McBride Life: Birth Stories

Of all the thrilling moments in my life, there are none that come close to giving birth and meeting the little lives I'd been carrying inside for 9 months. With my oldest, Tyler, I remember Scott and I couldn't sleep, even though I'd given birth pretty late at night and labored much of the day. Anytime he was in the hospital nursery for a bath, etc, Scott was there with a watchful eye -- our hearts raced with love and awe and our minds grew with mistrust over any stranger who handled our baby, because clearly they could not love him this much...

Because he'd had a choking episode in the hospital (on his spitup), we were terrified of letting Tyler sleep without one of us watching so took shifts staying up with him the first couple nights, even at home. New parenthood is a fearful and wondrous thing. It seemed to bring out a bit of OCD in Scott and I. I'm glad to not be so green and obsessive now, though.:)

My mom and sister had been in the delivery room when Tyler was born, and as amazing as that was, we decided to make it just about Scott and I and the baby for Austin's birth. All was going well as I labored with Austin until the Epidural, which strangely caused my blood pressure to plummet after the Anesthesiologist left the room. Though it was scary being given adrenaline shots and feeling like my heart was stopping and then exploding with the adrenaline, I was both concerned and a bit amused by Scott -- who in response had a fainting spell and had to lie down himself in the bed/chair across the room from me during this time. He went as far as to ask the nurse to take his blood pressure, which I consider the sweetest form of sympathy pains and shows how connected the two of us are. I couldn't suppress a few giggles, though, believing he was completely fine, and just a worried husband and father, which proved to be the case. He provided a distraction in a what was a scary episode, requiring 2 adrenaline shots to get me stable again, though I had the nurse's assurances that Austin was doing well there in my belly.

All that drama was washed away by Austin's appearance an hour later. Holding him was a heavenly experience -- the little angel immediately took to breastfeeding and provided me with such delight as I inspected his perfect little body that clung to mine. Now an experienced mom, I knew how to handle this little creature and relished every minute, inhaling his pureness and beauty. There is just nothing like this feeling...

Baby number three was an idea we never laid to rest, even as Scott turned 40 and my own 40s approached quickly, though we did not try until things finally settled down after a big move and with me starting the photography business. As usual, we got pregnant within what seemed like minutes of trying (we are very blessed that way!), and to our total shock, we were doubly successful, becoming pregnant with twins this time around. Whether because of my age (38) or because of two lives depending on me, this pregnancy took a toll on me physically with lots of emotional stress also in our lives with moving again, etc.

I'd been put on modified bedrest at 25 weeks as a precaution, and then stricter though still partial bedrest due to an early thinning of my cervix. I hardly had energy to walk a few steps as I hit the last trimester, fighting anemia and sleeplessness and heartburn and many other pains. I know of twin moms that invest in a lazyboy at the end of their pregnancy and I can see why. I spent many a night constantly switching positions, fighting a mountain of pillows, moving from bed to our rocker, roaming the house, and most alarmingly, trying to catch my breath, as these babies nested in my lungs and every spare place they could find. I never will take breathing for granted again, as it's a uniquely terrifying sensation to wake up gasping for air, which I did multiple times a night, and night after night. I swelled, oh did I swell -- even my temples seemed to bulge out of the side of my face with the increased blood flow and water. My feet were such a sight -- no ankles to speak of, just swollen pitiful things that were poorly equipped for walking with planter's foot pain causing me to grimace with each step. I lost 40 pounds just after giving birth, much of which was water weight, and have 20 more to lose.

But I don't want this post to be all whining. Having two babies inside you is also a beautiful experience, as you feel them both kick and imagine a bond between them that is so close it starts with 9 months of cuddling. Needless to say, I could not wait to meet them, and I'd learned that more than 50 percent of twins come before 37 weeks, with 37 weeks being considered full term for twins with those that go past that week are at higher risk for still birth and other complications, according to my doctor.

So I was concerned, but not overly shocked when my contractions increased at 35 weeks. After 2 planned inductions with the previous pregnancies, Scott and I finally got to do the frenzied drive to the hospital, although I still wasn't convinced I was going into labor because the pains were rhythmic and 7 minutes apart, but not unbearable. I could tell Scott was pretty convinced this was it, as he hurried around the house, throwing bags into his car -- and even making me laugh by taking the time to move the garbage to the curb because he didn't want it to sit and rot all week.

It was dead in the middle of traffic hour, but it was like God parted the seas, because on the long drive from Kennesaw to Northside at 5:30pm on a Tuesday via 75 and 285, we did not hit ANY traffic -- not one time. Scott drove quickly, fearful of tales of highway deliveries and knowing how fast I delivered the last two babies once real labor kicked in.

My birth plan had involved my mom being there with Scott and I as the great comfort she was during my first labor, but she had the boys at the time we left, and it was a bit of a wait for her to get coverage for them so she could come to the hospital. By the time she arrived, I'd had both babies...

But I have to say that while we laugh about Scott's sensitivity at Austin's birth, he was an absolute rock during this round, holding me through natural childbirth, which I'd decided to do after my scary episode with the epidural last time. I checked in at 6 cm and my pains quickly escalated and the contractions quickened, with even the nurses commenting that I was getting pounded by them with just 20 seconds between. For 45 minutes, I experienced what was by far the worst pain of my life, holding onto Scott's hands for support, and definitely yelling in pain-- but determined to have these babies drug free.

