I have been trying to write down my twin babies’ birth story for months now, 12 months to be exact. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long- but we’ve been a little busy over here so I guess I will give myself grace.
I couldn’t let another month pass without writing down their birth story, I never ever want to forget every little detail and I know that sometime soon I will. So without further adieu, here are twin babies Ezra and Addeline’s birth stories.
April 19th, 2019- Ezra and Addeline’s Birthday
8:00 a.m– daily morning puke session :). Not sure if I peed my pants or my water broke while I was throwing up. When I had my first child my water broke and I had no idea because it was such a slow trickle (you can read her birth story here) so this time around I thought maybe the same thing could happen? I just wasn’t sure. But I truly felt awful from the second I woke up. Don’t get me wrong- the last month being pregnant with twins was the most painful month of my life. I felt like my body was going to rip apart with basically any movement. But today I felt especailly awful and miserable. This should have been my first clue haha.
9:30 a.m– Mild contractions start
10:02 a.m– Call to my husband. I told him that I was having contractions but I was “SURE” that they were just Braxton hicks. He didn’t believe me and said that I needed to time them and he was going to see if he could leave work. I assured him he didn’t need to worry 🙂 haha.
Whit:
10:11 a.m– “Just had another one that lasted about 22 seconds”
AJ❤:
10:12 a.m– Ok… let me know when another one comes.
Whit:
10:16 a.m– Just had another one that lasted about 17 seconds
10:18 a.m– Just had another one that lasted about 16 seconds 🤷🏼♀️. So confused haha
10:19 a.m– Babies are moving a ton so that’s good!!
10:22 a.m– Just had another one that lasted about 25 seconds
AJ❤:
10:43 a.m– On my way!
I’m so glad he didn’t listen to me and came home! He got home around 11:20 and by the time he got there I was in full-fledged labor. I was having intense contractions every 3-4 minutes. But being the *idiot* I am- I really wanted to get a few more things done around the house- a few more things packed in Evie’s bag for her to stay at my parent’s house, etc.
12:30 p.m– leave for the hospital and by this time I legitimately wasn’t sure I wouldn’t make the 30 min drive to the hospital. I waited too long and it was no ones fault but my own!
At this point, my contractions were coming about every 2 minutes and lasted about 30 seconds. It was terrifying. AJ had to turn on his flashers and go around cars when we were about 10 minutes away from the hospital. I called my parents to tell them it was game time and they met us there to grab Evie girl!
1:02 p.m– When we got there my dad had a wheelchair all ready to go and he and AJ got me up to labor and delivery in record time!
Here’s where things get really scary! Are you ready?? Buckle that seatbelt.
1:04 p.m– The security guard gets us into labor and delivery and they can see the distress on my face and AJ’s face. I tell them that I’m pregnant with twins, this is my second pregnancy, and I’m definitely in labor.
They tell me they need to check me to make sure I’m in labor and proceed to check me into one of the front rooms…taking their dear dear dear sweet time getting all of my information. They tell me to pee into a cup so I go back to the bathroom and I literally can not pee because there was so much pressure and Ezra was so low- I knew I needed to pee but nothing would come. Except I felt like HE was just about to fall out of me.
1:10 p.m– I go back to tell AJ that there is nothing I can do and that the contractions are getting stronger. He calls for the nurse immediately and we wait 1…2…3…4…5 minutes go by along 2….3…4 really strong contractions and still no one comes back to see us. So he opens the door and yells “we need someone down here NOW!” if you know my husband you know him yelling at the nurses is a big deal. He’s as calm as a cucumber and nothing stresses or rattles him but he was definitely stressed and rattled in this moment.
1:20 p.m– Shortly after that a different nurse than who checked us comes down and asks us the literal exact same questions we already answered. Finally AJ says “she is in labor with TWINS and we need to get our doctor here NOW!” If you’re new here, my first was born without a doctor in the room because the nurse didn’t call him (you can read her birth story here) and it was scary. Plus with the added complications with twins, this time around we were adamant that he needed to be there. She says- “Oh! You’re pregnant with twins? Let me check you and we’ll get you back to a room” she checks me and I’m at an 8+. Finally, they all moved very quickly and she gets right on the phone with my doctor.
1:30 p.m– the babies and myself were hooked up to monitors and ready to go!
1:40 p.m– I get my epidural. Considering I was already at a 9, I could have done it on my own without an epidural. But I know the fact that I was pushing two babies out of me and Addie was breech scared me so I got one and considering how hard her birth was- I’m glad that I did. But I didn’t hit the button for my epidural until my doctor was trying to get Addie out of me- that pain was unbearable and I felt it for months afterward- totally worth it though :).
