If you'd like to contribute your own twin birth story, CLICK HERE to fill out the questionnaire!
Name: Jennica Bunch
Where do you currently live? Santa Clarita, California
How far along were you when you found out you were expecting twins? 10 weeks
Any issues during your pregnancy? None! Again, being the worrier, I thought I'd get everything but I had zero issues. I even flew to Georgia for my sister's wedding when I was 26 weeks and then to NYC for vacation. I had a lot of my friends who have babies tell me over and over again how hard twin pregnancy must be. (And I know that it is for a lot of women!) But since I had no frame of reference to what a singleton pregnancy was like, I felt what I thought was a "normal" pregnancy
Memorable/funny moment when you were pregnant: Every time I tried to shave my legs while pregnant was pretty funny ;)
The most memorable moment has to be when I found out I was having twins. Twins do not run in my family or my husbands at all! No identical sets either. So when we sauntered in to our first appointment, twins wasn't even on my radar. I remember just praying that there'd be a heartbeat (I'm a bit of a worrier, but what first time mom isn't?!) and then the doctor kind of paused and said "Ok, let's do this together" And I thought "Oh God...the baby is gone"
But nope! She scanned around my belly, pointed out the two little beans, and I broke down in tears of shock, relief, and fear. Ok, mostly fear haha
Looking back, what is one thing you would tell your pregnant self? I know everyone says get more sleep or enjoy sleeping. But when I was pregnant I slept horribly!! I was up to pee constantly, I had horrible hip pain, and I felt SO hot (thanks, California) So I'd say enjoy taking a long time getting ready. Enjoy the long, drawn out showers, enjoy spending tons of time doing your hair and makeup, enjoy picking out an outfit (even a maternity outfit) and revel in the fact that there's no spit up or poo on it. Enjoy taking all the time in the world for YOU because in 9 short months, you're going to be the third priority
How many weeks/days were you when your twins were born? 38 weeks 2 days
Baby A's Information: Jack Thomas Bunch
August 18th, 2014
10:48 AM
5 lbs 14 oz
18.9 in
Baby B's Information: Clare Marie Bunch
August 18th, 2014
10:53 AM
5 lbs 12 oz
18.9 in
Did you have a c-section or natural delivery? I had a vaginal delivery. I was really hoping I could get away without a c-section, since surgery scared me more than delivery did. Both babes were head down, until around 27-28 weeks baby b, Clare flipped to breech. Luckily, she flipped to vertex around 30 weeks, which made me and my doctor very excited (I used a inversion table, in case any readers are trying to flip their little ones!)
Anyway, early Monday morning I woke up with pains that I weren't sure were contractions, got up to use the bathroom and my water broke. I headed to the hospital, where they informed me that I was 4 cm dilated, 80% effaced and having contractions every 2-3 minutes. We thought we'd be there the whole day, waiting for me to be more dilated. After I received the loooovely epidural, took a nap and had our folks come in for a visit, the doctor came back in to check on me and was surprised to find out I was fully dilated and ready to go! I couldn't believe how fast things went!
We got wheeled into the OR and I started pushing when they told me to, since I couldn't feel any contractions (thank you again, epidural!) and in what felt like 30 minutes Jack was born!
After he was out, my body stopped contracting and I had to be given some pitocin to kick start labor again. A few pushes later, Clare was born.
Surprisingly very mellow and pain free. Actually, the only painful part was all the afterbirth. No one told me they'd have to massage the crap out of my stomach for 30 minutes after my littles were born. It was definitely the hardest part of the whole day.
Any NICU time? If yes, for what reason and how long? No, praise God. Another fear of every twin mom, I think. But my babes were over 5 pounds, my hospital's weight minimum and thankfully they had no problems.
Did you have any complications after delivery? I did. I ended up losing a lot of blood during delivery, something my doctor had warned me about when I was pregnant, and ended up having to get a blood transfusion. It was actually a really easy thing, and I didn't notice how light headed I was feeling until the transfusion was going and I felt a million times better.
How long did you stay in the hospital? 3 full days, 2 nights
Did your twins stay with you or the hospital nursery at night? Us, with the exception of a few hours one night. My husband and I were feeling so overwhelmed, so we sent them to the nursery. It was the hardest and best decision we made during our stay. Future twin moms, try not to feel bad about sending your babes to the nursery. You need to be calm and relaxed to be the best mom you can be. And sleep helps with that ;)
What are three things you are so glad you had (or wish you would have had) at the hospital?
1. My husband. He's not a "thing" per se, but he was my favorite thing while we were there. Every poopy diaper, every cuddle, every time he helped me walk to the bathroom and saw all the glory that is womanhood after labor, made me so appreciative of my partner. I couldn't have done it without him.
2. I wish I had a hands free pumping bra. I wanted to breastfeed...I was determined to breastfeed. So I had to pump after every time I fed Jack and Clare. And holding the pump up after a frustrating nursing session with each baby was just so exhausting. I totally recommend bringing one with you if you have any intention at all to exclusively pump or breastfeed.
3. Snacks. Even with the meals the hospital provided, I was starving all.the.time. We didn't bring any with us, but my parents dropped some off the second day and I was so appreciative. I've never felt hungrier in my entire life.
Describe one of your favorite moments while you were at the hospital: After Jack was born and I was waiting for my body to start contracting again to get Clare out, I looked over at my husband talking and crying over our brand new little boy. I of course started crying, with pure joy and a little frustration that I couldn't be part of that moment, and my anesthesiologist reached over and wiped away my tears with a tissue. I didn't know him, I'd just met him moments before and I was flat on my back, but it was such a tender thing to do. It was a random act of kindness, but I'll remember it forever.
If you had one piece of advice you could give an expecting mom of twins, what would it be? Reach out to other twin moms and twin communities (thanks, Twin Talk Blog!!). I got obsessed with following twin moms and women pregnant with twins on Instagram especially. It helped me feel more comfortable with being pregnant with twins and creates great bonds with women who you can turn to when your littles are born.
Jennica's Blog: http://bunchies2014.blogspot.com
Jennica's Instagram: jennica_bunch