My birth story... by Shelley

Hi. I am a 21 year old proud Mummy to gorgeous identical 11 month old twin boys. I first found out I was pregnant Christmas eve 2006 and it was the christmas present EVER. Then the following February I found out that I would be having twins, what a shock! My fella and I went as white as ghosts, it was so unexpected but after it sunk in I realised how lucky I was.

I had to have regular check ups, and was told one minute that my babies were identical and the next that they weren't. Madness! To be honest I had a breeze of a pregnancy, no morning sickness, thank god. I did have bad heartburn though. At 30 weeks I woke up with contractions and went for a bath. I managed to get back to sleep but next day I had a tiny bit of blood in my knickers so I went straight to hospital.

I was told I was going into premature labour and put on a drip to help stop the contractions. At the hospital there were no spare neo-natal cots so I was rushed to another hospital by ambulance with blue lights just in case - it was scary !. After spending 3 nights altogether in hospital, the contractions had stopped, thank god !

I had even more regular check ups but was still being told different things about whether the twins were identical or not. It seems nobody was at all sure ! Then at 37 weeks the twins had stopped growing so the consultant told me he would book me in to be induced in the next couple of days. He spoke to me about my options of birth, as all throughout my pregnancy the twins had both been head down, but then during the last couple of weeks, the smallest twin had flipped and gone into the breech position. This was scary ! The consultant said he would let me give birth naturally, but in theatre just in case I needed a caesarean if the small twin didn't turn back around.

So on the 9th August I went into hospital to be induced. I was naturally nervous and didn't know what was to come as this was my first pregnancy. I arrived at 10am, but by the time everything was sorted it was 3pm before I was induced. I had a tablet inserted and had to lie down for 30 minutes, then I was told I could walk around and that the labour usually started a couple of hours after the tablet. So with my Mum, I went downstairs while my fella went out to get Macdonalds. While waiting for him to return, I got really bad stomach pains and severe back ache. I told my Mum I needed to go back in but I wanted to wait for my fella as I was terrified by now.

When he returned 5 minutes later we rushed back upstairs and told the midwives. They were shocked as it was only 40 minutes since I'd had the tablet. But it was confirmed that I was in labour. I was kept in my delivery room while I was monitored and given pain relief. I had gas and air and pethidin. The pain was still really bad but I was bearing it. I was checked regularly to see how much I was dilated then I had to have my waters broke twice, one for each baby.

Then when I was fully dilated, I had to be given an epidural, to be honest this was more painful than the birth itself ! Imagine while having contractions, being forced to stay COMPLETELY still. My Mum was so upset with the pain I was in while it was being done that she cried herself. I also had to have it done twice as the first time went wrong, but when it was done I started to feel better.

I was wheeled into theatre with only my fella,  as only one person was allowed in theatre so my  Mum (who was gutted) had to remain waiting outside. I pushed for around 25 minutes before little Bradley came flying out, seriously - the midwife had to catch him, weighing 5lb 7oz ! He was put on me and then whisked away to be given a little air. After Bradley came out, twin 2 magically flipped around moving to the head own position, what a relief - no caesarean ! Just 7 minutes later I pushed out Little Alfie who also flew out, weighing 4lbs 13oz. He too was put on me and then taken away for air. I could see the tiniest of oxygen masks over their faces, but the main thing was I could hear theirs cries. They were the best sound I have ever heard.

I was anxious as I waited to hold them both properly. Then they were both placed on me for cuddles and I became the happiest Mummy in the whole world. But also very exhausted after 13 hours of labour. My placenta was taken away to be checked whether the twins were identical or not, I still couldn't believe they didn't know. They weren't sure if it was one placenta or two placenta's merged. And to this day they never told me, after asking numerous amount of times. But to be honest, they are identical and whenever we are stopped in the streets which can be up to 10 times a day (!) everybody can't believe how much alike they are.

Thanks for reading, and I hope I made it as enjoyable as it was for me, lol. This is the first time I have written down my labour so I wanted to thank you for giving me the oppurtunity, because I am shocked that I still remember almost every detail Lol. Thank you,

Shelley