And then there were twins...

       I had this plan shortly after we got married about how, I would one day, give my hubby the glorious news that he was about to become a daddy.  I planned on relaying that news in some fabulous, creative way.  I "pinned" them away on my mental virtual pinterest board (that didnt yet exist).  These plans were super cute and planned out perfectly.  One of them included me wrapping a neat little box with a cute little rattle inside.  Another plan included me putting a car seat in his truck on a Saturday morning.  I'd reveal it to him after sleeping in and having a lazy breakfast at home.  We'd stroll out there and I'd ask him if he could help me see if there was room for the new baby in his truck.  Cute idea, huh?  I even had thought about printing out a fake movie ticket with "Baby Coming Soon," along with a due date, neatly printed on the bottom.  All of these plans, well...they were before we entered the land of Infertility.  They were when I, so blissfully, thought I'd be one of those that would get pregnant within 3 months of getting married.  Haha!  Boy, was I wrong!  And those plans didn't quite work out when that time actually came.  They flew out the window... and my excitement took over.
      Cody was just as excited as me as a hurled the pregnancy test at him.  It was still a little damp from my urine, but it had 2 lines.  He screamed like a girl too!  Just kidding his was a deep, burly, manly voice. <<<<not really ;)  Excited was an understatement.  And the pee stick that happened to be dripping with urine?  He didn't mind.  I think he nearly peed his pants anyways after I screamed the word pregnant.  That test could've been dusted with anthrax, but as long as he saw two lines on it, he wouldn't have noticed.  A little urine never hurt anyone did it?  Heck, it contains something magical that helps heal a jellyfish sting, right?  And now mine contained something even more special...the holy pregnancy hormone.  And we were thrilled.  Did I say that already? :) We were both running and screaming through all the house.  My poor brother happened to be staying over that night and got to witness the madness.  It was even worse than when I was 11 and was shouting through the halls that I'd gotten my period.  Yeah, he had to witness that milestone too.  
      We looked like some people from a 90's Richard Simmons aerobics video on RedBull.  Crazy excited.  We had initially said early on that we wouldn't tell anyone until we were in the safe zone and out of the first trimester.  Yeah...well...that plan didn't work out either.  I instantly grabbed my phone and started calling our family and friends, and well, anyone else that might feed my excitement.  "Hey, girl, it's Andrea, remember me?  We were in 2nd grade together...anyways, I'm pregnant!"  Just kidding, not that extreme.  But you get the picture.  I was finally pregnant and wanted to shout it from the rooftops.  But we did agree not to make it Facebook official until my official bloodwork.  The day of my bloodwork it didn't take long to get my results.  My HCG levels were 300 on my first draw just 10 days after the transfer.  Thank you, sweet Jesus!  According to google and my mother  that high number automatically assumed a multiple pregnancy.  I was on cloud 9.  I pretty much skipped out of Nashville Fertility Center, but then I abruptly stopped.  Because I was scared my babies might fall out.  I held my breath until I went back down there 2 days later, to make sure my levels were doubling, which indicated a healthy pregnancy.  They were close to 1,000 the second time.  You better believe I posted it on FB that day.  2 words...my favorite new words.  I'm pregnant!  No picture of an ultrasound or a chalkboard, or a pic of our dog, Molly wearing a big sister shirt.  You see, when it actually happens, you don't care about announcements and such.  You just want to blurt it out like word vomit.  To anyone who will listen.  I felt like I was in a dream or a fairytale, but then I had to wait 2 more long weeks to see a heartbeat and feel more at ease.  
      During those 2 weeks, fear crept into my fairytale.  I was the most happy and terrified at the same time.  Have you ever loved something so much it hurts?  That is exactly how I feel about all of my babies. But I was already so in love with the little people who were camping out in my uterus, but so, completely afraid I'd lose them or I'd mess this whole pregnancy thing up.  Google became my best friend, once again, during those weeks.   And my boobs finally started to hurt on their own.  Booyah!  I can't tell you how long I'd wanted those sore boobies!  I couldn't get enough sleep either.  And I became world's worst worrywart. "Oh, God!  I ate bleu cheese yesterday, what if I ruined my pregnancy? "  Dear, Lord, please help me remember not to roll on my tummy during the night and squish my babies!   Don't even get me started on how I hexed Subway out of my life.  Can't eat those cold cuts, it may give the babies bacteria!  I know all of this sounds dramatic, but I get it honest.  And the thing is...when you experience infertility and go through SO MUCH to get pregnant, you can't just enjoy the new pregnancy bliss.  You have to expect something to go wrong.  Because, before this, nothing about getting pregnant has ever went right.  I just prayed not to be that 10 % that ended in a miscarriage.  And I couldn't even think about "not getting my hopes up."  Because, sister, they had already floated to the moon and they weren't coming back down on their own.   Our hearts were completely in this 100 %.  We wanted to have smooth sailing, but we knew we had certain hoops to jump through before we got there.  It was like holding onto a million dollar check in a rainstorm with no umbrella.  You just had to hold on tight, and pray to God you wouldn't lose it.
      So ultrasound day finally came.  Mom and my mother in law, Rhonda came along with Cody and I.  You would have thought that we were all taking our first trip to Disney World.  We were giddy and giggly the whole way to Nashville.  Who would've guessed I'd have the giggles?!? We got to the waiting room and I could've died with embarrassment.  Mom started her own photo shoot in the middle of the room.  They all thought I was too young to be there anyways, and now my excited and crazy  momma is playing paparazzi like I am going to the prom.  

