Birth Story

This is long but wanted to get it all down so we don't forget down the road how our little babies came into this world.

I had an uneventful pregnancy for the most part - some very strange eating habits and very tired but typical with twins. At my 28 week Dr appointment on Monday, January 27, my blood pressure was a little elevated. I was told to monitor it that week and call if it got worse. On that Friday, January 31, it got worse. We went to the Dr who sent me directly to the hospital for more tests. We spent the night there for a 24 hour urine test to see if I had pre-eclampsia (which is marked by high blood pressure and protein in the urine). I luckily did not have pre-eclampsia at that point, just pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). I was put on modified bed rest for a couple weeks then went back to work on a part-time basis and was just generally taking it easy, along with taking blood pressure medicine, and seeing the Dr regularly to monitor me and the babies.

At 32 weeks pregnant, on Monday Mar 3, I started what would have been twice weekly NST (non-stress test) sessions with the perinatologist at Shawnee Mission Med. This is typical with twins, to monitor their progress in the womb and make sure they're progressing.  We had already been doing weekly BPP ultrasounds (bio physical profiles) (another normal thing with twins to monitor their progress) at the Dr office for a month or so and the babies would always pass those with flying colors so I thought the NST were just going to be routine. Unfortunately, neither of the babies passed the NST test on Monday. So we did an extended BPP there and a growth ultrasound and Brinley failed her BPP too. PLUS my blood pressure was high again, after weeks of it being controlled by medicine and taking it easy. I was told to come back on Tuesday to do it all over again and see how it went then.

On Tuesday, Cooper passed his NST right away but Brinley did not, and my pressure was again really high. We were immediately admitted to the hospital (and into the same exact room as at 28 weeks even) to do the 24 hour urine test again for pre-eclampsia and to continue monitoring the babies. I had to stay laying down in one position the entire rest of the day and night to keep the babies on these monitors.  I had my BP taken every hour throughout the night and it wouldn't come below roughly 200/110, even with laying down continuously and taking the BP meds. We then got the results Wednesday afternoon that I had miserably failed the 24 hour urine test and now had pre-eclampsia (they want to see less than 300 grams of protein in your urine and I had over 1300 grams). We were told by a very nice nurse that I would be delivering our babies within the next day. It was quite a shock, even after all that had happened, to know for sure you're going to be having preemies. I was at 32 weeks and 5 days gestation.

They immediately put me on magnesium sulfate to protect my brain from having seizures (which is the risk with pre-eclampsia). Luckily, the babies were doing ok, at this point, it was more about my health than theirs.  The magnesium made me very drowsy and hot, and unfortunately you cannot eat or drink anything while on it either. Plus we were preparing for a c-section so food was definitely out at that point. My Dr came in Thursday morning to discuss our options. We actually still did have the option of having a vaginal birth at that point. However, I had several things working against me.  The magnesium used to stop the pre-eclampsia is also used to stop pre-term labor (it relaxes the body) so we could have started Pitocin to induce labor but it would have been working against the magnesium. The Dr said it could be as much as 3 days of labor with the two working against each other. Also, we would have to monitor my blood pressure super closely and more than likely labor would make it sky rocket and we would have to stop induction and do a c-section anyway. Both babies were head down at that point, but then there was always the fear that baby A (Brinley) would come out then Cooper would flip around breech and we'd have to do a c-section to get him out anyway (this is fairly common with twins).  Based on these factors, plus that I had not had anything to drink or eat for 24 hours and wouldn't get anything during labor or for another 24 hours after they were born, it was a very easy decision for us to make to go with the c-section. My Dr moved some things around and we were set to have our babies via c-section around noon.

The c-section was uneventful and at 12:51pm, March 6, 2014, Brinley Maxine Scheidt was born, weighing 3 lbs 11 oz and 16.75 in long.  One minute later, Cooper Nathaniel Kent Scheidt was born, weighing 4 lbs 1 oz and 16 in long.

Brinley Maxine was named after my maternal grandmother Bonnie Maxine Highley and Brandon's paternal grandmother Maxine Scheidt.  Cooper Nathaniel Kent was named after Brandon's cousin Nathan Bieri (who was lost in a car accident when they were teens) and my dad (Grover) Kent Summers.

They were born on their Grandma Judy Scheidt's birthday.

I felt really good after the c-section, up and walking around the next day, and just being a little sore.  I had to stay on the magnesium for another 24 hours after the birth for my protection (so up to now 48 hours of not eating or drinking anything) so that was really the hard part after their birth. I was really out of it and somewhat hallucinating.  Also throw on top of it all that since I had entered the hospital on Tuesday I was on a 24 hour blood pressure watch so every hour on the hour nurses had to come in and take my blood pressure/vitals, even waking me through the night. This happened for 3 nights in a row so by the time the babies were born on Thursday I really hadn't slept, eaten or drank in days. It took me a few days to get back to feeling somewhat normal after all that! 

My blood pressure is still being monitored now. Most cases of pre-eclampsia are cured by the delivery of the babies, but for some woman it opens up an underlying condition and they have to deal with high blood pressure their whole lives. My BP did come down after the births but not to where it should be so I am still taking medicine for it and will be monitored by my Dr for a while to see how it goes, with potentially having to start seeing a specialist to keep it contained.

Born at 32 weeks 5 days, we anticipate the babies will be in the NICU at Shawnee Mission Medical Center for about a month.  They are doing great for babies their age, and do not expect to have any lasting problems caused by their preemie births at this point.