Has it been a week already?! It felt like the last few weeks of pregnancy were going to drag on forever but I finally made it to my scheduled c-section date last Wednesday. I woke up that morning feeling dehydrated and nauseous. I was so mad because I had purposely tried to drink lots and lots of water in the days leading up to this and even skipped out on a celebratory Dr. Pepper at dinner the night before. Maybe it was because I was feeling sick, or maybe it was because Kevin insisted on stopping off at the eye doctor to get a piece of his glasses replaced on the way to the hospital, but it just seemed like a normal day.
When we got to the hospital the reality and excitement started to sink in - I was anxious to get things going. I told them I wanted my IV as soon as possible because I couldn't drink anything due to the surgery. Of course they took their sweet time getting things hooked up and I got sick right when the nurse was drawing my blood! Yikes. They got my IV setup soon after that and decided to give me some meds to help me feel better. That's when things really went south.
I don't know why they didn't just give me Zofran or Phenergan for my nausea that worked so great during my pregnancy, but they decided to give me Reglan. Apparently I am allergic. I felt like I had restless leg syndrome all over my body. I tried to stay cool at first. Since they had barely adjusted the heart-rate monitors on the babies, I knew I couldn't move and mess it up, "Just pretend your leg is asleep...you can handle that until the epidural", I kept thinking to myself. But soon the feeling was all over my body and very intense. My skin was just crawling! I held off from messing up the monitors as long as I could, but I kept sitting up then laying down, back and forth, one after the other. Finally the time came to get my epidural. By this time it was painful to sit up and be still while the area was sterilized prior to the injection. Moments later I was sobbing into the nurses chest and trying to hold still (when I got my epidural with Wes I didn't even cry!). I think they gave me a little something extra in my IV cause I fell right to sleep and my memory is a little spotty, which makes me sad.
The next thing I knew Kevin was in his scrubs and my doctor was there letting me know it was go time! I fell back asleep and woke back up right as the surgery was about to begin. I guess it was good that I didn't have any time to get super nervous! Before I knew it things were in full swing.
It wasn't bad at all. The most pressure I felt was when they were moving Remi down. I kept looking at Kevin and trying to wait patiently. After about 10 min I heard a sweet little cry from my Sophie. They brought her over to show her to me. I couldn't believe how tiny she was. One minute later our Remi was born. They were perfect. I couldn't see them getting examined so I just closed my eyes and smiled and listened to their little cries. Kevin got to hold their little hands and take it all in. He kept coming back to give me updates. They were both so healthy. I couldn't believe there were no problems. I had been so worried, especially about Soph being so small. What a blessing! Kevin went with them to the nursery and I took a little cat nap while they finished getting me squared away.
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| Their first picture together, harmonizing their cries en route to the nursery. |
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| Personal space - what's that? |
Born Wednesday October 2, 2013
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| Remi Chanel 5lbs 15oz. 19 3/4" 12:34 PM |
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| Sophie Estelle 4lbs 11oz. 18 1/4" 12:33 PM |
Side note: It was so easy to tell them apart at the hospital because of their weight difference. Since they have come home from the hospital, their weight has started to normalize and they're living up to being 'identical twins' more naturally... which makes it more difficult to tell them apart.
Continuing on... Next thing I knew I was in recovery. They brought in my sweet girls and I was able to do my skin to skin and nurse them. I couldn't believe I had two new babies all at once in my arms. They were so tiny and sweet. We were able to spend a few quiet hours alone with them there. It was so surreal trying to take it all in and get acquainted with two new babies all at once. I could've stared at their tiny little faces for hours.
After Kevin and I had a chance to be alone with our sweet treasures, we introduced Weslie to her sisters. As soon as she saw them she started repeating, "baby". We put her on the bed and she smiled at them curiously while Kevin helped her hold Sophie. Weslie is such a sweet and tender girl and sometimes really shy, but seemed to like holding her. Just as her little 2-yr old attention span wore off, Chloe busted through the hospital room door, followed by a curious Grandpa. Then came an upset grandma who wanted to be the next one in the room, and had been waiting patiently down the hall while Wes had her alone time - to grandma's credit, she (and everyone else) hardly received any updates all day (it was a crazy day, and sending pictures and responding to the numerous calls and texts we received was delayed much longer than we anticipated - sorry!). As soon as grandma laid eyes on the angels though, all was forgotten and we spent some great time together as a family.
Time in the hospital is always kind of a blur for me. Nurses are constantly in and out during all hours of the day and night, and it's hard trying to balance visitors, sleep, feeding and special bonding time all at once. I was so exhausted I could hardly keep my eyes open during the night time feedings but I didn't want to put them down - I just wanted to hold my girls every chance I could! Recovery was very different than it was when I had Wes, each type of delivery has their pros and cons. My stomach was very sore this time and standing up straight was the worst! I was encouraged to get up and walk the hospital halls a couple of times a day to help speed up the recovery. I really enjoyed taking one of the babies with me for a walk, and I also thought it was sweet of Kevin to join us when he didn't have to work (poor guy has to work all the time). The pain medications made me very sleepy so I tried to limit my doses as much as I could, and walk-it-off as often as possible.
Friday afternoon the nurses were a little concerned about how much weight the girls had lost. I was so worried that things would start to get worse but Kevin gave the girls a blessing that they would be able to stay healthy. It was so sweet to hear him give these tiny infants such tender blessings while I held them. Their weight stabilized a little bit and we were actually able to go home a day early. I couldn't believe they were able to come home from the hospital with us. We are so blessed! They are so sweet and I am so glad that they are a part of our family. It is so amazing how your heart just gets bigger and your capacity to love grows so much once a sweet baby enters your life. We love our girls so much.
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