Day Five
So we were happy new parents to twin newborns. We had two little squishy babes to love on everyday.
Well, parenting newborn twins proved to be a whole new adventure all on its own. We hadn't really taken any parenting classes. We took some breastfeeding classes before the boys were born, but because of our difficult delivery I wasn't able to breastfeed for the first two days. We soon found out that the boys wouldn't latch easily so we were pumping and feeding in bottles while a wonderful angel nurse friend came over to help with the latch problem over several days and weeks. By the time the boys were a little over a month we were able to forgo all bottles. The twins weren't sleeping on their own and would fuss unless they were on me. Maybe we coddled them too much, I don't know, but they ended up sleeping on me for the first two months of their lives. And like the mean parents we are, we decided we needed a change, so we did sleep training at three months and soon they were sleeping in the cribs, full of milk and swaddled tightly. Around this time we took a long distance trip to Provo, Utah to attend my twin sister's wedding. We decided flying wouldn't be a good option for us, besides we enjoyed the landscapes on the drive. The boys slept a good portion of the trip. It was a great 18 hours.
While in Provo we decided to meet up with Randall's brother and his wife who also had twin boys just ten days after our twins had been born. It was a crazy sight. Four car seats going into Chick-fil-A while everyone around us wondered if they were quads or just a crazy group of babies held hostage by a group of four somewhat good looking adults. So many cute babies in one place is enough to make anyone want another one, am I right?
Kimmy, my twin sister, got married in the Salt Lake City Temple and it was a wonderful event to witness. We got so many friendly comments on our twins. It was a glorious time. Until the ride back home.
The twins decided that crying the entire 18 hours home would be fun. We figured they might be teething, or coming down with a cold, so we took all the comfort measures we could think of. Nonetheless, they decided to continue crying. It made us reconsider any future road trips with newborns. It's like they were taunting us for being their parents. We're suckers.
We had a lot of fun adventures that first year. A lot of challenges too. But we enjoyed every stage and every good and hard challenge that came our way. But we knew we wanted more kids. We still had that one frozen embryo to use. We prayed that spring before the twins were a year old. Again we felt impressed that we needed to start having another baby soon. So when the boys were just weeks away from a year old we contacted our amazing team of fertility specialist. They had us start some medications that required us to stop breastfeeding the boys once they were a year old. We did. The boys had no complaints and happily drank cows milk. They get it from their dad. Tillamook dairy loving family! Except all we get is the sharp cheddar cheese at Costco. Maybe we should be living in Oregon, yes? The yogurt and ice cream is outstanding! I can't even believe I went so long without having it. Yes, that's right, Randall introduced it to me in 2013. He has been consuming this stuff since he was a baby, born in Tillamook, and I'm just thinking about all the goodness I've missed out on in Missouri.
We took a trip to Washington/Oregon (see what I mean? We can't stay away now. I think the dairy is laced with something, clearly an addiction problem) in early August of 2018, just after the twins had turned a year old. We decided to fly this time. Remember the last big trip? We did. Now I wished we had driven out there. The boys were restless despite the distractions we gave them for the flight. But we had a good time visiting friends and family and the boys got to see cows at their great grandpa's farm. That's where the milk comes from! Their twin cousins were there and starting to walk. Apparently that was all the encouragement our twins needed, because when we headed home they were starting to copy the other twins. So now they could walk. No longer useless infants. Joking of course! But have you seen those documentaries on good ol' Netflix? The animals walk within minutes of being born! Well, the newfound skill of walking meant more freedom. Goodbye limits. It was on. And they knew it. They got into everything. EVERYTHING! How did they get so fast? And why do they go in two different directions?
We started the frozen embryo transfer about a week after that trip. Kimmy and her new husband Kenton bought me a plane ticket to Provo to rest for a few days while we waited for the two weeks for the pregnancy test. They drove me to Bear Lake, Utah and we spent several days there. They bought me Indian butter chicken which I threw up later. I thought that was a good sign. With the twins I threw everything up. It made me hopeful that this transfer had worked! But I also wondered why heavenly father was impressing upon us to start having another baby so quickly after the boys. My thoughts convinced me it was because of Randall's age and not because we could fail again. A lot of friends said that they got pregnant easily after the first time. All these things gave me hope. Again, like an idiot (insert hysterical crying face here).
I flew back to Kansas after my four day stay in Utah. Went to my blood test. The nurse called hours later to tell us it was a negative test. I blamed myself. I shouldn't have gone to Worlds of Fun with Randall and his friends. I shouldn't have gone to Utah and gone horseback riding or walked around the mall. I sat there just pointing fingers at myself for this not working out. But I had the twins and that was a blessing. So now we were forced to go for egg retrieval number five. We started the medications in March 2019, and on St. Patrick's Day, just weeks later, we went in for the eggs to be retrieved. Everything was joined and sent to a lab for testing. The news came back that we had one good embryo out of the six or seven we sent for testing. We were so excited again! Randall had given me a blessing and I was told that I would be successful in a pregnancy and I would have more children. I felt so sure that this was the one. Prayed that it would be. Let me refer you back to my favorite passage of scripture, "But all things must come to pass in their time." (Doctrine and Covenants 64:32). I don't make the decisions here, He does.
