Delivery of my boys

The last part of my pregnancy was hard. I was in pain most of the time since they were breech and both had their heads under my ribs. Lying down, standing, sitting...everything was uncomfortable.

My mom arrived in Provo on April 26th. Since she was arriving around 11pm at the SL airport, Rob and I hung out with his friend Andy and took lots of fun photos around Temple Square. We walked most of the evening and by the end it was quite painful to walk.

The next morning I woke up and I had some back pain. I felt like I had been sleeping for too long although that wasn't the case since I had only had about 5 hours of sleep. The pain continued and intensified a bit. It felt like some serious period pain, but it was only on my right side (which is the side where their heads were). My mom suggested that it might be contractions, but since everyone said "You will know when you are going into labor!" and I didn't KNOW if this was it, I thought maybe not. But, then they began to come in waves and increase in intensity and I figured that maybe I was in labor. But, after about ninety minutes, it went away. My mom and I went out shopping and while she was in the Dollar Store, I decided to wait in the car because I was in a bit of pain again. While she was in the store, my pain increased and was worse than the episode I had at home. I wanted her to come out of the store but didn't have the strength to go in and get her so I just waited. Eventually she came out and asked if I was ok. I shook my head. So, she dropped her things and came running. We sat in the car for a while trying to think what to do. The pain died down a bit so I thought that maybe we should go into the grocery store which was right there and grab some things that we needed. However, while in the store the contractions and pain intensified again. So, we went to pay. I was in so much pain and it was quite evident to the lady at the checkout. She asked if I was in labor and I just nodded. I thought of what a funny situation that was and wanted to laugh, but it was hard to do so.

Leaving the apartment to go to the hospital

I had a doctor's appointment at 2pm in Payson. I could either go to the hospital and have nurses check me out or I could drive to Payson (30 minutes south of Provo) and see my doctor. I decided to drive to Payson. Yes, I drove all that way while in labor!!! I got to the doctor's office and he examined me and said I was 3cm dilated and that I needed to get to the hospital. So, I drove home, picked up my bag, and drove to the hospital. I texted Rob who was in a class and said I had gone to the hospital because I would have a c-section that evening.

Contractions and babies' heartbeats being monitored

I was admitted around 4pm and the nurses put various devices on me to monitor the contractions and the babies' heart beats. The nurse did an ultrasound to find out where their hearts were and at that point I found out I was having two boys. The pain really wasn't bad at this point even though the screen showed I was still having contractions. Rob arrived and soon after that I had a partial epidural (5pm) so that I wouldn't feel any pain at all. I was so scared but fortunately it really wasn't all that bad. They couldn't do the c-section then because I had eaten and they needed that to digest a bit. So, they scheduled the c-section for 7pm. Just before the operation, they increased the power of the epidural so that I could no longer feel my legs. That was a very weird feeling and I kept shivering, even though I wasn't really cold.

Thomas

They then wheeled me into the operating theater. I was so scared again. I just wanted to cry. When I got there they put me on the operating bed (not sure what it is called) and I began to throw up. I was freaking out inside! Soon after that they cut me open and Thomas Simon was born at 7:22pm (5 lbs 11 ounces) and Luke Benjamin was born at 7:24pm (4 lbs 13 ounces). When Thomas was pulled out of me and he began to cry, it sounded like a cat crying and so I asked Rob if I had given birth to a cat! haha! Luke sounded more like a real newborn.

Luke

They briefly showed me the babies and then took them to be tested and cleaned. My mom and Rob watched. I was then stitched up. Ol' Dewey (what I call my doctor) did a great job. The babies were then taken to the NICU because they were premature and needed help breathing. After I had recovered a bit I was wheeled up (while lying on my bed) to the NICU (on the fifth floor) so I could see and touch my babies. I was so happy!! We went back down to my room on the fourth floor and I rested. I spoke to my dad, granny and gramps, and Elaine on the phone. I couldn't sleep even though I should have because I was just too excited. Eventually at 3am the nurses brought Thomas down to me because he no longer needed to be in the NICU. I couldn't believe how little he was. I held him and fed him and watched him sleep. At first I had to feed him using a syringe but then we progressed onto using a bottle and I expressed milk for him to drink. I then would go up to the NICU and hold Luke and try feed him. He wasn't feeding very well and so that was hard to see. But, each day he progressed and became stronger.

Three days later I was able to go home. Thomas came home with me but I had to leave Luke in the NICU. This was very hard and I felt so sad. But, each day I would go and spend time with him and feed him. Eventually, two weeks after they were born, Luke was able to come home and I was so happy to have him finally where he belonged: with his family.

When Thomas and Luke first met

Now they are three months old. I just can't believe how they are growing. They are learning to hold their heads up, they smile and Luke laughs (Thomas still needs to learn to laugh), coo and gurgle, and are in a better sleeping pattern. Having twins has been A LOT of work and I am exhausted all the time. I feel like all I do is change diapers, feed them, try to entertain them, get them to sleep, and then in between that cook and do housework. Plus, I have had to finish my thesis so I can graduate from BYU with a second Master's degree in 2 weeks time. So, it has been a busy time. Fortunately I had my mom helping me 24 hours a day during the first two months until I felt I could handle it on my own. What a blessing that was!

Additionally, Rob's mom came to Utah for a week when the boys were a month old. She helped out a lot and it was wonderful to get to know her a little better, although I definitely wasn't my best self at the time.