Well, this came together much faster than I expected it to. Enjoy - it's what we've all been waiting for.

July 23rd, 2009 – Week 38

Sam knew better than to wake me in the morning when he left for work, because I hadn't fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning, and that was only with the help of my giant foam body pillow. Sam was annoyed by it, claiming that it was taking his place, but I insisted and he eventually caved. He would just have to sleep a little closer to the edge of the bed. I needed the soft support of the body pillow, now that my stomach had grown to an outrageous size and my back was in constant pain.

So Sam kissed my head and snuck out the door at eight that morning. Around eleven, I lifted my head, checking the time and noticing the pictures from my last visit to the birth center, to see Sara, three days ago. My girls were still in the perfect position for a home birth, luckily, and everything else still looked good. The ultra-sound images were taped, slightly askew, to the mirror above our dresser. Each black and white frame got progressively more distinguished, until I swore I could tell that they would look just like Sam.

I lay in bed for awhile longer, watching the sun filter in through tiny cracks in the blinds. At 11:15, I rolled onto my back and placed my hand on my stomach. This was the time each day when I monitored the babies' movement, counting the number of kicks and punches. The girls were just waking up, stretching out, squirming.

"Good morning," I murmured, as I rubbed my stomach and felt their kicks press into my hand.

They were a little more active than usual, and I received several kicks to the bladder as I was hauling my frame out of the bed and into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and hair, securing back and out of the way with a few clips. I would shower later.

I shuffled down the hall in my slippers, pouring myself a glass of orange juice and sitting at the table with a plain bagel and some cream cheese. I pushed my back against the chair as an uncomfortable contraction hit. I had been told that it was normal to experience a few, relatively painless, contractions everyday from now on, especially with twins. They had been sporadic over the last two weeks, nothing new. During this last week, they had begun to be a bit uncomfortable, but I attributed it to what had to be a lack of room in my womb at this point.

The contraction went away less than a minute later, like usual, and I moved to the dishes. I hadn't emptied the dishwasher yesterday, so I had a lot to unload. I tended to avoid it as much as possible, since my overly large stomach prevented me from seeing the door to the dishwasher and I had a nasty habit of running into it, leaving ugly bruises on my legs, which Sam was never happy to see.

After bending and lifting the dishes for ten minutes, I had another contraction.

"Owww," I protested aloud, rubbing my back. I kicked the door to the dishwasher shut, refusing to bend over to pick it up. Pouring myself a cup of the raspberry tea that Sara had recommended to help prepare my uterus for labor, I picked up the phone and settled into the couch. Propping my feet up on the coffee table, I dialed my mother.

"Emily?" She answered on the first ring, her voice loud and tinged with excitement. She was just waiting for the phone call telling her I was in labor. Every time she picked up the phone, she was ready to jump in her car and rush over. I almost felt guilty calling without any news.

"Hey, Mom. How are you?"

"Oh, Emily…" She didn't bother hiding her disappointment. "I'm fine. How are you doing?"

I swallowed a big gulp of my tea, "The Braxton Hicks contractions are getting worse. Which I suppose is actually a good sign."

"Very good sign! Keep count, you know – one every five minutes, a minute long each and you call someone."

"I know, Mom." I rolled my eyes. Everyone was an expert. "I will."

"How's Sam?"

"He had to work this morning, but he's doing well. He's getting excited."

She chortled. "He'd better be."

We talked for about a half an hour – she had been embroidering two white deerskin and fleece lined blankets for the girls and was planning on bringing them for the labor. As another, more painful contraction started, I looked up at the clock. 15 minutes on the dot since the last one. I grimaced.

"Hey, Mom?" I asked, hesitant. "I'm going to go get a bath, and see if it slows these contractions, okay?"

"Call me if it doesn't."

"Got it, love you." I hung up the phone and waddled to the bathroom. When I sat down to pee, I noticed the tell-tale stringy mucus from my plug. "Okay then," I whispered to myself, "this could be it."

I checked the binder from my midwife; she said that even after you passed your plug, you could be days or even weeks away from full-blown labor. I began to fill the bathtub while I phoned Sara.

