On Tuesday, January 27th Glenn and I woke up early, got ready, and double checked the bags for the hospital to make sure we didn't forget anything. Then we got the boys up and had breakfast together followed by family prayer then Mary McGrath came over to watch Finn for us. She is a dear friend here on Rakah camp and we are so lucky to have her so close by. She is one of those people who is so genuinely kind and helpful that she leaves no room for feeling guilty about accepting her help. I love her. We gave Mary some instructions, kissed Finn, and got in the car with Tate and all our stuff. We dropped Tate off at school on our way to the hospital. It was fun to see him off at school and see him excitedly telling his classmates that we were having babies today!
When we got to the hospital we wandered around a bit trying to find Labor and Delivery. We asked a couple of people and eventually ran into Dr. Ashoor who directed us to the right place. That was awkward. I went into the prep room, got changed into my gown, had a blood draw and got an IV started. Eventually Dr. Faraj showed up and did one last ultrasound to check baby B's position, just in case she had decided to turn head down. She hadn't. So we decided to go ahead with the planned C-section. Glenn had to go to the waiting room since there was a Saudi woman in the prep room. The nurses told me that Glenn could join me after she left. After about half an hour of waiting, I saw her walk by and asked the nurse if she could get Glenn. She told me yes and then sat there on the computer. A few minutes later I asked again and she got up and went to get him for me. We sat together and took one last pregnant picture while we were waiting for the operating room to be freed up and cleaned.
Just a couple of minutes later they called from to let us know the OR was free, sent Glenn to get in his scrubs, and wheeled me into the OR.
It was a pretty scary 30 minutes or so...that seemed like several hours between leaving Glenn's side and when I saw him next. The OR is sort of a scary room. Sterile, cold, lots of tools, most of them sharp ones, and a table with big bright lights above it. I was nervous immediately and wished that Glenn was there to hold my hand and tell me jokes. The anesthesiologist gave me my spinal and they moved me to the operating table. It was incredible how fast I was completely numb from my rib cage down. They gave me some oxygen, tied my arms down (that was more than a little disconcerting), and put on an oxygenation monitor and a blood pressure cuff. That stinkin' cuff startled me every time it started squeezing my arm.
They started prepping me right away and I asked when my husband could come in. They said once the blue sheet is up over my belly that they'd let him in. I waited and as soon as I saw that blue sheet I asked again. It was like they'd completely forgotten. Oh yea, sure, we'll send someone to get him. So they sent someone out but kept getting me ready and Glenn kept not arriving. After another minute I asked again and they said they hadn't found him yet. Another minute went by and I started to get a little panicked. I said, don't start until my husband gets here. The anesthesiologist got this panicked look on her face, looks over the blue sheet and says, "don't start until her husband gets here." Then it got really quiet and she said, "they already started." I got teary and she said, "It's just the skin, they've just cut the skin." I said, "Get my husband now". And about another minute later Glenn walked in all outfitted in his scrubs. No one had given him directions so he'd just gone back to the waiting room...and for some reason they didn't look for him there immediately?! I was a bit of a mess when he arrived. Seriously, you started my c-section with out my husband?!
Anyway, I was so glad he didn't miss it! He was in the room for just a couple of minutes when they pulled out Miss Kenna Jean at 10:58 am. She immediately started crying nice and loud. They laid her on the table with the top of her head facing me and the first thing I saw was this tiny head covered in black hair. I couldn't believe we made a baby with tons of hair, let alone tons of dark hair. It seemed like much longer but it was only two minutes later that Taryn Kinsley was born at 11:00 am. I didn't get to see her right away but I heard her crying. It was interesting having so little information just given to us like it would be in the states. Glenn went over and asked what they weighed and then told me. Then their weights, time of birth and apgar scores were written on a white board across the room but I wouldn't have known them otherwise. Kenna weighed 2.820 kg (about 6 lbs. 4 oz.) and Taryn weighed 2.54 kg (about 5 lbs. 9 oz.). We still don't know their length. I don't know if it was even recorded.
The nurses brought each baby over to me for just a minute and untied one of my hands so I could hold them a bit and look at their tiny faces then they whisked them to the nursery.
