Now please forgive me if I don’t remember exactly everything that happened this year, but for the most part, it was pretty exciting. We had some valleys but WAY MORE mountaintop experiences than I can remember. All I know is that God was especially good to us this year, and even when I thought that we may not have made it through certain things, something would happen, and we’d walk out smiling.
January 2010 – Just came back from a wonderful family trip to Branson, Missouri. It was relaxing and full of shows, museums and food! We had high expectations from the new year and we were putting our faith into action. I was a bit bummed still that we weren’t going to be welcoming a new addition in March, but further in this year, I would realize just how blessed I was.
February 2010 – Did my first ‘major’ Scholastic Book Fair at my sons’ school. Raised $5,000 for the school and felt pretty happy with my first book fair. I also lost someone very dear to me the day after the anniversary of my sisters death. I was a mess. And these dates also happened to come along with the impending due date of that baby that never fully developed. Add all of these and you have a slightly loopy Mama Nicholes who has to stay fully active otherwise she will break down.
March 2010 – March 3rd, due date, March 6th 30th birthday – plus a funeral, and I’m all sorts of emotional. While I was supposed to be celebrating a big birthday of my husband, I was instead laying one of my church friends to rest. It was a very emotional month. This month also happened to be the one year anniversary of my grandfather and my husbands grandmothers passing. Talk about a doozy of a month!
April 2010 – I was looking forward to this month for a while. An online forum that I was a part of was having a National Get Together in Raleigh, NC and Papa Nicholes had agreed to go. It was the first time in a long time that we were going to be ALL ALONE for longer than a day. We drove to Raleigh, and we had a great time fellowshipping with other married couples and singles who were all in support of the sanctity of marriage. Oh, this also happens to be the trip that the twizzlers were created. I count it all joy, and part of the wonderful sense of humor that I am SURE that God has. Not only was I moping around earlier this year about what WAS SUPPOSED to be, but little did I know that He gave me a little bit extra for my trouble, sadness, and frustration. I get home and IMMEDIATELY start sleeping like I’ve been working double shifts my entire life. Something was fishy….
May 2010 – The first week of May, I found out exactly what was going on. My pregnancy twin sent a text of a positive pregnancy test to my phone and it clicked once I saw that picture. After calling her and screaming into the phone (because you all, this woman SWORE she would have no more children – we plan and God smiles, right?) a lightbulb went off in my head and I immediately headed to Target to purchase a pregnancy test of my own. I get home, POAS and immediately the lines appear. I show Papa Nicholes and he looks back at me, says: “Ok, you wanna watch 2012?” We give a nervous giggle, and settle down for a night full of movies. I want to play this pregnancy safe, and we decide that we aren’t going to tell anyone just in case we have to go through the same thing that we did last year. I was overly paranoid, and yet still hopeful – I felt awesome with the news and kept smiling randomly.
June 2010 – We officially had a 10 year old, and school was ending. I was showing in the belly area and totally paranoid about it. Some people tried to ask me about it (which I think is TOTALLY RUDE!!!) and I laughed it off. I still didn’t want to say anything to anyone. After my initial midwifes appointment, we did let our parents and siblings know – and swore them to secrecy too. Some people who found out later, didn’t understand the secrecy, but if they haven’t had a miscarriage and had to go through the painful task of explaining to people that they were no longer pregnant, then I feel that they’ll never understand. This is the month that I also passed out in the middle of church on Fathers Day because the temperature INSIDE the church was more than 90 degrees. One ER visit later, and I’m being told that I’m dehydrated (one of many times that I’ll be told this during my pregnancy) and that I need to eat more and was there a possibility that multiples ran in my family? Foreshadowing at it’s best. My midwife ordered an early ultrasound to make sure that we were progressing correctly and nothing was impeding my pregnancy. Which led to…..
July 2010 – We find out we’re having TWINS! I literally stayed in disbelief this entire month. I mean literally. I don’t know what happened, I don’t know if time passed because I was expecting twins.
August 2010 – School starts back and I go back looking like I’m eight months pregnant instead of four. Seriously. I can’t hide anymore, but I still don’t let anyone know that I’m having twins. Yes, the secrecy continues. I don’t feel like hearing random advice and horror stories from people who knew people who WERE pregnant with twins who had one twin eat the other yadda, yadda, yadda. *blank stare* This is also the month that I started Houseful of Nicholes! So many blessings, this month!
September 2010 – My 30th birthday comes and goes. I have a wonderful massage, manicure and pedicure and I’m elated. It’s nice to be pampered and I learn to sit and let others do for me. The ladybug also turns two and we celebrate in a low key manner.
October 2010 – We go to New Orleans for our family vaction and really enjoy ourselves. We also hit Birmingham, and Memphis. I get to see my pregnancy twin and my family. I have a great time, but I realize that I’m a bit heavy and that I really need to slow it down. My frame is being challenged by the weight of the babies and this is also the month that random contractions start and will continue until the twizzlers are born. I also have a inpatient hospital stay due to preterm labor and my OB says that she just wants me to make it to Thanksgiving. I’m still given drugs to mature the lungs of the twizzlers *just in case* they are born early – and I’m starting to get a bit frustrated with all of the medical attention that I’m having to go through. I’m tired of the constant blood draws, the constant Fetal Heart Monitoring, Non-Stress Tests, etc. I’m even more tired of people pointing out how blessed I am. Because I ALREADY KNOW IT! However, it doesn’t stop the discomfort and the constant trips to the hospital. I’m also visiting my OB weekly at this point. Papa Nicholes and I also celebrate our third year of wedded bliss with a trip to Texas de Brazil! That is a bright spot in this very chaotic month of mine.
November 2010 – Thanksgiving comes and goes – still contracting. I have my baby shower, which starts the journey of prodromal labor. Fun stuff! I get excited, but that’s shattered when an ultrasound is ordered, and we find out that baby A is breech and that if they stay this way, I will have to have a c-section. I’m distraught and start with baby turning techniques that would work better if I just had one baby in there. My patience is wearing thin – yet, I’m still holding on to the promises of God.
December 2010 – The babies are coming! My ob and husband pick out a c-section date and I sit in the office in disbelief. I’m disappointed that it’s looking more and more that I won’t get my natural delivery, and I don’t. However after the delivery, I realize that the most important thing is that I have my full family – safe and secure. Papa Nicholes, me, the Cellist, the ladybug, and the twizzlers. What more could a mama ask for?
2011 is going to be full of great things – I’m claiming them now! I hope that you all had a fantastic year, and if it didn’t meet your expectations, then I suggest you go into 2011 with high hopes and the mindset to make sure that you don’t do the same things you did this year! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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