I prayed every day during the last couple weeks of pregnancy that these two babies would decide to make their entrance into the world that day. But they decided that they would just wait and bake a little longer. Tobin's parents drove to California during the last week of October. Unfortunately, Bob had to go home on October 7th, so he didn't get to meet the new babies on this trip. My mom flew in on October 6th. Thank you, Auntie Cindy, for picking her up at the airport!
On October 7th at 6 am I called the hospital, as instructed, to see if it was a good time for me to come in for my scheduled induction. They told me that it was currently pretty busy and I should call back about 9:30. I was so disappointed! I had already showered and dressed for the day. I was seriously ready to leave for the hospital at 6:01 if we got the "go ahead." Instead, we went back to bed for a while. At 9:30 on the dot, I called the hospital again. This time I explained that I was 38 weeks pregnant with twins and schedule for induction that day. They told me to come in right away. Hallelujah! Tobin and I swiftly got ready to leave. Strangely, a few minutes later I got a call from a different nurse asking why I hadn't called in at 9 am as instructed and when I planned to come to the hospital. Not sure what happened there . . . some kind of communication break down.
We arrived at the hospital about 10 am, and were the third couple in line to register for labor and delivery. We waited in the hallway for quite a while. I think it was probably 30 minutes before it was even our turn to register. By the time we started to register, our nurse was already looking for us and trying to speed up the registration process. We were finally settled in a labor and delivery room around 11. The nurses hooked up an IV and asked if I would like to have something to eat before they started the Pitocin, since I would not be able to eat after that. I was so anxious to get this show on the road that I declined food. They convinced me to at least have a snack. I acquiesced and quickly ate some crackers. There were some formalities, paperwork, a brief chat with the doctor, and Pitocin was finally started around 2 pm.
I was hoping labor would be quick once the Pitocin started. No such luck! It took several hours just to get dilated to a 4. (I was already somewhere between 2 and 2 1/2 cm dilated when we arrived at the hospital.) Of course the nurses would check on me every 20 to 30 minutes and increase the Pitocin drip. After I while I started thinking I should pay more attention to what they were doing so I could increase the Pitocin while they weren't looking. But don't worry, I'm way to nervous about that sort of thing and didn't want to harm myself or the babies, so I never did. At one point I asked them to break Braden's water to see if that would move labor along. They did, but it didn't really help things progress any faster.
I got an epidural pretty early on because I didn't want to miss the opportunity if labor ever really did get going well. They gave me a pretty low dose and the fancy button to give myself more medicine as needed. The epidural was a little wonky for a while. My right leg became numb pretty quickly, but my left didn't. My left leg was more swollen from general pregnancy water retention, so that made the epidural slower there. I ended up having to lay on my side for a while to get the medicine into that leg.
Eventually, Tobin left to get some dinner and came back to eat in my room. I ate some Jello, drank lots of water, ate ice chips. I think we had gone through about four different nurses by that time, and the doctor's shift had also changed, so we were on our second doctor. The nurses told me that I should push the call button when I felt like I was getting complete or I needed to push. Tobin and I decided to take a nap for a while. He was watching a ball game, so he had the remote from the hospital bed, which also happens to be the speaker for the TV and the call button for the nurse. I woke up about an hour later feeling like I had progressed quite a bit and should be checked. Unfortunately, Tobin still had the call button/remote/TV speaker thing. I said his name over and over, but he wouldn't wake up. I started yelling his name and eventually threw a couple of things at him (that missed). I was beginning to be afraid that I was going to have to deliver the babies by myself with my husband asleep in the chair a few feet away. Tobin finally woke up and called for the nurse. I was dilated to a 9. Almost there! We waited a while longer, and I started to feel like things had changed again. But I didn't want to call the nurse quite yet because I figured I was now 9 1/2 and didn't want to have the nurse come in just to leave us to wait again. A couple minutes later the nurse came in our room on her own, saying she had seen something on the monitor at the nurses station that made her think I might be complete. And I was!
I was transferred to a different bed/gurney and wheeled into the cesarean suite (operating room). Twins are delivered there (at least at Kaiser) in case of the need for an emergency C-section. The room was quickly full of people. My nurse and the doctor on call (whom I had never met before that night) and a midwife were there to coach me through labor. There were also two pediatric nurses, a pediatrician, and the anesthesiologist. Poor Tobin barely had room to get in next to me. And they made him sit down in case he should faint.
I pushed for about 30 minutes, and finally at 2:56 am October 8th our baby boy was here! His face was the most beautiful sight I could imagine! I got a few seconds with him on my tummy while Tobin cut the umbilical cord. Then he was taken to another part of the room to be weighed and cleaned up a bit. Tobin walked over to watch, came back a minute or so later, and told me that his name is Braden Anders. (We had not yet decided on his name, though we had several in mind.) He was 6 lbs 6 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.
Natalie arrived just 5 minutes behind her brother (3:01 am October 8th). I barely had to push at all. In fact, I started to bear down as I had with Braden, and the doctor immediately told me to stop. I think Natalie would have shot right out if I had continued to push hard. What a beautiful baby girl! I got a few seconds with her also, while Tobin cut her cord. She was 5 lbs 13 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.
A bit later I was being transferred to another gurney and taken back to the labor and delivery room with our babies for recovery. As the epidural wore off, my right leg came back pretty quickly, but my left stayed partially numb for a couple of days. Even after we went home, I had to keep my feet up most of the time for the first week or two in order to combat the swelling. I guess this is a pretty normal side effect of Pitocin.
I was taken into a private (thank goodness!) maternity room early Friday morning. In fact, I had just gotten settled, when someone knocked on the door and asked what I had ordered for breakfast. The nurse explained that I had just arrived and hadn't ordered, but they brought me some food anyway. That may be the tastiest meal I've ever had! In fact, I think the hospital food is pretty good. All the meals I had there were good. I was able to eat chicken that night for the first time in about 9 months! I was a little nervous, wondering if it would make me queasy still. But it didn't. It tasted SO GOOD!
The babies and I both were fine, no complications, no problems. We had several visitors on Friday, including both grandmas and Maryam, Auntie Kristyn and Uncle Trenton, Auntie Cindy, Sister Roxas and Sister McNamara and Sister Conover (the Relief Society presidency and, coincidentally, my visiting teacher), and Tobin and Peyton. They showed up last because they had gone golfing with one of Tobin's friends for some big boy time together. Lucky Maryam got to enjoy big girl time with both grandmas to herself!
Both grandmas were able to stay for two weeks after the new babies were born. They were great help, getting the big kids to preschool, accompanying the babies and me to five different lactation/weight check appointments, grocery shopping, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. It was great having them here!
P.S. Once Tobin reads this post, I may have to return and make some corrections. My memory gets pretty foggy when I've had an epidural. :)
