It all started on Saturday afternoon... I was 35 weeks and 2 days pregnant and Kevin and I were out running around getting the last few things for the nursery. After a waddle around Hobby Lobby and Lowe's Kevin quickly realized my back was hurting and I needed to get home, so off we went. On our way home we decided to get some food, which of course started the biggest battle in any relationship, "I don't know, what do you want to eat? No, I don't want that." Well, after about 15 suggestions I finally told Kevin that he needed to go wherever he wanted, because I wasn't very hungry and I was getting tired. He ended up stopping at KFC, and while in the drive through asked what I wanted. The strangest request left my lips, "Ice". That's all I wanted, just a big 'ole cup of ice. I was so content the whole way home just chomping down big chunks of ice, not thinking twice of all the stories I had read about women in labor craving ice.
My sweet little girls in the nursery. The blankets and hats are donated, and so cute!
Once home I had one last load of laundry for the girls to complete, so I got up so I could unload the dryer and start folding and putting away their clothes (nesting was in FULL swing at this point). Once I had the laundry basket full of clothes I stood up and felt what I never thought I'd actually feel, my water broke. It took a few minutes to register, but sure enough, this was it! I called out to Kevin that my water broke and he went into Daddy-mode. Immediately, he started putting our go-bags in the car, grabbing pillows and getting things together; his mental checklist was screaming! I, however, was weirdly calm, possibly in denial. A few days earlier I thought my water had broken, which resulted in an embarrassing trip to the L&D unit in which I was told I had just peed myself... oh the joys of pregnancy! I decided I wanted to take a shower before we left for the hospital, I had read enough to know I had some time before I was in active labor and also knew it might be a few days before I got a chance to shower again. Boy, am I thankful I took those few extra minutes to shower! Showered and ready, we headed to Evans Army Hospital around 8:30 pm.
Kevin was so excited that the second we got to the gate he blurted out to the guard that I was in labor, and he was about to be a dad! We parked in the ER section and Kevin rushed in to get a wheel chair while I slowly waddled in.
Up in L&D they were already prepared for me because Kevin had called ahead to let them know we were coming. It's amazing how prepared everyone was, within 5 minutes of being wheeled into L&D I was hooked up to an IV, meds were ordered and an ambulance had been called (Evans doesn't have a NICU so anyone in labor under 36 weeks is automatically transferred to Memorial Hospital). Not the most flattering picture, but it's so wonderful that we have just about everything documented! This is me getting monitored at Evans while waiting for all the paperwork for my transfer to Memorial.
My first ambulance ride (lights AND sirens!) was because of something good, not something scary. I actually had pretty funny conversations with the medics on the way. I started feeling contractions while in the ambulance, so I had to alert everyone from then on whenever I felt a contraction start and end. Once at Memorial I was hooked up to monitors and the waiting began. The first nurse at Memorial was such a sweet woman, Joy, who made my initial experience really pleasant. Contractions started increasing in intensity and frequency, just like they should. Contractions were unpleasant, Kevin would always make comments based on the faces I was making, whether it was a good one or a bad one. About 3am I started to get the shakes. I was handling the contractions pretty well, but once the shakes started I was really uncomfortable. The nurse informed me that they wanted to start Pitocin, the medication that basically forces my body to more active labor. At this point I was only 2 cm dilated and there wasn't much progress from hour to hour. Between the shakes and starting Pitocin, I decided I wanted the epidural.
Once the epidural was placed, I was able to get some sleep and wait for the medications to do their jobs. We slept, we called family, I ate chicken broth. Waiting for active labor to start was agonizing, every few hours the nurses would check, and I would be disappointed to find out that I had only progressed maybe 1cm. Hours passed, we moved on to the 26th, and kept on waiting. The OB on call that weekend was Dr Alanis (I still remember a conversation while in the OR about how to spell his last name, he replied "like Alanis Morrisette", to which the tech responded that he absent-mindedly wrote "Morrisette" instead of "Alanis"). He was a wonderful Doctor, really tried to do everything in his power to make a vaginal delivery possible. Both girls had been head down since 21-weeks and everything appeared to be in the perfect situation for a vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, my body just wasn't responding to the Pitocin and I couldn't get past 6cm. After 31 hours of labor, through some tears and coaxing, I finally decided to go ahead with the C-section. We had literally done everything we could to progress the labor, and it was time to call it quits.
At some point I would love to have Kevin write his own version of what happened in the OR, because I was pretty out of it. This is how I remember things happening... They wheeled my into the OR within 10 minutes of making the decision to do the C-sec. I was tired, I had dry mouth, and the shakes had returned. They had to give me more medications to fully numb my lower half, which dropped my blood pressure a little and caused a lot of nausea. I actually threw up on the table, which was TONS of fun to do while shaking uncontrollably and in front of the 12 people in the OR.
Kevin finally was allowed into the OR, and it was very calming to see him. He stayed by my head and kept trying to relax me. Between the hormones, anxiety, fear and medications, I was probably the worst C-sec patient this poor Dr had ever dealt with. I was fighting the restraints because of the shakes, I had dry mouth and demanded a wet washcloth to at least wet my mouth, and I continued to dry heave (which has to be tough while they were performing major surgery on my abdomen). There was so much going on, but it only took a few minutes before I heard the most wonderful sound I had ever heard. All the shakes, all the fear, all discomfort disappeared when I heard my daughter crying for the first time and I immediately started sobbing. Kevin left my side to cut the cord and take pictures, and then it was on to the second baby... again, her crying was the most amazing sound I'd ever heard.
