One Year Ago Today...

Tuesday, September 10^th started out as a pretty normal day. I’d been on partial bed rest since week 25 of the pregnancy, so I worked my half day at the office, then came home to lie down and finish my work from home. Toward the end of the pregnancy, I noticed that I was getting very tired by the end of the work day, so I’d gotten in the habit of taking a nap before dinner. After my nap, I got up for yet another potty break…when my water broke! Early on, I’d read stories about women who thought mistook peeing for their water breaking, and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I had to pee all the time. What if I mistook a vigorous pee for something else? Or, even worse, what if my water broke and I assumed I’d just peed? Would I waste precious time puttering around at home when I should have been rushing to the hospital? Turns out, I didn’t need to worry about that at all. There was absolutely no question what was happening, from the Niagara Falls that came pouring out of me. At least I was conveniently located when it happened!

Once I realized what was happening, I yelled for Hubby. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Andrew!

[No answer]

Me: Andrew!!

[No answer]

Me: Andrew!!!

Hubby: I’m on the phone!!

Me: My water broke!!!!

Hubby: Oh!

That sure got his attention! (It turns out he was scheduling a massage for himself… Needless to say, that appointment got re-scheduled.)

Once I’d stopped dripping enough to move around without leaving a lake behind me, I started trying to figure out what else I needed to take to the hospital with me. I’d already put most stuff in my hospital bag, but I’d left out the essentials like my glasses, toothbrush, etc, that I was still using every day. While we both packed our bags, we called our parents to let them know what was going on.

I’m not sure the news quite registered with my dad right away, because when I asked him how he felt about becoming a grandfather that night, he seemed a little hesitant. We managed to convince everyone that this was the real deal, made our final arrangements for Mischa, and then headed for the hospital.

In the car, I was emailing my co-workers the let them know what was going on, and trying to wrap my head around the fact that this was really going to happen tonight! I’d known that it was very possible the twins would come early, but I really thought we had a couple of weeks left.

We made it to the hospital, and checked in, and then they had to check to see whether my water had really broken (the answer was a definite yes!). After that, it was time for the final ultrasound, to see whether or not the babies had flipped around (nope!). The poor ultrasound technician seemed to be worried that I didn’t know I’d need a c-section, and was so relieved when I told him that I’d known all along that there was a chance, and that I was resigned to it once they refused to flip over. Apparently, he’d had more than his share of moms who were blindsided by the need for a c-section. Hubby and I threw out any idea of making a birth plan once the doctor said “Double whammy” in that first ultrasound. Our only goal was to have two healthy babies. I’d say we met that goal!

After that, we had to wait around while they got an operating room ready. I was really nervous, since I’d never had surgery before, so I just kinda sat there freaking out. The woman who taught our birthing class happened to be working that night, and when she saw that we had checked in, she stopped by to say hello, and to offer a little reassurance. It was nice to see a friendly face and get some soothing words. Apparently Hubby had no idea how freaked out I really was, but I was scared out of my mind.

Newborns!

Finally, it was showtime! They had me walk (okay, waddle, since I was clenching a pee pad between my legs, since I was still leaking) to the OR, got my spinal block set up (they tell you not to move when they poke your back with a big needle—yeah, right!), and let Hubby come in. It was a good thing he was there, because I was shaking from the cold and fear, and I threw up more than once. He was very supportive, and so focused on me that he didn’t see when they brought Thing 1 over for us to see! They’d gotten him out, and brought him over, but were standing behind Hubby, so I had to point him out! Honestly, the surgery was pretty rotten. I was so cold and shivering and nauseous, and just worried. Once they got me into recovery and under some blankets, I started to relax and warm up again. They brought Thing 1 for me to hold while we were waiting, and that was great. Thing 2 had to go up to the nursery right away, to get her temperature regulated, but other than that they were both healthy!

Once we made it up to our room, we were all together as a family for the first time. That was a pretty amazing night. We didn’t sleep much, between feedings, trying to pump, trying to nurse, and all of the ins and outs of nurses and other people, but it was incredible to know that they were finally here. Those first nights as a family of four were incredible. Exhausting and intimidating, too, but still incredible.

One-year-olds!

It has now been one year since the Things were born! Hubby and I have learned a lot about being parents, and watching these two little people grow has been such an amazing journey. It’s bittersweet, to know that our year of firsts is over, but now I’m looking forward to all of the awesome things we’ll do as a family as the kids get older.

Happy First Birthday, Thing 1 and Thing 2! We love you!