Hi friends! My name is Dakota! My husband and I are soon approaching our one year wedding anniversary AND our first time as parents. Last summer we were both surprised to find out that we would be expecting our first baby! We were shocked and excited. I immediately started to plan because….well that’s just what I do. That all changed when we had my first OB appointment. The midwife walked in and did the normal vital stats, asked me all the typical questions. Then she did the ultrasound...that's when things got crazy.
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I was just so excited to finally hear the heart beat, that twins NEVER crossed my mind. She then says “Oh there’s one...and there’s the other!”
Excuse me?! The other?! The other what?!
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It took her AND an OB, to finally convince me that we were in fact having twins! To say I was in shock is an understatement. No one in my family or my husband’s family had ever had twins before. My husband, meanwhile, was sitting in the corner laughing hysterically. After our appointment it slowly started to sink in that we were having TWO babies. After the shock started to wear off, the excitement and nerves soon followed.
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My dreams of having a water birth were thrown out the window immediately. I was now considered a high risk pregnancy and no one but our Naval Hospital would deliver me. I also did NOT want a C-Section at all costs. Even though they're much more common with multiples.
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Fast forward a month and we finally got to find out the genders of our little babies!
We were so excited to finally know and I couldn’t believe we were having two boys! I was originally hoping for at least one girl, but soon the idea of two little boys was exciting. I was going to be out numbered 3:1!
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Next came the fun par, deciding their names. It didn’t take long and we quickly settled on their names. And when I say quickly, I mean THAT night. We also decided to keep my husband’s middle name Carlisle going.
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Baby A: Liam Grayson
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Baby B: Bentley Carlisle
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Fast forward again nine weeks. I started having sharp pains and cramps that wouldn’t go away. I finally called Labor & Delivery and they told me to come in. I was so nervous that something was wrong with our sweet babies. I was having contractions but they were so irregular, they monitored me and wanted to make sure my cervix hadn’t dilated at all. The good news was, there was no change. No dilation or effacement. YAY! They kept me over night for observation and testing. Turns out they think I had a bladder infection that was starting to travel to my kidneys. I took medicine and was discharged with instructions to stay on the couch and relax. Thankfully that period was over soon and I was back to my normal schedule within a week.
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At 29 weeks I started to notice that my belly felt different and it was getting so hard, so again it was back to L&D. This time I was having regular contractions every 4 to 5 minutes without even realizing it. They monitored me for a bit longer but soon my contractions were 2 to 3 minutes apart. This was NOT good! They checked me and I was 25% effaced and a fingertip dilated. I was admitted and given a Magnesium Sulfate IV to stop my contractions. They also gave me steroid shots for the boys so their lungs could develop a little bit faster in case they couldn’t stop my contractions and I ended up going into preterm labor. Thank God the contractions calmed down. By the next day at around 4:45pm they finally discharged me with instructions to be on modified bedrest and to come back if anything got worse. I was not excited about being confined to my couch. But, thankfully that didn’t last long either.
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I’m now 32 weeks 1 day and these babies have stayed put thankfully! They have dropped a bit but I’m not too worried about it. I’m also very hopeful for my vaginal birth since both boys are head down! Only four more weeks until I reach my goal of 36 weeks. Can’t wait to meet these sweet little boys who are already causing chaos…
