Becoming a Mother: Our Twin Birth Story

I am so excited and nervous to share this post with all of you! I am so appreciative of you following along my family's journey and I hope you have enjoyed getting a peek into our lives so far.

Becoming a mother has been the most amazing and wonderful accomplishment of my life and I couldn't be happier! I wanted to write this post to give you our birth story and a little bit of post-birth experience and thoughts.

Birth Story

Our birth story is very similar to most twin moms. We had planned to have a scheduled c-section and our goal was to make it to August 30th! The night before the boys came, Bryant and I had our normal routine which was a night in the pool with dinner and a movie. I had become VERY comfortable spending at least an hour a day in the pool because my back was always in a ton of pain and being in the pool helped a ton! I had packed my bag and gotten everything in the car (including car seats).

The next morning, Bryant and I headed to the hospital and I was mostly just excited for it all! I wasn't super nervous and things had thankfully been good my last week so I was in great spirits! We go to the hospital and both hung around in the waiting room until about 45 minutes before the c-section. They brought us into a prep room where the nurse had me change and they also placed the IV in my arm.

Unfortunately, the first time she tried, the nurse ended up collapsing my vein and that took a long time to heal postpartum. I ended up using a CBD sport cream on it a week after to see if it would help the bruise and it actually helped a TON!

Once the IV was in and paperwork was signed, we were ready to go!! Bryant was ushered into a waiting room while I was taken in to the OR for my epidural. I was the most scared in this moment. I just remembered trying to keep in mind that I needed to be strong for my boys and that if they were coming out today, I would need to get through it!

The OR was sterile and bright! That was what I remembered about being brought in. The nurse had me sit on the side of the bed and the anesthesiologist introduced himself as Dr. Walker. He said he had two sets of girl twins and that it would be a wild ride for me and Bryant! He told me to arch my back forward and lean forward as much as I could and I felt like I was doing a yoga pose! The nurse said the further down I was able to lean forward, the better it would be.

She was right! I honestly didn't feel a thing!! This may not be that case for everyone and I wonder if my anesthesiologist was just THAT GOOD at his job but I was very thankful for that. Since I wasn't having labor pains, I assumed I would at least feel a little bit of pain from it but I didn't. Very quickly after that, my feet started to feel warm and heavy. That was about all I felt because shortly after, I was completely numb.

My OB came in and the nurses got me prepped by cleaning my tummy. They also played my hospital playlist which was so much fun! I didn't realize they did this until a nurse asked if I had one. I put one together quickly and it had some Cody Johnson, new Taylor Swift, Lizzo and others! The nurses loved it and we all sang along!

Bryant was brought in shortly after that and the surgery began. I will say that I did start to feel a little nauseous and light headed at this point and they gave me some sort of medicine in my IV to help.

Once Bryant was in, it only took about 5-7 minutes for the first baby to come out! They handed him to Bryant and he was just such a natural! Around one minute later, the second came out. The only thing I felt during this time was some strange pressure. The nurse had to push on my stomach to get the babies out both times so there were two moments of intense pressure but that was it!

The boys were out and the nurses immediately put both of them on me!! I knew this was a good sign. Any time babies are rushed off, it means they are probably experiences little complications that require attendance and they are usually brought straight to the NICU. I was able to have skin to skin with them for around 5-10 minutes while they were closing me up.

Brady did start to have a bit of "grunting" and the nurses told me not to worry but that they would bring him to the NICU just for a little bit of observation. After around 6 hours and once we were settled in our room, they brought him back to us because he was fine. We felt very fortunate that they were both so healthy!

Recovery

Initially, I was so overcome with joy and happiness from having them that I didn't feel much pain. The adrenaline was keeping me on a high! I was also numb from the waist down. Once we were settled in our room, the epidural wore off and the pain medication kicked in. My legs started to gain feeling back and they wanted me to try to move my toes which was pretty easy. They also wanted me to press on my incision and cough. I believe this is just to keep from clotting but I can't be 100% sure.

