Kenzie and Lexie's Birth Story

Well I made it to 37 weeks and 2 days. I probably would have made it to 38 weeks when the doctor wanted to induce, but I developed pre-eclampsia in a matter of a couple days and that was no longer an option for me.

I went for my ultrasound on February 22nd. It was just routine to make sure the girls were still growing and that they had enough fluid. They checked my blood pressure and it was sky high. Then they told me that the girls were not growing at the same rate anymore and I needed to go to RVMC to be induced. They estimated that Lexie weighed 5 lbs 15 ozs and Kenzie was 5 lbs 5 ozs. I asked if I could go home to get my things and tell Madison that I was going to be having the babies and she was going to stay with Grandma for a couple of days. I wanted to be the one to tell her. That didn't happen. The doctor told me I needed to go straight to the hospital and not go anywhere else. She said it was important that they get me and the babies on the monitors as quickly as possible. I started panicking. I was worried that something happened and the babies were in danger. I called David who met me at the hospital. I called my mom to let her know I was going to be induced, and managed to drive myself to RVMC (which was only a block away from where I was at, but it felt like it took forever!)

We got checked in and put into our room. I noticed right away that it was the room closest to the operating room and the NICU. I knew I had to deliver in the OR because we were having twins, but it was still unsettling to be so close. They hooked us all up to monitors and the babies were handling everything just fine. My body, however, was a different story. My blood pressure was getting higher and higher, my blood platelets were dropping dangerously low and I felt horrible. They decided to put an IV in of Magnesium Sulfate that made me feel worse and really sleepy. My doctor arrived at about 3:00 pm and broke my water. The contractions were intense at that point with no breaks in between. I asked for an epidural but they wouldn't give it to me because of the blood platelet issue. They were afraid my blood wouldn't clot and I would have to have a blood transfusion. The doctor told David to make sure he was ready to move to the operating room by 5:00 because she knew that is when I would be ready to deliver.

Sure enough, we moved to the OR at 5:02. Miss Kenzie Grace made her entrance with one push at 5:10. She weighed 5 lbs 6 ozs. I didn't get to see her because they whisked her away to make sure she was breathing, and besides, I had another baby to deliver! Doctor Stone broke my water for baby #2 at 5:13 and Miss Lexie Noelle appeared two minutes later at 5:15 with one push. In fact, David said she practically flew out :) She weighed 5 lbs 3 ozs. Not quite the extreme weight difference that I was expecting.

We went back to our room before 6:00 and both girls were with us! :) They were completely healthy! And Beautiful! I couldn't believe I managed to deliver them both naturally!

We had to stay in the hospital until late Friday (the 25th) Kenzie and Lexie had trouble keeping their body temperatures up the first couple of days, partly because they were so small and partly because neither one was too interested in latching on. On the third day I decided to pump and bottle feed so they would have an easier time eating and that way they could gain weight. Apparently that did the trick because they managed to keep they temps up and were released.

My blood platelets continued to drop while at the hospital and got down to 57. 40 is the magic number for a transfusion. My blood pressure continued to stay up, and they had to put me on medication to control it. I think it was just all the stress of how I ended up at the hospital and worrying that the girls were not ok.

A week later we took the girls for a weight check. Lexie was back up to birth weight and Kenzie passed hers by 3 ozs. Yay! They are doing fantastic and next Tuesday we go back to check their weights again. I am so excited to see how much they have grown. They eat like little piggies! I am still pumping and bottle feeding which works really well for us.

So, easy delivering, not such an easy hospital stay. But, we are all healthy and happy and together and that is all that matters!