Jennilyn: Twin Pregnancy, 5+ weeks of Bedrest, Delivery at 33 weeks and NICU Stay at the Beginning of Covid-19

Jennilyn shares her journey starting with infertility due to PCOS. She got pregnant with twins, struggled with PUPPs and soon after was admitted into the hospital for a shortened cervix twice. Jennilyn spent more than 5 weeks on the high risk perinatal unit on bedrest. She started experiencing contractions and was found to have bulging waters at 33 weeks and one day. After having a C-section that day, the twins were admitted into the NICU. After Jennilyn's 5 day hospital stay, she was released and her postpartum days were filled with pumping, driving to and from the hospital every day, and a short bout of food poisoning during the infamous toilet paper shortage. The day Baby A was released from the NICU was the day the hospital went into lockdown and Jennilyn was told she was not allowed to visit Baby B anymore. 21 long days later, Baby B was released and went home. Jennilyn dealt with a lot of guilt surrounding the circumstances of her premature labor and sought help for her mental health issues.

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Intro Song by Carpathians (Donny Rodgers): https://carpathians.bandcamp.com/track/lavaman

Transcript

Hello, welcome to the Golden Hour birth podcast. We're so happy to have you back. I'm your host, Natalie, and I'm your host Liz. And today we have a very special guest. It's our first time having a remote guest. Um, so if the sound is a little different, that's why. But we wanted to introduce Jenny and um, thanks for coming on.

And why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. Yeah. Um, I'm Jenny. Uh, my full name is Jenna Lynn. A lot of people, uh,  when I became an adult . Call me Jennilyn. Um, and I am a nurse at Reproductive Biology Associates. It's a fertility clinic in Atlanta, Georgia. Um, I'm the clinical educator, so I talk a lot and I teach new nurses about the field that, um, I'm very, very passionate about fertility and when I was in nursing school, I was interested in women's health and psychology and how do you mix those two fertility

Um, so it was, I, I feel like I was destined for this job and I, I truly, truly, truly love it. Mm-hmm. , but I live here in, at North Georgia with my two girls and my husband Daniel. Um, he goes by Danny. We met in. . Oh, wow. . Yeah. So for all the St. Louis folk that, listen, , he went to Marquette. I went to Eureka. Oh. I went to two different high schools.

Um, and we met when we were 16 and we were inseparable when we met. We, we just, we didn't stop . I love it. Hanging out. He was my best friend. And, um, you know, ups and downs, but we went to college together in Alabama, and then we ended up in, uh, Georgia. Awesome. I love that. I love the high school sweetheart.

Love . Yeah. Oh yeah. We grew up together. I mean, yeah. Um, he, in many ways, I, I, I mean I watched that that guy grow chest hair

We have, we've gone through it all with each other. Oh. So it's, it's something really special and, um, unique. . That's amazing. So when did you guys decide that you wanted to start a family and then how did kind of like that journey go? Yeah. I, in college I found out I have P C O S, um, polycystic ovarian syndrome, um, where it's, where you just don't ovulate on your own.

Mm-hmm. . So without birth control, I don't have a period. I knew from that point I knew I would need some kind of help getting pregnant. I didn't look into the job for that , I just happened to fall onto it. Mm-hmm.  and after we got married, we eloped and in 2018 we eloped and af. Shortly after that I was like, whatever, I'll get off birth control and we can see, well, a couple months go by.

Nothing I tried.  a couple rounds of medication. I took Letrozole and uh, adl. It's an injection that forces you to ovulate. Mm-hmm.  and Danny didn't know about like the first five months of that. He just thought that he was getting late   and uh, he was just happy to be there, . And, um, so we, it was probably, it was June I went to a family wedding and I was, you know, you're hoping to be pregnant for those, those big events.

Mm-hmm.  those family events. And it was a letdown that I wasn't my coworker, she was pregnant the month we both tried. And it was just a, you feel so sad and disappointed each month and it gave me insight into what my patients go through. So we moved into our new home and we tried again in July. . I just so happened to be talking to my sister about this stuff at the same time.

Mm-hmm. . And we started her periods around the same time. She just got married. Um, and we, we tried with medication again, a, a higher dose this time. And I was testing at work cuz I'm surrounded by birth, like pregnancy tests. Yeah. , why would I pay for one . Love that. So I was at work on a weekend and I took a test and it was like a fairy faint line.

And I'm all by myself and I'm holding the test and I'm like, shaking, shaking. And my manager, uh, uh, I'm close with all my coworkers and she sees me with that test and she just screams,  like, screams down the hall. And the, the director of nursing at the time, she was like, who's screaming on a weekend?

Absolutely not. Like she's joking. She's like, who the hell is screaming?  and Melissa was like, Jenny's pregnant . And I was like, I think, and I'm shaking and holding the, the, the, the little test to her. And I was like, I think, I think it's positive. She goes, yeah, it's positive. Unless you're just a weird old man with a disease.

No, it's, it's positive. And so we do our tests. That was 11 days after ovulation. That was 11 days. Oh wow. And it was positive, which is the first sign I should have noticed . Um, the, the blood work was like pretty high. It was a, I think, uh, over a hundred. Oh. And um, I, I have a, I, where I work, we have ultrasounds and so I could do ultrasounds at like five weeks.

Yeah. . So I did a really early ultrasound and it was, we saw two sacks, . And so immediately we saw two sacks and I was so anxious. Because we're, I am in a realm that there could be multiple per S sac. Mm-hmm. . So I was like, as long as there's just two heartbeats per sack, as long as there's just two heartbeats per s sac.

Um, that time was pretty scary. . Um, I, early on I didn't have, um, very many symptoms early, but I hit about seven or eight weeks and nausea hit. Mm-hmm.  pretty bad. I dunno about you guys, but like, if I'm gonna vomit, I fight it my body, like mm-hmm.  fights it really hard. I tried to avoid it at all cost. Um, but I didn't have a choice.

Tons and tons of food aversions. Mm-hmm. , um, I, I think I lost weight at that point. Um,  my only appetite. I just wanted a Turkey sub from Jersey mics, . And I was just like, I don't care. I'm not eating anything . Like I can't eat anything. So, uh, the risk be damned. I'm eating that Turkey sub . And, um, so that was, that was a little tough.

Um, when it came to like 14 weeks though, it stopped. All of it stopped. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Um, yeah, so it got better and, you know, it was like almost like I hit a wall. I could drink coffee again. I could, um, I could go about normally. Now other symptoms started pretty early with me. I don't know if you guys know what pucks is.