I got her voicemail. "Hey Sara, it's Emily. I am just calling – it's a little after noon – to let you know that I've passed my mucus plug. I've been having contractions all morning, maybe 40 seconds long, every 15 to 20 minutes. I'm going to climb in the bathtub, but I'll keep my phone with me. Thanks! Bye."

I knew that I was probably being overly cautious, but I didn't want to press my luck with this home birth. And these were my first children, and I really was nervous, no matter how calm I tried to remain. I decided that I would wait an hour after I got out of the bath, and if the contractions didn't slow, I would call Sam. I wanted him here for all of it.

I added a few nettles – another herbal remedy from Sara – to the bathwater, stripped down and sunk in. The girls kicked for a few minutes, the buoyant warmth exciting them, but they calmed eventually. I kept my hair up, twisted out of the way, and leaned back against the wall of the shower – just as another contraction hit. I noted the time on my phone; fourteen minutes since the last one.

I stayed quietly in the tub for almost forty-five minutes, to no avail. I had a total of three contractions. I pulled the drain plug up and used the sides of the tub to help myself out. I didn't want to be falling now. Yet, as I lifted my leg over the side of the tub, a gush of warm fluid rushed down my legs and onto the floor.

"Shit!" I managed to get out of the tub, throwing a towel down over the puddle of amniotic fluid, and wrapped a towel around my body haphazardly. Grabbing my phone, I waddled as quickly as I could to the bedroom, where I put on a pair of Sam's sweatpants and no panties, and then a bikini top. I was going to get in the tub anyway, right?

I started on my way back to the bathroom, to clean up that mess on the floor, as I called Sam. When it stopped ringing, I didn't even wait for him to say hello. "Sam! It's time! They're coming."

"Be right there!"

I ended up feeling really guilty.

Sam nearly took off Seth's head when he got in his way on the way home, which prompted Seth to explain to Leah why exactly Sam was running home at full speed. Within the hour, I had everyone but my midwife – and my mother, who was "ON HER WAY" – in my living room.

I was working through the contractions, now 50 seconds long and 10 or so minutes apart, squatting comfortably on the birthing ball, with Sam rubbing my back in encouragement, when Leah and Hannah arrived. "Emily!" Leah rushed to my side and dropped to her knees in front of me. "Are you okay?"

I lifted my head and smiled at her. "I'm perfectly fine, Leah, just trying to relax."

Hannah looked at the now inflated, but still empty, pool. "What about the water?"

Sam kneaded the muscles in my back, very gently. "Later, Mom." He snipped. I rolled my eyes at him, looking back over my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Hannah. Sam is just nervous-"

He swatted at me playfully. "Like you aren't."

I laughed, which hurt my tense abdominal muscles. "Sam is just nervous and it's making him cranky. We haven't filled the pool because I don't need it yet, and we don't want it to get cold."

"You don't need it yet?" Leah asked, doubtful. She raised one eyebrow.

"I really am fine, guys. I'm not even close to active labor yet. It's going to be awhile." I tried to sound upbeat. I felt really bad; they had come to help me and I was hours away from needing help. "In fact, why don't you go home for a little while?"

Sam nodded. "I'll call you when she's five centimeters, okay?"

"I want to be here," Hannah scowled. "If I miss the birth of my grandbabies, I'm blaming you Sam."

Leah just squeezed my hand, and patted my head. "We'll get out of your hair for now. Sorry for rushing over here."

I rushed to explain. "Don't be sorry! I want you guys here, it's just not practical right now."

"We understand," Hannah kissed my cheek, "We'll see you later."

Sam laughed when, as they closed the door behind them, I breathed a small sigh of relief. "If you don't want them here, we can pretend that things got really fast towards the end or something."

"Sam!" I stuck my tongue out. "I just didn't want them to spend 30-some hours waiting by my side. They'll get bored."

He bent around to kiss my lips. "I know, I love that you're so considerate." When he pulled back, I caught a glimpse of his cheesy grin. He was flattering me.

"Oh, shut up and rub my back."

My mother arrived at 3:00 in the afternoon, after getting stuck in traffic. She rang the doorbell continuously until Sam opened it and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, Jennifer."

"Sam, where's Emily?"

