Delivery Day! 5:45, and SO happy to meet my girls
I just can't explain the relief that I felt hearing these screams!
My sweet girls
9 months ago I was
9 months pregnant with the twins. It is so hard to believe how quickly the time as gone by! I have had so many friends ask about my pregnancies...so I thought I would share a little bit about that with you all. I hope it will encourage you!
Landon and I have been married for 41 months. Out of those 41 months, I was pregnant for 18 and nursing for 21. So for almost 40 of those months, I was either throwing up on an hourly basis, or eating everything in sight to keep up with my milk supply. Added to that are the hormones that can get out of control. He got one month of "normal", and that was the first month of our marriage in the "honeymoon stage"! Poor husband.
With both pregnancies, I had extreme problems with keeping food down. I threw up the entire pregnancies several times a day. Hyperemesis Gravidarum is the medical term for what the doctor diagnosed me with. This pregnancy had a rocky start. At week 5, after a lot of bleeding and my first ER visit, we weren't sure if we were still pregnant. I had my HCG levels checked every other day. They seemed to rise slightly under the normal rate, and certainly not at the rate of a twin pregnancy. The next 3 weeks were the longest weeks of waiting. At 8 weeks we saw the heartbeat...of TWO babies. We were so relieved and shocked at the same time. While pregnant with the twins, my body could hardly keep up with the pregnancy. I was in and out of the urgent care/emergency room...getting fluids twice a week. My doctor threatened to put me on feeding tubes every week if I did not start gaining a pound a week. Every week I would pray that I would gain the weight so I would not have to stay in the hospital. At week 20, I was placed on bed rest. For me, that was the hardest thing to face...especially with a very active 1 year old. Every time I stood up and walked around, I would immediately start having contractions. I knew that I needed to obey his orders for the health of the twins. By week 30 I really struggled with Anemia and malnutrition. I was so anemic, the doctor didn't even know how I was standing without passing out. I had to visit the cancer treatment center to receive IV's for Iron and other nutrients. I was in so much pain, but in the midst of all these physical trials the Lord really made His love clear to our family. I knew that this pain and suffering was only temporary. In just a few short months I would get to hold two of the sweetest baby girls in my arms and forget about it all.
How did we get through this time? Only by HIS strength and grace. My husband is amazing. He always encouraged me, kept me calm, reminded me of truth, helped with the house, did the dishes, played with Brooke and loved me sacrificially on a daily basis. God gave me such a gift when He gave me Landon. I can't even begin to count the number of people who prayed for us during those long months. I am so thankful for a mom who couldn't always be near, but prayed very fervently for my family. I am also thankful for a mother-in-law who also prayed, but was also a true servant to us. We moved into the Miller's home when I was placed on bed rest. Poppy and Gi Gi helped us all through a very hard time, and gave sacrificially by sharing their home with us. Our church family prayed for us, and also sent ladies to help me once a week for almost 8 months! We are thankful for our friends and family who were an encouragement by sending notes, emails and cards and uplifting us in prayer. "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16.
June 10, 2010 we finally got to meet Lily & Lauren. Born by C-Section at week 36. Lily was 5'10 & Lauren was 6'1". Despite the physical problems I went through...two HEALTHY baby girls were born. They stayed in our room with us and never saw the NICU. After 3 days we were sent home! I refused any pain medication after the C-Section because I was determined to nurse the girls. I knew the medication would make me loopy, and I didn't want any chance of the girls getting any traces of it. Honestly...it was painful, but not as painful as the last 9 months. What is amazing is that immediately after both pregnancies, I was able to eat like a normal person and keep food down again. AH....food has never tasted so good.
Nursing was a big challenge because of my nutrition issues. I was determined, but I also knew that it might not be a possibility. We tried to stay positive and just try as hard as we could. After a lot of prayer and determination, I am so thankful to say...they are 9 months old next week and have been breastfed exclusively! Another answer to prayer.
Lily & Lauren have brought such joy to our lives. They are a miracle and blessing from God. I wanted to share my story with you all, and also thank you for all your prayers and encouragement!
3 weeks ago we decided to put our house on the market. Since that day things have been a whirlwind around here. My girls were sick for SEVEN straight weeks after Christmas. The day we decided to start painting the house (to improve the curb appeal...ha ha) all the girls came down with nasty colds after finally being well for 2 weeks. So along with keeping a house clean 24/7 with three cute and crazy girls running/crawling around, we decided to put a weeks worth of energy into scraping, priming and painting the outside of our little home. I definitely had second thoughts about EVERYTHING over that week. Looking at this picture, I'm thankful for a husband (including some family and friends) who worked so hard to improve the look of our house. Landon is the hardest worker I know...he worked 10 hour days, came home and worked on the house until dark, and then did school work until late. I admire him!