Mm-hmm. , I've never heard of that. I had no idea what this was. It is P U P P P S. It's a bunch of Ps. Yeah. . But it's related to your placenta and it causes, um, excessive itching.  Oh, oh. All over your body. I have. I've heard of, but but yeah, it was, I've never heard that. Awful. It's from your placenta and it's from a lot of first pregnancies Get it and first pregnancies of boys and it can happen with first pregnancies cuz you get so big so fast.

Mm-hmm.  and with twins, I got big so fast. Yeah. Um, I was itching so much they had to give me, I had to take Benadryl for Zyrtec every day. Oh my gosh. It was awful. I also got lightning crotch really early. Oh, ditto. . I got lightning crotch probably 23 weeks. 24 weeks. Oh, oh wow. That is really . Yeah, . Yeah. I thought I got it early, but I didn't  I know I listened to your episode and I was like, Ooh, that feeling

Oh God. That feeling is something else. Yeah. Um, but yeah, so it, I mean, at the beginning we were so. Overjoyed with it. Mm-hmm. . Um, I was ex really, really excited. I was thinking, oh my gosh, you know, I knew the measurements of my, my follicles. Like, I was like, Ooh, is are these identical? You know, are, was it that small follicle that was just hanging over there?

Um, so I was very aware of everything. Yeah. When I was, when I was pregnant. Um, how did you tell any, didn't Danny, sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off there. How did you tell Danny? Because I don't think you said that part. Like, how did you tell Danny that you were pregnant at work and then how did you tell him it was twins?

Yeah. So I, after I went home, I, you know, got off of work and I was like, I gotta find one of those fancy tests. Mm-hmm. , you know, one of those store bought tests. Yeah. That just say pregnant. He won't be in the whole line. . Um, and I go to his work, he works in real estate and he, um,  works for a home builder. So he's there at the model home and he has a partner.

Um, and I get there and it's just his partner there. And she was like, oh, he's walking a house with some customers. And I was like, all right, . And I really wanted to videotape it, so I was like, I guess I'm gonna tell one more person before my husband . So I was like, can you do me a favor? And when Danny's coming up, I need you to take a video because I'm gonna tell him I'm pregnant.

And she was so excited and we, I have him on like the front porch and I'm like, Hey babe, you know, we're gonna have to start preparing cuz we have someone coming to visit us in April. And he was like, who? ? And I was like, . I'm not sure who they'll be, but, and I start to pull out and he goes, oh my God. And he's just like, crazy

And he's like, it's cause we, he, no, he was like, he was like, um, we did it. He said something like, we did it last night. Was it that ? You're an idiot. Oh, you're an idiot. . Yes. And then the best one, the best one was when I, I got that ultrasound that, that day. Um, it was like, I was really, really early y'all. I was like five weeks.

And I had just called my sister that day. Like, I got home from work, called my sister. I didn't, she had had a loss. Um, and I didn't wanna be like, Hey, I know you're trying, you're pregnant yet. Mm-hmm.  you, that's never, never a good thing. Yeah. Mm-hmm. , if someone's struggling to get pregnant, don't do it. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.  and I recall we're talking and you know, when you like. , you're doing small talk with someone. Mm-hmm.  and you're skirting around the thing that you want to talk about. Mm-hmm. , we're talking about stupid crap and I don't even remember. And she goes and she like cuts the shit and goes, are you pregnant

And I was like, Kim, I am, I am. Um, and she goes, you know what? I took a test today. I think I am too. And I go, you think ? She no joke. Her and I were five days apart. Oh, but you've gotten pregnant five days. That is so sad. And it was that day. Yeah. It was that day where I had that ultrasound and I go, Kimberly, I really don't mean to steal your thunder.

I do think it might be, I think it's twins. And she was like, what ? I'm like, I am. One up in you. I'm so sorry, . But it was so exciting and I had planned that day for my friend Anna to come over her and I was going to like, have a glass of wine, you know, talk to her. We hadn't seen each other in a while. She's a, a nurse at a children's hospital.

Like she's in the, in the shift. She's amazing. Mm-hmm. , she was, she knew that we had been trying for a couple months and she was like, how's it going? And I was like, you know, we, we stopped trying. I, we were, we're, it was a fight. We, we had a fight. , I'm just lying, just straight up lying to her. And, um, it wasn't until she got, until Danny got home from work that I had him start recording and I recorded me telling her, and which by the way, during this time we're idiots and we decided to get a puppy.

So she, her initial reaction was, oh my God, are you still getting a puppy ? I was like, yeah, we're still getting a puppy. That's dumb . Um, we're so dumb. We we're getting, paying for the puppy and all of that, and we'd already put a deposit down and then I find out it's twins and like every, put money down.

This is gonna happen. So I pull, I say, Danny, keep record.  and he goes, oh, oh. Like that's not part of the plan. , he's recording. And I pull out that ultrasound and I go and I start crying cuz I was like holding it in too long. I was like, it could be twins. And he ruins the video cuz he goes,  just starts cursing.

And I'm like, and then after the video's gone, he goes, it's cuz we did it twice that one day. Isn't it ? No, it's not that we don't have twins. That's so funny.

Not the

but um, yeah. And it was, it was so fun having that initial, we're pregnant and then doing,  and it's twin. Like, it's so satisfying. Yeah. It's really, really satisfying. , I love that because everyone's so excited and then they're just like, and then their look in their eyes is so scared. . It gets so scared for you

And it's like, yeah, I'm scared too. Hell like . Um, so it was, it was really pretty exciting at the beginning. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Like always . Yeah. . So after like the 24 ish weeks of like lightning crotch, how did it go from there? Um, now they, the anatomy scan obviously is super long when it comes to twins.

Mm-hmm. , you're, you're measuring everything and anything. Um, they're able to get Baby B just fine. We could see all of baby B. She seems to have all the room to flip around and, um, , it was baby A that we really couldn't visualize. She, um, was just facing my spine so we couldn't see her face. Um, and that would spurred on more appointments and later on, you know, more ultrasounds.

Mm-hmm. . But, um, we held off on genetic testing. We didn't do the gender testing or anything, and I just wanted to wait because with twins, it's not a definitive mm-hmm. , you could say, it just tells you if the, the Y chromosome is present or not. Mm-hmm. , in my case, it would've told me the answer, but I was like, I, I think it's a boy and a girl.

