Reflections...20 Weeks Ago

It was 20 weeks ago today that Shawn and I entered the room to have our first ultrasound ever during a pregnancy to find out if we were truly having one or two babies. I remember being so sure they were going to tell me it was just one baby, a big baby. Just a few short seconds after the ultrasound was placed on my belly, the technician asked if we wanted to know if we were having one or two babies, we answered, "yes" and she stated, "you definitely are having two babies". I immediately broke into a sob of a pure sense of overwhelment. As I sobbed, Shawn reassured me he would make sure I had help for the first month every moment he was gone and it was going to be OK. As I could not pull myself together, he asked the technician if we could have a few minutes alone.
I immediately knew I still wanted to have a home birth but knew our preparation and plan would need to be adapted.
Over the next few weeks we prepared for twins. I, reading many books and having many discussions with Joy about our birth plan.
Everyone would ask us what we needed meaning clothes, cribs... My reply was always, "I am still trying to wrap my brain around birthing two, we will have a better idea what we need after they arrive".
As we tried to remain patient through a few false labor alarms and we approached 40 weeks, I felt great. We maintained our normal daily activities for the most part.
Finally, the day arrived, one day before their "expected date".
The emotional roller coaster that day brought was completely unexpected as the first baby boy was born after a very short labor just minutes after Shawn and Joy walked in the door, with the older kids missing it as they were downstairs. And then transferring to the hospital almost 12 hours later for the birth of the second baby boy via C-section.
Two healthy beautiful baby boys.
The events of that day strengthened our marriage, strengthened me as a natural childbirth educator and tested our ability to adapt and forgive among other things.
The following few weeks brought more unexpected challenges as my body healed, one baby had a mysterious ailment, we re-taught a baby to nurse, we had to figure out how to get 5 car seats in a mini van and still be able to access the buckles, I fought a rash and Shawn patiently dealt with a plethra of water problems in the house....
Blessed with help from family and friends, everyone's needs were met.
Wow, I am glad those challenges are in the past.

God has given me the grace to approach each day positively and most moments with patience in dealing with 5 children age 6 and under.
Truthfully, I am really enjoying this! Sure, some moments feel totally crazy but most are awesome moments like when the babies smile at each other, two sets of eyes gaze at me as they nurse, big sister labels the bathroom faucet "H" and "C" for little brother when he turns the cold off first, daughter says "I love ALL of you" with all the exuberance you can imagine, big brother comforts baby brother before mom gets to him.
This was all in his plan. Two years ago we bought a new dining room table and the salesman threw in two extra chairs for no extra cost.
Who would have guessed?