My last chapter was a bit short-compared to my normal chapter lengths anyways-but I really wanted to get an update published.
Ch. 23
"Okay Amy, I've got the terbutaline for you." Dr. Sayre had a syringe ready to go. "Your contractions are just strong enough to be causing you to dilate. I wouldn't say you're in active labor, but we definitely want these contractions to stop. So we'll give you one dose now, keep you on the monitors, and then if they don't stop or they increase or get stronger we'll give you a bigger dose. They should slow down and/or stop though. I am going to go ahead and give you the steroids as well. Not because I think the terbutaline won't work, but just because I like to be prepared. Okay?"
Amy nodded. "Okay."
"Great!" Dr. Sayre administered the terbutaline. "Any other questions before I go?"
"How long will we be here, in the hospital?" Amy asked.
"Well, at the very least you'll be here 48 hours. That's assuming this one dose works and you don't have any more contractions."
Carlos spoke up before Amy could. "So what's the worst case scenario here?"
"Worst case is the terbutaline doesn't work, and we only manage to hold off Amy's contractions for a couple days. I truly don't know if that will happen, but it could. Most likely we'll have to change the dose a couple of times and you'll end up staying here for about a week." Dr. Sayre paused. When neither Amy nor Carlos said anything she added, "As a doctor, there are so many things that I just don't know and couldn't even begin to predict. I am hopeful and fairly confident that the meds will work, and you guys can go home to keep those babies cooking a while longer."
"That would be nice." Amy tried to smile.
"If and when you do go home, you will be on complete bed rest." Dr. Sayre said matter-of-factly. "That means in bed or on the couch. You will only be able to get up to go to the bathroom, and you'll be able to shower-no longer than fifteen minutes-every other day. We won't be taking any chances."
Amy nodded, "I kinda figured that much."
Dr. Sayre continued, "For now, please try to relax. We will be keeping a very close eye on you. I will come running in here at the first sign of trouble. But I think we'll be able to hold off the labor and send you home."
"Thank You, Dr. Sayre," Carlos stood up and shook her hand.
"Okay, I am going to leave you in the very capable hands of nurse Rachel. But don't hesitate to ask for me if you need anything." Dr. Sayre patted Amy's shoulder then left.
"I'm going to step out and call mama," Carlos leaned down and kissed Amy's forehead. "I'll be right back in."
"I'm not leaving you quite yet." Nurse Rachel said after Dr. Sayre walked out. "I want to keep an eye on things and make sure the meds are working. But feel free to turn the lights down and rest or try to take a nap. Once we know the terbutaline is working, I'll go back out to the desk and I'll just come in periodically to check on things."
"Thank You." Amy said sincerely. "I'm sorry if you think I'm being petulant or whiny. I just don't do well sitting around and doing nothing."
"No worries!" The nurse said happily, "This isn't the way most pregnancies go. It's a bit stressful and chaotic, it's normal to be a little whiny." She teased.
Amy chuckled. "Thank You."
Carlos walked back in. "Mama has Lexi and they're on their way home."
"Is your mom freaking out?" Amy kept knitting away on the blanket.
"She's a little worried, but I told her that things are going as well as can be expected." Carlos was sitting in the chair at Amy's bed-side with his laptop.
"What are you doing?" Amy asked. There shouldn't be anything for Carlos to work on.
"I'm sending out a few e-mails." Carlos looked up and smiled at her before going back to his computer.
"What e-mails can't wait for tomorrow?"
"I'm just making sure Brent can handle things for you for the rest of the week."
"Uh thanks for taking over my department." Amy set her knitting down.
"Amy, you heard Dr. Sayre. Even if everything goes perfectly and she sends us home tomorrow, you'll be on bed rest." Carlos set his laptop aside. "I'm just being proactive so we have everything set up now. Let me do this for you, please."
Amy held his gaze for a minute, and decided there were worse things than letting her husband try to lighten her mental stress load. She finally sighed and picked her knitting back up. "Fine. But don't tell him he isn't allowed to contact me if he needs to. Bed rest doesn't mean I can't answer emails from my prone position on the couch or bed."
Carlos chose to stay silent and kept tapping away on the keyboard. Amy kept right on knitting. While Nurse Rachel sat quietly at the counter next to Amy's bed typing away on her own computer and checking the monitors every few minutes for contractions and to see what the babies heart rates were.
