The Big Reveal, Part II

If you still haven't seen our reveal video you can watch it here: http://youtu.be/qM3nRBY8iA4

Sharing our infertility journey was important to me for so many reasons, but one of the consequences was that there was no big, fun, surprise pregnancy announcement. And there's really no big surprise announcement to make with naming the babies because, well, everyone knows you have to name a baby! So it was really important to me to have a fun surprise gender announcement! It was also really important to tell our parents face-to-face so we could share the excitement with them.

We picked a weekend we would be down south (especially as our ability to travel is really limited right now with my pregnancy) and it was even better because a lot of our family from out of town was there for my cousin's beautiful wedding Friday night. My mom planned a delicious brunch for Saturday morning and I decided on a balloon reveal so everyone there would find out the gender at the same time. I made the boxes earlier in the week and on Saturday morning Matt and I went out, bought the balloons, and packed them in the boxes. After everyone ate, our family looked on as Matt and I each opened a box and revealed the genders of Baby A and Baby B!

Thank you so much to our parents, my sister, my cousin Kirsten (and her three little ones), my cousins Mark & Rachel (and their twin girls), and my Auntie Den & Uncle Jim for coming to celebrate with us! Thank you to those who stopped by later in the afternoon to visit as well! And a big thanks to my sister and Kirsten for the pictures!

(Click on each picture for a bigger view)

Boxes I decorated for each baby and we stuffed with balloons

Baby A is a BOY!

I love how excited my mom looks! 

Baby B is a BOY!

18 weeks pregnant with fraternal twin boys (and no we did not color coordinate our outfits for the genders...it just happened that way HA!)

My parents and us

Matt's parents and us

My cousin Mark showing Matt a look into his future with twins  ;)

The Big Reveal

It's time for the big reveal! After keeping the genders a secret for over a week (only Matt, myself, and the ultrasound tech knew), it's time to reveal the news to everyone else!

Please DO NOT post any public comments and ruin the surprise for everyone else! Instead, we would love to hear from you via text, private message, or email. Thank you!

Love,
Matt & Staci

Here is the private video to reveal our big surprise: Twins Gender Reveal

An Afternoon Visitor

Today my freshman year college roommate came over to visit from Danville and brought a super sweet gift for the babies! It's been ages since we've been able to visit and catch up, so we enjoyed the afternoon doing just that!

Thanks so much for visiting Katie and for the love and time you poured into your gift! It means so, so much!!!

Gift Basket! (and you know I LOVE a good basket!)

Blankets homemade by Katie!

Two fun books! One of my favorites is on the left and one of Matt's favorites is on the left! :)

An Adventurous Day & A Special Delivery

It's been a looonnggg time since I've been to the grocery store and let me tell you why: the smell of cooking chicken. YUCK! I barely made it through the check out line last time, so Matt has faithfully been taking my list and doing all the shopping for weeks now. What a guy!

On Friday I was feeling adventurous though. So adventurous in fact, that I decided to go to the market. WHOA! I know, watch out, my thrill levels are off the chart! I examined the ads for things that might look appetizing at some point this week, checked my list on the fridge of foods I'm supposed to be eating, made my grocery list, grabbed my reusable bags, and bravely headed out the door to face my evil chicken enemy!

I drove all of the two blocks to the market and parked. Whew! Step 1 accomplished! Next, I headed towards the sliding doors, stepped inside, sniffed lightly, and my nose approved- hooray! I was pretty sure I could beat the smell of chicken today! I made my rounds through the market, possibly grabbing some things that were not on my list (but who can blame a girl if raw green beans and Moosetrack ice cream suddenly sound AMAZING?!), and headed towards the check out line. So far, so good. I was just about to push my cart away when my sweet special needs checker told me I looked very pretty, which of course, warmed my heart! So I got in my car feeling pretty good about myself for accomplishing the shopping (and looking "pretty") and headed home.

About one block down the street I encountered another special needs person, only this one had taken her shoes and jacket off, laid them down in the middle of the two lanes, and was dancing around the street while yelling at the drivers for getting in her way. Umm okay, random. One notch down on my "successful day belt" ...except for the fact that I didn't hit her and she didn't hit me...one notch back up!

