Today the girls are 6 months old, so I've been thinking a lot about the pregnancy and their birth today.
Since this whole blog was created because of the twins, I thought I should write about when it all began … the day we FOUND OUT that we were having TWINS!
Andrew’s work schedule had been extremely hectic during that time. I made two doctor appointments: one was our pregnancy “confirmation” appointment, scheduled at the 7 week mark and the other was a first trimester screening at 13 weeks. From having Mason, I knew the confirmation was the little bean on the screen and the doctor saying, “YES! The pregnancy test was right!” Our first trimester screening was going to be in 4D and super cool. So, I told Andrew that he didn’t have to try to get off of work for both appointments, and I encouraged him to be there for the 13 week appointment rather than the 7 week one. Boy, am I ever glad that he didn’t listen to me and he ended up taking the time off for both!!! In fact, I can count on one hand how many appointments Andrew missed during the entire pregnancy (only if he was out of the country). And, believe me, with twins – there are A LOT of appointments!
Let me back up a second… Andrew always thought it was weird how both times I “just knew” I was pregnant before I should even know. Funny thing is that both times, we found out on Father’s Day weekend. So, this time around, on Father’s Day, I went out to get a cake and picked up a pregnancy test, too! I took the test, and before I could even set it on the counter to let it sit for a few minutes, it was POSITIVE! This should have told me something to begin with since I wasn’t even late yet. My hormone levels were already so high (due to twins) that it set off that little plus sign almost immediately. With Mason there were lines, some faint, some half there. It was enough to make me take 6 pregnancy tests of different brands just to be sure. Not this time, though! BRIGHT and IMMEDIATE!
So, back to the appointment..................We walk in, and I’m already showing a bit. Yes, I was only 7 weeks along, but my belly was distended. It is more of a bloated look, and no one would ever tell me that I was showing. However, I knew that I was, and my shorts didn’t fit quite right. I’d been told that you show early with the second baby, so I just chalked it up to that. Makes sense, right?!?! I undress and get ready for the exam, and all of a sudden, I say to Andrew, “What if we are having twins?” I don’t know where it came from or why I said it. I just did. Then, we laughed and said how completely impossible that would be for us and we could never handle it. (Foot in mouth!)
The doctor came in and began the ultrasound. The bean came up on the screen and she gave us the thumbs up that it was in the right spot. Aaaaahhhh! Sigh of relief! Then, she started to take measurements, and told us that we were 9 weeks 2 days along. WHAT?!?! Nope! Anyone that knows me knows that I’m extremely organized about many things – my lists and my calendar. I promptly corrected the doctor and told her that I was only 7 weeks 2 days along. But, her measurements kept contradicting that. Hmmmmm…… then she said, “Wait just a minute. Let me just zoom in here.” That is when I saw……….TWO BEANS!!!! I said before the doctor could, “There are two!” After that, there were a series of “Holy Sh*ts!” that continued for quite some time (and I don’t even curse a lot). A few minutes later, they were confirmed with two heartbeats. My two little beans had been so close that she had originally measured them together, as they appeared to be one large bean. I remember feeling Andrew squeeze my hand tight – so tight that my rings were digging into my fingers leaving a mark.
I had originally come to the appointment with a notebook to fill up with information and answers to questions. However, the doctor (an identical twin herself, interestingly enough) knew that we were still in shock. She told us to just go home and wrap our heads around the twin part first, and she would answer our questions at the next appointment.
We stumbled to the check-out desk to make our next appointment, and I told the receptionist in a shell-shocked kind of way that we were having twins! (She reminded me of my shock at each subsequent visit since she got such a kick out of it.) The drive home was a mixture of excitement and odd concerns. All of a sudden one of us would say something like, “We need a new car to fit all the car seats!” or “That means we need to buy TWO cribs!” or “But, we only have one car seat!” It was all just starting to hit us.
The roller coaster of emotions about having twins would continue throughout most of the pregnancy. However, by the time we parked the car after that first appointment, Andrew and I were grinning from ear to ear and saying to one another, “We CAN do this! We are having TWINS! How amazing!”
