Name: BriAnna Jenkins
Where do you currently live? Pleasant Grove, UT
How far along were you when you found out you were expecting twins? 7 weeks, 4 days
Any issues during your pregnancy? I was lucky enough not to have any major issues during my pregnancy, outside of the normal (long) list of aches and pains.
Memorable/funny moment when you were pregnant: The day that I went in to my very first doctor's appointment, when I found out that I was expecting twins, I was supposed to go to the appointment with my husband. That morning, he had a work meeting come up that he couldn't get out of, so I asked my mom who was planning to watch my older two kids to come with me instead. When she arrived at my house, my kids begged her to stay and play with them rather than making them come with us to the doctor, so I ended up going alone. When I was told I was having twins, they left me alone in the exam room for about 10 minutes, and I was freaking out the whole time. Why, of all the days to be alone, was I alone at this appointment?!
Looking back, what is one thing you would tell your pregnant self? Take more pictures of that belly! I did manage to take one last shot while I was in the hospital gown before delivery, but I wish that I had some really good ones showing the size of my belly before I delivered.
How many weeks/days were you when your twins were born? 36 weeks 4 days
Baby A's Information: Hugh Douglas
October 5, 2013
8:04 am
7 lb 9 oz
19.5 in
Baby B's Information: Molly
October 5, 2013
8:19 am
6 lb 5 oz
19 in
Did you have a c-section or natural delivery? The pregnancy went along pretty uneventfully, which I am very grateful for! I began my weekly NSTs at 32 weeks. At my 36 week checkup, I was 36 weeks and 3 days. The nurses that I had had at NSTs up until that point had all been pretty reserved or quiet, but for whatever reason the nurse that I had on this day was loud and talkative, so I decided to take advantage! We were chatting, and she was very surprised to learn that I had driven myself to the appointment. I told her that I really didn't want to drive home (it was really uncomfortable to drive at this point!) and I told her about the contractions that I was having every night from 7ish-midnight about every 10-15 minutes. They always quit, so I never came in for them. She told me that if I could get them going again to definitely come in. She even called down to Labor and Delivery to find out how many ladies they had in labor at the moment... only 7 people there total, and only 3 in active labor. There are 30+ birthing rooms, so she was sure that if I showed up having any kind of contractions, they were likely to keep me. She told me to go get something to eat, either walk or rest depending on what I wanted to do, and come back if I could get them 15 minutes apart for 2 hours.
I grabbed a smoothie, and met up with my mom at the track. We power walked for a little over an hour, and I was having contractions like clockwork every 15 minutes. Yes! This went on for 2 hours, and then completely stopped. Kristopher and I went to dinner with my parents near the hospital, and I hadn't had a contraction in over an hour and a half. By then my sister had my kids asleep at my mom's house, and it was about 8 PM. I couldn't decide if we should really go in or not (because I obviously wasn't in labor) but finally Kristopher convinced me that we should, since we were already practically to the hospital.
I felt soooooo dumb walking calmly in to Labor and Delivery! The girl at the desk looked me over and said "What's going on?" and I was like.... uhhhhh... well, 3 hours ago I had contractions for 2 hours. HA! To her credit, she didn't laugh at me, and got us set up in a room for observation. Where I had 0 contractions. In an hour. She checked me and I was at a 4+, just like I had been early in the day at the NST. She said that we could either go home, or trying walking for an hour to see if that did anything. I was so torn! By now it was about 9:00, and Kristopher said that we are already here, so we might as well... so we did MORE power walking up down and all around Labor and Delivery. After 45 minutes of walking, they monitored me again, and I only managed to have 1 or 2 contractions. I had contractions the whole time I was walking, but they would quit as soon as I quit. The nurse checked me again, and I was still at a 4+... not quite far enough to keep me and obviously not in labor. She said I could stay another 45 minutes with monitoring since I wasn't monitored while walking, just to see. In that 45 minutes, I had only 2 contractions- one excruciating and one mildly excruciating. When the nurse checked me again, I was a 5! I'm pretty sure that those two contractions plus a little help with stretching from the nurse made the difference. After that, I started having contractions regularly on my own and made it to a 6 all by myself within the next hour. I will always wonder if it was the nurse stretching me or those two contractions that put me in to labor, and if we HAD gone home, how long it would have taken to decide to come back. I would have felt so dumb going back after just 2 contractions, so I think it's really for the best that we stayed!
We ended up getting an epidural, pitocin, and sat at a 6 all night long- clear until 7am! Finally at my 7am check, they decided to break my water. About 8 minutes after they broke my water, I asked the nurse to check me again (she thought I was crazy). We asked how long they expected it to take from here, and she said that my doctor had just started a c-section, so it would be at least an hour, and I'd be longer than that. Once I insisted that she check me though, she found that I was 8+, heading for 9. She was surprised, of course, since I had been at a 6 all night long, and was a 6 less than 10 minutes ealier! The immediately started prepping us for moving to the OR and got us over there.
Any NICU time? If yes, for what reason and how long? Unfortunately, yes. My miss Molly (Baby B) had low blood sugars, so she was in the NICU for the 2 days that we were in the hospital. We were all released on schedule though!
Did you have any complications after delivery? None!
How long did you (the parents) stay in the hospital? 2 days
Did your twins stay with you or in the hospital nursery at night? Molly was in the NICU around the clock, and Hugh stayed in the well baby nursery. They brought him in for all of his feeds.
What are three things you are so glad you had (or wish you would have had) at the hospital?
A robe! I did a lot of walking back and forth between the NICU and mother/baby (separated by 3 floors and a lobby, for some unknown reason!) Also, chargers for all of my devices and extension chords so that I didn't have to do any funny leaning while I posted to instagram when my phone was charging :)
Describe one of your favorite moments while you were at the hospital: The first moment that my babies were reunited. Molly was discharged and we brought her up to mother/baby while Hugh and I got discharged, which is always quite a process. They snuggled up together and it was just the craziest "oh my gosh... TWO babies" moment over and over. Up until then we were caring for one baby or the other, depending on what nursery we were in. Having the both together was awesome!
If you had one piece of advice you could give an expecting mom of twins, what would it be? RELAX. So many twin moms that I've spoken to swear by the schedule. Honestly, I don't buy it! The twins are my 3rd and 4th babies, and all 4 of my kids have been really go with the flow babies, and I think a lot of that is my attitude. I can handle it! They will have hard days and easy days. Go with it! Try to soak it all in, and don't get so wrapped up in the process of caring for twins that you forget to enjoy HAVING them. It's really true... babies don't keep.
BriAnna's Blog: Sew Lovely Life
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