Double Blessing All The Way!!

I have never liked when people call twins "Double Trouble". They are absolutely a blessing to us. 

Grant and Cooper turned 7 yesterday on Christmas Eve. Seven years ago, we were pleasantly surprised when I went into labor on the morning of that special day. A week before that I went into false labor, checked into the hospital and got hooked up to all the monitors, only to be sent home.

No babies.

So when I started having contractions on December 24th first thing that day, my dear husband found it difficult to believe it was the real deal. As my midwife had instructed before, she said I should take a warm bath and drink lots of water. That usually calms things down and if it is, in fact, Braxton Hicks, then it will stop. I did just that... and the contractions continued. I layed down to rest and thought that would settle those little guys down. Nada. My husband started to get that look on his face. You know the one that is filled with awe, excitement, fear, compassion, the whole works- because our family would be expanding in mere hours from that point. 

It was time to call our midwife, Roxy. She told us to come into the hospital and she would meet us there. I originally had intended to have a water birth until we found out we were expecting twins. (I only found this out at 20 weeks of pregnancy at the untrasound!), and Roxy informed us that we could not do a water birth with a twin pregnancy. I was bummed, but boy was I excited about being blessed with two babies in my womb. It was all worth it. I also could not have them at home they told me. My midwife worked with a group of both doctors and midwives and they usually do multiple births in the hospital with a doctor close by in case of any complications. I was ok with all of that, AND I wanted an epidural on top of it. That's not the typical patient of a midwife. Usually you want to go natural all the way, but by the time #'s 4 and 5 were coming along, I was a total chicken. Give me some medicine, pleeaaaaase.

Later on that day, and after being given the epidural, our boys Grant Matthew (6 lbs. 7 oz.) and, Cooper Nathaniel (7 lbs. 3 oz.) were born at 5:15 pm and 5:27 pm. I had them at 36 and a half weeks. They were healthy, sweet boys. I was able to nurse them for about 6 months along with supplementing them with formula. Our church, at the time, got a nanny for us for 2 weeks and friends and family brought meals for that length of time. It was wonderful.

So here they are...

Grant and Cooper last year at this time when they were 6.

Just a year later and almost 7 at this point.

This is when we were in NY.

This is their cousin, Marqus, who turned 7 in September.

Cooper, Braaten, and Grant. She's a great big sister who gives them lots of attention.

Grant playing on the Wii Fit.

Cooper tasting a Christmas cookie.

Grant eating lunch.

Several years have gone by, and these guys have a bond that cannot be broken. They absolutely adore one another. They do just about everything together and it's fun to watch them. Every child is a true gift from God and having two come at once is as I mentioned in the beginning...a double blessing.

That's the story of our identical twins that I have been meaning to post for over a month. I had been introducing each child on my blog, and finally was up to them. What better a time to do it than around their 7th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Boys!!