apparently the children have been praying so hard for a baby brother that God has decided to bless them with two. that's right, twins.
the idea of twins is completely foreign to us -- no twins in my family tree, and as marc's adopted, we aren't sure of all of his particular branches, but from what i hear it's the maternal genes that count in this situation, anyway. so it looks as though when that poor perinatologist labeled me AMA, which stands for advanced maternal age (and, seein' as how i'm only thirty-four; believe you me, she got an earful from me on that one), she was actually right.
this pregnancy was labeled "high risk" from the get go due to the fact that my womb has been replaced by saran wrap -- i s'pose that seven pregnancies in ten years kin do that to a gal – so now that there are two wee ones in there vying for space, it’ll be an “higher risk” pregnancy, if that’s the phrase. so any prayers you want to offer will be highly appreciated. pun and wink intended.
the clan is beside itself with joy. of course, gabby at two doesn’t have a clue – aside from laughing and saying, “how you have two baby in dare?” like it was a grand joke, she’s not said much more about it. grace is thrilled that she’ll have someone else to love on; she constantly strokes and pats my belly. glynnis immediately remarked that the playing field would now be even with three boys and three girls … to which duncan replied, “hey, we’ll be like the brady bunch!” thank heavens for tv land.
the first thing marc said was, “i think we need a bigger bed.” it was said with more enthusiasm than roy schieder's “i think we need a bigger boat,” nonetheless it conjured the same image in my mind. i’m just thankful to God that i have a husband that’s actually that in tune with the fact that yes, we’ll still be sharing a family bed even if it means we’ll have to buy a king. frankly, i’m surprised we made it this far with only a queen.
as soon as the novelty of “twins” wore off, the extended fam freaked in a very protestant sort of way. “SIX KIDS! MY GOD IN HEAVEN, SIX KIDS! you can’t afford six kids.” you know the usual protests. my fave was my moms, “you just don’t worry about finances like the rest of us, do you?”
as for me, i haven’t quite processed all the information. i knew i wasn’t coming out of this pregnancy without major surgery, but i must admit that i find the thought of tandem nursing intimidating. i just realized that i’m making a worried face at the screen. seriously. having only recently weaned with our two year old, just thinking about nursing two infants at the same time makes me want to clutch my breasts and shout, “no! they’re mine.” keep in mind that i grow babies large, the last one being a ten pounder, and i’ve always nursed on demand. ruega por nosotros, Nuestra Señora de Leche y Buen Parto.
Oh wow. Awesome news. I'm pretty sure Mom still has twin books, nursing twin books, etc. and my friend in Carrolton might have some also. So they are both boys??? I am so excited. LOL
When the Lord giveth, He really giveth! That is incredible news and we'll be praying for you. May God bless you and both babies abundently!
How exciting! This will just like watching a neighbor who is pregnant.
God bless your growing and beautiful family.
Congratulations... and please stay safe
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Wow!! Congratulations!!
A Hearty Congratulations!
I am a twin. A fraternal twin...and my cousin had fraternal twins three years ago...
I was 6# and my twin brother was 7# (or vice versa, I forget).
I didn't have twins though, even at 43, I had an 8# 2ozer. My oldest (and only other one) was 10# 12oz.
My father was 13.5# and my brother's wife had an 11# 2ozer and a 10# 10ozer... etc. etc.
I think a few of those biguns shoulda/coulda been twins...
Prayers for you throughout. (That's why we have two breasts, methinks?)
Hooray, hooray! Congrats!
I laughed right out loud over the "they're mine!" comment (I was nursing a fussy baby at that very moment).
May the Lord bless and keep you, and remember, there's nothing wrong with praying for money when you need it to do the Lord's work. :-)
Hey congratulations Smock!!! Wonderful news!
Happy news! Will remember you in prayer.
All the best,
-John-
You are so blest! And to have big babies is double blest in this instance given twins are often of lower birth weights. How cool is that?! Tandem nursing? It'll work out.
As far as not worrying about finaces: You tell her "Jesus Christ is my accountant" and let that be that!
Oh!!!!!!!!!!! What exciting overwhelming thrilling frightening happy hooboy yippee news!!!!!
