Happy Birthday to Benjamin and Asher!

I gave birth Friday, at 36 weeks and 1 day, to my twin sons!  After posting yesterday morning, my contractions picked up, coming about 3 minutes apart without any relief in between.  I had some more bleeding at one point when I went to the bathroom, and so I called my OB around 6 am.  He told me to come in to the hospital.  I woke up Eric (again) who took a quick shower and gathered up things to have at the hospital for the day.  I tried to get a few other things together to put in my hospital bag, but I could hardly stand up because I was in constant pain!  I called my mom to let her know we were going to the hospital, and she asked "Why?"  I said, "I'm in labor! I'm having the babies!"  So she said, "Oh!  Oh!  Ok!  Should I meet you there?"  I told her to let us get settled in and then we would call to let her know what was happening.

We drove the 2 miles to the hospital with me gripping the "oh, sh*t" handle above the door.  Eric dropped me at the main entrance, and there were no wheelchairs there!  So I stood in the lobby hunched over waiting for him to park the car, and a nice doctor came up and said, "Excuse me, are you alright?"  I said, "Oh, yes, I'm fine, I'm just in labor." (Obvious? With that belly, probably.)  He looked very worried and kind of hovered until Eric came jogging up.  He then said "congratulations" and pointed us to the right set of elevators.

I walked into Labor & Delivery and they took me to my labor room.  I stripped off all my clothes and got into a gown.  They asked me to sign a bunch of forms (god only knows what I signed, I was in so much pain I would have signed anything!).  I hopped into the bed, and met the nurses.  A resident came in to check my cervix and said I was already dilated to 5 cm and that Baby A had descended to -1 station.  I was thrilled! While she checked me, Baby A's water broke.  Fortunately it was nice and clear-- no meconium.

I immediately said I wanted the epidural.  The contractions were so much more painful than I could have imagined.  I now know the difference between a Braxton-Hicks and a real contraction and wow, what a difference!  It felt like someone was stomping on my pelvis while simultaneously pulling out my insides.  They told me they were calling the anesthesiologist right away, but it still took about an hour before he was there with the epidural.  I was so glad to see him!  He placed the epidural without a problem and said my back was an anesthesiologist's dream come true because I was not fat and he could feel my vertebrae.  What a nice compliment to give the giant pregnant lady!

Once the epidural took effect, I was totally comfortable.  My mom came shortly before I got the epidural, so she, Eric, and I sat around chatting, watching the monitors and just waiting.  My OB came in at 10 am to check my cervix again and said I had dilated to 9 cm and the baby was at 0 station.  He said that was good progress.  I was really hungry and began to get hopeful that I was going to have babies by lunch time and would be able to have a sandwich!

After that, we were basically left alone.  There was a blood pressure cuff that took my b.p. periodically so I would look up at the monitors and watch the babies heart rates and my contractions.  They continued to be regular, and I could feel them, but they weren't painful.  I felt the babies wiggle sometimes.  Writing that makes me sad... I was so caught up in being in labor, I wasn't thinking about how those were some of the last wiggles I would have.  I did feel somewhat sad knowing that it was my last moments alone with them, and that shortly I would have to share them the rest of the world.  But I was just happy that their heart rates were staying nice and steady through all the contractions.

We began to get bored!  I wanted to know what was happening but no one came in.  I figured everyone else went to lunch just like I wanted to!  Around 12:30 my OB came in to check me again and told me that I was complete and that Baby A was was at +2 station.  It was time to go to the OR and push!  Everyone got suited up, there was going to be my OB and 2 residents doing the delivery, and Eric and my mom had to get into their space suits (one size fits all... or fits no one).

I got wheeled into the OR and got onto the delivery table.  It was so cold in there!  I was shaking with the anticipation and maybe some of the epidural.  We all got in our places, this was around 12:45, and they asked me to practice pushing with my first contraction.  So I started to push, and what do you know, I peed ALL over the place.  It sprayed all over one of the residents!  She stood there politely and my OB said, "why don't you go freshen up?"  So she left but returned quickly.  We kept pushing, and they were really helpful in telling me the best way to push and in being reassuring about the progress I was making.  15 minutes later, at 1:02, my son Asher was born!  He came out waving his arms and legs and began to scream-- what a relief!  They gave me a second with him and I saw that he was as cute as I had imagined he would be.  Then off to the warmers to get looked at by the neonatolgist.  He weighed 5 lbs, 9 oz.  For a moment I was distracted from the labor by looking over at Asher and wanting to know all was well, but my mom went over to watch him while Eric and I continued with the labor.

I pushed a couple of times, and Baby B was still pretty high up, so my OB said they were going to help him out with a little vacuum.  I said, "Fine!  Just get me my baby!"  So with the vacuum it took 1 big push and then one half push, and Benjamin was here!  He also cried right away.  He was so little-- 4 lbs, 6.5 oz.  But perfect.

While they looked at Benjamin, I got to hold Asher.  My OB and the residents got to work cleaning me out-- two placentas and then some stitches.  I have a 2nd degree tear from Asher, which my OB said was not bad.  Not bad considering he came in such a hurry!  They had such a hard time getting the placentas out.  My OB was reaching for it at the top of my uterus, which was under my breasts.  He was knocking Asher, who was lying on my chest, around and Asher started to fuss.  It was weird, because I couldn't really feel him inside of me, but he was in up to his elbow.

Delivery is a big huge mess.  I ended up peeing at least twice on the delivery table, there was blood everywhere, I thought I had a bowel movement but didn't really see it.  So unglamorous.  But it doesn't matter, because I came out of there with two perfect, beautiful babies.

Things have been so busy since, my in-laws came down as a surprise (thank goodness, no grandma should have to wait 3 weeks to see her grandsons!) and we have had tons of visitors.  Everyone says the boys are adorable, which I think they are, but I have to admit that I am probably biased.  They are extremely snuggly and sweet, I have given them each hundreds of kisses.  I can't wait to go home and kiss their feet, and their hands, and their bellies...

More pictures and news to come!  But for now, I am one extremely happy (if still in shock) mommy.