This birth story of twins at Grandview Labor and Delivery center in Birmingham, AL is just what you need to read as you sip your afternoon coffee and put your feet up for a bit. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately and I’m a little jealous of the hypothetical scenario I’ve just created for you. You’ll have to send me a not and let me know if you actually are sipping some coffee out on the porch and enjoying the weather as you read! This is the birth story of a sweet pair of twins and their mama, Ashton. Birth is the beginning of a life. In this case, two lives that began at Grandview Labor and Delivery Center in Birmingham, AL. And I don’t know another thing on earth that creates a feeling of hope and joy quite like a good birth story. I’ll let Ashton take it from here.
01.06.2022
“It had been a normal Thursday, normal for my twin pregnancy anyway. I worked from home as I had been doing for a few weeks at that point. I was 31 weeks 5 days pregnant, and felt like I was going on week 50. At that point in my pregnancy, I was taking long warm baths every night just to relieve some of the never-ending pressure that I felt in my pelvis. I used the bathroom for the third time in an hour with the intention of taking a bath immediately. I stood up, washed my hands, took one step, and felt it. I think I knew immediately that my water broke, but I also knew that it was way too early. After consulting with my mom and gushing amniotic fluid all over the living room floor (narrowly missing a cat), it was decided that I didn’t have time for that bath after all. A trash bag (read: fluid barrier) and towel were placed in the passenger seat of my car, my hospital bag that I’d recently finished packing was thrown in, and my mom drove me to Grandview Labor and Delivery.
A Birth Story | Grandview Labor and Delivery Birmingham AL
Upon arrival at Grandview Labor and Delivery center, I was immediately admitted and checked to verify that it was in fact amniotic fluid. Spoiler alert: it was. Several things happened in quick succession. The obvious IV was started so that I could receive fluids and magnesium. The purpose of the magnesium I’m told was to give the babies of a boost of neurological protection should they be delivered early as well as possibly helping to stop labor. I was warned that the magnesium would make me feel bad, and that was an understatement. The nurse started the mag drip and said she would be right back with ice packs because it would make me hot. She couldn’t get back with those ice packs fast enough! Even with my head, neck, and chest surrounded by ice packs, I felt like I was in an extended hot flash. It was the kind of hot that starts on the inside and no amount of external cool temp exposure can quite reach the very inside of the heat. I was determined to be 2 cm dilated and 20% effaced, and I was then hooked up to several monitors, including a fetal heart monitor for each baby. Through the entirety of the pregnancy, Baby A had been carrying very low in my pelvis. As I had experienced during my Grandview Labor and Delivery in-office visit NST just a couple of days prior, he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of having his heart monitored. He was so low that the monitor wouldn’t stay in the same place on my round belly. This resulted in several Grandview Hospital labor and delivery center nurses spending hours overnight trying to place the monitor in an appropriate position, several of them actually holding the monitor in place for a few minutes at a time. As I became more hydrated, the bathroom trip frequency began to increase again and before I knew it, I was calling for help every 45 minutes or so to get to the bathroom. I had worn my slippers to the hospital because my feet were far too swollen by then to wear any shoes. On my first trip to the bathroom after being hooked up to everything I lost another larger amount of amniotic fluid, effectively ruining my footwear plan. My mama and I settled in for what we fully expected to be a long night at Grandview Hospital labor and delivery center.
A Birth story at Grandview Labor and Delivery Center in Birmingham
It had been long since determined at this point that I was not gong to be leaving Grandview Hospital until I delivered, it was just a matter of seeing how long it would be before that happened. It had also been shared with us that I was laying in the last available labor and delivery bed on the floor. One patient later and I’d have been waiting this out in the ER and not in the Grandview Labor and Delivery Center. I spent the first 25 hours of my hospital stay in a small windowless triage room on the L&D floor. A quick ultrasound overnight revealed that it was Greyson’s (Baby A) amniotic sac that had ruptured. I wasn’t allowed to eat anything until we knew if the babies were actually coming or not, and I’m here to tell you that a cruel joke played by the universe (or in this case the L&D on call doctor) is to deny a pregnant woman a snack. It was a strange, confusing, overwhelming, and quite frankly scary night spent in that tiny room, waiting to see what would happen next. I still hadn’t had any substantial or regular contractions, and as both a first-time mom and a mom of multiples I had no idea what to expect over the next few days.”
to be continued….
In all my six pregnancies, I have never experienced bed rest or a long hospital stay. These mama’s that do are absolute rockstars. I remember with just a singleton pregnancy, laying flat was the most uncomfortable, suffocating feeling I’ve ever experienced. I cannot even fathom what Ashton had to endure for her babes’ health. Having just celebrated mothers day, that’s really what it’s all about, right? Grandview Labor and Delivery center and their doctor’s and nurses were there to facilitate the health of her and her babies but Ashton, Mama, was the one that made the decisions to sacrifice for her babies wellbeing. And that’s what mothers do.
While you’re here, you might enjoy reading:
- Boutiques in Birmingham AL | 3 Things Stylish Moms Do Differently
- Born Children’s Boutique | 5 Reasons to check out this amazing Montgomery Store
- 3 Ways to Know If OB GYN Associates of Montgomery is A Good Fit For You
If you are looking for a maternity, newborn or family photographer you can click HERE to read more about a session experience or you can click HERE to send me a note.
Virginia Schultz is a published Omaha newborn photographer specializing in motherhood storytelling and custom heirloom artwork for busy and stylish moms in the Omaha & Lincoln metro. From handmade albums to exquisite, museum-worthy frames, her passion is to serve clients by designing artwork for them that will last generations. Your memories deserve to be seen.
Currently serving Sarpy, Douglas, Cass, Landcaster, Saunders, Mills, Pottawattamie & Washington Counties including Omaha, Lincoln, Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista, Gretna, Elkhorn, Boys Town, Bennington, Council Bluffs and surrounding areas.
You can see my work featured on the cover of the August 2022 magazine and the September 2022 magazine.
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