They both looked so tiny all bundled up in their blankets. Glenn went with them while I was being sewn up. It took much longer than I anticipated. I was lying there for 45 minutes after Glenn left. Dr. Faraj said everything looked great and then she left and I was transferred to a recovery room. Glenn met up with me there a bit later, told me that the nursery was kind of confused when he asked them to let me feed them. I guess they don't have very many breastfed babies here? And told me the incredible news that I would be staying in my own room. Hallelujah! That was the part of the hospital stay that made the the very most nervous. I can't imagine how awful it would be to share a room with several other women and their babies. They only have 2 single rooms and I was SO fortunate to have one of them!
The nurses in recovery were funny. Both had pretty strong opinions about what I should be doing and they disagreed and fought with each other pretty boldly right in front of me. Oh Saudi.
I had to stay in the recovery room until I could start to move my legs. I threw up twice while waiting the hour or so for that to happen. It was not great but at least I was still pretty drugged up so it didn't hurt! Glenn left to go pick up Finn in Rakah and then get Tate from school and I was wheeled to my postpartum room.
My room was nothing super nice but it was heaven to have my own space. I had a little bathroom, a little couch, and plenty of room on the sides of my bed to have one bassinet on each side.
I threw up several more times waiting for the boys to visit and was still throwing up when they came. They gave me some anti nausea meds and it got much better.
Seeing the boys with their sisters was the very best. They were both absolutely ecstatic and just lit up to see and hold their babies. They looked at their teensy fingers and toes, touched their soft hair, and sang them rock-a-bye babies. It was so sweet.
Too soon they had to leave and I was on my own. I did okay that first night. I sent the babies to the nursery after I fed them and they were able to stay there for a few hours in between feedings which was nice. I got a couple of hours of sleep at a time, interrupted of course by nurses coming to take my vitals all night and see if I was still feeling sick. It was frustrating having to call someone to help me change a diaper or pick up and put down my girls because I couldn't move much on my own yet.
Wednesday morning I was finally able to eat. The food was pretty awful. About what you'd expect from Saudi Arabian hospital food. But there was always something on each meal tray that I would eat. Usually not very much, but something was better than nothing and I wasn't too starving during my hospital stay anyway.
I had a nurse come help me get out of bed to use the bathroom for the first time. It was nice to get up but I was surprised how hard it was to keep myself from falling over that first time out of bed. Dr. Faraj came to check on me and took my dressing off. Miss Kenna was all covered up in her blanket when she came in and she joked, "This one must know she's in Saudi Arabia and that it is custom for girls to cover their faces."
I was able to take a shower and clean myself up before the nurse put on another dressing. It felt amazing to take a shower.
Glenn and Finn came to visit for the morning. Glenn brought a box of cinnabons and I had one with my breakfast which tasted so good. He gave the rest to the nurses. Bribing the nurses became a theme of his visits. Aubry gave us the idea of bringing something for the nursing staff to thank them and also hopefully bribe them to take good care of us. I think it worked pretty well.
Glenn brought a movie for Finn to watch on the little DVD player so they were able to stay for a little while. They left just before lunch time to get Finn home for lunch and nap. Glenn and Finn picked up Tate again from school and came for a quick visit after school. It was so nice to see them all but it was probably the hardest visit because it was the night I was in the roughest shape. I was in a lot of pain and knew that it was going to be a long night. Everything hurt. I had a throbbing pain in my shoulder which was apparently from trapped gas, my stomach was all bloated and sore, also from gas, and having cramps while nursing after having a c section was pretty awful.
That night was the hardest night in the hospital. I tried to feed the girls and send them to the nursery for a while but they ended up coming back within an hour because they'd get fussy and either the nursery nurses didn't know what to do for them without being able to just give them a bottle, or there weren't enough nurses to take care of them and give me a break. So I ended up being up all night. They would eat, I would run to the bathroom and then as soon as I got my bed laid down one or both of them would start squeaking and be up on and off until I would give up and feed them again after about an hour. It was the first time I tried feeding the girls at the same time. I was quite the sight, I'm sure, but I didn't know what else to do when they were both screaming at me at the same time. We figured it out okay. I was so glad that even though they were small, they didn't have a hard time latching on at all. That was a huge blessing. I also spent a lot of time that night snuggling and figuring out how to hold two babies at once. Not a bad deal at all. Two sweet, soft, little babies to snuggle with. It was heavenly.