I think it's a boy and a girl. Um, I don't think it's gonna gimme the whole answer. I'm not sick enough to beat both girls, you know? Mm-hmm.  and plus, by the way, no girl names. We had no girl names  set out. We were like opposite, none that we liked. Um, and. We, I had my ultrasonographer, who happens to also be a twin mom in the fertility game.

Love it. There's a lot of us, , there's like six twin parents in our office. Oh my, my gosh. Yes. So we, I was like, okay, I think it's time. Like, she was like, I think it's time. Let's do your gender. Let's find the gender today. Mm-hmm. . So it's really cool having the ability to just pop a wand in your vagina and have your coworkers tell you stuff.

Um, so she, her, her name is Kimmy. She's fantastic. I love her. Um, and Jen, another Ultrasonographer, who's also a twin parent, and I had them in there and they were gonna write it down. And Danny and I were, I was gonna go home and Danny and I were going to see it and open it up together. Mm-hmm. . And they write it down really secretively and write at the end, Jen is like, Hey, what do you think it is?

and I go, oh, I, I think it's gonna be a boy, the girl. And Jen goes, Hey Kimmy, did you hear what she thinks? They are . All right, so I'm wrong. . I'm wrong.  and I proceed to have the longest ride home. So much traffic. Atlanta's known for traffic, but I, it took me an hour and a half to get home. . Oh my god. And the envelope is in my front seat.

I'm just staring at it. . Oh. So Danny and I opened it up together that night, and it, the video's bad. I've never posted it. I've never shared it because I look so disappointed. But really it's just the anxiety flooding me that I have no names. Like I have some names, but we don't like them. And we've talked about baby names.

I'm a psycho since like 16 . I had a list on my phone.  like so real. It's real. , you know what you're having, you now have to name this person. Mm-hmm. . And I was, yeah. It was really exciting. But, you know, ultrasound stopped being fun when you get to the anatomy scan and further mm-hmm. . Um, cuz there I was also, you know, appointments are really expensive cuz you're like with a singleton pregnancy, they don't do ultrasounds commonly.

Mm-hmm.  like all the time. Every single time I was in the office, I did an ultrasound and along with the pups, that was the ultrasound gel made my whole body break out. . It was awful. . Um, but there was one the, so we got to the point where the, um, ultra the OB was like, we really need to see baby a's face. We need to make sure she's okay.

Mm-hmm.  that she has a chin, that she has, you know, the normal profile. , we want you to go over to the perinatologist down the road. They have more intense ultrasound ultrasounds, I guess. Mm-hmm. . So I'm in the, I'm in the business. I know everyone, my OB is upstairs, like it's really easy to do these appointments.

So that day it's January, I decided to clock in and go down the street. Like I stay clocked in y'all. I go to work early and I clock in and I'm like, Hey, I'll be back,  back. I put a club in time on my desk and I was like, I'll see you later, . And I am, I go and I park over there at the appointment. They start to scan me and the ultra sonographer, her and I are, you know, shooting the shit.

Um, and then she gets really, really quiet and I was like, , oh, you know, is everything looking okay? And she's like, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna have the doctor come in and talk to you. Mm-hmm. , um, just, are you feeling okay? And I was like, yeah, I feel fine. I feel great. What are you talking about? I don't know what you're talking about.

Um, she brings the doctor in and the doctor goes, well, while we were doing that ultrasound, you had contractions. Did you feel those? And I was like, no, no, I didn't. And she goes, also, your cervix is very small. It's thin. So we're, and then she casually says the word admission and being a nurse, I'm like, on high alert.

I'm like, mm, what? Yeah. Excuse me, ma'am, go back. Be lying. . Um, she goes, and I say, what are you saying to me? Sh And she just says, we're going to need to admit you to the hospital to make sure you don't go into labor.  and I freak out like I am, like hyperventilating, like, yeah. Losing a little bit. . How many weeks were you?

She's, I was 27. Oh yeah. So early. Yeah. I would, yeah, I was 27 weeks and I was also, you know, I, I was scared. I didn't sign up for short-term disability when I got my job. Mm-hmm. , and that was apparently all of, at the time that was our, our maternity leave. Hmm. So I learned about that and I was like, I, I don't have a maternity leave.

And so I've been anxious. One, all of the symptoms so far, all of the financial things with all the ultrasound, I was so stressed. Mm-hmm.  so anxious. My blood pressure was fine. I, it was nothing like that, but, , everything was building. Mm-hmm. , financially building, you're, you're, you look up the cost of twins and you're just like, you wanna freak out.

Well, I am at that point, I'm at 27 weeks and I'm being admitted. I, the first people I te I called Danny, obviously I called Danny, but I texted my manager and the clinical manager and I was like, Karen and Krista, and I immediately was like, they're admitting me. It's too early. Mm-hmm. , like, if I read that text now, I start to cry.

Like it makes me so upset. It makes me so sad. But I go, it's too early. And Krista and Karen just like jumped in and they were like, it's okay. We got this. We'll put you out of office on. And they like jumped into action. Mm-hmm. . Um, I later found out Krista was crying. Like she was, she was hysterical and, um, she.

it. You know, I'm so close with all my coworkers, but she was so strong in that moment. Mm-hmm. , I'm so thankful for them. But they were, I texted them and I told my mom she didn't understand what was going on. Mm-hmm. , but I didn't either. They knew that I was a nurse. They, I mean, all around, if, if you're in the Atlanta area, it's called Pill Hill.

It's all of the hospitals and North side is the baby factory. Mm-hmm. , it's where everyone delivers. It's known, they have like three floors of, of delivery. , like three L and D Floors. Right. The women's center is massive. This office has a tunnel that goes into Northside Hospital. Wow. , she, the doctor tells me, well, I know you're a nurse.

I can't let you leave. , which in clinical terms is you are a flight risk , I think you're going to leave and run away . So they put me in a wheelchair and wheel my big ass all the way to the hospital. Oh my. And I'm sitting in front of the check-in desk and Natalie, I don't know if you remember this, but if I cry, I get splotchy,

Everyone is aware that I'm crying everyone. And I am bright red, I am sobbing, I'm scared. I'm by myself being admitted to to, to the hospital. Mm-hmm.  indefinitely. By the way, they did not tell me anything. So I get into the room, I'm on a, uh, high risk perinatal unit. Um, and I worked in the hospital in St.

Louis. I worked in the hospital in Atlanta. I never thought that I was gonna be, Someone in the hospital bed. Yeah. Especially at 26. 20. Yeah. I was 26 years old, so, um, it was very weird. I did my glucose test that day, , and by the way, because I left my clementine at my desk, I was starving.  loved that, that glucose test.

