Conception

Well, our biggest news lately is the announcement of baby #4 & baby #5, coming this July.  Since making the “official” announcement on Facebook about two hours ago, I have received many messages/comments/texts with Congratulations from friends. I can read it in their words though, everyone is thinking “HOW did this happen???! Was this on purpose? Did you use fertility? Are you CRAZY?” “I hope it’s at least one girl!”

Answers to your questions: 1.The usual way

                                             2. No

                                             3. No

                                             4. If not, we will be soon.

                                             5. I’m not holding my breath for girls – the odds are against me so far. But yes, I would LOVE to have a daughter, or two. =)

Let’s back up for just a moment….

When it comes to in/fertility issues, I am not a quiet person. But, during my so-called “infertile” years I didn’t really talk about it to anyone other than my family and a few select friends. Jason and I were at BYU surrounded by couples who seemed to all conceive on their honeymoon – I thought we were alone and that no one understood our struggles.  THIS IS NOT TRUE! As I began talking with other women years later, I realized that this is a very common trial that couples endure. 

I don’t advertise our fertility struggles, but I am ALWAYS happy to share my experiences with others. Most people who know me, also know that we used in-vitro-fertilization to conceive all three of our children. I don’t mind sharing this with others because everyone needs a friend during that scary & emotional process – and I will always volunteer to be that friend. During my in-vitro experience, I did not know anyone who had been through it before and I wish that I had someone who could empathize with me – physically, emotionally & spiritually.

Okay, moving on to the juicy part of my story….

Sooooo, Jason and I had never conceived without medical help. As Jason likes to say so eloquently, “I have to pay another man to get my wife pregnant.”   So, why waste our money with birth control?? It seemed unnecessary, so we never bothered.

Then we got pregnant last August/September – whoops! I had my usual pregnancy symptoms, so I took a pregnancy test – and I cried. I had always had the “luxury” of planning our pregnancies with the doctor and THIS was not planned. I was overwhelmed, but soon I accepted the idea and started making plans. It would be great! They were short-lived plans because I miscarried soon after.  

From past experiences, I knew that it would take a few months for my body to readjust after the miscarriage. So, we carried on with our usual business and I assumed that was a one-time fluke – still no need for birth control.

The night of November 22: Kids were in bed, Jason in the shower & I was putting away one last load of laundry before our trip out of town. I opened the linen closet to put away towels and I noticed an extra pregnancy test in my stash of toiletries. I had an overwhelming feeling come over me “TAKE THE TEST.”  For no reason, other than the prompting, I took the test. It was positive. I told Jason that there was no way it could be correct because I had ZERO symptoms. We spent that night googling possibilities and we came to the conclusion that I still had embryonic tissue on the lining of my uterus (from the September pregnancy/miscarriage) and that it was releasing the hormone that gave me a positive pregnancy test.  So, we made an appointment with the OBGYN the next day and went in for the sonogram. We expected that I would need to have a D & C  - boy, were we wrong.

When the ultrasound tech gave us the news you could have heard a pin drop on the carpet.  And then I cried.

Jason never said a word – stunned silence.

Want to hear the CRAZIER part??? (if that’s possible)….I have the EXACT same due date as I had with my first set of twins!!! Arlo & Josiah were due on July 19 – as are these babies.

So, after almost 2 months of having this knowledge, I think we have accepted the news and started to embrace it.  I’ve been down this twin road before, so I know what to expect – it’ll be a whole lot of work, but an equal amount of fun. Arlo and Josiah are THRILLED beyond words and are hoping for a baby sister. Poor Miles will be the epitome of “the middle child.” (But I think he considers himself a triplet with A&J, so it’ll be fine!)  I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for our family and I am putting my faith in Him. I will be on my knees praying for help a lot this next year, but I know that He has my back.

We are now accepting applications for live-in nanny….anyone crazy enough to apply??