Sorry it is so lengthy but I wanted to detail the events of how the boys' birth day went since most people don't really know how it came to be. Plus, I know I won't be able to remember many of these details in the coming months/years so I wanted to put it all down before I forget.
Thursday, April 17, 2014 (37 weeks 2 days)
(This was taken 2 days before the boys were born. Little did I know that this would be the last "belly picture" in front of "the door")
I had a routine ultrasound scheduled for 11am and an OB/GYN appointment at 1pm. I woke up a little late so I just had to grab something quick to eat and run out the door. I think my breakfast consisted of a granola bar, a string cheese stick, and a Coke Zero. Zach had a meeting at work so he met me at the hospital which stressed me out a little because we had originally planned for him to come pick me up. Usually, he would pick me up at home and when we arrived at the hospital he would drop me off at the door so I could go sign in for my ultrasound while he parked. Luckily, when I got to the hospital I found a parking spot pretty close to the door. At that point, walking was really uncomfortable so I was super glad I found that spot.
When we got up to the ultrasound, the technician did the ultrasound first then the Radiologist came in afterwards. The radiologist only works Mondays and Thursdays and the last several ultrasounds I had done were on Fridays due to Zach's work meeting schedule. It wouldn't have been a big deal except I'm that annoying patient who asks a million questions so I prefer to be able to talk to the doctor. With the next day being Good Friday, we had to schedule the ultrasound for Thursday and Zach just had to make it work. The technician did her thing and then said the doctor wanted to come in to talk to us. She came in a few minutes later and got another couple of views in before she filled us in on what was going on. Apparently, Baby B's (Sanford) feet were down near my cervix and one of the boys' cords was also down next to his feet. My doctor had not checked my cervix since they did an initial check when I was about 20 weeks. Not knowing whether I was dilated or not, the radiologist was afraid that if I were to go into labor and my water were to break, the cord could be pulled into my cervix and pinched, potentially putting the baby in danger. She told us that in her professional opinion, she felt like I needed to deliver that day. She called labor and delivery and sent us on our way.
Was this real life? All Zach and I could do was smile. All the way to L&D, just a lot of smiling. Maybe a "Can you believe it?" here and there, but mostly just smiles. We were able to keep our composure enough to call our parents and fill them in.
Zach's parents were already in Jersey but didn't have a car since I had to drive my car to meet Zach for my appointments so Zach just told them he would come pick them up as soon as he could. My parents on the other hand were still in Alabama. Both were at work and neither had plane tickets. Luckily I have a superdy duper great friend, Shane Ledbetter, who works at Birmingham Airport for one of the airlines who had agreed weeks before to help them get tickets booked quickly while they hurried home so they could hopefully get here sooner. He set them up to leave Birmingham at around 2pm and arrive at around 6pm in Philly. Then they would rent a car and drive the 50 min ride from Philly to Hamilton. Things were getting real and we couldn't have been more excited.
12:00pm :
When we got to L&D, we were greeted by several nurses and a doctor who were all waiting on us. They all seemed so excited for us. It was funny because we had just been on a hospital tour the Saturday before so some of the nurses even recognized us. (I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that at that time, my belly was MUCH larger than any of the other soon-to-be moms.) They asked me a few questions including when the last time I had had something eat and/or drink. After introducing ourselves to the on-call doctor, we were made aware that his shift was ending soon and another doctor would be performing the surgery. We had never met either doctor so we didn't really have a preference but it was still slightly unnerving since the Radiologist had talked this particular doctor up so much but then when we got down there we found out that it would actually be someone else doing it. The nurses took us to a room where I changed into a gown and was forced to get accustomed to having people poking and prodding me constantly. This is what my life would be like for the next 2 1/2 days.
(My "Oh my goodness! We're about to have babies!" face. This was taken right after I got changed into my hospital gown.)
