Pregnancy Brain

These crazy hormones are seriously messing with my mind! About a month ago I cried for an hour because my glasses broke then the next day I cried because I ALMOST forgot to bring movies back to the library. And it's not just my emotions, I feel fog headed and spazzy most of the time. For example, tonight I turned the burner on to make mashed potatoes and about 10 minutes later we noticed a burning smell. I made sure that there was nothing touching the burner and figured it must be something down in the stove that was burning because I didn't see anything that could possibly be making that smell. A few minutes later, I noticed that the potatoes in the pot looked a little funny. I stared at it for a long time before I realized that I had forgotten to put water in it!! The potatoes were burning! Hopefully I can make it through the rest of this pregnancy without burning down the house!

Do Not Worry

When I found out I was pregnant with twins, I immediately went to my trusty iPhone and started googling. I found a TON of information about twins. I spent countless hours on the internet absorbing everything I could find. I knew that twin pregnancy was difficult and complicated but I had NO IDEA just how complicated it could be! I was in shock for days, maybe even weeks, after finding out. So I joined a few Facebook support groups for parents of twins to learn more, straight from the source.

One group was dedicated to monochorionic-diamnionic twins (mono-di), which means identical twins who have separate amniotic sacs but share a placenta. I wanted to know as much as I could about what to expect in the coming months. However, I was very overwhelmed with the complications that could arise and found myself staring at picture after picture of babies in the NICU because they were born so early. Almost every post was about twice monthly growth scans and fluid levels and twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). The ladies in this group talked about how their babies developed TTTS in a matter of days and they discussed in detail the laser surgeries that they were having to fix the problem. There was a very lengthy group document about how to advocate for your twins and insist that you be seen by an OB or maternal fetal medicine specialist (MFM) every two weeks from 16 weeks on. It was so overwhelming to think about! I had been seeing my high risk OB once a month since 16 weeks and had never even seen an MFM. I felt so confused and behind and I felt like I wasn't being a good mother because I didn't insist that I have two ultrasounds a month. 

I finally called my OB to talk about my concerns and he set my heart at rest. I don't remember exactly what he said to me, but I knew through that conversation that he cared about me and my babies and that I could trust him. He sent in a referral to see an MFM, which he was planning to do anyway, and reassured me that my babies were growing well and that I had nothing to worry about. I continued to follow the mono-di support group because it wasn't all scary stuff and I enjoyed looking at pictures of strong and healthy twins. I knew that all of those complications were rare and that I would most likely have healthy babies and reading the scary stories would only make me worry unnecessarily. But after voicing my opinion about feeling comfortable with my once a month visits for now and getting lectured, I left the group. I felt that it was an unhealthy environment for me to try to gain knowledge in all things "twins."

The lesson that I have learned from all of this is that while it's important to do research and find out what to expect, there are good and bad ways of setting out to do it. It's one thing to learn about the complications so you can be ready, but it's another to dwell on those things and seek out detailed information on every aspect of those possible complications. It is so easy to do and it just about drove me crazy with worry! 

So, my challenge to anyone who just found out that they are expecting multiples is to STOP googling anything and everything you can find about possible complications and STOP worrying about what can happen so that you can START planning and preparing for their arrival.

-Pray for God's protection over your babies, for strength and health to carry them full-term, and for your healthcare team to have the wisdom and knowledge to help bring healthy babies into the world

-Find a good high risk OB in your area and set up an appointment right away to discuss expectations

-Make a list of items you think you'll need

-Make a list of ways to prepare your house for the arrival of two new babies

-Prepare some meals to put in the freezer

-Make something crafty for your babies

-Think of good, strong names that really mean something to you

-If you have young children, teach them how to be a little more independent

So many things can go wrong in any pregnancy and while multiple pregnancies have their own set of risks, it's important to remember that there is no reason to worry. Occupy your mind with better things and remember to pray and ask God to fill you with peace and cover your pregnancy with His divine protection. He has a plan, and it is good. :-)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

A Solid Foundation

I'd like to take a minute (or two or twenty) to introduce myself and my family and share my vision of where I want this blog to go.

First of all, I am a born again Christian and have chosen to live my life according to God's holy word. As parents, God has given us an important role in our childrens' lives to teach them about Him and to raise them up in the way of the Lord. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." By the way, I can hear the children singing this in my head from my son's Steve Green CD and I'm sure it will be stuck in there for the rest of the day! I believe that God has blessed my husband and I with this wonderful yet often scary task. Yes, we will make mistakes along the way but that is why God's redeeming grace is so important. It is our job to lay a foundation for our children to give God an opportunity to work in their lives. He doesn't NEED us to accomplish this because Almighty God can do anything, but He CHOSE to include us in His great plan for our children. Children are a blessing and I am very grateful that God has chosen me, a habitual sinner, to be a mother to each of these beautiful little gifts.

My husband and I met online nine years ago and will have been married six years in January. We have a five year old son, a one year old daughter, and are expecting twin girls in early February. We plan to homeschool our children, just as my husband and his siblings were, and I always wished I had been. Currently, we are renting a house in the city but it is our desire to one day live in the country and have enough land to give our children room to run, have a large garden, and raise some animals. We would like to be as self-sustaining as possible but we are still a long way from accomplishing that goal. Everyone has to start out somewhere and we are happy with where God has put us for this stage of our lives.

Okay, so I have two reasons for starting this blog, which by the way, I hate calling it a blog but don't know what else to call it. I get a lot of questions about my twins. "When are they due?" "Are they identical?" "How are you feeling?" "How are you going to manage?" "What does it feel like when they move?" "Do you have everything you need?" "Wow, you're going to have your hands full!" Yeah, so that's not a question, but I hear that A LOT. It's amazing how many questions I get but I know that those questions and statements will only increase with the birth of the twins. I think that it would be nice to have a place to answer some of those questions for those who are curious.

I would also like to use this new-found "celebrity" status as an opportunity for ministry. I know, it sounds weird to say that but I feel like everyone wants to talk to me and meet me once they find out I am having twins. I am sure that going out in public after they are born will draw a lot more attention as well. I used to see this as one of the annoying things about becoming a mother of multiples, but I am starting to see it as a tool to be able to share that children are, indeed, a blessing from God and that I love the job that God has given me to raise my little ones to be followers of Christ and productive members of society. I have read a lot of blogs and articles about twins and mothering in general and have noticed a theme in a lot of them. This theme is that children are difficult and you have to simply survive them the best you can until they are old enough to venture out on their own then you are free. You love them, of course, but you have to try to find ways to fit them into your life. It seems to be such a common idea in this world that most people don't notice this philosophy forming in their minds and how damaging it can be. Even to those who view children as a blessing from God! I honestly didn't notice the impact that it had in my own life until a very wonderful woman whom I respect and love dearly pointed it out to me recently. I want to be able to remind people that even though parenting is hard, it is the most rewarding and amazing and incredible job anyone can have. I do not want to simply fit my children into my life, I want to create a life around my family. A life that is devoted to God and living out His principles, and it is my prayer and hope that this can influence at least one person to start to change the way they view parenthood.

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him." Psalm 127:3