Nearing the Finish Line

We're just about 33 weeks along now.  Tami and I have decided that it will be best if I shorten my work week.  I'm going to start working fewer hours each week until May.  Then in May, I'll be done working.  I'm so excited at the prospect of getting the boys stuff all washed and put away, having their bed made up and getting my new sleeping arrangements settled.  I'll be moving into the spare room on the main floor so that I don't have to do the steps so much and with the babies when they get here. 

Right now Josh is working on the house, fiercely.  He's pretty much done with the ceramic tile in the kitchen and is moving on to the roof.  His boss is going to help him finish the roof next week.  Then it will be the walls and trim in the kitchen and the doors to my bathroom and basement.  They're being replaced altogether.  The floor looks beautiful.  I can't wait to see my kitchen put back together.  Jan, our mom, cam over today to help Josh paint.  It looks great and I know he appreciated having her.

My first baby shower is next week Tuesday at my church, Eagle's Nest Church.  I'm so excited!  My mom, sister, step-grandma and mother-in-law are all going to come.  My little sister, Hannah, picked out a bunch of board books for the boys at Love Inc., her favorite consignment shop in Hudsonville.  I'm just so excited to celebrate this pregnancy with anyone who will join me.  It's been so blessed.  I told the ladies at my church to make sure everyone knew gifts were optional.  Also, that I would be perfectly happy with hand-me-downs or second hand things.  I didn't want anyone not to come because they couldn't afford to get us a gift.  This is about thanking God for his faithfulness and blessings.

Physically, I'm doing pretty well.  It's hard to sleep at night because of how heavy my belly is, it makes me uncomfortable after a short time, so I wake up a lot.  Of course there's the bathroom visits constantly as well.  The only major thing I've had to deal with lately is fatigue and muscle pain in my belly from holding them up all day.  For the past few weeks, I've had to come home and lay on my back with all of the downward pressure relieved.  The pain of it made me nauseated a few times.  On the weekends, I do only a few small things, but mostly it's been catching up on rest to get prepared for a week of work.  Going down to a shortened schedule will really help I think.  Also, knowing that I only have 3 more weeks to work will make it easier to get through. 

I also got my pictures from Stacie back this week.  Here are a few that I really thought captured my pure joy and praise.  She released the copyrights on them for me because she used my session as a training session and is going to write it off for her taxes next year.  She was such a blessing to work with.  I highly recommend her for all of your photography needs.  Here is a link to her Facebook page.  Link

Thank you Lord for your grace and strength as I near the end of the first part of this journey.  I ask that you would bless our delivery and the beginning of the next chapter in our lives.  Amen.

God's Plans?

What a whirlwind week it's been.  We got the report back from the radiologist who reviewed the ultrasound pictures.  Everything looks great.  The boys are almost 3 lbs. each and there are only a few ounces difference between them.  They're also measuring larger by a week and a half so we're expecting them to arrive around mid-May rather than the end of May.  That's fine with Josh and I as we are very anxious to meet them. 

I had a prenatal appointment with Tammie and Brenda (Tammie's apprentice).  We heard both of the boys heart beats and found both of their heads.  Jaxon is head down on the right and Jacob is head up on the left.  I was concerned that she might not want to deliver them if one of them was breech, but my concern was unwarranted.  She has no problem delivering a breech baby as long as the first one is head first.  I was relieved because I know that as they both get bigger there will be less room for them to move around and get into position. 

I am continually open to the holy spirit's conviction about "our plans".  I want to make sure that the plans we are following are God's plans.  Without his personal playbook in front of us we feel like our only option is to be informed, prayerful and open to his correction.  Josh is the rock in our family.  He keeps reassuring me that everything is going to be ok.  It's nice to have him in my corner.  He is taking such good care of me. 

The Beginning

I thought I'd start this blog with a brief story about how we came to be where we are today.  As a couple, Josh and I decided to start trying to get pregnant in August 2010.  We found out that we were successful in this endeavor on September 23, 2010.  I knew that I was pregnant about a week or so before that, but we took our test on that day so that is the day we "found out." 

I was so excited, having wanted a baby for years, that I couldn't keep it quiet.  We announced our pregnancy at 7 weeks gestation.  It was a little early by some social standards, but I've never been one to conform to standards I didn't create myself.  Our families were thrilled.  Josh's parents were so happy to finally be getting a grandbaby they didn't have to fly 1300 miles to see.

Our first trimester was fairly uneventful.  My only real pregnancy symptom was fatigue.  I took naps in the soft seating at my office on my breaks and lunches and went to bed early every night.  I did have a little bit of nausea in the afternoons but as long as I ate a snack I was ok.  In fact as long as I ate all day I was ok. Lol.

