The Beanettes

Alexandra and Elizabeth's Birth Story

It all started early Tuesday morning, the 13th. I woke up at about 3:30am with some odd pains - it felt like I had to use the bathroom, it was an odd pain.pressure feeling in my lower back. So, at first, that's what I tried to do, but nothing, and I was still feeling it. I decided to lay back down in bed for a while and drink some water, see if it went away. After a little while I realized the pain was coming and going with every contraction. That's when I started getting nervous. I had a bad feeling, as I had never felt this sensation before, and I kind of just knew I was going into labor.

I woke my parents up at about 7am and told them what was going on, and that I probably had to go to the hospital. I didn't want to go, I was petrified. I knew if I went in I probably wasn't coming out pregnant, and I was afraid of the girls coming early, but I also knew that ignoring it wouldn't make it go away, and the only chance I had to delay things was to go get checked out, so off we went to the hospital.

Once there, I was hooked up to the monitors in the PEC (prenatal evaluation center) on the L&D floor. Heart rates sounded good, I felt them wiggling and kicking me, and then they checked my cervix. I was 1cm at 28 weeks (they had told me back then they'd be surprised if I made it to 32 weeks), and now I was 2cm, but fully effaced. The contractions were registering pretty high on the monitors, too, and they were rather uncomfortable. I was informed that I wouldn't be going home, and was wheeled into a nice, private hospital room, where I was again hooked up to the monitors and awaited further instructions.

A nurse finally came in and informed me that, because I was effaced and my labor was progressing, they were going to go ahead and begin giving me steroid injections in order to speed up the maturing of the babies lungs and brain, "just in case". In the meantime, I was put on magnesium sulfate to try and stop labor at least until the 48 hours required for the steroids to take effect were up, and then we'd go from there. If you don't know what magnesium sulfate is, let me just tell you that it is an evil drug. I was hooked up intravenously. It left me feeling so hot, my skin literally burned. I was so weak it took everything just to turn my head, I wasn't allowed to eat for two and a half days, and toward the end of the treatment I was throwing up all over the place. Nasty stuff, but it succeeded in at least slowing my contractions.

So I spent the next two days watching TV and battling through contractions. I got the first shot Tuesday at about 2pm. The second one came on Wednesday at roughly the same time. Meanwhile, I was getting cervical checks here and there, and I progressed to 3cm. I was very uncomfortable, not allowed to get up whatsoever. I had to use a bed pan (that was embarrassing the first two or three times, but soon modesty went out the window and I got used to it). I had wonderful nurses. Since I wasn't allowed to eat anything but ice chips (the mag slows every muscle in the body, including the bowels) I whined I was hungry a lot. One nurse, Jess, went above and beyond and got approval for me to have some water ice. That water ice was like fillet mignon to me, and she immediately became my best friend. She was awesome.

Thursday came. I was finally taken off the magnesium sulfate at about 3pm and given some food - dry cereal and graham crackers. I was so relieved to be able to eat something, I must have thanked the nurse 20 times. The nurse that changed the pad under me saw some fluid and it tested positive for amniotic fluid, so the doctor came in to do a speculum exam.This was when I learned I was now 4cm dilated and, furthermore, Elizabeth's bag of waters was tight and bulging through my cervix. According to his tests, however, I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid. He said maybe just a tiny trickle. Nonetheless, I was further restricted, and was no longer allowed to sit up in bed. Imagine, if you will, being almost 33 weeks pregnant with twins and being told you have to lay flat on your back - yeah, very uncomfortable!

But of course, just as I was starting to feel better from not having the mag in me, the contractions came on stronger and closer together. They decided to bolus the maximum dose of the mag one last time, and then they put me on Procardia, a pill that's supposed to stop contractions. Once off the mag again, my mom went to get me some McDonalds. The doctor came in and saw me eating and seemed rather upset. He asked who told me I was allowed to eat, and I mentioned I was already fed earlier. No no, he said, what if we need to do an emergency c-section, you could aspirate! Feeling like my hand was caught in the proverbial cookie jar, I pushed the food away from me.

