Election Day

Not only is today Election day for a new president, but today had a great significance because Ammon elected to join us along with Ethan. (His membrane is the one that broke) Yes!! The babies have arrived and we are so excited!!

Ammon 4 lbs. 8 oz., & Ethan 4 lbs. 9 oz.

This morning I woke up, noticing it was just before my 1am non-stress test. I went potty and sat back down in bed and realized my gown was a little bit wet. I figured I was leaking fluid, so I called the nurse. Three came into my room, one coming down from Labor and Delivery. She checked me and I hadn't dialated more from my current status of 6, but definitely more fluid had surfaced. At this point I knew things would happen quickly. I tried to call Brad but he wasn't answering his phone. Called the house and it went to voicemail. I figured the phones are both downstairs while everyone was upstairs. Luckily my mom had her cell phone right next to her and I was able to get through. She answered, and I calmly said, "Hi mom, my water just broke and I can't get a hold of Brad. Would you wake him up for me?" I wasn't really nervous at this point. I had been waiting for this moment for months and it had finally come.

In the meantime, I was wheelchaired to the third floor and settled into Labor and Delivery room 11. I was hooked up to the monitors until delivery time. Since my IV had been removed the day before, I had to receive a new one. I can't stand getting poked anymore. After a messy insertion, I was hooked up to an IV yet again.

Brad and Megan (a tiny bit surprised to see her bright and alert) arrived a little after 1:30. After updating them on what had happened, I tried to get some rest while I could. I only slept a few hours since I had been watching a tv series on the laptop to keep me busy and didn't go to bed until 11:30pm or so. Contractions were getting a little bit closer. The doctor came in and since there needs to be two attendants for twin deliveries, he called upon one of the nurse midwives. I felt comfortable with this since I originally started seeing a midwife in the office before we found out this was a twin pregnancy. To help things move along, I got a small dose of oxycotin. Before things got too intense, I opted for the epidural as well. I wanted to wait until I was dialated more, but after the doctor told me that things would move quickly and time might not be on my side if I waited too long. The clincher was when he told us a gal he delivered was having twins, no pain medication, and he had to reach into her and help guide the 2nd baby's head out. The mom was screaming and hands flailing all over the place! Wouldn't you quickly change your mind to get the epidural all over with?

Honestly, this was the part that made me the most nervous. Getting that numbing shot in my back and then the loooong needle inserted into my back. Ugh!! And as I remember from previous pregnancies, the memories came flooding back as I was hunched over with anxiety, practically breaking Brad's fingers as I was holding his hands. In the meantime, Megan was behind me too so she had a perfect view of the procedure. But she was smart enough to keep her eyes on the laptop until the real fun started. After an hour, the epidural was working well, and I was in my relaxed state again.

Kids attemping to go to sleep

My mom came with Morgan and Braden in tow. They were all excited, but we tried to get them to go back to sleep. I was checked again and had dialated to an 8, 15 minutes later I was complete and it was time to be wheeled into the OR.

Minutes before their arrival

Both Brad and Megan were in the OR with their white suits on. Delivering in the OR was just standard procedure in case I needed to have a c-section. The room was brightly lit and COLD! There was a team of 2 nurses and a pediatrics dr for each baby waiting, the anesthesiologist was there too. 10 minutes after I was set up, they said, "Ok, here's a contraction. Push!" I pushed and Ethan's head was crowning. He was born at 5:03 am.The midwife suctioned his mouth and nose. Then suddenly you could hear his cry!! He was clamped and handed off to one of the awaiting nurses to get vitals done. Next contraction, one push, and Ammon was born by only 2 minutes apart. Not wanting to be outdone by his "big" brother, he started to pee as he was clamped! This was a very quick delivery. Babies scored 8 and 9 on their Apgar test. We were in the OR for only 20 minutes or so. Do you think we'll be charged for the whole hour??!? I got to hold them and I was in awe. They were wrapped in warm blankets.

Megs taking a look at her new baby brothers


Introducing babies to Grandma & the kids

Every once in a while one of them would open their little eyes and look around and then close their eyes again. After holding them for about 15 minutes the nurses and Brad went to the 2nd floor and wheeled them away so the pediatrician could examine them closely. Shortly after, my mom and the kids followed them. So the tradition of, "Leave mom and let's see the baby!" lived on. I was left to recover "quietly" with a cartoon show since I couldn't reach the remote.

In hindsight, the frustrating hours and days spent in the hospital waiting for delivery day was just what the babies needed. Even those 4 extra days past 34 weeks did wonders! Although they are hooked up to monitors and an IV. Typically preemies don't have the desire eat so they have the IV's to keep them hydrated. Most likely they will have a little tube inserted into their nose and will be fed that way until they grow bigger. We were informed on all the things that could happen with them born early but they've already beaten the odds. So if things continue to go well, they'll be in the hospital for no longer than 2 weeks. I knew well in advance that I wouldn't be taking the babies home when I was discharged. This does make me sad, but at the same time I can recover and be ready for the day they are ready to come home.
Brad and I went to the NICU where the nurse there explained how things worked and answered any questions we had. We got to see their first sponge bath. After getting hooked back up to the monitors, they were brought to a more secluded corner of the room and are cared for side-by-side.

At 8:30pm, I went and visited them and found Ethan with his fingers up Ammon's nose! Oh I wish I had the camera for that one!!