A Tale of Two Boys!

It has been a whirlwind of a year. I haven't done a great job of keeping up with the little (or the big) details.

On July 22, 2013 we welcomed Titus James and Zachary David into our family. Surprise! :)

Here is a bit of their story:

A year ago Daneel and I were going back and forth, back and forth as to whether we wanted to have another baby. Daneel leaned toward being done. Our family of four seemed pretty practical and manageable. I leaned towards having one more. Right after we got married, we talked about having 4 kids. Then we had our first sweet blessing and decided to reevaluate. :)

Daneel grew up in a family with 3 kids and thought we should have an even number of children - 2 or 4. I was the youngest of 2 kids in my family, and I always wanted to have a bigger family. However after having 2 not-so-easy babies, I didn't think I was up for 4. But I also didn't feel that our family was complete. A family of five sounded great to me, and I distinctly told Daneel, 'I can handle ONE more baby, but not two.' 

I've noticed a trend that when I make bold, sweeping statements about plans for my life, God tends to turn those statements upside down. 

Late November we found out we were pregnant. Morning sickness started and once again I thought, 'this is definitely the last pregnancy I can handle.'

I went to my first doctor appointment and didn't even see the doctor. The nurse did a blood test and sent me home.

On January 14, I went in for the first ultrasound. Daneel was pretty busy with work and I told him that he didn't need to come. I'd get the first picture of our baby and the heart rate.

My doctor came in and felt around my stomach area. As she started the ultrasound she said, 'You feel like you're measuring a little big.' She paused momentarily and said with a smile, 'And that's because there are TWO.' 

I didn't hear anything she said after that. I was in shock. The nurse assisting the doctor was really sweet. She told me that she had twin boys and that she loved it. She stayed and talked with me for awhile after the appointment. God definitely hand picked her to be my nurse that day. I didn't have a single appointment with her the rest of the pregnancy.
After the appointment I called Daneel and burst into tears when I told him the news. He started laughing and said, 'That's awesome!' I am so thankful for his support. If he had started crying too, I don't know what I would have done :)

It took some time to adjust to the idea of twins, but the adjustment came. Suddenly everywhere I went I was meeting people that had twins or came from a family with twins. I had no idea so twins were so common. 

On March 12 we went in for the big gender reveal ultrasound. This time Daneel did come with me. We asked the ultrasound tech to write the genders on a piece of paper and stick it in an envelop for us to open over lunch. I was pretty sure that we were going to have one boy and one girl. All along Daneel had been saying two boys. He was definitely scared at the thought of adding two more girls to the family. I can't imagine why ;)

We stared at the envelop on the table for awhile and then decided to open it. Inside was a green sticky note that simply said: 2 BOYS

I don't think I've ever seen Daneel so happy. We were both thrilled with the news. When we told the girls, Avalon was excited. Julie however was adamant that she would be getting a sister.

Side note - After much debate we also decided to start looking for a new home. We wanted something with a little more space inside, and hopefully a lot more space outside, where the kids could play freely. 

Our sweet Sawgrass house sold after 5 days on the market and God blessed us with a home that seemed to have been made specifically for our family. Lots of space inside and a beautiful 1.6 acres with lots of trees. On April 14th we moved into our new home in Weatherford. It is such a gift and blessing from the Lord. 

The remainder of the pregnancy went really smoothly. Other than some problems with varicose veins in one leg and morning sickness (oh and HEARTBURN), I didn't have any pregnancy problems or complications. I didn't have to see a specialist at all and didn't have to go on bed rest. At every ultrasound check the boys were growing and looking great. It was a huge blessing.

We had planned our Disney trip and a trip to New Mexico for Daneel's sister's wedding before we were expecting the twins. I was able to do both those trips and a move without any hiccups.

My doctor chose to induce me at 37 weeks. Apparently current research says that 37 weeks is the optimal time for twins to be delivered, so the delivery was scheduled for July 22.

We went in early to start the induction. Our good friend Keri was actually my first nurse of the morning. They started the pitocin about 6:30. Sometime after 8:30 I got the epidural - an invention I am extraordinarily grateful for. I was pretty much in tears by the time the anesthesiologist arrived. 

The nurse told me that I shouldn't feel any pain and that she would come check on me in a couple of hours. 

Less than an hour later I was feeling some pain. I called the nurse in to let her know. She did a quick check and said, 'Oh, they are ready to come!'

She called the doctor and a team of nurses wheeled my bed into the OR. Twin deliveries have to be done in the OR in case something goes wrong and they have to do a quick c-section. 

The delivery was perfect. 

Baby A - Titus James was born at 9:57AM after 2 or 3 pushes.

Baby B - Zachary David was born 3 minutes later at 10:00AM.

They were small - Titus was 4 pounds 14 oz and Zachary was 5 pounds 5 oz. But they could certainly scream. I couldn't help but laugh at the sound of wailing that filled the room. It was something else. 

Both boys scored a 9 on the apgar test. They were just perfect.

We stayed one night in the hospital and were able to go home the next afternoon. Yay!

We are home and have been so blessed by friends and family bringing us food and checking in on us. The transition to twins has not been without challenges but it has not been nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Avalon and Julie are in heaven with their new little brothers. I told Daneel the other day that I had no idea how much we needed these little guys. I am so thankful and blessed by the family God has given us. I am so glad he gave us two instead of the one I was sure I could handle :)

Here are just a few pictures from the first 2 days with the boys. More to come!