I loved it. I was like, yes, bring it. Can I have another one? It's like warm Fanta . It was just, I mean, thinking back to her, I'm like, I still don't have bad memories of that glucose test because I was so hungry. , and every, every woman I tell that to all my coworkers who've been pregnant since, they're like, you're crazy.

I threw up like, what is wrong with you? It's not good . No, it's not, it's not . But, um, so I, I was admitted by the perinatologist, but my OB was seeing me. Um, . I didn't hear, I didn't see the OB until like 11 o'clock that night. Um, he comes in and he's like just shoveled. Like he's just, he's had a hard day. He goes, I'm sorry, you know, had like five C-sections today.

Like that sucks. Yeah. And they're all talking to me cuz I'm my doctor, Dr. Andrew Toledo is buddies with everyone. Like he is so well connected. The dude has connections out the ass in the OB field and so they all know I'm his nurse. This is Jenny Andy's nurse. Mm-hmm. . And so Dr. Basil comes in and he's like, pulls up a chair and he just cuts the shit with me.

I'm watching forensic files cause it helps me sleep. And he was like, oh, this is shit show is great. You know, this is great. I've seen this episode. Like, I was like, bro, no , no, no, no. We're not talking about forensic files. Why am I here? What am I doing? , when is the timeline here? Mm-hmm. . And they put me on twice a day or three times a day monitoring.

So I had to monitor, um, the baby's heartbeats along with my a toco, so I had to do contraction monitor. Um, I had a really bad first couple days where they had to slow down contractions and prevent them. So they, I didn't have any blood pressure issues. It was just my cervix could not handle those contractions that occasionally occurred.

Mm-hmm.  now, like I, I think one time they gave me meds and I had to do IVs because if you're dehydrated, you're at risk for those contractions to come back. Mm-hmm. . , but it was a fine line because if you're too, your bladder's too full, the bladder can push on your uterus and then start contraction. So I was just constantly getting up to go to the bathroom.

That was my only activity, was getting up to go to the bathroom. , I, it was monitored bedrest, hospital, monitored bed rest. So I couldn't leave the room. Couldn't go for a walk, nothing. Um, I would sneak out , um, cuz there was a McDonald's in that hospital, . And you bet your, you bet your ass. This fatty over here was like, mm.

Yeah. The twins want, the twins need a milkshake. I passed my glucose test. Whatcha are you talking about? Yeah. I can't, I can, it's not me. It's the twins. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I, that was January, right? Right. When people wanna start planning baby showers. Mm-hmm. , I, um, actually had people planning. , two baby showers in St.

Louis and a baby shower at work, and we had to make the baby one baby shower got canceled and one was virtual in St. Louis, which sucked.  so bad. Yeah, so bad. Um, we, the, my coworkers tried to plan a baby shower three times at work and it, all, three of 'em got canceled . So, um, never had that. You panic. And I was like, Denny, you have to put together the, the cribs.

Now, you know, I, I'm like months away. I nowhere near the time to meet a crib or even a highchair, I make him put together a highchair . And we didn't use that until we were like nine months old.  . But I was panicking and making him do stuff, so it was really hard on him. Yeah, because I, I can't imagine doing this if you had kids because I was.

in the hospital. I we're 45 minutes north, so I'm in the hospital right by my work. Some people can come by and see me. Mm-hmm. . But Danny's coming 45 minutes south. After he comes home from work, he takes the dogs out. And we also have three dogs at this point. By, by the way. Oh my god. Mistake.  life mistake.

And he takes the dogs out and then he'll come see me. So those first couple weeks he was doing it like every day. Mm-hmm. , he's paying so much gas, he's exhausted, he's irritated. It was taking a really big toll on us. Um, so when it's, I'm like two weeks into this hospital stay, and every day I'm like, what can I please go home?

Can I please go home? And it's, Hey, you've made it another milestone, another day. Every single day is a win. Mm-hmm.  well, , they tell me everything's looking better. Your cervix is getting thick, you know, thicker. I get ultrasounds. I think Tuesdays and Thursdays, the worst part by far was those mon, the monitoring, you know those, those bands they put on you when you were delivering?

Yeah. Mm-hmm. , we have three. I have three on them. And the girls, when the babies don't like them, if they're small, they can like hit the monitor and they can spin away from it. So when the girls are really small, they hated that the wavelengths that were going through. Mm-hmm.  and they would just avoid it.

So I would spend hours of my day being stuck into the bed and trying to find their heartbeats. So it was a lot of like, . No, you have to do this to get the baby A, you have to do this to get baby B. It was just, it was so complicated. Um, I was lucky enough at the time to have amazing coworkers who let me work from the hospital room.

I was able to get a laptop and I would, I wouldn't call patients, but I would do insurance stuff. I would do paperwork, clinical, like administrative stuff. Mm-hmm. . So I was able to not get onto short term yet. Like I wasn't using my maternity leave yet. Oh, that's good. Good. Wow. And keeping me sane. It was really keeping me sane to have some kind of work.

Um, I wasn't just watching guys grocery games all day long, . And so I was limited to only three hours a day, but it got me through. Yeah. Um, eventually after like two and a half weeks. Yes, they let me go home. They discharged me, felt like I was breaking free and I immediately come home and the place is a mess,

And because I'm who I am, I couldn't do it. I can like not clean the whole house. So I cleaned the house. We also had to get our puppy stayed because I didn't want a puppy period  around the house when I can't clean. So we also had that schedule. Well, we got, our dog stayed and I had to like take care of her afterwards.

So I'm like lifting a large golden retriever puppy. Oh yeah, that's a terrible, that's a terrible idea. Really bad, really bad idea. Um, I go to one OB appointment, I'm fine, and then I go back to the perinatologist. And I'm not fine. Like several, just a few days apart. And my cervix is thin again. So that one, I was not near the hospital, so they couldn't wheel me.

They had to let me go home. , . So that visit, they were like, we want you, you're, you're being admitted again, you know, bad girl , but you need to go to the hospital in an hour. You need to go to the hospital in an hour. And I,  was okay. I was like so thankful I could pack my own bag. Mm-hmm.  Lord had mercy. Having your husband pack a bag for you is not, don't let it happen.

Don't let it happen. That dickhead. That dickhead. I thought it was funny. To pack my vibrator.  . My God, he's an asshole. And he thought it was so funny. He thought it was the funniest thing. I was like, you're taking her home. So we all know I'm a nurse. Oh my. Oh my God, I love that. And so the second time around, I could, I could pack my own bag.

