Our Girls Are Here! Identical Twin C-Section Birth Story

I am so excited to share that our girls have arrived! They were born via scheduled c-section on April 16, 2019.

Meredith Jamie Morgan arrived at 12:17pm weighing 5 pounds.

Natalie Marie Morgan arrived at 12:18pm weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces.

Both girls were born happy and healthy and we are so thankful!

As I mentioned above, I had a scheduled c-section. If you want to read more about my decision, you can read THIS blog post where I go into details of my high risk, identical twin pregnancy and why this was the safest delivery option for us.

Thankfully, a few of my friends have had c-sections so I was able to ask them lots of questions and have a general idea of what to expect. I also talked to my doctor several times about the details of the surgery, so I felt confident going into it. But I figured I would share my experience here, because I think there is a lot of fear regarding c-sections. I know they may not be people’s first choice for birthing their child (or children), but I had a great experience. If you want to know what to expect during a twin c-section, keep reading!

My C-Section was scheduled for 12pm on Tuesday, April 16th, 2019. This day was also my Grandma’s 95th birthday so it was really special that the girls were born on one of their great-grandma’s birthdays.

My pre-op instructions were to not eat anything 8 hours prior to surgery and to stop drinking water 3 hours before surgery. That was easy enough to follow. We were scheduled to check into Labor & Delivery two hours beforehand, so Chris and I arrived at the hospital at 10am.

We were immediately taken to a room and a nurse was assigned to us for the morning. She was going to be with us every step of the way until we were discharged to our postpartum room. She handled all of our paperwork, set up monitors for me and the babies, started my IV, and many other things that I can’t remember. It was only three weeks ago and I have already forgotten so many details. That is another reason I am writing this blog post, I want to remember everything about the girls’ birth!

At 11:45, my doctor came in and he was ready to get the show on the road! I was taken to the operating room and Chris had to stay behind until right before the surgery started. Once I got into the operating room, things started to get very real! I saw two baby bassinets and I knew that very soon we would be meeting our girls! It was so surreal.

I climbed up onto the operating table and the anesthesiologist started getting everything ready for my epidural and spinal block. She told me the worst part would be the numbing shot and it would feel like a bee sting. That’s exactly how it felt and within seconds, the stinging stopped and that area of my back was completely numb. I didn’t feel anything else after that and soon she said my epidural was done and I should start feeling numbness in my feet, legs, torso, etc. A few minutes later, right on schedule, I felt completely numb in the lower half of my body. The anesthesiologist had told me earlier that the medication would drop my blood pressure and it was normal to feel nauseous and faint. I started to feel incredibly nauseous and I thought I was going to throw up right there on the operating table. She gave me some medicine right away and also put some lavender up by nose. It worked quickly thank goodness and I felt much better within a few minutes.

At this point, everyone was in place and it was almost time for the surgery. There were probably 8-10 people in the room which was less than we were told to expect. Only one person was missing: Chris! Someone forgot to bring him into the operating room, so my doctor went to get him and when they came back, it was time for the surgery to begin. Chris was positioned next to my head and a drape was put up below my chest to keep the surgery area sterile. Chris was allowed to stand up and look over the drape if he wanted to and my doctor asked me if I wanted them to bring down the solid drape to reveal a clear drape when it was time for the babies to be born. I didn’t realize this was an option, so I said yes, I would like for the solid drape to be brought down so I could see the girls when they were born. Chris took one last selfie of us as a family of two and then the surgery started.

It was a very relaxed atmosphere and within minutes, my doctor announced Baby A was about to be born and the solid drape was taken away so Chris and I could see her as soon as she arrived. Seconds later, Meredith Jamie entered the world at 12:17pm and I cried as soon as I saw her. She was here! And she was beautiful! One minute later at 12:18 pm Natalie Marie was born and my tears kept flowing. Both of our girls were here and they were safe! I was so relieved. It had been a long eight months throughout my high risk pregnancy and I couldn’t believe our girls were finally here where I could see them. It was a moment I will never forget.

They were both taken to warming tables where they were assessed and weighed.

Meredith weighed in at 5 pounds even and was 17.5 inches long.

Natalie was 5 pounds, 12 ounces and 18.5 inches long.

Chris was able to check on the babies and take their first pictures while my doctor finished the surgery. I could see some of what was going on from where I was at, but I am so glad to have pictures of everything. I will treasure them forever!

Within 15-20 minutes, my surgery was done and the babies were given the all clear to come with me and Chris to the recovery room. We weren’t sure if they were going to need NICU time and we were relieved that they were both healthy. The girls were put in my arms and we rode over to recovery together.

In recovery I did skin-to-skin with Meredith while the nurses monitored Natalie’s oxygen levels. Her oxygen was a little questionable for awhile but eventually everything leveled out thankfully. An hour or two later, all four of us were taken to our postpartum room where we would be for the rest of our time at the hospital.

The next three days were spent adjusting to our new roles as parents and visiting with family members that came to see the girls. We expected to go home on Friday, but unfortunately Meredith acquired some kind of eye infection and had to be admitted to the NICU unexpectedly. Natalie and I were discharged from the hospital as planned and luckily we were offered a courtesy room at the hospital so we could stay with Meredith. It was so hard to see her in the NICU and Chris and I were very thankful we were allowed to stay at the hospital with her so we could be close by.

Two days later, Meredith’s infection was under control and she was discharged from the NICU. We left the hospital as a family of four on Easter Sunday!

That was exactly three weeks ago and I still can’t believe our girls are here. Every day I look at them and I can’t believe how lucky we are. We are navigating parenthood and have had our ups and downs over the last few weeks, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Our girls are truly a miracle and I am so thankful to be their mom. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for all of us!