Last Tuesday was a day like any other. I’d managed to exhaust myself after my Baby Shower the previous Saturday by continuing at quite a pace on the Sunday, lunch out & going to watch the polo instead of lying on the sofa, but I’d taken it easy on the Monday and felt right as rain by Tuesday.
However I had noticed that Boo, my co-dependent cat, was acting rather strangely. She doesn’t really hang out that much during the day to be honest as it’s always so busy and she likes to be quiet and sleep on the beds. But on Tuesday she was everywhere I was. She was in my office at the start of the day, sitting on Cathy’s chair and staring at me. Then when Cathy arrived she jumped up on the windowsill behind Jodie’s desk and sat there. I told Jodie then that it wouldn’t surprise me if the babies were imminent.
In the afternoon, last Tuesday, Jodie mentioned to me that we needed to start getting some final bits sorted in the nursery. I was on to that idea like a rash and within only two hours we’d sorted out all of the Baby Shower gift bags, all of the clothing we’d been given so far…….
…packed a bag for the babies in hospital and made two lists of equipment that were still needed. Having a sister so close that has not only had a baby but has had twins was and is invaluable to me at this time because if I’m honest I really didn’t have a clue as to exactly how much I’ll be needing.
I left the nursery that afternoon, shutting the door behind me, and, after finishing some other bits off, installed myself on the sofa to wait for Robert to come in a little later. After a while I began to get a dull ache in the lower part of my back. I only noticed it as I have not had any real issues with backache throughout this whole pregnancy. I put this good luck down to the years of Pilates that I have done and that fact that the group of core muscles around my spine is well developed. But this backache was something else. It then spread around to the front of my lower tummy and this nagging, achy, throbbing, dull feeling began to grow in intensity.
It was also accompanied by ‘a feeling’. I had ‘a feeling’ and although I certainly didn’t want to rush in to hospital at that moment I was gearing myself up for something.
Robert came in and we caught up a bit before I told him about the symptoms I’d been experiencing for the last three hours. He asked me if we should call the labour ward but I still wasn’t ready to do that. However within literally a few moments it progressed even further and I got on the phone. Due to the fact that I’m having twins and that twin 1 is in the breech position the midwife advised us to get down there just in case. But I still procrastinated. I went upstairs and slowly packed my bag with Robert’s help. Then I took a shower and it ended up being eleven p.m. before we arrived at the labour ward. The midwife who took my call told me that she was just about to call me to check on me and figured that I had gone to sleep.
It was a long night…….for Robert.
I can’t remember much of it. All I know is that the babies were put onto monitors to keep track of their heartbeats. I was given a steroid shot in order to help my babies lungs develop as they are still quite early and then I was given some meds to stop the labour. Every fifteen minutes I had to pop a pill.
The contractions began to worsen and then staff asked me if I wanted any pain medication. I refused it at first because I really didn’t think that all this was actually happening. I was not in touch with the fact that I was in hospital having contractions. And then they began to get a little bit more intense. It was a this point that I removed the heart monitors from my tummy myself, got on to all fours on the bed and, according to Robert, began to sound like I was in labour PROPER!
I’m not a ‘screamer’ but I do think I said “Oh my goodness” ever such a lot through clenched teeth. I also got very weepy and began to sob and sob and sob. In my state I thought it was because I was ‘slightly hormonal’ but Robert, who was not high or pregnant, assured me in no uncertain terms that it was because I was in quite a bit of pain.
It’s not surprising to me that even in a situation like that I was still doing my best to just keep my head above water and cope. I think that is one of the things I love about womankind in general, their absolute refusal to give in until absolutely necessary.
Although during that time Robert made the mistake of making a ‘joke’ that I didn’t fully understand and, due to my extreme overreaction, the nurse had to leave the room in order to “just give us five minutes alone together”.
The shame of it. I wasn’t even in full labour and already Robert was on the receiving end. Poor love. He did have a giggle about it at my expense afterwards, so no permanent damage was done.
It was now about 4 a.m. and I was getting tired but the pains were getting worse so the doctor came in and strongly advised me to take some painkillers. I took him up on the offer and proffered my bottom for the injection as I hate needles and didn’t want to see it being administered.
Suddenly the world was rosy and the whole situation became a lot more manageable. I loved my husband once more and didn’t have the urge to rip the baby monitors from my distended belly. All was well on the labour ward.
The contractions began to ease up and by 10 a.m. the next morning had all but stopped. I had another steroid injection for the babies lungs and was told by the consultant that I’d be in hospital being monitored for another couple of nights as they were still administering the drugs that halted the labour. Over the next 48 hours, each evening, the pre-labour pains would start up again and each time after a few hours would gently subside. They were never as bad as Tuesday night but enough to have me back in the hospital bed and on the monitors again.
And then on Friday morning I was discharged. Robert had stayed with me the whole time, sleeping on a chair in the room, and I don’t think I could done any of this without him. It was a strange and surreal trip for both of us. We had both imagined that if you walk in to hospital with labour pains you walk out with a baby (or two) but that didn’t happen. We made our way back home, exhausted, and didn’t quite know where to place our thoughts. The nursery was, and still is, empty
Saturday night brought a whole round of ‘labour feelings’ once again and ended up with me taking another ‘just in case’ shower and re-packing my bag before falling asleep on the bed. But as it turns out those symptoms were the babies dropping even further in to my pelvis. I’m convinced that if one were to look hard enough they could actually see my son, THAT is how low they are right now.
So we wait. Each day that they are inside is a bonus day and a day for them to get bigger and stronger. Robert and I have made much more sense of the situation now and are feeling a lot less bewildered. Robert has gone back to work and my desk is now in the living room because I need to put my feet up.
I gained approximately 12 pounds of fluid while in hospital and it has all taken up residence around my ankles and legs. Very, very strange to see the body you know and are kinda fond of (usually) blow up like a balloon and look like a stranger’s but as I know that it is all for a great reason and only temporary I can manage to find it fascinating at the same time.
I won’t however be wearing shorts at this time.
Or cut-off’s.
Or capri pants.
Or skirts.
Nope, it’s over-sized leisurewear for me all the way now and I could not care less…………..for the time being. The babies are safe, they are already a good weight for their age in utero and they will come out when they are ready.
The burning of my over-sized leisurewear wardrobe will just have to wait a bit longer!
Cherry xoxox
****************************************************
Join my Facebook page!
Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/
Facebook – Please feel free to join my page
Twitter – please feel free to follow me
[...] My Twin Pregnancy Diary – Week 34 & 4 days « Cherry Menlove [...]