Name: Kjersten Smith
Where do you currently live? Orange, CA
How far along were you when you found out you were expecting twins? 16 weeks!
Any issues during your pregnancy? None whatsoever! I was extremely lucky with my pregnancy and loved being pregnant! Except towards the end...but I think every woman is miserable towards the end.
Memorable/funny moment when you were pregnant: The funniest moment was finding out we were having twins! We had gone into our ultrasound to find out the gender and were planning a gender reveal party. My husband, my mother in law and myself were all talking about the plans for the party, which we were aiming for New Years Eve. The tech stopped us and said, "They told you you're having twins...right?" I laughed thinking she was joking!! Then I looked up at the screen and saw two little heads bobbing around! I laughed and cried at the same time! For the first time in his life, my husband was speechless! We decided to scrap the party and just find out the genders then and there. We were already too shocked as it were!
Looking back, what is one thing you would tell your pregnant self? Simmer down sassy pants!
Though my pregnancy was blessedly uneventful, that didn't stop me from worrying that something would go wrong! I was the woman who got caught up reading horrifying articles about rare pregnancy issues and botched c-sections. Also, I was just kinda crazy. Sorry, honey!
How many weeks/days were you when your twins were born? 39 weeks 1 & 2 days
Baby A's Information: Eila Renee
May 31, 2014
11:47 pm
7 lbs 3 oz
20 in
Baby B's Information: Kaja Marie
June 1, 2014
1:16am
7 lbs 3 oz
20 in
Are your twins identical? Nope!
Did you have a c-section or natural delivery? I went in on Friday 5/30/14 at 4 pm to be induced. The entire night was miserable. They had to monitor the girls but neither of them would stay on the monitor for very long. So when they were on I was told I needed to stay still.
Things finally started slowly moving and when I got to 4cm they broke my water to get the contractions really going. They had to put a monitor on Eilas head while they were in there since the other monitor couldn't keep up with her. Once my water broke the contractions really picked up and within a few hours I got the epidural. I'm no hero. After that it was pretty nice.
Finally after 24 hours of labor I was at 10cm and ready to go down to the OR! They had me there in case I needed a csection. I got to the OR around 8:00pm and started pushing pretty much right away. It took 3 hours of pushing before Eila was far enough along for my doctor to get there. I pushed until Eila was born at 11:47!
The doctor was worried she would have to do a c-section because Kaja was still so high up, by my ribs! My cervix was also starting to undilate (is that a word?) Another doctor attempted to push her down from the outside which worked a bit so they started me on pitocin. At that point my doctor had to see another patient in the ER so she left.
The pitocin reeeeally started kicking in and the epidural had worn off and I was in pain, so I decided there wouldn't be a c-section. I felt the need to push even though she was so high up. The nurse said "you can try!" So I did. And within 6 pushes she was down and on her way out. They made me stop pushing so they could get my doctor.
She showed up and I was begging to push, my doctor was getting ready and told me to go ahead and push if I feel the need. So I did, and right away she and about 4 other nurses yelled for me to stop because she was almost out and my doctor wasn't ready to catch! My doctor got into position and said that I could push, I did and then Kaja was born!
I had to wait for them to clean up and all that jazz before I could even take my legs out of the stirrups. Then I flopped onto the gurney and went on my merry way to the recovery room with my new family.
Long story short, natural delivery! Praise the Lord!
Any NICU time? If yes, for what reason and how long? None! And I am eternally grateful for it.
Did you have any complications after delivery? A week after delivery I ended up in the ER for POST partum preeclampsia. Yes, ladies, that's a thing. I had no idea! My blood pressure was sky high and I couldn't breathe while lying down. They put me on blood pressure meds and I was good to go! My blood pressure stabilized within a month or so. :)
How long did you (the parents) stay in the hospital? 4 nights
Did your twins stay with you or in the hospital nursery at night? They stayed with us. Though, looking back, it would've been nice to have a couple hours of sleep.
What are three things you are so glad you had (or wish you would have had) at the hospital?
1) My husband! I am so glad he was there with me through every single moment!
2) My own pillow!!!!!!!! I even got to use it while delivering. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like having that awesome squishy pillow under your head while you're lying on a thin, narrow, cold, hard operating table for 6 hours.
