Because we lost Trinity for unexplained reasons, we were to see the OB as soon as I got pregnant again. So after the initial excitement settled down and the distracting fear crisis passed, I came to my senses and made an appointment. They were able to squeeze me in within a week or so, and the day has finally arrived. Our doctor is excited to see us, and ushers us into a special room. An ultrasound tech with the more detailed internal machine happens to be in the office today. Lucky me.
I climb onto the exam table. My husband and my doctor are on my left. The ultrasound tech is on my right. The tiny crowded room is darkened so that the screen is easier to read. She checks the position of the amniotic sac in relation to the cervix. Good placement. She checks other things which make no sense to me, but apparently look good. Satisfied that everything is great, I stop paying attention as we are chatting, until my doctor says, “Is that what I think it is?” My full attention is recaptured instantly and Richard and I quickly request clarification. The ultrasound tech seems pleased to report that it is what my doctor thinks it is, and she answers our concerned question with, “There are two.” Two what? Babies. Twins! My doctor, in a drawn out awww-you-shouldn’t-have kind of way, exclaims, “You guys”. Richard sheds a few tears. I burst into laughter. It is an insanely wonderful moment. We are stunned and elated, dizzy and numb, wide-eyed and grinning stupidly. The rest of the appointment is a blur. We cannot wait to start calling everyone.
Before it became reality, we had joked about twins, some people had prayed for us to have twins, and we had talked about how twins would be an amazing epilogue to our story. One time in particular, Richard and I were having a discussion. He was upset about something, which temporarily blinded him to the many blessings in our lives. I have the terrible tendency to try to cheer him up instead of simply empathizing. I can see that now, but at the time, I thought I should remind him of some of the good things that had been happening. He’d been enjoying one of the best financial years in his career to-date. I had been given two raises. I also had the opportunity to be a guest designer on two episodes of an HGTV show. I was feeling very blessed and hopeful about the future. But for him, it was easy to rationalize all of it as random. He questioned, “How do you know God really had a hand in any of those things?” He retorted that if we had twins, that would undeniably be God’s doing. Twins do not run in our immediate families, and we had never been on fertility treatments. I prayed silently and sadly, “God, you heard him.”
Surely, now that I really am having twins, Richard will acknowledge that God’s fingerprints are all over this double blessing. To my disappointment, he kind of brushes it off, though. I quietly decide that he’s going to have to work out his trust issues with the Big Man himself. I guess it will take a little longer for him to resolve his anger about losing Trinity, and that’s certainly valid. I will have to lovingly persist in prayer.
But for now, the party gets a hurricane force second wind as we call every family member and friend we can. We are on our cell phones for many hours over several days and tears of joy are flowing all over the country. We have no idea how we are going to take care of two babies at the same time, but we are too excited to care. We are more than ready for our happily ever after.
I climb onto the exam table. My husband and my doctor are on my left. The ultrasound tech is on my right. The tiny crowded room is darkened so that the screen is easier to read. She checks the position of the amniotic sac in relation to the cervix. Good placement. She checks other things which make no sense to me, but apparently look good. Satisfied that everything is great, I stop paying attention as we are chatting, until my doctor says, “Is that what I think it is?” My full attention is recaptured instantly and Richard and I quickly request clarification. The ultrasound tech seems pleased to report that it is what my doctor thinks it is, and she answers our concerned question with, “There are two.” Two what? Babies. Twins! My doctor, in a drawn out awww-you-shouldn’t-have kind of way, exclaims, “You guys”. Richard sheds a few tears. I burst into laughter. It is an insanely wonderful moment. We are stunned and elated, dizzy and numb, wide-eyed and grinning stupidly. The rest of the appointment is a blur. We cannot wait to start calling everyone.
Before it became reality, we had joked about twins, some people had prayed for us to have twins, and we had talked about how twins would be an amazing epilogue to our story. One time in particular, Richard and I were having a discussion. He was upset about something, which temporarily blinded him to the many blessings in our lives. I have the terrible tendency to try to cheer him up instead of simply empathizing. I can see that now, but at the time, I thought I should remind him of some of the good things that had been happening. He’d been enjoying one of the best financial years in his career to-date. I had been given two raises. I also had the opportunity to be a guest designer on two episodes of an HGTV show. I was feeling very blessed and hopeful about the future. But for him, it was easy to rationalize all of it as random. He questioned, “How do you know God really had a hand in any of those things?” He retorted that if we had twins, that would undeniably be God’s doing. Twins do not run in our immediate families, and we had never been on fertility treatments. I prayed silently and sadly, “God, you heard him.”
Surely, now that I really am having twins, Richard will acknowledge that God’s fingerprints are all over this double blessing. To my disappointment, he kind of brushes it off, though. I quietly decide that he’s going to have to work out his trust issues with the Big Man himself. I guess it will take a little longer for him to resolve his anger about losing Trinity, and that’s certainly valid. I will have to lovingly persist in prayer.
But for now, the party gets a hurricane force second wind as we call every family member and friend we can. We are on our cell phones for many hours over several days and tears of joy are flowing all over the country. We have no idea how we are going to take care of two babies at the same time, but we are too excited to care. We are more than ready for our happily ever after.
