Tippy & Tidy's Twins Birth Story

I've been wanting to write this for a while, but our hospital detour has kept me from having time to sit down... oh and I guess twins will do that to...

Here is how our M&M and the Bean Burrito entered the world on June 12th, 2012:

Sunday, June 10th, I was feeling rather gaseous, and a bit achy, so I went to our gym and got in the pool for a swim. After a half mile of moving my body back and forth in the gravity defying water, I felt rejuvinated and relaxed. I headed home to get ready for the work week, because after all... I was still about 16 days away from my due date and 8 days from my schedule C-section, so of course I was still going to work this week...

Monday, June 11th, I went to work and got a few of the things off my to do list that had been hanging over my head. I left my computer at work at the end of that day instead of lugging it back home with me because I truly felt that I would be coming back to work the next day. Just goes to show, you never know.  In the evening, I went home, took a little nap, ate dinner and then went to my prenatal yoga class. It's been a very wonderful staple in my second and third trimester. And one of the funny things about it is that the instructor often boasts that for those who are ready for labor, the night after people attend her class, they often have their water break or contractions start soon thereafter. I went to bed that night thinking I would surely see the next week's class..

Tuesday, June 12th, 4:45 am. I woke up to a feeling of needing to use the bathroom. But then I laid there thinking... hm... I think I just DID use the bathroom... my bed...I was groggy and not quite sure what the sensation was but somehow roused myself up and walked the 8 steps from my bed to the bathroom. Just as I sat down on the toilet, a warm bunch of water came out. I wouldn't say trickle, but I also wouldn't say gush... I looked down at my underwear and saw that it was soaked through as well. So of course I did what anyone else would do... I smelled it! And it didn't smell like pee. 

At that moment I knew that we were going to meet our babies that day. 

I called to Tidy from the bathroom and said, "Tidy, my water broke. We are going to meet our babies today". From dreamland, he sat up sluggishly and said, "Really? Huh... Wait, Really? Are you kidding?"

It was so surreal.. and matter of fact. Calm, just normal, like this was how we knew how to operate in this moment... like we had known it all along. 

So I called my OB's clinic and explained the situation to the on-call doctor: I was 37w5d pregnant with twins, the presenting twin (originally baby B) was breech, and we had a scheduled c-section in a week and a few days, my water broke, but I was not yet contracting. He said, "Well, you'd better come in then.. We'll get your c-section in this morning"

Guess what, though, me... the type A planner... still had not packed a bag. Tidy, the fly by the seat of your pants guy, had packed his bag a few weeks ago! At least I had a list of things I wanted to put into the bag. So, we packed my bag, walked the dog, I cleaned the bathroom sinks because I thought they were gross, we got in the car, stopped for a coffee and a breakfast sandwich for Tidy ( I couldn't eat because of that whole anesthesia thing...) and arrived at the hospital around 7:30am. 

We got settled in our prep room and talked with the OB who was to perform the c-section (not my OB, but a partner of his. My OB was out of the office all that week... this will be an important point in my next blog post, so keep it in mind for now). 

I met the Anesthesiologist and his CRNA, sat down on the OR table and they placed the spinal. It was strange, warm-ish feeling, that rushed from my toes up to my lower chest. They tested various spots on my body to see how the numbing was working and within a few minutes, the curtain was up and Tidy had entered the room clothed in scrubs and a mask. I asked him to tell me a story as I laied on the table waiting for our babies to arrive. We had asked that if possible, Tidy to be able to announce the gender of our babies. In less than 5 minutes from when he entered the room, the OB asked him to peak across the screen and said, "Dad, what is it?" At that moment I heard the most beautiful cry I've ever heard in my life and Tidy said, "Its a girl!!!" and looked at me with tears in his eyes. I looked back with the same wet eyes. 

Not one minute later, Tidy announced, "And...It's a boy!!" as the sound of our second born emerged. 

A boy and a girl.

A family of 4.

Just like that.

It took a bit of time to get the feeling back in the lower half of my body. During the recovery period, M&M and the Bean Burrito were brought to me and they immediately took to nursing. It was absolutely astounding to see them root on my chest right away. I must say that I was fearful that they c-section would disturb the breast feeding process, but it did not. I'm very grateful. 

These two little lives are just so amazing to me! I can not even begin to tell you what a perfect fit they are into our family. It was most definitely meant to be. And for those of you who wonder, no... I did not once think of the fact that they are not genetically related to me... Not once. They are most certainly Tidy and my babies. End of story :-) 

Here's a few pics to tide you over until I get around to my next post discussing why we were delayed in our journey home... (stay tuned).

The Bean Burrito, our International Man of Mystery 

(Being in the hospital for almost 2 weeks alloted us a to of time for crazy nick names)

Sleeping together, after a tandem feeding session. M&M on the left, the Bean Burrito on the right.

M&M, Smiling. She melts your heart, no???