Two Weeks Later

Sports fans, it's been two weeks since our lovely little twins entered the world screaming, crying and naked! Our world has been turned upside down in a really good way. Sure we are sleep deprived and have a bit of cabin fever, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it. These little ladies have brought so much joy and happiness to our lives in the two short weeks that they have been here that I can't even describe it. A friend sent me a comment on Facebook and it said, "May your hearts be fuller than your hands" and boy is that true, my heart  is overflowing!

So, two weeks ago last Friday, I went into the hospital to be induced. I was 39 weeks pregnant with these twins. Seriously, who would have thought that I would have made it that long? I certainly didn't, especially since at 32 weeks or so I was put on bed rest and had started to dilate already. It seemed that labor would start in the very near future.

I was having contractions for weeks and weeks and at my last OB appointment, I was 3cm dilated. That was encouraging. That is when the doctor and I made the plan to induce by Friday if I had not started labor on my own by then. We thought certainly that labor would have started by then. As Friday approached, it became clear to me that labor would not be starting on its own. 

Back to Friday, Nolan took me to the hospital and both of us were a little bit nervous about the entire thing. Sure we had been through this before. Sure we had a lovely 5 year old daughter to prove that. We also have an urn full of ashes that proves that sometimes things don't go as planned. Those thoughts always linger in the back of your mind. ALWAYS. 

We were shown to our room right away and met our first RN right away and we got things started. I changed into my lovely hospital gown....you know those are so flattering, right? Then my RN did an exam and I was already dilated to 5cm...all on my own. YEAH! And then monitors were placed on my oh so large tummy. Baby A's heartbeat was found right away, but Baby B, oh Baby B, was being difficult. Since she was laying under Baby A it was difficult to get her heartbeat AND she kept wiggling around so that made things even worse. I felt bad moving fearing that my RN would have to come back in and try to find her heartbeat again. 

Eventually things worked out and both babies stayed on the monitor most of the time. I then got my epidural right away, because my OB was afraid that the babies would come to quickly and I wouldn't have time to get one if I waited. After that I thought that I was just waiting for my OB to come and break my water. Well, I didn't realize that the nurse had already started pitocin. Um, that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to avoid that if possible. I wanted to have my water broken and see what happened. But, you know what, that is OK, things turned out just fine. I assume that there was just some sort of misunderstanding, because my OB said that she was fine breaking my water before the pitocin.

Around noon my OB came in to break my water. She said that I was at 7cm at that point and she was going to be just down the hall so it shouldn't be too much longer. Well, finally at 5pm, I was dilated to 10cm. Not much longer equaled 5 hours. My OB was finishing up with her last appointment of the day so she asked that I wait to push until she got there. She didn't want to miss it. 

So, at 5pm I was wheeled down to the operating room (this is standard for a twin delivery just in case an emergency c section has to be performed). I told my parents and Georgia as I left my room I would be back in about 10 minutes. I had no idea how close I would come.
Around 5:15pm I was given the go ahead to start pushing. After a few good hard pushes, at 5:27pm Evelyn Paulette Fletcher Lichti entered the world. She filled the world with her vibrant screams. And as she was placed on my chest and I was able to fully see this little being who had been growing inside me, I knew from that moment who she looked like....my sweet Violet. Really, it's uncanny. It's almost like I get the chance to see what Violet would have looked like growing up.....that we've been given a second chance with her. It's a reminder everyday that there is someone else who is apart of our family, and that makes my so happy.
My OB then asked if I was ready to go again because Baby B was ready. So Evie was taken to be examined and I was ready to do the hard work again. After a few pushes at 5:35pm June Elizabeth Fletcher Lichti was born. When she was placed on my chest and I immediately noticed how different she and Evie look. There was no doubt in my mind that they were fraternal twins and not identical. Both looked beautiful and healthy, but they indeed looked different.
Both gals were checked out and given a clean bill of health. Evie weighed 6# 3oz and was 19 inches long. June weighed 6# 11oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. That is a great size for twins. From the ultrasounds I had done during pregnancy, everyone was assuming that they would be over 6# and that Baby B (June) would be bigger than Baby A (Evie).
One of the nurses that was running back and forth between the OR and my hospital room, said that she could not walk back into my room and face that little girl in there without babies. She said that it was time for me to head back. So with both babies on my chest we were wheeled back to my room. The babies were raising their little heads to see what the heck was going on.
It was such a relief to see my baby girls, to hear them cry and to hold them in my arms. It was such a different experience than the last time we were there. This time instead of sadness and sorrow, we had happiness.