Twins partial birth story...

Jared and Nathanya's Birth Story
April 19, 2004

Jared =
weight ~ 5lbs 3oz
length ~ 17.5 inches
34 weeks gestation
time = 11:00 AM



Nathanya=
weight ~ 4lbs 7oz
length ~ 17 inches
32 weeks gestation (another story in itself)
time = 11:20 AM



With the twins I started having painful contractions at 18 weeks. The dr.s put me on and off bed rest from then on. At 29 weeks we started dialating. Because of the dialating they gave the shot to help their lungs develop. At Week 31 I was hospitalized for 4 days... but they were able to stop the contractions. I was so grateful because I would have had to have the babies at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center rather than where my dr.s deliver. At 34 weeks exact I went in because of extreme pressure (which was something that I kept dealing with throughout the pregnancy.) The nurses monitored me and said I was not progressing so they were releasing me to go home. I was so distraught when I coughed and my water broke. I was in for the duration.

At first I did not want an epidural and was getting annoyed that they kept asking if I wanted one. Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm NO! How many times do I need to tell you that? They then explained that with twins there can be many complications and that we may want to consider getting one... but that it was up to us. The nurse was really amazing and gave us a moment to think about things. When talking to Nathan I had a strong impression that I better get it. I then agreed and got an epidural around 9:30 am. It was amazing!!! I had a walking epidural that time and I could still feel enough to push when needed. I felt pressure but not the actual contractions. The pressure increased immensely I had to put my hand down there to hold baby A in. The dr.s had not come in yet and we were waiting for them in the OR room. Finally they came and I let go. They checked me and said ok push! 3 pushes and Baby A (Jared) was born at 11:AM vaginally.

Baby B (Nathanya) turned and became transverse. There was an u/s machine in there so they tried to turn her. They had their elbo's in my belly and their arms up my Wahoo trying to grab a leg or anything. They turned her so that she was breach. Reached in and tried to pull her out. Something blocked her way out and they could not get her out at all. They tried for almost 20 minutes to get her out. She would not budge. (Jared's placenta decided to come at the same time and blocked the way out.) My cervix closed and they preped me for an emergency C-Section. She was out of me within 4 minutes. I never felt so close to dying as I did in that operation. I felt as if my spirit would leave my body if I closed my eyes. I was slipping away... and it was such a helpless feeling. The room was calm and quiet. The only thing that was happening was the buzz of dr.s working around Jared and Nathanya. They let me see the twins as they rushed them down to the NICU where they remained for 3 weeks.

The dr. sewed me up and left. 5 minutes later he came running in saying he forgot something. I told him that was not funny. The scrub tech said she had counted all the sponges and they were all there. He said no - he forgot that he also did an episiotomy and needed to sew it up too! (SHOCK! LOL) It is not that often that they perform a csec and epi on the same woman in the same birthing experience. hehehe

So I had the best of both worlds with the twins. What an experience!