All the family seems to know now! So do most of our friends. Word is spreading - all without the powers that be in the hands of Mr. Mark Zuckerburg - Mr. Facebook. haha
On Saturday night Marge (Sarah's grandfathers wife) called to say that she pushed him into telling her but he had apparently forgotten the "twins" factor and so that was a shock to her on the phone (and a shock to him as he re-learned the truth).
He did ask a fun question though that reminded me of the, "did you plan twins" question.. He asked if the father was the same. So, either gramps doesn't know me (Sarah) too well, or he watched that episode of One Born Every Minute where a woman gave birth to twins with 2 different fathers. The mother is in a committed [lesbian] relationship (much like ours) and ordered her sperm online (like us) only her bank made an error and sent her an extra vial! Unfortunately, the "extra" vial was a different one than the donor they picked out. Despite this, the mothers decided to use it at home and then use the donor they picked at the doctors office (where their other sperm was delivered). 9 months later, twins were born. One white, one black. (Their donor was black, so the kids would match themselves, makes sense.)
How fun :)
Personally, even though I know the rigorous testing that these donors go through before making their... deposit, I don't think we would be able to use "random" sperm that shows up at the door.
That said, I'm just writing to say that our family knows, our friends know, and since I've no w got a pretty clear (though small) baby belly, the whole world shall know soon enough :)
Enjoy your day friends!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Booooo
When we asked if we could find out the genders last night, the dr laughed at us and said "No way! at 20 weeks!" So, another 4 weeks we wait... yuck!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Some random thoughts...
A few people have asked the grand 'ol question: Did you plan for twins?
For most people, because it is such a shocking question that is unexpected, we've said, "No, but we are very excited!" For a few, Sarah has responded with a simple question: How does one plan to have twins?
Responses have varied from "I don't know" to "More sex?" So I'm (Sarah) here, before school, bored, to end a few myths...
1. A person, or persons, cannot plan for twins. Twins are a shock to nearly all who find out they are carrying. Why "nearly all" and not "all?" Well, some expect twins. Some know that twins run in their family (or families). I've found nothing online to state that it has anything to do with the sperm donor, as twins are created by the egg splitting, or two eggs becoming fertilized.
2. Anyone in their right minds would not wish for twins. Don't get me wrong, twins are double the blessing of a singleton, but it takes a huge toll on the body and is risky. Twins are commonly born premature, thereby bringing health risks to the children. Twins can cause the mother to be to have more health risks, gain more weight, etc. If twins are found to share a placenta, they often don't get all their nutrients equally. Sometimes one twin sucks up all the goodness, and the second twin is much smaller, and not as healthy. Twins are at a risk for a thing called TTTS, which is explained better on this website (http://www.tttsfoundation.org/) - but I'll just say it ain't good.
3. Twins, and families of twins, love to be stared at, touched, etc. Nope. I belong to a twins forum and everyone that I've spoken to feels like a science experiment when they go out with their twins. It takes forever to do anything, because people stop the family; sometimes they don't stop them but they simply turn and stare like its some famous person. Families of twins are just like families without twins. They go to stores, they go out to eat, they enjoy life. Most people in general don't want to be stared at when they are out and about. I remember being a small small child, probably 4 or 5. I was sitting with my family at Friendlys for lunch, or dinner, maybe just ice cream. Anywho, I looked across the little aisle and there was a teenage girl with an oxygen tank and the tubes to her nose. I stared. I was curious and didn't know what was wrong with her - I'd never seen such a thing! I remember getting in trouble for staring, and looking back, I deserved to be told to stop. (I wasn't scolded, or yelled at, but I was told it wasn't nice to do and I shouldn't do it.) That girl wanted to be treated like anyone else in the restaurant, and she just wanted to enjoy the day out with her family. She deserved that; she didn't deserve being stared at. (Of course, we have to remember that when the starer is very young, its often because they don't know, and have to take that into account. When the starer is an adult, or approaches and starts to touch people, its not okay.)