Doctor Tom (Tom is short for some really long European sounding name that I still to this day cannot remember) came in at one point to talk to us since we had barely even been introduced. At first, he didn't seem to want to do the c-section that day. After he checked my cervix, he told us it was "as ripe as it could be" meaning I was not dilated at all. He acted like he didn't really want to deliver them yet because I was still only 37 weeks (which is full term for twins). I still don't really understand why he was acting that way because they had already admitted me and begun to prep me for surgery. Eventually he came came around though. He told us that he was shooting for a 4pm c-section. By this point, it was already around 1:30-2PM. That's when it got real. Like, really real. The doctor seemed a little odd but was obviously a really good surgeon. All of the nurses kept telling me that I would be very thankful that he was performing my surgery once my incision healed. They all bragged on how good his suturing skills were.
What made us really love the doctor and make us both feel a lot more comfortable with the whole situation was when he came in to talk to us, before he left he asked us if we were Christians. I think we were honestly both caught a little off guard because in Jersey, you don't expect people to discuss that sort of thing. Up there, everyone just accepts that everyone has their own beliefs and goes on their own way. When we said yes, he asked if we have been saved and again, we both said yes. He finally asked us if he could pray with us and of course, we agreed. I don't remember exactly what all he said but I know Zach and I both felt more at peace and were confidant that The Lord would look out for us, all of us.
(Dr. Tom doing an ultrasound I think to check the babys' heartbeats and to check their positioning.)
Both Zach and I had been talking to our parents throughout all of this keeping them as updated as possible. I spoke to my parents at probably 1:30pm and their flight had been delayed. They ended up leaving Birmingham at around 3:30pm instead of 2pm. While in the air, the plane had to make an emergency landing in Virginia due to a cracked windshield - I'm assuming because a bird hit it but I was somewhat preoccupied so I don't think I ever heard the whole story. They weren't able to get a flight out of Virginia so they ended up renting a car and driving the last 6 hours.
Like I said earlier, Zach's parents were already in town but since I had to meet Zach at my appointment, they didn't have a car. So, while I was hanging out in the L&D room and things had died down a little, he left to go home and pick them up. Thankfully the hospital is only about 10 minutes from the house so he wasn't gone long. Plus, I was on the phone the whole time he was gone so time seemed to pass pretty quickly.
4:00pm :
4pm came and went and they didn't come get me. I was surprised at how quickly the afternoon had passed. I guess because there were so many people coming in to poke and prod me and also to fill us in on what would happen next. The fact that we had not planned to have the babies that day made us feel a little unprepared. I hadn't anticipated that my measly breakfast that morning would be my last for the next 24 hours so when we got to L&D at noon and they told me I couldn't have anything else to eat or drink -not even a bottle of water- I was pretty unhappy. Especially about not being able to drink anything. Throughout my pregnancy I had extreme thirst and craved ice cold water all the time. It was nothing for me to drink (15) bottles of water a day. Sometimes I had more than that. (Don't worry though, I survived.)
5:00pm :
I think it was about 5:00pm when they came in and finished prepping me for surgery. They had already done my IV and catheter (yikes!) earlier. At this point, they brought me my little cap to wear over my hair and they made sure Zach was prepped and ready. They asked me if I wanted them to wheel me on the bed to the O.R. (about 30 yards down the hall) or if I wanted to walk. I've had a couple of bad experiences with catheters when I was a kid and they had trouble getting this one in as well so I was pretty uncomfortable and I wasn't too excited about walking with a tube sticking out from between my legs (TMI - sorry) but I knew it would be a while before I would be able to get up and walk so I figured I would take advantage of my last opportunity to walk for a while. That was probably the longest 30 yards I had ever walked in my life. Looking back, it really wasn't that bad. I think just knowing there was a plastic tube down there made me feel like I had to walk like I had just gotten off of a horse.
(Just before they walked me to the OR. Check out that belly! It's pretty obvious that my belly was stretched to the max because it looks so red and irritated.)
