Birth Story

Sorry this has come so late, but I had a really horrible day yesterday until we finally found a pain medication that works. :-) And now I'm a new woman! So, here's what went down Wednesday morning. This is not for the faint of heart.

I was having contractions late Tuesday night. They were somewhat painful and coming somewhat regularly, but nothing I couldn't handle. I finally went to bed around 2am and woke to more contractions at 5am. I was doing fine until 6am when I experienced the most horrifying pain I've ever had to experience. I thought that maybe I was going through transition (already??) but I had no relief in between contractions. The pain was worse (if that's possible) during contractions, but it was still a "30" on the 0-10 pain scale. I was also very dizzy & lightheaded. I woke my hubby and we were out of the house by 6:15am. I was taken right up to labor & delivery where they hooked me up and tried to find the babies heartbeats. They had a very tough time getting the heartbeats, so they brought in an ultrasound to help. My blood pressure was also quite low (70/40). Meanwhile I was begging for pain relief...it was just too intese. (And this from the same person who was planning for a natural, vaginal birth.) When they got the babies' heart rates, Baby A was at 110 and Baby B at 95--normal is in the 140 range. The OB basically said that they needed to do a C-Section immediately and I was like "where do I sign"? (This once again coming from the same person who was planning for a natural, vaginal birth.) My husband had gone home where he had forgotten the cord blood kits (which were never used), so he didn't realize I had gone in for the C-Section until he got back.

In the C-Section room they tried to give me a spinal, but they were having a hard time and the OB had a feeling that Baby B's placenta had separated from the uterine wall (aka abruptio placenta), which means mandatory general anesthesea. (That being the one thing I wanted to avoid most of all, but I had no choice in the matter.) So while I was sleeping, the doctors were in hell. I was bleeding a lot, but the first thing they had to do was deliver the twins. They were born within a minute of each other (7:28 & 7:29am), but Baby B wasn't really breathing for almost 5 minutes. Baby A's APGAR scores were 3 and 8, Baby B's were 1 and 7. Not so good. And I was bleeding...a lot. Dr. Testa (aka the man who saved at least 3 lives on Wednesday) thought maybe my uterus had ruptured. Thank G-d that was not the case, but there was an artery on the outside wall of the uterus that was bleeding into my abdomen. My OB (Dr. Rabin) said that this ruptured artery was a complication of surgery and not of the pregnancy/birth, but I lost a ton of blood in either case.

Anyway, they worked on me for about two hours after the twins were born trying to get the bleeding stopped. When they finally closed me up, I was sent to general anesthesea recovery. Later on they transferred me to the ICU, then to labor & delivery and finally to a postpartum room. The doctors were surprised that I was doing so well seeing that I had lost about a pint & a half of blood and receieved 4-5 units of blood. Thank G-d I'm fine now and the babies are doing great! I'll have more updates with pictures later, but it's time for Shabbos soon and I must be off.

Check out my brother-in-law's blog if you'd like to see pictures now.

The Post You've All Been Waiting For

I'll post a much longer birth story when I'm not exhausted, but I wanted to let you know that the babies are here!!! They arrived this morning @ 7:30am via emergency C-Section (I had general anesthesia...) I'll just tell you now that my story rivals Nancy's, that's just how scary it was.

Baby A--GIRL, 5lbs 1oz, 17 3/8 in, 7:28am
Baby B--BOY, 5lbs 4oz, 18 1/4 in, 7:29am

M*A*S*H

I know, two posts in one day (so don't forget to read the other one), but I just had to tell you about what I just received in the mail. About a week and a half ago I ordered the complete set of M*A*S*H episodes--all 11 seasons including the famous last episode (Goodbye, Farewell & Amen) and the movie that started it all (starring Donald Sutherland). I think it's the best money I ever spent, and I have plans to watch every last episode. If you're thinking about calling me, don't bother...I'm busy. :-D And I plan to watch M*A*S*H during my whole labor. I'll have to turn it off for delivery because I'll be in the OR (no TV). :-(

Nothing to Report

Sorry for my lack of posting, but I really haven't had anything to report. No exciting contractions, no water breaking, no mucous plug, no nothing. Well, I did sort of figure out how to sleep relatively comfortably...I guess that's exciting. :-) I bought a maternity support belt waaaaaay back in 1st trimester, and technically it doesn't fit anymore. But I MAKE it fit! And then I can sleep w/o back pain...it's a miracle, really.