I'm sure there are more myths out there to be busted (myth busters anyone?), but right now, before school, I'm unable to think of more. So please, understand what I am saying. Twins are AWESOME. People with twins feel very blessed with their fortune, and people expecting twins feel the same. The only thing I want you to remember when you leave this post is that asking a question "Did you plan for twins?" is often, if not always, not a good question to ask.
I can also say that we are not upset with anyone who has asked us this question, or similar questions. I just want to make sure you understand that multiples are risky. I am in good health and we are not at all concerned (and neither is the doctor) about my health or the health of our twins. They are so far very healthy, and we are doing everything we can to keep it that way. We are NOT at a risk for TTTS, since these lovely ones are fraternal, therefore having their own placentas. We feel extremely blessed and lucky to have the fortune of twins (and to have a supportive family/group of friends who is ready to embrace them!).
Enjoy your day!
For most people, because it is such a shocking question that is unexpected, we've said, "No, but we are very excited!" For a few, Sarah has responded with a simple question: How does one plan to have twins?
Responses have varied from "I don't know" to "More sex?" So I'm (Sarah) here, before school, bored, to end a few myths...
1. A person, or persons, cannot plan for twins. Twins are a shock to nearly all who find out they are carrying. Why "nearly all" and not "all?" Well, some expect twins. Some know that twins run in their family (or families). I've found nothing online to state that it has anything to do with the sperm donor, as twins are created by the egg splitting, or two eggs becoming fertilized.
2. Anyone in their right minds would not wish for twins. Don't get me wrong, twins are double the blessing of a singleton, but it takes a huge toll on the body and is risky. Twins are commonly born premature, thereby bringing health risks to the children. Twins can cause the mother to be to have more health risks, gain more weight, etc. If twins are found to share a placenta, they often don't get all their nutrients equally. Sometimes one twin sucks up all the goodness, and the second twin is much smaller, and not as healthy. Twins are at a risk for a thing called TTTS, which is explained better on this website (http://www.tttsfoundation.org/) - but I'll just say it ain't good.
3. Twins, and families of twins, love to be stared at, touched, etc. Nope. I belong to a twins forum and everyone that I've spoken to feels like a science experiment when they go out with their twins. It takes forever to do anything, because people stop the family; sometimes they don't stop them but they simply turn and stare like its some famous person. Families of twins are just like families without twins. They go to stores, they go out to eat, they enjoy life. Most people in general don't want to be stared at when they are out and about. I remember being a small small child, probably 4 or 5. I was sitting with my family at Friendlys for lunch, or dinner, maybe just ice cream. Anywho, I looked across the little aisle and there was a teenage girl with an oxygen tank and the tubes to her nose. I stared. I was curious and didn't know what was wrong with her - I'd never seen such a thing! I remember getting in trouble for staring, and looking back, I deserved to be told to stop. (I wasn't scolded, or yelled at, but I was told it wasn't nice to do and I shouldn't do it.) That girl wanted to be treated like anyone else in the restaurant, and she just wanted to enjoy the day out with her family. She deserved that; she didn't deserve being stared at. (Of course, we have to remember that when the starer is very young, its often because they don't know, and have to take that into account. When the starer is an adult, or approaches and starts to touch people, its not okay.)
I'm sure there are more myths out there to be busted (myth busters anyone?), but right now, before school, I'm unable to think of more. So please, understand what I am saying. Twins are AWESOME. People with twins feel very blessed with their fortune, and people expecting twins feel the same. The only thing I want you to remember when you leave this post is that asking a question "Did you plan for twins?" is often, if not always, not a good question to ask.
I can also say that we are not upset with anyone who has asked us this question, or similar questions. I just want to make sure you understand that multiples are risky. I am in good health and we are not at all concerned (and neither is the doctor) about my health or the health of our twins. They are so far very healthy, and we are doing everything we can to keep it that way. We are NOT at a risk for TTTS, since these lovely ones are fraternal, therefore having their own placentas. We feel extremely blessed and lucky to have the fortune of twins (and to have a supportive family/group of friends who is ready to embrace them!).
