Duncan, OK | Baby A and Baby B Hooper

On 9/19/19, I had my 19th birth. She was big eyed girl, and the first baby for Megan and Bryce.

Three years and 5 months later I get the text. It’s time for Round Two…with TWINS. I couldn’t wait for my little Palindrome Baby to become a Big Sister!

We started with some Maternity pictures. The white dress was perfect since Megan was having a boy and a girl, and the sun wouldn’t leave us alone that night in the best possible way.

On August 24th, I met the Hooper’s at the Birth Center of Duncan Regional Hospital. The Hooper Twins were up first on the cesarean list for that day. I asked Megan the night before if she was ready and excited, and she responded with So. Ready.

The team stopped by the room: the Baby Nurses (2 nurses per baby), Megan’s nurse, the anesthesiologists, and of course, Dr. Elfrink.

A quick FaceTime phone call was made to Big Sis, Lynlee. Then Megan got wheeled away, and Bryce and I put on our OR fits. I don’t think we’ve ever looked better! We made guesses on when the babies would be born. I don’t remember my exact times, but I know I was thinking it would be 15 minutes between Baby A’s birth and Baby B’s birth. Bryce thought the time between births would be a little quicker.

The OR was full when we went back. Bryce went right to Megan and started making her laugh. It took me back to the birth of their first baby - he made her laugh during labor then, too. They were both so anxious/excited to see their two new babes.

It honestly felt like the fastest caesarean delivery I’ve ever been a part of. Baby A, the little Dude was a born at 8:08am and Baby B, little Miss Sis, right behind him at 8:10am! So much quicker than I thought! He came out guns blazin’ and she came out a bit grumpy, and they were both instantly adored.

Watching everyone in the OR had me mesmerized. I do realize they are trained for this moment, but it was still remarkable to see everyone so intently focused on the task at hand but also still aware of the room as a whole.

The Baby Nurses checked heart beats, counted the fingers and toes, and did a few measurements. Then the babies were brought, one at at time, to the scale so Megan could see what they weighed. Brother was just 2 ounces short of being a whole pound bigger than Sister, but they both seemed so cute and tiny.

Bryce was doing all the “hey there my guy…hey there little girl…what are you doing?,” while Megan breathed a sigh of relief, and waited for that skin-to-skin time. First up was baby brother, Guy. She didn’t say much, but leaned up for a kiss and rubbed his little face when he was placed on her chest. It was a few minutes later that baby sister, Greyson, came over. Megan gave her a little kiss on the cheek, too, after she got settled. This was the moment Megan held both babies in her arms, not her belly, for the first time.

When we got back to the room, Bryce had Guy, Megan had Greyson, and the babies had their first meal. This was the moment Bryce and Megan looked at each other with big eyes,  a laugh, and a “I can’t believe we just had TWO babies.”

A shout out to Megan’s nurse, Jeanine, right here in the story. We got Megan some water and a snack pretty quick once we got back to the room. When Nurse Jeanine checked on Megan the next time, Bryce said, “I know no one cares about the dad as much, but could I have a snack?” Since Megan had been fasting that morning for the procedure, he had, too. Nurse Jeanine’s response was my favorite. Immediately she answered him with, “Well, I care about the dad! What can I get you?” She listed off all the options, and Bryce said his pick. She was back in three minutes flat with his little cola drink and saltines.

Babies fed, check! Mom and Dad fed, check! Now it was time to get Lynlee in the room for the first introduction.

It really was as good as we thought it was going to be. Lynlee giggled and cuddled and insisted she could hold those new babies all by herself. The nurse also took her out in the hallway and held her up so she could push the Baby Button. Twice, of course.

Megan’s Mom and Dad came in after that, and guess what they both did - of course, oh-ed and aw-ed at the twins, but before they reached to hold the them - they both leaned in and kissed Megan’s check. Thinking about it now still makes me tear up. The way those two have shown love for their daughter with the kiss on the cheek was passed all the way down to their grand babies when Megan kissed their tiny cheeks in the OR. People who are loved well, intrinsically know how to love.

The Birth Day was a great day! Everyone was healthy, everyone felt loved. Mom, Dad, and the Twins all made it home a few days later. The following week, I went to see everyone for some at home newborn pictures. The babies hadn’t changed at all, and Big Sis even showed me her room!

The Hoopers, Party of 5, are in for a beautiful, wild ride, and I feel so honored to have been asked to tell the story of where it all began.