Monday, August 25, 2008

This Is Our Miracle

Less than a year after we married, my husband and I decided we wanted to start trying for a baby. I had always had irregular periods and had suspicions that I might struggle a bit to get pregnant and I couldn't have been more right. After 22 months of trying to conceive, 2 rounds of Clomid, 3 rounds of injectibles and IUI and a miscarriage, we were thrilled to find out we are blessed with TWINS! The joy we experienced hearing the news will never be forgotten. I'll never forget when the ultrasound tech said, "It's TWINS!" It was like music to our ears. I just began sobbing and shaking. The nurse had to tell me to stop shaking so she could get the heart beat! My husband had the look of pure happiness on his face as he squeezed my hand and patted the tech on the top of the head! It was truly a magnificent moment in that little room.



After all we have been through to get pregnant, we had been secretly hoping for twins! Being blessed with twins meant we didn't have to suffer through the fertilty treatments, stress, and loss all over again. All the prayers from everyone worked - we have truly been blessed. Everything we went through those 22 months made it all worth it now. We see why things happened the way they did - because THIS is what was supposed to happen to us. This is the miracle we were to receive.

My pregnancy was completely normal and uneventful until I hit 29 weeks. I went in for my regular ultrasound and found out my cervix had shortened substantially and my OB instantly put me on strict bed rest and wrote me out of work. My husband and I were taken by surprise that it happened so fast. We went from two paychecks to one instantly as my employer did not have STD or paid maternity leave. Luckily we were able to manage financially while I was off work due to the savings we had accumulated after learning we were having twins.

I remained on bed rest the rest of my pregnancy as my cervix continued to stay short and then at 34 weeks I was hospitalized because I had dilated to a 3.Unlucky for me, my OB was going on vacation in Mexico for a week and I was stuck in the hospital praying I didn't deliver. I held out until 35 weeks and 4 days- the day before my OB was to return. I began going into labor with contractions and the on call doctor decided it was time. We were in shock and very emotional and BAM an hour later our twin boys were born! It all happened so fast, it was like a whirlwind...a whirlwind I'll never forget.



One of my boys was born completely healthy and went to the newborn nursery and our other son had breathing troubles and was sent to the NICU where he remained for 9 days. It was so hard to leave him behind when I was discharged and we visited him everyday praying for him to get well enough to come home. Those were probably the longest 9 days of my life. He had some setbacks and they thought he would be in the NICU for weeks. Once I was discharged, he decided he was going to fight to get home ASAP and that he did! He surprised us all when he made leaps and bounds and came home so soon.



Now our boys are 3 months old and sometimes I feel like this is all a wonderful dream and one day I'll wake up and it will all be gone. Like it's too good to be true. Like we couldn't have been this lucky to be blessed with such wonderful sons. As tough as raising twins has been so far, every minute is worth it. I was able to stay home with them the first 3 months but have now had to return to work part-time in order to make it financially. My husband has his9-5 job and a job on the side to make extra money. We have figured a way to juggle our schedules so that our boys don't have to go to daycare and we can take care of them ourselves. It's tough, money is tight and my husband and I don't get to spend much time together, but in the end it is all worth it to raise our boys ourselves.



I am so thankful to be involved in such a wonderful, supportive online message board. The ladies I have met have been there for me through it all - the joys, the panic, the stress, the endless questions, everything - and I couldn't be more grateful. I only hope one day we can all meet in person - with all our kids! Boy, wouldn't that be a sight!

ThisIzLove

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