Double the Joy

Wow, when I last blogged I was 31 weeks. A lot has changed since then and I am sorry for the late post.

One of the biggest decisions we had to make last year was about insurance. We were on a PPO plan through Andy's work and we had the option to changing up our plan. We were looking into an HMO only because it cover's EVERYTHING! We would be paying more per month but thought that once we had a kid we would be going to the doctor more often. Once we found out it was twins, we knew, HMO it must be. The only hitch, the new insurance would not go into effect until January 1, 2011.

This meant the twins would need to stay inside until 12:01am on the 1st. The days leading up to the 1st were at times stressful. Any little ache, pain, or cramp was cause for me to sit down and put my feet up. We just kept telling the kids they needed to stay inside for just a wee bit longer and then they could come when they wanted.

And boy did they decide to come.

On the 4th of January at around 12:20am I got up to go tot he bathroom. As I was headed back to bed, the urge to relieve myself came upon me again so I walked quickly back to the bathroom and didn't make it. I was confused. Did my water just break? I stood there with wet pajamas's pondering this for about 2 minutes. Crazy I know. I then changed pj's woke up and Andy and told him. He went into daddy mode real quick. Turned on the lights, asked if I was having contractions and what not. I on the other hand was in denial. I said to let me wait and see. Called the Dr. Office and explained the situation. The on-call nurse asked if I was having contractions and I said no. I then told her I felt fine and would call back later. I decided to go back to bed. I got up at around 5:45 and got ready for work. Andy looked up my symptoms on the internet (bad I know) and I decided that I must be incontinent. I was having ZERO pains at all. So I drove to work and worked ALL DAY LONG. I called the doctor again in the afternoon to explain hat I was still leaking and was this normal for incontinence. The nurse said she would call me back. 30 minutes later I got the call that would change it all. The nurse said the doctor thinks my water did break and that I need to get to Labor and Delivery right away.

I left work and told a manager that I was probably going to have my babies and needed to leave. I was scared, but calm. Calm enough to stop and get gas. Only me.

I met Andy at the hospital and we headed to L & D. I went to the "maybe baby" room. This is where the weed out the crazies who THINK they are in labor from the one's who are in DENIAL they are in labor. Guess which category I fell into? The nurse Tammy did a fern test that would say for sure if my water broke, and sure enough it had. By now it was 6pm, 18 hours my water had broken. I couldnt' believe it. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. The twins were supposed to wait until I was 37 weeks, when they would be larger and I would have my Leave of Absence until the end of April!

At this point the on call ob/gyn came in to check the babies. He did an ultrasound and as usual Twin B was transverse (crescent shaped with head towards the top) and Twin A was head down. And he gave me the bad news. I was 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant. The hospital has a strict 34 weeks policy, meaning that I wasn't 34 weeks, I wasn't in danger so I needed to go have these twins at a larger hospital. Boo. But then it got real exciting. I was told I would be helicoptered down to Sacramento! My first helicopter ride!! Andy was left with the task of calling my parent's and using his best calm voice to explain what was happening and then driving down to Sac to meet me.

The ride was so strange. I was put on my left said strapped in with my catheter bag(double boo) and loaded up. All I could think about was that episode of ER when the mean red headed doctor get's his arm chopped off by the blades of a helicopter as they loaded me up. I was right next to the pilot and had a great view, even if it was 9pm. He used the spotlight a few times and it felt like an episode of COPS.

I got to the hospital and was met by a nurse who said there was a "very worried Mom on the phone". Had to be for me. My mom was freaked out and for good reason. You get a call from your daughter's husband saying she is being flown to a large city to have her babies.

Once I got checked in, found out that I would NOT be delivering right away. I was so bummed. I was all prepared to have my babies that night.

The next morning we were met by the on call ob/gyn. Had an ultrasound done and Twin B turned!! We couldn't believe it, Twin B was now head down and I would be able to deliver naturally like I wanted!! The induction was schedule for 4am on Saturday the 8th, when I would be exactly 34 weeks. The next 3 days were filled with me being poked (still had my gestational diabetes), prodded (had to have blood drawn many times)and hooked up to a fetal monitor for what seemed like hours. Each baby had it's own monitor and Twin B as usual never stayed in the same spot so the nurses could never get an accurate reading. At this time I also was hooked up to a monitor for contractions. I finally found out that these "pains" I was having at the top of my stomach were not in fact Twin B pushing it's head,but contractions. Oops. And they didn't hurt at all, just annoyingly tight.

