Day Four
During that two week wait before you take the pregnancy test you feel every little thing going on in your body. You become hypersensitive to the normal things and wonder about every cramp and cry at every movie even if it is just Mr. Bean performing a piano skit at the Olympics. Just kidding! You just feel sick. At least I did. I felt so sick from day five and I blamed it on the progesterone. I figured I probably wouldn't be lucky enough to have another success after one small success so I had to blame it on something. Maybe I felt sick from all the ice cream finally catching up with me. Whatever the cause, I didn't want to think that it had actually worked in case it didn't. I don't like disappointment.
The day of the blood test came. We came, we gave blood and went. We waited and we prayed. The nurse called in the afternoon to excitedly announce that my blood test came back positive and we were pregnant again. A year after our first pregnancy we were back to the same scary thought. What if this didn't work? I stopped school for the upcoming semester and set up a home office to work from home because I couldn't keep anything down, even water.
The day of the first ultrasound came around week seven or eight of the pregnancy. We were terrified that there wouldn't be a heartbeat like the first time. There was some silence for a minute or two while the nurse examined the screen. I started to sweat a little bit preparing myself for her to tell us that it had failed again. She looked at Randall and then me and said "how do you feel about having two?". Two what? Two babies in there? No, not possible. Randall laughed which made me laugh. And then she told us there were two embryos in there. The one embryo we transferred had split into identical twins. She left after giving us some pictures of yet more globs of cells. We took a minute to say a thankful prayer and give a really long hug to each other and walked out of the room to a hallway filled with every nurse, receptionist and doctor clapping and cheering us on. I probably haven't made such an ugly face cry in my entire life until that moment. They really give you the water works there.
Randall admitted to me later on that he had been watching the screen during the ultrasound and saw the two heartbeats before she told us. I'm a little surprised he didn't nudge me to look over. Probably didn't want to get my hopes up in case he was wrong.
The weeks passed and baby A and baby B were going strong in the oven. Dr. Marsh graduated us from her care once we reached 9-10 weeks. Our IVF doctor felt we needed to keep an eye on the little globs of cells so we were transferred to the care of Dr. Weiner, which to this day still makes me laugh a little bit. Dr. Weiner is at the head of high risk pregnancy at Kansas University Hospital. We rarely saw the same doctor twice because the team consisted of about 6-7 doctors and all of their assistants and nurses. We were told very early on that because the twins were mono-di they were at risk of twin to twin transfusion syndrome. Basically this meant one was a hog and took most of the blood. One twin would grow smaller and slower and the other twin would grow bigger and faster. Can't even share in utero!
Around weeks 14-16 we decided to share our good news with the world, some people knew we were pregnant, but didn't know about the other baby until we announced the pregnancy via the Facebooks. We felt pretty good about the pregnancy and the team of doctors seemed sure we were low risk for twin to twin transfusion. They did, however, want to monitor us so we saw them once a week throughout the entire pregnancy. I was busy working from home most days because I wasn't able to keep food and fluids down still. We were prescribed a medication to help with this but it was no help. I would take it with the smallest amount of water and throw it up two minutes later. My stomach was my mortal enemy and I was prepared to let it kill me at some point. I ended up losing about 4 pounds by week 20 and was taken to the hospital several times for fluids when I wasn't able to keep them down for several days at a time. Lucky for me, Randall introduced me to a great show called Third Rock from the Sun. When the nausea got to be too much we would cuddle up on the bed and watch a few episodes while I secretly wished to die.
By week 25 we were told that baby B wasn't growing as fast as baby A and we would be scheduled for an inducement at week 36 at the very latest. At week 27 we were told the inducement would take place around weeks 32-34. But by week 29 we were told that he was doing great and that we would go in at 36 weeks. That was a roller coaster!
Trigger warning!
Don't read if you hate hearing how adorable babies enter the world. Not super detailed, but I hated hearing these baby stories when I was childless, I understand.
