The last five years

Chris and I were married for about a year and a half when we decided to have children. We got pregnant before we even started "really" trying, and Saja was born six days late at a hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina with a midwife. I had stadol, but no epidural, and she was 8 lb., 8 oz. We decided to be surprised with Saja, but when she was born, all the midwife said was, "Here's your baby!" I still didn't know if she was a boy or a girl!

When she was three months old, we decided to have another child right away and had no trouble getting pregnant. Kora was born two weeks early in Memphis under the care of a doctor at Baptist Women's Hospital. She was 7 lb. 3 oz., and required an epidural for the last centimeter dilation because I was at 9 cm for at least an hour. (Yes, it hurt.) We had no ultrasound for Kora, either, but the announcement came joyously, "It's a girl!"

David was born 12 months and 3 weeks later. I'm not saying we didn't decide to have another baby that soon, but I'm not saying we did, either. He weighed in at a whopping 9lb. 1 oz. on his due date. I was thrilled on the day of our ultrasound with him to see what may or may not be an umbilical cord. Turns out, it wasn't.

Then, on Valentine's Day, when David was approaching his first birthday, Chris told me he'd like to have a brother for David before he was two. I, having just dropped fifteen pounds and 4 sizes, was certainly not eager to pull out the maternity clothes again, but I did tell him I'd pray about it. No sooner had the words entered my head in my prayer to God did I specifically sense Him telling me that it was time to throw away the birth control pills. Oh, how I longingly looked at the pill pack the next morning. I sighed, and threw it in the trash. I think I didn't even tell Chris for two weeks!

Sure enough, God blessed us with another quick conception (no painful waiting). I usually don't rush to the doctor, but I had a small complication that made me think I should check for an ectopic pregnancy. So, the doctor did an ultrasound to confirm that the egg was in the right spot. While Chris and I stared at the snowy picture on the screen, he pointed. "This," he said, "is your bladder. This is your baby." (Pause for us to coo.) "And this," he continued, "is your other baby." Haha, I said, knowing his propensity for joking and knowledge that my grandmother had twins. "It's true," he said. "And now, I'm just looking for another one." Oh my gosh, stop looking!

I think I walked around in shock for a week.

The pregnancy began taking its toll early. At 8 weeks, I was in maternity clothes, at 15 weeks, I had back pain, and at 28 weeks, I felt like I was full-term! God blessed us with a full-term (38 week) pregnancy, and Tobias was 6 lb. 11 oz., and Tyler was 6 lb. 2 oz. After the doctor broke my water and gave me an epidural, Tobias nearly slid out. =) Tyler was a different story. I had to force him into the birth canal, but they both stayed head-down (key for avoiding a c-section). Plus, I didn't burst my eyeballs like I did with Saja and David.

So, Tobias was born at 11:59 pm... which makes him a full day older than Tyler, and cost an additional $1500 for his extra day in the newborn nursery. It's true. Thank God for health insurance.

My recovery was almost instant. Now the twins are 8 months old, and my life is happy, most of the time. I've lost all the baby weight, and more importantly, I feel healthy and happy.

When I was a teenager, I never saw myself content as a stay-at-home mom. But now, if I miss a day with my family, I surely do miss them.

Throughout the Bible, the way God blesses women is fertility. We are and we feel BLESSED (and happy, too.)