Double Blessings

Well, this idea of a blog has tossed in my head for the entire week. So, here we go!

As many of you may already know, I am expecting twins! Monday, June 4th, 2012 may as well go down in Anson family history as the day our minds were blown. In all seriousness, I figure I'll tell the whole story here. From beginning to end--for a couple of reasons. First of all, why not have a written record of this journey for ourselves? This is something I think these babies would love to be able to look back at--how they made their entrance into this world. And secondly, this can help field and answer questions, concerns, and keep everyone who care informed while keeping a bulk of stuff off of Facebook--for those who don't want to drown in baby information and updates. :)

So, here is the Anson twin story from beginning until now... 

(Bear with me, I'm sure this will be the longest post I make!)

In February of this year I found out that I was pregnant. After having a miscarriage at 8.5 weeks with our angel baby, Paxton, in December, this was amazing news. Obviously, not without some concerns, though. At my first doctor's appointment on February 22, my doctor did an ultrasound to see how this baby was doing. At 6.5 weeks along we saw what looked like a healthy little blob. The heart was beating and everything looked great. Mind you, we saw ONE healthy blob. One tiny sac and one tiny baby embryo. In fact, my doctor was certain there was just one, certain enough to specifically point out there was just one, and not two. (Oh, the irony.)

 

Well, we were ecstatic that all was well, we were even more happy once we got past 8.5 weeks, and we were especially thrilled to get through the first trimester. 

Our Pregnancy Announcement on FB 

 First Ultrasound of "one" Baby

But let me tell you--this pregnancy was brutal. With my first (Noah) I was sick some, but I never threw up and it was hardly intolerable. I had hormone headaches here and there, but never frequent. And, I was small, I didn't clearly start showing until I was at least 16-18 weeks along. Well, not this time. I still have yet to throw up, but I was ALWAYS sick. Like, so sick I could hardly do a thing. Headaches became more normal than not, and I spent most of my first trimester and a lot of the beginning of my second trimester plastered to the couch--only rising when completely necessary to change Noah or feed him. (Or to force feed myself.) This all got chalked up to the baby being a girl. You know, the whole, "girls make you more sick" theory. I kept telling myself that, and saying it would be worth it if it was a girl since we wanted one so bad. Aside from that, I started showing right away. As in, able to post a visible tiny bump pic at seven weeks. Craziness. This was, of course, given to the fact that it was my second (well, actually third) pregnancy, and you just stretch out and blow up much faster than the first. ;) Jokes and comments were made about twins, goodness, I thought about it a lot too; but, I was always reassured, because we only saw one baby and at every appointment there was just one heartbeat. And surely, no one goes this long and has "surprise" twins anymore. Ha!

7 week Baby Bump--Note the comments. Priceless.

The Surprise:

And here we are friends, at Monday, June 4th, 2012 at 9:00am. We are finally in the waiting room for our ultrasound so we can finally see if we get our girl this time. I swear, I felt so uneasy--like I knew it wasn't going to be simple. In fact, Ben and I had both been having dreams that we had to rush around and prepare double of everything for twins, or that we were sorting all these things we were given and keep two of everything. We talked about it that morning and then shrugged it off as being silly. I know it was still nagging at the back of my mind, though. I was being a silent spaz about it all, so when the tech came in and started entering our info in and starting the small talk, I kept telling myself that my crazy nerves were just me hoping it was a girl. 

The technician moved that thing across my stomach and I saw one baby, and then I thought I saw a baby again as she went across--about a million things shot through my mind in the matter of seconds it took for her to say, "I'm assuming you didn't know you were having twins?" I just stared for a second and then asked her if she was joking. She assured me that they don't joke about that type of thing. I'm pretty sure the next thing I did was lean over to Ben and he basically asked the same question again. Then, we both just said, "Wow." It was pretty quiet for the next minute or so and we kept going back and forth saying things like: Twins? This is great! Oh, man, we need a bigger car--like now. Where are we going to put two cribs? This explains a lot. I thought when I felt the kicking it was really spread out...

That poor lady had to take over 120 pictures of each baby unexpectedly, all while giving info, fielding questions and trying to show us what we were looking at. She was sure right away about both genders and said that both babies are very close to the cervix. "Baby A" is usually the baby deemed the most likely to come out first and "Baby B" would obviously be the second. She thought our girl, (Haylee) who is on my right was Baby A & our boy, (Callen) who is on my left was Baby B. After all was said & done, the doctor that came in to check everything said he thought Callen was more likely Baby A, but it doesn't matter too much since we won't mix them up. The twins are fraternal--which we learned is not genetic, but just by chance. Apparently, identical twins are the only hereditary kind. And no, twins do not run in either of our families.

 TWINS Annoucement on FB :)

We left the doctor basically walking on cloud nine. I don't think you could beat the smile off either of our faces. We had planned on revealing the gender of the baby with a photo that afternoon to everyone, including our parents, but we couldn't make them wait for this news. We called Ben's mom, we called my mom, and then Ben's mom called back. She had to ask if we were joking. ;) I called Emily to inform her that we needed two balloons instead of one, and that we were running a little late for the pictures. I swear it all went by in a blur. We finally got home, told Maria (my little sister) and then had to wait for Ben's parents with the balloons, because there's apparently a helium shortage and anywhere we stopped was out. Figures. haha. So, I had to take all the heat from everyone anxiously awaiting our gender reveal. Man, was I getting some texts, messages, and comments. You all were crazy! I say that with love. We took pictures faster than I thought possible, (thankfully too, because Noah popped the balloons right away, lol!) and then the next thing I knew, I was in the car on the road to Ohio with my mom and sister. Getting those pictures from Emily and getting to finally see all the reactions was priceless. Oh, how I love technology! :)

Honestly, I always said growing up that I wanted to have a set of boy/girl twins, but it was always one of those things that you say and never actually expect to happen to you. I mean, after I got pregnant with Noah, reality set in and I wasn't so adamant about that desire anymore, lol! But, twins was always something Ben and I talked about, whether we truly thought it would ever happen or not. 

Prayer Requests:

• My health-- I am currently healthy, but I am at high risk for preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and most concerning, preterm labor. 

• Callen & Haylee's health & growth--they are both currently healthy, PTL, but keep praying that they grow at the same rate and stay healthy for a safe delivery
• My delivery--I really would 100% prefer to be able to deliver naturally & without an epidural. A C-section is my worst fear. Obviously, I will do whatever it takes for my babies, but I would greatly appreciate the prayers to be able to do it on my own with no complications. This is possible, and no, I'm not crazy. :)
•  Noah--to adjust well, as this will hit him as a surprise more than anyone else
• 38 weeks is considered Full term for twins and that is my goal. My official due date is October 13th, which puts 38 weeks at September 29th.
• Our finances--Ben works two jobs plus sides jobs now, I would love for him to find one, good, full time job that he enjoys.
• A big enough car--we currently have a 2 door cavalier >.<
• Wisdom in this whole journey! 

We are so excited. Yes, it is a little scary. Yes, it is quite overwhelming. But, it is a good overwhelming. I know God does not do anything on accident. I know Paxton's life and death was not an accident, and I know God had His perfect timing and perfect hand in creating these beautiful little lives that are growing inside of me now. God isn't throwing us a curve ball, He created us to be the parents of all four of our children and we're just now getting to experience it. I was made to be Noah's mom, I was made to be a mom with a baby in Heaven, and I was made to be a mom of multiples. That sounds crazy to me when I think of how two changes things, but God planned this and made me for it. I find that amazing. How blessed am I, that God would entrust these precious lives to me? We are doubly blessed, for sure.