BIRTH STORY

Before I begin my story I must talk about my dear husband.  He has been a rock to lean on, an invaluable medical advocate for me and our sons, and the perfect partner in this.  I couldn’t have asked for a better spouse, and I grow to love him more each day as these experiences have only brought us closer together and to God.

Last picture of me pregnant - me getting monitored.

Bedrest

By the beginning of November, I was very uncomfortable – swollen ankles, not sleeping well, and everything else that comes with typical full-term pregnancy.   On Nov 2, I had an OB appointment with Dr. Pohl and was put on bedrest at home so as to relieve some of the building pressure that would contribute to pre-term labor.  I was allowed to get up for 15-20 minutes every 2 hours.  It is tough to take care of yourself with that kind of time limitation!

The following week on Nov 10 I had my Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment for high risk patients.  I just had a feeling that I needed to prepare the last-minute things before this appointment, so we picked up the house, finished packing the hospital bag, and generally got things ready.  By this point I had quite a bit of pressure – enough that I honestly thought I had a hernia.  At the appointment, we discovered that my cervix had shortened considerably (down from 3.5 to 1.34) and that I had some protein in my urine (2.5), which is indicative of preeclampsia.  I was admitted to the hospital for what I was originally told was a 24 hour stay to monitor me.  TJ knew better, but it came as a shock to me when I was told that I would be there for the duration of my pregnancy.  I spent the first night in the Labor and Delivery unit until they had a space open up for me in the High Risk Pregnancy unit the following day.  I was given two steroid shots over the first few days to help develop the babies’ lungs.

Once I wrapped my brain around the possibility that I was going to be on hospital bedrest with “bathroom privileges” for maybe several weeks, I planned to make my stay more comfortable.  I had an outpouring of people who called or sent messages, and a few visitors.  In many ways it was much easier than being on bedrest at home, since I didn’t have to worry about making my own meals, doing laundry, or most of my regular responsibilities.  I also had nurses and other staff coming and going so I always had some human interaction.  I can honestly say that I never got bored during my stay at the hospital.

I would get fetal monitoring twice a day (once for each 7-7:00 shift), which would last an hour.  I was so thankful that the babies were showing no signs of distress, or else I would have had to be monitored continuously.  The monitoring consisted of three straps across my gel-covered belly, and usually another strap and a washcloth to help keep one of the monitors on because one of the babies was constantly trying to evade the monitors (ahem, Peter).  The nurses would often have to come and readjust his monitor repeatedly.

That Sunday I received a blessing and was privileged to partake of the sacrament.  The blessing said that the babies would be born “whole”, which gave me great comfort.  I remember feeling humbled that the Atonement was very much an act for the individual as I partook of the sacrament.

Preeclampsia

I continued being monitored and collecting all my urine so they could check the protein.  On Tuesday, Nov 15, my protein level had jumped to over 5 so now I was in the territory of severe preeclampsia.  The only cure for it is to deliver, or else you run the inevitable risk of seizures and death.  I had really been hoping to last until I was 34-35 weeks which would put me at least into December.  But here I was at week 32 and my babies were coming, ready or not!

That night I was taken back to Labor and Delivery.  Since it was pretty crowded I was put into one of the triage rooms that the nurses called “the closet”.  That night in the closet was one of the worst nights of my life.  I was put on magnesium at about 5pm, which helps slow down the onset of preeclampsia (specifically seizures), but the side effects are horrendous.  Besides the pounding headache from the preeclampsia (or maybe from the magnesium, I’m not sure), I had what can be described as a continuous hot flash which would last for the next few days.  Everything was on fire.  When I took in my now liquid-only diet it tasted like hot ash.  I got so nauseated that I threw up putting my throw up count to 30 for the pregnancy.  I also had to be monitored every 5 seconds (ok, I might be exaggerating that, but it was at least once an hour), and could only use the bedpan.  The magnesium made my whole head feel like it was in a vice, such that I couldn’t even see straight or open my eyes all the way.  I had on foot compression socks to help prevent blood clots, which hindered the only part of my body that I could still move.  Like I said, it was an awful night.  I just cried when TJ came back the next day, but I was glad he got some rest at home.