Thursday was pretty chill. Glenn spent the morning playing with Finn on Rakah so he would have some one on one attention and play time. I spent all day just hanging out and feeding and snuggling the girls. It was nice. As long as I stayed on top of my pain medication it wasn't too bad. I found that the nurses didn't always bring me medicine when it was due so I had to ask how long I needed to wait in between doses and then call to ask for them to bring it to me when it was due. Otherwise it could be an hour or two late and I'd start to get pretty sore. I was really glad that I brought some movies and a DVD player. It was nice to have something to occupy my mind during all the feedings and quiet hours.
After school the boys came and brought pizza. We all hung out and ate pizza and the boys watched a movie and held their sisters. It was so great to have our own room so they could come visit for a while. Officially no kids are supposed to be allowed to visit postpartum recovery but they stretched the rules for us as long as the kids stayed in our room. If we had to share a room they wouldn't have been able to visit. There would be no where for them to even sit.
Thursday night was about the same as Wednesday. Not much sleep, but lots of cuddle time with my new baby girls. It was amazing to me every time I picked them up how small they were. I loved kissing their soft cheeks and rubbing their soft hair.
It was pretty great to have a lot of alone time to get used to having my little girls and feel capable of taking care of them on my own. It was pretty amazing how I didn't feel overwhelmed and frustrated at the task of caring for my two babies at all while in the hospital. I was tired and sore sometimes but I was always a little excited when one of my babies made noise and it was time to feed or snuggle them. It was sweet and exciting instead of scary and overwhelming. They're pretty sweet little babies. They love to be held and snuggled, which makes them so easy to love!
On Friday morning Tate woke up feeling a little sick so the boys decided to go to church just for sacrament meeting and then go straight home instead of stopping to visit. My day consisted of getting ready, feeding and snuggling the girls, and waiting around for different doctors to get us discharged. I don't know if the discharge process would have been more organized if it wasn't on their sabbath, or if that's just the way it goes here. It was frustrating not knowing when the doctors were going to come or how long we'd have to wait or when to tell Glenn we would be ready to go. By the afternoon I was very done waiting around and just wanted to go home.
Dr. Faraj was out of town on Friday so another doctor came by to take out my staples and give me a new bandage. It was not a fun process, removing staples, but it could have been worse. After he gave me some instructions and I asked him some questions, they gave me a big bag of medications and told me that I was ready to go. Then we just had to wait for the pediatrician to see the girls. A few hours later the pediatrician came, the girls got their shots and got looked over by the doctor. He called me down to the nursery and told me that Kenna had a bit of jaundice and needed to come back to the clinic for another test in three days, and that Taryn had a little bit of a heart murmur. He didn't seem too concerned about it at all. He didn't give me much information and I didn't really know what to ask, but his demeanor was not worried so I didn't stress out too much. He ordered an echo test and said that a cardiologist would be by later to look at it and let me know what he saw.
I had a few hours after that to think about my little girl and what might be wrong with her heart. It took so long for the cardiologist to show up and by the time he did I was anxious to know what was going on. The doctor was my least favorite I've dealt with yet in the kingdom. He walked into the room and said, "So, you broke one of your babies." What?! I broke one of my babies? Do you have any idea how precarious my emotional state is right now? He told me she had pulmonary valve stenosis and asked me if I knew anything about the anatomy of the heart. I said no and he asked, "didn't you study science in school?" I told him that I had but that it had been a lot of years. He said, "It's been a long time since I studied to be a doctor but I still remember it." Thanks a lot, sir. So he had me look up a picture of a the heart on my ipad so he could point to the different parts as he explained what was happening. It seemed like it wasn't a really scary condition but I couldn't figure out how to get simple, straight answers and I also didn't really know which questions to ask. I'd ask him, "But she's going to be okay, right?" And his answer was, "Inshallah, she will be fine." Which means something akin to, "If God wills it." I really don't care for that expression. Inshallah just seems to be what Saudis say when they can't or don't want to commit to a response. Just tell me straight up that my new baby girl is going to be okay! He told me that I needed to schedule another check up and echo in 6-8 weeks and that he wanted Kenna to come in too just in case. He said there was a chance she could develop something similar because they "shared an apartment". Then he asked what my husband does for Aramco. I told him Glenn is a Geologist and he asked, "And does he remember what he learned in school?" I wanted to punch him in the face. After he left, I called Glenn and told him we were ready to be picked up.
