John & Sasha in the operating room, shortly before delivery.
The birth was an absolutely amazing experience. We went to the hospital on Monday February 21 at 10:30 am for a routine test. While we were there, Sasha complained of a headache, and her blood pressure was slightly elevated. After several hours of observation and testing, Sasha was diagnosed with preeclampsia. Our doctor decided to induce labor. The babies were exactly 36 weeks on this day, one week short of "full term" for twins.
They started Sasha on the drug to induce labor (pitocin) at 8 pm Monday night. They gradually increased the dose until her contractions were regular and about 3 minutes apart, which happened sometime before 5 am on Tuesday. Needless to say, Sasha did not sleep at all that night. They also put an epidural in her spine at 3 am. After 5 am, the contractions had been quite regular for a long time but labor was not progressing. At 10 am, the doctor broke the bag of waters (amniotic fluid) to help move the labor along. At 11:30 am, Sasha was still not dilated (less than 2 cm). We began to prepare ourselves for the likelihood a c-section (quite common with twin pregnancies).
But when the doctor returned at 2 pm, everything had changed. The labor had progressed and Sasha was 7 cm dilated! We were filled with hope and relief. From 2:30 to 3:30, Sasha experienced increasingly painful contractions. At 3:30, she was fully dilated (10 cm) and was granted permission to start pushing. They wheeled us into the operating room (where all twins are delivered). Sasha was highly motivated and pushed strongly for two hours.
All the effort paid off when Theodore and Amelia were born vaginally around 5:30 pm on Tuesday February 22. Sasha describes the birth experience as "great fun". For me, it was a very moving and wondrous experience to witness these two little persons emerge from the womb and enter the world.
John & Sasha in the operating room, shortly before delivery.