Labor and Delivery

A lot of people have been asked us:
1. When are the babies due?
2. Are you going to have a c-section

The short answers to these questions are: sometime in August and not necessarily.

Here are the long answers.

Due Date.
Technically, my due date is September 12 (fun fact, this was my same due date with Noah). My OB has told me that a twin pregnancy is considered "full-term" at 36 weeks, although this number seems to vary depending on the OB. 36 weeks puts us in mid-August. I feel good, and the babies are doing well so we have every reason to think the babies will be here sometime in August. In addition, my OB flat-out said that they will not be September babies. My personal goal is Tuesday, August 19. I also like this date because there is no school/camp the week before and Dan and both feel strongly that school is the best place for Noah when the babies come. It's a comfortable place for him and with the chaos of babies it's a safe place for him to be. Another advantage of delivering in August, as many of my friends have pointed out, is that if they are born in August we will MAKE the September 1 cut-off for kindergarten and thus avoid some of the school issues we faced with Noah. It's a win-win for all.

Delivery
I'll be honest, the idea of having a c-section (which is considered major surgery) and then coming home to a preschooler and twins scares the crap out of me.

But my "birth plan" is fairly simple. I want healthy babies. Do whatever you have to do to get them out safely without jeopardizing my health or theirs.

If BOTH babies are head down, we're going to opt for a vaginal delivery. I successfully did it with Noah and my OB is comfortable we me doing it with twins assuming both babies are in the proper position. But he's also a conservative guy. I will have to deliver in the operating room in case there is a complication and they have to get the babies out quickly. My OB was very candid. He said that while he prefers c-sections for twins because it's more controlled and predictable he was okay with my decision.

If ONE or BOTH babies is breech then I will opt for a c-section. Many doctors will let you have a vaginal delivery if one baby is head down and then try to turn the other baby. But statistically most women in these situations end up needing a c-section anyway. Something my OB refers to as "the full birth experience."

We haven't scheduled anything and no firm plans have been made. It's really a day-by-day, week-by-week situation. But those are our plans.