IT'S POSITIVE!!!!

We are all elated to announce that there is ONE healthy baby in there. The parents are so excited! We are already at 6 weeks and had our first ultrasound today. Their baby is the size of a peppercorn, but not only did we see the heart beating we also got to hear it!! It was so unbelievable that something SO small truly (visibly) has life! And not only does it have a beating heart, but the brain is developing and connecting to the spinal cord, the kidneys, liver, eyes, ears, mouth and little buds for arms and legs have begun to form. It's unbelievable!! I am truly astounded every time I see an ultrasound. These precious little ones are such an amazing gift from God and I am so excited that these two people get to become parents for the first time. September 1st is the official due date.

There was a dash of disappointment all around that there was only one baby in there. Don't get me wrong one is amazing, but they did put two in there and knowing that one didn't make it is a little bit hard. There were so many signs point to twins so it really was a shock to me.

Here is a little history on that last few weeks since finding out.
I called the parents on Christmas day. I hadn't gotten a period so we pretty much knew what to expect. I dipped the stick and almost immediately it changed to positive. Both parents were of course ecstatic. Those first few weeks are so nerve wracking. We were onto yet another next step, but of course we still had more waiting to do. I tested everyday just to make sure it was STILL positive. We got the first blood test results back (which was taken at 4 weeks of pregnancy) and the levels were at 265. That's a good amount, but what we really needed to see was it going up. The next blood test was at 5 weeks of pregnancy. These hormone levels were through the roof at a whopping 3816!!! Woo! Those are wonderful numbers! That left us with the nagging question of is it one or two??? Not only were those numbers quite high for a singleton pregnancy, but I was also beginning to show already! I had to keep reminding myself that it had only been a year since I had my youngest daughter and this is also my third pregnancy. My body may respond a lot quicker this time. The questions were just killing me! The unknowns and the what ifs. It was really nerve wracking. It feels so nice to actually KNOW something. Seeing that one amniotic sac on the ultrasound screen really washed away all the stress that I had been feeling. It has been a long few months waiting and more waiting, but now we are finally here!

There is some sense of relief with having one... as exciting as two would have been. I have never carried twins and it honestly felt like it would change the whole pregnancy. There are SOOOO many unknowns with twins. Are they both going to grow properly, what if one is getting more nutrients than the other, will I need bed rest, will I need a c-section, if I deliver one vaginally will the other one come that way too, what if twin B is breach etc. etc... I know what to expect with one. I've done it before and I feel like we can relax and truly enjoy this process and I just really look forward to sharing this with the mom and dad. I really pray that everything remains healthy and normal and it's uneventful from here on in.