Labor

The next evening on the Nov 16 I was taken to a bigger room in L&D where I would eventually give birth.  I was given an epidural at 5pm so they could give me a Foley catheter, and had my water broken at 8pm.  I was finally able to get some blissful sleep.  I slept between each time a nurse came in.  I still was on magnesium, my vision was blurry and shaky, and I was hot, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the night in the closet.

I never felt the early contractions – even before the epidural was placed – and I was progressing on my own until I was about halfway through dilation.  They started me on Pitocin, and then I got stuck at 8cm for several hours.  At this point, Dr. Pohl was concerned we would have to do a C-section, so he really amped up the Pitocin and did some manual maneuvering as well.  He decided that we would still be able to do a vaginal birth since the babies were so low and weren’t in distress.

Peter is born!

Enoch is born!

Delivery

After I was more or less at 10cm everyone rapidly moved into action.  A whole team of people prepped the room.  My feet went into the stirrups and I began pushing.  I gave everything I had with each push, even though I was already exhausted from the difficult last few nights and not having eaten.  I didn’t push for very long when, at 2:09pm on November 17, our firstborn arrived.  Peter weighed 4 pounds 3 ounces. I learned later that he had needed the kiwi ventouse (vacuum) to assist at the very end, and that his cord was loosely wrapped around his neck.  In the instant of his birth, I felt like I was given the mantle of a mother. 

I didn’t have long to wait before I needed to push for the second baby.  The doctor said that I was an “old pro” at pushing (even though I felt totally inadequate and that it was way more painful than I thought it would be with an epidural), and that I should hold back with pushing so hard.  He didn’t have to ask me twice.   Our second born arrived only 10 minutes later after his brother, at 2:19pm. Enoch was born weighing 3 pounds 13 ounces.

Our firstborn was placed on my chest with nothing but a diaper and a little hat on, and we had some glorious skin-to-skin time.  The overwhelming feeling was of contentment.  Both of us had our eyes closed, breathing together.  He was so soft and I loved cuddling with him.  He was then taken, and I was handed our secondborn.  He was wrapped in a blanket along with his hat, but I loved holding him and looking into his sweet face.  I was surprised that neither baby was puffy, but had perfect, delicate little features.

I want to make note that during pregnancy, Baby A switched with Baby B in who was presenting, meaning who was furthest down.  So according to all their fetal charts, Baby B was the one who was actually born first, but after birth they were referred to in birth order as A and B respectively.  It made things a little confusing, and one nurse said she’d never seen that happen.

Now it was time to birth the placentae.  All the articles I had seen said that the hard part was over, now that I was done delivering the babies, and that I could enjoy baby snuggles while I easily birthed the placentae.  My experience was the opposite of that since I had a partial placenta accreta.  By then my epidural was rather weak.  The doctor first stitched up my second-degree perineal tear, at which I loudly asked if he was cutting me.  I was so surprised I had torn with small babies, but apparently a lot of it has to do with the position of the babies and not necessarily their size.  

Then the actual removal of the placenta took place.  I had to give up holding my child because I was in such severe pain.  It felt like my doctor was pulling out the placenta and then putting it back in, over and over again.  I yelled out “what is he doing?” and was told that one of my placentae was coming out in pieces.  He was essentially having to put in his instrument repeatedly and scrape out the too-firmly attached placenta piece by piece.  I really wish I had gotten another dose of the epidural before this.  By the end, I was going in and out of consciousness.  I couldn’t lift my arms I was so weak.

Just before being taken to the NICU

Names and Postpartum

We had already decided to use Nelson and Thomas as the middle names.  Nelson is my maiden name, and we wanted another strong family name for the second son.  Thomas is prevalent on both sides of the family.  TJ and I had chosen Peter as one of the names several months ago, but we weren’t sure who it would be for.  I originally thought Enoch was going to be Peter while they were in the womb.  So how did we get Enoch as the other name?  Well after months of debating and giving each other name suggestions, and not agreeing on anything, TJ wrote out a short list of names the first night after their birth.  Enoch was not one we had previously considered, but we finally had a name that both of us liked.  We decided that we would meet the boys the following day and make sure the names fit.  I love that both names are strong, biblical names.

