Thursday, May 04, 2006
Remember our bird last year that layed not one, but two clutches of eggs? Well a long time ago I read that if you leave a bird's nest alone, they'll come back again and again and again and continue to lay eggs there as long as the nest is there. Well, this is the nest above our front door, only this isn't last year, it's this year. And she didn't just lay 2 and 3 eggs like she did last year, but she layed 5 eggs! Anyway, when I told our "lollipop lady" (aka. crossing guard) that we had a nest full of eggs above our front door she exclaimed, "You live in a fertility house!"
They used to say in West Jordan to be careful drinking the water there. There were so many babies being born in our ward, it was the only explanation they could come up with I guess. And now I'm thinking there must be something in the walls of our home that caused me A)to become pregnant and B)to become pregnant with twins. Anyway, people have had a lot of questions about our present pregnancy and I've decided to dedicate this post to answering some of those FAQ's and make a record of my pregnancy so far.
Were we trying to get pregnant? Ummmmm. . . NO! Caleb was only four and half months at the time I became pregnant and I actually thought we were through having children. DONE! FINISHED! NO MORE! I was strictly nursing and while I know that is no guarantee, we were also using other methods of preventing a third unexpected pregnancy. But there you have it--if it's meant to be, I guess it will be!
Do twins run in your family? From everything I've researched, the kind of twins that are genetic are fraternal twins and they are passed down from generation to generation through women. There are no twins on my side of the family. My mother always wanted twins but never got so "lucky." However, on Mark's side of the family there are several sets of twins, but they are all identical, the not genetic type. Mark's dad is a twin as well as one set of Uncle's. His brother also had a set of twins. So either research is wrong and identical twins are genetic or God has a much greater vision than I do and has some mighty plan up His sleeve. I haven't decided yet.
Were you using fertility drugs? Are you crazy? No way! This happened all on its own, naturally. I've searched on the internet trying to find my odds of having twins without the genetic factor and the only things that I can find that might have helped is the fact that I've already had four children, I live in CT and I'm overweight. Other than that this was an act of God and I'm not sure why me. Unless there really is something within the walls of our home. . . . anyone interested in buying?
Did you feel different, like you might be expecting twins? Not really. When I first found out I was pregnant I did a little research on having twins. Not because I was hoping to have twins but because I was terrified of the thought and wanted to make sure it wasn't going to happen to me. Once I knew identical twins weren't genetic, I was certain I was safe and thought no more of it. My morning sickness was the same barfy-wise. When I'm pregnant I feel like I'm going to puke 24/7, but I never actually do. It was no different this time. I've also been extremely tired, but who wouldn't be being pregnant and chasing four little boys around the house all day? I'm not showing much, I haven't gained any weight--so there's really been nothing that would make me suspect twins. No, not at all.
So how did you find out you were having twins? Well, since we hadn't been trying to conceive and I had only had one period since having Caleb, I had no idea when I actually had gotten pregnant. So the Dr. scheduled me for an ultrasound to determine the due date. Lucky for me and Mark, Kathy offered to babysit so we got to go together. We were sitting around (okay so I was laying half naked on the table covered with a skimpy paper sheet) talking about vasectomies and the Dr. was doing the ultrasound and very casually said, "Well Dad it's a good thing you are sitting down." And Mark thought, "Why do I need to be sitting down? I'm not squirmish about the vasectomy. . . ." And the Dr. said, "There are two." And I said, "You are joking!" Because see, the Dr. is a family friend and maybe Kathy put him up to it or something. But no, he wasn't joking and in disbelief I said, "Where? I don't see it! Show me!" And he pointed the ultrasound wand to one baby and then to the other and I saw it and about passed out. But before I could I glanced over at Mark and he was whiter than a ghost and I thought for certain he was going to barf all over the Doctor's shoes. And the Dr. printed out the ultrasound pictures and said, "See ya next month" like it was no big deal, telling a mother of four very small boys that wasn't trying to get pregnant that she's going to have not one baby, but two babies delievered in seven months. And Mark and I drove home laughing the whole way home at the craziness of the whole thing and wondering when they'd quit playing the joke on us.
So, when are you due? The official due date is November 11th. I just added a ticker at the bottom of the website so you can all keep track of how pregnant I am. Of course, the doc says twin pregnancies rarely make it to 40 weeks and that they will probably c-section the end of October. We shall see.
Are they identical twins? Could you tell what sex they are? Too soon to tell either and I don't think you really can know for sure if they are identical or fraternal until they are born. My guess is they are identical, based on Mark's family history, and that they are both boys. I'm not sure any Henrichsens have had identical twin girls yet and I really doubt, with our track record, that we're going to start any new trends. I also think they are identical because there's no real reason I would all of the sudden release more than one egg unless I had the genetics for twins, which I don't.
Are you going to find out the sexes? No. At this point, because I'm so convinced they are boys, I'm not as hopeful for a girl as I was with Caleb. Everyone tells me I need to find out so we can have a Baby Shower and be prepared. But I figure we have plenty of baby clothes and even if they are girls, they won't be able to complain about wearing blue stuff at least for a little while. And two great big surprises at the end of what I have a feeling is going to be a very big and long pregnancy sounds like a good idea to me. So unless I whimp out like I did with Caleb and give in when the Ultrasound Tech asks, "Do you want to know. . ." we'll be finding out sometime in October when they're born.
How do the boys feel about having twins? Denver is ecstatic. I'm not sure two babies is enough for him. He absolutely loves Caleb and is thrilled with the idea of having three babies around the house come October. Hunter is happy. He always wanted a big family and seems satisfied with the number six--thank goodness. He originally said, "Two girls is good. A boy and a girl is okay. And two boys is a 'doh'" (like Homer Simpson would say). Now, however, he seems to want two boys cause 1)he and Noah get their own room if it is boys and 2)because then they can all wrestle each other. Noah--poor, sweet Noah--thinks it's "bad" and he hasn't budged on that one, not even a bit. Caleb has made no comment.
Any weird cravings? Yeah. . . prunes. And for those of you that don't know why that's weird, go eat half a bag of prunes and call me in the morning. I've also been craving salsa and really want some of the fresh stuff. Hopefully we'll make some this weekend, when I find the energy to go to the store and get me some cilantro.
Are you going to fit in your house? Of course. We're bulging at the seams already, but babies don't take up too much space and we've still got one unused room we can expand into. Unfortunately, that means any guests we might have will either have to sleep on the couch or hit the basement--but hopefully that won't keep too many of you away. They say "love grows best in little houses" and I'd definitely have to agree. As for the car--no matter what, we won't fit in the car and have already started the long process of finding one we will fit into. It will most likely be a Suburban, a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna. I'm clinging to whatever bit of "cool" I have left in me and refuse to drive a minibus or gigantic chevy van like we had growing up. If we have to, we'll drive two cars everywhere we go. Call me prideful--you're right.
And last but not least, How are you doing? Finding out I was pregnant was hard. I really wasn't ready for another baby. Being morning sick is bad but when the smell of your four month old makes you sicker--that's worse. I hadn't recovered from having Caleb, was sad to have to quit nursing, and was devastated at the thought of being back to three kids in diapers for another several years. Finding out we're having twins was even more overwhelming. The only good thing is that it makes everything kind of new and fun and exciting. I've somehow managed to work it all out in my head and convinced myself it's all going to be okay. Ultimately, I believe that everything happens for a reason and I have enough faith in God that I believe whatever the reason is, it must be a good one. And now we're just taking it one day at a time and surviving. Somedays are great, somedays are bad and most are right in between.
posted by Shana # 4:55 PM 
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