Like I was so thankful. And then, so no vibrant then can I, can I go get Sweet Tomatoes? Before you know that Buffet Sweet Tomatoes, they have like the best Oh yeah. Berry Muffins, . And it was like, can I please go to Sweet Tomatoes before? And they're like, Jenny, no , you need to go to the hospital . I was like, so I mean that appointment and that admission was not fun, but it was way less dramatic as the first one when I had no idea what to expect.

I thought I was, you know, it was doom and gloom. Mm-hmm. , that's. Second admission. That's the, that was the final one. I knew I was in for the long haul. They wouldn't let me go home. Um, because I lived too far away from the hospital where my OB delivers. Mm-hmm. . And also the biggest thing was the nicu. We needed a really well-equipped nicu.

Mm-hmm. . So, and all, I'm on back on the same floor, by the way, same floor, same nurses. And I come back and they're like, what are you doing? What did you do, ? Why are you here again? . And I was like, you know, me being me,  can't help it. Um, so that was, that was Stuckey. And then this time around, I was like, Danny, don't come, don't come visit every single day.

It's too much on you. Mm-hmm. , it's too much. Uh, I'm stuck in here regardless whether you come in to visit or not. . So this one was a little bit better. I had friends come to see me. I still had work. Uh, I actually, when my sister, when my baby shower in St. Louis got canceled, she decided to change your flight and she came to see me.

So she's pregnant same time. I am just as big. Mm-hmm.  not that big though. She's pet not having twins. . So, and it was really cool cuz she would sit in the, the hospital bed with me and all of our babies are kicking together. . Aww, Aww. It was so cute. It was so cute. So she's having a boy, I'm having two girls and they, we'd sit side by side in our bellies, you can see them like just rolling.

That was so cool. It was really, yeah, it was really neat. And, uh, we, I got, I didn't get comfortable but I got, you know, pretty. , you know, we resolute in my, my position there. Mm-hmm. . Um, but it's not without like a lot of, I don't know, depersonalization, depersonalization. You just be kind of become a walking incubator at that point.

Mm-hmm.  just day by day, you're counting the days. Um, at that point, my, you know, I had people visit, I had everyone like telling their friend, you know, my aunt, um, my uncle's sister came to see me, , it was everyone came to visit. Mm-hmm. . Um, cuz I couldn't leave. Well it, and I continued to work too, so I was just keeping busy at that point.

Yeah. So, um, this was like end of February, 2020. End of February. Yeah. In 20 and.  in the hospital. I'm watching the news and I'm like, what's this covid thing? Yeah. Like I'm talking to other nurses, I'm like, what do you think this is gonna be like? Do you think it's gonna come here? Mm-hmm. . And we're, I vividly remember everyone being like, no, no, no, it can't die down.

It's gonna, it will be okay. Um, my biggest concern at that point was not having weekdays leap year babies. I Oh yeah. I'm 20. Was like, I'm not gonna have twins  on a leaf day . Hell no. Hell no. Are they gonna have birthdays every four years? What a complicated mess that is. . So when I made it past the, the leap, leap year.

Leap day, I was All right. Cool. We're Gucci. We are good. . I was due April 21st and we make it into March. Uh, I was very happy. I was very excited. Mm-hmm. . Um, I was now altogether about like five weeks of admission. So, . Yeah, I, there's a lot of, of guilt around my delivery. But, um, on March 3rd, that night, I missed my husband.

I was, you know, bored. I, um, I just happened to have an orgasm,  and . I was hormonal and pregnant. You know, when you're bored mm-hmm. , whatever you're gonna do, whatever you're gonna do.  the next day, I think ne nothing of it. And the next day I'm like feeling more discomfort. Mm-hmm.  than usual. And I'm watching guys grocery games per usual.

my normal routine. , eating starburst because I was all about that texture at that time. , my doctor, the same doctor that was the guy who admitted me. He's super cool. . He goes, Hey, what are you doing? How are you doing? And I was like, oh, you know, I've watched all of the forensic files seasons by now. What's up

I'm seeing reruns. And he was like, cut and shit. How are you feeling? And I go, well, it feels like both babies are trying to leave my belly button. Um, a leave outside. You know, they just, a contraction with twins is weird. Mm-hmm. , it's not like focused. It just felt like they're both going outward instead of down  like they should be.

So I was just explaining, I just don't feel comfortable, you know, like normal. And he was like, oh, okay. You know, I'm minimizing it all over the place. I'm minimizing it. And he goes, well let's just put you on the monitor and see. Let's just put you on. And I can't remember her name, but my nurse that day was fantastic.

And she was, she put me on the monitor. It got easier to do the monitor as the babies got bigger. Mm-hmm.  because, Even if they don't like the monitor, they can't, they don't have the room to get out. . Yeah. Where to go. They don't have the room to leave. And, and by the way, baby B is flipping every other day, so she's just like using her sister's head as a cata, like, as a way to just jump off of it and just flip

Whereas baby A, she's just facing my spine and not doing it. Like she's just, she can't move very much. Yeah. She's so low that they could only see her butt cheeks with a vaginal ultrasound. That's how low she was. She was sitting on top of my cervix. Wow. In my pelvis. And I remember telling Dr. Bai, I was like, I feel like I'm being ripped from my pelvis.

And he's like, oh yeah, classic lightning crotch . Like this isn't lightning crotch. I'm being split in half . And he, well, he comes that day after monitoring me and she goes, , um, Jenny, it's been 20 minutes and you've had six contractions. I'm like, oops. So Dr. Busillo come, she's like, I'm gonna get the doctor back in here.

We're gonna have to check your cervix. That man had the largest his hands. I mean, , I merely crawled up the bed. I was poor. His hands, God bless him, so big terrifying of him. I, oh my God. So he checks my cervix. He makes this like hilarious joke. He goes, well, your tonsils look great.  like, cool, thanks. He goes, also, we're having babies today because your b your bag is bulging.

Oh my God. And I was like, oh, bulging what , what's a bulging bag? And he was like, well, your amniotic sac is, is coming out, so we need to, we're gonna go where it's, it's c-section day we're doing it. And I'm like, shit, you know, my husband's 45 minutes north. . I, I'm starting to like hyperventilate. My nurse is so great.

She goes, calm down. You're okay. You got this. Don't cry. Don't cry. And I, and he goes, by the way, he goes, what have you, when's the last time you ate? I was like, this, do Starburst, count. . So he is, you know, I, I text Danny, I called Danny and I'm like, Hey, um, so we're having babies today. He's like, what? ? And I'm like, we're having babies today.