Dr. Sayre came back a couple hours later holding another syringe. "Okay folks, here's dose number two." She put it in Amy's IV, marked something in Amy's chart, then sat on the stool next to Amy's bed. "Your contractions haven't increased, they actually have slowed down a bit. However they haven't stopped yet. So I'm hopeful this second dose does the trick. If not, we'll give you another one in about two to three hours."
"How long do we keep going, giving the meds every couple hours?" Carlos asked.
"It depends on if the contractions keep slowing to the point they stop or if they keep going. The dose I just gave Amy was a little bit more than I gave her last time. If we give her too much it could possibly affect her heart, that's rare but it can happen. So we're going with the slow and steady approach right now. Once the contractions do stop, we will keep her here for forty-eight hours. In that time, if she has a contraction, we will give her another dose of the terbutaline and the forty-eight hour clock starts over again. Once Amy goes forty-eight hours with no contractions, you'll be able to go home." Dr. Sayre explained.
Amy nodded, "So I really am going to be here for a while."
Dr. Sayre gave Amy a lop-sided smile and put her hand on Amy's leg. "We are doing what we can to try to keep your babies in, where they belong. I know staying here for an undetermined amount of time is a little scary and definitely not very fun. But I promise we will try to get you back home as soon as we can."
"I know. I just thought we would be going back home tomorrow." Amy confessed. "I mean I kind of figured I'd go home on bed rest. But I wasn't quite expecting to hear we would be here for more than just a day or two."
"Visitors are welcome and you can have Carlos bring anything from home that will make you feel more comfortable. Most patients have people bring them some food. I am sad to say, there's a reason hospital food is considered to be a cliché. The food here does leave a little something to be desired. So don't be afraid to have people bring you food."
Amy glared at Carlos, "Don't even think about having that weird healthy crap delivered here, or bringing it yourself. I'm not eating that either."
Carlos smirked. "I'm sure Ella would love any excuse to cook for you, and deliver your meals. Or Claire for that matter."
"I will leave you two in Rachel's capable hands again. And I will return in a couple hours." Dr. Sayre left.
"Ugh!" Amy groaned. "Here," she handed her knitting to Carlos. "Can you put that away and turn down the lights please? I'm going to take a nap." She started messing with her pillows and pushed the button to lower the head of the bed.
"Sure thing," Carlos stood and carefully put their things on the table beside Amy's bed. "Do you mind if I go stretch my legs?"
"No," Amy was already laying on her left side with her eyes closed.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek before leaving. "I won't go too far, but I've got my cell if you need me."
It took two more doses of medicine to get Amy's contractions to finally stop. By the time she was finally able to really relax and actually go to sleep it was nearly 4 in the morning. Carlos was still awake, just watching the monitors. There was a different machine for each baby. Baby A's heart rate was 132 and Baby B's heart rate was 137. Thankfully there hadn't been any more contractions, the formerly squiggly line was now straight.
Dr. Sayre came in and checked on them at 7am.
"Contractions have stopped. That's great. So now we are just waiting for you to make it forty-eight hours with no contractions and you can convalesce at home."
Amy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank You Dr. Sayre."
Carlos was surprisingly quiet.
"You don't have anything else to ask?" Amy nudged his arm.
"I think I've asked everything I could think to ask earlier." He paused, "Amy and the babies are all okay?"
"They all seem to be doing just fine. Unless you have any more contractions, I'm going to the office. I will come back if anything else comes up."
"You don't have to leave all of your other patients for me." Amy said.
"I have never encountered a case like yours, so I actually prefer to see you myself. It may sound strange, but I have enjoyed seeing you during your pregnancy. It's a really interesting case, and it's actually been fun-from a medical stand point-to treat you and learn from you. So trust me, it's not a bother. Plus, you guys are fun to watch."
Amy laughed, while Carlos smirked.
"Well, I'm glad we're entertaining." Amy teased. "Get out of here. I'm going to take like a twelve hour nap now."
Dr. Sayre laughed, "You deserve it, mama. I'll be back later to check on you."
Amy made it twenty hours, and a random contraction struck. She was given another dose of the terbutaline, and the fourty-eight hour clock started over. Carlos refused to leave, even though Amy kept trying to push him to go to work. Thankfully the last dose worked and she and Carlos were able to go home Thursday afternoon.
Time passed by slowly while Amy was on bed rest. Her contractions, thankfully, didn't start back up. But that was probably mostly due to the fact that Carlos refused to let her get up for anything other than going to the bathroom and one ten-minute shower every other day. Lexi came to Carlos and Amy's room every morning to get her hair done. She spent an hour every afternoon laying in bed and practicing her reading to the babies. They loved it and kicked like crazy listening to their sister's voice.
