The twin birth story part 3

Trying to keep my eyes open and filled with the usual questions like, "How much do they weigh? Do they look alike? Can they breathe on their own?" Danny probed the nurse in the recovery room about my ovaries. Danny leaned over to me and said, "Your ovaries are the size of small cantaloupes."

Eh? Did I hear that right? "Aren't they usually the size of a walnut?" I ask.

The nurse was very nice and busily pulling up information on the computer to show me. She explained as she showed me two pictures, "This is what a normal ovary looks like. This picture here shows an ovary like your ovaries. See how it's covered in cysts?"

"Wow. No wonder I was so huge. Cantaloupes? Really?"

Danny then proceeded to tell me that the doctor accidentally nicked one and had to cauterize it. The nurse and Danny were talking about my large amount of blood loss during the c-section and whether it was more than just amniotic fluid I had lost as I continued to pass in and out of consciousness. They also discussed how ovaries get to be the size of cantaloupes.

The nurse explained to me, as I struggled to maintain consciousness, "Either the ovaries caused the multiples pregnancy or the pregnancy caused the ovaries to get like this."

I responded an appropriate response to Danny like, "Danny, it was so awful. It was so painful." And then more of, "How much do the weigh? How long are they?" I was less-than-interested in the ovaries at this point and wanted to know about the babies. "Did they label the card for baby B as baby A since he came out first? Did you call your mom? Did you call my mom and dad? What time is it there? They're probably still awake."

Danny said, "We're still waiting for news from the NICU and then we'll call."

The nurse called over to the NICU to ask about stats. They told her they weren't ready yet. She called again a little later and got weights. Then a little later we got the lengths. We informed the anxious grandparents. The nurse was still pulling up info on the computer to educate us about my "overly-excited ovaries" as the doctor put it.

It was just a little while later when they told me I could go see them in the NICU. "Why are they in the NICU? Do they need oxygen? Are they okay?" I probed. The nurses from recovery and from the NICU reassured us that it's just a precaution since they were five weeks early and they appeared to be doing just fine and in need of no assistance so far.

In the NICU I couldn't really see them except from the side through the clear plastic bed they were in. They were hooked up to monitors for heart rate and blood oxygen level and various other things. I asked Danny to take pictures to show me since I couldn't see from my gurney.

All through the night my nurse referred to me as "Casper" because of my completely colorless face. She'd check and re-check my vitals and shake her head and ask me how I was feeling. I was tired and hungry since I hadn't eaten since lunch but I had no pain due to adequate amounts of drugs. My main concern was the babies. "Can I use a pump to help my milk come in?" I asked the nurse.

"There will be opportunity for that later. I can get you one to use in your room. But right now we're worried about your blood loss and your iron levels. According to your stats, you shouldn't be okay. or conscious."

to be continued . . .


read The twin birth story part 2
read The twin birth story part 4