I was lounging on the bed, still in my sweatpants and bikini top, with a towel rolled up under my back to help ease the tension of on my back muscles. "In here, Mom!" I called.

She followed my voice and was in the room in seconds. "Emily!" Swooping in on top of me, she wrapped me in her arms and kissed the top of my head. "I'm so proud of you! You're doing so well!"

"It hasn't been too hard yet." I crossed my fingers. "It's going pretty slow. Contractions are still 8 minutes apart, and only last about a minute."

Sam interrupted, coming over to take my hand. "Speaking of which…"

I glanced at the clock just as the contraction came, coming to a tense and dull peak. I was breathing slowly, squeezing Sam's hand, but I would have been able to talk through it if I had wanted to.

My mother observed. "Not bad, not bad," she mused.

"How long do you think?" I asked.

She smiled knowingly. "A while, sweetie."

I nodded, accepting. I knew that. It was just nice to hear it from someone else. "I think I'll take a walk. Sam?"

"I'll be right behind you."

"Would it be alright for me to begin heating water for the pool?" My mother extended a hand to help me pull myself into a sitting position.

"That would be great – we're going to need a lot of hot water," I replied as Sam crouched at my feet with a pair of socks and some shoes. I warned him with my eyes not to try anything funny. I wasn't exactly in the mood. He winked, but kept his hands to himself. I grabbed a tank top and slipped it on over my bikini, and then grabbed Sam's arm. He helped me down the porch steps, and then held my hand as we walked down the street.

"Are you nervous?" he asked me, "Because you're handling this really well."

I looked at him, incredulous. "Are you kidding?"

He didn't answer.

"Sam, I'm terrified," I confessed. "I think I would have to be crazy not to be terrified."

As another contraction arrived, I forced myself to keep moving through it. Sam watched me, worried, as I tensed. "Emily?"

I took a deep breath. "It's fine. I'm okay. It's really not that bad."

But within the hour – walking up and down the street because there was nowhere to go – I had to stop and lean on Sam every six minutes.

"Okay," I panted, "I need a break."

It took us ten minutes and two contractions to get back to the house. By the time we had reached the door, I was panting hard, and sweating. Sam steered me towards the couch, but that was not working for me. I went to the bathroom, noticing a bit more bloody show, and then got out the ball again.

"Help please?" I called. My mother came running over, as Sam was calling Sara.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Hold the ball steady," I slowly lowered myself to the floor, spreading my knees and sinking low into the ground. I leaned against the ball, using it to support my upper body.

Soon, Sam joined me, rubbing my back affectionately. He was being so wonderful. "Thanks," I sighed.

"Sara will be here soon, Em. She wants to check your cervix – she says that you're in active labor." Sam sounded reassuring. "She said that we're doing all the right things."

I just nodded, waiting for the next contraction. When it came, I let my breath out in a low, primal moan.

"Good! That's good!" My mom encouraged. "Just relax. Being tense won't help the girls come out any sooner."

Sara arrived at a little after six; carting with her all of the supplies that I would need for a twin home birth. I didn't want to get in the tub before she arrived, so my mom was doing a great job in keeping the water at 100 degrees, as water too hot could be detrimental to the girls.

"Hey miss Emily!" Sara was always over enthusiastic. "How are you feeling?"

I smiled back at her. "I'm doing okay."

"Give me an update." She whipped out her baby Doppler, preparing to check on the girls.

I looked at Sam; he was in charge of the clock.

"Emily's contractions are a little less than five minutes apart and 90 seconds long."

Sara clapped. "Yay! That's great!"

I took a big swallow of my glass of water, knowing that I would have to have an IV if I didn't stay hydrated.

"Glad to see that you're still drinking like I told you." Sara lifted up the hem of my tank top, but I just peeled it off. She pressed the wand to my stomach, and the quiet double "wooshes" could be heard throughout the room.

Sam picked up my hand and held it to his lips. "They're almost here, Em."

I waited for Sara to make the final proclamation. She pressed around on my stomach – the top, both sides and the bottom – with a calculating expression on her face. Moving the Doppler around a little more, she finally stood back up and clapped me on the back.

"Things are looking well. Baby #2 is in a breech position, but that will be okay. Hopefully she'll come out second."