Both the nurses and the doctor on call had encouraged natural birth without hesitation, even after I expressed concern about not having an Epidural in case a c-section was needed and also about checking the second baby's position -- they didn't even do an ultrasound scan and didn't think it necessary, though my actual doctor had mentioned both those things. In hindsight, I would have given birth in the operating room with an epidural or block injected and ready to be turned on in the case of surgery and I definitely would insist on a scan to evaluate the second baby's position, as my doctor would have done if he'd been the one on call.

My moment with Madeline before going to C-section

There won't be another labor for me, though, so I only say this a caution to any other moms with twins, because after I successfully pushed Madeline out in a haze of excruciating pain, I experienced another form of torture -- the doctor trying to pull Lukas down in my uterus so he could turn him to be delivered. That's not something you want to experience without painkiller. I was whimpering from the delivery (and tearing) as well as the thought of doing it again when they handed my baby girl to me for just a minute before whisking her away, and then wheeling me away from Scott and into an operating room with 20 or so strangers rushing around, yelling orders at each other and preparing for an emergency C-section to get Lukas out, as he was very breech, actually traverse, at the top of my uterus. (Scott was not allowed inside, as it was general anesthesia.)

Scared beyond my wits, I did have one person acknowledge me in that buzzing operating room -- an Anesthesiologist who looked me in the eye and promised "we're going to take care of you two," referring to me and Lukas as he put me into the oppressive coma. I was asleep for the entire 45 minutes it took to get Lukas out and put my body back togther. Apparently, the little dear had curled himself so high that they had to call in another doctor to help pull him out. My incision goes across my belly and internally it goes vertically, as he proved to be a challenge for 2 seasoned doctors.

Ironically, the most painful part of the experience occurred when I awoke in recovery. With no local anesthesia in my system, I guess they had to wait for me to wake up before injecting the pain killer into my IV, so for however long (it seemed infinite), I fully felt my incision and insides after they'd just been sliced open. It was probably the hardest part for Scott and the doctor gave me the maximum dosage, which left me in an awake but completely drugged state as they wheeled me to my room and my babies.

I unfortunately remember very little of that first evening, except that my mom and sister were there,

enjoying the tiny babies who at 4lbs 13 oz (Lukas) and 5lbs 1 oz (Madeline) were miraculously cleared to be in the regular nursery. However, by morning they'd both been moved to observation in NICU, and Lukas was released but our darling girl was admitted for a few days, though with no major issues, thank God. We are in awe of their strength as such early and tiny arrivals, and they both had great suck and swallow reflexes, which was so important. Once back in our room after observation, Lukas had to be under the lights for jaundice, where he wore a tiny little blindfold and I cradled and breastfed him between two light pads.

From the moment I first held him, I thought of Lukas as my little puppy -- his little sounds (almost more squirrel like) and his gentle nature immediately shined through -- with a knitted brow revealing his baby angst. He took to breastfeeding very quickly and nuzzled up to me as if part of me and that's also how he reacts to Madeline. He's very at ease with her probing and cuddling.

But at the hospital, Madeline was separate from us, which is hard and even harder, is seeing your little one connected to IV, feeding tube, monitors, etc. Mom and Scott wheeled me up to see her in the little incubator and to also hold her amidst the cords and wires. We didn't know when we'd get to take her home, much less to our room, as she had a few episodes that were concerning to the doctors -- primarily involving breathing.

Even in NICU, Madeline showed her beautiful spirit, seeming unphased by the tube and cords that hung from her, and occasionally giving us a glimpse of that twinkle in her eye that now at home is fully lit. She seems to hold an inner joy already, a look of amused bliss when happy and a fiery temper when not.

My heart hurts for all parents that have to leave the hospital with their children in NICU and I couldn't let my mind go there, although there was a huge ache that was lifted once we got the amazing news that we could have her back in our room on the last day at the hospital.

I personally was a sight for sore eyes, and we discouraged visitors, as we went back and forth to NICU, and as I recovered from two deliveries, which I'd read beforehand only happens in about 4 percent of twin deliveries (so wasn't a big concern when I decided to labor naturally). Even the nurses who cared for me showed shock, saying they'd never seen someone do both vaginal and c-section in one round and my doctor said in his 30 year career, he's only seen it happen a few times. Birth is just something you can't plan, really, and at the end of it, to have two healthy babies means it was an absolute success. I'm now retired from pregnancy and delivery, but can say I've experienced it all -- epidural, natural and c-section. I don't think there's any ideal way really -- like pregnancy, giving birth takes a toll on the body and its scars are the battlewounds we wear with pride, knowing God did something amazing through us and the pain and suffering we'd go through a 1000 times over to have these little babies in our lives. I'm done, though, my heart and my hands are full, and now I can put it behind me and blog about the details of these little ones that I'm just crazy about in every way!

Madeline 5lbs 1oz -- born 28 minutes before her brother

Our baby girl already almost 19 inches long at 35 weeks

Precious Lukas at 4lbs 13oz and long too

I think we made it to the room around 11

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Pumpkin and the boys came up. Proud brothers meeting Lukas. They brought me flowers and were SO excited to come to the hospital for a visit. I got choked up when they walked in the room. Wonderful moment.