January 17, 2012 (Tuesday) I had a doctor's appointment. I was 38 weeks pregnant at this time, which is very good for twins, and these boys seemed to have no desire to come out. After the appointment our doctor signed us up to come back Thursday morning to be induced. Boy was I glad to hear that. I know I failed with not taking many pregnancy pictures, but I did measure my belly quite frequently and it measured at 45 inches around (just to give you some sort of idea, so now you can grab a tape measure and stuff your shirt to see how big I was). Here are some pictures. I know they are not the best, but it's all I have.
 |
| 4 Months |
 |
6 Months 8 Months
Now, back to the story. I am at this point happy to know that I will finally be able to meet these two boys. Tuesday night we go to bed around 11pm. I get up around 1am to go the bathroom and after about 15 minutes realize that Derek's water bag had a hole and I started leaking. I wake up Alan and it took him a few minutes to realize that he was not dreaming and that his sons are on their way. We get to the hospital in about 30 minutes. The whole way there I was having contractions 5 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute. However, I had no idea I was having contractions unless I had my hand on my belly. Once we get to the hospital I get out and all of a sudden Derek's water bag completely broke. Luckily I was out of the car. I waddle into Labor and Delivery where the nurses set me up in my room connecting me to all sorts of monitors (some for me and some for measuring the boys' heartrates). I had no idea how long I would be waiting there. I had been dilated at 2cm for about a week and was still at 2cm when I got to the hospital. So, at 1:45am I am all set up and waiting in limbo with my contractions staying at 5 minutes apart and dilated at 2cm. I try to get some sleep, but that didn't really happen. A few hours go by and now, at about 5:30 I am dilatd at 5cm and contractions are now 2 minutes apart. Not knowing how quickly everything would happen I figure I should get my epidural now. (I actually wanted to go all natural, but with twins and Keith being in the breech position (upside down) my doctors suggested I get an epidural in case there was a need for an emergency C-Section). So now I have my epidural and continue to sit and wait. Luckily there were NBA games on TV. Two hours go by and I went from 5cm to 8cm with Derek right there ready to get out into the world. The nurses and doctors help me rotate and move to try to get me at 10cm. Finally at about 11:30am they say I am ready to go. They call the Operating Room and have it set up and ready for me. They roll me in and we get things started. After about 5 pushes Derek is born at 12:18pm. Once Derek is taken care of the doctors focus on Keith and trying to turn him around. After about 2 minutes of working on Keith his heartrate drops too much so my doctor gives me an episiotomy and takes him out feet first. Keith was born at 12:21pm. It was all surreal. I could hardly wrap my head around the fact that I just gave birth to two beautiful boys. Derek was very healthy weighing in at 7lbs 2oz, which is way above normal for a twin. And Keith was 5lbs 4oz which is a good, average size for a twin. Keith had a little bit of a hard time so he was taken to the nursery where Derek was able to come back to my room with me.
Keith on the left and Derek on the right. Their first time together. You can see how much they missed and love each other.
 
Derek all bundled up
Keith was having a hard time regulating his body temperature as well as his breathing. They told us that he would probably have to stay in the nursery for a week or so, meaning when it was time to leave we would only be taking Derek home with us. When I was able to, I made my way across the hall to the nursery. I wasn't able to see Keith until the day after he was born. It took awhile for me to adjust to his weight as I had become accustomed to Mr. Seven Pounds. Alan had been visiting Keith and would have their skin to skin bonding time, which really helped Keith regulate his breathing and body temperature.
I'll have to admit I was a bit jealous that Alan was getting all this one on one time with Keith, but I eventually got my turn. While Keith was in the nursery, our pediatrician had him taking bottles because he didn't think Keith would be able to nurse (as it requires more work) and breathe well. The nurses were doing all they could to get him to eat from the bottle, but he just did not like it. He would eat about half an ounce which is good, but they were hoping for him to get up to 1 full ounce. Well, I went in and spent some time with our little boy. The nurses brought him to me and had me bring him in close so he could smell me and become acquainted with me. He is one smart boy, because as soon as he got close enough he turned his and latched right on with no breathing complications. Him nursing actually helped him regulate his breathing. The power of a mother. It was truly amazing. After that, I would go visit Keith as frequently as I could. I guess those visits really helpled because as we were getting ready to be discharged they bring Keith into my room telling me that he is healthy enough to come home with us! What a miracle!
Our First Family Photo
Dad with Derek and Mom with Keith
It seems like it was so long ago. Time goes by so fast and now they are crawling around and getting into everything. As much as it drives me crazy picking up after them, I absolutely love it. Plus, who could be frustrated with these two faces?
 
Keith at 7 months
|
No comments:
Post a Comment