Enjoy your day!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Does waiting ever stop??
First we had to wait for the right day... then we had to wait to take a home test.. then we had to wait to see the dr for bloodwork... it just doesn't end! Now, we are waiting to find out ge nders. We are torn between what genders we "want." Thats good, in a way, because we won't be disappointed, but its really hard to answer the question, "What genders do you want?" without getting a funny look when we say that we honestly don't care, we just want healthy children.
Personally, I (Sarah) say to myself, "ooo it would be great to have one of each. but oo. two girls... how nice would that be? oo! two boys! yes. thats it. awwe but one of each! thats the one!" and the circle continues... Stefanie (I think) feels similarly. All we want is health. All we care about is health.
We've pretty much told everyone, though it hasn't been "publically announced" (we aren't royalty, ya know).. The only person that is family and may not know to this day is Marge - Sarah's grandfathers wife. We called her to tell her and she quickly rushed us off the phone to speak to Sarah's grandfather. (He doesn't use the phone much, as it is hard for him, but he was up and awake and ready to chat so she made sure to take advantage for us!) After speaking to him and telling him, we called Marge the next morning. No response. We called again the next day. No response. We decided she was busy - so we waited two more days. No answer, but this time we didn't leave a voicemail. The other two voicemails were pretty ood and let it be known that we had to tell her something. So, alas, she may or may not be in the dark. Grandpa Bernie said that he would not tell Marge, so we could tell her ourselves. It would be much easier to do if she would answer the phone or call back....
Meanwhile, the wait continues.
The point of this post? Well, my DVD has ended, Stefanie is on her way home to pick me up so we can go to Target, and basically I just needed something to fill my time.
Good day all!
Personally, I (Sarah) say to myself, "ooo it would be great to have one of each. but oo. two girls... how nice would that be? oo! two boys! yes. thats it. awwe but one of each! thats the one!" and the circle continues... Stefanie (I think) feels similarly. All we want is health. All we care about is health.
We've pretty much told everyone, though it hasn't been "publically announced" (we aren't royalty, ya know).. The only person that is family and may not know to this day is Marge - Sarah's grandfathers wife. We called her to tell her and she quickly rushed us off the phone to speak to Sarah's grandfather. (He doesn't use the phone much, as it is hard for him, but he was up and awake and ready to chat so she made sure to take advantage for us!) After speaking to him and telling him, we called Marge the next morning. No response. We called again the next day. No response. We decided she was busy - so we waited two more days. No answer, but this time we didn't leave a voicemail. The other two voicemails were pretty ood and let it be known that we had to tell her something. So, alas, she may or may not be in the dark. Grandpa Bernie said that he would not tell Marge, so we could tell her ourselves. It would be much easier to do if she would answer the phone or call back....
Meanwhile, the wait continues.
The point of this post? Well, my DVD has ended, Stefanie is on her way home to pick me up so we can go to Target, and basically I just needed something to fill my time.
Good day all!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
More family fun...
Tonight we FINALLY got to see (Sarah's) Uncle Paul and Aunt Jessica. We went out to dinner with them and their daughter Danielle. Michael, the stinker, is away at college and is about to start finals so he wasn't here. :(
We decided to try a new way to tell people (which we've wanted to do, but hadn't been successful to date). So heres what we did:
As we were waiting outside the restaurant (yummy Smokey Bones) for a table, we said, "We moved on Friday! We've got pictures..." As we went through each picture, we described the setup - this is the hallway, the living room, our bedroom, the second bedroom, etc. After we got back to the first picture, Sarah said, "Wait.. we didn't take out the other two?" hehehe Sarah took out the sonograms (the ones scanned below) and said, "And these are our twins!" Danielle had already known about the twins (since Wednesday and boy was she good at keeping the secret!!) so she wasn't so shocked (possibly even saw the sonograms already). Both Uncle Paul and Aunt Jess looked at the image and Aunt Jess said, "Who is this?" They were a bit confused. Stefanie said, "Our twins!" and rubbed Sarah's belly.
