Saturday, August 6, 2011

Birthday, August 1, 2011


Carrie: So, that didn’t go like we thought it would, did it?

Melina: Sorry.

We were pleasantly surprised on Monday morning after check-in to find that I was already having what the nurse referred to as Monster Contractions and would barely need any pitocin. They were also progressing quickly, leading the doctors to predict that we would have twins by two in the afternoon. Twin A was in perfect position and the doctor again said he was looking forward to a “very graceful birthday.” Labor did really go exactly like everyone thought it would, and Craig and I amused ourselves by watching the two heartbeats on the fetal monitor and wondering when we would see our daughters.



At 1:40, the sleepy tempo of the early afternoon exploded into activity as Twin B’s water broke, I was pronounced ready to deliver, and the fetal monitor registered a sudden drop in both heartbeats. I was quickly unhooked and rushed down the hall to the OR with Craig running behind me. As he got into his scrubs and I was prepped for delivery, things relaxed again as the heart monitors showed normal heartbeats and the doctors were again confident that a normal birth could be attempted.

At this point, Twin B, ever the unpredictable one, decided to attempt a move favored by NASCAR drivers and chariot racers in Ben Hur: to edge out the competition from behind and finish first. Unfortunately, when you decide you’re ready to be born you can’t just shove your twin sister aside and pull ahead by a length like you’re Seabiscuit. Two things happened: Twin A’s progress stalled because of B’s pressure on her, and B’s heartbeat again dropped because she was no longer protected from the full force of the delivery by her own amniotic fluid. So ten minutes after we arrived in the OR the decision was made to deliver the twins by emergency C-Section.

I pity Caesar, who gave his name to the procedure by apocryphally being delivered that way. I don’t know why there is such a thing as an elective C-Section for reasons other than the health of mother or baby. I do know, however, that the doctors and nurses saved my babies by getting them out quickly. Melina Mae was born first at 2:11 pm., weighing 4 lbs. 14 oz. and responding quickly to nursery care despite a sleepy start. Carrie Annabelle was born a minute later, weighing 6 lbs, 2 oz. and crying her outrage at her sister’s ruining her shot at being born first.

As we reflect over the pregnancies and separate out the sonogram pics for their baby books, it is interesting to note that since Melina won the race to be born, she is now Twin A instead of Twin B, as well as her heavier twin’s big sister. I saw Melina’s right ear as the anesthesiologist held her up for me to see, and then Craig held a swaddled Carrie, and then they were off to the nursery to get checked and I was off to recovery. I’m not sure why they call it ‘recovery’ if it’s the place you go and feel steadily worse for an hour.



Four hours later, the twins joined me in the mother-baby wing and we were able to room together for all of my three-day hospital stay. I’m not sure what the odds are on this, but we thought this was pretty amazing given the twin pregnancy and Melina’s birth weight. The hospital photographer startled me by saying that she doesn’t think she has ever photographed a baby as small as she is except for in the NICU. Everyone from the pediatricians to the lactation consultants marveled at how healthy they are for being born at 37 weeks. Melina spent the first evening tucked into my hospital gown to help regulate her body temperature, but was holding her own temperature by the next morning.



I thought I’d have to be older and wiser to get to the point where I felt like quoting myself, but my birth plan all along was:

1. Nobody dies.
2. Nobody goes to the NICU.
3. I don’t have to have a C-Section, unless it conflicts with rules 1 or 2.

I’m blessed that I was granted this. If I had dug in my heels and been adamant against a C-Section, I may have needed a grief counselor. I don’t think you can order a delivery like you order a hamburger. And now more than ever I think that anyone who plans a home birth is crazy. People should have babies in hospitals where it is safe. We were even lucky to have planned to be in the hospital for the induction, as my labor progressed so fast that the babies could have been in distress before I ever thought I should leave for the hospital.

Instead, we have two impossibly sweet, tiny, and healthy babies sleeping next to our bed in the pack and play. For that, we are grateful.











3 comments:

  1. wow! So grateful for God's protection on all of you. You have two gorgeous daughters and one adorably handsome "Debby" :) You are truly blessed!

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  2. I like the rules. It hints of Asimov. :)

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  3. Yes, you are truly blessed! Praying you recover and are able to move your little ones to your new home... thank you for sharing your photos of these precious gifts from God!

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