Our Surprise, Part 2...

December 8th (just one day shy of 10 weeks pregnant), the day of my doctor's appointment came and I was quite anxious, between going to a new doctor/office and making sure that there was a heartbeat and everything was going smoothly.  I was immediately impressed with my new doctor's office, it's nice and new and everyone was so friendly.  The early ultrasound was first, the part I was most anxious about.  The ultrasound lady was so nice and as we first got started she asked where my husband was and if I wanted to face time him so he could see.  I responded no since we have done this three times before and you can't see all that much at this appointment.  She said ok and then a few seconds later asked if I was sure I didn't want to face time my husband, I repeated that we were fine.  About 15 seconds later she says to me, "Because you are having TWINS!"  My exact response was, "You're kidding!!"  She assured me she wasn't and quickly showed me on the ultrasound that there was in fact 2 babies.  I burst into tears with my hands over my mouth in complete shock.  Due July 6th.

She went onto check and measure each baby and I got to listen to 2 different heartbeats.  (What?! Two heartbeats!?!)  At this point I was just shaking and was in a state of complete shock.  She finished the ultrasound and then goes on to explain the different types of twins and what she thinks I have.  The rest of the appointment really was a blur with meeting the doctor and her telling me about the types of twins and that I have identical twins that share a placenta and that there is more risk involved that fraternal twins, and all about prenatal screenings and tests, and that I am now considered a high risk pregnancy and would be getting a LOT of ultrasounds and going to a lot of appointments, and that she wanted me to see a high risk OB just to get checked out, and that I would have to gain between 45-50 pounds, and that because of the risk they would probably be delivered a month earlier, if not sooner.  I seriously couldn't process anything she was saying and was just like a deer in headlights.

I then had to go home and tell Steve!  I tried really hard not to be crying when I got home because I didn't want him to think something was really wrong.  As soon as I told him I had something to tell him and that it wasn't bad, he knew.  Shocked is the only word to describe how we felt.  It was such surprising news that I couldn't wrap my mind around.  Not only that, but we also were keeping it a secret for awhile longer.  The biggest secret we have ever kept.  I wanted to shout to every person I talked to, "Oh my gosh, I am having twins!"

At that appointment, the doctor had told me about a prenatal test that tests for down syndrome and a few other chromosomal syndromes and can also tell you the gender with a 99% accuracy as early as ten weeks.  Steve and I decided that this news was crazy enough that if we could know the gender early it would help us be able to plan and prepare.  So a couple days later I went in and had my blood drawn and we anxiously waited for the results.  We (especially Steve) have been right all three times in predicting/knowing the gender of our children.  We felt super confident that these two were going to be boys, so much so that we already had boy names picked out and I was already thinking about getting rid of the baby girl stuff in the basement.  They called with the test results 3 or 4 days earlier than we thought they would.  Thankfully everything for down syndrome and the other syndromes came back negative.  I was so nervous when they asked if I was ready for the gender.  They said we were having... GIRLS!!  Once again, SHOCKED.  Yes, that seems to be our favorite word lately.  We couldn't believe how wrong we were in feeling so strongly that they were boys.  I even called the next morning to make sure I heard the results right and we even checked online to see how accurate the gender results really are (97%-99% that's pretty darn accurate!).  We honestly couldn't believe we would have 4 girls and once again it was a lot to process and we weren't telling anyone yet so another secret to keep!

Next came figuring out how we were going to tell our kids, our families, and announce to everyone.  We knew we would be seeing all of my family in person on Dec. 26th or 27th so we thought it would be awesome to tell them in person so we had to wait to tell the kids until shortly before that so they wouldn't spill the beans.  For Steve parents we mailed them 3 different Christmas gifts to tell them the news: desk calendars made on Shutterfly that showed a stork in July and that there would be Wilker #4, then a framed ultrasound that clearly shows that it's twins, and then a third package that was filled with all pink stuff to announce that it's girls.  (unfortunately, they didn't receive the ultrasound pic until two days later so it got a little messed up.)  For my parents we also did three gifts: scrapbook stickers that were all baby and we're expecting, the framed ultrasound pic, and then a box with pink tiny socks in it.

Of everyone I was the most nervous to tell Preston.  Since Kaley was born he has been talking about having a baby brother next.  I was so nervous that this news would just crush him and that there would be tears.  We knew we couldn't surprise him with this news in a splashy way and would just talk to the kids to tell them.  There were many prayers said that he would be ok and understanding to this news.  Steve did an awesome job (utilizing his marketing skills, lol) to calmly tell the kids.  We reassured them how much we love them, how much Heavenly Father loves them, and that Heavenly Father is in charge of sending babies to families and that we don't get to pick how many or if they are boys or girls.  And then we told them that there are two babies coming and that they are girls.  We were so pleasantly surprised that Preston was happy and excited about it, something we never expected.  Abby was over the moon excited and spent the next half an hour yelling, "We're having twins!" around the house.  They continue to be excited and talk a lot about the twins, kiss my belly, and Abby checks my tummy to make sure it is growing.  Their excitement and having them finally know has been awesome and a lot of fun.

This is the picture we used to everyone on facebook.  I think it turned out really cute and we got quite the reaction from a lot of surprised family and friends.