And Then There Were Two...
my twin birth story👶🏻👶🏻
Hellloooo, my friends!
It feels so good to pop in “live” amidst my pre-scheduled maternity leave posts—
Right now, it’s 8:37 PM on Sunday. I just finished breastfeeding the babies, my toddler is asleep, I poured a sparkling water into a wine glass (it just feels more fancy ok), and I feel that familiar pull to sit down at my laptop and let the words floooow...
It’s birth story time.
And, gosh, I am excited to capture this.
Reading, talking, and sharing birth stories has always been one of my favorite forms of content to consume— and create.
I firmly believe there’s something powerful about women sharing their birth experiences: learning from one another, hearing each unique journey, and seeing how beautifully different every birth can look.
But what’s so fascinating is that every birth story is truly unique, yet I’m always able to find something relatable in every one I hear? Whether it’s a small detail, a particular mindset, an experience with a provider, or even a specific intervention received...
Each labor is one-of-a-kind, yet almost always contains at least one relatable thread running through it.
Birth is so potent.
So emotional.
So individual.
But yet, so connective.
And today, I am sharing my unique story.
Before we begin —
As I just mentioned, *every* birth is different.
And, along with that, people have different preferences— some women feel empowered by a scheduled c-section, some feel empowered by a vaginal epidural birth, and some feel empowered by an unmedicated home birth.
Everyone goes into birth with their own view, and in this post I’m just sharing mine— as someone who is very drawn to natural, holistic, low-intervention birthing *and* really respects modern medicine and feels safest giving birth in a hospital.
So I ask that you just view this with openness to my unique experience and remember that yours can (and probably will!) be different.
Deal? Deal ◡̈
🍼 In this birth story, I’ll cover…
Finding out I was having twins, and how I *immediately* discovered that I could no longer birth with the midwife team I was established with
Letting go of the “ideal” birth plan and embracing a new reality of a high-risk pregnancy
The search for—and magic of— finding an incredible OB-GYN
How being aware and informed of all the different interventions empowered me, not scared me.
How twin labor stacked up against my first singleton unmedicated birth
The preterm labor scare that snuck up on me
To epidural or not? Wrestling with my plan for pain management
Navigating weeks and weeks of prodromal labor (hello, mind games)
Making it to the finish line at 37 weeks + 6 days with twins!
The holistic tricks I used to naturally induce labor in one attempt
That time my dilation stalled between 5-7 cm… for 11 hours straight🤪
Balancing low-intervention hopes with trusting modern medicine
What it was like to deliver in the operating room (all hospital twin births happen there, regardless of C-section or vaginal!)
Welcoming not one but TWO good-sized babes of 7.5 lbs each!
My POSITIVE birth story. Despite having twins, I had a safe, smooth, and empowering delivery. I feel truly grateful to say that.
Yet even with a wonderful birth, I still needed to processing labor afterwards and handle a few lingering “what ifs” and second guesses
But, ultimately, this post is about how I found a sense of empowerment and peace in a labor and pregnancy that was filled with worry and unknowns.
Below, I will share the full story— both written and in podcast version if you prefer to listen! 🎧
And please note—I have no intention of “gatekeeping” my birth story! I’ll definitely share the brief cliffnotes of my experience on my Instagram story Q&A sometime soon! As always, there is no pressure to keep reading ◡̈
This post is moreso a thorough peek behind the curtain for those of you that want the whole story— I am so thankful that the substack platform gives me a safe space to share in long-form writing *and* podcast style for those who prefer to listen.
While this twin pregnancy had many twists and turns, I am grateful to say I had a very empowered, safe, and smooth delivery.
And below, we’ll dig into alllll of it!