Knox & Avery: a positive twin birth story
- Oct 7, 2018
- 9 min read
The twins are officially 8 weeks old and I’m finally sitting down to share their birth story with you.
If you found this post via Google, rest assured – this is a positive twin birth story. I am so grateful for how it all went, so let’s dive in…
Knox & Avery: a positive twin birth story
A few things to keep in mind as you read this post:
I was carrying di/di twins (each had their own individual sac and placenta)
I have had two full-term pregnancies prior to this one
Both of these details set me up as a pretty good candidate for a “full-term” twin pregnancy and a vaginal delivery
Also, please know that I think ALL births are beautiful and miraculous, regardless of how babies come in to the world.
My twin pregnancy went as smooth as it possibly could have. There weren’t any complications or concerns during the pregnancy, and I do not take that for granted. I am so grateful to be able to say that!
The plan all along was to deliver the twins around 38 weeks as that tends to be an ideal gestation length for di/di twins. I set my mind on delivering them vaginally, but also knew to hold my plans lightly because there were so many factors at play.
The last few weeks of the pregnancy, Baby A was consistently head down, but Baby B kept flipping. A few days before I hit the 38 week mark, Baby B was transverse, which led to the first discussion of a C-section instead of the vaginal delivery I had been hoping for all along.
While my doctor was comfortable with breech deliveries, I was not a candidate for that type of procedure for one reason: Baby B was measuring bigger than Baby A. His concern was that I might not dilate enough to safely deliver Baby B (the bigger baby) in a breech position.
A little disclaimer: there is nothing wrong with cesarian deliveries. I am in full support of whatever procedure is needed to bring babies safely into the world while keeping mom healthy as well. However, I LOVE giving birth (weird, I know) and really felt the need to advocate for myself to keep the focus on a vaginal delivery for these twins, if at all possible. C-section is much more common with twins, so I made sure to ask a lot of questions and continually express my wishes to deliver them vaginally – assuming our safety was not at risk.
We settled on a plan to deliver the babies at 38 weeks + 1 day, either by C-section or induction, depending on the position of the babies when I arrived at the hospital.
The night before was very strange. I’ve never gone in to the hospital by appointment knowing that I’d be having babies that day. In the past, I’ve always gone to the hospital when I was in active labor. Additionally, it was a weird feeling not knowing if I’d be giving birth vaginally or getting a C-section the next day. I was antsy and anxious about the whole thing, but trusting that God already knew how these little ones would be welcomed in to the world. I did my best to surrender my expectations and trust the process.
We arrived at the hospital at 5:15 am in the morning. I was really hoping that Baby B would be head down so I could be induced. When we checked in, the nurse said to prep me for a C-section. It felt like things were moving in that direction regardless of the baby’s position, so I made sure to speak up and let them know that I was hoping to be induced if Baby B was head down.
After getting prepped for a C-section (IV, a few medications, a few other pre-surgery tests), one of my doctors arrived to do an ultrasound and check on Baby B’s position. My husband and I held our breath as he performed the scan and much to our surprise, Baby B had flipped head down!
We were thrilled. Given the position of Baby B, the doctor was in support of trying for a vaginal delivery and sent us across the hall to start the induction process.
Our midwife arrived and walked us through the process. She likes to do very slow and steady inductions (as opposed to going straight for high doses of Pitocin to get things moving quickly). She started me on Cervidil at 8:30 am and told me that some people start feeling contractions within 6-8 hours, for others it takes 12 hours, and if nothing was happening at 12 hours, then we would start a low dose of Pitocin to get things moving.
When we started the induction, I was 2 cm dilated. I started feeling small contractions after about 4 hours, but nothing crazy. I decided to take a nap and woke up around 3:30 pm due to stronger contractions. I was excited, but trying not to get overly excited in case they didn’t last or intensify.
Contractions came steadily for the next few hours. They were manageable with my deep breathing and hypnobirthing relaxation techniques. I was dropping in to relaxation during the contractions, but able to chit-chat and joke around in between them – not something I had ever experienced in my previous labors!
My midwife was watching things pick up, checked my cervix to find I was only at 4 cm, and decided that she’d stay put at the hospital for the rest of the day to keep an eye on me.
Around 8:30 pm, the contractions got stronger and stronger. I kept the room dark and silent as I breathed through each contraction. They were intense, but I was getting breaks in between, so I was able to manage them just fine without an epidural.
Note: choosing to NOT have an epidural was slightly risky in that if I had to go into an emergency C-section, they would probably have to put me under because there wouldn’t be time to do a full spinal block. This was a hard decision, but based on my previous deliveries, I trusted that my body would know exactly what to do and I chose to take the risk. I know how to deliver babies without an epidural and I was worried that if I got an epidural, I wouldn’t progress as quickly or know how to push them out as effectively. Thankfully, my midwife supported this choice and we proceeded without an epidural.
