We were fortunate enough to have some family travel down from Indiana to South Carolina for our special twin delivery. My dad, mom, & older sister, Tera left Tuesday night in order to arrive Wednesday (Feb. 3rd). I didn't want them to rush down knowing that they had worked on Tues. but at the same time, I didn't want them to miss the delivery either. Thankfully, my Doc felt that as long as I was in the hospital & she could monitor me & the babies that we could wait until the afternoon time on Wednesday for the C-section. It was great to see my family early Wednesday morning, although they were exhausted from the drive down & I needed to rest so they didn't stay at the hospital very long. They visited a bit and then headed up to mine & Nick's house to shower & sleep before returning that afternoon.
As I slept off & on throughout the morning & early afternoon, Nick kept our friends & family up-dated on our progress & was kind enough to eat his lunch out of my room since I wasn't permitted to have any food or water. During my pregnancy, I felt like a fish out of water most of the time! It was crazy how much water I drank each day so that was the worst part about waiting for the surgery.....I wanted my ice water! At some point that morning, Dustin wheeled Abbie into my room so that we could say Hi to each other once again. She was already well on her way to recovering from her earlier twin delivery. After Nick was able to remove all my jewelry- including my 2 toe rings that haven't been off since they were put on some 10-12 years ago, we were ready to be moved to the "recovery room" to prepare for the c-section. Although my surgery wasn't scheduled until 5pm, they wheeled me back at around 3pm. As we passed one of the waiting areas, I remember waving to Abbie's family. Once my parents & sister arrived back at GHS, they came back to see me as well. While waiting in the recovery room, Nick & I finally made the decisions on the twins' names, but didn't share them with anyone until they were delivered. My Doctors were absolutely wonderful! They all helped me feel comfortable about the c-section by telling me what they were going to do, how it was going to feel, & what to expect throughout the surgery. Normally, the Doc's only allow 1 person in the delivery room with the patient, but my Doc also allowed my Mom to come in with Nick. She said that if my mom had come all the way from Indiana, that she had earned her spot in the delivery room. I think it helped that my Doc knew that my mom was also an OB-nurse.
At first, they wheeled me into the delivery room, lifted me onto another bed & had me sit-up to do the spinal. It was a weird feeling, it felt like what I assume it would feel like to be pinched by a lobster. Within 2-3 minutes, I was numb from my chest down...a feeling I hate! Quickly, my blood pressure dropped & I started feeling really sick, but thankfully as soon as I mentioned I wasn't feeling well, my doc was pumping medicine into my IV to help my blood pressure and I started feeling better. Soon Nick & my mom came in decked-out in their blue surgery outfits.
Nick & I in the operating room about to become parents!
Mamaw & me in the operating room
I also recall at the beginning of my surgery, the docs making a comment that I had 2 hernia scars, of which are 23-28 years old so I was shocked they noticed them. Nick & Mom both would stand-up & peek over the blue curtain that was hanging in front of me & shared with me what was taking place. Nick was amazed at how much moving my lower body was doing & yet when he would look down at me, I wasn't reacting to the movements at all. He would say, "Wow, you didn't just feel her do that jumping jack on your belly?" No, of course not or I probably would be screaming!! He was also impressed by the amount of fluid that came flowing out when they would break "my water" each time. It seemed to take several minutes for them to get started, but once baby Hadlee came out screaming at 5:36pm, it was just a short 60 seconds and baby Owen came out screaming as well! I got to give each one of them a quick kiss & then they were sent on their way with their own team of docs & nurses.
Hadlee Maelynn arrives first
Getting to give Owen Kooper his first KISS
My Doc informed us that there were 17 doctors & nurses in my delivery room, plus me, Nick, & my mom. It was a full house! Although Hadlee came out screaming, she quickly stopped & turned purple-ish. It wasn't long though & they had her breathing once again. Nick got up & went over to announce to the teams of docs & nurses what their full names were: Hadlee Maelynn and Owen Kooper. This was the first my mom got to hear their names as well. Once they removed the twins from the delivery room, they had Nick & my mom leave too. This is about when I remember yanking out my oxygen tube from my nose because I started itching. I always have trouble handling the medicines & my first side-effect is always the itching of my face & neck. As they finished up my incision, my doc gave me some medicine to try & control the side-effects & then wheeled me to my recovery room, where my Dad & sister were waiting with Nick & my mom.
