Jack + Liv {birth story}

HELLOOOOO WORLD! I’m back! And here to finally share these sweet little babes’ birth story! It’s only taken me seven weeks to do it! I look at these pictures and can’t believe how much they’ve changed already! So here we goooo… before I blink and they turn one 😉

Liv Kimberley Denney and Jack Todd Denney. Born February 19th at 5:17pm and 5:28pm. 

They were perfection. They are perfection!

On Monday, Feb 19th I checked into the hospital at 7:30am to have a scheduled c-section. We had scheduled a c-section a month or so before because Jack had been flipping between head down and breech at almost every appointment…even up until the last week! Jack was baby B, and if he stayed breech my only option was a c-section. BUT, if he ended up being head-down, then I could opt for a vaginal delivery if I wanted to. I felt like the last month was a guessing game- I didn’t have a birth plan or know what to expect, I was nervous and excited!

{38 weeks + 3 days + SO ready. also so swollen}

I was a little nervous to try a vaginal twin delivery (I’d heard so many stories about things going wrong) and it would be my third v-bac. But I really preferred it to another c-section. My doctor was a slightly concerned Jack would flip during delivery (as soon as Liv was out and he had even more room to move), but it was ultimately up to me. 

As it got closer to my scheduled c-section date, I just kept saying a prayer that on the morning of, it would be perfectly clear what I should do. Whatever that meant, whether he was breech and it had to be a c-section or Jack was head down- that I would know and feel good about it! And so would my doctor.

Monday morning I checked in and starting prepping for a c-section and did a non-stress test to monitor babies’ hearts and any contractions. Once my doctor got there he did an ultrasound and good ol’ Jack was head down. AND I was having contractions. AND I was dilated! 

It was the perfect scenario for an induction! So they added me to the schedule and got me situated in a delivery room. I felt so calm and peaceful, and just excited to meet these two. I started pitocin around 11am, my doctor broke my water (for baby A-Liv) around 2pm, gave me the epidural shortly after, and then I had these babies a few hours later. 

Liv was born first, at 5:17pm and weighed 6 lb 5 oz. I got to hold my baby girl for about two minutes before it was time to push again and get Jack here.  I wanted to hold her longer, but was anxious to see Jack and have him in my arms too. (I’ve realized that’ll kind of be a never-ending thing with twins, wanting more time with both, but constantly juggling back and forth between the two!)

My Dr. broke Jack’s water sac and he did exactly what he was supposed to do, within a couple of contractoin he went right into the birth canal and stayed head down. He was in my arms just 10 minutes after Liv, at 5:28pm and weighed 7 lbs. 

I’ll never forget Liv’s high-pitched cry. She was such a girl.  An unfamiliar cry to our family of boys. And Jack’s face turned bright red (almost purple) every time he cried, but he looked just like another one of my boys! So familiar.

When they took both babies to clean and weigh and do tests on, I remember just laying there, exhausted, in gratitude, and thanking my Heavenly Father for two healthy babies. That everything went so smoothly. They were here and healthy. I was healthy!

Later that night my mom brought the boys to meet the twins. It was the calmest I had ever seen them (even though it was short-lived). They were in awe. And they couldn’t wait for us to bring them home.

We were in the hospital for just two days….two of the very best, special, sleepy days. I loved being there and soaking these babies in with Brett! 

Now Jack and Liv are almost eight weeks old! Our family of seven is complete! We are happy, healthy, tired, and it’s a little crazy over here. But Brett and I feel extremely grateful to have these sweet babies with us. I remember how terrified I was when I first found out we were having twins. “I can’t do it!” was all I kept thinking. But here I am, here we are, doing it. We’re figuring it out, adjusting, it’s so hard, so exhausting, and so rewarding. They’re the best and greatest additions to our family. 

Thank you for your love and for cheering us on!