Amy got to leave the house every Friday to go to Dr. Sayre's office. Carlos had tried to get their OB to agree to house calls, but Amy insisted one trip out of the house wouldn't hurt anyone but Carlos. Dr. Sayre agreed. The babies were growing right on track, Amy wasn't dilating any further, and everything was going great.
She made it to thirty-six weeks, that was when she started having irregular contractions. Carlos was at Rangeman. Instead of calling him, Amy called Dr. Sayre. After reassuring Dr. Sayre that her contractions were not painful and were anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes apart, Amy was told to keep monitoring and tracking her contractions. She could stay at home until they were consistently ten minutes apart. Amy still didn't call Carlos. He would insist on going to the hospital, and Amy wasn't ready to go yet.
Carlos got home at 4:30 with Lexi like normal. Amy was sitting on the couch knitting.
"Hey sweetheart, how was your day?" Amy asked as Lexi walked over to hug her mom.
"It was good. I had art today, and we got to play with clay." Lexi was practically bouncing in her seat.
"That's fun! What was your favorite subject today?" Amy tried not to grimace as a contraction started.
"Reading, we got to go to the library and check out books today."
Amy nodded and smiled, "That's great baby. Why don't you go put your things away and get changed, okay?" She kissed Lexi's forehead and then looked up at Carlos. "You need to go get our bags, and you should probably call your mom and dad to see if they can come and get Lexi from the hospital."
"You're having contractions?" He rushed over to Amy's side. "How far apart?"
"About 7-8 minutes apart. I've been checking in with Dr. Sayre all day. Everything has been just fine, but now it's time to go in."
"I can't believe you didn't call me." Carlos got up and ran back to their bedroom.
"Mom, why is dad running all over the house?" Lexi asked.
Amy sighed and shook her head, "He's losing his mind." She paused as she grabbed the wood banister at the bottom of the steps and slowly breathed in through her nose then blew the breath out her mouth. Once the contraction passed she walked over to the intercom panel on the wall and pushed the button to connect to every room in the house. "Carlos Manoso, get your ass down here before I drive myself to the hospital!"
A few seconds later Amy heard foot steps in the upstairs hall then Carlos was practically sprinting down. "I'm sorry! Mama made me promise to take the quilts she'd had made for the babies to the hospital." He opened the door to the garage for the girls to enter ahead of him.
Amy rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you have them with the hospital bags then?"
Carlos walked her to the Yukon and opened her door before helping her in. "Your due date isn't for almost three more weeks. I was going to put all of the bags together this weekend." He smiled as he checked to make sure Lexi had gotten in her seat and buckled in before tossing the two bags, Amy's pillow, and her nursing pillow into the back. "Okay ladies, let's go."
An hour later Amy was checked into the hospital, the monitors had been hooked up, and Dr. Sayre was just walking in the room.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite patient!" She walked over to the bed and patted Amy's leg before grabbing her chart from the nurse. "So, it looks like contractions are about five to six minutes apart, your five centimeters, and about ninety percent effaced. How are you feeling?"
Amy smiled, even though another contraction was just starting. "Good." She answered before closing her eyes and breathing slowly through it. Once it passed she opened her eyes again, "Do you have any Xanax?"
Dr. Sayre laughed, "If you don't want an epidural we can give you something else, but it only lasts about an hour."
"Oh no, not for me. For him." Amy hooked her thumb in Carlos' direction. "His pacing is driving me crazy. I'm doing great."
"You don't get queasy around blood, do you Carlos?" Dr. Sayre said, a little surprised.
"Not at all." Carlos stopped pacing and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "I just hate that Amy is in pain and there's nothing I can do to take it away. I actually told her to get the epidural already, but she said she didn't need one with Lexi and she doesn't plan on getting one this time."
Dr. Sayre nodded her head. "We talked about pain management already. Amy, you say the word and I'll have the anesthesiologist in here in less than five minutes."
"No, I'm really feeling pretty good. I'd feel better if I could get out of bed and move around." Amy said hopefully. "Not all over the whole floor, but at least let me move around the room. I need to move."