Well, parenting newborn twins proved to be a whole new adventure all on its own. We hadn't really taken any parenting classes. We took some breastfeeding classes before the boys were born, but because of our difficult delivery I wasn't able to breastfeed for the first two days. We soon found out that the boys wouldn't latch easily so we were pumping and feeding in bottles while a wonderful angel nurse friend came over to help with the latch problem over several days and weeks. By the time the boys were a little over a month we were able to forgo all bottles. The twins weren't sleeping on their own and would fuss unless they were on me. Maybe we coddled them too much, I don't know, but they ended up sleeping on me for the first two months of their lives. And like the mean parents we are, we decided we needed a change, so we did sleep training at three months and soon they were sleeping in the cribs, full of milk and swaddled tightly. Around this time we took a long distance trip to Provo, Utah to attend my twin sister's wedding. We decided flying wouldn't be a good option for us, besides we enjoyed the landscapes on the drive. The boys slept a good portion of the trip. It was a great 18 hours.
While in Provo we decided to meet up with Randall's brother and his wife who also had twin boys just ten days after our twins had been born. It was a crazy sight. Four car seats going into Chick-fil-A while everyone around us wondered if they were quads or just a crazy group of babies held hostage by a group of four somewhat good looking adults. So many cute babies in one place is enough to make anyone want another one, am I right?
Kimmy, my twin sister, got married in the Salt Lake City Temple and it was a wonderful event to witness. We got so many friendly comments on our twins. It was a glorious time. Until the ride back home.
The twins decided that crying the entire 18 hours home would be fun. We figured they might be teething, or coming down with a cold, so we took all the comfort measures we could think of. Nonetheless, they decided to continue crying. It made us reconsider any future road trips with newborns. It's like they were taunting us for being their parents. We're suckers.
We had a lot of fun adventures that first year. A lot of challenges too. But we enjoyed every stage and every good and hard challenge that came our way. But we knew we wanted more kids. We still had that one frozen embryo to use. We prayed that spring before the twins were a year old. Again we felt impressed that we needed to start having another baby soon. So when the boys were just weeks away from a year old we contacted our amazing team of fertility specialist. They had us start some medications that required us to stop breastfeeding the boys once they were a year old. We did. The boys had no complaints and happily drank cows milk. They get it from their dad. Tillamook dairy loving family! Except all we get is the sharp cheddar cheese at Costco. Maybe we should be living in Oregon, yes? The yogurt and ice cream is outstanding! I can't even believe I went so long without having it. Yes, that's right, Randall introduced it to me in 2013. He has been consuming this stuff since he was a baby, born in Tillamook, and I'm just thinking about all the goodness I've missed out on in Missouri.
We took a trip to Washington/Oregon (see what I mean? We can't stay away now. I think the dairy is laced with something, clearly an addiction problem) in early August of 2018, just after the twins had turned a year old. We decided to fly this time. Remember the last big trip? We did. Now I wished we had driven out there. The boys were restless despite the distractions we gave them for the flight. But we had a good time visiting friends and family and the boys got to see cows at their great grandpa's farm. That's where the milk comes from! Their twin cousins were there and starting to walk. Apparently that was all the encouragement our twins needed, because when we headed home they were starting to copy the other twins. So now they could walk. No longer useless infants. Joking of course! But have you seen those documentaries on good ol' Netflix? The animals walk within minutes of being born! Well, the newfound skill of walking meant more freedom. Goodbye limits. It was on. And they knew it. They got into everything. EVERYTHING! How did they get so fast? And why do they go in two different directions?
We started the frozen embryo transfer about a week after that trip. Kimmy and her new husband Kenton bought me a plane ticket to Provo to rest for a few days while we waited for the two weeks for the pregnancy test. They drove me to Bear Lake, Utah and we spent several days there. They bought me Indian butter chicken which I threw up later. I thought that was a good sign. With the twins I threw everything up. It made me hopeful that this transfer had worked! But I also wondered why heavenly father was impressing upon us to start having another baby so quickly after the boys. My thoughts convinced me it was because of Randall's age and not because we could fail again. A lot of friends said that they got pregnant easily after the first time. All these things gave me hope. Again, like an idiot (insert hysterical crying face here).
I flew back to Kansas after my four day stay in Utah. Went to my blood test. The nurse called hours later to tell us it was a negative test. I blamed myself. I shouldn't have gone to Worlds of Fun with Randall and his friends. I shouldn't have gone to Utah and gone horseback riding or walked around the mall. I sat there just pointing fingers at myself for this not working out. But I had the twins and that was a blessing. So now we were forced to go for egg retrieval number five. We started the medications in March 2019, and on St. Patrick's Day, just weeks later, we went in for the eggs to be retrieved. Everything was joined and sent to a lab for testing. The news came back that we had one good embryo out of the six or seven we sent for testing. We were so excited again! Randall had given me a blessing and I was told that I would be successful in a pregnancy and I would have more children. I felt so sure that this was the one. Prayed that it would be. Let me refer you back to my favorite passage of scripture, "But all things must come to pass in their time." (Doctrine and Covenants 64:32). I don't make the decisions here, He does.
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