We were very happy to find out that we are expecting again!! Yea for baby 3! I couldn't believe how different things were this time around in the early weeks. I kept telling Clay, I mean, I know you show sooner with your 2nd and obviously 3rd child...but this is a little out of hand! Most things were how they had been with the first two pregnancies, as long as I keep snacking I usually feel pretty good.
We were so excited to tell everyone that we told our parents pretty early. Tybee drew a picture of our family and me with a baby in my belly and wrote, "We are having a new baby". I had tried to avoid phone conversations with my close friends because it is just too hard not to tell. I was so excited for our first appointment, I couldn't wait to see the baby and share the good news with everyone. Clay had planned on going with me to the appointment, but the girls ended up not having school on that day. I told him it was totally fine for me to go by myself, after all, this was round 3... I would bring home some pictures, maybe pick up a few things at the grocery store then he could head back to work. That was our plan...hahaha!
Funny thing about when you make plans and think you have everything under control. I am sure God was chuckling a little while my little, "I've got this" conversation was taking place. So, I get to the doctor and it's business as usual. I start chit-chatting with the ultrasound tech telling her to let me know when she finds that heartbeat, and about the girls, and how we are new here. She lets me just talk and talk, then when I finally shut up she says, "Well, there are two in here". I sprang up with a pretty urgent, "WHAT???" and start trying to contort my body to see the screen (only she can see). She tells me to lay back and that she will turn the screen and show me. I can't do anything but laugh. And she's just staring at me waiting on some monumental meltdown, I suppose. Then she asks the now famous question, "Do twins run in your family?" I laugh some more as I tell her that I have twin brothers, which is why I never in a million years thought someone would say to me, "Well, there are two in here". She continues to look around and do her measurements, explaining what she's looking at/for. She pauses several times to ask if I'm ok, or if I might need to call someone. I was sure that this was news I needed to wait to see Clay Morton's face for. I just had no idea how this was all going to go down. I was blown out of the water, but at the same time it seemed totally ok. I never felt a freak out. My biggest concern and the first question that popped into my head was how in the world to nurse two babies at one time??
Next I went to get all of my vitals, etc. Apparently, I had extremely low blood pressure because the nurse asked if I understood the news they had just told me as she checked it for a second time. Again, I'm still just kind of laughing. I wished Clay could have been there then.
As I was waiting for the doctor I could hear the US tech explaining the babies stats outside. She was telling her they were most definitely high risk as it looked as though they were one egg that had split and would share a placenta (which puts the babies at risk for twin-to-twin transfusion). I felt that gutsy yucky feeling then, hearing things I didn't think I was supposed to hear while I waited.
The doctor came in and explained that portion to me and assured me that we would be able to know more the bigger they got and that I may be referred to a high-risk specialist later to help monitor the babies more closely. By the time I left all of the nurses in the office knew about the twins and wanted to see the ultrasound pics on my way out. It was fun.
So I hop in the car, laugh some more and head right home (grocery trip will have to wait). I walk straight in to Clay who is sitting on the couch and just hand him the pictures. He looks and gives the expected baby-looking-at "ohhh" sound...then he gets to reading the part that says, "BABY A", "BABY B", "TWO BABIES". Then there was another kind of "oh". Now I'm laughing and crying. The girls couldn't believe it, one for each of them I think was their first thought. I told Clay all about the visit and then we call our parents. Barb just happened to be at the space and rocket center when Clay called her. I'm not sure that space didn't hear her scream when he told her. It was very funny! Dave said that he had predicted our news already. My mom and dad were both home and when I told Mom she said, "Natalie Hicks are you trying to be funny!?" When I convinced her it was true she ran through the house yelling for Dad to pick up the phone. He didn't believe me either. I had to tell him several times that I was not kidding and that it was not a joke. We realized later on that Amelia had predicted this from the beginning. Since we had known we were expecting the girls added the "baby" to our prayers at night. Amelia always said, "and take care of the new baby, and the new baby". We always got a little tickled at her because she said it the same every night. Funny how kids know things...
Later that day several of our friends from Kentucky arrived to visit for the weekend and it was SO fun to tell them, and talk, and look up twin things, and just process it all together. We got Matt to snap our picture putting our two "buns in the oven" and sent it to everyone we could! We have some funny text messages as a result of our news. It was such a fun and unbelievable day and we are more than grateful that God has seen fit to bless us with not one but two new little rays of sunshine. The future has never looked more unpredictable, and I have been so grateful and humbled by those who have remembered to pray for us on this journey.
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