Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

When Andrea woke up from surgery, she was cold and confused, and she immediately asked for her husband, Jeff.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

When Andrea woke up from surgery, she was cold and confused, and she immediately asked for her husband, Jeff.

Yesterday, we posted the first part of Andrea Pike's birth story. She gave birth to her first twin, but the second was transverse, so she had to have a C-section. That's when things got scary. Andrea blacked out. Her husband, Jeff, wrote the second part, about how he witnessed the birth of his second daughter. Then, he wrote, there was a flurry in the operating room — surgeons came in and he was pushed out. As he waited, a nurse said to him, "I'm so sorry. They're doing everything they can." Here, Andrea writes part three, which begins when she wakes up.

I'm cold. No, I'm freezing. I'm shaking so hard, and I'm afraid my teeth are going to chip from rattling together as hard as they are.

I'm not sure where I am. Wait, no ... I'm in a hospital. Right? There's a person sitting next to me, and she smiles at me when I look at her. She says something to someone outside of the small, curtained-off corner we're in. I'm still freezing, and now I'm starting to panic. I don't see the one person I need. The one person who can comfort me and tell me what is going on.

"Where is my Jeffrey?" I whisper through chattering teeth.

"We're getting him, sweetie," says the lady sitting next to me.

I close my eyes, and I fall back to sleep for what feels like hours. When I open my eyes, I see him. I want to cry, but for some reason, I don't.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Jeff Pike puts on scrubs as his wife, Andrea, is taken in to surgery for a C-section.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Jeff Pike puts on scrubs as his wife, Andrea, is taken in to surgery for a C-section.

Earlier today, we posted the first part of Andrea Pike's birth story, from Andrea's perspective before she blacked out. Here, her husband Jeff picks up where she left off, in the operating room just before Andrea had a C-section to deliver the second twin, Elizabeth.

"Call for help."

It wasn't a panicked cry, it wasn't desperate, it wasn't meek. It was authoritative, given in a tone that told me Dr. R has been here before, and although she was having trouble, she was not about to lose control of the situation.

"Call for help" — the command came once more. A couple of nurses rushed out the door. A couple more people rushed in.

I was standing on the far side of the operating room, away from the door and trying my best to contain my joy at having just seen my second daughter pulled (literally pulled) into this world. I had a few moments to say my first hello to Elizabeth as she squirmed in the Tupperware tub under the warmer.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea and Jeff Pike before they went into the operating room — and well before Jeff was kicked out and Andrea's life was on the line.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea and Jeff Pike before they went into the operating room — and well before Jeff was kicked out and Andrea's life was on the line.

Andrea Pike gave birth to her twin girls on Aug. 3 during what she called a "terrifying week." Since then, we have been waiting for her birth story, and she said in an email that it was ultimately very hard to write. Here, Andrea tells the story, up until the moment she blacked out. Her husband, Jeff Pike, will fill in the blanks in a post later today.

"Honey, it's time. My water broke."

Even though the words jolted him out of his sleep, he smiled at me when he wrapped his ears around what I'd just said. For the next 30 to 40 minutes we moved around the house like a silent, drowsy hurricane; re-packing the hospital bag, texting and calling his mom and Barb, my best friend, to see if either one of them were awake enough to take our two boys for the night. Before I waddled out of the house that morning, I looked around and took mental photographs of everything, knowing the house would never be the same the next time I saw it.

As we drove to the hospital after dropping the boys off with Barb, I noticed lightning in the far-off distance. It made me happy to think that my girls would be born after our little corner of the world got a much-needed rain shower. We checked into triage once again (I'd been there twice before with preterm and false labor). This time, after a test to make sure that it really was my water that had broken, we were admitted. The sky outside my hospital room gave a great show of lightning and rain, and as the sky tried to turn the color of morning, the storm kept raging on.

We hadn't heard from Andrea Pike for a while, but we recently found out why: She gave birth to her twin girls on Aug. 3 during what she called a "terrifying week." Here's what she said in an email:

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea with her twin girls Natalie and Elizabeth. After a terrifying delivery, the girls and Andrea are both doing well and recovering.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea with her twin girls Natalie and Elizabeth. After a terrifying delivery, the girls and Andrea are both doing well and recovering.

Natalie came out first (with some darn fine pushing from me, thank you very much!) but then Elizabeth was transverse (laying lengthwise across the exit) and despite my OB's best turning efforts, we needed to go C-section with her.

