It Begins...

This week I am preparing for our boys' 8^th birthday. The 8^th year of our family being complete in many ways. As I buy Star Wars party favors and Darth Vader cupcake toppers, I am also reflecting on how many miles we have come and how very fast the time has flown. It seems like it has been only two weeks since we were weaning the boys from their bottles to sippy cups. I sit here and shake my head at how quickly these years are passing by us.

People would tell us, “You should write this stuff down so that you won't forget it” when the boys were toddlers. I would smile and nod thinking, “That is a great idea! I will just sit down and record all of this stuff right after I get the boys to sleep at night, cook a homemade meal, change 500 dirty diapers, do the laundry, sanitize the parts of the house the babies are currently and strangely chewing on, and wash the 100 sippy cups.” Somehow, I never got to write that stuff down. 

Now that the boys are closing in on 8 years old and are somewhat self entertaining thanks to Legos and the “Where's My Water” app, I have decided that I need to finally write this stuff down before they become surly teenagers and I finally forget all of the precious stuff that my sweet babies did when they adored me above all humans. Well, after Daddy, but before all other humans.

This epic tale would only be halfway told if I left out what a twin pregnancy is like. So, I will start at the very beginning. A very good place to start (in my best Maria from The Sound of Music voice)...

I had been nervously typing away in my little half cubical all morning willing the nurse to call me. She said that she would call me this morning to let me know. Why hasn't she called? Something must be wrong. I went in this morning at 7 to take the blood test. The labs should be back by now. Maybe I should call her in case she forgot. No, what if she was calling me while I was calling her and that would put me at the very end of her “To-Call” list. Agh! The suspense is KIL-LING me!!

The phone rang. I jumped a little when I saw the doctor's phone number on my screen. Deep breath. Here we go. She's calling me to tell me it didn't work. Brace yourself. Oh God! What if it didn't work?

“This is Betsy.” I said in my best office voice.

“Girl, you are SO pregnant!” The nurse didn't even mess around with the pleasantries, thank God.

“Are you sure?” I said, trying to not act like my whole future was riding on her words.

“Positive.”

I smile. “How many?” I ask.

Bracing again. “Well, your HcG levels are much higher than we were expecting which is good. You are definitely expecting multiples.  Come in next week and we will do an ultrasound and count how many fetuses you have in there.” She said simply giving me the rundown.

I am expecting multiples. She wants to count how many fetuses are in there. Well, duh! If I am expecting multiples and they implanted two embryos, how many fetuses does she think are in there? Wait.

“What do you mean count how many fetuses are in there? You implanted two, right?” She casually answered, “Sometimes those embryos have a mind of their own and split once they are in there.

It's probably just the two, but we want to make sure.”

Dumbfounded silence.

“OK” I reply. A little quiver in my voice.

We hung up after the administrative stuff was taken care of.
I look at the phone as if it just jumped up and slapped me in the face for a second and then grab my cell phone and head to the elevators.

When the elevator doors opened, thankfully there was no one in there. I walked in and the doors closed. I looked at my reflection in the door and said to myself, “It worked.” I smiled back. It worked!!!!

When the doors opened to the lobby of my office building, I walked as cool as I could across the way to a small, private courtyard that no one would be using this early in the morning. I sat at one of the tables and took my cell phone out of my blazer pocket and started dialing Kevin's number. My hands started
shaking and I noticed a tear started rolling down my face. Press send. My tear sent his whole friends and family rolling down my face. By the time the phone started ringing, I couldn't breathe because I was crying so hard. Kevin only let it ring one time.

“Hello?” he said really short because he knew it was me and I had the news.

“Hey” I said clearly by this time he could hear me crying.

“What did they say?”

I took a deep breath. “It worked,” I tried to say but I guess it came out sounding like a goose honk.

“What?” His anticipation for a coherent answer was palpable. I tried again slower this time. “It worked!!!” I could hear him exhale. “How many?” Trying to speak clear English this time.

“BOTH!” Bigger exhale. I hear commotion in the background.

“Betsy, get off the phone! We have work to do.” I hear Kevin's co-worker, also a friend to us both says through the phone.

“Oh my gosh, that is great news! Listen, can I call you back in just a minute?” He is overjoyed and I am sobbing so it is best that we end this moment here.

“I love you!” Kevin says and he is gone.

Next phone call that I need to make is to my mom. I hope she answers. She is having lunch with her high school alumni crew today. I hope she can hear her phone.

I dial her number. My hysterics have not diminished at this point. Ring.

“Hello?” Mom also answers expectantly. My hysterical goose sound once again honks into the phone.

“What Honey? Are you ok?”

I can't hear anyone in the background so she must be in the bathroom. Good timing.

“IT WORKED!!” I finally honk out.

She hoots and exclaims out loud, “It worked!” I hear mayhem now in the background. 

I later learn that she had put her phone on the table (a proper southern woman's no-no) during her alumni lunch and had told the crew of about 12 people why she was expecting this call. She said that when the phone rang, you could hear a pin drop at that table. Until she said, “It worked!” and then they all went crazy and the whole restaurant could hear their cheers. 

And so it began. The long journey to parenthood, family of four. Everything that we had waited for six long, sometimes literally painful years to occur. Our babies were coming!