We had decided even before we began trying to get pregnant that we wanted to have a natural homebirth.  We knew a few other couples who had done this successfully and were very happy with their decision.  For us, it was about having as natural a pregnancy and delivery as possible.  We wanted to give our best to our baby and that meant following the natural course God had laid out for birthing.  We trusted him completely to guide us in our decision and in the pregnancy so that we'd be giving our child the best start at life. 

We are both informed and self-educated, despite our college degrees, so we started doing our research to figure out just what we wanted in our birth experience.  Armed with a tablet of questions, we set out to find our midwife.  Tammie was recommended to us by friends who had her deliver both of their babies.  We met her and her apprentice Brenda and were blown away.  We knew as we drove home that night after talking with them for over two hours that God had chosen Tammie and Brenda for us. 

The holidays came and went.  We started planning and talking about the arrival.  I continued to exercise and eat well and things seemed to be going as planned.  I did start showing a little early for a first pregnancy, but most of us thought it was because I had a skinny belly to begin with.  Josh was the only one who disagreed.  He has said from the beginning that he thought we were going to have twins.  He would look at my growing abdomen and say that it was wider than most, or sticking out farther or shaped differently.  Little did I know at the time, he had prayed to God and asked for twins before we started trying to get pregnant.  His motives for seeing two babies were driven by his desire and his faith in God that his prayers would be answered. 

Towards the end of January, the movements that I was feeling started to take on a unique character.  There seemed to be two distinct sets of movements going on at any one time.  At the top of my belly I'd feel rata-tat-tats while at the same time on my pelvic floor I'd be feeling rumpa-pum-pums.  I started to look at my crazy husband a little differently.  He could be right about this whole twin thing.  Then, at my January 25 pre-natal appointment with Tammie, I measured much larger than I should have and for the first time she said, "could you be having twins?"  It shook me to the core.  Was she serious?  I brought the news home to Josh and with a completely straight face he said to me, "I don't know why you're so surprised.  I've been telling you this all along." 

February brought more of the same movement patterns and I began to become emotionally attached to my two babies.  I talked to them as individuals and reveled in their movements and responses.  With the certainty also came doubts.  I began to get nervous about their health, about potential birthing complications and about everything that people told me I should be worried about.  My prayers became intense and pleading.  I begged God to confirm for me what I already knew in my heart to be true.  On Thursday, February 17, 2011 he did just that.

I walked away from that bible study Thursday evening with an amazed and assured heart.  I realized I needed to get serious about planning and understanding my situation.  On Friday afternoon I called Tammie.  She told me that I needed to get an ultrasound so that we could make sure everything was ok.  Josh and I had agreed previously that the only way we would do this was if Tammie wanted us to.  Otherwise we were in agreement that an ultrasound was more intervention than we were comfortable with. 

Over the weekend I announced to my dear friends and family that I had received confirmation from God that I was carrying twins and that we were going to have the scientific proof within the week.  Josh and I went to church on Sunday and told everyone that we were having twins.  There were some skeptics and some believers but all were interested to see the results of the test.

Monday morning I called my doctor and she managed to schedule my ultrasound for Tuesday at 7:45am.  It was perfect.  By 3am on Tuesday I was so anxious to see them both I couldn't sleep.  My mom picked me up at 7:15am and we drove the three blocks to the hospital.  I repeated the word over and over in my head and to my mother, "the Lord does not make fools of those who step out in faith in his name."  And that is precisely what I had done.  I'd believed what he told me, I said it out loud, giving him the glory and now I was going to get the proof to show the world how awesome he was. 

The very first things we saw on the screen as the technician placed the wand on my belly were their two precious heads lying right next to each other.  I have never been more filled with joy and praise in my whole life.  I wanted to scream out loud with delight at the awesome-ness of my God.  His word had been proved true for all the world to see.  His faithfulness was displayed in all its glory.  The rest of the day passed in a joyous blur.  I called all my close family and shared the news.  Josh was first and he was so excited to hear that the twins he had prayed for were also both boys.  Our parents were in awe.  They couldn't believe it.  My mom especially was touched to have been with me when we found out.

While I have yet to get the official radiologist's report, the techinician indicated to us that they both looked very healthy and were, in fact, measuring a little bigger than we would expect at 26 weeks.  My two big, healthy boys have thier names already, Jaxon Russell Wright and Jacob David Wright.  While there is still so much to think about, to plan for and to make decisions about, right at this moment we are resting in the peace that is the faithfulness of God.  Josh and I firmly believe that his hands are all over this pregnancy and our babies.  We are believing that we will be able to continue with our plans to birth naturally at home and that I will carry them to full term or longer if they need it.  Josh and my family are so supportive that I know I will be able to accomplish all this and more.  For now the "Baby Oven", (that's me:)) is just happy to get to start planning for her boys.