The OB scheduled me for an ultrasound on Wednesday, but I'm not sure what they'll be checking for. Probably a BPP (Biophysical profile), but I'm hoping for measurements too so we can see how much they weigh. I highly doubt they'll be checking my cervix with the probity probe seeing as we know I'm fully effaced, and I have an appt with my OB on the same day and she'll check it manually.

I can't believe I'm going to be 35 weeks tomorrow...it seems nearly impossible. One of my friends came to visit me yesterday and was shocked with how enormous I am. (I believe he hasn't seen me since August.) He was staring at my belly with awe. lol

P.S. Bonus points to anyone who knows what book the term "probity probe" comes from.

Holy Moley

One of my fellow bloggers just got an incredible unexpected BFP. Chicklet has been trying for 3 years and has 3 failed IVFs under her belt (there's more to this story, but I don't know all of it). Anyways, she was on a "medical intervention" break this past month and just got her BFP this morning. Go leave her a big congrats comment and pray that this baby sticks!!! WOOOO!!!

In other news, I am going home! No change to my cervix--still 3cm and paper thin, Baby A is at a 0 station. Doctor says come in when I'm in labor. :-)

Update

I saw my OB this morning, and she says that she'll send me home on Friday if there's been no change. It's infinitely easier to be at home for Shabbos than at the hospital, and she knows that. I'll probably go back in to see her on Monday and possibly will be re-admitted for next week. That's obviously if I don't go into labor first. We'll see! The contractions I do have are stronger than my previous Braxton-Hicks, but they're not regular and even if I have a whole bunch in an hour, they'll stop altogether after a little while. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens in the meanwhile!

I actually had a relatively decent amount of sleep last night. I slept from 1am to 6am straight w/ no interruptions. At 6am my bladder was at its exploding point, so I got up briefly for a bathroom break. I got back to sleep at 6:30am and slept almost straight until 8:45am (with a brief half-wakeup around 8am when they checked my blood pressure and brought in my breakfast). 7 hours and 15 mins is not too bad!

I did it!

I made it to 34 weeks! Which also means I've reached the end of my complications chart. I guess after 34 weeks the rates of pre-term complications are all nearly zero. SWEEEEET!

Survival: 97%
Respiratory Distress Syndrome: 14%
Intraventricular Hemorrhage: 0%
Sepsis: 4%
Necrotizing Enterocolitis: 3%
Intact, long-term survival: 97%

There you have it folks. And on top of it all, they should weigh nearly 5 lbs now. That means we'll be able to use the carseats we bought when we bring them home from the hospital! WOOOO! Now babies, I'm large and viciously uncomfortable. You can come out now so I can get 2 hours of pleasant, deep sleep instead of 2 hours of uncomfortable, non-deep sleep each night. :-) As much as I'd love to cook you both another two weeks, I think I might have a nervous breakdown from lack of quality sleep. Now I don't expect to have amazing sleep once you arrive...I just want the little sleep I do get to be comfortable. I also want to be able to sit and lie down comfortably instead of having a painful back 24/7. I promise to make really delicious breastmilk for you and cuddle you the way only a mommy can. And I might let your daddy hold you if he sits down first. ;-) We have really comfy cribs all ready for you and I promise not to make either of you sing the 4 questions at the Pesach seders this year. Now, isn't Purim a nice time to have a birthday? It also happens to be the full moon...

Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions