The Twins’ Birth Story: Part I

Ana and Dorothy turn one

Our twins just turned one year old. I guess it’s about time that I write down and process their birth and surrounding events.

I feel like I have to start this story way back from the beginning.

When we did the home pregnancy test and found out we were pregnant, my response (after the appropriate ‘oh sh*t’) was something like, “Well, this ain’t our first rodeo.” Of course we marveled at the miraculousness of new life and were excited but the idea of a new baby was a comfortable one. One that seemed within our control and within our ability to handle. Something safe. Another baby? Great! We’ve done this before. We’re old pros.

I went in to see my OBGYN to confirm the pregnancy. Kraft hadn’t been to an ultrasound with me since Olivia, so, as usual, I was alone at this ultrasound (6/4). The doctor was asking the standard questions and then the ultrasound started. This is pretty much verbatim how the conversation went:

Dr: Hmm, I think I see two.

Me: Two of what? (I was sure he meant ovaries or something)

Dr: Two babies.

Me: Shut up.

I immediately remembered our good friend, Desiree, had sent me an email just recently (5/24) that ended with:

“Also…what if you have twins???”

And even though it was surprising, it kinda wasn’t. It was like hearing a story you had heard as a child but forgotten and now were only able to recall the fuzzy outline of the memory. Which was a strange feeling.

Actually, D was the first person I called when I got in the car to tell her it was all her fault. She had spoken the words and, thus, had willed it. Then I called Kraft who really took some convincing. We spent at least ten minutes of me saying I was dead serious and him saying that I was joking.

At the ultrasound we found out that the kind of twins we had were mono/di and required pretty close monitoring. I had to get blood draws every two weeks to check hormone levels, and an ultrasound every month for a while, and then every two weeks, and then, at the end, every week. Not to mention the monthly checkups with the OB.

Everything went along perfectly. No problems. I mean, I don’t think I had ever been so hungry and exhausted in my whole life, but all tests were coming back that all of us were fine. They were due on January 5th but we were expecting them just shy of Christmas (twins usually come early) .

I felt well taken care of through my pregnancy but it was hard not to feel a little unsettled. I didn’t have the air of confidence I did when we had taken the home pregnancy test. Twins are scary. There are lots of risks. One twin can take more fluid than the other, you have to deliver in the OR (operating room) in case an emergency C-section has to happen, I had decided to get an epidural for the first time which was terrifying because I hate needles. While having so many ultrasounds was nice to confirm that everything was ok, it was also a constant reason for me to worry that something was not ok. It really was a whole new world in pregnancy that I had never experienced.

The babies were growing big. Our babies are usually in the 8 lb range and it seemed like both twins were on this trajectory. No one told them they were supposed to grow like twins, not singletons. (That’s the term. Weird, I know.) I didn’t at all realize the value of this at the time.

I went in for my 34 week checkup the week of Thanksgiving and I specifically remember asking the doctor, “So lots of twin moms have been telling me they delivered at 35 weeks. Am I going to have these babies next week??” And the doctor said something to the effect that no one ever really knows but looking at the twins’ progress there are no indications that they need to come early but you never know.

So, of course, I didn’t have the babies the next week, I had them that very same week on Saturday. But that’s for tomorrow.

Baby A – Ana’s first picture

Baby B – Dorothy’s first picture

Here’s Kraft’s take on this first part.

If you’d like to continue reading, here is Part II.