Blessings come in many forms, some more intimidating than others.
My husband and I knew we wanted to grow our family, and after a May miscarriage, we were ready to try again. We were quickly blessed with another pregnancy.
Still, I wasn’t in any hurry to visit an obstetrician after losing the last baby at three months along (plus, there’s something in my stubborn, independent German Catholic farmer genetic code that balks at excessive doctoring), so I didn’t go in until I was almost 19 weeks pregnant.
Well, imagine my surprise when two heads popped up on the ultrasound – both belonging to boys, too. Our son is just turning 3, so we’ll have three boys. Whew.
Anyone who knows me knows my longstanding fear of multiples. I’m not one of those excellent mothers (my sister is a beautiful example) who can survive on almost no sleep, marshal a crowd of unruly toddlers, manage the household, keep a perfectly clean, well-turned-out baby and still look elegant doing it.
I’m more of the just-get-by mother – almost nonfunctional without enough sleep, for starters. I get a little stir crazy from nursing a newborn in the same room for a month straight. The house inevitably suffers, and in lieu of healthy meals, we work our way through Sam’s Club-sized bags of processed carbs and proteins.
That was with just one baby. Double that (and add an excessively energetic, potty-training toddler transitioning from lonely only to big brother), and you get an idea of how my three-month maternity leave is going to go.
We expect the twins to arrive sometime in March. While I’m up to my elbows in soiled diapers and swaddled babies, Jenny and Marcy will hold down the fort, with editing help from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s communications department.
I wish you warmth and peace during these cold months of winter. Keep the story ideas and submissions coming; we look forward to serving you in 2018.
