Name: Rhea Booth
Where do you currently live? Pullman, WA
How far along were you when you found out you were expecting twins? 7 weeks!
Any issues during your pregnancy? The beginning and end of pregnancy were eventful :)
Week 12: Had intense bleeding and got super freaked out. Thankfully they couldn't find anything wrong. I spotted for the next couple months. Apparently some women just bleed and they have no idea why!
Week 32: PUPPS rash! Insanely itchy stretch marks. I found the most relief with cold washcloths, ice packs, and LAYERS of cortisone.
Week 33: Spiked blood pressure lead my OB to request I do a 24 hour urine sample. I will say, 2 giant brown jugs of urine in your fridge is pretty funny. The hubby and I brought them to the hospital, they drew some blood, and gave me a shot of betamethasone for the babes lungs. An hour later I officially had preeclampsia, was admitted to the hospital, and my OB said I needed to be transferred to the nearest hospital with a NICU and might be flown out the next morning. I ended up being a pretty abnormal preeclampic pregger lady. I didn't swell, I felt great, my blood pressure wasn't too alarming, my protein counts were high, but also not too alarming. I ended up staying at our local hospital for 15hrs before being transferred via ambulance to Spokane.
Week 33-34: I was on bedrest at Sacred Heart in Spokane, WA for seven days before induction. I was induced at 12am on Mother's Day 2013. I did 4 more 24hr urine tests. The protein in my urine was getting higher and higher. Sunday in Pullman it was 560 and 6 days later it was up to 2200. My blood pressure was still about the same, high, but not alarming. My blood platelets were right around 100-115. If they dropped below 100 my choices for delivery were either all natural or totally under, no pain meds allowed. I still wasn’t feeling sick, but since the preeclampsia was getting worse there was no reason to wait for it get even worse. I could have probably gone another 1-3 days, but they didn’t want to risk my health.
Memorable/funny moment when you were pregnant: 1. Call me crazy, but I continued to play rugby for the first 6 weeks of pregnancy!
2. BUMPY two hour ambulance ride to the hospital: we weren't even half way there and I had to pee sooo bad. I asked the EMT if we could stop at the upcoming Rest Area. He agreed but warned me that since I had an IV he would have to accompany me in the stall. Totally fine by me. Just super excited to empty my bladder. So we get to the rest stop. Just picture this: I’m wearing a bright red old school muumuu, super pregnant, being escorted by paramedics. Of course the big stall was occupied, so me and my new EMT buddy squeezed into a tiny stall. He was literally standing at my knees. I couldn't help but laugh. People at the Rest Stop were laughing and yelling "Congrats!" I was quite the show. My husband thought it was equally hilarious.
Looking back, what is one thing you would tell your pregnant self? Have a packed bag ready in the car! I was hospitalized suddenly and literally had nothing put together. My poor husband had to go home and try and find all the little things I wanted.
How many weeks/days were you when your twins were born? About 34.5 weeks. There was some debate between what my OB has listed and what the ultrasounds showed.
Baby A's Information: Raegan Vera
May 13, 2013
4:09 pm
4 lbs 11 oz
Baby B's Information: Violet Avalon
May 13, 2013
4:24 pm
5 lbs 0 oz
Are your twins identical? No
Did you have a c-section or natural delivery? All natural baby(s)! Okay, well, I had an epidural. Here's how it happened: Like I said above, I was induced after being on bedrest at the hospital. They had me on Pitocin and magnesium sulfate. I was pretty fuzzy all day due to the mag but not a lot happened the first 24 hrs. Finally that night I started leaking fluid. They could never get a fresh enough sample to confirm it was amniotic, but I guessed it was.
Fast forward to 6am Monday morning. My contractions were getting pretty rough. I was insanely tired (I hadn't slept since Friday night) My nurse checked my cervix. I bawled. It hurt so bad. Baby A's head was in front of my cervix :( They asked if I wanted some pain meds. I honestly wasn’t sure. I wanted to do this pain med free, but again, I was so exhausted and in tears. With some convincing from the nurses, I said yes to an epidural. Best idea EVER. The anesthesiologist had my epidural in by 8am and this momma finally was able to sleep.
Slept all day and by about 2pm I was dilated to 9cm. Hooray!! By 3pm I was at a 10. We waited a little bit to see if I felt the urge to push, but never did, so onto the OR for delivery!! Thankfully, this was the best and easiest part of the whole delivery process. I could still feel the contractions, but no pain, so that was awesome. My contractions were 5 minutes apart so I got about 3 pushes in per contraction and then we all just chatted, laughed, and waited. Didn't take long for little Baby A to make her appearance! She delivered perfectly, head down and all. Then my Doc popped my 2nd placenta and checked on Baby B. She was still head down! Only took a couple more pushes to get her out. She was face up so the Doc did have me do my final pushing without a contraction so we could get her out faster. Two perfect little ladies!
Any NICU time? If yes, for what reason and how long? Yes, 8 days. They needed a little more time to grow before we could take them home. Thankfully, they didn't any breathing tubes or feeding tubes. They were perfectly healthy but just needed a little extra TLC.
Did you have any complications after delivery? Nope! I honestly was surprised at how fast I recovered.
How long did you (the parents) stay in the hospital? I was there 7 days on bedrest, 4 days labor/postpardum, and then for 4 days visited the girls all day everyday in the NICU.
Did your twins stay with you or in the nursery at night? Since my girls were in the NICU this was really hard for me. I would hear the other momma's babies crying and my room was babyless.
What are three things you are so glad you had (or wish you would have had) at the hospital?
1. So so glad I had my muumuu. Everyone should have one.
2. An XXL light denim tunic from Old Navy that was a complete button up. It was perfect for skin to skin time and nursing, plus it was kinda cute.
3. Long bright maxi dress with a belt. Easy way to feel pretty during exhausting days in the NICU.
Describe one of your favorite moments while you were at the hospital: Honestly, one my fav moments was when the hubby and I had a picnic out in the hospital's healing garden the day before I was induced. They let me ride a scooter out once a day so I always went to the garden. Having that quiet time together, being surrounded by nature, and just laying in the grass together was just really special.
If you had one piece of advice you could give an expecting mom of twins, what would it be? Just relax and go with the flow. I was really good humored during this whole process and it really helped me cope.
Rhea's Website: Rhea Creates
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