The first night we were basically up all night with the boys feeding and Bryant used the nurses to learn how to change diapers. We were exhausted the next day from being up all night with them. The next night, we sent them to the nursery so we could get some rest. I would suggest using this service! Don't be ashamed to use it either! Our bodies are amazing but getting some good needed rest is nothing to be ashamed of!!

The second day they took the catheter out and it was time to pee on my own and get up out of bed. This was the toughest day in the hospital. I pretty much fainted the first time I got up and wasn't able to pee the first couple of times I tried but eventually, I was able to!!

Gas build up is a real thing with the epidural and especially with c-sections! I ate a light dinner the night before the procedure and also didn't eat dinner the first night after so that REALLY helped. They want you to get up and walk around to help break up the gas and that may be TMI but it also helped! Another TMI tip is that I would suggest asking them for an enema the day that you leave so you can have a bowel movement. It is very hard to have your first one after the c-section.

Once we got home, I felt much better to be in my own space. Our family met us there and literally did EVERYTHING that first day. They really helped us out so much getting set up. And that night our night nurse met us to watch the boys. I was in a ton of pain and getting up constantly to feed, burp and change diapers was very hard so I was super thankful to get sleep that first week when she was at the house.

Postpartum Depression

I always promise to keep it real with you all and that is why I decided to include this section in our birth story. There are so many reasons I have to be grateful and happy! We have two amazing a beautiful boys that are healthy and an amazing team of support around us but that doesn't mean everything goes completely back to normal.

Our bodies go through so much during pregnancy and our hormones can really make us feel out of whack! Those first few weeks were tough for me emotionally. I wasn't breast feeding so I felt like I struggled to make an immediate connection with the boys. Also, having twins means you split the time in half with each one and with everyone around helping, you aren't always bonding 24/7 with each one. It took awhile for me to feel like "Okay, they know I'm their mother."

I am naturally an extrovert. I gain energy and happiness by being around my friends and getting out of the house which is why the first week was miserable for me. I felt like I was trapped in the house. Thankfully, my mom came over and drove me to the nail salon so I could get a little bit of time away. I hate writing this because as I read it, I am ashamed of the fact that I felt like I needed to get away. I just hope that this helps someone else who is in my shoes and is struggling. Just know that if you feel like I did, get out of the house!! Have a friend or family member take you for a cup of coffee or just go do something you used to do before you had your baby. It helps so much! And I come back home every time feeling even more in love with them!!

I still have occasional periods of feeling out of sorts or emotional but I think a lot of it is from being tired. It is so hard to get "you time" when you are caring for two new humans but those feelings get more and more manageable as you start to get more comfortable in your new life. My advice would be to give it time and give yourself grace!

My relationship with God and my faith has become so much stronger throughout this period of my life. I have really leaned on my quiet moments to pray and I know that each day will get easier. God has blessed us with such a beautiful and amazing gift and we are only human so sometimes we forget how much of a blessing He has given us but I try to remind myself at least a few times a day and that helps so much!!

Life With Twins

So moving on to the good stuff!! These boys are absolutely amazing!! It is such an honor to be their mother and every day we learn something new about them. I try to just remember all of the special moments and record them on my phone when I can because time really does start to fly!!

In 12 weeks I go back to work which means that we needed to figure out a plan for that. We decided to go with a nanny because it was actually cheaper for us to do that then pay for daycare for two babies. Having two is very pricey and you can basically just double your expenses for everything which is why I have tried to figure out where we can save here and there.

Walmart has an amazing exclusive baby brand called Parent's Choice that is actually celebrating their 20th anniversary this month! There are certain items that I just feel like we can save money on and diaper and wipes are two things I think we would have spent to much money on! Parent's Choice has a line of each of those for sensitive skin and they have limited ingredients so they are safe for the boy's skin! I have linked all of my favorite items below. These are items that I truly think are huge money savers and if your babies are experience skin irritation, they really do work! You can also check out their baby products here.

I hope you all enjoyed my story and just know that I am here for you if you have any questions and know that you aren't alone!!