Birth Story

A little after 2am, I was awoken by a sudden burst of warmth. I realized right away that my water had broken.  I woke Daniel up, texted my Dr, called the hospital to let them know i was coming (they asked for a heads up since I was having twins), and decided to take a shower while Daniel packed a few last minute items. He called his parents who came over to be with Lyla, and an hour later we were off to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, they confirmed my water had broken, and strapped me to machines to check on the babies. I learned I was dialated to a 5+, but thankfully I wasn't feeling contractions yet. I was able to get up and move around for a while. I had taken a Bradley Method class prior, which helped me deal with the contractions when they did come. Daniel was a tremendous coach too. By the time I was at 8cm, I was getting extremely uncomfortable fast. This is when they wanted to strap me down again to check on the babies. The position they wanted me to lie made the contractions unbearable,  and I sadly realized that in order for them to get what they needed from me, I had to be completely relaxed.  And I couldn't relax in the position I was in. So I gave in and requested an epidural. This made me sad, but I was greatful at the end.

I was at a 10 before no time, and I was wheeled into the OR (standard for twins). 3 pushes later I was holding my sweet Kaitlyn, at 8:19am, 6lbs 6oz. She was absolutely perfect. I held her on my chest while my Dr tried to turn Caleb. It was soon apparent that Caleb was in distress,  and wasn't coming out fast enough. That's when they made the choice to do an emergency c-section. This is why I was greatful for the epidural before, because they just had to increase the dose, rather then knocking me all out together. Caleb came at 8:32am, 6lbs 15oz.

I ended up loosing a lot of blood, and my blood pressure dropped to 70/30. Needless to say I was very out of it at this point. I have slight memories of what went on, but not much.

(Kaitlyn)

Caleb came out needing oxygen. His blood sugar was also low, and was given an iv for extra fluids.

(Caleb)

(Caleb)

(Kaitlyn)

(Daniel in the nursery with the twins while I was in recovery)

(Kaitlyn getting a bath)

(Sweet Caleb with his iv)

It was about an hour later before I saw Caleb for the first time and was able to hold my babies. I'm so greatful for Dr Brian Truong for his fast decision making, and helping to bring 2 healthy babies into my life. His calm demenor really helped me stay positive and confident through my whole pregnancy and labor.

Lyla, and Daniel's parents meeting Kaitlyn and Caleb for the first time.

First family picture.

We kept them together whenever possible.

Going out for a little walk.

The hospital staff and nurses were so amazing.  When Daniel had to leave for a shower, or check on Lyla, I was alone at the hospital. The nurses were so wonderful in helping to change diapers, and bringing me babies to feed or cuddle. I honestly had a wonderful stay,  and couldn't have asked for more.

48 hours later, we were all ready to leave. I was very ready to take my babies home and be with my new family of 5.

Twin Pregnancy

In some ways this pregnancy was harder, and in some ways it was easier then when I was pregnant with Lyla. I wasn't as sick this time around, but I sure had way more symptoms. But I tried not to complain, because what a blessing it was to have carried these 2 babies inside of me. After we had Lyla, we had tried a couple times to do IVF again with no luck. It's always such a rollercoaster of emotions, because you want to get excited and hope for the best, but at the same time, you're scared of getting your heart broken again. So when we found out we were pregnant this time, we were over joyed. And then to find out we were having twins.... more joy then I thought possible. 

Being pregnant with twins, I was obviously much larger then a singleton pregnancy. And so many people would comment on my size, learn about my twin pregnancy, and then the questions came. They were usually the same questions, but I didn't mind them too much. When people learned I got pregnant via IVF, they either gave me an awekard look, or they would ask me further questions. I loved those who were brave enough to ask me more questions, because I love sharing my IVF journey. It's a huge part of who I am, and why I am, and it shows that people care. 

A picture of my twin embryo's right before implantation

13 weeks pregnant. Most people don't show at 13 weeks, but with twins it was hard to hide. I never did have to tell people I was pregnant, because it became obvious very fast.

Halloween. Me as an M&M with my 2 peanuts inside.

24 weeks

It was around this time when people would say, "Looks like you're about to pop", to which I would smile and respond "I still have 2 1/2 more months." Then they would look at me like I was crazy.

35 weeks pregnant. By this time I was so ready for them to come. So much incredible pain and discomfort. But as much as I wanted them out, I also wanted them to be big and healthy, which meant staying in longer. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.

My last pregnancy photo. Ready and excited to meet our babies,