I bit my lip. "Are you sure everything is fine?"

Sara looked into my eyes. "Are you ready to do this Emily?"

I nodded, wholeheartedly.

"Okay then. Everything is fine. Let's check your cervix." Sam helped me off the birthing ball and to the bed, where I reclined on my back for a while. Sara slipped on some gloves and, after a few minutes of prodding, announced, "four centimeters."

"Sam, call your mother and Leah." I ordered, as another contraction tightened my back and abdominal muscles, and I rolled onto my side. "OOOOOH."

I struggled to keep my tone low, not tight and screeching, as I vocalized.

"Great job, Emily!" Sara encouraged, and then helped me up and into the pool. "Sam, why don't you call your doctor at the hospital as well, just in case? Tell her to be on standby."

The water was warm, and the relief to the muscles in my back was almost instantaneous. "Wow." I closed my eyes and leaned against the side of the pool. "Mnmnmmm."

Sam chuckled. "I think she likes it."

8:00pm came and I was at 7 centimeters. I had eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, although I wasn't happy about it, and drunk another bottle of water. The contractions were outrageously painful now, but not unmanageable. Leah was rubbing my feet, while Sam sat behind me in the water – we had made sure to get a large pool – and kneaded my back.

We tried gentle nipple stimulation when I got stuck at 8 centimeters for a while at 10:00pm, and then I moved quickly.

Soon, Sara was proclaiming the transition and I was howling in pain. Sam supported my back while I squirmed in the tub. I was determined to do this myself, without the hospital or pain meds.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled – flushed, hot and dripping water everywhere. "Please, Sam, distract me," I gasped.

"With what?" he asked desperately.

"Anything!"

Leah was drying my face off with a towel, as both the mothers and Sara prepared for birth, with a few drop clothes, and an oxygen mask, because Baby #2 had a higher chance of needing air when she came out.

"Sam!"

Finally, perhaps after hearing me yell, he gave in. "Anything?"

I growled at him.

"Okay! Um…I don't really like the names we talked about." Sam looked away, kissing my shoulder.

It worked and I blinked, momentarily forgetting about the absolute pain of transition. "What?"

He shook his head. "Never mind."

"Did you just say –" I started and was interrupted by the need to take a breath to stem the pain, " – say that you didn't like the baby names?"

"Never mind. It's not important."

I splashed the water. "It is so important! Sam! We have to talk about this!"

"No we don't. You can name them whatever you want," he insisted.

"But," I whined, "I've been rethinking them too - but I was going along because I thought that you really liked them!"

Sam broke out laughing.

"This is NOT funny, Sam!"

He coughed to cover it up, unsuccessfully. "You're right, Em, I'm sorry."

I wanted to cry. "What are we going to do?"

Suddenly, an immense pain knotted in my abdomen. "Oh, shit," I moaned, hoping the sound would relax me.

Sam coached me through breathing. "You're doing great, Emily."

"Transition isn't going to last much longer," Sara called. "You're almost there."

"Dammit, Sam! What are we going to do about the names?" I clenched my fists.

He caressed my shoulders. "Let's just focus on getting them out, and we'll name them once we meet them."

I was too tense to answer. "Ughhhhhnnnngggg." I focused on not locking up – working through the transition.

"Keep it up, darling." Sam kissed the skin on my neck, pushing hair out of the way. "You're doing so well."

I didn't know how I was going to have the strength to push if this kept up for much longer. "Oh…okay! This isn't working."

Sara was over by my side in a second. "Don't give up, Emily. What can I do?"

"I need to do something else," I pleaded, frantic with the absolute pain.

"Okay," she complied. "Why don't you try squatting in the pool?"

Sam moved onto his knees, and got in front of me. Holding his arms out like a squat bar, I grabbed on for support. I sank into a crouched position, enjoying the extra space and suspension this provided.

"How's that?" Sara questioned.

"Much better," I grunted as the gravity helped relieve my shaking muscles.

"It won't be too long, now," she assured me.

In fact, two contractions later I was shaking uncontrollably and I thought I was going to be sick. I collapsed against the wall of the pool, throwing my head back. Sara handed me a bottle of water right away.