Week 36 arrived. I completed my last day of work that Friday, July 21st, 2017. We were scheduled to arrive to Kansas University Hospital on July 24th at 7 am. On the evening of July 23rd and the early morning hours of July 24th, I again couldn't sleep. I hadn't been sleeping well for weeks, but it was different this time. While standing up from the bed around 2 am on the 24th my water broke, although I actually thought I had just peed myself. It was a slightly embarrassing moment that no one but myself witnessed. Around 3 am I decided that it was not pee and woke Randall up. We drove to the hospital without stopping to eat, which was our original plan and were admitted once we arrived. By 6 am I was given an epidural and we waited, thinking they would come soon. My parents insisted on coming when Randall told them we were already there at 4 am. They stayed the entire day, as did my faithful friend and visiting teacher, Ames. Noon rolled around, then 2 pm. We made it to 5 pm and then I insisted that Randall go eat, just not in front of me because I hadn't eaten for the last 24-36 hours. I hadn't eaten because I was still throwing up a lot of food. 6 pm came and my good friend and her three kids arrived expecting the newborns to be there already. 10 pm came and nothing had happened. We were preparing for a long night when at 11 pm the staff informed us we would go to the operating room and start. I wasn't allowed water the entire day and was so thirsty at this point. One of the nurses kept giving my ice chips. Ice chips are not the same, but I chewed them like a rabbit on a carrot stick. Baby A arrived at 11:50 pm on July 24th. Randall started to panic that baby B would be born the next day and we weren't sure how to feel about that. At 11:58 the realization that baby B would be born the next day was becoming very real to us. As a twin myself I had always wanted a day for myself. At 12:01 am on the 25th of July, baby B joined us to make us a family of four. It was a beautiful moment while the nurse took our first picture as a family and then baby B was taken away while Randall got to admire baby A. I couldn't believe my parents and visiting teacher had stayed that entire time from 7 am til 2 am the next day. You crazy people.
I had started to hemorrhaged and went into shock quickly the few minutes after baby B was born. The next few hours seemed to go fast for me. Before I knew it I was being wheeled on a bed back to a recovery room at 2 or 3 am in the morning while wearing an oxygen mask. I don't even remember where the oxygen mask came from. By this point my parents and friends had already gotten to admire the tiny humans I proudly made. I had never been so exhausted and thirsty in my life. They allowed me one glass of water once in the room. I couldn't rid myself of the unsatisfied thirst I had. It was crazy!
I was discharged three of four days later and the boys were discharged the next morning after that and we went home to our three bedroom duplex to proudly display our twins in the crib. Perrin Randall Bruner and Hunter Brian Bruner were finally here and ready to start adventures with some of the coolest people on our street.
The day of the first ultrasound came around week seven or eight of the pregnancy. We were terrified that there wouldn't be a heartbeat like the first time. There was some silence for a minute or two while the nurse examined the screen. I started to sweat a little bit preparing myself for her to tell us that it had failed again. She looked at Randall and then me and said "how do you feel about having two?". Two what? Two babies in there? No, not possible. Randall laughed which made me laugh. And then she told us there were two embryos in there. The one embryo we transferred had split into identical twins. She left after giving us some pictures of yet more globs of cells. We took a minute to say a thankful prayer and give a really long hug to each other and walked out of the room to a hallway filled with every nurse, receptionist and doctor clapping and cheering us on. I probably haven't made such an ugly face cry in my entire life until that moment. They really give you the water works there.
Randall admitted to me later on that he had been watching the screen during the ultrasound and saw the two heartbeats before she told us. I'm a little surprised he didn't nudge me to look over. Probably didn't want to get my hopes up in case he was wrong.
The weeks passed and baby A and baby B were going strong in the oven. Dr. Marsh graduated us from her care once we reached 9-10 weeks. Our IVF doctor felt we needed to keep an eye on the little globs of cells so we were transferred to the care of Dr. Weiner, which to this day still makes me laugh a little bit. Dr. Weiner is at the head of high risk pregnancy at Kansas University Hospital. We rarely saw the same doctor twice because the team consisted of about 6-7 doctors and all of their assistants and nurses. We were told very early on that because the twins were mono-di they were at risk of twin to twin transfusion syndrome. Basically this meant one was a hog and took most of the blood. One twin would grow smaller and slower and the other twin would grow bigger and faster. Can't even share in utero!
