Twins + one

Today I am 27w3d pregnant with a baby girl.  If I carry her full term, our gentlemen will be 2 years and 4 months old when she arrives.  Are we crazy?  Nope.  As someone who believes wholeheartedly in God being the one guiding and blessing my life she is exactly what our family needs!  His timing might have caught us completely off guard.  I may have sobbed uncontrollably for a solid two hours the day I found out I was pregnant.  Was she planned.  Not even a little.  She is here because God knew she's just what our family needed.

For a long time I did day dream about having a third child and wondered how different carrying one baby would feel vs. twins.  It's amazing!  I am so small this time around.  At this point in my twin pregnancy I was measuring full term.  This time, I'm right on track.  There's so much less pain.  I'm sleeping well.  My energy level is so much higher, and the list goes on.  I'm sure if this was my first pregnancy I'd feel very different about things, but having the twins first has given me such a unique perspective.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that this pregnancy is a piece of cake and I could do it again in a heartbeat!  But then I remember that every pregnancy has it's own unique challenges, so I'm happy if baby girl is our final family member.  It would be awesome to end our journey to parenthood on a high note.

She's my healer.  Prior to the twins, we lost three babies to miscarriage.  As God should design it, her due date is three days shy of exactly six years since we lost our first child.  The first time I realized that it gave me the chills.  It would be so beautiful to bring it all full circle.

This pregnancy has also been healing for us because of how "normal" it's been.  My prenatal care has been on a normal schedule with absolutely no red flags to report thus far.  It's the first pregnancy where I've truly been able to relax.  My midwives have been such great cheerleaders and if all continues to go well, I'll be able to have this little one by VBAC.  That being said, I'm content with however she decides to make her grand entrance.

The other main difference this time around is that I have two very active and curious little boys to attend to.  They are great kids and when they act up, I simply remind myself that they're two and learning new boundaries every day. It's normal. So with them constantly underfoot, I often forget about baby girl gestating away in there.  It's at night, or rather after the gentlemen go to bed, that I have my pregnant mommy time...  If only there was a way to permanently imprint the feeling of a baby kicking you.  It's so incredibly special.

I feel so incredibly blessed that I am getting the chance to be pregnant one more time.  I'm thankful that I now fully understand the challenge of carrying twins really was.  And I'm oh so glad this pregnancy is so far a textbook experience.  I just pray that every day, I truly enjoy these things because I also know how fragile they are.  Being a mother has always been my wish, but I've learned that it was never my choice or my timing.  And might I add, I'm thankful there's someone else orchestrating things.  He does a way better job than I could ever imagine.

So I've been a little busy...

It's been a very busy and wonderful few years since I started (and failed to continue) this blog.  We were blessed with healthy twin boys in 2012, upgraded to a bigger car, bought a house in the woods and it seems like we reinvent ourselves at every turn.  But when you throw twins at first time parents, you have to!  Being able to roll with the punches and adapt are more than a way of life.  It's a way of survival.

I'm asked all the time about products we've found success with, schedules that work, and logistics in general.  A few of my favorite/comical moments involve grocery shopping, feeding, hair cutting and taking them in public by myself.  So I figured, now that life has normalized and I am a uber blessed stay at home mom, it's time to start writing down what I've experienced both for my future enjoyment as well as helping all of the twin moms I know.  Even if I only help one person, it's worth it!

As of right now, outside moms I have met through Mothers of Multiples groups, I know personally nine other moms of twins.  Nine people!  That's insane!  And I know what most people's first assumption is; there must be some fertility help in play here.  Nope.  All nine sets are the product of God's good grace.  Au naturale!  Crazy isn't it?

I'm hoping to write about my past experiences, but a lot of the last two years is a bit hazy.  So I'll focus instead on the present.  Right now, we have lots of exciting/daunting events coming up.  Potty training... This one scares me.  There's so much out there and much of it is vague.  So as we go through it, I'll be honest and share both successes and failures.  Another HUGE change coming up is the arrival of baby girl.  I'm due the end of Sept!  I'm sure there will be a lot of life lessons that come with her too.  But that's future Cari's problem.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.  I'm here to help!

The Gentlemen!!!

I'm ready to go public with the news. Jason and I are ecstatic to share with all of our friends and family that we are having TWO BABY BOYS!!! Every day it becomes more and more real and Jason and I are just getting more and more excited to meet them and start our next chapter as a family of four.

FAQ's

What are we going to name them?

That one you'll just have to wait and see. Jason and I decided to keep that little secret for

ourselves. What I will say is that their names have lots of meaning and are very unique. Jason's boss though threw out a tempting offer. He said he'd give Jason a bonus if we named them Chuck & Norris. : )

Are they identical or fraternal?

That's one we don't even have the answer to. Most likely, they're fraternal because they have separate gestational sacs and placenta. But according to one of my doctors, if an egg splits early enough, it can cause identical twins to

appear like fraternal. Jason and I

would honestly have them be fraternal because it would allow them a bit more individuality. That being said, all the twins in my family are identical, and the stories I've been told about their lives and relationship make it seem pretty cool if they are identical. The only way I've been told to know for sure is wait until they're born and see.

What do you guys need? Let's go shopping!

As many of you know, we are in the process of moving. Jason was told by one of his wedding clients (who happens to be a midwife) that it would be strange to not move during a twin pregnancy when it's the first babies. This just isn't something most people plan for! So, once we get settled in and have a better idea of what these two little guys are going to need we'll take care of registering.

Special Request from Jason and I!

We want to share our boys lives with all of the people we care about, but don't really want their lives to be public to the world. So all we ask is that any pictures or news stay among friends and not all over Facebook and other social media outlets. That's why I've started this blog, so we now have a one stop shop! Enjoy.

So we're having twins.

It's really happening. As of right now I have two adorable little babies cooking in my tummy. I can say they're adorable because a, I'm their mommy, and b we had an ultrasound this week that gave a pretty clear peek at who we have cohabitating in there.

Up until now I've been keeping a journal of my thoughts, but I think it's time to have something a bit more public to share since we have so many loved ones living so far away. To all our friends and family, I will do my best to give you as much baby fodder as I possibly can. No promises, but I'll do my best.