5 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches
Staci was great throughout my pregnancy. She lives close by, and would came to a lot of my appointments with me, and she even came to a pre-birth C-section class that the hospital required. I so love her for it. The best was when the nurse in the class was explaining everything that could go wrong right after we'd seen a video of the miracle of life via C-section. She asked if anyone had any questions. My mind was reeling because I'd seen "THAT" episode of ER, and then hearing everything compounded the fears. Staci raised her hand and asked... "If I'm in the room with her, do I have to wear that hat?" She obsessed about the hat for the rest of the class, which kept me laughing. It was unintentional, she's that much a fashion whore, but it was still funny as hell to me.
On the 21st, I was in the hospital at 8:00 that morning where they started giving me fluids and running tests. At 10:00 am, I was given a spinal and set for the surgery, which I thought was way scarier than when I delivered my first daughter. It was sort of funny, midway through a suctioning tube broke and blood splattered on the wall in the direction I was looking. Since it made a really loud "pop" sound, I looked at my SIL and said in all seriousness "Stace? Was I just shot?" The doctor replied that part of the machine had broken, so I looked at my SIL again and in all seriousness asked "Can you ask if it was an important part of the machine?" She looked at the doctor and repeated the question verbatim. "Was it an important part of the machine?" Kind of like I couldn't talk to the doctor myself! Anyway, I'm glad she was there, she kept me updated on stuff like "I see a head, I see a head!" And I asked "Is it one of the babies'?" Being pregnant/giving birth brought out a temporary stupidity.
At 10:55 the doctor said "It's a girl!" And I was all thrilled, even though a sonogram tech had told me that months before- I knew I was having a boy and a girl. Staci repeated it to me, "It's a girl!" And I said "A girl?" Again- temporary stupidity. They went back for baby B, and he had gotten hung up on the cord, so I made my SIL ask if everything was okay. Luckily, it was and at 10:57, my son was born, dragged out feet first, and to this day he's clingy. "It's a boy!" And again we had to repeat it. "It's a boy!"... "A boy?" The babies were fine, Staci was able to hold them for me to see.
They went right into the nursery while I was being stitched up, and I was able to hold them and have them with me that evening. All I can remember is that I had wicked bad "junkie itch" from the morphine during the operation. Plus I got yelled at because I brought my own Motrin, and the nurse took it from me, telling me I could have it back when I was going home. (I like to think of her as "nurseferatu".) After 2 days in the hospital, post-partum started setting in, so I'd wheel the babies around in the same bassinet, just so people would say "look at the twins." It was pathetic, really. Luckily, I was discharged before someone gave birth to triplets.
They were born on a Friday, we all came home Sunday.
Elizabeth was 6 lbs and 19.5 inches
Robert was 5 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches