On our way to OU Children's hospital, we were pulled over by a light blue unmarked police officer on Broadway Extension near the 23rd street exit. We were scared, panicked, and worried about the safety of our unborn children, which is obviously why were speeding. We pleaded with the officer to escort us to the hospital, but he rudely declined and held us on the side of the highway to wait for an ambulance. We eventually got him to let us take ourselves to the hospital since we were already so close. After 10 precious minutes slowly passed, he finally let us go after giving us a ticket. We will never know if those 10 minutes stalled us enough to allow my labor to progress beyond the point of no return. But we can't live wondering "what if." We know that God had already ordained that the twins would be born later that night.
Tom pulled up to the main entrance of the hospital and we hurriedly got out and went up to the 4th floor to the Urgent OB triage area. Because my mom and dad had followed us there, my mom was able to get our keys from Tom and park our car. Once Tom and I got up to the urgent care desk, a nurse took us to a triage room and began questioning me and filling out information in the hospital's computer system. She placed 2 monitors on my tummy to listen to and measure the babies' heart rates. An IV was started in my hand and I had a swab test "down there" to verify that my water had in fact broken. The swab test instantly proved positive, which is what was needed in order to admit me to the hospital. I also had a quick ultrasound to verify the babies' positions. Both babies were head down. We knew Wren already was, but the ultrasound confirmed my instinct that Grady had repositioned himself to be head down on Friday night. The triage nurse told me that she thought my OB, Dr. Nightingale, was on her way back into the country from her trip to Spain. So, they paged one of Dr. Nightingale's partners, Dr. Crouse, who was the on-call OB that day. Dr. Crouse came in to speak with Tom and I and informed us that because I was not contracting, they planned to stall my labor by starting me on an IV of magnesium sulfate. They also planned to begin IV antibiotics to keep me from getting an infection. Dr. Crouse let us know that Dr. Nightingale was actually back in the country and was unpacking and resting and could be called in if I progressed.
I was moved out of triage into a labor and delivery room and hooked up to all the previously mentioned meds. I also had to endure receiving a foley catheter so that my urine output could be tracked, which is standard practice when receiving magnesium sulfate. After the nurse placed the catheter, I had a steroid injection in my hip to help the babies' lungs develop. My parents and friend Daysha all joined Tom and I in the labor and delivery room. Tom's parents and my brother and his family arrived shortly after we all got settled in my room. The original plan was to keep me pregnant in the hospital on IV antibiotics and magnesium sulfate for at least 24 to 48 more hours, or ideally until I reached 34 weeks to allow for further lung development for the babies. After being on the IV meds a very short amount of time, I began contracting. I wasn't really feeling it at first but I watched my mom and Daysha look at each other each time they would see a contraction on the monitor behind the head of my bed. The monitor was behind me at such an angle that I couldn't ever really see my contractions. Despite being on medication to impede labor, my contractions picked up in intensity and frequency and the chief resident who came on duty at 7pm decided to check my status before going into a C-Section for another set of twins. She didn't want to check me by hand but with a speculum as to not disturb my cervix. What she saw through the speculum prompted her to go ahead and check me by hand after all. After checking me, she determined I was dilated to 4 cm. At that point, she called Dr. Nightingale to go ahead and come in. Dr. Nightingale got to the hospital within about 20 minutes of being called. She came in and visited with Tom and I and told me that I would be having two babies very soon. At 8pm, after I had been laboring really hard for an hour, Dr. Nightingale came in to check me and I was dilated to 9 cm and 100% effaced. She told me I could wait and push Wren out after I got to 10 cm or we could go ahead with a C-Section. I chose to go ahead with the C-Section and I was then rushed into the OR. Because I was not on any pain medication during my labor, I received a spinal block immediately after being rolled into the OR. The operation began quickly after I received my spinal block. I felt lots of movement and pressure and the babies were born at 8:17pm and 8:19pm.
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