Week 36- Labor Part 1 (some may be TMI)

Delivery Day!!!

Warning some of this maybe too much info!!!

After my appointment on Monday (10/27) I just felt different (I lost my plug around 5:30 that evening).  I delivered Cael when I was 4 cm and 80% effaced and just felt like something was going to happen!  Throughout that night I had contractions on and off (some strong) but nothing consistent.  Was sure they were going to continue and around 4 they just stopped!  And then I had nothing!!  However, I did have some "wetness" so I thought maybe it was possible I was leaking amniotic fluid.  My water has NEVER broke on its own so I had no idea what it felt like.  I also wasn't sure if this was me just wishful thinking that it broke and hoping we would meet our babies soon, but non the less I decided to call labor and delivery.  I kept telling Steve it was nothing, but he continued to say that even if is nothing then we know everything is okay.  We dropped Cael off at the neighbors (10/28) (THANKS Jess and JD!!!) and headed to the hospital assuming we would be coming home in an hour or two.  (However, we both were hoping maybe we wont, so we took our packed bags, just in case!)

Went to the triage room and was hooked to the monitors.  Nurse monitored babies for a little while, checked my cervix now dilated to a 5 (not sure if it was the different people checking me getting different results or if I was now truly a 5?) and checked the "fluid".  It wasn't amniotic fluid.  Nurse said Dr would be keeping me (mixed emotion #1) since I was at 5 and having twins and already had two other babies!  However, after checking with the Dr. Lipinski (who i saw on Monday and is my regular doctor even though I had only seen her a handful of times) she said I was going home (mixed emotion #2) unless I wanted to walk the halls for an hour and get rechecked.  We choose that option.  So Steve and I walked and walked and walked and I had very little contractions (wasn't feeling any of them, but they were showing up on the monitor).  About an hour + later she rechecked me, I was still a 5!  Looks like we were headed home (mixed emotion #3!  YIKES!!  I started freaking out a little bit!  I was 5 cm and VERY afraid to be over 15 minutes away from the hospital with twins at 5 cm (technically this is considered active labor!)!!!!  I also had a dream that two of my neighbors had to deliver our babies in the van and we ALL KNOW how my dreams like to come true!!!!!!  I told the nurse this and she hooked me back up to the monitors (approx 11:50am or so).  Dr. Lipinski was off at noon and Dr. Rellihan was about to come on (we assumed later that the nurse was waiting for another opinion).  After the nurse told Rellihan that I was worried and I was a 5 with twins, and had two other babies she said there was NO way I was going home!  She was going to break my water and gets things going!  So mixed emotion #4.  I walked back to our room #371 and was SUPER worried!  Were we rushing things?  Were the babies ready?  What if it was too early?  If I waited would they wait until Halloween or later?  Life's going to get VERY interesting after this am I ready for this?!  I started telling the nurse this and she gave Steve and I time to discuss it!  SO we talked and then I called my MOM, because moms make everything better!!  At this time I started getting a little teary eyed which if you know me this doesn't happen very often!  My mom made everything better...because again that what they do!  Doctor came in about 12:45- 1ish and checked me I was 6 cm!!  THANK GOD we didn't go home (but again someone new checking me, so who knows).  Baby A's head was so low and my cervix was so soft that she could not check me easily and it was not comfortable!  She. broke my water and assumed I would be having these babies very soon!  Boy was she wrong!  Even after she broke it I did not move from 6 cm.  I went through two bags of IV fluids and then I got an epidural because she was going to start me on pitocin.  Everything went great with the epidural which is so nice when it actually works right...which I guess third times a charm since it did not work the greatest with Bowen and with Cael it numbed me from the chest down.  They had to up my pitocin 3 times...FINALLY I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable and had to push my own epidural button twice..(which I found out later Baby A was crowning!)

 Doctor came in about 4:00 or 4:30 and checked me (this was the only time she checked me after getting an epidural and pitocin) and BABY A WAS WELL ON HER/HIS WAY!!!!! I was a plus 3 station...which meant that head was crowning!!!  Whoops, they kept asking if I had the urge to push and I just assumed my contractions were getting stronger! THINGS got REALLY interesting!!!  Everyone started running around like crazy!  The Dr. started "yelling" orders and it was MASS chaos, at least that is how I felt.  Steve and my mom were "pushed" to the back of the room and waited patiently for scrubs because no one was giving them anything.  Finally, a student got them some, but this time I was already in the OR room.  Before I went into the OR they had to wheel me across the hall...Steve and Becky and my dad were all in the hallway "cheering" me on!  It seriously was a whirlwind and happened VERY FAST!!!!  Did I mention before that we had A LOT of students on our case?  And when I say A LOT I mean there was probably 20 plus people in the OR.  There is always a lot when there is twins, but I am pretty sure everyone had a +1 with them.  I wished later that Steve would have gotten a picture of all of the people!  My thought was if you have ever delivered a baby before you don't really care who is looking where and how are people going to get good at their job if they can't ever see what is happening?!?  Its not everyday that people get to see twins born vaginally!  Actually, one of the student nurses has twins of his own, but had never seen a vaginal birth.  One of the teachers also had a set of twins!  So they are everywhere!!!
I will continue the actual labor part in Part 2!  I, of course, have to give every detail...which is why it takes me so long!