Keeley | Twinsclub

My birth story...by Keeley

TWINS – Told you so he said!

Well it was an unexpected pregnancy. As I was with my eldest, I was sick as a pig and often stopped on the way to work to facilitate this need, much I am sure to the amusement (or disgust) of other road users on the M1/M25 and A40!

Well that was it - we were pregnant and then we got our scan date – it was ages away and I was already bulging out of my clothes at 8 weeks….must be the second pregnancy thing I kept telling myself, nothing else entered my head.

So off we went for our first scan. As the probe hit my tummy it showed, straight away, two opaque circles, I looked at him, he smiled and said told you so….as the sonographer said ‘yes that’s twins ok’. HOW COULD SHE BE SO CALM! I wasn’t; I kept saying a very rude word for along long time, as for him, well he just couldn’t stop smiling at his luck or was it virility? .

So the pregnancy, well really it was fine. I was sick but my blood pressure was good, I got big and I mean very big but what can you expect when carrying two babies that you had been led to believe were not tiny. I had routine scans about every four weeks. At 25 weeks we flew to Canada for a holiday and I was fine – never really felt better. I was big, in fact like most mums to be of two or more I was already ‘term’ size. But I climbed/I walked, I danced, I ate and I came home. I carried on working until 34+5 weeks – was an office job in Maple Cross, about a 80 mile round trip each day approx 3 hours in the car. Well at the 32 weekish scan it was agreed we would be booked in for a c section because not only were babies still breech but they appeared to be growing rapidly – so that was it November 8 2002 7am please – d day!

On the way home I cried and cried with all the emotions, from being scared of it hurting to being scared of being a mum to babies again and two of them! But my wonderful partner made me laugh - our car had unknowingly joined a funeral procession and as we were driving a black estate car with blacked out windows ... ah well, it was funny at the time!

So time toddles on and there it was November 8, eldest son with my Mum & Sad and us in hospital. An hour later the midwife gives me a Brazilian….two hours later we are down to theatre. Now this is a site, me in a gown (or two, one back to front). Prepped and on the bed told to bed so that they could get the spinal block in – YEAH RIGHT bend with my stomach ?! Well they pushed and prodded and giggled and got it in but not before laughing at my tattoo on my back – its Eeyore!

Off I went into some sort of relaxed state, arms worked but chest down nah…weird feeling I promise you. Then I suddenly felt very ill but between my partner and the anaesthetist, we were ok. Then all of a sudden the first one was out. I saw Ben, who was breech, for the first time, but only briefly as he was whisked off, then two minutes later Sam arrived who was transverse little tyke!

Ben weighed in at a a healthy 6lb 150z and Sam 7lb 05oz at 36+5 weeks that was really good. They were fine, good weights, colours, reactions etc but in the next hour or so it was apparent Sam needed a little help, nothing serious he was ‘grunting’ which was because he was born by c section I did not squeeze all the gunk out of his lungs. So off he went with Ben for a bit of warmth and TLC. I couldn’t go as I still had to come round from the op.

It took me a little while to recover and it was about two hours before I could even feel a toe. But when I did I went up to scbu (in my bed) and saw my sons, my sons my sons, how wonderful is that eh. Then I went off to the recovery ward, got the feeling back, slept, threw up, slept again. Mum & Dad arrived with no.1 son, then my best mate arrived, and then just in time Ben & Sam were allowed out to visit for ten mins. They were gorgeous, but I couldn’t tell them apart – but no.1 son could from the very first moment he set eyes on them (which he followed up with glad it wasn’t two girls mum!).

Now this identical thing, there was only one placenta but it was heart shaped and my wee men look like siblings but not identical, should we ever meet you will see what I mean. We spent the next week in hospital, they came out of SCBU after 24 hours and stayed on transitional care for the rest of our time. They needed tube feeding and antibiotics because they were still considered premature. Ben took to breast-feeding fairly quickly, Sam was lazy and still is when it comes to food but I still panic either way. Friday 15 November 2002 @ 2pm we came home, wow what a day…and my wonderful partner was back at work the next day and I was on my own with two tiny wee men.

I am still smiling, and it times I cry but by god you can read this story and say how lucky I am to have had a healthy pregnancy and an unplanned one at that and two happy (generally) healthy boys as well as the big one…..and my partner ain’t arf bad either.

By Keeley (Sevenbellies) Mum to :

Mum to Joshua 10 going on 15 Ben & Sam who will be two in November 2004!

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