It was a very fun, and successful, way to tell them.
Shortly after, our buzzer went off and we went in the restaurant to eat some yumminess. Mmm good food!
(written by Sarah)
We decided to try a new way to tell people (which we've wanted to do, but hadn't been successful to date). So heres what we did:
As we were waiting outside the restaurant (yummy Smokey Bones) for a table, we said, "We moved on Friday! We've got pictures..." As we went through each picture, we described the setup - this is the hallway, the living room, our bedroom, the second bedroom, etc. After we got back to the first picture, Sarah said, "Wait.. we didn't take out the other two?" hehehe Sarah took out the sonograms (the ones scanned below) and said, "And these are our twins!" Danielle had already known about the twins (since Wednesday and boy was she good at keeping the secret!!) so she wasn't so shocked (possibly even saw the sonograms already). Both Uncle Paul and Aunt Jess looked at the image and Aunt Jess said, "Who is this?" They were a bit confused. Stefanie said, "Our twins!" and rubbed Sarah's belly.
It was a very fun, and successful, way to tell them.
Shortly after, our buzzer went off and we went in the restaurant to eat some yumminess. Mmm good food!
(written by Sarah)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Told a few more...
Such an opening week for us!
Today we called Sarah's mothers sister and her two daughters (Kathy, Julia, Lauren, respectively), as well as Grandpa Bernie (mothers father) and his wife Marge. Aunt Kathy was the first to find out, in part because she was the first we called. When we first called her cell phone (it was lunch time) the phone rang and rang and rang and rang... and rang. Finally it sounded like someone picked up, we heard a little noise in the background and then they hung up. We thought it was the voicemail at first, but since the phone hung up, we figured we were wrong. So we called back! After 2 or so rings, she answered. She thought that since we were calling a second time, and calling her cell which we NEVER do, something must be wrong. Then Sarah said, "I'm pregnant!" "Oh my god!!!!" She was very excited but couldn't talk since she was at work and so we called her back in the evening to tell her more information (like that there is two!).
After that we called Lauren, Julia and Marge and left voicemails to please call us back, nothing bad but want to chat. Julia called back very quickly and thought we were lying. "No. Shut up! No way!" etc. By the end of a long conversation, she believed us. Meanwhile, Aunt Kathy told Lauren since we didn't get to speak to her, and when they called back in the evening for "details" we got to chat a bit more and share some more excitement. Then Marge called back. Since Grandpa (who usually can't chat much) was awake, alert and ready for a phone conversation, she quickly put him on the phone. Sarah was in a room alone (Stef was looking at pictures and Sarah didn't want to scream over everyone in the room) and told him. He at first said, "Golly gee! I guess thats good news..." I assured him it was and he said, "Alright! Great!" By the end of the conversation, he seemed pretty happy about it. He wanted us to tell Marge, so he said he wouldn't tell her and we should call back (she had left the room where he was). So we will call her tomorrow and share it with her.
Today we called Sarah's mothers sister and her two daughters (Kathy, Julia, Lauren, respectively), as well as Grandpa Bernie (mothers father) and his wife Marge. Aunt Kathy was the first to find out, in part because she was the first we called. When we first called her cell phone (it was lunch time) the phone rang and rang and rang and rang... and rang. Finally it sounded like someone picked up, we heard a little noise in the background and then they hung up. We thought it was the voicemail at first, but since the phone hung up, we figured we were wrong. So we called back! After 2 or so rings, she answered. She thought that since we were calling a second time, and calling her cell which we NEVER do, something must be wrong. Then Sarah said, "I'm pregnant!" "Oh my god!!!!" She was very excited but couldn't talk since she was at work and so we called her back in the evening to tell her more information (like that there is two!).