Dr. Sayre considered for a moment before turning to the nurse. "Bring in the wireless monitors and get her going on them please." Once the nurse left Dr. Sayre looked at Amy, "You don't have to stay in your room if you don't want to, but don't venture off too far. Usually a woman's labor gets shorter with subsequent pregnancies, but I don't know how having twins after a singleton affects that. Judging by your notes from your first labor and delivery to what's going on now, I'm guessing your moving along a bit faster. If your water breaks or the contractions suddenly get more painful, come back to your room. Otherwise you're free to roam."
"Thank You!" Amy sat up more in bed.
Dr. Sayre sat at the desk and started typing on her laptop. "Other than Carlos," who she noted had started pacing again while he typed on his phone, "How is labor going?"
"Pretty well. It seems about the same as the last time." Amy waved a hand to get Carlos' attention. Once he stopped at the edge of her bed she held a hand out to him. "I need to pee, help me up please."
Carlos walked with her to the bathroom, "Do you need any help?"
"No." Amy pushed the door behind her so that it was mostly closed but didn't latch. She was looking forward to making fewer bathroom trips after the twins were born. After she washed her hands she opened the door, not surprised to see Carlos back to pacing the length of the room. She just stood next to the bed as another contraction started. Instead of sitting on the bed she squatted down next to it with her elbows resting on the mattress. With her eyes closed, she focused on her breathing and tried to block out Carlos' nervous energy behind her. Once the contraction passed she stood back up and found Carlos, Dr. Sayre, and a nurse staring at her. "What?"
All together the other three people in the room looked down to the floor under Amy. She tried to look down, but couldn't see much past her big belly.
"My water broke, didn't it?" She asked. Carlos continued to look at the floor in shock. The nurse started rushing around to get supplies to clean up the puddle. Dr. Sayre patted the bed.
"Why don't you get back in bed so I can check you again." After a quick exam Dr. Sayre told the nurse to start prepping for delivery. "Well Amy, your nine centimeters. So we're going to go ahead and get some more people in here." She looked at Carlos as she walked to the other side of the room and pulled a disposable gown and some other supplies out of a cabinet. "You'll want to get your camera out now if your taking pictures."
Within a couple of minutes there was a flurry of activity. Three more nurses and a pediatrician came in, equipped with two bassinets and an entire cart of tools, sponges, and other medical equipment. Amy had moved up to her hands and knees, refusing to lay on her back as one of the nurses had tried to convince her to do. Despite the contractions and what had to be some serious pain, she very nicely told the nurse she was much more comfortable as she was. Dr. Sayre told the nurse it was fine.
Carlos had no idea what to do, so he stood at the side of the bed with one hand covering Amy's on the bed and the other massaging her lower back. He leaned his head down so his mouth was next to her ear. "I have no idea what I'm doing here, but you are amazing. What do you need me to do?"
Amy took a slow breath in and held it for a few second before slowly blowing it out of her mouth. "You're doing it." She whispered, keeping her eyes closed. "Just keep the pressure on my lower back." She sucked in another quick, deep breath and held it for a few seconds, slowly blowing it out of her mouth again on a low moan. Her back arched and she moaned again.
Dr. Sayre noticed the change in Amy's position and her breathing, "Do you need to push Amy?"
"Yes." Amy said carefully and calmly, even though her eyes were still shut and her face had pain written all over it.
"Go ahead." Dr. Sayre answered.
For the first time Amy actually made noise as she sucked in a deep breath and then pushed with a low growl. The only other sounds in the room were of the pediatrician and two nurses getting the warmers prepped with blankets and things for the babies. Nobody was talking.
"You're doing great Amy, the head is right there. Keep pushing." Dr. Sayre looked at Carlos. "Do you want to catch, dad?"
Carlos' eyes widened slightly, "I don't know." He looked down to Amy.
"You should do it." Amy said, the contraction passing.
Carlos nodded and walked to the end of the bed. A nurse quickly helped him into a gown and a pair of gloves. He turned toward the bed just as Amy started pushing again.
"That's great Amy," Dr. Sayre said. "The head is nearly out."
Carlos was speechless. But he quickly reacted and raised his hands as Dr. Sayre told him what to do.
"Get ready to put one hand on the neck, once the head is out it only takes a little push to get the rest out." Dr. Sayre told Carlos.
She was right, a few moments later the head was out. Carlos did as instructed and just another few moments later there was a squirming little baby in his hands. He just smiled, it was all he could do.
"Good job dad!" Dr. Sayre said as she started suctioning out the baby's nose and mouth. The room is filled with the wonderful sound of a newborn baby crying.
