On The Night You Were Born

"On the night you were born

the moon shone with such wonder

that the stars peeked in to see you

and the night wind whispered,

'Life will never be the same.'

Because there had never been

anyone like you...

ever in the world"

On Wednesday the 11th of January, 2012 at 4:21 & 4:37 am, 
our lives were forever changed.


Claire Lilli & Hayden George Smeltz made their arrival and this is their birth story.


Daddy & I packed the truck and went to the Rockyview General Hospital at 10am on Tuesday January 10th for a scheduled induction, to begin with cervidil. Once we arrived in triage the nurse, resident doctor and OB on call all checked my cervix and I was 2-3cm upon arrival on my own. A big improvement from the week before when it was completely closed. The OB on call determined we didn't need the cervidil and since they didn't have any available beds, they sent us home with instructions to call back at 7pm for a possible bed. We went for lunch and then went home to have a nap. My parents, your grandparents, arrived at our place as well that afternoon.

Last Photo as a Family of Two - Jan 10th

At 7:00pm daddy called the hospital and the nurse told us to come on in. They had a bed for us. We arrived around 8:30pm and went right into our own room in labour and delivery. We got settled in for a long night and the nurse gave mommy an IV and kept monitors on my belly to listen to your hearts beating away. That was the last time mommy heard your heartbeats on the monitors. Around 12:30 the OB doctor broke our water (baby girl's water - since at this point Claire didn't have her name yet) and started an oxytocin drip.

In the Labour Room - Before Contractions

By 2am mommy was in labour having contractions. The contractions started out lighter and more underneath mommy's belly but they were not too bad. By 4am mommy was in fully labour and the discomfort was coming faster and faster, closer together, until they were less than 15 seconds apart and 2-3 minutes long! You babies were coming faster than the nurses realized! All of a sudden the anesthesiologist came in and gave mommy an epidural (he had to try 2-3 times to get it in the right place). By this time mommy couldn't talk and the nice nurses gave her laughing gas to breathe in to curb the discomfort. Boy was the laughing gas good stuff!

Not as soon as the epidural was put in, mommy felt the need to push and the nurses rushed daddy and mommy to the operating room to deliver. The staff were still setting up the OR when we arrived. They put mommy on a table and strapped her feet into stirrups. By this time it was just after 4am and Claire was ready to make her debut! The OB was in shock and almost missed the delivery! Mommy pushed for 9 minutes (she was super determined) and Claire was born! They placed Claire on top of mommy's tummy and mommy and daddy's hearts melted in that instant. That was the exact moment that we became parents! Claire cried right away and we were so very happy.

The OB had troubles delivering the placenta and after a couple of minutes mommy felt the urge to push again. They checked Hayden's positioning and he was still head down as well so we began pushing. Mommy pushed for 3 minutes, and Hayden was born! Hayden cried right away too. Mommy was so happy to know her babies were doing good. The nurses took you both over to little baby warmer tables and assessed you both on the Apgar scale. You both got 9 out of 10! Good job babies!

Only Minutes Old

Then the doctors took an hour and a half (yes, I know a very long time) to deliver the placentas. Then they gave mommy a couple of stitches on a lateral tear (but no "degree" of tearing so we did really good, just a small one). By this time mommy was pretty tired and just wanted to get out of the OR and hold her babies. We did get some cuddles in the OR and daddy got to hold you both together for the very first time. He is so very proud of you.

Proud Daddy!

Then finally they rolled mommy's bed back into labour and delivery and brought you in a bassinet while daddy followed us. Grandma was there waiting and got to hold you. Mommy had some blood pressure issues and dropped as low as 70/30 at one point and her heart rate went to 144 every time she sat up in bed. Mommy was pale and dizzy, but determined to get to hold her babies and move to the postpartum ward to recover. After a little while and some IV fluids, we moved over to our next hospital room, where we stayed for three more days. The nurses there were really nice to us. We got three meals a day and they even took you into the nursery over nights so mommy could try to get some rest, bringing you back to mommy when you were hungry. We decided on your names the next day and started telling everyone in the family that you'd arrived!