After that we called Lauren, Julia and Marge and left voicemails to please call us back, nothing bad but want to chat. Julia called back very quickly and thought we were lying. "No. Shut up! No way!" etc. By the end of a long conversation, she believed us. Meanwhile, Aunt Kathy told Lauren since we didn't get to speak to her, and when they called back in the evening for "details" we got to chat a bit more and share some more excitement. Then Marge called back. Since Grandpa (who usually can't chat much) was awake, alert and ready for a phone conversation, she quickly put him on the phone. Sarah was in a room alone (Stef was looking at pictures and Sarah didn't want to scream over everyone in the room) and told him. He at first said, "Golly gee! I guess thats good news..." I assured him it was and he said, "Alright! Great!" By the end of the conversation, he seemed pretty happy about it. He wanted us to tell Marge, so he said he wouldn't tell her and we should call back (she had left the room where he was). So we will call her tomorrow and share it with her.
We've told many...
This was a biiiig week for us! We told Stef's extended family on Monday and Tuesday, along with some of the familys closer friends and Sarah's family is in the process of finding out..
Stef's Family:
We told them as we said hello as they came to the Seder's. (Happy Pesach!)
On Monday night, the family was ECSTATIC! Most of the people we told said, "OH MY GOD!!!" and a few even said, "OH SHIT!!" (of course they meant it in a good way!) Not too many people jumped (certainly they didn't in the way that Hope did - she still wins as the high jumper), but a few stood in place and did a "jump move" (where it looks like you will jump but your feet never leave the ground). Ivana entered the kitchen, and said something told her to come right to us. No joke, we saw from the other side of the kitchen that she passed everyone (it was crowded!) and came straight to us. We hugged and said, "Since you are the only one of your family to come over, you get to hear first!" Then we realized Hannah was right behind and said, "ooo you BOTH get to hear first." So we told them, their smiles beamed and Ivana did an interesting move (one I would expect at a sports game, not a Seder) where she threw her arms into the air and said "YEA!!!!" Then Jamie (the youngest of the three sisters) came over and we said, "Go get your parents and come back." They all came over and Ninoska (mom) looked teary-eyed, and offered her babysitting services. We actually had a lot of offers for babysitting. :) Good love family!
The second to last person (I think) to find out was Lindsay. We told her, she got very very excited, screamed a little, and then her mom Meryl came over and as we told her and she started to cry, we noticed that it must have just hit Lindsay because she too began crying. We had a big 'ol family hug and then chatted about babies for a while before the Seder officially began.
In many ways, Tuesday's Seder was less enthusiastic, but in other ways it was not. It was a whole new group of people (mostly Claude's side of the family and some family friends) and there were no jumpers and no tears that I can recall at this moment. Everyone was very excited for us and more offers for babysitting came in! (I don't think people realize what they are doing when they offer! hehe)
Sarah's Family:
Wednesday we flew to Florida to tell Sarah's fathers side of the family. We arrived and got into the car with Gramma. Since we were driving, we opted not to tell her and tried to keep her talking about herself. Then we went to eat at her favorite place, Duffy's, which is a yummy sports bar. We asked "So what else is going on?" and she said, "Not much, everything is good.. No-one is pregnant, that's good." And Sarah said, "Are you sure?" "Pretty sure.." "Well, I am pregnant." "Oh. So, what should we get for lunch?" It was the most humorous way to tell someone we were pregnant. We looked at the menu for a minute and we looked at each other, Stef said "Maybe we should try again?" Sarah turned and said, "Gramma? I'm not sure if you heard me... I'm pregnant." "Wait, you were serious?!" SHE THOUGHT WE WERE JOKING AROUND! After letting her know that we were, in fact, not joking, she was ecstatic. When we got to Aunt Marcia's, Gramma asked about how many grand- and great-grand-children she had, and Marcia didn't take even a second to realize what was going on. She immediately knew and could be seen shifting her eyes from Stef to Sarah's bellies and back, not sure of who it was. Uncle Bob took a little longer to realize; but once Aunt Marcia was rubbing Sarah's belly, he understood immediately. Of course, Mitchell and Andrew (their sons; the earlier is now officially an Eagle Scout as of last night) were here, and so was Danielle. We still need to tell Uncle Paul, Aunt Jess, Michael (who stinks for being away at college until a few days after we leave), and Sandy (another awesome cousin).
