The Pearsalls

I couldn't sleep the night we found out. There were too many questions, too much to consider! Not to mention, I had to tell my doctor!

Work the next day was eventful. Many of my coworkers already knew the news because I posted it on Facebook the night before. Both Chuck and I were congratulated enthusiastically, and we said, "Thank you!" the best we could amidst our shock. I showed my classes the first couple of minutes of the DVD and let them figure out the news themselves. Of course they were excited, and it was neat to see their reactions when they figured out that there were two babies on the screen - I can only imagine we all looked 10 times more surprised the night before.

After playing phone tag with my doctor all day, I finally spoke to a nurse about 3:00pm. She scheduled me for an ultrasound and appointment the following Monday. Oh, so NOW you want to give me the ultrasound I begged for, I though. I teased the doctor at my last visit that I needed an ultrasound "to check the baby" purely because I wanted to know the sex. She said, "The baby is fine!" and left it at that. Fine, indeed!

That weekend, Mom and I set out to the KKCS to begin to outfit ourselves with two of everything for these babies. Luckily, Saturday is half-price day, so she tackled the girl clothes while I shopped for my new baby boy. In record time, we sorted through and bought enough clothes for the twins to make it through their first few months of life, and only spent about $100! Unfortunately, we still needed a carseat, crib, double-stroller, etc. and the sale was all out of those "big ticket" items. I still felt accomplished for having purchased a sizable wardrobe for our twins.

Of course I also had to purchase books about twins and twin pregnancies. I had so many questions that only a book could help me! I surfed Amazon.com until I found When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads: Proven Guidelines for a Healthy Multiple Pregnancy and Ready or Not Here We Come: The Real Experts' Guide to the First Year with Twins. They arrived Tuesday, and 20 minutes into reading the first book, I was terrified and crying. There were so many possible complications with twins and twin pregnancies! I read that twins are born at 35 weeks and weigh 5.5 pounds on average - this is not what I had in mind! I am terrified our babies won't get to go home with us or will have to spend time in the NICU instead of bonding and learning to nurse in our room.

Then there were the nutrition requirements for a twin mom - 3500 calories a day and about 200mg of protein. I come nowhere close to either of these. My appetite is virtually nonexistent, and I barely eat any meat. This wouldn't be easy. I decided to buy some protein drinks and to eat meat, especially high-quality steak, for the first time in many, many years. My babies are more important than my dietary quirks, so I just tell myself I'm doing it for the twins.

Chuck threatened to take the books away from me because they were making me so upset, but I was determined to learn all I could about my babies and their development. I finished both books within three or four days, yet I am still unsure about so many aspects of twin pregnancies and raising twins. My impatient personality is not going to do well with the "wait and see" aspect of this pregnancy.