Surgery time:
When I got to the OR, they had me sit on the edge of the table so they could do my spinal block. Thankfully, husbands aren't allowed in until after that part is done. Otherwise, I would have had to be my own coach. Zach, like a lot of men, does NOT do needles. While doing my spinal, the anesthesiologist had a little trouble getting it to take. It numbed my left side but it wasn't numbing my right side. After several minutes, I was getting worried that he would have to do general anesthesia. All of the sudden, it hit a nerve and I just about jumped off of the table. It wasn't exactly painful, just a crazy, uncontrollable shooting feeling shot from my back all the way down to my left foot. It startled me to say the least. Finally, my right side started to lose feeling and I knew we were in business. They started hooking me up to all of the necessary monitors. While placing the external fetal monitors, they couldn't find Baby B's (Sanford) heartbeat and the doctor got really worried. They didn't tell me they were worried but it was pretty obvious that something was up when they started rushing around and the tone of their voices changed. I tried to stay calm but when they threw the curtain up over my face while I was laying on the bed with my arms stretched out to my sides and Zach wasn't even in the room, I got a little nervous. Plus, the curtain wasn't even secured yet when they started cutting. Due to the spinal, my BP bottomed out and I felt like I was in a hole. I couldn't hear anything that was going on and everything was going so slowly. It was a really bizarre and miserable feeling. I've never had BP problems and boy am I glad of that. Once they finally got it regulated, I asked what my BP got down to - 89/50. Nooo bueno. I didn't find out until later that night that they actually started cutting me open before Zach was even in the room. Plus they WOULD have the O.R. set up to where when he walked into the room, all he could see was my abdomen sliced open. He had to walk around me to get to my head.
I had been reading up on c-sections trying to prepare myself for the whole process. From what to expect leading up to surgery, to what to expect during surgery, to what to expect post-op, and even what I would need to pack in my hospital bag for the hospital stay. I think I was about as prepared as one can be but let me tell you, no amount of research can prepare you for the feeling of that doctor pulling your child(ren) out of your belly. Of course I was completely numb from the bottom of my ribcage all the way down to the bottoms of my feet but you can still feel pressure.
5:35pm:
It was the weirdest feeling when they pulled Sanford out first...
5:37pm:
...and then Smith.
I could feel my belly go from HUGE to flat. Research also can't prepare you for the feeling you get when the nurse brings your sweet baby(ies) around that curtain for you to meet for the very first time.
They took each of them to their respective station to check them out. Sanford was just to my left and slightly behind me but if I craned my neck around I could see him. Poor buddy had to teetee pretty bad because three times, yes three times, he peed. Straight up in the air. I think he even got the nurse once or twice. Smith was at the other end of the room to where I couldn't see him being checked out but I could hear him. Oh, I could hear that sweet baby crying and let me tell you, he's had some lungs on him since day one.
(Our first picture as a family of four. Its kind of hard to tell since they were both puffy and waterlogged but I'm pretty sure that is Sanford on the left next to me and Zach holding Smith.)
Sanford was having a bit of trouble breathing. He was breathing on his own but it was a little more labored than they would have liked so they wanted to send him to the Special Care Nursery for further evaluation. Smith was breathing fine but for some reason they wanted to send him too. We got to see them both long enough to get some kisses and to take a few pictures but then they wisked our babies away. Little did we know we wouldn't get to see them for about 5 hours.
It took the surgeon an hour, literally an hour, to sew me up. I got a bit frustrated because I was ready to see and hold my sweet babies but now that I am healed, I am thankful -just like all of the nurses told me I would be- that he was so meticulous. My incision is barely even visible. Not that it truly matters. I don't think I've worn a bikini since I was about 7 lol.
Sanford Tate
7 lbs 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches long
Smith Taylor
6 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long
They took me next door to recovery where I stayed for I think about 3 hours. They had originally told me that I would go to recovery and the boys would join me about 45 minutes to an hour later. While I was waiting, I begged the nurse for some water. She told me several times that I couldn't have anything to drink until I had gone a while without throwing up. I was dying of thirst and just kept begging. Finally after probably an hour, she agreed to bring me some ice if I promised not to eat it too fast. I agreed but of course I couldn't help myself. I had that small cup of ice eaten in about 15 minutes.
