Phoenix and Raven's Birth Story

About seven weeks into my second pregnancy, I found out via ultrasound that I was having twins. When I first found out I was pregnant, I'd had an earlier ultrasound that only showed one baby but this pregnancy was different. I had suspicions that I was either carrying a girl or twins because I was vomiting all day, every day. With my son, I had only been nauseous most of the time but did not vomit much, and the sickness did not last all day. So I was really not surprised to find out I was having twins.

The ultrasound technician kept asking me if I was OK after she told me. I was so happy; I had always wanted twins. We later found out they were two girls. During the pregnancy we thought they shared a placenta and were identical. But apparently they had two placentas because after they were born, the doctor in the delivery room said they were fraternal twins.

On June 12, 2003, I was 36 weeks, six days pregnant when I started having contractions at 6 a.m. Because my son had been born by C-Section and the girls were breech, I was scheduled to have a C-section at noon that day, but the girls had other ideas. I continued having contractions about every three minutes from then on. I hurriedly packed my suitcase and got my son and myself ready. My mother, who had come in from out of town for the birth, drove me to the hospital while my husband took our 18-month-old son, Gage, to the babysitter's house. I walked into the hospital and right into my room as I had pre-registered and was scheduled to come in that day anyway.

Shortly after I was wheeled into the operating room. I was given an epidural and prepared for surgery. My mom was in the delivery room with me as my husband had been there for our son's birth.

Phoenix Dawn was born at 10:29 a.m. weighing five pounds, six ounces, and Raven Skye followed at 10:31 a.m. weighing six pounds, three ounces. My recovery was amazingly easy compared to my previous C-Section, there was hardly any pain. Raven went home with me three days later, but Phoenix spent almost two weeks in the NICU for feeding and heart problems.

They are now two months old and weigh eight pounds, two ounces and nine pounds, three ounces each. I still get them mixed up sometimes; even though they are not identical they look very much alike. It is such a joy to be a mother to all three of my children!