Go big or GO HOME!

So we were excited about our new prospective little human.  At that point I was about 7 weeks along and Christmas was just about 10 days or so away.  I started to contact various groups in the Cleveland area about recommended OBGYN’s and specifically I was looking for one that was supportive of a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).  With it being the holiday time a lot of people were slow to respond, but slowly I started to compile a list.  I started to look these doctors up, check their reviews and decide which I might like to call.  But before I knew it Christmas was here and I still hadn’t made my first OB appointment.  Christmas fell on a Thursday in 2014 so a lot of places were closed that Friday and Monday.  So finally on Tuesday, December 30^th I got through to the doctor of my choice.  He had the best reviews, was VBAC friendly and seemed to have a more natural approach in general.  He was in-network and sounded like a perfect choice.  I called and after the nurse did a quick calculation she exclaimed, “OH! You’re almost 10 weeks along the doctor really likes to see people before 10 weeks.  She asked if I could come in in two hours that they’d squeeze me in.

So two hours later I was in the office with the doctor having my ultrasound done.  I was chatting away that we’d like to have 3 kids and my husband would like to have 4, but he was a bit delusional because we’re kind of older, yada, yada, yada and the doctor was really quiet.  So I stop and say, “Well am I still pregnant or not?”  When I was pregnant with Isaac I never really felt pregnant.  I ran with my dog until 38 weeks and really the only symptoms I had were tiredness from weeks 10 to 15, heartburn and lots of swelling later.  But otherwise, I was good.  This time, I had felt nauseated, exhausted and the heartburn had already started.  Doug teased me that it was a girl.  But the doctor, still doing his ultrasound thing says, “Oh yes, you’re definitely pregnant.  Do you want to see?”  So he turns the screen and I look.  He says see this here….that’s a baby.  And see this here, that’s a baby.  I nod my head, yup, great baby is still in there.  Phew.  But then he pauses, seeing I’m a little dense and says, “There are two babies….”   SAY WHAT????????  He says, “You’re having twins.”  I of course asked if he was sure, and he said definitely and I can see both of their hearts beating so you are good to go.  He said I was the fourth person in the office that day with twins (the epidemic!).

I’m usually anal retentive when I go the doctor and have a list of questions, but to hell with the list!!!  That list I brought no longer applied.   So I asked the only three questions that could come to mind.  1. Identical or fraternal.  He wasn’t sure.  They both are in their own sacs (safest type of twins), but that doesn’t mean anything as far as identical or fraternal.   Could have been two eggs that were fertilized at the same time (fraternal) or it could be one egg that was fertilized and split and each formed its own sac (identical).  He said the only way we’d know for sure until they were born was if they were boy/girl twins.  2. Was I at a higher risk of miscarriage?  Not really.  At 10 weeks with both heartbeats detected the miscarriage rate wasn’t that different versus a single pregnancy.  3. Can I still run with my dog? Yes, I can run with my dog and any other reasonable physical activity for as long as I felt comfortable.  Exercise is recommended.

As I left the doctor, I was at a crossroads.  I wanted to drive straight to Doug’s work to tell him, but at the same time, when would I ever have a chance for this sort of news again?!?  I drove home and made up two signs.  The first saying, “Our family plan 3+1=4 July 30, 2015”.  The second, “God Laughed.  3+2=5 July 30, 2015”.  I then printed out some ultrasound pictures.  I first printed out single pictures of one baby and then printed out the pictures with two babies.  I set up two stations in the house.  Station one featured sign 1 and single baby ultrasound.  Station two in the bathroom upstairs featured the multiple ultrasounds, sign 2 and a hidden camera.

Doug was at work a long time that night and didn’t get home until well after 7:30 pm.  I was eager to say the least!  He came in asked about the doctor.  I said it went well and they opted to do an ultrasound and look there are pictures.  He studied the pictures at station 1, asked a few more questions and went to the living room.  I then begged him to please get the pregnant woman her Chapstick upstairs in the bathroom.  That I NEEDED IT (not an outlandish request for an addict) and needed to finish dinner.  So he went upstairs and I snuck up behind him with my camera and watched him look at the pictures and sign at station 2.  He heard me on the steps, turned and said….”TWINS???”   This was followed by, “I thought you said there weren’t twins in your family!?!”  I said to my knowledge there aren’t!!  Then he started laughing and shaking his head.

We spent the night debating if they were boys, girls, both!?!  We’re still working on our budget and still working on Doug’s student loans so we also spent time discussing a plan.  Doug though was still in utter shock most of the night.  He did what I did earlier that day, and just kept repeating, “Twins…twins….twins.”  I had gone to the mall because I needed some Auntie Ann’s pretzel therapy and for Isaac and me to have a walk with humanity after news like that!  But Doug just sat at the dinner table refilling his wine glass and eating large amounts of ice cream!  We went to bed around 10 pm and at 2 am Doug got out of bed sat on the couch in the dark until I found him there the next morning at 7 am.  It took him a good day or two to adjust to the idea.  We looked at our health care plan to figure out what our maximum out of pocket would be since twins on average are born at 36 weeks and can require NICU stay time.  This time it was different from when Isaac was born because then I was working full-time and made good money and had corporate insurance.  Now Doug is just starting out at a practice and I’m at home taking care of Isaac and tutoring students and training dogs on the side.

