A Learning Experience

In case you didn’t hear me shout when we found out, the twins are not mono-mono. They are mono-di which means sharing a placenta but not an amniotic sac. This is good. This is so very awesome that I feel any words I use are going to be horribly inadequate to describe it. Mono-di doesn’t mean there are no risks, but it does mean the following:


No 50% mortality rate;

No risk of the baby’s getting tangled in each other’s cords;

No early delivery, at least not due to cord issues;

No planned inpatient stay;


It means there is a very strong possibility I will be waddling around huge, hot, and happy in July 40 weeks pregnant with identical twins. There is the risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, but it was described as a peripheral concern; right now they are growing at pretty much the exact same rate, and that’s a great indication even this early on.

I’m taking the last several weeks for what they were which is an experience we’ve been blessed to learn a lot from. Here are just a few examples:

Our faith has deepened-I don’t think being a Christian means always getting happy endings on this earth, and the Bible provides pretty solid evidence that following Christ is not the easy road. I’m so very grateful when things work out and realize my life is above and beyond everyday by anyone’s standards. However, I do feel I’ve grown in what it means to know the Lord, and this experience helped me realize that. Anything could still happen, but when we felt we were sitting under a cloud of poo just waiting for the storm to start, I didn’t question God’s sovereignty. I didn’t doubt His plan, though I knew it might not be the plan I had in mind. I knew despite the outcome my job was to glorify Him and that I would. I don’t think I would have been near as confident in that knowledge even a few years back. I’m a slow grower, but I think I’m growing.

We are surrounded by the best people-The team you want in the trenches when things are hard is my team. Family, friends, friends of family and friends, everyone was ready to dive head first into crazy and take the ride with us (by the way, everyone is still invited to do so; we will have four children ages four and under, so there will not be a shortage of crazy). A crucial part of any level of emotional stability we maintained was due to knowing we were not alone, not abandoned by Christ and not abandoned by those who love us. I can’t even explain what it meant to have that knowledge. And I can’t describe how happy we were to call, email, and message people to tell them good news today. I’ve never been on drugs, but this feeling made me experience what I imagine being high would be like!

You meet amazing people in life who will always stay in your heart-It has been an honor to learn about parents of mono-mono babies, those whose babies made it and those whose babies did not. I’ve communicated with several of these moms, and they are an awesome group. If you ever find yourself in the middle of a mono-mono pregnancy, know there are entire families out there waiting to cast a net and welcome you into the group. I will continue to follow pregnancies that I’ve started watching during this time because it’s hard to tire of seeing miracles.

So we’re on to the next phase of this journey which is me blowing up like the Good Year Blimp but trying not to screw up my blood pressure or blood sugar at the same time. We invite continued prayer and are grateful for the prayers we’ve already received. It’s baby growing time!