A year on, I sit down with Katie to reflect on the birth of her twin boys.
I sit in her lounge while she flits around continuing the daily tasks of caring for two one year olds . Her capability is incredible to watch.
When they wake from their morning nap it is all go. She’s changing nappies, preparing and feeding them lunch, cleaning the highchairs and finding things for the boys to do to keep them entertained. All the while her face lit up with love and joy. She seems to have this all down to a tee. She laughs when I ask her if she remembers when she fell pregnant:
“Yes! I was cutting up the dog food and I automatically went to put a piece in my mouth! It was such a strange thing, I instantly thought I must be pregnant! And sure enough I was. The minute I peed on the stick I knew it would be twins.”
I imagine the mental adjustment that must take place when you are told you are having more than one baby in one go! But Katie remembers only feeling excitement… "well, until the morning sickness took over. “I had waited so long to become a mother, so I was very excited. The pregnancy symptoms were so strong- heartburn and constant vomiting”. Katie was a twin herself, her sibling passed away in the womb. Katie recalls the fear she experienced of losing one of the boys. “I had a constant worry that maybe only one would make it”.
Katie desired a natural birth, and having two babies on board did not change this. At 20 weeks she was referred to the hospital- one of many consultations with an Obstetrician. “They said we do this and that for twins, you will need to be induced early, you will need an epidural etc etc. It was the same song every visit”. Katie was not comfortable with the strong medical approach and did some research.
“I did not want my rite of passage to motherhood anaesthetised”
Katie felt strongly to be a conscious participant at this incredibly special time. “I wanted to be able to feel my body so I can be instinctive and know what my body needs to do”. She declined the epidural and decided to wait until her babies showed signs of being ready to come. “I found the pressure from the system was strong and that they were not used to anyone going against the grain. It was constantly mentioned to me. Every possible risk was repeatedly recited to me”. She recalled about how having a doula helped keep her in a relaxed and calm space, “I needed a soft space to balance out all of the fear mongering and stress that the system was causing”.
Katie felt confident to allow her babies to come when they wanted it as long as she and them were healthy and well. She declined the routine induction.
At nearly 38 weeks, Katies waters began to leak! She headed to the hospital for some monitoring. “Once I arrived I was again under the pressure of induction and antibiotics and the managed birth that I did not want. I didn’t want to feel rushed. I wanted to go home for a good nights sleep and allow my body every chance to do its thing. A negotiating process began, I told them I would come back in the morning and we could discuss options then”. It was important for me to allow my body the best chance to go into labour naturally. It was not what the hospital preferred, but I knew a good nights sleep in my own bed would be the best for me”.
The next morning Katie went back up to the hospital where she was admitted. Her babies were well and she felt ready after a good nights sleep. Contractions had started but were mild. After discussions with the team, Katie agreed to 1g of prostaglandin gel applied to the cervix. In the evening I came up to the hospital to give Katie a relaxing massage. “To have you there to calm my mind and bring me back to my centre was incredibly relaxing. The hospital environment can easily increase stress, its such a busy place. Labour began in the night and I was alone. I really felt like I needed that time to be with myself and process becoming a mother, I went deep within. . . and by the morning I was 5cm!”
Things started to get busy once Katie was in good labour. “There was a lot of pressure to keep the OB’s happy with a lot of monitoring. So I was linked up to all sorts of machines and tied down to the bed. I began to feel like a prisoner in my own body. And of course, I began to lose my contractions. I wanted a break from all of the monitoring and asked to use the shower, but even this needed to be “negotiated” with the OB’s. It was very frustrating and added to my stress. I felt it was very hard to relax”.
Photography: Sophia Paskell @Mothers Circle
“Once you arrived and turned down the lights and gave me another relaxing massage, I felt I regained some strength”.
When I arrived I got to work creating more calm. We worked out ways of being mobile even with all the monitors attached. Katie began to labour beautifully, leaning over a Swiss ball and gently rocking through each surge. She responded well to massage and tender touch and her partner supported her beautifully as I reheated heat packs to apply to her lower back. Katie also found kneeling on the bed (supported by pillows and her partner) a great position to labour in.
In the afternoon Katie needed to pee and found the toilet a great place to labour. A private space, upright position and a break from all of the monitoring. This is where I saw Katie’s labour really progress, and after a while I began to hear that familiar pushy tone.
“I came out of the toilet, hopped on the bed so they could reattach all of the monitors and I pushed my boys out”! she recalls with a smile on her face. “Screwing my face up really helped with the pushing part, so I put a pillow over my face. I let all negative thoughts just float away and Blake was born at 6.08pm. I cant even describe how it felt to hold him, it was absolutely incredible!”
There was still another baby to be birthed. Tim held little Blake skin to skin as Katie got back on the job. “I felt so calm watching Tim hold our son while I pushed the next one out”. Both babies presented head first. There was some concern that number two may need some extra help, but as soon as the Obstetrician applied the ventouse cup to his head, he was born without any need for it. Baby Slade was born at 6.24pm 16 minutes after his brother.
Katie is an admirably determined woman. Her breastfeeding journey was full of challenges but her remarkable commitment to feeding her boys means she is still feeding them today! “I researched so much in to the birth and I thought breastfeeding would be a piece of piss.”
I asked Katie what she would like to say to anyone expecting two babies at once. “Life with twins is amazing! It is constant. Celebrate their differences, they are so individual, at different stages and into different things. Take your time to do your research into your birth. Its your body, you have intuition, educate yourself. You do have a say and you do not have to go along with any of the routine procedures at the hospital. Its all your choice. Consider support on the other side of birth, feeding two is tough!… oh and don’t lose your sense of humour!!”
Katie is thrilled to announce she is expecting another baby… and yes they have double checked, its only one this time!
Photography: @Laval Photo and Video