I spent the first few days doing my initial recovery.  I was so swollen from all the fluids they pumped me with (six bags) – my knees were tree trunks and I had stabbing pain when I moved them.  I found out that I had lost over 2 liters of blood, and that if I had done a C-section I perhaps would have bled out on the table.  That is a very sobering thought.  TJ said that he usually sees up to 1 liter of blood loss during C-sections, which is typically more than for vaginal births.  At the low point my Hgb was 5.5, when it’s supposed to be 13-15.  I am so glad I had an intelligent doctor who I believe made the best decisions for my circumstances.  I had three nurses tell me that they think my doctor is the smartest at the hospital and they would go to him if they had a baby.

It was so difficult to move those first three days!  I was so weak I had to rely on other people for everything.  My heart pounded and my vision swam just rolling over in bed.  I took a shower four days after my last one, with the help of a nurse.  I felt like a new person after I finally got clean.

Our first family photo!

Proud papa

I’m home from the hospital

I was discharged from the hospital on the evening of Monday the Nov 21.  I hadn’t been outside in a week and a half, and the weather had turned into beautiful autumn.  The trees were bright colors and the air was crisp.  But when I got home I felt so sad to have left my babies.  Even though I hadn’t been in the same room as them at the hospital, I knew I could just be wheeled down to where they were at any given time.  TJ put a load of warm laundry on the bed and I just clutched a pair of warm jeans and cried.  I wasn’t allowed to drive for a few weeks, so I felt even more like I was far away from my babies.

TJ had been able to hold Peter for an hour on the Nov 20 and was able to have a great bonding experience.  He said it was perhaps the most humbling, glorious, and joyous hour of his life.  These boys are such a blessing to our family.

NICU time

As we arranged for daily visits to the NICU it became easier to leave at the end of the day.  Most especially because the boys were doing so well!  At first, they had a few things to take care of such as being under the bilirubin lights and Peter needing a nasal cannula for a few days to help with breathing.  But once they were free from those and as we got to know them a little better it was just exciting to go back to the NICU each day.  We helped change diapers and give bottles, and begin practicing breastfeeding.  I had begun pumping after they were born, and was ecstatic when I found out I was producing enough for both of them a little over a week out!

Hormones change a lot after birth.  As a silver lining to being a NICU mom, I was able to spend the first few weeks recovering.  For whatever reason, I had a few nights where I was covered in hives (I’m guessing it was either an allergy to the new iron supplement or just plain ol’ hormones).  Miserable.

We didn’t think the boys would be home until just before Christmas, but when we found out they could be home as soon as the first week of December – when they were at 35 weeks – I went into prep mode.  I finished putting some of the little things together and organizing the gifts we had been given.  I was so nervous about bringing home two babies by myself, since TJ wouldn’t have time off work until the second week of December.  Can’t I just bring home one nurse from the hospital?  Pretty please?

Peter kept having bradycardic episodes (where his heartbeats became too slow), and both boys had some reflux.

Babies' first picture home together

Peter and Enoch come home!

Enoch came home first on Dec 7.  We were definitely nervous parents going to pick him up!  Once he was discharged he wasn’t allowed back to the NICU.  TJ had two LONG days at work where he was gone 14+ hours, so it was just me and Enoch.  We got into a pretty good groove, even though it was tiring.  We kept up with the 3-hour schedule that had been established in the NICU.  The second day I asked a friend to help me for a few hours which was a lifesaver.  We went to the hospital so she could sit with Enoch while I had much too short of a visit with Peter.  But I couldn’t go two days without seeing my baby!

My baby shower was supposed to be on Nov 19, but that was postponed since I was still in the hospital.  I should have done it earlier!  I finally had my shower on Dec 9.  Enoch made his guest appearance before being sequestered in another room away from the crowd.  We were given some great gifts and I am so grateful for the generosity of our friends.

Peter passed his car seat test (he had failed the first time) and was finally done with the apnea episodes, so he could come home!  He came home on Dec 10 and thankfully it was the weekend so TJ was home.  And he had the next three weeks off of work!

The nights can sometimes be rough when babies are awake, but we are so grateful we are all home, safe and sound!  What an adventure we are starting.