There are two in there?

I have been slacking lately on taking pictures, especially with the two new girls we've had for almost two weeks and the craziness of that. (more on that later, I suppose) But, I have been meaning to journal on here about the whole story of finding out about the twins, who are, as of today, 16 weeks along, hanging out in my tummy! At the Ultrasound this morning, I was told they are 16 weeks, 3 days and 16 weeks, 1 day in size, which is right on par! Good job, babies.

Anyway, mostly for my own sake, so I don't forget this, here is the story:

Back in May, after we had the early miscarriage, I felt assured by the Lord that He was going to provide another baby for us, in His time. I decided that it made sense to take 1 pill/day of progesterone, starting earlier on in my cycle, as my only "treatment" that I would take into my own hands, but really that isn't much of a treatment at all . . it only affects my progesterone level AFTER I ovulate. So, in late August, I was late a few days, so I reluctantly went and got a home test (I am always hesitant to do those tests because I saw a ton of negative ones during the year and a half of trying to get pregnant with Clara) and it was positive. When I did the test, Jeremy was in the shower . . I simply stood up on the toilet and held it over the shower for him to see. We both kept our cool and didn't want to "count our chickens before they hatched" at that point.

A few days later, I went to the Gyft Clinic to have a blood test, and the nurse called back that afternoon, confirming our news, along with some encouragement: my HcG level was a lot higher than it had started out when they tested me back in May, and my Progesterone level was super high, too! This was definitely a relief, but we were still cautious about getting excited. They told me to come back in 3-4 days. I waited 6, just because I was nervous about it.

During those 6 days, I was sure that the next blood draw would be bad news. That was the phone call that had been bad news in May. I have done this enough to know that my HcG level is supposed to double about every 2-3 days, so by the time I went in, I had calculated that it needed to be around 4,000-5,000 for it to be considered good news. When the nurse called back in the afternoon, she informed me that it had gone way up . . to 10,000! Definitely a shock, and another relief. She told me that at that point, the level was too high to watch with blood levels, and it was time for an ultrasound. She was quite insistent that I get one within a few days, which I was fighting because Jeremy and I know how much those cost.

Jeremy's first reaction when I hung up the phone: "I bet there's more than one in there. Ha, ha." It was the joke of the next week. We joked about "Larry, Mo and Curly" in there, and had a great time thinking how funny that would be.

So, a week later, I went in by myself for an Ultrasound, which, again made me nervous, but Jeremy had to stay home with Clara. A nurse from the Gyft Clinic came in with me, probably because they are used to giving people bad news, and she was there for support, should that happen. The doctor got the probe in, and right away found the baby and the heartbeat. He showed it to me, and I, once again, relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. This was only about 6 or 7 weeks, but it is still so amazing to see a little tiny bean in your tummy with a heartbeat! He spent probably 3-4 minutes taking pictures and measurements of the baby, while I layed there and got excited.

Then, he said he was going to move the probe a little to see my whole uterus . . and when he did, the nurse with me let out a little gasp. The doctor looked at her and nodded, and very calmly said to me, "I'm seeing a little something else over here on the other side of your uterus, so I'm going to zoom in on it." He was so stinkin calm about it. When he zoomed in, sure enough, there was another little heartbeat hiding out over there! The nurse came over and took my hand and squeezed it and was telling me something about her son and how he has twins, or something like that, but I didn't really pay much attention to her, because I had just found out that I was having twins!

When I left, one of the best parts was calling Jeremy first, then my mom. I revealed the news to them in the same manner, saying that "There was a nice strong heartbeat . . (pause for effect) . . times TWO!" With Jeremy, his reaction was silence, then "What?" and I had to repeat it, then he told me how much he loved me. I think I cried a little over the phone. At the end, he said, "I'm going to go throw up now." Priceless. My mom heard the news and just started screaming. When my dad heard a few days later, his response was, "Oh, you're kidding me." (He and my mom got to experience that news, too . . my sister, Melissa, was a twin.)

One of the best parts of these last few months, and getting to announce this fun news to people, is what I get to say when they ask if we did any fertility treatments, which is a very normal question with twins, and, given our past struggles to conceive. It is SO FUN to be able to tell them, "No, we didn't do anything at all. This is what God has decided to bless us with!"