A Surprise Bundle

I went in for my first doctor appointment this morning and was really looking forward to that first ultrasound. I tried really hard to get sitters so that Danny could come with me but everyone had legit reasons why they couldn't. No one in our families know I'm pregnant still (except for Pollyanna and Danny's Grandma Colleen) so instead of telling them what I was really doing I told them I had a dentist appointment. I also said that Danny had a work meeting he couldn't get out of but the real plan was going to be that I would pick him up from school and we would go together to this 'dentist' visit then I would drop him back off and I'd relieve the sitters and thank them that I was able to get a teeth cleaning. That didn't happen. I'm sure that if people knew what it was really for it would have been a little easier to figure out how to get Danny to come with me but that's okay. It turns out that Danny actually did have a meeting come up with his work that he had to participate in so the lie I was telling turned into a half lie haha. Danny kept reassuring me that he was fine either way and was okay if he couldn't make it. This is our fourth and he's done this three times before. He was okay to stay home and join his meeting through video call so that we wouldn't need a sitter and I wouldn't need to reschedule this appointment. 

So I go to my appointment and everything looks great with baby. The baby is measuring exactly 9 weeks 3 days which is exactly how far along I am. Danny is on FaceTime while simultaneously watching his work meeting. We're about to wrap up and finish the ultrasound when I made the comment "there's only one baby in there right?". The doctor laughed and said "yep there's only one baby in there" and then asked if twins ran in my family. I told him I had a crazy dream last night that I was having triplets and just wanted to make sure. True story I did have a dream but I just counted it as a crazy pregnancy dream. I was mostly just trying to make a joke and the doctor laughed and said "see look there's only one" as he goes in for one last look on the sonogram. Then he gasped. He added "oh! Actually theres a twin right here." "What???" I had a baby hiding behind my baby! Well they are both my babies but Danny and I were in shock. I looked at Danny who was on my phone screen to see if he heard what I heard and to see if he could see what I could see. Yep he could. His hand was over his mouth but I could hear him repeatedly say "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh." I think I was saying the same thing. I'm not really sure because I was in shock. I do remember saying "I knew I was so much bigger this time!" The doctor told me that I'm measuring more like twelve weeks instead of nine weeks because of the two. I figured it was because this is my fourth pregnancy and our oldest is still five years old. Our fourth and final baby is now our fourth and fifth final babies. There was both disbelief and uncontrollable laughter coming from both Danny and I. For weeks now I have been reassuring Danny that this is our last pregnancy and Danny kept telling me he didn't believe it. I don't blame him because I've said the same thing before, but this time I told him "no, seriously. If we're meant to have more than this one then God better send them together because I'm not getting pregnant again". I guess God heard me. 

The doctor then changed his tune a little bit to explain that this is considered a high risk pregnancy and that there are many complications that can come with a twin pregnancy. He mentioned some things that could go wrong and the possibility of an automatic cesarean delivery if baby A is breeched when it comes to it, but then also reassured us that we'll get the best care possible. I won't be going full term so March 30th is no longer the end goal. We will be aiming for 36 to 38 weeks and will hopefully deliver some healthy babies. He also told us that I'm carrying the best twin case scenario because both babies have their own sacs and their own placentas. There are a lot more complications that can come from twins who share either one but that's not the case we're dealing with. Which is great. At this time we don't yet know if they are identical or fraternal but will know more as I get further along. As shocked as we both were we strangely feel at peace about this. This was meant to happen and now even more than ever I feel this is the last pregnancy. I'm to be seen again in three weeks to check their growth and fluids and I can't wait to see those little nuggets again. Hopefully though we don't find out that there really is a third one like in the dream and twins are all I'm carrying right now.

I'm really glad I made that attempt at trying to be funny with the "there's only one in there right?" comment because we wouldn't have seen the second baby otherwise. We were basically already done with the appointment and I would have gone on until my gender appointment at twenty weeks in mid November not knowing if we hadn't found out today. Maybe that's not true and I would have found out earlier with a heartbeat check but I don't know. I just know I'm glad we found out today. 

I'm excited to tell Hudson he's right. He's been saying I have two babies in my belly since we first told him I was pregnant. It's also going to be fun to keep this twin surprise as a little family secret for now. We're going to try and see if we can pull it off and surprise both our families with the twins at birth. I'm not sure if we can do it but we're going to try. I'm obviously going to get a lot bigger than I ever have so it's going to be hard to hide it but if I can pull it off I think it would be really fun to see their reactions at the hospital. We have an exciting and exhausting Spring ahead of us. 

(Below) A picture from the brief moment we thought we were adding one baby to our family.

*11/10/2020 editing to add that it turns out I'm not carrying the best case twin scenario where the babies have their own sacs and own placentas. These babies both share the same placenta but fortunately do have their own sacs. Although this can cause some complications further down the road everything is looking perfect so far. Having one placenta makes them identical and we couldn't be more excited to meet these two little girls.

Kindergarten!

Today is a big day for our family (for other reasons) but also a very big day for this Miss! We have a kindergartener here and she was so excited to go back to school! There are a lot of new covid precautions and procedures that have to take place such as wearing masks but she is still so excited to be able to go! I hope it lasts a lot longer than the last school year that was cut short world wide. Her brothers on the other hand are shocked that I would just drop off their sister and drive away. I had to do a lot of convincing that she is in fact coming back to us. I can't wait to hear about her first day and the boys can't wait to have her home again. 

So Many Critters

I'm terrified of all creepy, crawly, winged and wingless bugs so it's nice to have these three take care of it for me. The part where they're often showing the bugs close to my face could stop, but I can always count on them to take care of them for me. Here's just a glimpse of some of the critters these kids have found this summer.

Seven Year Anniversary and Zoo Day

If I could go back and talk to these two I'd let them know that despite what most people told us the first year actually wasn't hard at all. It was pretty fun. I would tell them that the arguments and challenges would surely come though, but that it has yet to break them. I'd warn Danny that seven years will pass and that his wife would still somehow hog the bed every single night and that this probably won't change anytime soon. She can't help it and no matter where she starts the night he'll likely end up on the edge. I'd tell them that applying to grad school would be extremely stressful but that it works out and Danny will be given travel opportunities he'd never dreamed of. I'd tell them that they'll bring three beautiful children into this world and that even though each birth would have their own unique aspects they all turn out okay. I'd tell them that they'd be expecting their fourth and final and that it's going to be the best thing for them. I'd tell them that their opposite personalities will make some moments difficult but their core values always stay the same. It's been almost seven years and I love where we're at, so maybe I wouldn't say anything to our younger selves because we've somehow figured us out.

We spent the morning of our anniversary with meeting some of my siblings and my parents at the Hogle Zoo. The kids had so much fun and because of some Covid restrictions in place we really didn't deal with any crowds. It was nice and we went early enough before it got too hot. Tonight as I was putting Addie to bed she told me that our anniversary was the best day ever because we got to go to the zoo as a family. She was cute about it.

Our anniversary evening was spent pretty low key but it also was perfect. With me being pregnant and just recently moving into a new place we really didn't put too much planning into it. All I knew was that I really wanted Thai food and we were both okay with that. We got Danny a gift for the garden and the gift I was going to get ended up being a little too expensive at this time so it's going to be a rain check. I really just wanted a quiet evening at home with some Thai food so that's what we did. I agree with Addie, it was a pretty good day. I can't believe by this time next year our family that Danny and I have created will be complete. Not too bad for being seven years in.