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That was the day that was! Goodness! Let me tell you... carrying twins is not an easy task. From the very minute they found out I was carrying twins (which was not too many minutes after the found out I was pregnant) I heard the term "at risk"... a LOT! Let me tell you first that I just absolutely LOVE being pregnant! Truly. My body naturally LOSES weight when I'm pregnant - which has caused more than one doctor to accuse me of being bulimic... (not quite!) ... and I crave healthy food, and I just FEEL good! Yes. Well, after the first horrendous months of morning sickness. LOL! But the last 6 months of pregnancy has always been gOOd for me! Until I became "at risk". Ugh! They figured since I was carrying two babies I must need twice as many prenatal visits! I'm not really a "doctor" person. If I feel good I don't think I really NEED to be seen. Mrs. Lantz, you are "at risk" - you NEED to be seen! So I was seen. And seen and seen. Then... in my 3rd trimester, I started having contractions. Oh good grief! I was instantly put on "bed rest", hooked up to a monitor, and fed water by the gallon jugs! I had a 2.5 year old running around and I wasn't allowed off the couch! For 3 months. Fortunately I had a 13 year old who gave up her entire summer vacation to help Mom keep those twins in the tummy! That was quite a thing for a 13 year old!

So... after being on bed rest for 3 months - oh and on "medication" which turns out was steroids - which make a body quiiiiiiite energetic - but not allowed to get up and work off some of that energy, mind you -- but anyway - after 3 months of that Labor Day weekend arrives, and the doctor says it is now "safe"... he takes me off the medication, says I can get off the couch, and we figure we are going to have BABIES within 24 hours! Right? No. That was like Sept. 1st or 2nd. We went to bed EVERY night positive we were going to the hospital in the middle of the night! But we weren't. So... on the night of September 11th, when I couldn't sleep, I didn't think anything of it. I tossed and I turned and I tossed and I turned. And finally I got up to go downstairs and get a snack and (ohhhhh BAD Mommy) a cigarette. (yea... I smoked through this one... I sorta quit for the first 3 months - but after that... I was bad!) I walked around the house a little and then I went back to bed. My back was hurting though and I just could NOT get comfortable so I got up again, went back down stairs. My back didn't hurt while I was sitting at the kitchen table... but suddenly I realized I was having more contractions than usual. I started timing them and they were about 3 minutes apart. Hm. Well... I wasn't concerned because my first two pregnancies when the contractions were 3 minutes apart I still had at least 12 hours before babies were born! So I went upstairs and I woke Dennis. I told him what was going on, and I said I was going to take a shower and then call the doctor. I asked if he wanted to take a shower after. He said no. So when I got out of the shower I called the doctor and he said he would meet me at the hospital. I said, no... go on back to sleep... it's still going to be awhile... I'll have the hospital call you when it gets closer. So HE DID! Dennis and I left for the hospital and we no sooner got in my room, I was in my "gown" and sittin' in the bed signing papers, and I looked at the nurse and said... I feel like I need to push. I was in NO pain! I had not HAD a HARD contraction yet. She said well, let me examine you real quick... maybe you just need to use the bathroom. She examined me and said "OH MY! You are CROWNING! Where is your DOCTOR?" ... sleeping. They called Dr. G and told me to PANT! Dr. G. lived in Washington, DC... about 40 minutes away! The papers that I had been signing were to get an epidural so that they would not have to knock me out if a ceasarean became necessary... but it was too late to DO one! (an epidural... not a c-section!) Not only that but this was a *high risk* delivery - we needed another O.B., my pediatrician, another pediatrician, and about 8 nurses! I think I was not the ONLY one PANTING as they tried to ready a delivery room and gather the key players for this big event! And all I could think was there is noooooo way Dr. G is gettin' here in time for Baby A to make his appearance! (according to the sonogram, Baby A was a boy... Baby B was a girl -- remember that!) Because I was huff'n and puff'n to blow down a house and Baby A was NOT retreating! I said Nurse? What if Dr. G doesn't get here? *grin* She said "then I guess I'M going to deliver a baby ... or two! Okaaaay! I just wanted to know that SOMEbody had this under control! LOL! As it turned out I panted long enough, Dr. G drove fast enough and they wheeled me into delivery just in time to discover that this delivery room did NOT have a break-away table! At this point I was instructed to KEEP PANTIN' MARY! You gotta be kiddin' me... They changed out the table right from under me, and Dr. G entered the arena jusssssst in time to catch KRYSTI (Baby A - but NOT a boy) entering the world! She came into the world with her eyes wiiiiiiide open and cussin' her twin out! Ohhhhh Dennis was a PROUD papa! I admit I was a little disappointed because I really did want at least one more boy. It was going to be perfect with 2 boys and 2 girls. But oh well! Three girls would be fine! Well, then Baby B got stuck! Dr. G and Dr. N worked for several minutes to try to turn her... but she was a stubborn one and would not budge! She was hung up sideways and I won't go into details but it wasn't pretty! I'm continuing to have contractions -- and they have me panting again because they don't want me to PUSH while she's sideways! They want to make sure she comes out HEAD first - not feet first! Well, she wasn't coming out anything but side first! The decision was made that a c-section WAS in order! And DANG IT I didn't have an epidural! Well, ya know... once doctors make a decision, there is no discussion. Before I had time to think OR speak Dennis was being shuffled out of the room and I was being told good night Mary... when you wake up you'll have 2 babies! OUT! Like a light! I woke up fully believing I had 2 baby daughters... but when I was finally awake enough to understand and remember, I found out that Baby B was a BOY! So... before you start thinking that they just switched places or something - NO! That is not the case! They label them by their placentas and each baby is connected TO that placenta - so the truth of the matter is that the people who read my sonogram read BOTH babies wrong! That would never happen these 20 years later because sonography has gotten so much clearer that it's almost like getting JC Penney photographs of your in utero baby! But 20 years ago... some parts were sketchy! And both my babies were mis-read! Dennis and I were pleased as punch! Krysti has never forgiven SOMEbody! She has always thought she shoulda had a twin SISTER ... and we guess that's why she was so vocal coming into the world! Derek came much more quietly. They had to smack him around a bit to get a squall out of him ... and then he went right back to sleep! He was pretty sure he was not done cookin' ... and he greatly resented being dragged into the world by his twin! Not to worry... eventually they BOTH got over it! I think NEXT year they might actually be friends!

Soooo.... Krysti called me out this year on the fact that I have had NEVER done a birthday post to her! Apparently I have done one for her older sister... and I have done one for her older brother... but I had NOT done one for her - or her twin! But see, when she searched my blog, she only searched birthdays - and so she missed the post that wasn't devoted to anyone's birthday in which I bragged upon all of them ... HERE. So, if the braggin' was what she wanted she can go read THAT post! (and so can you...)

Of course, no party is complete without balloons -- and Krysti was in charge of "entertainment" - so she was making balloon "things".