Monday, April 30
A little too little
Thank goodness for modern medicine. These are lights used to help the babies deal with the extra bilirubin their bodies can't get rid of on their own. "Jaundice."
Sunday, April 29
For mature readers only
The girls were born on Monday, the 23rd. Hallelujah! Zach, Mia and I all went to my appointment at 3:00. On the way out the door we wondered if we should bring the suitcase with all my stuff. But we were running late, so I said to leave it, and that he’d be coming back anyway to put Mia down.
Dr. Langer said I was dilated to a 5+. So we talked about inducing me Friday- Zach’s graduation day. I figured we wouldn’t make it to Friday, but we said sure. After the appointment we decided to go wait at my mom’s for a while just to make sure the contractions I was having were like all the others I’d had all week- fake. But as we got further away from the hospital and they didn’t go away, I grew more and more apprehensive about the distance between me and the O.R. We made it to my mom’s, and I lay down for a minute to see what would happen. I kept getting small contractions every couple of minutes. So we left Mia with my mom and "went on a drive" toward the hospital, just in case. When we got there, I sat in the foyer while Zach parked the car- feeling nothing but pressure with each contraction and wondering if we should go up to labor and delivery. When Zach came in, I said “you know they’re not going to let me go if I go up there. Dr. Langer will just start me.” We went up anyway.
It was definitely different this time- walking in on my own smiling, instead of being wheeled in carrying a Ziploc full of vomit I deposited during the elevator ride. Dr. Langer was there in no time and announced I was dilated to a 6+. (All these pluses- I think she just says that so her patients feel like they are almost to the next number. Mentally, it would help things progress, I guess!) Once we knew we were staying for sure, we asked my Dad to bring over a video camera.
A nurse asked me if I was planning on any pain meds and I kind of laughed and said no. I was still scared to death of the epidural needle and all of the crappy birth stories involving epidurals not working right. Dr. Langer just looked at me surprised, and convincingly explained why I needed one, apologizing that she hadn't gone over it before. Hmm. My mind did what it usually does for me in situations I can’t handle. Went into robot mode, and refused to think about it. “Guess I’m getting an epidural, then,” I read the script in my brain, not meaning a word of it.
A nurse mentioned that the only way I’d get out of the epidural would be if I was ready to push before Max, the anesthesiologist, got there. So I just sat there willing each contraction to get me to the pushing stage. No luck- Max got there first. I told him I didn’t want to know anything he was doing, and that I only wanted to know what I was about to feel. He did just that, and when it was over I lay down relieved that I wasn't crippled, and felt my legs slowly go numb.
Dr. Langer broke my water. They said that my contractions started getting huge, and I believed them, because I could feel the cramping. Max had left to go help another patient, so for the time being, I was lying there unable to move because of an epidural I hadn’t wanted, and still feeling pain. It wasn’t terrible, though. I just commented that it was kind of lame. Soon, Max came back and upped the dose a tad. After that, they wheeled me into the OR, just to be prepared. Getting from one bed to the other was kind of cumbersome- for the nurses. Ha. I could barely move my lower half.
Dr. Langer decided the next contraction would signal pushing time. I think we went through two contractions, and I heard them say they could see Anya’s head. Dr. Langer commented on how perfectly round it was, and I was glad. I thought for sure she’d have a squished head after sitting so low in me for so long. I waited as they suctioned her, and with the next push felt like someone had just stood up after sitting on my abdomen. The painful pressure up against my ribs finally went away, and I said “I can't believe there's another baby in there!” 10:20. They showed me my little Anya, and wiped her off on my chest. She wasn’t crying, which kind of worried me, but no one else was panicking, so I didn’t. Then she let out a little cry, so I was relieved. So small! SO small.
A few minutes later it was back to business. I found out just after the fact that they put an internal monitor and a vacuum on Bree. I was kind of peeved they didn’t even ask about either thing. She came at 10:30. Total push time was about 15 minutes- crazy. They wiped her down on my chest and I finally got a good look at her. She was even smaller! I just couldn’t believe babies were born any smaller than this. Sweet little things!!
Dr. Langer said I was dilated to a 5+. So we talked about inducing me Friday- Zach’s graduation day. I figured we wouldn’t make it to Friday, but we said sure. After the appointment we decided to go wait at my mom’s for a while just to make sure the contractions I was having were like all the others I’d had all week- fake. But as we got further away from the hospital and they didn’t go away, I grew more and more apprehensive about the distance between me and the O.R. We made it to my mom’s, and I lay down for a minute to see what would happen. I kept getting small contractions every couple of minutes. So we left Mia with my mom and "went on a drive" toward the hospital, just in case. When we got there, I sat in the foyer while Zach parked the car- feeling nothing but pressure with each contraction and wondering if we should go up to labor and delivery. When Zach came in, I said “you know they’re not going to let me go if I go up there. Dr. Langer will just start me.” We went up anyway.
