The Birth Story of Harvey & Walter
I sit here at home, like every other Saturday morning, except it’s not like every other Saturday morning. I have two adorable wee men swaddled up beside me making little grunting noises. I’ve just fed and changed them but it’s a race against time before they wake up for their next feeding.
There’s a million things I should be doing right now, but I really wanted to make a post about my birth story. It may have been long, not the way I imagined, or something I would even think I’d want to remember, but, it’s my story. And, it’s something I want to share and recall.
So, let the race against time begin.
Monday, November 27th I woke up around 3 am to go to the washroom. I got half way to the washroom when my water broke. I had a doctor’s appointment with my OB that morning so I figured unless I was feeling any contractions or anything out of the ordinary I’d just wait until 9 am.
My husband and I were at her office right for opening. My Dr. wasn’t in yet, but the nurse told us we had to get to the birthing unit at the hospital ASAP. So, off we were again.
We got there, and after examination I was told that my membrane was not ruptured. I was so confused because although the changes your body undergoes throughout pregnancy are endless; I know my body well enough to know that I in fact, did not pee myself!
They did an ultrasound to ensure there was enough fluid around the babies and when that showed all clear, we were released.
By Thursday, (sorry if this is too graphic) but I was still leaking. I figured I should go back to the hospital, just to make sure. I left for the hospital without a hospital bag or anything really packed. I left thinking I’d come home and make lasagna. I left thinking I would be sleeping in my own bed that night.
Man, was I wrong.
They tested the fluid again, and this time it came back as amniotic fluid, which confirmed my water was broken. The Dr. on call that night didn’t feel comfortable with my situation, so after calling my husband to tell him the shocking news, I was sent via ambulance to Mount Sinai, having no idea what to expect.
We arrived at Mount Sinai around 11 pm that Thursday night. An examination showed that I was 2 cm dilated, but despite my water having been ruptured since Monday, I still wasn’t feeling any contractions. The plan was to keep me in the hospital, monitor the babies’ fluid levels and any signs of infections since they were now open to the world. The plan at that moment was for me to stay there until the safe delivery of the boys. The next morning, they would discuss with my doctor an induction date if they didn’t come on their own.
The plan was to be induced on the Friday. That would make the boys 35 weeks and 6 days, just one day short of 36 weeks, which was the ultimate goal from day 1. Now I wait….
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday passes; nothing. Tuesday comes and I still feel nothing. Tuesday night hits and I can’t sleep. I’m starting to get very uncomfortable every so often, but nothing really painful. Wednesday comes and the un-comfortability grows. The nurses ask if they are contractions and I have no idea what a contraction feels like. I wasn’t in a lot of pain, just uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure what was happening. Wednesday morning the doctor examines me and she sees that I’m now 4 cm dilated and hooks me up to the monitor which confirms contractions are starting.
I call my husband and my parents, and at around 2pm get wheeled over to labour and delivery. Only one of my babies’ membranes had been ruptured so they had to rupture the second one. After that, contractions came fast and hard!
I got the epidural as soon as it was offered. We were told that the babies would probably arrive that night. My parents rushed over.
Things started to slow down, however. They put me on a drip to increase contractions. However, I still wasn’t dilating quickly enough. So, we wait again.
I had contractions all night without making any progress with dilation.
My parents head to a hotel around midnight and my husband slept in the pull-out hospital chair.
It’s now Thursday, we all thought the babies were going to be here by now. An exam showed that Baby A’s head was facing the wrong way and he had his hand covering his face. This was going to be an issue for delivery. Over the course of the day they tried 3 times to manually move him. It wasn’t working.
I was 8 cm dilated, needing to get up to 10, and the baby needed to move.
I started getting really bad back pain. It wouldn’t go away, even with an increase in the epidural. After an examination from the nurse we found out my epidural had fallen out (not from my back, but where the liquid enters). The nurse calls the anaesthesiologist which first says, “You cant just re-enter the liquid because of risk of infection and she’s too far along to get it reinserted.” I wanted to cry.
The nurse quickly reminded her I was expecting twins and her response was “Well, we better figure out how to re do this then.” And that we did. I was terrified. Imagine feeling awful back contractions so bad you want to cry but also being told you can’t move because the needle they’re sticking in your back could paralyze you.
My family were all very supportive and my husband just took my hand and said, ‘it’s ok, you can do this’.
Finally, it came to the point that although I wanted a typical delivery, baby A was not moving and quite frankly, I no longer had the energy to push. C section it was.
Baby A; Harvey Joseph Monteith was born December 7 at 11:49 pm. Baby B; Walter Martin Monteith was born at 11:50pm.
Looking back, I wish I had done the C section earlier, but at least this way I can’t tell myself I didn’t try.
And, funny enough, I wouldn’t change my delivery. I don’t know if it was the long labour, but my C section wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought, and neither has been my recovery! I haven’t been in much pain and I’ve been very mobile.
Plus, my OB from Toronto actually got to deliver the twins, which was amazing!
Having a birth plan is good but being able to go with the flow and change your plan is even better. So many complications can happen during delivery that you really need to put your own personal wants aside and do what’s best for you and baby.
Today, the 30-something hour labour doesn’t matter. What matters is the healthy boys that we ended up with.
I’m exhausted, hormonal, but filled with love and joy.
I still can’t believe these two little miracles are mine and safely here. My husband and I are in awe every time we look at them.
Well there, I somehow made it through this entire blog post without either boy waking up. But, I don’t want to push my luck. Thanks for reading and cheers to all you mothers out there. What an incredible thing our bodies do to bring our children into this world. And, cheers to dads. For supporting us moms and just being there when there really isn’t anything else you can do. And finally, to friends and family who are beyond helpful after delivery. Who check in on you, help you, and ultimately love you and support you.
Cheers, to babies, and the miracle that is life.