By this time, the contractions were pretty much about five minutes apart. They did one last ultrasound to see if Elizabeth flipped into a heads down position (if I was able to deliver vaginally, they could delay labor a little longer, but once I got to 5cm, they would have to do the c-section). Nope, still butt down. I was howling in pain at this point, they were back to back, and all my pain was in my lower back. I wished I had taken childbirth classes right at that point. My sister, sick of seeing me crying in pain, went and got the doctor yet again. He asked if I wanted something for pain, but when I said 'yes', he told me he couldn't give me anything, he just wanted to assess how much pain I was in. I thought that was rather cruel, but I guess I understand his logic.

He checked my cervix one last time. Still 4cm, but now something had changed - he said I felt warm. He instructed the nurse to take my temperature, and it was 100.8. Dr. Bashara looked at me and said "Okay, we're going to have to go ahead and take these babies now". Immediately I was frozen with fear. I knew they were too young. I would have gone on the magnesium for another few weeks if I had to, but was told I couldn't, it could be toxic, and it was already starting to mess with my breathing (apparently it can cause lung embolisms). Besides, fever meant infection, and they were no longer safer inside me than in the NICU.

Within a half hour, the OR was ready for me and I was wheeled in by my favorite nurse, Jess. She would be "catching" the babies, and she was so excited because we'd bonded so much (she'd sit in my room and talk to me for an hour at a time). Plus, earlier when she found out I was allowed to eat, she'd bought me a boston cream donut. So awesome. Anyway, I was made to sit on the edge of a table and arch my back for the spinal. Jess was squatting in front of me, talking to me and telling me everything would be okay, her mom works in the NICU and said 32 weekers usually do very well. I was kind of out of it at this point. I nodded my replies, but I felt strange, detached from the world. I didn't even feel any pain when the nurse did the spinal (she stuck me four different times, too), just a bit of pressure. I wasn't even afraid, I was... detached is the only word I can think of to describe it.

They laid me down and I was immediately numb from the upper chest down. It felt like something was sitting on my chest and breathing was a bit difficult. The drapes went up and my mom was allowed in, camera in tow. I don't remember much of what happened after that, drips and drabs because I kept falling asleep on the table. Apparently, I was even snoring. Mom rubbed my head and told me I was doing great.

It wasn't long before I was told to get ready, some pulling, and at 11:30pm on June 15th, Elizabeth Avery came into the world, crying with her nice and strong lungs! She weighed 3lbs 12 ozs, measured 16 inches long, and had an apgar score of 9! Just a few minutes later, at 11:34pm, Alexandra Cassidy came screaming into the world just as her sister had. She weighed 3lbs 10ozs, also measured 16inches long, and also had an apgar score of 9! At first I was frantic because I didn't see Elizabeth right away. They swaddled her and finally held her in front of me, and though I was goofy and out of it, I immediately fell in love. They let me kiss her little face before whisking her off to the NICU. I was shown Alexandra, still all bloody and gooey, and then a few minutes later also cleaned and swaddled with the cute little hat on her head before she, too, was sent off to the NICU.

Congrats all around, I was assured they looked great and were breathing on their own. I was wheeled into recovery and had a lot of people there to greet and congratulate me. I was given morphine and once again zoned out for a while. Eventually, everyone went home and I was wheeled to my new room, but I demanded to see my babies. Even though I could barely move, I finally made it to a wheel chair and was wheeled down to meet my daughters. I didn't even think to ask to hold them yet, I just sat in my chair and stroked their tiny little heads and bodies with my fingers. I was told that, so far, they were doing very well. In fact, they were both in the 50th percentile for weight and height at this gestation, and that they were sturdy, strong little girls. I cried when I touched them, and I cried when I went back to my room after my visit.

Due to an infection, I was in the hospital for a week. This was a good thing though, I was one floor below my babies at all times and was able to see them whenever I wanted, and I visited at least twice a day. Sometimes with their grandparents, sometimes with dad, sometimes with their aunt, and sometimes alone. I've fallen hard for these precious little angels, and they continue to amaze me every day with their accomplishments and with how feisty, beautiful and sweet they are. The girls came home 5 weeks and 1 day after being born, and life is crazy, but I love every minute of it!

Holding Elizabeth for the first time, and holding Alexandra for the first time