Go ahead and go home. I don't think we're in like a rush. Go ahead and go home. Take the dogs out. It could be a while. Um, and, and then head down. I text, I call my friend Anna. I, she is the, the children's nurse. Mm-hmm. . And she lives close by and she has like a go bag. Y'all. She was there . She was there in like 10 minutes and she's helping me.

She's like, she helped me so much. I happened to be like getting wheeled down and I realized, oh, I've been over hydrating. Cuz that's what my job was the last couple weeks. Hydrate. Yeah. Yeah. I had to pee really bad. And they're like, no, well it's okay. We'll put in a Foley, we'll put in a catheter. It's okay.

I was like, I might pee on you before then. . So she, you know, Anna's there, she holds my hand away. They put the, um, the epidural in and then, uh, fun fact about being hospitalized for five weeks. Guys, you can't do any grooming down there, . So I was a mess. , I was a mess. They had a, I, this is six 30 or so at night.

Mm-hmm.  and they have shift change. So everyone's giving report to each other. Yeah. And they have a new nurse who's shaving my pubes . And, and the, the older nurse was like, That's enough. That's enough. I think that's fine.  cool. So Danny packs your vibrator, but won't pack your . Anything to groom you with twins?

You can't see anything . Yeah, you'd have to have someone else do it. . That's true. So, so that was a great moment. And then they put in, they put in the catheter and they're like, oh Jenny, you really did have to go. You filled the catheter bag. And I was like, I told you, I told you I had a thousand ccs in there,

And you know, Anna's there and there's, it's March 4th, so they're just starting to start re restricting things. Well in the or they don't have enough room for other people, so they're like, who are you? And she's like, oh, I'm just a friend. And they're like, okay, you need to leave. You need to get her stuff.

My hospital room was like an apartment , so she had to unpack my whole room and bring it to post-delivery. So she did that. , Dr. Beil is like, oh hey, where's your husband? Where's he at? And I go, oh yeah, I told him to go take the dogs out. He should be here in like 10 minutes or so. Uh, we have time, right? I mean I think we're gonna go in like, or at like eight 30 and he goes, and this is when he was very serious.

He goes, Jenny, the moment your husband is dressed out, we're wheeling you to the or immediately. And I go, and that's when shit got real . I was like, oh me. Um, we wheeled out, I think at seven that is shift change in the hospital. So there was already more personnel cuz of twins, but they were double that.

Mm-hmm. . And I'm sitting there face up on the, on the, the table and it is so loud in that room, I could hear everyone talking. It was. And, and Dr. Basil's sitting there, pa patiently obviously Doctor told me the give report. And he goes, you, you doing okay? And I, I remember like, choking out. It's too loud, . And he, he got, he was like, everybody, stop talking.

Get outta here. And I was so thankful for that. Aw, that's awesome. C-section shakes essentially. Mm-hmm. . Um, so I was shaking the whole time I was crying. Danny was, you know, so pumped. He was just naive to it all. . Um, he didn't look over the, the curtain or anything. He's, he's not that dude. But, um, we had this wonderful anesthesia, the nurse atheist, she took my phone and she took pictures of the whole thing.

Oh, that's so nice. Um, but they. . I didn't feel a thing that wasn't, you know, painful or anything. They, it's, it's the feeling of a tug. Mm-hmm.  and then you, you hear a baby cry. Mm-hmm. , and it was, that was my Natalie, um, Natalie's baby. And she immediately came out screaming, telling the world that she was pissed and she was ready to go.

Um, and then baby B came two minutes later, NA uh, that's Nora. And he, each time before he picked up Natalie, before he took out Natalie, he, like, his timing was perfect. He goes, well dad, give mom a kiss cuz this is the last time you're gonna be alone. And like takes her out and shows her. Um, and then with Nora, he like put Nora towards the.

the barrier. And I have this awesome picture of her reaching out with her little hand and touching that clear barrier. Aw. And I was just hysterically crying and so, so happy. Um, there's all the nurses there for the nicu mm-hmm. . So while they're cleaning me up, Danny's taking pictures and seeing them and talking to them.

And, um, he goes with the babies while I'm getting cleaned up. Mm-hmm. , um, they know I'm a nurse, obviously. They all know me. Um, so they, at the end, they show me my placenta,  love it. They like, what is the end like? Yeah. Yeah. So they show me both of my placenta. Um, and it was, you know, a, a really nice, um, a, a good time, you know, o overall the delivery at that point, I was just so happy to have made it to 33 weeks.

Mm-hmm. . , um, their outcomes were so much more improved than previously. Mm-hmm. . Um, but they went right to the NICU and I stayed in postpartum mm-hmm. , so I didn't get to hold 'em that night. I didn't get to see them until the next day, until I was okay to get off of the, the pain drip. Mm-hmm.  and, uh, go upstairs to see them.

So, um, Anna stayed with me that night. Mm-hmm. , she was, um, fantastic. Danny had to go back home and, and take care of the dogs and, but, um, we, we got to, to see the girls in the morning in the nicu, it's, it's scary. The nicu. Mm-hmm. . Um, but, so Nora was four pounds, eight ounces and Natalie was four pounds, one ounce, one ounce.

Hmm. . Yeah. Oh. Um, she was just a little bit smaller, but she, Natalie was immediately further ahead than Nora. Mm-hmm. , she like, she progressed faster. The, the thing about the, the hospital we were at, they have two NICU's, they have two separate NICU's in so many different like rooms inside the NICU's. They kept my girls in like separate rooms most days.

So I was always hopping around. This was first week of March. Things haven't shut down yet. I leave the, I get discharged after five days and um, we, I can't drive after a C-section. You can't drive cuz if you go to an accident, you could. Burst your uterus and just be screwed, you know? Mm-hmm. . Um, so thankfully I have my coworkers who work, who live kind of by me.

Mm-hmm. , and they worked down the road. So they drove me to work and I'm pumping, doing, you know, I was so adamant. I was like, I gotta, I gotta do all the pumping I can, you know, for the girls. And, um, so I wanted to save money. I packed a cooler of like Hamed sandwiches, Gatorade waters, um, and I was dropped off for like, the whole day.

So I would go to each one of their feeds and like, eat, drink, and pump, like all the time in the nicu they have a pump that would go right to the bedside. So you could pump and, and hold your baby. You could try to feed the girls were too small mm-hmm. , um, to properly breastfeed. So, . It was just a lot of pumping for me.

