the arrival of will and clark

It has been one month and finally had a moment to post the birth story!

Birth, the act of giving life, is such an incredible, powerful emotional and physical experience that I'd like to believe that even an atheist would be convinced of a higher power after giving or witnessing a natural birth. And so when my doctor told me that it was likely I was going to have to be induced, instead of letting that higher power and nature dictate the birthdate of my twins, I was less than enthused. At 36 weeks and a day (Thursday April 7th) my doctor told me that my blood pressure was rising and there was too much protein in my urine, signs of pregnancy-induced hypertension with risk of preclampsia. They ran some additional tests on my liver enzymes and platelets that day and luckily after spending close to 8 hours in the doctor's office and triage, we were sent home. I had to then collect my urine for 24 hours and return on Monday. On Tuesday the 12th he called me around 11 a.m. and said that my urine still had a significant amount of protein in it and so we were going to induce today. I said, "ok, when should I come in?" He said "now." E4 was in school, so my Mom drove me to the hospital and Eddie left work and met me there. We were admitted into a labor and delivery room around 1. Pitocin was administered first, around 2 p.m. and I didn't really feel anything even though the machine was tracking some contractions. The resident checked my cervix and I was at 3 cm. Dr Chen's colleague Dr. Beyer came in around 3:30 and broke my bag. Another couple hours passed and I still didn't even feel like I was in labor, complaining to Peyton (my doula) and my husband that the waiting was causing me to feel anxious and just couldn't wait to feel pain. Finally around 5:30 or so I was on the phone with my sister and had a contraction that felt like a contraction. I labored leaning over the raised hospital bed, with Peyton rubbing my back through moderate contractions for about an hour and a half. At one point I actually said that I was "at peace during my contractions" because it felt good to finally FEEL something. During one of the contractions the nurse was trying to explain to Eddie how to turn music on the TV and she said "look for the channel with the daffodils." After this I kept having the word and image of daffodils in my head, imagining them blossoming open; this proved to be significant not only because it helped open up my cervix, but also when we got home there were flowers for us in our bedroom which E4 had picked out: daffodils.

Around 7 p.m. or so, my contractions started to become more intense; I knew this because I started swaying more and even moaned a bit. But I only had about 4 contractions like this before I exclaimed "rectal pressure!" and told Peyton I had to poop; I did poop. And then she asked the resident to check me because I was having the urge to push. The resident said "she's complete." And just like that a slurry of people were coming in the room; it was shift change time and all these nurses and doctors were introducing themselves amidst their own discussion of, what should we do? since the plan was for me to get an epidural; twin deliveries are required to get an epidural because of the risk of an emergency c-section for Baby B. Without it, you would have to be put under. Dr. Chen gave the orders over the phone to not give me the epidural and shortly thereafter they were wheeling me into the OR to begin pushing. The hardest part was wanting to push but them telling me not to because they weren't ready yet. Peyton was in my ear coaching me how to breathe through the contractions, as if holding in the breathes so as not to push. Only 1 person was allowed to accompany me into the OR and Eddie and I had discussed this at length prior; he unselfishly relinquished his spot to Peyton, knowing that she would be the most effective at supporting me through this potentially difficult labor. So, in the old school fashion, my husband was waiting outside the room, calling his family and friends, eagerly awaiting news. Back in the OR, I was uncomfortable lying down and began having really bad heartburn and then also complained that I was hungry. I pushed about 6 times and heard the joyous cries of baby A...a boy...my Clarkie. The pediatric team took him off to check vitals. I felt a huge sense of relief and did not feel at all like there was another baby in me, but they assured me that Baby B was there, head down and I could push during the next contraction. I pushed only three times and out came Will very smoothly and easily; I saw his screaming face and he looked just like E4 did at birth. Clark was 5 lbs 6 oz. and 18.5 inches long and received a 9.9 apgar score! Will was 5 lbs. 15 oz. and 19.25 inches long. Clark had a low glucose reading though and because they were technically pre-term at 36 weeks and 6 days (one more day and they would have been fullterm for twins!), Clark was admitted to the NICU that night. He had to have his blood sugar tested every 3 hours to make sure it was okay. And they had to feed him formula until it was brought up to the proper level. But once it was above a certain reading, I came and nursed him every three hours. He was discharged from the NICU the next day at 4 p.m. and we were all together as a family for only one night in the tiny hospital room until we left on Thursday at 3 p.m. E4 was home with Nonni and behaving well. When we arrived home with the babies he was a tad curious but mostly went about his business and played very independently. He was only interested in the babies when they would cry (typically during a diaper change) or when laying in their bassinet in the family room. He can say "Will" and Clark he calls "Baby C."