Twin Birth Story Part 4

Then, at 36 weeks 1 day, I woke up to a new sensation. My water had broke. I’d never experienced that before either so I wasn’t quite sure what it was and I certainly wasn’t planning to fall in to the stereotypical statistic that all twins are born at 36 weeks! I wanted to go to at least 38 weeks so this was not in the plan. Jeanne agreed. I laid down and hung out for a few hours but there was no mistaking it, my water had indeed broken but there were no contractions. The birthing tub came, I visited my chiropractor and my family gathered around me and still no contractions. I was taking all of the recommended precautions because I did have a ruptured bag of waters: I stayed home except for the trip to the chiropractor (I didn’t use her bathroom) and to Jeanne’s, I changed pads very often, I took vitamin C regularly and took my temperature hourly. All this to ward off and check for potential infections but I had no problems. I visited with Jeanne, Jane and Sarah, my midwife team, and we decided that if there was still nothing on Thursday, I would take some homeopathics to give it all a boost. So on Thanksgiving morning, I woke up and started with the homeopathics. Nothing. Finally, after dinner and in the middle of Grey’s Anatomy and while Tim was fixing a blocked sink and a broken t.v., something. And then another something and then boom! I was in full blown labor. I had read that labor with twins is fast and furious and that certainly described mine right from the start.

We called in everyone who would be present at the birth and although we were planning to wait a bit to call the midwives, I decided rather quickly that it was time for them to come. And they came. Sarah busied herself in the kitchen putting together herb packets, teas and other good things and the second Jeanne arrived, I got into the tub. Oh my goodness did that feel good. The next few hours were a blur of one contraction after another. I had back labor so I needed someone applying counter pressure to my back with every contraction – I wasn’t the only one working hard! And then, it was time to push. There was something so freeing and so natural and primal about being able to labor and push in the water and in the positions that felt right in each moment. I didn’t even think about it, I just moved and it was always the right thing and it always brought my baby closer to the moment he was born. S was the first one born. I needed to push and I had to get over my fear of tearing in order to do it. At some point, I just pushed through the fear and the pain and in one push, he was out and in the water in front of me. We were all so surprised! Jeanne and I scooped him up and I held him to me. He was so tiny and I just couldn’t believe that he was here. And very quickly the reality of having to do it again sank in. I was exhausted. I got out of the tub and laid on the couch to nurse my new baby. He was perfect. I laid there for an hour nursing him and someone gave me some honey to boost my energy and someone else made me drink water because I was getting dehydrated and I was just in heaven with my baby. M was awoken and he came down to meet his new brother and then he stayed and helped coach me through my second labor. He was amazing.