From this point on, I remember very, very few details. I know they had to kick Jeff out of the room after Ellie was born. I was losing lots of blood and my uterus wasn't contracting back the way it's supposed to.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea's boys pose with their mom and her belly.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea's boys pose with their mom and her belly.

I'm always the girl who makes tasty lemonade out of lemons. I don't just see the silver lining in the clouds, but the platinum lining. I've even thanked my lucky stars to be blessed, yes blessed, with infertility; without it, I wouldn't have adopted my sons.

But for the past two-ish weeks while in the hospital and at home on bed rest, I've been very much down in the dumps. I've turned down visits from friends who have offered to stop by and cheer me up. I've taken several naps in a day, just to pass the time. I haven't wanted to go near my crafting supplies — something unheard of in my house. I've definitely been cranky, bored and nowhere near as excited as I thought I'd be, being this close to meeting my daughters.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea has been in the hospital for four days, as doctors work to prevent her twin girls from being born too soon. Here, she and husband Jeff have a "hot date" with ice cream at the hospital cafeteria.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea has been in the hospital for four days, as doctors work to prevent her twin girls from being born too soon. Here, she and husband Jeff have a "hot date" with ice cream at the hospital cafeteria.

Update: On Friday night, Andrea was allowed to leave the hospital, and is now at home.

Thirty-three weeks and three days. That's how far along Andrea Pike is with her twin girls, Natalie and Elizabeth. She hopes to stay pregnant for at least another week or two, and her doctors are doing everything they can to make that happen.

Andrea was admitted to the hospital Monday after she started having contractions. After a relatively smooth couple of days, she began having long and intense contractions last night, she said, and she wasn't feeling well enough to type. So this morning, we gave her a call.

I just wanted to give you all a quick update on Andrea, who was admitted to the hospital two days ago. Her twin girls still haven't arrived. Here's what she wrote this afternoon:

Still waiting to give the steroids time to kick in and work their magic. I haven't seen my doctor yet, but we probably won't know anything for sure until tomorrow afternoon, when they stop the mag bag*. (Listen to me, usin' nurse speak and all!)

Andrea

Catch up on Andrea's story, from her struggles to conceive to the bond she has with her two boys, who were adopted.

*A "mag bag" is literally a bag filled with magnesium sulfate, which is used to stop contractions.

Last night, Andrea wrote in to let us know she'd been admitted to the hospital. Her twin girls hadn't arrived yet, she wrote, but they were definitely trying to make their entrance. At that point, she was dilated 2 cm and 80 percent effaced.

This morning, she sent an update:

Girls are still wombmates and their vitals look GREAT! I had a growth scan yesterday, and the ladies are measuring at 5lbs 2oz and 5lbs 4oz. Holy beefy babies, Batman!!

I get a second steroid shot this afternoon (to help their little lungs mature), and then they keep me on magnesium sulfate for 48 hours after that, to give the steroids enough time to do their thing. [Editor's note: Magnesium sulfate is sometimes used to stop contractions.]

Even with all of this going on, I'm not the least bit stressed or freaked out. The nurses are awesome, my boys are with their grandparents in Texas, Jeff is ever the doting husband, and we have free Wi-Fi in our hospital room. Score!

Andrea says she's still a little sleepy from some meds, but after a nap and some lunch, she'll try to write more. We'll keep you updated.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea at Disney World in early June

Maybe it's because I've managed to keep two young boys alive and happy for the past eight years, or maybe it's because I have no freaking clue as to what is about to hit me, but I can honestly say that I don't have any worries about this pregnancy or anything that follows.

Even in the early stages of this pregnancy, I wasn't worried. This is a little strange, considering the fact that I've experienced two, very early, miscarriages. One would think that worry would have consumed me into at least the second trimester, but it hasn't.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea (right) with her son Benny and his birth mother Katie two summers ago.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea (right) with her son Benny and his birth mother Katie two summers ago.

Last November, about two days before I was to start Lupron injections (another step in the in vitro fertilization process), I had butterflies in my stomach. You see, I was a kid who, when approached with a needle, had to be held down by a brigade of nurses so that said needle could do its job. I don't know if it was some horrible, past life experience, or my dramatic nature kicking in, but nothing could get my heart racing, stomach churning or lungs pumping like having to get a shot. So the fact that I was going to attempt to give myself a shot was really quite impressive.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

The Pike boys at Easter.

To get my mind off of all things needly and sharp, I turned to "happy thoughts." After several "happy thoughts" of George Clooney and running naked through a field of cotton candy (you have your "happy thoughts" and I have mine), my mind turned to my boys. I started thinking about the first few days as their momma, how I'd be forever grateful to their birth mothers, their teeny, tiny little toes and fingers (the boys', not their birth moms') and how incredibly blessed and honored I am to get to be their mother.

