Mother’s Day is on May 8 this year, and the upcoming holiday has us all reminiscing about the various ways we became mothers. Here is one such birth story.
The moment you feel like you have become a mom is personal. It could be the positive pregnancy test, the first time you hear that little heartbeat, or the moment you hold your little one for the first time. For me, it was when we got the surprise of our lives at our 12-week ultrasound, as two distinct blobs popped up on the screen. My positive pregnancy test, all-day nausea, exhaustion, and weird pregnancy eczema were all real, but actually seeing those two little blobs made me feel like I was really a mother.
I laugh-cried when the ultrasound tech unceremoniously said, “Well, you know there are two.” She assumed we knew already, but we hadn’t even heard a heartbeat yet. It was an overwhelmingly happy surprise, but my head and heart quickly filled with a million questions, plus anxiety, worry, and — briefly — grief for the pregnancy, birth, and single baby I had in my mind. How would two babies fit in my belly? Would I still be able to have some version of the peaceful, low-intervention birth I envisioned? Would the babies spend time in the NICU? How do you even take care of two babies at the same time?
After the shock wore off and I watched my body grow two perfect little babies, I knew I was meant to be a twin mom. I had a relatively uneventful pregnancy, aside from an irritable uterus (that’s a real thing). On a Wednesday night at 35 weeks and 5 days (every day counts!) I thought I might be leaking amniotic fluid, but I wasn’t sure. When I called my doctor’s office the next morning, they sent me to maternity triage to get checked out. I was practically living at the hospital, between regular OB appointments, MFM ultrasounds, and twice-weekly non-stress tests, so I told my husband to stay at work. But, as it turns out, I was leaking amniotic fluid — and I wasn’t going anywhere until the babies were born!
My husband headed over to the hospital, and we were told to hang tight and wait to see if anything happened. We went for a walk outside, watched TV, ate dinner, and still nothing happened. In the middle of the night, 24 hours after I thought the leaking started, I was given an oral cervical ripener to try to get things going. It worked, and I started having regular contractions. We were sent over to labor and delivery just before lunch the next day (Friday).
I continued having regular contractions throughout the day but wasn’t progressing particularly quickly. I walked the halls, bounced on a labor ball, and we waited. That night, I was encouraged to get an epidural so I could sleep. With the epidural I was able to sleep, but I hated how heavy and numb my legs felt and the lack of control I had over my body. Early the next day (Saturday, if you’re keeping track) I was still at three centimeters, so I started Pitocin and my doctor broke the first baby’s water. Within a few hours, I was fully dilated and ready to push.
I pushed for what felt like forever before I was moved to the operating room. The policy for twin births at my hospital is to deliver in the OR in case an emergency C-section is needed for the second baby. The OR was bright and sterile — not at all what I had envisioned for my birth — but in the moment, I didn’t care as much as I thought I would. After nearly another hour of pushing, our feisty 4 pound 14 ounce baby girl was born with her hand up by her face and her eyes open. Her Apgar scores were 9 and 9, but she was so much floppier and quieter than I expected when they put her on my chest — it scared me! A nurse took her across the room to be checked, and everyone focused on our baby boy. One of the nurses had her hands on my stomach to keep him from flipping and was trying to keep his heart rate monitor on. After one scary dip in his heart rate, he was born 18 minutes after his sister, louder and bigger at 5 pounds 11 ounces, but just as perfect. They were finally here!
Every day since I first saw those two little blobs, I’ve felt like the luckiest mama in the whole world.
