In the many years before we were married, Nicke and I discussed eventually having children. We agreed that what made the most sense for us was to eventually have two, and then stop. This decision was made based on our experience with having siblings close in age to ourselves, our desire to raise a family together, and what we could handle financially on our teacher salaries. On August 12, 2016, we were married, and one year later we were ready to begin that family that we knew we wanted. On March 20, 2018, our daughter Anne was born.
Whenever you hear about the perfect baby, everything that people use to describe that baby fit Anne to a tee. Since she was born she has been happy, healthy, she has slept well, does not misbehave in public, and is a fun and energetic child. Because of how well we felt we were doing as parents after our first year and beyond, and our desire to keep our children close in age, we decided to try for our second child.
Whenever you hear about the perfect baby, everything that people use to describe that baby fit Anne to a tee. Since she was born she has been happy, healthy, she has slept well, does not misbehave in public, and is a fun and energetic child. Because of how well we felt we were doing as parents after our first year and beyond, and our desire to keep our children close in age, we decided to try for our second child.
By the end of the summer, we knew that we were pregnant, and heading into the new school year we prepared ourselves for taking on the challenges of dealing with our now toddler, and her new sibling. But things were different with this pregnancy. Morning sickness hit Nicke harder and more intense, and honestly, I was thrilled. Everything I read about second pregnancies told me that if the experience was completely different for the mother, then that usually means the gender is different. All I could think was, "YES! This is it! I get my boy!" I did not hide my excitement from my wife, and she knew that I was hoping for a boy this time around.
The big day came in September, the first ultrasound to see our baby. Both my wife and I were so excited, and we even brought Anne with us so she could be a part of the experience. The ultrasound technician came into the room...(Ok quick pause, if you're here for technical terms of all things involving pregnancies, you've come to the wrong place. My knowledge of specific terms is severely limited due to my lack of attention to details, so I'm just gonna make up a bunch of terms that make sense to me.)...and smeared that jelly stuff on Nicke's stomach, and bam, there's the black and white image of our child. "Congratulations, there's your baby!" I look over at my wife while the tech is doing the measurements, very excited. And then the ultrasound tech said it...
"Oh...congratulations...there's a second baby, you're having twins!" I look over at my wife in stunned silence, numbers, and panic running through my head. What are we going to do with two babies? How much is this going to cost us? What problems will come from multiples? How, how are we going to afford to pay for another baby? At this point, the ultrasound tech must have witnessed my panic and asked if I was alright. (My wife is on the table at this point so not the best look for me to need assistance.) But this is it, it makes sense now, this explains Nicke's difficulty with morning sickness.
Then another ultrasound technician comes in the room. Turns out, this is the first ultrasound tech's first day at this OBGYN office, and the second tech is coming in to check her work. And what is the first thing she notices? Me, in the corner, holding my daughter, looking pale. Mind you, the lights are completely off in the room so I'm assuming I was Casper the Ghost pale. This tech was excellent, making small talk along the way, even letting us know that this was the second set of twins that the office experienced that day. My wife and I begin calming down and give each other reassuring glances that we will get through it somehow. Twenty minutes go by, and the second ultrasound tech said it...
She asked, "What would you say if I told you there was another baby?" I responded, "Heh, that's not funny." She wasn't kidding. There were three babies. We are having triplets. I felt like Ben Wyatt from Parks and Rec. I asked for the room to have a conversation with my wife, but Nicke being the resilient person she is told me to take Anne home, drop her off with my parents, and come back to pick her up because the techs were going to have to take all new measurements. Besides, there was nothing we could do at that moment, and we could talk later at home. We were going to have four children, and we only planned and budgeted for two. Everything was about to change.
Doing some quick research at home, Nicke found out that having natural triplets happens once out of every 9,000 pregnancies. 1 in 9,000. We beat the odds. And this blog is meant as a way to not only help provide me with an outlet for my stress and anxiety but also to inform others of the lessons that I pick up along the way. I can already tell you that I have not always handled this news in the best way, and as you will read, I have made some pretty big mistakes, and the babies have not yet arrived. So if I can help even one person to not make the same mistakes that you're going to read about, I'll consider this blog a success. For those that join me on this journey, brace yourselves for a bumpy ride.