Mary McGrath came over to watch the boys and Glenn came to pick us up. It was so different being discharged from this hospital. No papers to sign, no forms to fill out. They didn't have us officially name the babies. They just called them twin one and twin two the whole time. Here's one of Taryn's ankle bracelets. All of hers said, "Glenn Makechnie Bint 2 of 2" and all of Kenna's said, "Glenn Makechnie Bint 1 of 2". Bint means daughter in Arabic.
The only papers they gave us on our way out were records of their vaccinations and little papers for their baby books with their footprints and birth weight. That's it. Then we were on our way.
Overall the hospital experience was a positive one. It was definitely different than my experiences giving birth in the US. But that was certainly to be expected. There were some pros, some cons, and some things that were sort of both.
Pros:
- Having my own room. I cannot imagine how much harder and more uncomfortable my stay would have been had I been sharing a room and bathroom with one or more women, their babies, and visitors. I am SO glad that the nursing staff took pity on me and that there was a room available so I didn't have to face my recovery and long nights while sharing a small space with strangers.
- No paperwork at all. Like I said, I didn't sign a single paper the whole time.
- Sprayers. In the bathrooms in Saudi there are little sprayers, like the ones in kitchen sinks back home. Saudis use them to spray themselves off after using the restroom instead of using toilet paper. Usually I think they're completely disgusting because for some reason the public restrooms are completely soaked after they've been in use. Totally soaked. Like water half way up the wall behind and around the toilet, puddles on the floor, soaked. And knowing that the water has been sprayed, supposedly, off of someone's soiled nether regions makes it even more nasty. However, as long as you remember to check the pressure before you spray (yowsers), they can actually come in handy for a postpartum mamma. Enough said.
Cons:
- Food. It was pretty bad. Most every meal had fruit or vegetables, but they were not good fruit and vegetables. They were slimy and bland. Lunch and dinner were rice with some kind of meatballs or chicken or fish in curry or other unidentifiable slimy sauce.
- Couldn't log onto the wifi. A small inconvenience, but it meant that I ran out of data on my phone by the second day and couldn't send imessages to friends and family anymore.
Both:
- Care. The care was very different from the in the states. There I would have people checking in on me and the babies all the time. The pediatricians or nurses would take the baby and check their weight or vitals at least every day. No one saw the babies until the day we were discharged here. And I had no idea what their weight was upon leaving the hospital. I didn't know how much weight they'd lost during our stay. After that first day we were left to our own devices most of the day. The nurses would come when I called them for pain meds or to bring in meals, but other than that we were alone a lot. It was kind of nice to not be bothered, but I did wonder sometimes I would know if anything was wrong with my recovery or with the babies...because no one was really checking up on us.
- Nursery. Like I said, it seemed like they didn't really know what to do with breastfed babies. I didn't get much sleep because every time I sent them to the nursery they'd be back as soon as they fussed even if it had only been an hour and they clearly didn't need to eat again. A couple of times I asked if they could go to the nursery for a bit and was told that there was no room because the nursery was full. Different. Just different.
- It was nice to have my own TV in that I didn't have to listen to shows that anyone else wanted to watch at all hours of the day and night. It was nice once in a while to try to find something to just turn on so it wasn't so quiet. The bummer was that there were only three channels in English and that they were playing pretty violent action movies all the time. I seldom felt in the mood for violent action movies while holding my new babies.
So that's it. We survived having twin babies in Saudi Arabia. I anticipated the worst case scenario of every situation, as we've become accustomed to doing here just so we're prepared. But I'm happy to say that it wasn't as bad as I expected. Primarily because I was able to have my own room. It was far from my favorite or most comfortable hospital experience, but it wasn't horrible and it's over. Bringing home both of my boys from the hospital I remember crying on the way home thinking, "How am I going to do this? How can I take care of this baby on my own? I've had so much help in the hospital and I don't think I am ready to do real life!" But this time, I didn't cry at all. I was so ready to go home. More anxious to be in my own home with normal food and my own bed (even though it's still not my own bed) than I was scared that I couldn't do it. We felt ready to start figuring out our new normal with our family of 6. Here we go!
