SET arrives

"It rained and it rained and it rained. Never in all his long life, and he was--goodness knows how old!-- three was it, or four--never had Piglet seen so much rain." A.A.Milne (as remembered by a sleep-deprived woman)

How do you begin a story like this one? Never, never, never in our long lives- and we're-- Well never have Mark or I been so shocked as when we found out we had a double blessing from God in the way of twin girls. Tomorrow they will be one week old. And what a week.

I'll spare you the details that only a mother would want to read, and recap the best moments only.

I woke up with a ruptured sac about 2 AM Monday morning, having gone to bed about midnight. The midwife arrived about 3:30, and we decided to try to have the babies before Mark had to go to work. About 5:25 I knew it was time to get serious if he were to be with me, so I changed positions and WHAM! At 5:41 Sadie Elizabeth was born. I continued having contractions, but I thought they were to get the placenta out, and that is my least favorite part of the birth. Mark was holding his daughter in a towel in the bathroom, my mom was leaning on the wall, and I was pushing to get the placenta out. Midwife calmly tells me that the placenta would come out faster if I stood up. I did so, gave a short push, and midwife quickly leans over me and says "I have a foot! There's another baby coming."

Evidently the look on Mark's face was priceless, and my mother got to see it. My very first thought was "Trust Him at all times." (thank you, Pastor Hughes) My second was the hope it was a boy, because we had a boy name picked as well. Mark gave Sadie up to grandma, leaned over the pool with the biggest laughy smile I've ever seen on him and asked if I had any more babies in there.

Sophie was born at 5:55 AM, but she didn't get a name until Thursday. Mark got to work on time, and I was vindicated. The reason I was so beluga big was because I was carrying twins!!!

Question and Answer Time__________________________

Q. Did you know you were having twins and keep it secret?
A. Bah ha ha! Do you really think that after having publicly whined about every aspect of my life for the last six months I wouldn't have whined about this as well?

Q. How can you NOT know you are having twins?
A. I didn't get an ultrasound. If you were a midwife, would you routinely look for a second heart beat after finding one?

Q. Was the baby breech?
A. No! Sadie had turned head down. Yes! Sophie was a footling breech.

Q. What are the middle names?
A. They may both end up with Elizabeth as a middle name, or we may opt to use other E names. Eliza, Esther, Emma, Emily, Elnora (Mark's grandmother), and Eliyah are all possibilities.