One block later, I made it home! I loaded my arms up with grocery bags feeling very victorious and then saw this...

Umm, so apparently while I was at the market, the UPS man delivered the cribs. Well that would be awesome if only my hands weren't full of groceries, the crib boxes didn't weigh a million pounds, and they weren't completely blocking my front door. What's a girl to do?! First, look around for a strong man...nope, none to be found. Second, set down all my groceries and snap a picture for Facebook. (Obviously!) Third, (carefully) tilt a box on its side and slide it through the door, then follow with the second box. Finally, put my feet up, rest, and drink a big glass of water while I wait for Matt to get home and move them upstairs. ;) All in all, I'd say that was a pretty successful day for me! 

And for those curious minds...here's some snapshots of one of the cribs put together. We'll be moving some things to storage and setting up the room (and other crib) later but for now we wanted to make sure we liked it and the crib mattress fit:

I can't tell you how surreal it is to have a crib set up in OUR house for one of OUR babies. What a blessing!!!

Side Note: We picked these cribs because their shape and size allows for multiple ways to arrange them in the room since we have a small space and two cribs. We'll also be getting a white dresser to use as a changing table. We thought the white furniture would help the small room look less crowded with so much furniture in it. I always thought I'd want a beautiful sleigh crib or one with a high side on it, but hey, you gotta go with what you need and what works! And it turns out we really like the simple design of these cribs and their quality. :) We will keep the donors' names private, but they were a gift to us and we couldn't be more THANKFUL!!!! We love them! 

Wiener Nationals 2013

Matt and I were quite devastated when we heard Golden Gate Fields may not be doing a wiener dog race this year. We were constantly checking online, waiting to see if they would bring it back, and finally there it was! Matt quickly signed Hunter up, begged me to start training him again (to which I usually replied, "I'm pretty sure this dog knows how to run!"), and of course, started psyching Hunter up for his next big debut.

Unfortunately, when the time came for the event, I was too sick to go but our good friend Dermot told Matt he would go and help with the race. Our other friend Julie agreed to go and cheer Hunter on! From what I heard, Hunter had so much fun meeting all the other dogs, licking all the children, and trying to escape out to the track so he could run in every race.

When it finally came time for his event, Dermot took Hunter to the starting line and Matt waited with one of his favorite toys- a big, colorful, bouncy ball- at the finish line. The dogs lined up, the whistle blew, and Hunter was off in the lead. And then something tragic happened. Another dog veered straight towards Hunter and body slammed into him while another dog tried to jump Hunter from behind. Poor Hunter seemed terrified (as noted in photo below)! The dog who went out of his way to hunt poor Hunter down, went on to win first place and later race in the finals where he body slammed yet another dog. I would have to say that dog should be disqualified for poor sportsmanship but apparently there's no sportsmanship rules in wiener races. Oh well. At least this year Hunter ran and didn't just dig in the dirt like last year! :)

Matt at the finish line, in a purple racing jersey, tempting Hunter with one of his favorite toys 

Hunter is in the purple racing jersey, looking scared by the mean weenie to the right barking at him, while almost getting jumped by the dog behind him

**Video will only play on computer** 

Hunter is third in from the left. Our friend Julie had the whole crowd cheering for him! 

End of the First Trimester

As I start my second trimester on Saturday, I have come to the conclusion that some women excel at being pregnant and some women, well, don't. Turns out I'm one of those women who don't. Who knew? When I thought of pregnancy I had always assumed my checklist would look like this:

• Glowing
• Cute, round bump
• Living my normal life, just with a cute bump
• Spending time with friends, with a cute bump
• Having fun cravings and eating a yummy array of food
• Dreaming with my husband about our cute future child...note: just one child at a time

Turns out my reality-check checklist looks more like this:

• Glowing.... only if defined as intense acne like I am 14-years-old again
• Bump that looks more like I ate too much steak dinner... a few too many times
• Nausea = morning sickness, afternoon sickness, night sickness... aka all day long sickness and throwing up
• Headaches and endless fatigue
• Cramping and crazy back pain
• Never seeing friends because the toilet and couch are my new best friends
• Panicking with my husband over the reality of babies...note: PLURAL...and what that will mean for our future, as well as worrying if they will be healthy

Life just never seems to go the way you think it will. As miserable as I have been though, I have to remind myself that I am so blessed to be here. I would so rather be miserable for nine months than be left to wonder what it would have been like and never experience it for myself. We are so blessed to have these miracles after a year of medications and procedures. There are so many women who go through all of that for even longer and still have empty arms. So while reality doesn't look anything like I had hoped and imagined, it's still okay. 