It was definitely different this time- walking in on my own smiling, instead of being wheeled in carrying a Ziploc full of vomit I deposited during the elevator ride. Dr. Langer was there in no time and announced I was dilated to a 6+. (All these pluses- I think she just says that so her patients feel like they are almost to the next number. Mentally, it would help things progress, I guess!) Once we knew we were staying for sure, we asked my Dad to bring over a video camera.
A nurse asked me if I was planning on any pain meds and I kind of laughed and said no. I was still scared to death of the epidural needle and all of the crappy birth stories involving epidurals not working right. Dr. Langer just looked at me surprised, and convincingly explained why I needed one, apologizing that she hadn't gone over it before. Hmm. My mind did what it usually does for me in situations I can’t handle. Went into robot mode, and refused to think about it. “Guess I’m getting an epidural, then,” I read the script in my brain, not meaning a word of it.
A nurse mentioned that the only way I’d get out of the epidural would be if I was ready to push before Max, the anesthesiologist, got there. So I just sat there willing each contraction to get me to the pushing stage. No luck- Max got there first. I told him I didn’t want to know anything he was doing, and that I only wanted to know what I was about to feel. He did just that, and when it was over I lay down relieved that I wasn't crippled, and felt my legs slowly go numb.
Dr. Langer broke my water. They said that my contractions started getting huge, and I believed them, because I could feel the cramping. Max had left to go help another patient, so for the time being, I was lying there unable to move because of an epidural I hadn’t wanted, and still feeling pain. It wasn’t terrible, though. I just commented that it was kind of lame. Soon, Max came back and upped the dose a tad. After that, they wheeled me into the OR, just to be prepared. Getting from one bed to the other was kind of cumbersome- for the nurses. Ha. I could barely move my lower half.
Dr. Langer decided the next contraction would signal pushing time. I think we went through two contractions, and I heard them say they could see Anya’s head. Dr. Langer commented on how perfectly round it was, and I was glad. I thought for sure she’d have a squished head after sitting so low in me for so long. I waited as they suctioned her, and with the next push felt like someone had just stood up after sitting on my abdomen. The painful pressure up against my ribs finally went away, and I said “I can't believe there's another baby in there!” 10:20. They showed me my little Anya, and wiped her off on my chest. She wasn’t crying, which kind of worried me, but no one else was panicking, so I didn’t. Then she let out a little cry, so I was relieved. So small! SO small.
A few minutes later it was back to business. I found out just after the fact that they put an internal monitor and a vacuum on Bree. I was kind of peeved they didn’t even ask about either thing. She came at 10:30. Total push time was about 15 minutes- crazy. They wiped her down on my chest and I finally got a good look at her. She was even smaller! I just couldn’t believe babies were born any smaller than this. Sweet little things!!
Friday, April 20
Still pregnant
Oh- I’m so ready to get these kids out of me! I wasn’t nearly this uncomfortable with Mia. Probably cause I was walking around. I’m getting to the point where I catch myself planning the future as if I will always be pregnant. Not good- considering they will be here any day now! I think I’m in for a big shock, because I just can’t picture me with TWO BABIES!!! Anya is measuring 5 lbs 2 oz, and Bree is measuring 5 lbs 5 oz. Dr. Langer said they would do just fine if they were born now- that they could go home on time and everything.
Saturday, April 7
Crunch time
Yesterday at my doctor’s appointment the exam revealed I’m dilated to a 3+, 80% effaced and -3 station. With Mia, I was the exact same, only at 0 station, exactly 22 days before she was born. I’m hoping I’ll be able to carry them til graduation in 20 days. But things seem to be progressing twice as fast, which would put their B-day around the 20th.
They gave me a steroid shot to help the girls’ lungs develop surfactant more quickly and facilitate better breathing, just in case they come soon. Zach just gave me the second dose a half hour ago. His first injection! I always swore I’d never be his guinea pig, but I had a suspicion I would end up getting something done to me. Well there it was- hopefully we’re done. Compared to the one the nurse did yesterday, his injection hurt about three times as bad going in and twenty times as bad going out. I hate shots! Oh, well- all for a good cause.
They gave me a steroid shot to help the girls’ lungs develop surfactant more quickly and facilitate better breathing, just in case they come soon. Zach just gave me the second dose a half hour ago. His first injection! I always swore I’d never be his guinea pig, but I had a suspicion I would end up getting something done to me. Well there it was- hopefully we’re done. Compared to the one the nurse did yesterday, his injection hurt about three times as bad going in and twenty times as bad going out. I hate shots! Oh, well- all for a good cause.
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