Day One in Postpartum Room

Mommy & babies (that's you) got to come home on Friday January 13th. It was so very good to be at home with daddy!

Arrival home from the hospital!

Mommy's been trying to make enough milk for you ever since and hopes it will all work out nicely soon, as we've had to give you formula for now and working on breastfeeding and pumping. We've also seen a bunch of lactation consultants and one of them found that Claire had an anterior tongue tie, which a nice doctor clipped in hospital. Hayden was found to have a posterior tongue tie (farther in) and required a specialist visit. (We booked an appointment and had Hayden's posterior (and Claire's posterior - because it turned out she also had a smaller posterior tongue tie too) clipped on January 18th by Dr. Landy.) Now you both are learning to use your new tongues and we're already seeing a difference.

You are both superstars and we love you more than you will ever know!
Thank you for choosing us to be your parents.

Before you were conceived,
We wanted you.
Before you were born,

Before you were here an hour,

We would give our lives for you.

This is the miracle of life.

~ Adapted from Maureen Hawkins

Our Last Ultrasound

Our last ultrasound & perinatologist visit went really good today. We think they must have measured the babies' growth incorrectly last time. Baby girl now weighs approximately 6lbs4oz and Baby boy weighs approximately 6lbs11oz going by their measurements today. Both had good strong heartbeats and both babies were moving around, though we think the tech woke up baby girl from a nap by moving the wand around to try to get her to "practice" breathe. Baby boy did his "practice" breathing wonderfully as usual, but baby girl wasn't doing it, even after a long time watching and waiting, so a nurse hooked me up to a machine for a non stress test. There was one heartbeat monitor for her and one for him, plus a monitor probe to measure any contractions. I guess I wasn't having any as the numbers seemed to stay low on the display. After monitoring for 15 minutes or so, the cubs passed beautifully and we were sent home.

Our truck is now packed, the baby seats in, and we're all set to go. Tomorrow's appointment for induction is at 10am. We're a bit scared, a bit excited and have no idea what to expect but we're looking forward to a positive experience. I'm hoping the cubs will make their debut into the world on January 11th, early in the morning, as it's Phil's parents' 48th wedding anniversary and would make a great gift!

Tonight we're having a bunch of junk food and are playing video games on the xbox together. Just a quiet evening at home. We hope to be able to get some quality sleep and wake up early tomorrow to make a yummy pancake breakfast. The thoughts of meeting our healthy, happy cubs is now starting to really sink in...

Last Weekend in a Family of Two

This weekend is our very last weekend as a family of two humans. (Pets excluded for the time being - although they're also a part of the family.) I relaxed on Friday while Phil was at the office. I watched a movie, the Expendables, and took an hour nap. I also bounced for a bit on the exercise ball. We had a cleaning company in for a few hours to clean our house. It looks so very nice now! Hoping it can stay this way for awhile. We spent Friday evening eating pizza, watching PVR'd TV and relaxing at home after doing more chores, like laundry and patching drywall. Exciting, I know! We're getting so old. Hah.

Saturday, we slept in and spent the day with our neighbours, went for breakfast and walked around the mall for a few hours. Phil & I had a beautiful dinner at our favorite place, Redwater. I love date nights! Hopefully we will be able to make time for date nights even after our babies arrive. We'll "hire" the Grandma's to watch the babies for the first few times we go out alone.

Sunday's plans included more sleeping in (until noon) and then an entire day of doing nothing but watching movies together and relaxing...

Monday, my plans are for more of the same while Phil does one more day of work before the babies make their debut. In the evening, we'll double check that we have everything by the front door for the hospital in the morning.

