A Very Exciting Surprise!

I am super duper happy to report that we are pregnant and expecting in November 2008! We have known for about six weeks that I am pregnant, but have been keeping it to ourselves. We wanted to wait until our first ultrasound to start letting people know. Well, our first ultrasound was earlier today, and everything went perfectly, if not a bit unexpectedly!

We left the house early this morning to head to Beverly Hills to see our OB. I have been planning on having a homebirth. The midwife I was planning on hiring suggested I go talk to an OB who would give me back-up support in case I needed to transfer to a hospital, and also he would be someone who would perform ultrasounds and other routine tests during the pregnancy. She suggested this particular doctor (Dr. Kline) in Beverly Hills, so I made an appointment and off we went today.

Paprika came with us to the office. I arranged for Lauren to come meet us at the doc's office. Her parents are visiting from Atlanta, and they graciously offered to take Paprika over to the Farmer's Market so that Mr. Mustard could come in to the appointment with me. Having Paprika at the appointment would have made it pretty unmanageable, since she is so curious and into everything. I wanted to be able to really talk to the doctor and ask him questions without distraction.

The doctor called us into his office and we had a great talk for about half an hour, and he was just really supportive in all ways and said that if I decided to have a homebirth, he would back me up in any way that he could. He was wonderful and I got such a great feeling talking to him.

After our talk, he decided to do an ultrasound to determine due date, since ultrasounds performed in the first trimester are very accurate in determining due dates and we were unsure exactly when to expect this baby. We went into the room and Mr. Mustard fired up the video camera. Then the doctor began the ultrasound and immediately, I saw that my uterus looked full. I am used to seeing what Paprika's ultrasounds looked like, and the picture on the screen did NOT look like her ultrasound. So, I said to him, "What do you see in there?" And he said, "TWINS!!!" We were, of course, shocked! We have no family history of twins, did not use any fertility medications, and are just in utter awe that this is happening. We have a 20 month old! So, we will have 3 kids under the age of 2 1/2! Eeek!

The doctor measured the babies and their hearbeats. They are both growing at the same rate, and their heartbeats are strong, regular, and perfect! After that, the doctor went and got another doctor to get a second opinion and to help determine if they were identical or fraternal twins. The other doc came in (he was also very nice and knowledgeable)- and together they determined it's definitely IDENTICAL TWINS! We don't know their sexes yet, but will either be having two boys or two girls. We'll find out in a month or two.

Of course, the homebirth option is definitely out. I am not going to deliver twins at home, obviously. I was actually wondering if homebirth would be an option because of the preeclampsia I had last time. In an uncomplicated natural birth, homebirth is wonderful. But for twins, I am now high risk and will be getting a lot of prenatal care, which is GREAT! I am very glad we found this doctor and wouldn't have known about him had I not met with the midwife, so I feel it happened for a reason.

The doctor did mention that I need to think about weaning Paprika due to pre-term labor issues with twins. Easier said than done! I will definitely start the process, even though I know it's going to be hard for her. I plan on taking it slowly and hopefully she'll take the lead.

Mr. Mustard is in a panic, stressing out to the max. I think I am still in shock and in denial. I am confident that God never gives us more than we can handle, so I believe we'll be fine.

This pregnancy is going to be much different than I expected. When I woke up this morning, I was praying to see one heartbeat on the ultrasound monitor. A few hours later, we found out that there are two healthy, identical babies growing inside me. What a difference a day makes and what curveballs life can throw at you when you least expect it! Our life is definitely not average, but it sure is exciting!