Multiple Blessings

Posted On Wednesday, November 10, 2010  by Anna

My pregnancy was one surprise after another.  We planned to get pregnant, but that was as far as "our plan" went.  We only saw one heartbeat at the first ultrasound, but at the second ultrasound, they showed me two babies.  I started having contractions around 22 weeks and was put on terbutaline pills.  That was about the same time my blood pressure started creeping up.  Because it is normally very low - 90s/50s, my husband kept asking the doctors if it wasn't a little too high.  Every response was, "it's high for her, but not that high."  At my 29 week check, I was 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced.  I was admitted to Labor & Delivery, where I stayed for 10 days until the preterm labor was completely stopped.  I continued to have contractions and progess slowly to the point where I spent 36 hours at a time being monitored during weeks 34 and 35.  I was miserable and swollen and gained 8 pounds in 5 days between those two weeks.  Both babies were head-down and measuring big, so my OB agreed to induce on the day I was 36 weeks.  The two days leading up to the induction, I had a headache that would not go away.  I saw "stars" or little lights popping during my shower the night before induction.  For months, I had pain in my right ribs that was always explained with a pair of feet or knees and we could see that very clearly on the ultrasounds.  It was the beginning of July and I was a 5 foot tall person carrying two babies - this being my first pregnancy, I assumed these were all normal pregnancy woes, especially mid-summer.  I went in to be induced at 36 weeks with a BP of 135/95.  I had my epidural and my water broken and made it to 5 cm before things veered off course.  I remember feeling light-headed, but couldn't follow my train of thought far enough to prompt speech.  As I turned to look for my husband, the room began to shake.  I remember only flashes of things after that until I woke up in the ICU alone and not pregnant.  My BP spiked at 150/105 and, after the first seizure, I was unresponsive and wheeled into an emergency c-section.  As they pulled the second baby out, I seized again and was fully sedated.  The babies never showed any signs of distress, and we praise God for that.  Both babies stayed in the NICU until I was given a room a few days later.  One was ready to come to me, but the other had a few more days of learning to control his breathing.  I also stayed in the hospital for 4 days after being release back to L&D to make sure my BP was completely stable.  We all came home together 6 days after being admitted for that induction.  I know God's hand was on us all through my whole pregnancy.  I can never be thankful enough for my life and the lives of my twin boys.  We are all healthy today.