Tuesday morning, we'll be packing the truck and heading to the Rockyview Hospital for 10am. I hope the drive there isn't too overwhelming, and that our experiences while there are all smooth and in our favour. I know that Phil is as nervous as I am at the planned prospect of Tuesday. In some ways it'd be easier to just not know and have the babies arrive randomly. C'mon cubs, time to come out soon.

My parents will also be driving into the city on Tuesday. My Mom will come to the hospital to meet us and be with us during labour. Once the doctors take me into the OR (Twins at Rockyview deliver in the OR whether it's natural birth or c-section), then my Mom will have to wait in the waiting room until the babies arrive and they move me into the Postpartum ward. My Dad will get to spend the day with the puppy dogs, watching TV or doing whatever he likes at our house. Once the babies are born, he can also come to visit us. Hoping for a good experience for us all.

I did a comparison photo of myself at week 7 and week 37. I don't have a real "before" photo so this will have to do. I think it's neat to see how big my belly really got! I also miss having a rib cage. Where the heck did it go?! In a few months time (perhaps 6-12 months?) I'll be able to post a real "after" photo which looks close to this "before". I plan to resume going to the gym once I feel up to it/get clearance from our doctor. My goal is end of February. I'll be taking it slow at first doing weights and re-learning to run on the treadmill. I basically have to start at square one all over again, but know that I can do it. Then after a few months, I'll go hire a trainer for some real butt kicking and use the remaining sessions I have saved.

Well, no signs of labour yet, but I'm still trying to get things moving along if I can. If not, we have a couple more days and then the doctors will help out. Thank you again for all of your prayers and positive thoughts. We've had so much support during our pregnancy, it has really been heartwarming. 

Love,

The Smeltz Family

Countdown to Induction

Wednesday, we visited the OB again. I came to the realization that it was our very last appointment as we were leaving. I thanked the very nice nurse, who always greeted me with a cheerful smile (I never actually got her name) and thanked Doctor Chang for all of her help. She told us she's the OB on call at the hospital on Saturday and on Tuesday night, so we may see her again very soon.

At the appointment my blood pressure was again good at 120/78. Baby girl's heartbeat measured 140 & baby boy's heartbeat was 150. My cervix was completely closed up, aka not ready to birth the cubs and not open even a smidgen enough that the doctor could possibly break my water to get labour started. The doctor seemed very happy that we've managed to keep them baking for this long of a time. Perhaps I've been doing too good of a job however, as now the OB wants to induce us at 38 weeks. (I still have a bit of a conflict with the date of conception and figure we may be 5 days less than they're actually calculating, so it may actually be 37 weeks and 2 days - but either way we've made it pretty far along for twins.) It does leave me to wonder just how long the cubs would stay in my belly if they were simply left to determine their own due date.

Our plan from here on out is to either go into natural labour in the next couple of days (which is not super likely with a closed cervix, but possible), or to show up at the hospital at 10am on Tuesday morning (January 10th) for a scheduled cervidil induction. Our OB told us they will check me and then use the medication, let me walk around in the hopes that it may help to open my cervix enough to break baby girl's water at that time. If it doesn't cause a change, she also said they may just send us back home to wait for labour to begin. I'd rather stay and have them monitor our babies heart rates personally, so if it does come to January 10th, then I hope my body will either react quickly, or I'll request to stay and be monitored if possible.

I've started drinking red raspberry leaf tea again in the hopes it may help some to begin a natural labour for us in the meantime. I also pushed around our heavy vacuum today cleaning up all of the pine needles our tree dropped as Phil took it down. I've also considered getting out one of our exercise balls and bouncing on that for awhile, perhaps tomorrow. I don't actually know if anything I could do would help to begin labour, but figure it (hopefully) can't hurt. Now, we have to just wait and see what happens. 