      

I could have killed her.  She didn't care, lol.  But now, I am glad that I have these pictures.  Her and Rhonda just giggled and informed the whole waiting room they were hoping for 2 babies or more.  Needless to say, I didn't allow them in the ultrasound room.  Our docs meant business and I don't know how they would've felt about that photoshoot ;).  Even though my mom seems to talk people into anything and make them think it was their idea, haha.  They finally called our name and I felt like I was going to puke.  I was praying so hard to be able to see a healthy baby or babies.  We got our wish.  As the nurse placed the ultrasound wand, ahhhem, you know, where it was supposed to go.  Which is rather uncomfortable, I might add.  We sat in silence until she was able to get a clear view of my uterus.  That 2 minutes of silence was deafening.  Finally, I heard her clear her throat and tell us the verdict.  "Well, there are definitely two!  It's twins!"  Cody literally jumped out of his seat.  If he was in a cheer competition, I would've given him a 10 for his awesome tuck jump!   We both wanted twins anyways.  Regardless of those certain ones who tried their hardest to talk us out of transferring two.  I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I was totally up for the challenge.  Were so thrilled, and I cried, are you surprised?  I bawled like a baby,  and I'm pretty sure my Mr. Harper shed a little tear too.  We just looked at each other in that dark ultrasound room, and realized our lives were officially about to begin.  And the dream we had wanted so badly was finally coming true!

And then of course, there were the crazy, excited, Ninny and Grams that were just as thrilled as we were, well, almost. 

I thought we were going to have to wrestle them to the ground to keep them from making it Facebook Official before us.  They were so excited!  I don't even think Mickey Mouse, himself, could have trumped this news!

I was finally able to relax a little after seeing those 2 beautiful little flickers on the ultrasound.  They were the miracle we knew God was working on.  They were beautiful and healthy.  It didn't stop me from worrying, but it definitely helped.  I got to go back 2 weeks later to do a repeat ultrasound to check on them, once again, before being released to my OB GYN.  The week after this ultrasound, I began to get very sick.  Trust me, I wasn't one to complain.  I  liked it, as crazy as that sounds, because I knew my levels were doubling and it was a good sign of a healthy pregnancy.  I knew morning sickness was much worse with multiples, but I began to feel like something was wrong.  I could not keep anything down.  I also developed an extremely high fever.  After a trip to the ER and continuing to vomit an un normal amount all over the toilet and walls of our bathroom, Cody and I both were in tears and on our knees.  Something was wrong and we feared for the health of our babies...

More to come next week! Thank you all once again, for the love and support you show me every week.  I am working on building up a following on Pinterest and my FB page, which will be up and running next week.  If you all wouldn't mind to pin my blog and help me get it going, I would love you for it! ;)  And as always please like, comment, and SHARE if you like what you are reading.  I feel like you guys are my "Pope"  and I am in confession every Monday.  God bless each of you and I hope you have an amazing week!