Around weeks 14-16 we decided to share our good news with the world, some people knew we were pregnant, but didn't know about the other baby until we announced the pregnancy via the Facebooks. We felt pretty good about the pregnancy and the team of doctors seemed sure we were low risk for twin to twin transfusion. They did, however, want to monitor us so we saw them once a week throughout the entire pregnancy. I was busy working from home most days because I wasn't able to keep food and fluids down still. We were prescribed a medication to help with this but it was no help. I would take it with the smallest amount of water and throw it up two minutes later. My stomach was my mortal enemy and I was prepared to let it kill me at some point. I ended up losing about 4 pounds by week 20 and was taken to the hospital several times for fluids when I wasn't able to keep them down for several days at a time. Lucky for me, Randall introduced me to a great show called Third Rock from the Sun. When the nausea got to be too much we would cuddle up on the bed and watch a few episodes while I secretly wished to die.
By week 25 we were told that baby B wasn't growing as fast as baby A and we would be scheduled for an inducement at week 36 at the very latest. At week 27 we were told the inducement would take place around weeks 32-34. But by week 29 we were told that he was doing great and that we would go in at 36 weeks. That was a roller coaster!
Trigger warning!
Don't read if you hate hearing how adorable babies enter the world. Not super detailed, but I hated hearing these baby stories when I was childless, I understand.
Week 36 arrived. I completed my last day of work that Friday, July 21st, 2017. We were scheduled to arrive to Kansas University Hospital on July 24th at 7 am. On the evening of July 23rd and the early morning hours of July 24th, I again couldn't sleep. I hadn't been sleeping well for weeks, but it was different this time. While standing up from the bed around 2 am on the 24th my water broke, although I actually thought I had just peed myself. It was a slightly embarrassing moment that no one but myself witnessed. Around 3 am I decided that it was not pee and woke Randall up. We drove to the hospital without stopping to eat, which was our original plan and were admitted once we arrived. By 6 am I was given an epidural and we waited, thinking they would come soon. My parents insisted on coming when Randall told them we were already there at 4 am. They stayed the entire day, as did my faithful friend and visiting teacher, Ames. Noon rolled around, then 2 pm. We made it to 5 pm and then I insisted that Randall go eat, just not in front of me because I hadn't eaten for the last 24-36 hours. I hadn't eaten because I was still throwing up a lot of food. 6 pm came and my good friend and her three kids arrived expecting the newborns to be there already. 10 pm came and nothing had happened. We were preparing for a long night when at 11 pm the staff informed us we would go to the operating room and start. I wasn't allowed water the entire day and was so thirsty at this point. One of the nurses kept giving my ice chips. Ice chips are not the same, but I chewed them like a rabbit on a carrot stick. Baby A arrived at 11:50 pm on July 24th. Randall started to panic that baby B would be born the next day and we weren't sure how to feel about that. At 11:58 the realization that baby B would be born the next day was becoming very real to us. As a twin myself I had always wanted a day for myself. At 12:01 am on the 25th of July, baby B joined us to make us a family of four. It was a beautiful moment while the nurse took our first picture as a family and then baby B was taken away while Randall got to admire baby A. I couldn't believe my parents and visiting teacher had stayed that entire time from 7 am til 2 am the next day. You crazy people.
I had started to hemorrhaged and went into shock quickly the few minutes after baby B was born. The next few hours seemed to go fast for me. Before I knew it I was being wheeled on a bed back to a recovery room at 2 or 3 am in the morning while wearing an oxygen mask. I don't even remember where the oxygen mask came from. By this point my parents and friends had already gotten to admire the tiny humans I proudly made. I had never been so exhausted and thirsty in my life. They allowed me one glass of water once in the room. I couldn't rid myself of the unsatisfied thirst I had. It was crazy!
I was discharged three of four days later and the boys were discharged the next morning after that and we went home to our three bedroom duplex to proudly display our twins in the crib. Perrin Randall Bruner and Hunter Brian Bruner were finally here and ready to start adventures with some of the coolest people on our street.
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