So, my other baby shower was this afternoon, hurray! It was a lot more low-key than the one in Colorado - the games weren't structured (ie, everyone did them on their own time and then checked their own answers), and people just kind of came and went and chatted with everyone else there. I think it suited me a whole lot better - as incredibly fun my Colorado shower was, I don't think I'd have the energy for it right now!

We had Passover in the evening, and despite having spent a long time (2-3 hours) in bed beforehand, I still felt exhausted. I was lying on the couch and everyone else was sittingaround the tables. I enjoyed our Seder, but I had a hard time hearing what they were all saying. The dinner was good, though i couldn't eat it all. I was starting to feel crampy, and by the time we drank the last cup and recited the Hillel I was not pating attention at all. Misty helped me time the contractions; they were about 10 minutes apart. So we called the doctor, and naturally he had us head to the hospital. Our friends were all concerned, but I didn't think it was a bog deal - how many times had I already been to the hospital? I told them they could stay there and clean, and we would call if we needed anything.

So, we checked in and got all hooked up. The first thing they did was to check my cervix, which is always rather uncomfortable, even after having run through a hypnobirthing script beforehand. I was at a 4! This definitely freaked us out, and I was given a shot of terbutaline (which has worked perfectly every other time).I calmed down for about 10 minutes, and then the contractions returned! And with a vengeance - they hurt and took my breath away (but the contractometer didn't register them). The nurse called the doctor, and I called Misty and asked her to finish preparing my hospital bag and bring it. I didn't know if I was going to have the babies, but it was sure looking likely! They even had an ultrasound guy come to check the babies' positions - and unfortunately, Baby A had scooted her butt back over the cervix. O and I prepared ourselves for the news of a C section.

The nurse came back and said we would put me on a mag sulfate IV to try to stop the cibtractions. I kind of lost it then - I had heard that mag sulfate was decidedly unfun, and at that point I was ready to see my daughters and was dismayed at th idea of yet another heavily medicated, unproductive hospital visit. I had Orion give me a blessing, and it helped so much. He told me that Heavenly Father was excied for me, and that Thalia and Michaya were excited to meet us. He said to trust the medical professionals, that they were doing all they could to help me to have healthy babies. After the blessing, I felt so much calmer about the mag sulfate, and I agreed to it.

After they hooked me up, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep. They thought this meant that they were calming down... but in reality I'm just a heavy sleeper, even through pain! When I woke up at 6 in the morning, they still hurt and took my breath away, and when they checked me I was dialated to 5. The doc scheduled my C section for 10AM. We let our friends and families know. I was excited, but so scared! Scared of the surgery, scared of getting the epidural (the reason I tried hypnobirthing in the first place), scared to realize I only had a few hours left before I became a mother!!

As the time drew near, they brought Orion some scrubs (he looke like a HazMat remover, haha), and then they walked me to the OR. It was kind of weird to be walking, since I had been primarily in bed for the last month. They got me there and helped me up on the table, and the anesthesiologist washed the small of my back. Then he put the needle in - more painful than a blood draw, but not that bad. Icy heat spread out from the spot. I wasn't really aware of going numb - I thought I was a lot more aware of my body than I really was. There were so many people in the room! Nurses there for each of the babies, the anesthesiologist, Dr. Parker, a midwife, and a couple of nurses just for the surgery. But not my husband. They laid me down and gave me an oxygen mask, and put up the curtain, but he wasn't in there yet. I was scared - where could he be? I asked over and over about him, and finally they ushered him in.

The doctor had already started cutting me open. I couldn'tt feel anything, not even pressure. Orion held my hand and was peering over the curtain, watching everything. He tried to tell me what was going on, but the idea of seeing anyone cut open, let alone myself, was enough to make me sick. He told me when the Thalia had been pulled out, and shortly thereafter I heard her cry. Then I felt a tugging sensation, and Orion told me they had pulled Michaya out. He told me what the nurses were doing. Then he told me what they each weighed, and I gasped and felt tears spring to my eyes. Each about 4.5 pounds - a whole pound more than what we had been expecting from the ultrasound. The midwife brought the babies to Orion once they had been swaddled, and they were beautiful. She took a picture of all of us together, and then Orion carried the girls off to the nursery.

But I wasn't done yet. They took out the placenta and started stitching me up. I couldn't feel anything - I couldn't really tell what was going on. I just was alone, and cold. It was quieter, too, now that the babies' nurses were gone. Eventually, they finished, and took down the curtain. It was so weird - all of a sudden I didn't have a big ballooning belly anymore. They brought a hospital bed and moved me onto it - it was bizarre to see them shifting my lower body around and not being able to feel it. They wheeled me back to my same room, and Misty and Cami came in to see me shortly thereafter.

After puking a couple times and calling my parents to share the news, Orion came in with Thalia. It was so magical to hold her for the first time. Michaya, however, was having problems breathing, and she had to be taken in an ambulance to a larger hospital an hour away. I only got to touch her through the box while she was hooked up to a bunch of monitors. I didn't get to see her again until I was released from the hospital later that week.