Birth Day

Of course, my experience will be different from anyone else’s. This is how it happened for me --

Three weeks before scheduling my c-section, I went to the hospital for a round of steroid injections. Purpose: to try and grow the twins’ lungs as quickly as possible. At this point, Twin B was falling more and more behind in growth, making the need to give birth a little more urgent than previously thought. I had three rounds of steroids, one week apart.

Morning of May 4th, the big day! My husband and I walked our dog to doggy day care, we bought the Wall Street Journal and New York Times (memories for the twins to look back at what was going on in the world, in NY, the day they were born), packed up some comfy clothes, and went to the hospital. I did not pack anything for the babies, the hospital has it all. Unless you really want to have your babies in their own clothes, or add any other personal items, there isn’t much you need to bring with you.

Checked in with the front desk, changed into the hospital gown, and waited. In the meantime, my doctor, along with the team taking care of me, came to say hello and introduce themselves. Fantastic group of people. I could not have asked for better doctors. They were all funny, light-hearted, kind and very knowledgeable. My husband and I felt so comfortable with the situation.

A few hours later, it was my turn to give birth! I was brought into the operating room, epidural inserted and the sheets went up. A team of nurses, one dedicated to each baby, and my husband joined once I was ready to go. I can only imagine it feels a little more informal giving birth in an actual labor and delivery ward, not in the OR with 18 people you don’t know. Nevertheless, a scheduled c-section was the way my journey had to go..

I could feel pressure, that’s it. My husband couldn’t see anything and was keeping me distracted, laughing with the doctors, as they cut me open. To everyone’s surprise, Twin B made his way to the front of the race, but was stuck under my ribs. This is why the doctors had to “severely stretch” my transverse abdominis on the left side. And bam! Baby born.. baby crying.. my husband and I becoming parents.. All in one quick moment. And one minute later, Twin A was out, joining his brother crying. Weight: 2.5lbs and 3.5lbs, little nuggets. 

So many emotions, so little time. Everything after that until the babies were taken out of the room, wasa blur. My husband getting up to go hold one baby, a nurse bringing over another baby for me to look at, people running behind me, people working beside me, all while I cannot feel my legs and have no idea what is going on behind the sheet. And no, we did not keep the placenta.

Once I was stitched up, my husband went to the NICU to be with the babies, I was taken to my recovery room. After a few hours, my husband brought me to see the twins and we each held them for a few minutes, before they were put back into their individual incubators. 

Breastfeeding we can save for another day, but I did not directly breastfeed in the hospital, I pumped. It took three days of pumping, every three hours, for me to make any milk.

I spent two nights, three days in the hospital. My husband, best friend and I celebrated with champagne and wine during one of their visits. The first night was terrible for pain. The second was okay, and I started wearing the belly band with my doctor's approval for a few hours. Nothing too eventful to report. Woke up, ate breakfast, went to see the babies and listened to the doctors do their rounds (visiting each room to go over the status of the patients), and back to the room to sleep, pump, eat, sleep. The in-room menu at NYP is actually pretty amazing. 

And from here starts the next part of our journey -- the NICU.

cbxo