I was very lucky with a pretty easy pregnancy. I had real bad morning sickness for the first four months and was hospitalized once for dehydration. the second trimester was a breeze, but the third is when i became miserable. I was just so tired all the time and my body felt so heavy. I also had bad restless leg symdrome and couldnt sleep well cuz my hips were stretching. then maddie decided to place her butt on my rib and squashed my lung for the last month of pregnancy. I was out of work cuz i just couldnt sit still in that uncomfortable chair for 7 hours. I was healthy, just uncomfortable.
On November 8, 2006 mike and i meet at the doctors office for my regular check. they did a quick ultrasound to check the growth and everything looked fine. I actually remember being in a real good mood at the office and not feeling as uncomfortable as normal. They gave me pictures of the girls and said that they had switched positions. Maddie who had been Baby A was now higher than savannah, who was Baby B. Savannah was closer to the cervix and both were head down. the doctor told me if i had any signs of labor to go to the hospital, otherwise see you in two weeks.
On the ride home i was frustrated. I measured 42 1/2 weeks along and i couldnt imagine how huge i would be in two weeks. i made dinner, ate and went and laid across my bed. i started crying cuz i just didnt know how much longer i could just sit around and get bigger. a few minutes into my tears, Krystal called to see how my check up went. I told her that the doc said "we could see babies in the next few weeks" and i told her how i didnt know if i could do it. she laughed and i got over it. that night mike stayed up extra late cuz he took the next day off of work. i always went to bed at 9pm because if i stayed up much later my restless leg thing would start. a few hours after falling asleep, i woke up to cramps that made me think i had to go to the bathroom. mike was not in bed yet and i got up and down about 3 times before he came in at 1pm to go to sleep. i told him i thought i was having contractions cuz i didnt know what else it could be. he told me to time them and he laid down and feel asleep. I tried to time them but they were not as bad as they were before. i woke him up and said they were about 15 mins apart. he told me to call my doctor and they told me to go to the hospital. we jumped up and starting rushing around. i didnt have a bag packed so i just threw a few things in a bag and left. i couldnt imagine that i wouldnt be back in a few hours.
As we drove to the hospital i had one contraction and i thought 'great, now they are going away. they are just gonna tell me to go home.' at the hospital the nurse came in and hooked me up on a monitor. savannah then started moving a lot and kept kicking the heart monitor off. they asked me how often i was having contractions and i said about every 15. the nurse then looked at me and said, "no you are having them every 2 minutes". the doctor came in to examine me and she sat down to take a look and said, "well you are dilated and i see a head". i panicked, i couldnt do anything to stop from the babies coming. another doctor came in and agreed i was in full on labor and that the babies would be going straight to the nicu because they were only 33 weeks. She reassured me that this was fine and that her daughter was also in the nicu for 2 weeks after she was born. i had no fear and was completely ok with everything. she then asked me if i wanted a c section or to deliver. she said "i will never make anyone do anything they dont want to do". as a chicken i choose c section. they told me it be a few hours because they were a few other woman ahead of me. i think it was a full moon and they had a full house.
I was immediately bombarded by doctors and nurse asking me question, having me sign paperwork. they were so many different people in the room i didnt know what was going on. next thing i know they are taking me out of the room on the bed. they handed mike some scrubs and started wheeling me down the hall. i thought they were taking me to another room to wait. my nurse then asked me if why i wasnt wearing a cap over my hair. then someone was putting one on my head and wheeled me into a surgery room. i had no idea why but they were doing the c section immediately. i dont remember much in the delivery room other than the doctor saying "hello sunshine" as she pulled savannah out. im pretty sure i held me breath until i heard her cry which felt like forever. then i started crying. they asked mike her name and he said "which side was she on?" the dr said left and he said "savannah". i looked at the clock and they were both born at 534am. by this point my blood pressure was dropping and i felt like i couldnt breath and needed to throw up. they got my bp under control and brought me a baby and said "here mommy give her a kiss before she goes to the nicu". i remember looking at my daughter and not being able to understand what i was seeing. i always thought i would have an instant connection but i honestly felt 'who is that' it could of been anyones baby. i kissed the second baby and then the took them both away in one incubator.
i was still pretty out of it and i just wanted to get out of there and go see my mom. mike told me my intestines were sitting on my chest and it would be a little bit. i went to recovery and my mom and brother were there waiting for me. my nurse, who had been with me since i checked in, was sitting at the end of my bed filling out paperwork. she called up to the nicu and told us savannah weighed 4 14 and maddie was 5 3 and that in about an hour i could go up to see them. mike was gone for most of the hour calling everyone we knew. a little bit later sara showed up and i was so glad to see my sister.
they finally came to take me up to see the girls and took me in my bed with mike, sara, jp and mom following. when we got up there they only allowed me, mike and my mom to go in. they first wheeled my into a little room where savannah was. she was so tiny and covering in tubes and a mask on her face. she had a hat on so i couldnt see her face at all. they told me i could touch her but not rub her because her skin was so thin it would feel itchy to her. they then rolled me right next door to where maddie was. it was the same and i was so drugged i dont remember seeing her. the rest of the day was mostly a blur due to the morphine. i had a few visitors and was very proud to let everyone go up to see my daughters.
it took me a couple of days till i realized how much i loved them and needed them. the emotions and hormones had taken over me and i felt like my heart was taken out and was two floors above me. i needed rest but i couldnt stand not being with the girls. even when i was with them i felt guilty that they were in different rooms and i couldnt be with them at the same time.
to this day whenever i hear of a baby going to the nicu my heart starts to ache for the mother and takes me back to the hours i just sat staring at my girls.
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