So without further ado, for the first time, we would like to introduce you to our two little ones! (Click on each picture for a bigger image.)

Our babies as embryos. Baby A is hatching, which means it is breaking through and ready to implant. Baby B implanted a day or so after.

Their growth over the weeks. We saw the first heartbeat just before 6 weeks.

At the end of the first trimester. They're turning over, moving around, and responding to my movement.

Early Surprise

For a very long time, I never thought I would be pregnant. Infertility became more than a word- it became my very identity. It was my everyday, my every thought, my every breath. And then suddenly that all changed.

Top picture: taken 7 days post transfer. Bottom picture: taken 9 days post transfer

One week after my transfer I was convinced it didn't work, yet with the hope that only an infertile woman can understand, I decided to test. And before the time was even up I saw what I thought was a very faint +. Immediately I ran downstairs to find Matt, who was cooking breakfast for us at the stove, and showed him the test. 

"What does this look like to you?" I asked him, truly not sure I was seeing what I thought I was. He looked up at me with surprise and replied, "You took a test???" 

"Yes," I said, "What does this look like?" I needed to hear from him what my own eyes were telling me.

"A plus," he said, "Is that a positive?!" He asked with a huge smile. 

"I think so!" I smiled back at him. And then my best friend gave me a victory kiss, celebrating the long, hard journey we had come through. 

Two days later I tested again. I couldn't help but wonder if that blue sign would be even darker, and sure enough, it was. 

What some of you may not know is that this was really early to take a pregnancy test. Typically you won't see a positive sign until at least 14 full days after the procedure, and even then it will most likely be faint. The fact that this showed up only 7 days after the transfer should have been my first hint at twins! 

When I went for my first beta test (a blood test checking for HCG, a pregnancy hormone) I was surprised to hear the number come back at 976. In my last pregnancy the first beta came back around 100 so this was a much higher number. That gave me hope but I was still terrified for the second beta test. Two days after the first test the doctor has the test repeated. If the numbers double then it's a good start to the pregnancy. If they go down then it's going to be a miscarriage, which is what happened to me last time. So when my second number came back at 2526, more than doubled, I was shocked! That should have been my second clue it was twins but I was just shocked both tests were positive! (Note: A typical singleton pregnancy could have numbers around 200 and then go up to 400, so you can see how mine were much higher at 976 and 2526.)

So on our first ultrasound when we saw those two little babies, I think time stood still. Over the weeks I waited to see what would happen. It's not unusual to lose one of the babies early on, yet with each ultrasound I continually heard two distinct heartbeats. I can't even tell you what that sounds like to my ears. It's the sweetest miracle I could ever dream of!!! 

I'll be honest and say the thought of twins terrifies me. The expenses are immense and the task of caring for two infants feels overwhelming. When we set out to start a family we never thought or planned for two babies but here we are. Yet as terrified as I am, I feel so incredibly blessed! If you've followed our journey then you know what I have gone through to get here: the tests, traveling, procedures, shots, medications, sickness, side effects, heartaches. So now as I near the end of my first trimester I feel like I'm holding my breath. I continually ask myself if this is real. I look at my stomach and wonder at the two lives inside me, each the size of a lime now. It's the most surreal thing! I dream of the day I will feel them kick and have a cute baby bump to show. To me, that's when I think I'll actually feel pregnant. Until then, I'm just reveling in the fact that my prayers have finally been answered, even if it's not as I thought they would be, and continue to pray that all goes well as we move forward. There's much that I'm unsure about but there's even more that I'm excited about!