The Details....

Here I am, two weeks later, and I'll try to recount the story of the twins' birth as best as I can remember. I'll warn you that the whole first week is a hazy blur for me, so I won't stand by the accuracy of any of the following...

One more side note: Read on at your own risk! Unless you watch TLC's "A Baby Story" on a regular basis or are equally comfortable with labor and delivery details, you may just want to skim and look at the pictures. Even those may freak you out, especially this first one!






I include this "before" shot to remind everyone exactly what a twin pregnancy does to one's body, namely mine. So, for the next year or so, when we run into each other, just refer back to this picture in your mind before you make any judgements on my overall appearance. That's an extra 50 pounds, people!

So, here's the timeline of how things transpired (thanks to Matt for jotting down the details!):


9am - We arrived at CPMC for our scheduled induction. I was 38 weeks, which is considered full-term for twins, and my doctor didn't see any reason to put me at further risk by waiting any longer to deliver. I was also beginning to show signs of pre-eclampsia, so our best option was inducing delivery.


12pm - After a few hours of getting checked in, getting hooked up to monitors, trying to locate Baby A's heartbeat as she flipped and scooted all over the place (this required at least 4 nurses and doctors and consumed a solid hour- just the beginning of trouble with Annie!), I received my epidural and my catheter (Don't say I didn't warn you!).




1pm - Once the epidural was in place, Dr, Wiggins came by to break my water and check to see how dilated I was. I was already 6cm! Unbelievably, I was in labor on my own anyway, and I hadn't really felt more than a little uncomfortable. Things were moving very quickly, and I'd barely finished US Weekly. I hadn't even opened People!



2:30pm - Dr. Wiggins came by again to check on me, and I had already progressed to 9 cm. This is where things began to get blurry!



3:15pm - I was wheeled into the OR down the hall. Even though I didn't have a C-section, it's routine procedure to deliver twins in an OR in the event that an emergency C-section might be necessary. As I was wheeled in, I couldn't help but notice two little baby stations all ready to go. Surreal - it really hit home that we were having twins!!

Dr. Wiggins introduced me to another doctor in the practice, Dr. Callan, who assisted during the delivery. They're both very experienced in breech extractions for Twin B, which was our plan for little Annie, and it couldn't have gone any smoother.

3:31pm - After maybe two contractions and a few pushes, Tessa was born!

3:32pm - Yes, that's right, one minute later, after one more contraction, Annie was born with minimal pushing, feet first! She was noticably smaller than Tessa, and needed oxygen for maybe a minute before we were able to hold her.

I was really scared at the possibility of a C-section, or worse, a vaginal delivery for Baby A, and an emergency section for Baby B (yes-that's a very real possibility!!!!), so I'm so thankful the delivery went so perfectly!


A few hours later, had all of of our little girls together! Megan and Bridget were so excited to meet the babies. Bridget looks a little dazed here, but she really was excited!! We now have two extra mommies in the house, and it's so much fun to see them interact with Tessa and Annie.