It was then that I realized that it's absolutely no coincidence that National Adoption Month and Thanksgiving share the same month. I've always counted my blessings and try to keep a glow of gratitude in my heart, but in the month of November, it all doubles.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

An early sonogram revealed that Andrea and Jeff Pike are having twins.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

An early sonogram revealed that Andrea and Jeff Pike are having twins.

I'm sitting on the couch, 29 1/2 weeks pregnant with twin girls, and am watching my massive midsection bounce and roll and pop. I never thought I'd experience this. After 10 years filled with fertility drugs, hope, despair, waiting rooms, tears, adoptions, miscarriages, painful diagnostic procedures, strain on our marriage and so much more, Jeff and I are getting to experience a new part of parenthood. Something about this round of medical magic seemed different, though. The desperation to become parents was noticeably gone. In its place was a calm, maybe even arrogant at times, confidence that this time, it would be different.

And it was.

About Andrea

Andrea Pike, 31, from Union, Ky., gave birth to twin girls Natalie and Elizabeth on Aug. 3. She and her husband, Jeff, also have two young sons who were adopted.

• Andrea's Full Bio
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Eleven days after egg retrieval (a step in the in vitro fertilization process), I woke up at 6 a.m. Jeff was in Spain on business and our two boys were still asleep. I took a super-sensitive home pregnancy test from my secret stash. (Jeff made me promise I would wait for the blood test, still four days away. I had never had any intention of keeping that promise.) After waiting three minutes, I took the test strip from the bathroom counter and looked for that elusive, second pink line, indicating a pregnancy.

And there she was. She was faint, but she was there. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked at the test again. Yup, still there. I took the test into the kitchen and stood by a window for better light. Yup, not dreaming. I then proceeded to turn into a sobbing, jumping, laughing fool. I picked up the phone and called Jeff.

"We're pregnant!!" I sobbed. "It worked!!"

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

In my 31 years of life, I've lived in Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Calif., and Amish Country, and have finally decided to stay and play as a domestic engineer in Cincinnati. Well, my family and I are in my husband's hometown of Union, Ky., but it seems as though no one has ever heard of it, so we just say, "Greater Cincinnati."

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a mother. When my body had no desire to help with that endeavor and became quite the hostile adversary, Jeff (my sweet husband) and I decided to adopt. We didn't care how we became parents — we just knew that we really needed to be.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andy Pike

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andy Pike

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Benny Pike

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Benny Pike

In 2003, after ending our yearlong battle with infertility (fertility drugs and a round of intrauterine insemination), we adopted Andy. He was 3 days old and just shy of 5 pounds when we first laid eyes on him. He is now 8 years old, and a lanky, scabby-kneed boy with chocolate-colored eyes that melt your sorrows away. We went the adoption route again in 2006 with Benny. I was lucky enough to be in the delivery room when he took his first breath of life, and we share a wonderful, very open relationship with his birth family. Benny is now 4 ½, cute as a button and has the disposition of Joe Pesci.

These two precious beings are what brought my heart and soul back to life. Infertility and miscarriage are not for the faint of heart. I've been a pin cushion for more needles than I care to recall. I've cried so many tears that I have two, tiny, permanent blisters on the whites of my eyes. For what felt like eons, I've walked around as a ghost of my former self; a decrepit shell that used to contain the spirit of a feisty girl. But with the birth of my sons, I was reborn.

Enlarge Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea with her husband, Jeff.

Courtesy of Andrea Pike

Andrea with her husband, Jeff.

Last year, we wanted to add one more set of stinky little feet to our family. In researching options, we found an in vitro fertilization program that was below the cost of an agency or an adoption lawyer. We became patients at a local fertility clinic and paid in advance for four attempts. Well, when we Pikes do something, we go big. On our first try, we discovered that we were going to be blessed with not one, but two pairs of stinky little feet! And, because Jeff and I are so familiar with the mechanics of little boys, fate decided that we needed a little more pink in our lives. At a 16-week ultrasound, we discovered we are having girls. The boys are beyond thrilled to be having sisters!

So far, the pregnancy has been perfect. (Except for the trimester and a half of violent vomiting and nausea, which I just won't go into.) We are planning on a delivery at a hospital specially equipped to manage high-risk pregnancies, and as soon as I am clear for my epidural, I'll take it. I'm so very excited to meet my daughters, but at the same time, I'm also enjoying every minute of this medical miracle.