Twin Birth Story Part 3

We had already decided that we wanted to have an ultrasound. Tim really wanted to find out the sex of the baby and I didn’t have any objections. So very spryly one August morning, I bopped in for my ultrasound. I teasingly told the technician that we want to know if it’s healthy, of course, but we want to know how many and the sex. I just wanted to shut everyone up once and for all and have her tell me that my little girl was doing just fine. Well, it took her all of 30 seconds to say…”well, there are at least 2 in there and this one’s a boy aaaaaand, that one’s a boy.” What???? I broke down into fits of laughter. I couldn’t believe it. Twin boys. OH MY GOSH! Tim was silent. As silent as I’ve ever seen my husband. He finally looked at me and said “Do we have to move?” I assured him that no, we didn’t but he was still in shock and already in the mode of taking care of his rapidly growing family. It was at that moment that my sister came in. She’d been running a little late and had missed the big reveal. When we told her, she burst out laughing. That was pretty much the reaction we got from people all day as we made phone call after phone call letting everyone know our big news. I had my best friends accuse me of lying to them and so many people laughed and there were a few who were just silent as it sunk in. That was great fun.

It took a few days for the shock to wear off. Tim and I quickly named the babes and it really helped me to begin to know them as 2 little beings inside me. It was amazing. I spent hours staring at my ultrasound pictures still wondering at the fact that there were 2 of them in there and they were mine. I was going to have 2 babies. There was so much that I couldn’t comprehend or wrap my brain around. How do I nurse 2? Can I wear 2? Can I still cloth diaper them? Can I still homeschool? How is this going to change my family? What did I get us into? And through all of the questions and doubts and fears, there was pure joy and excitement. I was so grateful to be able to experience this. It was a pregnancy that I never thought I’d have and now I was getting 2 babies for the price of one. I was so blessed. My family was amazing. The boys were incredibly helpful and excited. We set aside school for the most part and prepared for the arrival of our babies. We cooked and organized and I rested and chose my activities carefully. I had pains that I had never had with the first two and some of them were bad enough to immobilize me at times but still, I was grateful. I talked to each baby and got to know each one of them by their movements. I had fun obsessing over whose little foot was this and whose hand was that. I was in heaven. I was huge. It was perfect.