"Okay, relax. You'll have a few minutes to catch your breath before you have to push." She instructed. Sam was twisting his hands nervously from a few feet away. "Sam? Can you help me get her out of here?"

He practically picked me up, helping me out of the tub, where I lay against the ball on the floor, a drop cloth underneath me.

Sara continued, "Jennifer, Hannah and Leah, help me drain the pool outside?"

While Sam stayed with me, the women dumped the water out of the pool and quickly filled it back up with new, clean, and warm water. I kept breathing and moaning with each contraction, Sam holding my hand and keeping the ball steady. "Sam?"

"Hm?" came his reply.

"I'm sorry about the name thing."

He leaned forward and captured my lips with his. "Don't even think about it Emily. We'll name them later. Let's just get them out of there."

At half past two in the morning, the contractions were replaced by a strong, irresistible urge to push. "Sara! Sam!" I cried. "Can I push?"

Sam hopped into the pool with me, helping to hold me in my half-sitting/half-squatting position.

"If you feel ready," Sara explained, "then go for it. Your body knows what it's doing." Turning to Sam, she added, "Might be a good time to get in one last perineal massage."

Sam agreed, and began to gently stretch the skin between my legs, hoping to prevent any tearing. But soon another contraction was hitting and I held my breath, pushing down naturally. I didn't last a full 10 seconds – maybe 8 – but when Sara rolled up her shorts and hopped into the pool as well, she said that baby #1 was in the birthing canal and ready to go. The process repeated every minute, with more of me stretching with each contraction. I let out low, guttural sounds, my damp hair cascading down my back and my eyes tightly shut. It felt like I was going to split in two. I must have zoned out for a little while, because soon, Sara was moving my hand down and I was feeling a little head, covered in thick hair.

Sam reached down between my legs to feel it as well, also supporting my skin to keep it from ripping.

"Oh, Emily! You're doing so well!"

"She's right there!"

"So close!"

All the words of encouragement flew around me, but I was looking straight at Sam and all I could think was She's right there. My daughter. Our daughter. She's right there.

I pushed again and again, wailing at the top of my lungs. As I felt her shoulders slip past, I called out. "Sam!"

He caught our beautiful daughter, bringing her right up to the top of the water. She was slightly purple, but her eyes were opening. I picked her up and cradled her to my chest, taking deep breaths. Sara examined her while I held her, asking for the baster to suction out her mouth and then holding the oxygen mask close to her mouth to help her pink up.

I bent to kiss her, and then passed her to Sam, who did the same. He looked into my eyes, brushing hair off my forehead. "I am so proud of you."

I smiled, but took a deep breath and admitted, "It's not over yet."

Sara recommended that I nurse my first daughter, to bring on contractions for the second. My mom came over and helped me to get my little girl to latch onto my nipple. While I breastfed, Sara monitored Baby #2 with the Doppler.

Fifteen minutes after my first little girl, I had another contraction. Passing my baby off to my mother, who was very close to me on the outside of the pool, I resumed my squatting position. However, after a few minutes without any success, it was apparent that squatting wasn't working as well the second time. Still having contractions, we cut the first daughter's cord and moved me to the bed, where I got on my hands and knees. Sam rubbed my back while Sara knelt behind me.

"Pushing!" I announced, as the next contraction came.

Sam patted my shoulders. "I can see little feet!"

The legs came out relatively easily, but Sara stopped my pushing to move the cord when it looked like it was stuck between my walls and the baby. While Sam, Leah, and our mothers watched on, Sara successfully maneuvered my baby around, until, with one final push, my second daughter came rushing into the world. She was wailing, I was crying and Sam was trying to hide some sniffles. I rolled over, and reached for my little girl. Leah handed me a soft cloth, and I wiped her face, kissing her little eyelids.

Sam sat down on the bed next to me. While Sara and my mother helped to clean me up, Sam and I held our two new baby girls.

"I love you," I whispered in his ear.

He wiped a tear away from his cheek and bent to kiss me. "I love you, too, Emily. And I'm so proud of you. You were amazing."

Well, I hope that lived up to your expectations. :]

There will be one more chapter after this, set a few weeks into the future. I'll probably have it up (along with an outtake) before the end of the month. Thanks, and please leave a review!