1:52 p.m– My doctor arrives and is ready to go!
2:10 p.m– AJ gets his scrubs and mask on ready to head into the operating room (OR) with me! My doctor had planned all along to deliver these babies vaginally but when you’re pregnant with twins you always deliver in the OR just in case it turns into an emergency c-section- which it does often.
2:14 p.m– roll into the OR with a team of 8 other nurses plus my doctor!
2:20 p.m– dilated to a 10- he breaks Ezra’s water
2:25 p.m– start pushing!
2:28 p.m– code blue and my doctor looks at me and tells me to stop pushing. He checks all of the monitors and sees that the babies are stable and doing great. He sends 6 of the nurses away to check on the code blue baby and mama. You can head to this post for an update on that heartbreaking situation.
2:41 p.m– the nurses come back in the OR and I start pushing again.
2:46 p.m– Happy Birthday Ezra Man!
3-4 big pushes later and Ezra was born- the easiest birth I have ever experienced. They immediately placed him on my chest and he snuggled in. His APGAR score was perfect absolutely perfect.
2:47 p.m– The doctor breaks Addie’s water and I start pushing. She was breech so this was a little bit of a different experience. My doctor was trying to pull her down lower because she was still really high up in my ribs. But he could not get a hold of one of her legs.
Sheer pain on my face haha glad my hubs captured this one.
2:51 p.m– Happy Birthday Addie A!
He finally got high enough to get her leg and pulled her breech out while I pushed. It was really painful and she didn’t come out and take a breath. She wouldn’t breathe on her own, she was purple, and her APGAR score was very low. They immediately rushed her over to a table and started working on her. Nothing changed.
2:56 p.m– they wheeled Addie into another room with more machines to better help her and AJ went with. I was still doing skin to skin with Ezra in the OR at this point.
3:13 p.m– AJ takes Ezra in to meet Addie for the first time and hopefully encourage her to start breathing on her own. But that stubborn little lady refuses.
3:30 p.m– Leave the OR and head back to Labor and Delivery.
3:40 p.m– They bring Addie in to let me hold her for the first time for just a minute before they take her up to the NICU.
This was precisely when I broke down into a blubbering mess for hours. I know that some mama’s, twin or not, have babies in the NICU. I know that when you are a twin mom, that’s even something you prep for- and believe it or not I did. I also know that the situation could have been a million times worse. But regardless of any of that- this was still hard. It felt so wrong holding Ezra without Addie there. It was really hard to be happy knowing that she wasn’t breathing on her own. It was really hard not knowing when she would start breathing on her own. It was really scary knowing that she was just an hour or two away from not breathing on her own to have to be transferred up to primary children’s hospital and we would all be in separate hospitals.
6:55 p.m– they release me to go up to the NICU and see Addie. I stayed there for a couple of hours- just holding her. Her vitals seemed to do better when I was. When Ezra got hungry and needed me. It was really hard to leave her.
9:57 p.m– my dad and AJ lay their hands on Addie’s head and give her a priesthood blessing.
10:00 p.m– I stayed and held Addie longer. Then I tried to feed her. She wouldn’t latch so with the nurse’s suggestions and advice we gave her donated fortified human breastmilk and I’m so glad that we did. She needed to get that blood sugar up as one of the requirements to be able to come back to us!
3:30 a.m– I get a call from Addie’s nurse asking if I can come up to try and feed her again. When I got up there she wasn’t hooked to Oxygen and the nurse said that since about 11 p.m she started getting stronger and breathing on her own. She has kept her numbers up for a few hours now and I get to take her back to the room with me!! The nurse was an absolute sweetheart and so excited to surprise me and tell me some of the best news of all time!
4:08 a.m– Addie and I break out of the NICU and head back to see brother and daddy! This was truly one of the happiest moments of my life. As they were wheeling us back- I remember feeling a huge flood of emotions- the happiest of emotions. Almost like I could finally feel that indescribable joy I felt after I had Evie because I finally had both of them here with me- it felt perfectly right and in that moment I felt perfectly happy.
The next morning Evie came and got to meet her new brother and sister. She loved them and said “oh wook!” with her hands on her face. That moment was also one of the happiest moments of my life.
We brought them home on Easter and the rest is history!
These babies have changed our lives in every good way possible. I don’t know how or why I got blessed with them to be MINE but they are blessings I will thank God for every single day of my life. I love you more than there are words to say, Ezra and Addeline. Happy FIRST birthday, my sweetest babies!
