Eight years ago today I was as big as a house; just ten days away from my due date. Being pregnant with twins, I was monitored closely throughout my entire pregnancy with monthly ultrasounds and frequent [weekly the last few weeks] non-stress tests.

On the morning of October 4th I went to the hospital for both an ultrasound and a non-stress test. During the non-stress test we could see I was having contractions, but I couldn’t feel them. However, the doctor on call decided we should just get the show on the road, so he induced me.

By 5pm I was really starting to feel those Pitocin-induced contractions and they hurt like a mofo. I finally gave in and let them give me some drugs. Screw that natural child birth crap. I tried to be all big and do it without drugs, but I’m really not a big person. I’m much more of a spineless wimp. So epidural it was.

And the epidural felt so good. Like piña coladas on the beach in Cancun. In fact it felt a little too good. I could no longer tell when I was having a contraction.

Just after 6:30pm the nurse decided to take a little peek to see how I was progressing. And that’s when all hell broke loose. I was already 10cm and I needed to get to the OR immediately [where they deliver all twins because there's a higher chance of complications]. The nurse snapped at me to get off the phone and hollered at Lee to get in his scrubs.

Shortly after 7pm I was in the OR and already pushing. Lee snuck in the room just as Skyler was coming out. It was 7:15pm.

Then we hung out waiting for Spencer. But Spencer wasn’t quite ready. He wanted to hang out for a while longer. Finally at 7:39pm, after some intense pushes, we welcomed him to the world.

The first few months were a roller coaster of emotions with a bit of sleep deprivation thrown in for fun. I struggled with breast feeding because my milk wouldn’t come in. Plus I was up all night with twins and all day with a five year old. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Skyler was colicky. I wouldn’t wish a colicky baby on my worst enemy. It can make a perfectly sane woman crawl in to the fetal position while sobbing uncontrollably on the bathroom floor. I’m just saying.

But we finally found formula that helped Skyler sleep [and stop crying ALL NIGHT LONG]. And Spencer started sleeping threw the night at like six weeks old. Which meant I was able to sleep a full four hours in a row. As many of you know, sleeping four hours in a row is like Heaven to a new mom.

Being a mom of twins has been quite an adventure. Having two kids at the same time is completely different from having just one baby. [Wow, like duh. That was the biggest understatement of the year.] But it’s different in a good way.

Watching the two of them interact and grow up together has been amazing. They were born with an instant playmate. A playmate they don’t always enjoy, but a playmate nonetheless. When they get mad at each other they toss an insult at the other; “You aren’t my twin anymore!”

As infants and toddlers they were very close. They were always together. How could they not be? But as they got older they started to find their own interests. Skyler is very creative and independent. Spencer in to whatever his older brothers are in to; video & computer games. Skyler is very outgoing. Spencer is more shy. They are completely different people.

And yet, still very close.

Today they are in separate classrooms with separate friends and separate hobbies and sit on opposite ends of the school bus. But they also know who has their back; their twin.

Happy 8th Birthday Skyler & Spencer!

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 9:50 pm and is filed under Twice as nice. Comments are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.