Me, Mom & Tera in my recovery room after my C-section
I was in the recovery room just a short while when I started feeling bad once again. It was apparent to me something wasn't right, when my nurse quickly waived for a few others to come into my recovery room & when Nick just about passed out. He turned all green in the face & I kept telling him to sit down. Finally my Doc got him to sit & gave him a soda to drink. This was the beginning of my blood not clotting correctly. My doc & a few nurses worked awhile on me & then allowed me to be wheeled through the NICU quickly to see my twins. I do remember one of the NICU nurses holding Hadlee up off her bed for us to get a picture with her, but other than that I do not remember seeing them that night. Back in my regular room, my family congratulated us & Tera even had a bag of gifts for the twins. Unfortunately, I do not remember any of this--just know it because of pictures. However, I do remember drinking some water finally & then within a matter of minutes getting sick from it....and about that time my family decided to go so that we could get some rest. Shortly after that, my Doc was back in my room checking on me & the war of the blood clots started. Poor Nick was attempting to eat his dinner, but had to stop to help. After receiving a few shots, my Doc believed she had it all under control for the night, but if I remember right my nurse had to call her back to the hospital at around 11pm. My uterus was up near my right-side ribs & should have been down around my belly-button. Dr. Hogan worked hard pushing down my uterus and worked on controlling the blood clots until 2 or 3 in the morning. This is when my memory gets really bad and according to Nick & my Doc, that is a good thing. What I do remember is having to use a wet washcloth to scratch my face due to the itching from the medicines! My face got fully exfoliated, that is for sure! Nick said that Dr. Hogan eventually had to call surgery for some specific supplies and as Dr. Hogan explained to me later, it was as if I had delivered the twins by c-section and vaginally. My "easy to pass-out at the sight of blood" husband had to witness a whole lot more than either one of us ever expected! Thankfully, he got used to it & said that he found it fascinating!?!? Also at some point that night, we received a phone call from the NICU saying they were having to put both twins on ventilators to help their breathing. They had just started off with C-pap machines to assist them with getting oxygen, but that was no longer enough for them.
After more blood work at 5am Thursday morning, Dr. Hogan came in to explain to me that I was going to need a blood transfusion due to losing so much blood throughout the night. My hemoglobin had dropped to 3 something and normal is around 10. Throughout the day on Thursday, I slowly received 3 units of blood. It was quite irritating b/c with each unit, my nurse gave me pain medicine, which of course knocked me out. During this time, Nick had to sign papers for the NICU docs to place PICC lines in for the twins. They kept pulling out their IV's so the docs felt it would be better to just place the PICCs in. Finally, late that afternoon, I was able to pass on the pain meds & have a conversation with my family & eat some dinner (I think). Later that night, my night nurse removed my catheter & had me get out of bed for the first time! Oh my goodness! The pain was unbearable, but I managed to get up, walk to the bathroom & then back to the wheelchair so that we could go see the kiddos. It was hard to see them because they were in the isoletts with vents in, biliruben lights on them, & black goggles over their eyes to protect them from the bili-lights, but either way it was great to visit them. Hadlee Maelynn weighed in at 3 lbs. 12 oz. and 16 3/4 inches long and Owen Kooper weighed in at 4 lbs. 4 oz. and 17 inches long. They were so tiny!!!
Proud Parents & Miss Hadlee
Stopping by Hadlee's bed for the first time
Stopping by Kooper's bed for the first time
Hadlee Maelynn 02/03/2010
Owen Kooper 02/03/2010
Just now saw this update... You did a pretty good job of remembering most of it, especially considering how sick you were. The picture of you with mom and I was taken AFTER your c-section. ;) Oh- and Hgb is usually 12 or higher...which makes you realize just how low yours got! You've been very lucky to get such great care at your hospital!
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