And there was one day, I remember my friend Hillary was, um, driving me and I felt so tired. I was so, so tired. And I was like, this is it. This is Covid. This is what I've heard about. This is the Covid. . And I, when we got home later on, I mean, I was falling asleep at both the girls' bedsides and um, Hillary was like, just take a break, sleep.

You're just exhausted. And I'm starting to feel like bubble guts, not like sweats, bubble guts. I'm feeling ill. Mm-hmm. . And Taney comes home and he goes, did you make sandwiches to go to work? I mean, go to the hospital. And he was, I was like, yeah, I did. He goes with this Mayo. And I was like, mm-hmm. . He's like, mm, babe, this is expired.

Like a year fired. Oh God. And then was like, I gave myself food poisoning y'all. I am. I am a weak postpartum. And this is also a national toilet paper shortage. Remember that? People recording toilet paper and you couldn't find toilet? I was crapping my brains out. Bleeding. Bleeding. And I had no toilet paper.

Oh my gosh. . Yeah. Yes, yes. That was a freaking nightmare. Also, Danny's not doing his paternity leave yet cuz he's trying to save it for when the girls come home. Mm-hmm. . So I'm on my own. Uh, thank God for my friend Van whose husband's a cop. Like he's uh, driving around late at night when they're stuck in shelves cuz he got me a pack of Charmin

I was so close, I was really close to be.  on paper towels. Oh, trash bags. It was so bad. Um, it was awful. I am, I'm, I'm very compulsive now. All the people who I know who are pregnant or about to deliver, I give them the normal things, but I give 'em a packet of toilet of paper. Now, , like I, I'm not nesting around, just in case people were crazy.

They did not learn their lesson about courting. They did not no . So, God. Um, well, we, you know, I, that was the, the routine for a while. That was the routine. After a couple, a couple weeks, it was driving to the hospital to see the girls coming back home, driving to the hospital to see the girls. That was my whole thing.

Um, on, and that's when Covid starting to pick up and starting to get a little bit more scary. On March 19 day, on March 23rd. , uh, Natalie's doing awesome. She's on, she's no breathing tube. She's feeding on her own, she's feeding off of a bottle. We do the car seat test cuz you have to do the car seat test for the nicu.

Mm-hmm. Test for them to go home. Um, we do the car seat test and I'm talking to the nurses. I'm like, okay. So when I take Natalie home, when we come back tomorrow to see Nora, can I have a crib in her area to put Natalie so that I can hold Nora? And you know, it's just like me and Natalie visiting her, sissy.

Mm-hmm. , you know, we're, we're gonna come together. And um, you know, the nurse was like, yeah, I'll have that coordinated for you. Um, so it was later that night when Danny was able to come help me pick up Natalie and, and get going. So we come together and they, the nurse manager comes up and was like, Hey, uh, we do need to tell you about a change that's being made, and we, unfortunately are going to have to shut down the NICU to any visitors.

And I immediately was like, okay, but like, I can, I can, you know, right? Mm-hmm. , no, that means all visitors, so you won't be able to come back. You're not like a visitor though. Yeah. Oh my God. I, I'm, I'm like, so when I take Natalie home, I'm not gonna be able to see Nora and I proceed to have the wor, like a full-blown panic attack.

I've never cried so hard, so loud in public before , I mean, semi-public and no one's really around. Yeah. Danny kept his head cool. . He was definitely the partner who was, you know, keeping a level head. I am holding Nora sobbing. Aw. Sobbing. Because your child's in an icu. Yeah. And you're not gonna be able, and they're like, we can FaceTime.

Well FaceTime twice a day. I am beside myself, my God. I am just, my God. Um, partial . One of the big reasons in going through therapy is, is that moment. Yeah. And those leaving my daughter. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It was hard leaving both of them, but I knew I was coming back to see both of them. Mm-hmm. , but coming back home with one and leaving the other, I think I'll probably have carry that for the rest of my life.

Yeah. Um, so they still make you wheel out your baby. I'm holding Natalie and I'm sitting in that wheelchair, just puffy and, and.  just dazed. I was almost just dissociating at that point. Mm-hmm. . And it was before masks, right before we started wearing masks. And I see this woman come up and I, she's crying cuz obviously she's been told the same thing.

Her husband's been crying. Mm-hmm. . And I see them and I'm like, Hey look really familiar. Um, I look at her and she goes, you're Dr. Toledo's nurse, aren't you? And I go, and I, and it clicked and I was like, I am, I am. And you were my patient, weren't you? It she was right. Her baby was right next to our girls. Aw.

And she was just told the exact same thing. And I was her main nurse to help her get pregnant. Aw. And in that moment she was just like, this sucks. And I was like, it really does suck. Um, like it was, it was one of those weird small world moments. Yeah. And she has since come back to me and I helped her get pregnant, baby number two.

Aw. But I mean, . It was awful. It was awful. Yeah. Um, I was also by myself, cuz Danny had to keep his patrion leave until both girls came home. Mm-hmm. . So for three weeks it was just Natalie at home with me and Danny was continuing to work. I was just up with the baby, just doing all with all the, a NICU baby.

You'd have to wake him up every two, three hours. Mm-hmm. . So it was three hours on the dot, waking up to feed. I would pump hold her head up because she's also, you know, refluxing. Mm-hmm , like normal Mickey babies, I guess. Um, and it was exhausting.  really bad. Um, and then Nora started to improve, you know, and she came home after 40 days in the nicu.

Wow. So like past her due date. , was it past her due date? Um, it was, she came home April 15th, so she was like a week away from her, her due date. Oh, oh my gosh. So like they had to like, do that all on their own, like, like you you didn't see her for 40 days? No, they were just FaceTime twice a day. Oh, okay. So I'm just sitting there going through that, that constant cycle, three hour cycle and then just waiting for a FaceTime call.

Yeah. Every day. Oh. So, um, and then they came home. So I'm like, I'm used to one baby. I'm used to one baby. Mm-hmm. . And then boom, we have two . Wow. . That was a trip. Yeah. Mm-hmm. . So how was postpartum after having two and, and Danny got to do his paternity leave. So he did his pat, he started his paternity leave and it was,  all teamwork or nothing there?

It was, um, we split it up in, I'll do diapers. You do bottles. Natalie came home on a Dr. Brown's bottle with me, or shirt and breast. Milk. Mm-hmm. , Nora came home on a man bottle with Elementum and so there was a total routine with the bottles. We had to do 'em separately and correctly. Um, , um, it stresses me out thinking about it now.

