Wow, I'm getting HUGE!

So I have wanted to write about my pregnancy and birth story for some time now.  I want to blog about it because I don't want to forget it.  It hasn't even been six months yet since I gave birth and I feel like I don't remember parts of it already.  I want my girls to know ALL about it when they get older. 

Six months before Brad and I decided to start trying for a baby, I stopped taking my birth control pills.  I went to my OBGYN for a yearly check-up and to find out more information about pregnancy.  I started taking prenatal pills soon after that.  When we finally decided to start "trying" it was a very special moment.  It is something that I will never forget.  The first month was disappointing.  I was so eager to get pregnant that I took like 3 pregnancy tests; all 3 came back negative.  A month after that on a Friday, I felt a very weird feeling in my stomach.  It was a feeling that I had never felt before, sort of like a stomach ache.  I didn't want to get my hopes up so I didn't think much of it.  As the day went on, I started to feel worse.  Since I was still at work, my friend, Toni (another 1st grade teacher) let me bring my class to her room for a read aloud.  I remember very clearly that one of my students, Xavier, asked me if I was pregnant.  It really caught me off guard.  That day on my way home from work, I called Brad to let him know I wasn't feeling so well.  I told myself the month before that I didn't want to waste any more pregnancy tests.  Those things are expensive lol.  So I promised myself that I would wait until 5 days after my missed period.  So that night I did not take a pregnancy test.  The next day Brad had to work, so I met up with my family at a park in Largo.  Ironically, none of the spouses had come with them either.  It was my parents, two sisters, brother, my nephews and niece.  The feeling in my stomach was still present.  After being at the park for a few hours, we decided to go to my sister's house.  I rode with my sister, Claudia, back to her place.  I told her how I felt, but she didn't think it was due to pregnancy.  When we got to her place, she and Ricardo went to get food with the kids.  Then, I told Nadia how I felt.  She immediately said we needed to buy a pregnancy test.  I didn't want to.  I told her I would just take one once I got home since I had some there.  She had the great idea of going to the dollar store and getting a cheap one.  So, I gave in.  We went to the dollar store and bought a pregnancy test for a DOLLAR! She promised not to mention a thing if it came out negative.  We got back to the house and went straight into the bathroom.  Usually, pregnancy tests take about a minute to show the results, but this test immediately showed TWO lines!!!!!!  We both were mesmerized by the results.  She screamed so loud and sat on me while I was still sitting on the toilet lol.  We started to cry!!!  My parents came running; knocking on the door asking if everything was okay.  We told them the amazing news.  Soon after that, my sister and brother came back home to find out the news as well.  Claudia started to cry right away.  It was such a happy moment.  We went to the store to buy another, more expensive test to double check.  Yup, once again it showed that I was pregnant =)  I didn't want to tell Brad this life changing news over the phone, so instead, I decided to surprise him after he got home from work with a beautiful, hand-made card and a red and pink, heart-shaped box with the pregnancy test inside.  I deliberately slept on the couch downstairs because I wanted to be able to hear him when he got home at 6am.  All I remember him saying was....are you serious? are you sure? and then we hugged for a very long time.  It was amazing! That day was amazing! We were both so happy that we didn't want to go to sleep.  We had been waiting for this moment for a long time.  We waited for the right time to get pregnant.  We both wanted to have stable careers, I wanted to have my degree, travel, have a beautiful house, and financially afford a child. 

After 7 long years, it happened.   

We are expecting TWINS!

Overall I had a very healthy, normal pregnancy.  I didn't get any sickness, although I did have horrible back pains.  We were very shocked when we found out we were expecting TWINS!!!!  My dad is a twin, but I never thought that it would happen to me us.  Needless to say, Brad and I were very excited and overwhelmed when we found out.  I started showing very quickly.  I loved almost every part of pregnancy except for one.  When I was 18 weeks pregnant, they realized that my cervix was a bit thin.  I was put on moderate bed rest.  I was able to work, but had to take it easy once I got home.  This also meant no more sex lol.  I really tried my best to sit down as much as possible at work and to not walk around a lot.  On my 26 week ultrasound, the doctor realized that my cervix was extremely short and wanted me to go to the hospital right away.  She said that I could no longer work and that I had to be on strict bed rest, meaning I could only get up to go to the bathroom.  She said that carrying two babies was putting too much pressure on my cervix, specially being a teacher and having to stand most of the day.  When she said I could no longer work, tears started running down my face.  I got angry.  I wasn't angry at her, but at the situation I was facing.  A million thoughts started running through my head.  Who would take care of my students? I have so many standards left to teach! What am I going to do about parent-teacher conference night? I didn't get to explain to the substitute my rules and procedures? I need to finish report cards! Ahhhhh!!!!  Then it hit me.  Being on bed rest would take up most of my maternity leave.  Coincidentally, I had spoken to HR a few days before about my maternity leave.  I told the HR lady that I was considered a high risk pregnancy because I was carrying twins and that there was a possibility that I could be placed on bed rest.  That didn't matter.  If I was put on bed rest, it would take away from my 15 week maternity leave (I got 3 extra weeks due to Thanksgiving and Christmas break).  At that point I didn't care anymore.  I started thinking about what was really important.........the health of my babies. 
At first, Brad and I were hesitant about going to the hospital.  I felt fine.  Why waste time going to the hospital? When I got to the hospital, I was admitted right away.  After getting hooked up to a thousand things, it showed that I was having contractions.  Luckily, I could not feel them.  They gave me medicine to stop them and said that I would have to stay in the hospital overnight.  The contractions eventually stopped, but as a precaution, I got the steroid shots to mature the babies' lungs.  I ended up staying at the hospital for two nights.  My doctors were trying to decide whether to let me continue my bed rest at home or at the hospital.  I was so grateful when they let me go home.  I admire patients that have to stay at a hospital for a long period of time.  I was only there for two days, but it felt like an eternity. 
After that, I had no other issues with my pregnancy.  I had to take Nifedipine pills four times a day to stop contractions for the remainder of my pregnancy.  Towards the end, it didn't really help because I had contractions the last month of pregnancy.  Every time we went for a check-up or ultrasound everything was normal.  I was able to extend my maternity leave a month longer and things worked out very well.  I was very lucky to have carried my twins full-term at 36 weeks and 5 days.  Although I had mentally "prepared" myself  for the possibility of the twins having to stay in the NiCU, they were born healthy and were able to stay with me the entire time, but best of all, they were able to come home with us! ♥

8 weeks

15 weeks

19 weeks

25 weeks

28 weeks

32 weeks

35 weeks

Last belly picture at 36 weeks and 5 days!  Day of induction! Total weight gained: 44 lbs