3) My phone/charger
Describe one of your favorite moments while you were at the hospital: Obviously, it was when the nurse was showing me how to clean my stitches with that squirt bottle and showing me how to wear the massive pads and mesh undies...just kidding.
It was definitely when we were in the recovery room and I was just staring at my girls. We laid them in the cart and Kaja turned to Eila and started trying to nurse off her head. It was so funny and such a sweet little moment. We even got video of it!
If you had one piece of advice you could give an expecting mom of twins, what would it be? Enjoy being pregnant!! It doesn't last long and then it's over! Especially with moms of multiples, a lot of times we don't get the luxury of having full term pregnancies. I was so lucky to go as long as I did and I will cherish that time I was given!
Did you have a c-section or natural delivery? I went in on Friday 5/30/14 at 4 pm to be induced. The entire night was miserable. They had to monitor the girls but neither of them would stay on the monitor for very long. So when they were on I was told I needed to stay still.
Things finally started slowly moving and when I got to 4cm they broke my water to get the contractions really going. They had to put a monitor on Eilas head while they were in there since the other monitor couldn't keep up with her. Once my water broke the contractions really picked up and within a few hours I got the epidural. I'm no hero. After that it was pretty nice.
Finally after 24 hours of labor I was at 10cm and ready to go down to the OR! They had me there in case I needed a csection. I got to the OR around 8:00pm and started pushing pretty much right away. It took 3 hours of pushing before Eila was far enough along for my doctor to get there. I pushed until Eila was born at 11:47!
The doctor was worried she would have to do a c-section because Kaja was still so high up, by my ribs! My cervix was also starting to undilate (is that a word?) Another doctor attempted to push her down from the outside which worked a bit so they started me on pitocin. At that point my doctor had to see another patient in the ER so she left.
The pitocin reeeeally started kicking in and the epidural had worn off and I was in pain, so I decided there wouldn't be a c-section. I felt the need to push even though she was so high up. The nurse said "you can try!" So I did. And within 6 pushes she was down and on her way out. They made me stop pushing so they could get my doctor.
She showed up and I was begging to push, my doctor was getting ready and told me to go ahead and push if I feel the need. So I did, and right away she and about 4 other nurses yelled for me to stop because she was almost out and my doctor wasn't ready to catch! My doctor got into position and said that I could push, I did and then Kaja was born!
I had to wait for them to clean up and all that jazz before I could even take my legs out of the stirrups. Then I flopped onto the gurney and went on my merry way to the recovery room with my new family.
Long story short, natural delivery! Praise the Lord!
Any NICU time? If yes, for what reason and how long? None! And I am eternally grateful for it.
Did you have any complications after delivery? A week after delivery I ended up in the ER for POST partum preeclampsia. Yes, ladies, that's a thing. I had no idea! My blood pressure was sky high and I couldn't breathe while lying down. They put me on blood pressure meds and I was good to go! My blood pressure stabilized within a month or so. :)
How long did you (the parents) stay in the hospital? 4 nights
Did your twins stay with you or in the hospital nursery at night? They stayed with us. Though, looking back, it would've been nice to have a couple hours of sleep.
What are three things you are so glad you had (or wish you would have had) at the hospital?
1) My husband! I am so glad he was there with me through every single moment!
2) My own pillow!!!!!!!! I even got to use it while delivering. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like having that awesome squishy pillow under your head while you're lying on a thin, narrow, cold, hard operating table for 6 hours.
3) My phone/charger
Describe one of your favorite moments while you were at the hospital: Obviously, it was when the nurse was showing me how to clean my stitches with that squirt bottle and showing me how to wear the massive pads and mesh undies...just kidding.
It was definitely when we were in the recovery room and I was just staring at my girls. We laid them in the cart and Kaja turned to Eila and started trying to nurse off her head. It was so funny and such a sweet little moment. We even got video of it!
If you had one piece of advice you could give an expecting mom of twins, what would it be? Enjoy being pregnant!! It doesn't last long and then it's over! Especially with moms of multiples, a lot of times we don't get the luxury of having full term pregnancies. I was so lucky to go as long as I did and I will cherish that time I was given!
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