Yeah. And Oh wow. I did and I did two, I did the diapers and then we would meet together. We would feed, hold them, burp them for 20 minutes and then put them down and I would, then I would pump. So it got really, really old after a while. Mm-hmm. , the pumping. Mm-hmm. . Um, I wasn't producing a whole lot. I was beating myself up.

There's. . So much guilt when with you, when you have a naked baby. Es I mean, especially in my situation where I felt completely at fault for it. Mm-hmm. , I felt real, I just kept that to myself. I was like, I was very secretive of it, you know? Mm-hmm. , I think I caused my delivery by, you know, being stupid and hormonal the night before.

And I caused this, I totally caused this. I'm the reason why I'm not seeing my daughter. And then you're pumping and you're like, I'm not making enough. I, it's my fault. I'm not, you know, feeding enough for my kid. You're my girls. So it was, it kept postpartum depression, like there mm-hmm.  the whole time. We were just kind of circling there.

Mm-hmm. . Um, so he had two weeks off. He had two weeks paid. . He goes back to work the last couple days. I'm like, how do I feed both babies at once? Mm-hmm. , I'm not gonna do one and the other and then pump. Cuz I will literally never sleep. Yeah. I'll never sleep. Yeah. Or, or shower or . I have a couple pictures of me, like both babies are propped up and I have bottles on either side.

Yeah. And I'm just like, it's pretty insane. So he goes back to work and I have one or two days all of a sudden, you know, I'm on the second day of all by myself with both babies and he walks in while I'm pumping and he has tears down his eyes and he goes, I was just laid off. Oh my God. So add more trauma.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Where I am pumping, trying to feed, trying to think about how we're gonna feed two babies. One is on an expensive formula and my husband comes home and tells me he was in job. . Oh my God. So we freak out. Um, thank, you know, thank God for the unemployment that was increased during the covid cut down.

Yeah, that's good. That helped so much. He had severance. Um, I mean he took that hard. He took that so hard. Oh. And we got fully covid shut down here. Um, it was just craziness with the babies. It was just us and the babies. We were just locked down with two infants. Um, looking back, I'm still so bitter about them laying him off right after his paternity leave.

Mm-hmm. . But they gave him the paternity leave, paid paternity leave. Mm-hmm. . The severance also was really good. Mm-hmm. . And he got on unemployment on that. Um, I had unemployment, um, and then I started working early. , he got more time with the girls. He, you know, had a really long time with them early on.

Mm-hmm. , and, and then they gave him his job back after like two months or so. That's so good. He like reapplied and, and they hired him back when things started to clear up a little clearer , but, you know, get a little bit better and open up a little bit more. Um, so he, we ended up being okay through that.

Yeah. But it was really traumatic. It would've broken a lot of people. Mm-hmm. . But Danny and I, we didn't let it stop us. We kind of bonded together there. Yeah. Um, and if anyone's pregnant with multiples, I mean, even now as a nurse who is in Fertil, who's in the fertility field, and I have patients who get pregnant with twins, I tell them, you have to work as a team.

Or is it it's gonna break you. Yeah, like there's no if, ands or buts, it's teamwork. Mm-hmm.  or it's gonna, it's gonna wreck your marriage. Um, and it, it's just that simple. Mm-hmm. . Wow. . Yeah. So when did it, when, oh sorry. Go ahead . No, no, no, go ahead. I was just gonna say, when did it feel like it kind of got a little bit easier?

Was there like some sort of milestone or something? Um, or it still, it got easier when they went to daycare. . When they finally went to daycare. Yes. And I could go to work. Um, that's when it got a little bit better. I started, I got back on my anti-anxiety. I stopped pumping, stopping pumping. Um, I am a huge, I all four best breastfeeding, all for pumping.

Um, I. , but the mental toll that took, um, I already had been so depersonalized in the hospital. Mm-hmm.  and then hooking yourself up with a cow  to something that's gonna milk you. Yeah. Um, takes away your, who you are a lot. Mm-hmm.  and I had to stop. I just had to stop. I felt a lot better when I stopped pumping mm-hmm.

And, um, I also was able to start working on my mental health more. Um, it took me a really long time to talk about my guilt towards the girls' delivery. I, it took weeks into therapy for me to talk about that and to, you know, very shamefully, like, just say it one day. Mm-hmm.  and my therapist said something I'll never forget.

She was like, when you bring something into the light, something shameful into the light, it shrinks. . So now I can talk about it and be like, Hey, you know, we all masturbate . It happens. , we all do it. Um, but it affected my sex life for a year after my delivery. Mm-hmm. , because I was so riddled with guilt that in Shane, I couldn't enjoy sex with my husband and he thought it was his fault.

And then finally, I, I very like, I have to confess something to you. I'm so sorry for the NICU bills. It's all my fault. Um, I did this and I think this is why our daughters were born early and all of these issues. And he was like, he's such a man. He was just so excited that he's like, not his fault. He was like, oh my God, I thought you weren't attracted to me anymore.

No, that's not it. . So, you know, it's, and I've talked to other NICU mom, we all have that guilt. , you caused it. Your body didn't do the right thing. You weren't able to to deliver at the right time. This is your fault. Um, so I'm still processing all of that. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . It's, it's a trauma that is very, very unique.

Yeah. Having children in the nicu mm-hmm. , but I still have more kids. . Yeah.

Uh, you are amazing. I, that, that was way more than I ever thought. I know that outline I wrote like, oh, this will be fine. It'll be fine. There'll be a no question a big deal. Casual. It's not casual. . . Wow. So, Jenny, what, um, advice would you give for moms of multiples? It would be, make sure your partner is ready.

Make sure you and your partner are strong. Go to therapy. , work out the kinks in your relationship first. Mm-hmm. , make sure you're in a good spot. It's gonna test you, it's gonna test you, but it's so satisfying for the multiple multiples are so fun to see and so very loving and, and it's just so, so much fun.

Um, it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of stress, but it's worth it. Jenny, thank you so much for telling your story and being so vulnerable and sharing the birth of your beautiful girls. I'm so happy with your . For photos and more information on Jenny, check out our website. You can also find links in the show notes to follow Jenny, Natalie, and Liz on Instagram and Facebook.

There are also links to great resources on our website as well. . If you'd like to share your story with us, please head over to our website, fill out the guest intake form, and we'll be in touch with you soon. We love all kinds of stories, so don't be shy and begin. If you enjoy our podcast, please share with your friends and family and give us a five star rating on Apple or Spotify so more listeners can connect with us.

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