Happy Birthday Dhara and Elora!

Carol's water broke just before 7am yesterday morning, and they went to the hospital even though she wasn't having contractions yet. They wanted to keep her there because of the risk of infection with broken membranes and no labour started yet. The midwife recommended and Carol agreed that there would be far less risk of infection at home than at a germ-ridden hospital, so Carol signed herself out AMA (against medical advice) and went home. She promised to go back for a 6:30pm appointment for a non-stress-test, so they could check that the babies were still doing okay. I talked to her just before 6, and she said she'd been having a little bit of cramping, but nothing too serious. Then while I was on the phone with her, she had one that was a little more business-like. I told her I would come out right after supper. I didn't want to miss supper because my dad was coming over, and I wanted to visit with him. After dinner Jake and I loaded the car with baby stuff I was giving back and clothes I was donating, and I was on the road by 7:25pm. The roads were clear, so I sped most of the way, but just after Sturgeon Falls I got stuck in a line of traffic going slowly behind a minivan doing the darned SPEED LIMIT. Guh. As if! I stopped for gas in case I couldn't find a 24-hour one later, and found the hospital alright. The parking lots threw me, because they were so empty! There were only a couple cars in the hourly parking and only one car in the daily lot. Also confusing was that the North Bay hospital parking relies on the honour system, hoping you'll buy a ticket and place it on the dashboard. They don't even have gates to go through! I didn't have cash, and decided to find an ATM later, so parked without a ticket and went off on foot to find a door that was open. Visually the main door looked like a side door, but I knew approximately where to go in because Carol had kindly drawn me a map with a bright red arrow. I got to the right door, but had to use the intercom to get the switchboard to buzz me in. I got in, but then turned the wrong way after leaving the elevator, wasting even more precious seconds but FINALLY found the right room. Just in time to see the doctor stitching up a small tear. I got in the room at 8:55. I had just missed everything. Dhara was born at 8:29, and Elora was born at 8:43. But oh are they ever precious! Dhara weighed 5 lbs 13 oz and was 46 cm long. Elora weighed 5 lbs 5 oz and was 47 cm long. Carol and BJ called Dhara short and squat, and Elora tall and thin. We all had a good laugh at that, since the differences are so small, they hardly qualify for those descriptions. They both have lots of hair, although Dhara's seemed a tad lighter than Elora's, but it will be better to tell once they've had their first bath. Other than that, it's very hard to tell them apart! We're all looking forward to when their features become more defined so we can see if they're identical or not. Apparently just because there were two amniotic sacs doesn't mean they can't be identical. And there was only one placenta. So after I got there, I helped while Carol was cleaned up and started to feed the little ones. She filled me in on the rest of her story. She got to the hospital for her 6:30pm non-stress test, contractions getting steadily stronger. She proceeded to have a very painful back labour, which is more painful than regular labour. Carol had back labour for Anya also, lucky lady. She went in the shower which was in her own private room, and I guess that helped for a while. She caught everyone off guard by feeling the urge to push way before the room was fully set up for the event. Apparently Dhara's head made it's appearance before the table with all the instruments was even in the room! A whirl-wind birth, taking less than 4 hours from start to finish set the obstetrician on edge, and after Dhara was born, he complained to Carol that she pushed too hard. BJ asked if he wanted to put the baby back in so she could do it again. I'm not sure if he said that at the time, or if it was just in his head, but it was funny. Carol's midwife Cathy was there, a solid rock of support for Carol and BJ. She fought off the nurses who wanted to whisk the babies to the nursery, even tho they were perfectly healthy. The pediatrician was there at the birth and had told Cathy that Carol could keep the babies in her room with her, and when the nurses had to do testing or other procedures on them, to do it in the room - not to take the babies away to "baby jail" as Cathy called it. Carol called me this morning to say that the nurses had tried five times to take the babies away - for no other reason than they were used to doing it that way. The babies were perfectly healthy and happier in the room with Carol where they could have a drink whenever they showed signs of suckling. Way to stick to your guns and not let 'em Carol!

And on to the pictures.

Dhara 5 lbs 13 oz

Elora 5 lbs 5 oz

Elora on the left, Dhara on the right

Elora on the left still, Dhara on the right

Elora left, Dhara right

ha! Switch up. Dhara on the left, Elora on the right.

Dhara left, Elora right

Dhara left, Elora right

The Happy Family - thinking of Anya

aww, love those duck-lip kissies