Doing a happy dance over at CAPPmoms for you!
:)
PS, Check out the book Mothering Multiples... my twin mom friends say it is EXCELLENT!
Oh Smockmomma!!!
Twins are the coolest! Congratulations :o)
You are doubly blessed!
Congratulations!!
That's great! A friend of mine has twin boys, and they're each other's best friends. They keep each other busy, and now that they're older, they've always got each other to go places with. God bless.
Congrats Smock! That's exciting news! I've always been a little sad about what could have been. I had a vanishing twin when I was pregnant with my first son.
I then proceeded to have my second son 15 months after the first. They are roughly the same size. My oldest is a couple inches taller but everywhere we go we get asked if they are twins. When I answer no, they're 15 months apart, I get the "Are you crazy?!" response.
Smock you've inspired a great comeback for the "So, are you done having kids?" question. I always get the "Now that you've got your girl are you done?" question. I think I will now respond, "No, we're aiming for a set of twins"
Great news! God bless!
I heard about your news through a link from Happy catholic. Congratulations! Twins are so special.
Mind-blowing news, smock. You know I'm praying for you. Good luck coming up with two boy names . . . I have the hardest time naming boys. And, hey, take care of yourself, ok?
I'm so happy for you, Micki. It would have been great if Cacciadelia had been twins, but God has it all under control. BTW, if you want to keep the G initials going, how about Gerard and Gregory for the expected boys?
Congrats! I have cousins who are twins and they add just a little bit more adventure to every family gathering.
No kids here yet, but your mention of your queen-sized bed gives me hope for my future... I wasn't sure we'd be doing the family bed thing since the only people I knew who did it have king beds.
Congratulations. That is super news!!!
Congratulations! God bless all 3 of you and your family!
Congratulation! Congratulation!
Wow!! Congratulations! We were just mildly suspicious of twins last time and while I know there are additional risks and obviously the potential for greater difficulty adjusting, I still would've been thrilled to have two new little ones to love (and out of just one pregnancy and birth though perhaps more difficult ones.) So, I'm doubly happy for you, and I will pray for you too!
I feel another breastfeeding post coming on.
Yee-HAH! I can understand being a little freaked, but still, that is WAY COOL! Six is an awesome number! :-)
Brilliant; I got me a pair of them, too. From what I remember, identical twins are a familial-link thing and fraternal are simply *poof* an out of nowhere gift that just happens. Mine - boy/girl - are, obviously, fraternal. And they always do play together, even now at 10 yrs old. I don't remember the first two years of their life, though, it was that busy and sleepless. I remember sticking the both of them in one cradle for the first month or so...they seemed to like being scrunched together, since that was what they were used to.
And I was also considered high risk, so my dr. was a perinatologist. Thank God, too, as they were 6lb, 7oz and 6lb, 11oz - over 13 lbs of baby in there! One natural, one C. 41 freakin' weeks. Unlike you, and so many women, I hated being pregnant so much - I mean soooo much - that I just know that's why God gave me a twofer. You're gonna love having twins.
Micki!!!! Congratulations!!!! How wonderufl!
COngratulations.
Now all of them can say, " ... my BrotherS and SisterS!"
Congratulations!! Be prepared for the "Why don't we just tie your tubes while we're in there" talk at every other visit. Two egg twins are familial, one egg twins are actually due to an envrinomental influence of some kind (perinatologists consider one egg twins to be a developmental defect, and there are actually more incidence of various anomalies in one egg twins.) If both twins are the same sex, it is hard to know for sure if they are one egg or two egg twins until after they are born - there are some signs that one can try to see on US- but even the best of Perinates (and I work with an excellent one) can have trouble telling for sure.
La Leche League has a great book "Mothering Multiples" and Elizabeth Noble's classic book "Having Twins" is worth getting.
GOd bless you all! We didn't get our king size bed until we had our 6th child!
Congratulations! Our twins (3 and 4 out of 5 children) just turned 4 last month. What a magical experience it was during the pregnancy and first year or so. Not unlike the new experience of having your first. If you have any questions for me or my wife, drop an email.
People asked if we "were done yet". Having a fifth child two years later really slowed down the questioning.