I said this year was going to be quite the adventure.  I never disappoint!

Stayed tuned for girls, boys or BOTH!

The Discovery

In mid-December, I was sick as a dog.  Well actually, when I think about it, I don’t know why that statement exists, because really, my dogs are very rarely sick.  But anyway, I was sick.  A relative graciously didn’t let us know that their children were sick until we were at their birthday party (in the cesspool of snotty germs) and another gracious relative insisted the sickies give me a kiss.  Common sense apparently isn’t so common on that side.  Then to top it off, Doug and I planned to go indoor rock climbing with friends and the relative and one of the sick children was brought and coughed directly on my face.  No matter how many wet wipes I used, I had been INFECTED!

So shortly after the visit, I came down with the plague.  This particular plague resulted in non-stop coughing and eventually I lost my voice for weeks.  I wanted nothing more than to medicate myself with Nyquil and sleep, but my small human demands constant attention.  I had been exhausted beyond normal, but I just figured that was the plague.  But still, I had been doing my Insanity workout for the last month and tried to continue to do it when sick.  But within 5 minutes of starting the workout with Shaun T I’d find myself laying on the floor wanting to sleep!  We had just started trying for small human #2 so I figured I’d get a test to check.  Low and behold the faint line showed   I did some quick calculations and it looked like Isaac would have a new sibling come July 30^th, 2015!  Now how to tell the husband and hope that the plague didn’t cause any harm.

For those of you that know me personally, you know I love a good prank or surprise.  Maybe this is because as a child I always wanted a surprise birthday party.  I don’t think I ever told my parents this, but I wanted the big one where people jumped out in hats, balloons, etc.  So maybe that’s why I’m compelled to have a little fun with events….or maybe I just like the entertainment.  Either way, I had to think of something good because when I told Doug I was pregnant with Isaac I was so shocked since we just started trying, I didn’t even think to be creative and just blurted it.

My husband is a Chiropractor.  He’s the straightest arrow I’ve ever met, couldn’t (and won’t) lie to save his life and has a fear of getting in trouble and doing something to offend people (all I can say is that apple fell far from the tree THANKFULLY!).  He’s meticulous as a Chiropractor and always treats everyone with respect.  That being said, people being people can sometimes say odd things and Doug always worries that he’ll offend them.  So I thought I’d perhaps have a little fun with this.  I spent a good hour that afternoon creating a very official letter from the Ohio Chiropractic Board.

Basically the letter told him that he had offended a patient and the patient was seeking judgment through the chiropractic board.  He was being summoned to appear in court before the board in order to discuss these claims.  I went on at the bottom of the letter to say that the patient felt he should; clean the litterbox more, exercise his dog more and make sure the laundry was taken to the basement.  It was signed by the very official chair of the Ohio State Chiropractic board…Haywood Jablomy (okay, okay, I messed up and put a y instead of an e….shoot me!).  PS.  If you aren’t laughing right now ask someone else to say the name Haywood Jablome out loud a few times.  If you still aren’t laughing…none of this will be funny and you better just go and watch CNN or something.

Anyway, in the letter I also wrapped up the positive pregnancy test in paper and sealed with tape.  I put the entire letter and wrapped test in a very official manila envelope that I printed his name on and I even took the time to cut stamps off of a piece of mail we received so they looked cancelled.  Then the waiting came.  I could hardly wait until he got home.

When he got home, I told him he had something official looking in the windowsill.  He took forever to get it but finally picked it up and Isaac and went to the living room to open it.  I tried to look like I was casually cleaning things around the living room.  As he started to read the letter he started to vigorously rub his head.  He told me to take Isaac that this was important and he had to read it now.  So I took Isaac and luckily he was engrossed in the letter otherwise my face would have been a dead giveaway.  I asked him what was wrong and he said it was a complaint!  He had no idea who!  He then turned his attention back to the letter mumbling and started to rip open the test.  He was utterly confused for a few seconds.  Then came the look of relief and excitement, but a little hesitation…because man…my letter was that good!

Apparently he only read the top part of the letter.  He never got to the litterbox or dog walking part and never looked at the name of the Chair of the Ohio State Chiropractic board.  He thought the test he opened was actually a “special pen” that he was sent to sign the paperwork to acknowledge that he read it.  I’ll admit, a little mean, very funny, and really you can only do things like that once and only when you know the person will be excited about the prank!