So at 4am, my nurse Heather woke me up and checked me and I was already at a 3 all on my own. She started the pitocin and at 7 I was 4cm. At 9am I was 5cm. At 11am I was 6cm. And that's where it all stopped. I didn't have any pain medication, I wanted to go as natural as possible. And the funny thing was I wasn't in any pain at all. I started watching the Seahawks-Saints game. That took my mind off of everything. The doctor came in at around 1:30 or so to tell me that if I wanted to keep going I could, but that when Twin A comes out, Twin B could float to the top of my uterus and he would have to reach up and grab a foot to get Twin B to come out. Excuse me? I will take the C-section please!

I got ready for the epidural. The numbing agent lidocaine was sooo painful, the needle used for the epidural, dint' feel a thing. I was getting excited and nervous. We would finally meet these twins! As they wheeled me towards the operating room my parents, Andy's parents, and his brother were all at a spot where I could see them. Inside the operating room it was crazy. There were so many people. It was bright and loud and just buzzing with excitement. Since NOBODY knew what we were having it just seemed to be more fun for everyone to spend a Saturday afternoon.

At 3:07pm, Twin A was born. A boy we named Trenton. He was rushed over to a warming table and given oxygen. At 3:08pm, Twin B arrive, a girl we named Verona. I was beyond excited. I knew from the time I was 20 weeks, that Twin A was a boy and Twin B was a girl. I told everyone that as well. No one believed me. At times I thought 2 boys, but I knew. I immediately told Andy we were done. No more kids. We got one of each and had the perfect family.

I told Andy to go take pictures, and check on them. He did and they were rushed off to the NICU. After they were done stapling me (yes that's right 13 staples) I was in recovery for about 2 hours or so. I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep and eat. Once back in my room, Andy showed me pictures of the kids. There were lots of tubes and monitors,but I didn't care they were alive and getting the best care available. At around 1am, we headed to the NICU so I could finally see them. I was overjoyed. Trenton was on a CPAP for his breathing and Verona was Intubated for her breathing. Luckily they were each only on these for 24 hours, then Verona was on a CPAP and Trenton was breathing on his own. They both had Central Venous Line's, first in the hands, then that vein gave out, then in their feet, then those vein's gave out and finally in their heads. They looked like unicorn's so we called them the unicorn IV's. Verona had an umbilical line as well. It was tough having them in the NICU. They were hooked up to so many monitor's and were in incubator's. But they got the best care. They were on a schedule of 11,2,5, and 8. That is when they were fed, changed and had their temps taken. As parent's we were encouraged to attend each of these times to do their changing's, temps,and feedings. It was so great. We got to bond with them and hold them even if they weren't allowed to be out of the incubator's for too long. They both had feeding tubes, so what ever they wouldn't take from a bottle was gevaged in. We became really good at knowing all the beeps and sounds from the monitors and could distinguish if they were having any issues from those.

After about 5 days we made the big push to have them transferred to our local hospital. They were stable, and just needed help eating. After a long drawn outprocess on the 20th, they were transferred by ambulance to our hospital. While they were in Sacramento, I stayed with my amazing friend Melissa. She lived only 15 minutes away and I spent usually 10 hours at the hospital without leaving. It was emotionally draining. Andy would drive from work down to Sacramento to see me and the kids and then drive home. It was a very difficult time for all of us.

Once they were in Chico, it was so much better. I was able to sleep in my own bed, see my husband everyday, and he could spend more time with the twins as well. We finally got the ok from our pediatrician that they would be discharged. On the 26th, 18 days after they were born, nearly 3 weeks, we got to bring our beautiful twins home!

Once we got them home it was just surreal. We didn't' know what to do exactly. We kept the hospital's schedule,which was now 9,12,3, and 6. That first afternoon we let them sleep and just monitored them. That night as we put them down in the same crib, Andy read them a story and we got all our blankets and slept on the floor. And we slept like crap. They made so many grunts and groans we didn't know if they were sleeping, being fussy or what. Turns out they were sleeping! Just noisy sleepers they are!

My parents arrived on the 29th (when I would have been 37 weeks) and stayed for 2 weeks helping us. Doing yard work, cooking, sewing, getting up and doing feedings in the middle of the night with us. It was amazing to have them with us. It was difficult to say goodbye. This week it has been just me and the kids, all day long. And so far so good. It has been super stormy and cold outside so I have been bundling them up inside, which in turn led to Verona getting heat rash. Oops. Poor thing, mama was just trying to keep her warm. I am wanting some nice weather so we can go for a walk to the park my our house, but instead we stay inside all...day...long. So glad I don't live where it rains all the time anymore.

At this very moment, it was pouring rain, and I have Verona snuggled up on my chest while I type. Not sure how I will get a shower in today, but I see it happening shortly!

Thank you to all for the cards, flowers, and well wishes. We are so thrilled with our new additions.

Here are their stats:

3:07pm. Trenton Richard 4lbs 11 oz, 17"
3:08pm. Verona Marie 4lbs 14oz 18.5"