Amy started to cry and laugh at the same time. She turned her head back and watched Carlos. "Well?" She asked.
Carlos slowly raised his head up to look at Amy, with the biggest smile on his face that she had ever seen. "It's a boy." He whispered.
The tears keep falling, Amy's head dropped down between her shoulders. "For all of the trouble I've had this pregnancy, I should've known it was boys!"
"Amy, do you want to lay down and take a rest? There's usually a little break between babies." Dr. Sayre was prepping the umbilical cord for Carlos to cut, a nurse was wrapping their boy in a blanket.
"Every time I lay on my back, my sciatic goes crazy." Amy grabbed her pillow and started to lower to the bed with her still big belly between her bent knees.
"Well you know your body, so just get comfortable. We'll have your son cleaned up and brought over to you in a minute."
More tears fell, her son. "We have a son." Amy whispered.
"We do," Carlos whispered back.
Amy's head whipped back and she slowly sat back on her haunches, staring at the little pink bundle wrapped up in a blanket in Carlos' arms. "I think he looks like a Gabriel, what do you think?"
"Gabriel Ricardo Manoso, I think that sounds perfect." Carlos couldn't take his eyes off of his son's perfect face.
"You don't want to name your first-born son after you and your dad?" Amy asked.
Carlos shook his head, "No, I think Gabriel is very fitting for this handsome little guy."
Amy smiled, "Gabriel it is." She brushed a finger along Gabriel's chubby little cheek and just kept smiling. Then a contraction started and she slowly lowered herself back to the bed.
"It looks like baby number two is working his or her way down Amy, just keep doing what you've been doing." Dr. Sayre was busy getting things ready for the next delivery. "Dad, why don't you pass Gabriel off to the nurse. She will get him weighed and wrapped up."
Carlos nodded and let the nurse take his son. "I love you little man." He whispered before turning back to Amy. "What do you need honey?"
Amy shook her head once and just kept swaying her hips with her head hanging between her shoulders. She stopped swaying and took a deep breath before she moaned.
"Amy, do you need to push?" Dr. Sayre asked from behind her.
Amy was quiet for about thirty seconds while the contraction passed. "Not yet. I don't think I'm too far off though."
"Okay, you are doing amazing Amy. Just tell us if you need anything."
"Mmmmhm." Amy said as another contraction started.
A few more minutes passed and Amy was ready to push again. "I need to push." Amy said before she moaned her way through her next contraction.
"Okay Amy, go ahead." Dr. Sayre said. "Dad, are you catching again?"
"Yes." Carlos answered without missing a beat.
Less than three minutes later Carlos helped their second baby enter the world. "Oh my God, Amy you are amazing." He said as he cradled their second-born in a towel in his arms.
"What is it?" Amy asked on a groan.
"Lexi has another little brother." Carlos said as he walked around the bed to Amy's side.
"I knew it!" Amy said. "I told you they were both boys."
"What do you think we should name him?" Carlos asked.
"You pick." Amy insisted.
"I like Theo," Carlos said. "What is your dad's middle name again?"
"David." Amy answered
"Theo David it is." Carlos studied his second son's face. "Gabriel Ricardo and Theo David, sounds perfect." He smiled at Amy.
"Alright Amy, you can lay down now if you would like to." Dr. Sayre said as she tried to get Amy cleaned up.
"Yeah, that would probably be good." Amy slowly lowered herself to her side before rolling to her back. "Now give me one of my boys." She thrust her arms out towards Carlos. "You need to go update Lexi and your parents."
"I will as soon as your done and cleaned up so they can come see you guys." Carlos handed Theo off to Amy and went to scoop Gabriel out of the basinett. He settled himself on the edge of the bed and just smiled at Amy. "We have two sons." He whispered.
Amy nodded. "We do. They look just as handsome as their daddy."
Carlos shook his head. "You were amazing. How in the world did you just do this? No drugs, no yelling or screaming, you didn't even cuss me out."
Dr. Sayre laughed at that one. "Amy, I agree with Carlos, you were amazing. I wish every mom could listen to their bodies the way you did." She stood up and started pulling off her paper gown. "I'm done, so I'm going to leave you guys to it. Amy, if you need any lactation support just tell the nurses and they can help you."
"Well, I think I still remember how to nurse." Amy joked, "But we'll see how things go."
Dr. Sayre put a hand on Amy's knee, "You were seriously awesome today Amy, great job momma. I'll come back and check on you in a little bit."
