How did that happen???
First off... thank you so much for your kinds words, texts, posts, and comments! It's going to be a crazy ride and it is so encouraging to know that we have friends and family who are excited with us and are SO supportive. I recognize that my crazy hormone levels make me slightly emotional... BUT it has been so overwhelming to have so many of you encourage us and we've only been out of the pregnancy closet for a few days! So thank you!
Alright now onto the good stuff. I'm going to warn you this might be a little long - but I'll try to keep it as brief as possible. And if you're a boy... you might want to skip out (don't say I didn't warn you... but I do use words like 'reproductive health' and 'stirrups') So... yeah.
Anywho, the majority of the q's I've received thus far are, "Were you trying?!?" (ish) "Were you on fertility medication?" (no) "Do twins run in your family?"(nope and the type of twins we have aren't hereditary) "Were you shocked?" (Um... Duh) and "Are you sick?" (Oh yes, like I've never been before). So I'll try to get to all of those... and then some and also not keep you here forever.
For those of you who know me well, you know that babies were in the far far away future for me. I always joked saying that we could discuss having kids after 3-5 years of marriage. So a lot of you are wondering... What the heck happened to Brit's plan??? Well, it's what happens to all of my plans - God reminds me that my life isn't about my plans... and I'm so thankful they're not.
First off, I am unashamed to share the beauty of this story by giving you a few painful background details. For years I have been told that the likelihood of getting pregnant without lots of drugs/treatments is slim. In fact, before getting married I sat the Mister down and told him that there was a good chance we wouldn't be able to have babies naturally so if that was a make-it/break-it issue, he might need to move on. Obviously he was amazing and it wasn't a problem, but I made it VERY clear to him that I wanted to try to adopt babies before trying to have them naturally because adoption was important to me and I wanted to adopt because it was a priority, not a back-up plan (Not that there is anything wrong with it being one... For me, I just really wanted to adopt first!). God has such a sense of humor (obviously). I think every life plan that I have stated with certainty has been thrown upside down in my lap and I can hear Him chuckling as He watches me struggle through it. But He is kind, good, and patient despite my stubbornness.
All that to say, these last few years have been relatively hard feminine health-wise, which is what led me to my Dr's office in December to discuss a few items. Too make a long story short, what I had been told previously about my reproductive health was again affirmed, and after that appointment the Mister and I decided to not necessarily start trying, but to at least "pull the goalie." If you're confused about the difference... ask your mom. So we pulled the goalie assuming nothing would happen... And then one month later things started changing in my body (and some of those changes were seriously creepy and messed up and I had no clue what was wrong with me, but I was pretty sure I was dying). After a week or two of odd symptoms, I figured I should probably pee on some sticks (yes multiple) just in case... So I did and when that second line slowly started to appear... I freaked out. Lots of tears. I was in shock! I really never thought it would happen for us, so although I was thankful I was also terrified because it really never entered my mind that I could possibly get pregnant! The Mister was on cloud 9 but also extremely patient with my confused emotional state.
Fast forward one month to our first dr's appointment and I'm laying there, feet in those forsaken stirrups, when the observation nurse gasped & covered her mouth and the Dr. smiled and said, "I could probably lie to you about a lot of things, but this I can't lie about." And that's when I saw our two babies and said "Holy $*#@!" (sorry mom, you raised me better. I know. But really... can you blame me?) and then once again I started crying. I would look at the babies, then look at the mister, then look at the babies, and then look at the doctor and ask, "Are you sure? No, but are you really sure?" And we did that on repeat for a few minutes while they brought in another doc to examine the type of twins they were and to discuss words I had never heard before (just fyi: they're Mono-Di twins; identical). And then I heard their heartbeats... and I think my heart stopped. And that's the moment I became a mother. I know that technically I was a mother prior to that, but in that moment something in me switched. I was no longer terrified of the changes I'd face, no longer afraid of the journey of starting a family; all that mattered now were those little heartbeats and keeping them going. They became real to me. We were no longer just "pregnant," we were expecting babies, our babies.
So that was 3+ weeks ago & last week we went again (we'll be seeing the doc every 2 weeks until the Parrs make their world debut). And again two healthy heartbeats were confirmed, and this time when we saw them they had doubled in size, grown limbs, and were waving at us. When we saw them move, I think I almost fell off the table from excitement. Thankfully, those darn stirrups kept me in place. And once again I was reminded of God's goodness in giving us things that we might not ever initially want.
So that's the story of how we got pregnant. If we were carrying a singleton, I'd be due Oct. 4th... but that's just not going to happen! ;) Their goal is to get me to September - and we're holding that date lightly as well. And as for morning sickness... I finally caved in and started meds this week and I feel like a whole new woman. For real. I've gone from throwing up 3-6 x's a day (for about 6 weeks straight with only a few days without sickness in between) to throwing up only twice since I started them. The Mister is so glad to have his wife back from the dead. I don't think I washed a dish in 6 weeks and he's pretty happy to be able to get a full night's sleep without being woken up by gagging noises. Truth. My only regret is not caving sooner... For real yo.
So that's the story. And now there are four of us. And two of us are pretty excited about the other two getting here! Again Thanks SO MUCH for all of your encouraging words and support! I really can't articulate how much it means to us! We covet your prayers in the upcoming months as I started student teaching this week and am still taking grad. school classes in the evenings. It's going to be a crazy few months!
Much love,