I think it was while I was in recovery is when I talked to my parents and they told me that their flight had to make an emergency landing and they were stuck in Virginia. Their weren't any flights leaving that night and they were going to have to wait to fly out the next morning so they decided to rent a car and drive the remaining 6 hours.
They finally came to get me to take me to my room...without the boys. By this time I was not happy. They had been telling me for hours that the boys would be joining me soon. On our way to our room, I questioned them about when they would be joining us and one of the nurses said "Actually, I just saw them wheeling one of them that way so they will do another quick evaluation in the nursery and then they will bring him to your room." (He/him was Smith. Sanford was still in the Special Care Nursery being monitored.) We got to the room and got somewhat settled. They FINALLY brought me my baby I think about 2 hours later. Keep in mind that I still had not gotten to do skin-on-skin or breastfeed either of them. I had been very pushy leading up to delivery that I wanted both of these things to happen immediately and everyone assured me they would happen but since Sanford had some slight breathing issues, we weren't able to. I was so disappointed but both boys survived and so did mommy.
They finally brought Smith to me and we got to do skin-on-skin and it wasn't long before they brought Sanford to us too. After 5 long hours, my little family was finally all together. I couldn't get enough and I still can't.
(Skin-on-skin with Smith. *Apparently we didn't get a picture of me doing skin-on-skin with Sanford. There are so many pictures that I wish we had taken that we didn't. Makes me sad.*)
(Our sweet little family. Sanford (Left) and Smith (Right). Exhausted but so happy.)
Visiting hours were 10am - 8pm. Zach's parents had been at the hospital since before I went back for surgery so they came back to the room after Zach and I got to have a little alone time with the boys. The nurses were super nice and allowed them to stay in our room I think until about 10pm. My parents finally made it at around 4am so we got to get a tiny bit of sleep before they got there.
After a fun-filled night of waking up every 30 minutes to get poked by a nurse or to nurse the boys, the next morning I was beyond hungry. The cafeteria opened at 7am and I made Zach call at exactly 7am. I ordered a ham and cheese omelet with just about everything they offered to put on it, grits, a banana with peanut butter, orange juice, milk, and a coke. I realized once I started eating that I may have been a little too ambitious with my first meal but I didn't care. I was happy to eating lol.
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Here are a few pictures taken during our 2 1/2 day stay at the hospital and when we came home.
(This was either a few hours after the boys were born or possibly the next day.)
(Zach's shirt I ordered him. He wore this the day after the boys were born. I like to think that he was happy to wear it lol.)
(The flowers and balloons my dad brought. I loved that there were two "It's a Boy!" balloons.)
(The view from our room. I just loved those yellow bushes.)
(Jim, Kendell, and Ella came to see us. We were so thankful for these guys while we were in Jersey and miss them all so much!)
(The door hangers that my bestest estest Amanda (AT) made. I love how they turned out!)
"For this child we have prayed." 1 Samuel 1:27
Proud Grandparents:
(Momma Rose and HeDaddy)
(Lolli and Poppi)
(Zarah "AJ" with Sanford)
(Sanford getting dressed to go home.)
(Smith getting dressed to go home. He wasn't too sure about that hat.)
(All strapped in and ready to head home. I am just sick that we didn't get any good pictures of them in their going home outfits.)
(Zach being....well, Zach.)
(Being wheeled to the car and geez! Check out those ankles/feet!)
(Big momma made it into the car. I knew I was still big but my goodness, I was HUGE! Haha!)
(Family photo op on the front porch. Zach was thrilled.)
(Mommy and Daddy with Smith. We had to get a picture of us with each boy in front of their own cute door hanger that Momma Rose made. I absolutely loved the door hangers!)
(...and with Sanford.)
(Finally home and all snuggled up in their own bed.)
(I don't know why but I just love this picture of me nursing the boys. It was taken just a day or so after we came home from the hospital.)
(Headed to their first pediatrician appointment a few days after we came home.)
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