My C-Section Experience

I have a few minutes to post something about the birth of my twins before I have another pumping session.

In the days leading up to the c-section I was so bitchy, on edge and scared…and it was all for nothing! Honestly, the C-section wasn’t bad at all. The worst part was getting the IV and that’s mainly due to a nurse who opposed using the numbing shot first. I didn’t even feel them giving me the spinal block. I was waiting and waiting and then I asked, “When are you going to do it?” Just as I said that I could feel all this warmth traveling up and down my body. They laughed and said it was done.

My OB came into the OR and said hello, kissed me on the forehead and asked me if I was excited. I just love my OB. However, I expected him to give some kind of play-by-play of events as they were happening, but he didn’t. Mark was sitting next to my head, holding my right hand, and looked scared. I was amazingly calm.

Next thing I heard was the voice of my OB saying, “Happy Birthday Katherine! Hi little girl!” There was no cry. They covered her in a blanket and rushed her out of the room. I didn’t even get a glimpse. I looked at Mark and he looked like he was about to lose it; he squeeze my hand. I could tell he was smiling even though he had on a mask.

Next I felt all kinds of tugging and pulling. Nothing hurt, of course, but I could tell Carson was going to be a lot bigger than his sister based on the amount of effort it took getting him out. It seemed to last forever — though in reality it was 2 minutes.

Then we heard, “Hey little wiggle worm! You thought you could get away from me?! Happy Birthday Carson!” [Apparently once Kate was out, Carson took advantage of the extra womb room and played a bit of hide-and-seek from my OB.] I got a quick glimpse of him being rushed out. All we saw was two semi-bloody legs up in the air and a big blanket. Mark snapped a photo.

I looked over again at Mark. He leaned close my face and said, “We are parents! You did it.” and he kissed me through the mask. All I could do was smile. I wasn’t crying. I think I was just in shock that it was all over with.

A few short minutes later, they brought Katherine in to see me. They put her by my face and I kissed her on the cheek. She didn’t look anything like I expected. I could tell she was very tiny. The nurse who brought her in said, “She is tiny, but boy is she feisty!” They took her away, and a few minutes later they brought both twins in to see me. They were in a clear plastic box. I didn’t get to kiss Carson, but I saw him. He was blowing spit bubbles and was crying. Joy washed over me once I heard him crying.

The twins and Mark left the room. I wanted Mark to stay with the babies. He got photos of then being weighed, etc. As they made their way to the elevators to go up to the NICU, the ran into my entourage. So my mom, mother-in-law, aunt, etc. got to see the babies in the clear plastic box. I’m so glad they got to see them there.

I spent an hour in the recovery room. Mom came into to see me. She went on and on about how beautiful the twins are, how they were breathing on their own, etc. I’ve never seen her beam like that before. Mark came into the recovery room with a napkin with their heights and weights written on it.

After the recovery room, I went to my private mother-baby room. I stayed there for 4 days. They made me walk to the bathroom (about 6 feet) and to my wheelchair that evening. That was not fun. The day after surgery was the worst physically and emotionally for me. I hurt pretty badly and I cried all day.

But after the hurdle of day 2, everything has been smooth. It has now been five days and I feel almost back to normal. I am walking just fine. I am eating, sitting up in bed, etc. I am still sore and I still need to stay on top of my pain meds (I can tell when they are wearing off), but otherwise it’s no big deal.

So that’s the story. Now it’s time to pump some more milk for the kiddos.

1st Time Holding Carson

 

I finally got to hold my baby Carson today! He is such a doll baby! He wrapped his little hand around my finger and held on tight for a full hour. Like his sister, Carson LOVES kangaroo time with his mommy. His breathing, heart rate and oxygen saturation were all perfect during the hour I held him. I thought we were way over due for some kangaroo time. I thought that he might be having some anxiety being separated from me (i.e., the only thing he knows), so now the nurses want me to hold him as much as possible. As you can see, we finally got a photo of him with his peepers open! Isn’t he cute? His eyes look brown right now, but it’s still way too soon to tell. 

We got another excellent report from the neo docs today. Both kiddos are doing very well. Carson has made huge strides now that his heart murmur is pretty much fixed thanks to some drug therapy. They are both having a few apnea episodes, but that is what you can expect at their age. They are closely monitored (of course), and will grow out of it in a week or so.

The twins apparently love my breastmilk, and their digestive systems are working perfectly. They are slowly packing on some weight. They started out taking 3 cc of milk and today they are up to 8 cc.

UPDATE: I just got back from our evening NICU visit. Once again, I held Carson for an hour. And once again, everything went wonderfully. Is it normal for a baby to snore? Light snoring. It was cute and funny, but give me enough time and I can come up with a million things to worry about. Mark held Kate again, and we are both falling desperately in love with our babies. Someone told me when I was pregnant that you don’t really know what true, pure love is until you become a parent. That’s not to say you don’t love your parents or your spouse, but it’s completely different than the love you have for your child. Now I completely understand that sentiment. Amazing!