With all this, I leave you to your day. Enjoy it! Another post to come soon. :)
--this post was written by Sarah with no intended bias towards or against anyone. Stefanie was asleep during the writing of this post.
Stef's Family:
We told them as we said hello as they came to the Seder's. (Happy Pesach!)
On Monday night, the family was ECSTATIC! Most of the people we told said, "OH MY GOD!!!" and a few even said, "OH SHIT!!" (of course they meant it in a good way!) Not too many people jumped (certainly they didn't in the way that Hope did - she still wins as the high jumper), but a few stood in place and did a "jump move" (where it looks like you will jump but your feet never leave the ground). Ivana entered the kitchen, and said something told her to come right to us. No joke, we saw from the other side of the kitchen that she passed everyone (it was crowded!) and came straight to us. We hugged and said, "Since you are the only one of your family to come over, you get to hear first!" Then we realized Hannah was right behind and said, "ooo you BOTH get to hear first." So we told them, their smiles beamed and Ivana did an interesting move (one I would expect at a sports game, not a Seder) where she threw her arms into the air and said "YEA!!!!" Then Jamie (the youngest of the three sisters) came over and we said, "Go get your parents and come back." They all came over and Ninoska (mom) looked teary-eyed, and offered her babysitting services. We actually had a lot of offers for babysitting. :) Good love family!
The second to last person (I think) to find out was Lindsay. We told her, she got very very excited, screamed a little, and then her mom Meryl came over and as we told her and she started to cry, we noticed that it must have just hit Lindsay because she too began crying. We had a big 'ol family hug and then chatted about babies for a while before the Seder officially began.
In many ways, Tuesday's Seder was less enthusiastic, but in other ways it was not. It was a whole new group of people (mostly Claude's side of the family and some family friends) and there were no jumpers and no tears that I can recall at this moment. Everyone was very excited for us and more offers for babysitting came in! (I don't think people realize what they are doing when they offer! hehe)
Sarah's Family:
Wednesday we flew to Florida to tell Sarah's fathers side of the family. We arrived and got into the car with Gramma. Since we were driving, we opted not to tell her and tried to keep her talking about herself. Then we went to eat at her favorite place, Duffy's, which is a yummy sports bar. We asked "So what else is going on?" and she said, "Not much, everything is good.. No-one is pregnant, that's good." And Sarah said, "Are you sure?" "Pretty sure.." "Well, I am pregnant." "Oh. So, what should we get for lunch?" It was the most humorous way to tell someone we were pregnant. We looked at the menu for a minute and we looked at each other, Stef said "Maybe we should try again?" Sarah turned and said, "Gramma? I'm not sure if you heard me... I'm pregnant." "Wait, you were serious?!" SHE THOUGHT WE WERE JOKING AROUND! After letting her know that we were, in fact, not joking, she was ecstatic. When we got to Aunt Marcia's, Gramma asked about how many grand- and great-grand-children she had, and Marcia didn't take even a second to realize what was going on. She immediately knew and could be seen shifting her eyes from Stef to Sarah's bellies and back, not sure of who it was. Uncle Bob took a little longer to realize; but once Aunt Marcia was rubbing Sarah's belly, he understood immediately. Of course, Mitchell and Andrew (their sons; the earlier is now officially an Eagle Scout as of last night) were here, and so was Danielle. We still need to tell Uncle Paul, Aunt Jess, Michael (who stinks for being away at college until a few days after we leave), and Sandy (another awesome cousin).
With all this, I leave you to your day. Enjoy it! Another post to come soon. :)
--this post was written by Sarah with no intended bias towards or against anyone. Stefanie was asleep during the writing of this post.