11:30am on Monday, July 23. That was the date and time set for the
arrival of our little ones. Neither one of us slept much the night
before. Paul painted my toenails (blue and pink, naturally)- it had
been a
long time since I could reach them myself. He did a pretty good job, considering he'd never done it before!
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| My super swollen piggies! |
A nurse from the newborn nursery came to
visit and had us fill out some paperwork for the twins and suddenly,
they were real. Their names had been written on crib cards, and their
admit paperwork had been filled out. M & J were coming! I couldn't
eat or drink after midnight, so I was starving, excited and nervous.
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| M & J's paperwork! |
Paul
and I woke up at 7am to take showers and regroup during the last few
hours of life, as we knew it. After showering and putting on my awesome
delivery gown (Thanks, Kelley!), I put on a little makeup so I would
look somewhat presentable in the pictures. The simple act of drying my
hair and primping a little bit helped to ease my growing anxiety
about knowingly going into major surgery!
Dr.
Jones, my MFM, came in to do a last minute ultrasound to check weight
and positions of the babies. Both Molly and Jackson had turned frank
breach, so I am glad we were already planning on a c-section! Molly was
estimated to weight about 6 lbs, and Jackson checked in at 6 1/2 lbs.
By 9:30, my pre-op lab had been drawn and the team from Labor &
Delivery had come to check on me and have me fill out even more
paperwork, and at 10:15, I was in my L&D suite. My IV had
infiltrated, so after a new 18 gauge (ouch!) catheter had been placed,
my antibiotics were started and IV fluids were hung. The
anesthesiologist came in to fill out the paperwork for my spinal block,
and explain exactly what would happen once I hit the operating room.
Things were starting to move really quickly!
My doctor was
delayed a bit at her clinic, so we weren't ready to start until around
12:00- the waiting was the hardest part, I think! At noon, I was
wheeled into the OR. I started to cry almost immediately- it's a very
strange thing to be on the receiving end of a surgery you've seen
performed a thousand times. Knowing
exactly what is going on below the blue curtain is scary!
Because
we delivered at the hospital where Paul and I work, we were allowed a
few special requests. We'd asked a few NICU nurses to be in the OR and
our favorite fellow NICU RT was there, too. Kelley (the aforementioned
delivery gown maker) happens to be an NICU nurse as well, and she agreed
to take pictures in the OR. All told, there were 14 people in the
delivery room. I think that might be a record!
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| A few of the awesome people who were with us! |
While
my spinal block was being placed, Paul scrubbed in. Our OB had agreed
to let him "catch" the babies- once Molly and Jackson were out and their
cords had been cut, Paul would be the first person to hold them and
carry them to the warmers. Once the whole OR team was ready and I was
pronounced sufficiently numb, the surgery was started. Everyone was
great about telling me exactly what was going to happen next, and how it
would feel. After a bit of pressure, tugging and pulling, Jackson was
born at 12:36 pm. My OB announced that he was a boy before she even
delivered him- apparently, the first thing she felt was boy parts! Talk
about an entrance... Paul took him to the warmer, and he started to
cry. The moment your baby cries for the first time is honestly the most
amazing second of your life. A few minutes later, at 12:38 pm, Molly
made her grand entrance. She was delivered to her warmer screaming and
squalling. After both babies were examined, Paul brought them for me to
see them. The mix of emotions I felt seeing them for the first time
was overwhelming. They were here. In the span of two minutes, the life
we knew was irreversibly and undeniably changed for the better. We
were parents.
There
is nothing that I would change about the way they came into our lives.
Every aspect of their birth was amazing and absolutely perfect. I
cannot say enough about my OB, her NP and the group of people who made
Molly and Jackson's birth day possible. We are so incredibly blessed.
1 Samuel 1:27 (KJV)
For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him
Molly, you are our Little Bit. Unless you are hungry, you have been quite content to carefully observe every detail of your surroundings. You'll spend hours just looking around with those big bright eyes- nothing gets past you! When you decide you want something though, you want it now. Hell hath no fury like a hungry Molly, but once we put on your bib, you immediately get quiet and start rooting for your bottle. It's ridiculously adorable. You love bath time, hate diaper changes and are ambivalent about tummy time. I am in awe of how strong your little personality is already!