Around 10:00 pm, my midwife checked again and I had dilated to 7-8 cm, so she asked the hospital staff to get the operating room ready for delivery.
It’s a standard procedure for twins to be delivered in the operating room, just in case they have to perform an emergency C-section. I knew this all along and also knew that there would be A LOT of people in the room – multiple doctors, a handful of labor & delivery nurses, NICU nurses for each baby, a respiratory therapist, anesthesiologist, and a few pediatricians.
My midwife also called in our other doctor (who happens to be her husband) to be there to perform a C-section if needed.
Even though both babies were head down, we knew that there was still potential for the plan to change at any minute.
After Baby A came out, the doctor would need to perform a quick ultrasound to confirm the position of Baby B. If Baby B went head down into the birth canal, then we could continue with vaginal delivery. If Baby B flipped after Baby A came out, the doctor would attempt to manually turn the baby. If that didn’t work or if anyone showed signs of distress, they would send my husband out of the room, put me under, and perform an emergency C-section.
I knew these potential risks beforehand and still chose to attempt a double vaginal delivery. I believed in my body and believed I could do it.
Okay, back to labor….
My contractions continued to intensify and they asked me to tell them when I felt “pushy” so we would have enough time to transfer to the operating room.
I quickly started to feel pressure on my tailbone and had a gut feeling that I needed to tell them it was time to hurry things up and get moving. I knew that once I felt that feeling, things were going to go fast.
By this point I was definitely in transition.
I was using my hypnobirthing relaxation techniques to make it through each contraction. I was in the zone as the doctors and nurses were rolling me through the halls and joking and chatting all around me. At first, I thought it was weird they were all chatting away, but then I felt grateful that everyone was in good spirits and lighthearted.
When we got into the OR, they moved me on to the operating table and it was the smallest and hardest bed I have ever been on! I made jokes about not being able to fit (but really…it was extremely narrow and my body was not). My tailbone was in excruciating pain with each contraction because of how hard the bed was.
Thankfully, I didn’t labor on that bed for long. Once we made it to the operating room, I was fully dilated and ready to push.
{Side note: on the way to the operating room I had the most amazing feeling that God, me and both babies were ready to work together and bring these babies into the world. It’s hard to explain, but it was such a powerful moment that gave me peace and confidence at just the right time.}
One reason I prefer giving birth without an epidural is because I am able to feel everything and work with my body and the contractions. When the contraction comes, I begin to push and when the contraction stops, I rest. After 2 contractions of pushing (equal to about 5-10 minutes of pushing), Baby A was born! My midwife placed the baby on my tummy. I heard the quietest little cry and only cried for a minute or two.
I wasn’t able to keep the baby on my tummy for long because the contractions continued and I really wanted to deliver Baby B while I was still in active labor.
The nurses passed Baby A to my husband, while I focused on delivering Baby B.
(Notice how I’m not saying which is the boy and which is the girl? We decided to not tell our kids who came first until their 18th birthday! :))
Immediately after Baby A came out, the doctor did an ultrasound and confirmed that Baby B was still head down and had dropped into the birth canal. Praise God! I think we all felt a sense of relief in that moment.
My contractions continued and 9 minutes later, after one contraction of pushing (equal to about 3 minutes of pushing), Baby B was born.
I cried with joy and relief as they placed the sweet baby on my chest. I couldn’t believe they were both here. I couldn’t believe I did it!
I held Baby B briefly, but the contractions continued to deliver the placentas, so I asked the nurse to hold the baby while I finished pushing. The placentas came out a few minutes later and I looked over to see my husband holding both of our beautiful babies. Such an incredible moment.
After a few steps to clean things up, they moved me back to my hospital bed (sweet relief!), handed me both babies, and rolled me back to our room for an hour of bonding.
Both babies latched on right away and nursed for about 45 minutes. The whole first hour feels a bit surreal and a bit blurry – but I was just so relieved and so happy that I was able to deliver both of them without any complications.
The babies were born on a Monday night and we were sent home from the hospital on Wednesday. We’ve been home for nearly 2 months now and are adjusting to life as a family of six. It’s as crazy as you would imagine!
Truthfully, the babies have been the easiest part of the whole transition. Keeping up with the 5-year-old and 3-year-old in the midst of it all has been the challenge. 🙂
I have so much more to share about this whole experience, but for now, this will do.
If you are pregnant with twins and reading this post, I hope you find this encouraging. I had an incredibly positive experience and I wish the same for you!
xo,
PS – If you’re in a similar season and are just starting to get back to exercise like I am, I hope you’ll join the Back to the Mat challenge! It’s 7 days of 15-minute Pilates workouts that you can do from the comfort of your own home! Click here to check it out and sign up!
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