Name: Elise Moffatt
Where do you currently live (city/state)? Gilbert, Arizona
How far along were you when you found out you were expecting twins? 9 weeks, 5 days
Any issues during your pregnancy? I actually had a pretty easy pregnancy, thankfully! Whenever I would go to one of my doctors appointments, she would say, "Well, everything looks really good! You are having the perfect pregnancy!" I was so grateful that I wasn't put on bedrest or have any kind of complications! Apart from the morning sickness, I really enjoyed being pregnant. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!
Memorable/funny moment when you were pregnant: I think the most memorable moment was when I found out I was pregnant with twins. I've always wanted to have twins but never thought that I would actually have them, let alone on my first pregnancy! When I went in to have my first ultrasound, I laid there on the table as the ultrasound tech put the gel on my belly. She started moving the wand around but quickly stopped and took it away. Then she started asking me questions about if this was my first pregnancy and if I had done IVF (which we hadn't). Then she said, "Ok, I'm going to go ahead and record this for you..." By then I knew something was up. When she started the ultrasound again, I knew immediately that there were twins in there because I could see the separation of the two sacs. She then said, "Do you see that? There are two in there! You're having twins!!" I couldn't believe it and just cried for the rest of the ultrasound. Tears of joy! I had to keep checking on my husband to make sure he wasn't freaking out! He said he was super excited too! It's still a little surreal that we have two babies!
Looking back, what is one thing you would tell your pregnant self? Be prepared to get stopped everywhere you go! People just love babies, especially twins and they will want to know everything about them!
How many weeks/days were you when your twins were born? 38 weeks, 1 day via scheduled c-section. Never had any labor contractions or water breaking!
Baby A's Information: Jaxen Arlin
November 21, 2013
9:42 am
6 lbs 2 oz
19 in
Baby B's Information: Kayden Michael
November 21, 2013
9:44 am
6 lbs 3 oz
18 1/2 in
Are your twins identical? Nope, fraternal boys!
Did you have a c-section or natural delivery? I had to have a c-section due to baby B being transverse. I was very hopeful in the beginning of having a vaginal delivery because both babies were head down until about 26 weeks, but then baby B flipped. He stayed that way for a while but my doctor reassured me there was still plenty of time for him to flip back around. The last couple of ultrasounds I got, he turned transverse and was flipping back and forth from side to side (apparently because I had a lot of water). Because he was transverse and baby A was head down, I was told that I could choose whether to have a c-section or try for a vaginal delivery. But there was always the chance of baby B not flipping the right way once baby A was out and I would end up with a vaginal AND a c-section, so I just opted for the c-section. I had never had a surgery before, never even had an IV, so it was a whole new experience for me! The one thing that I was not expecting was how much pressure I felt!! I figured since I was numbed by the spinal that I really wouldn't be able to feel anything, but boy was I wrong! The worst was when they were actually getting the babies out. I felt like there was a 500 pound man sitting on my chest! Twice! After the babies were born it wasn't too bad. I was able to be distracted by hearing them cry for the first time and the nurses actually brought them over around the tarp so that I could see them before they even got cleaned up. Of course I cried the moment I saw them. I remember the nurses telling me what they weighed and saying, "Wow!! Big twins! Way to go, momma!" Also, my husband was able to get most of the delivery on film! It took me a while to decide if I actually wanted to watch it, but I did and it was pretty neat to see!
Any NICU time? If yes, for what reason and how long? No NICU time! Jaxen's blood sugar was about 20 points lower than it should have been (no big deal) so they had to monitor it for the first day but it ended up being fine! Perfectly healthy babies!
Did you have any complications after delivery? I had a rough couple days following the surgery. Because it was a scheduled c-section, I wasn't able to eat or drink anything eight hours before. And then of course I couldn't really eat anything after the surgery for a while. When I tried to eat, I couldn't keep anything down because of all of the medications pumping through my body, so my stomach was completely empty! That night they wanted me to get up and walk for the first time, but I had been really hot and a little lightheaded. I was standing in the bathroom, about to splash some water on my face, and the next thing I know I'm collapsed in the nurses arms! I fainted and luckily she was there to catch me. Back to bed I went until the next morning, but no luck that time either. I kept fading in and out while I was sitting in the bathroom, so we hurried back to bed again. Once I was finally able to keep some food and water down, the trips out of bed were a lot less eventful! Other then those first few days, my recovery was pretty smooth.
How long did you (the parents) stay in the hospital? We all stayed in the hospital for 3 1/2 days, 3 nights
Did your twins stay with you or in the hospital nursery at night? The twins stayed in the nursery for some of the night for the first two nights. They would take them for a few hours until they were hungry and then bring them back in so I could nurse them. I didn't want them given bottles at all in the nursery. The last night we were there I had the babies stay with us so that we could get a feel of how it would be once we got home.
What are three things you are so glad you had (or wish you would have had) at the hospital?
1. I was glad to have my chapstick! I can't live without my Burts Bees.
2. I was glad to have a change of comfy clothes and to change out of the hospital gown. The third day I was finally able to shower and put some makeup on so I could feel like a real person again!
3. Slippers! I was glad to have my slippers with the grips on the bottom because those hospital floors are pretty slippery with plain socks on.
Describe one of your favorite moments while you were at the hospital: One of my favorite moments at the hospital was right after my surgery, when they wheeled me into the recovery room, the first thing I saw was my husband sitting there holding his two baby boys. He was never really around babies or kids when we were dating so I had never seen him hold a baby before. Seeing him hold our two new babies was really special for me!
If you had one piece of advice you could give an expecting mom of twins, what would it be? Savor the time when your babies are little because it definitely goes by way too fast and they don't stay tiny forever!
Elise's Personal Blog: The Moffatts
So precious!
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