After the chores were all done everyone went to sleep at about 11:30pm. I wasn't really very tired so I decided to catch up on CSI which I had recorded on the DVR. It was about midnight and I wasn't really sleeping, but rather in that half awake/half asleep mode when I felt some pressure "down below." It was a very strange feeling and all of the sudden my water broke! It was a HUGE gush that I was totally not expecting. I got up off of the couch and started walking towards the bedroom saying, "Honey! I think my water just broke!" (Meanwhile leaking everywhere.) Brian was half asleep but I am pretty sure that I shocked him awake. We were both in a slight panic and called the hospital right away. They said to come on in! We asked if it would be alright if I took a shower first and they said that was fine. I didn't know when I would be able to shower again and didn't want to feel like yucky amniotic fluid!
My mom and sister woke up as well and helped us get the last few things put into my bag and get the bags in the car. We drove straight to the hospital and it was one of the longest 15 minute car rides ever! Brian dropped me off at the door to the ER and parked the car. I went inside and told the lady that I was in labor. She was not the speediest of people and I found it odd that she took her sweet time to get me all checked in.
Anyways, someone came down from Labor & Delivery with a wheelchair and took Brian and I up to the birthing unit. I was immediately hooked up to the heart rate monitors for the babies to make sure that they were not in distress (which they weren't.) I informed the nurses that there was meconium (baby poop) from one of the babies in my amniotic fluid. From what I know, its not a huge deal but they don't want the babies to inhale it when they are born. We had hoped to wait until morning to do the c-section with our regular OB but since there was meconium they just couldn't wait!
Before I knew it, I was being stuck for an IV. I have horrible veins the only place to get an IV in is in my hand. No one ever believes me and tries somewhere else first and ends up going on my hand anyways. I wish they would just listen the first time and save us all some pain!
After the IV was started we signed some paperwork for the anesthesia and talked to the anesthesiologist. When we were done with that, off we went to the operating room! Brian had to dress in scrubs and wait outside until the spinal epidural was completed. I went into the OR alone and must say that the spinal was the scariest thing ever! The anesthesiologist would not stop talking and kept saying how he couldn't get the needle in right or something. He numbed my back first with a local (which wasn't really working) and after what felt like forever got the spinal in the right place. My legs went heavy right away and I was totally numb after about 10 minutes. I did NOT like the feeling at all. Very strange. They let Brian in and I was so relieved to see him. They got to work quickly and before I knew it I was cut open! I remember asking Brian if they had started yet and he laughed because I was already cut open.
Charlotte came out first at 2:44am. She was 6lbs 3oz. I heard her cry and it was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. The nurse took her to the station they had set up and scored her on the APGAR test to see how she was doing. She scored a 7 after 1 minute and a 9 after 5 minutes. Evelyn was born just after Charlotte at 2:46am. Evelyn weighed 7lbs 0oz. I remember it taking her longer to cry than I had expected. It felt like I waited and waited and waited to hear her cry. Her APGAR scores were 9 after 1 minute and 9 after 5 minutes. I was so full of emotion that I almost didn't know what to feel. The medicine made me feel very strange and the whole experience was pretty surreal. I was able to see Charlotte right away but didn't see Evelyn for about 10 minutes after she was born. They told me that they held her up but I didn't see her I guess. After Brian cut the cords they let us hold the babies for a few minutes before taking them. We each got an arm band for each of the babies before they left the room and Brian made sure to snap a lot of pictures as well. The staff in the room was also nice enough to take pictures of us holding the babies and they even took a video of the birth for us!
Before going to the hospital, we had agreed that Brian would stay with the babies after they were born. He left the OR and they finished stitching me up and took me to recovery. I was in recovery all by myself and it was such a strange feeling. Brian eventually came in to recovery with me while the babies were in the nursery.
Once the feeling had started coming back into my legs they took me to the postpartum unit where I could see and hold my babies. I breastfed them right away and just stared at them in awe. I was so in love with them the moment I saw their beautiful faces. Its hard to imagine loving someone so much that I had never met before, but it was love at first sight! I had been waiting so long for this day to come and it was all I had imagined it to be.
First picture of the girls- Evy (left) and Charlotte (right) about an hour old!
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