From: mrp@world.std.com (Marjorie R Peskin)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Birth Announcement: Twins finally arrive!
Date: 3 Sep 92 23:20:16 GMT
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA

Marjorie Peskin is ecstatic to announce the arrival of

Graham Nathaniel Topaz  6 lb. even  9:05 PM Apgars 8, 9
Gemma Rose Topaz        4 lb. 5 oz  9:12 PM Apgars 4, 8

on Monday, 24 August 1992.

Labor story (LONG) follows:


As most of you know, I went into Brigham and Women's Hospital early on Monday morning for an amnio to see if the babies lungs had matured, and then an induction.  After the test, I went down to Labor and Delivery to wait for the results, which were 87.50
(anything over 70 means the lungs are mature).  So, I got checked in, assigned my labor room, set up the CD player and the juice boxes, and waited for the pitocin to start working.  They put the IV drip in at 11:00 am, after some heady conversations with
the anestesiologist ( a delightful man who really made this delivery memorable with a prolonged discussion of SUSHI restaurants in the general Boston area) and some trepidation on my part for the IV insertion, which up to this point has always been a
nightmare.  However, after following the IV thread of a few weeks ago, I knew to ask for local anesthtic and to request an insertion point above the wrist, so all went just fine.

From 11 to 3:30 we sat around, attempted to monitor the babies, who had steadfastly refused to stay still up until this moment, making monitoring very difficult and frustrating, and listened to music.  At 3:30 my OB (who asked that her name NOT be used on
the net...she knows about the post and will be reading it), did the first internal exam and found that I was already 5 cm dialated.  Since the pains were very bearable and actually more pleasurable than my regular menstrual cramps, this was a bit of a
surprise to me.  Unfortunately, the lower baby was still at a -3 station, so the doctor stripped my membranes.  This was the first hint of being uncomfortable, although the contractions were very steady and about 3 minutes apart, 45 seconds in duration at
this point.

At 4:00 we discussed rupturing my membranes but decide not to do anything at that moment, as the anestesiologist was coming in to do the epidural.  This seemed a bit rushed to me, as I really was not in any pain, never mind discomfort, but because of the
strain on my heart, it was deem necessary to do the epidural as early as possible.  I was actually somewhat disappointed, as I wasn't going to get to experience the pain of labor (can you imagine what planet I must be from?).  But  at 4 PM my sushi-loving
anesthesiologist came back, cleared out the room, and inserted the epidural.  I sat on the side of the bed as bent over as I could get (must have been about 3 inches :-)), and it was virtually a painless procedure.  Sitting still through the contractions
was a bit difficult, but because the contractions weren't that painful, it was just an inconvenience rather than outright pain.

Once the epidural was turned on, the monitors showed that the babies were experiencing some stress.  At this point I was being monitored constantly, and the decels were just beginning to show up on the montor strip.

At 5:20 the doctor came in to rupture my membranes.  There was, in her words, not a lot of fluid, but it was all clear fluid.  She did another internal, and I was still 5 cm dialated, but the bottom baby was definitely lower.  After a few minutes she
checked again, and much more fluid was released.  I was feeling quite warm and comfortable.  

The monitor was showing a marked distress pattern now, so the doctor inserted an internal monitor on the lower baby.  It fell off when she ruptured the membranes, and so she now inserted another one, which stayed on.

At 6:00 the monitoring was continued both internally and externally, and both babies became harder to track.  The lower baby was definately experiencing decels with the contractions.  There was a lot of interest and both doctors and nurses were now
watching the monitors.

At 6:25 I fell fast asleep!  There was not a lot going on, just a nurse monitoring the babies and it seemed "the prudent thing to do".  The doctor woke me up at aroun dead from the waist down that I couldn't do anything.  And then they put my legs up into these horrendous chain link
stirrups in the full lithotomy position, right across from one of those round "to catch a thief" mirrors.  It was a humbling experience!  The delivery room was very bright and serious looking, with a HUGE bank of monitors and stuff along the back wall. 
There were 15 people in the room who kept introducing themselves.  They were all doctors of something or another, and ALL women, save one young Doogie Houser who was actually 23 years old!  There were 2 isolettes set up in the corner, and when I saw them,
I finally came to grips with the fact that there was no turning back now...I was going tosy, so my mind was eased. 

The placentas came out fairly quickly, and they were, according to my OB and my uncle (the famous pathologist) very interesting.  Graham's looked fine, and his cord was a normal size, but Gemma's was old and worn and her cord was about the thickness of a
pencil.  She really wasn't getting when she needed, and it was the right thing to do to deliver her so early after all.

The next activity was sewing me up, which took forever!  I was holding Graham and just going into total bliss mode, and didn't question how long it was taking, but it was about an hour of sewing.  Yikes!

They brought me back to the labor room, where I was to spend the night being monitored by  the critical care staff.  I didn't sleep at all, and just waited till I could see Gemma, who I hadn't gotten to touch.  Graham had nursed a bit, and then was
brought up to the nursery with strict instructions that I was going to feed him, so no sugar water or formula.

At 3:00 am they brought Gemma down from NICU and I was astonished at how tiny she was.  She weighed 4 lb. 5 oz, but her head was so little and her body nd I am looking forward to many more years of such great advice.

Marjorie    mrp@world.std.com
Mother to Gemma Rose and Graham Nathaniel at long last!
Newsgroups: misc.kids