Carrying 2 Is Easier Than 1

First of all I want to say Thank you to everyone who has started reading our family blog.  I am no writer but I do enjoy sharing our family adventures with you.

Today's blog is all about the pregnancies I have been Blessed to carry.  They are all similar yet different.  I have decided that carrying 2 babies (Abel and Luke) has been easier for me than my single pregnancies with Andy and Lincoln. 

When I found out I was pregnant with Andy we were shocked, excited, scared and all the other emotions you feel with your first.  I suffered from severe headaches for the first 15 weeks or so.  I never had nausea or vomiting but my head wanted to explode all the time.  There is not a whole lot Doctor's can do in the early stages of pregnancy except tell you to take tylenol and rest.  That was very frustrating.  Then the middle of the pregnancy was a breeze.  I was sleeping great and going 90 to nothing.  Work was good and I felt like I had tons of energy.  At about 25 weeks I started with contractions and slowly started noticing I would have tons of pressure in my tummy.  Not long after about a week past and I went to Doctor and discovered I was in pre-term labor.  Talk about freaked out and panic mode set in.  I had to stop work and do nothing but eat and rest.  I must admit it was nice being at home and reading my books and just taking care of the house and Charlie.  I had to be put on meds to control my contractions.  At about 33 weeks I had a really starnge episode where my body just wanted to give up.  I ended up in the hospital and was in and out of it a lot.  I remember Charlie being very scared and praying over me everyday.  Come to find out I was having some allergic reactions to several meds that my body had started to reject.  I had Andy 1 week later the day I turned 34 weeks.  He was a perfect 5 pounds and 11 ounces. 

Another 2 1/2 years passed before Lincoln made his grand entrance into this world.  This pregnancy again was a lot like Andy in the fact of headaches and being tired at the start.  It was different as far as me taking it easy because I had had 2 miscarriages prior to getting preggy with Lincoln so I toned it down a bit  and for me that is very difficult but I wanted this baby more than anything.  At the time it was hard for Andy to understand why Mommy couldn't wrestle or pick him up like I had been doing since he arrived.  It broke my heart and his.  Towards the middle of the pregnancy I felt again very good and had lots of energy.  Then at about 22 weeks with Lincoln the contractions started.  I got really scared cause I thought my body was going to give up again like with Andy and I would be in the hospital.  Again I was put on a different med for contractions and I began to do better.  It was at about 32 weeks when my body wanted to get rid of in the little invader inside.  I was taken to the hospital and given fluids for 2 days until my body calmed down.

 I will never forget the day I was released from the hospital and we hadn't been home maybe 1 hour when I began to breathe funny.  I didn't notice like Mrs. Debbie (mother in-law) that I was struggling to catch a breathe.  She decided to call my Doctor and they told her to get me back to the hospital now.  So, off we went.  I called Charlie at work and said you need to meet me at the hospital.  Of course he was confused and didn't understand what was going on.  By the time we go to the hospital and they wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery I was not doing well.  I had several Doctors that I didn't recognize and I was a little worried at that point.  Then I saw my Pastor from my Church walk in the room briefly to see Charlie.  I knew in my heart it was bad.  All I kept thinking was get Lincoln out of me please.  I began to panic some and then passed out.  I don't rememer a whole lot about the rest of that week becasue I was not awake most of the time.  Towards the end of the week I was told my body was in congestive heart failure.  What???  I thought to myself.  That can't be, what on earth is happen to me?  My Doctors along with the heart specialist were able to get things under control and save me and Lincoln.  I didn't know how close I was to meeting my Savior that day.  I ended up giving birth to Lincoln and he was a healthy 6 pounds even. 

Almost 8 months ago when we found out we were expecting twins.  We were very excited and shocked.  God had given me a dream and here we are.  This pregnancy I did experience the headaches early on and I was tired at times.  I have had a wonderful experience carrying 2 little boys.  Once they began to move it was the strangest thing to know that there was 2 of everything inside my tummy.  The whole time I keep think "how am I going to carry 2 babies when I had such a hard time carrying 1 baby?"  I have put these twins in God's hands completely.  I have had 2 experiences so far where I was in pre-term labor and my Doctors were able to determine a medication that is given to heart patients was the best fit for me plus I have weekly injections in my hip of hormones.  They seem to have really gotten things under control.  I went to the specialist today 1/15/11 and we got to see our boys.  I am near the end of week 33 in the pregnancy.  I will be 34 weeks on Tuesday which is where I was with Andy and Lincoln were born.  Abel and Luke are very healthy and growing.  Baby A is on my right side and is currently breech and he weighs 4 pounds 5 ounces.  Baby B is on my left side and is head down weighing 4 pounds 9 ounces.  The fluid around both boys was low but not dangerous.  We go back in 1 week and see how big they are and have fluid checked again.  I am so amazed at how well my body has done with these 2 miracles.  God has Blessed us over these last 5 years

and we are in awe of Him.

                     "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father..."  James 1:17

As I sit here and write I began to think about what God has taught me through these last 5 years of carrying His gifts from above.  I have learned not to take my time for granted for sure.  I didn't realize how close I was to meeting our Lord 2 different times.  I have learned patiences and God's timing is perfect.  At the time we struggled to get pregnant and then losing the 2 babies I was so bitter and selfish.  I wanted them now and I was angry with God for not allowing me to have what I wanted.  I sounded like a 2 year old wanting a toy or candy.  I basically was kicking and screaming and was so consumed with what Lacy wanted that I couldn't see.  It turns out God had a huge surprise for our family and that He would reveal His plans on His time not mine.  The verse that God gave me during my selfish ways was " For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11  This scripture became so powerful to me that it is engraved on my Bible cover and I see it every day.