Birthday :: December 16th, 2000

December 16th, 2000 (Happy Birthday!!)
An epidural is started. My husband had left to get my things and buy some film for the camera so I only had my nurses hand to get me through the process. My anesthesiologist was wonderful, he explained everything he was doing. The local injection stung a bit and I jumped a little and then the epidural catheter was done. Overall, it was not near as bad as I thought it would be. After 5 minutes, I am in complete and utter bliss.

12:40am
Dr.Shannon checks me and I am 7cm dilated!

2am
Dr.Shannon breaks my water and I am 8 cm dilated! An internel fetal heart monitor is attached to Twin A.

2:30am
Twin A's foot descends into my vagina and Dr.Shannon tries to moves it back up but I then get cord prolaspe. A vaginal birth is too risky now and the decision for caesarean is made :(

2:35am
I am packed up and moved to the operating room. My epidural is wearing off and I am so scared.

2:40am
Once in the operating room the nurses help me to move off my bed onto the surgical table. I am very scared and I don't know what will happen. I'm trying to hold back all the tears. I lay down and automatically they begin to strap down my arms and legs. I am shaking all over and am so cold. My husband is outside getting on scrubs and I keep asking for him... they tell me he will be in soon. I'm not really coherant as my epidural is upped and is making me feel woozy. The nurse comes over and begins to swab my belly with antiseptic. I can feel her do it and suddenly I begin to panic! I exclaim I can still feel things and they tell me not to worry. There are so many people in the room, I am so nervous and feel like I'm in a dream. Dr.Shannon comes in periodically to see what's going on and I start to feel tears on the sides of my cheeks as I know there is nothing I can do to stop this. The anesthesiologist comes in and gets upset with the nurses for prepping me. He exclaims that I'm still able to feel things, that he will have to fix my epidural and that the nurses will have to reprep me. The nurses crab among each other and I feel so bad! The anesthesiologist runs an ice cube along certain areas of my stomach and sometimes I feel it! So, the nurses and the anesthesiologist ask me to turn over on to my left so they can check my epidural. I keep exclaiming that I can't. I am strapped down but cannot manage to tell them since I'm so woozy. (They didn't know I was strapped, another nurse had put on warm blankets). I finally exclaim "arms, are strapped" and they laugh and undo them. They then all try to push me over and I keep telling them "you can't!" My legs were strapped down!! They are all pushing and heaving, thinking my legs are just numb from the epidural. I exclaim again "you can't, legs are strapped". Boy, it took a lot to say that. The anesthesiologist gets annoyed and exclaims "her legs are strapped down?? Come on, let's get this done!" So they unstrap my legs and I give it my all to turn over. I then get another 30cc into my epidural, but nothing happens. He then says he will have to do a spinal. The nurses get me to sit up on the surgical table. I can't believe how woozy I am! He begins my spinal and suddenly I feel like I'm falling asleep. I hear them calling my name but I can't respond. It's like I'm trapped inside my body, I can hear them, but I can't answer them. Someone pinches me in the stomach and I moan out! They say they are pinching me somewhere else but I don't feel it. I know a spinal is being done but I can't feel it and then I passed out. I guess I was overloaded with aneasthetic, I don't know? I keep coming too and going and I start to lose all feeling in my body and get tense and scared. I feel like I can't breathe, I can't swallow! I get restless and call out to everyone that I can't breathe. Everyone keeps reasurring me that I can breathe just fine. Then I hear the screaming of a baby!! I open my eyes, I want to see her, but I can't. I feel a nurse nudge me and I look up and there is Victoria swaddled in front of me. She has white vernix on her face but is soooo beautiful. I close my eyes again and then I hear the second baby cry out and it's so beautiful to hear. Victoria Elizabeth was delivered at 3:50am tipping the scales at 7lbs 8oz and measuring 19inches long. Her brother Peter Alexander came quickly after at 3:52am tipping the scales at 7lbs 7oz and was 18inches long. Both are healthy newborns with no problems! They are taken to the nursery and afterwards the nurses move me onto my bed again and I'm wheeled back to the birthing room. I drift off to sleep :)