Because they were preemies, the nurses took their time to check their APGAR scores, which were 8 and 9! Kevin brought Baby A over to show me, and we both knew instantaneously, this was Reese. I remember thinking to myself that Kevin was showing me a doll, not a real baby, she was just so beautiful. I kissed her head, cried some more and waited for Baby B to be brought over. We had a few names picked out for Baby B, and Kev and I were on very different pages about what her name should be. When he brought her over, I asked what he thought she looked like, and he said ever-so-gently, "She just looks like an Avery". And there we had it, our daughters, Reese and Avery, born healthy and screaming at 1:28am and 1:29am on August 27th.
Reese McCarty Landers, 5 lbs 6 oz, 17 inches long
Avery Hart Landers, 5 lbs 4 oz, 17 inches long
Meeting my beautiful little Reese
Meeting my beautiful little Avery
The girls were taken to the NICU, which was standard for a 35 week preemie. We were told it was precautionary, not emergent. The doctors told Kevin they were headed up so he could follow along, and this is one of the biggest reasons I love my husband, he told the doctors that since the babies were healthy and fine he wanted to stay with me until he knew I would be ok. Like I said, I was the worst C-sec patient ever. I was crying, throwing up, shaking and miserable and Kevin was worried about me. He followed me to the recovery room and stayed with me until they were able to get me stable. Once I passed out from the medications Kevin went up to the NICU to see the girls. This will forever be the one thing I hated about the delivery, I had to wait an excruciating 8 hours until I could hold them.
Reese
Avery
A very proud daddy holding his two little girls
I was wheeled up to the Mother&Baby unit at about 4am where they gave me some pain meds and Kevin was finally able to get some sleep. I had to wait until 9am to try and get out of bed, and you'd better believe at 9am sharp I called the nurses in to help me stand up! I had TWO driving reasons to get out of bed, and I was in the NICU as early as the doctors would let me. I was able to hold Reese first, she was just finished getting bathed, and they still had to check up on Avery. Holding her was amazing, she was so fragile, so pretty, and all mine. I actually got to feed Avery (we opted for donated breast milk until I attempted breastfeeding) and it made my heart melt!
Holding Reese for the first time!
I'm proud to say that I only made one trip to the NICU, not because I'm a horrible mom who didn't want to visit her babies, but because her babies were so amazing that they were released from NICU after only 12 hours. The next time I saw my girls was when they wheeled them into my room!
The next few days in the hospital literally flew by. The girls had to eat every 3 hours, doctor's orders because of their size, so more often than not they were wheeled into my room so I could breastfeed. A few nights we just let the nursery feed them so I could get a few extra hours of sleep, but for the most part they stayed with us. Kevin and I took laps around the Mother&Baby unit, to help my recovery and swelling. It never got old to see the other new parents, overwhelmed already by their own babies, react to seeing Kevin and I wheel around one baby a piece! The nurses in the Mother&Baby unit were so in love with our girls, and they were so excited because they rarely get twins, usually they stay in the NICU. Everyone at Memorial was wonderful, all the nurses who helped us and cared for our girls were sweet and caring.
Reese
Avery
Holding the whole world...
Daddy got some snuggle time while we were in the hospital
On the day we were getting discharged we had one minor hiccup. As required for their size, both girls had to have a carseat fit test. They put both babies in their carseats (ours are rated for 4 lbs and up) and monitor their oxygen for 1 hour. Unfortunately, their little bodies just couldn't hold them up straight enough to keep them getting enough oxygen. I never got the feeling it was a life or death situation (after all, they were still releasing us) so I didn't get too worried. We left the hospital with some oxygen tanks and the little cannula's in their noses.
I have to admit, leaving the hospital was terrifying. I started crying as we pulled out of the parking lot, knowing full and well that now Kevin and I were responsible, on our own, for these two little babies. My whole perception of the world shifted the moment they were born and now the sun was too bright, the other cars were too close, and the speed limit on the interstate was way too fast.
Once home, the fun began. Kevin and I keep track of everything in a notebook, feedings and diaper changes. The tricky thing with twins, is that we have to keep track of who's doing what and when. Sure, we had a poopy diaper after the 2am feeding, but who's was it? And because I'm breastfeeding I have to keep track of which side each of them feeds on, and for how long! I knew to expect lots of diapers and bottles and spit up, but I never anticipated that my notebook would be such a vital tool.
Right now the girls are doing amazing. They're still feeding every three hours, sometimes more often if they let us know they're hungry. They're having wet and poopy diapers at almost every feeding (which is important because it lets me know they're eating enough). We're using disposable diapers for the time being, they're just not big enough for the cloth diapers yet, so until they gain a pound or two we'll be using preemie disposables. I will say, these first few days makes me realize just how pricey diapering with disposables can be... Reese can go through 3 diapers in one feeding!
I'm currently breastfeeding both of them, and since we got home from the hospital, have only had to supplement them with formula a few times. I am really proud of myself, because the first day home, when they were 4 days old I attempted to tandem feed for the first time. Not only did they both latch, they both ate for 20 minutes and fell asleep soundly afterwards. It's a very satisfying feeling knowing that I'm providing enough milk to fill their little bellies and help them grown. I joked with Kevin that I'm good at growin' babies and feedin' babies, it's the birthin' part I'm not so good at.
Right now the girls are officially one week old. My mother came out to visit and help, and she has been an absolute life saver! For any of my friends that are too proud to accept help as a new parent, my best advice is to SUCK IT UP! Not only will you actually need the help, you'll want it, and a mother is a great help because she's a sounding board (and she gives out compliments freely). Hearing that you're a "natural" only makes you feel more confident in your own abilities. The other benefit is that other people will love your babies, too... so let them! It warms my heart every time I see my mother fawning over my little girls. I makes me realize that she loved me the same way I love them, and the cycle will only continue... someday I'll love the children that my little girls have.
My wonderful family
Grandma holding her granddaughters
Avery on the right and Reese on the left
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