We also realized today that this is our very last weekend as a family of two. We're planning to go out to dinner at our favorite steak place and then watch movies at home and relax. Spending time with Phil is top priority right now. That and reading my book, which I'm only halfway through. Oh, and sleeping. Though I don't really get much sleep lately, mostly because it's a tad difficult to roll from side to side, with 12 pounds of baby in a torpedo form, attached to my torso. I now often have debates in the middle of the night with myself, as to whether I truly have to get up to pee vs. the difficulty of actually getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom. More often than not, I just determine that unless I'm on the verge of peeing the bed, then it's not worth the energy to get up, and I roll over and try to go back to sleep.

I will truly miss being pregnant. I've loved this journey and tried to cherish and appreciate the miracle every day. I love feeling our babies moving around in my belly. I love watching them move and talking to them. One of my favorite things is to share the experiences with Phil as he feels them moving around and to watch his excited face. We discuss deep notions such as how there are two people inside of my uterus which my body created from a couple of cells combining. How I didn't actually have to think about doing anything, but rather my body just knew what to do and grew two tiny humans. Also how our baby girl currently has all of her eggs inside of her, inside of me, and some those may someday be our very own grandchildren. Life is amazing.

Time passes so very quickly. It feels as though we've only been pregnant for a few months and our babies are arriving in approximately only 5 more days! We're going to have two tiny humans of our very own to care for, love and cherish. Genetically half Phil and half me. It's still quite mind blowing.

37 Weeks + 3 Day Belly

Full Term!

Welcome to month number 9! We're now considered full term for a singleton pregnancy at 37 weeks gestation. A huge milestone for twins. In the past couple of days we've rechecked our hospital bags and put them by the front door. Phil also installed the car seat bases in our truck. I've yet to see them but I'm sure it'll make things just that much more real to me. Our nursery is coming along, not quite finished but it's functional for the most part and organized. 

Way back in early May, for my birthday, my Mom & Dad gave me a hematite pendant with a bear paw print etched onto it. I've been wearing it everyday since and like to think of it like a talisman watching over our babies and myself. Bringing us health and a good pregnancy. I recently read that hematite has a "stabilizing quality". This pendant is where the babies nickname "The Cubs" came from. My plan is to wear it into labour and keep it nearby at the hospital. Then after the babies come home to hang it from the dreamcatcher in their room. 

I keep on waiting for my water to break suddenly or contractions to begin. So far we've had no signs of labour. Tomorrow we return to the OB for another check up (and what I suspect will be our last visit to the office). Our OB wants to check my cervix and talk about scheduling an induction for the following week. I've heard that checking the cervix alone is enough to push one into labour so we'll see. I hope it takes a couple of days. I'd like the cubs to come no earlier than Jan 7th personally and be as far away from the new year as possible so they can have a bit better birthday celebrations. I'm also not certain as to why the doctor would want to do an induction. My best guess is that since they know everyone's healthy and head down, there's no more reason to wait. 

I'm looking forward to having one last ultrasound end of this week as well (if babies don't decide otherwise beforehand). I'd like to see if last week's measurements were wrong and just to know that our babies are growing as they should be. I don't like being left to worry about them for a week with no information. 

The cubs have been kicking me this week and were super active all day long on New Years Day. I don't think they slept at all! They must have been just as excited as we were, to make it to 2012 in my belly. Good babies. Since then they're movement have slowed down and I'm not trying to focus on kick counting to make sure they're doing well. We listened with the doppler on New Years Day as well and took videos of their teeny hearts beating away (ignore the numbers on the doppler as they aren't always accurate due to anterior placentas). I love it. 

Baby girl's heartbeat on our doppler New Year's Day (36w6d)

(not sure why the image is backwards, but you get the idea)

Baby Boy's heartbeat on our doppler New Year's Day (36w6d)

This week I'll be breaking up my posts into smaller ones, just in case we do go into labour. I plan to rest, nap and read as much as possible this week. I'm hoping Phil can do the same. We will update on the OB appointment and ultrasound later this week, and of course should anything more exciting happen...