OK... So, here goes my attempt at this "blogging" thing. Guess I should start with my reason(s) behind my new venture...And, with any luck & the grace of God I will find the time (& the energy) to keep it going.
First, I hope that this becomes an easy & fun way for all of our Family & friends to "keep up with The Anderson's". We all get busy with this crazy thing called "life" and therefore time just seems to fly by.
Also, if all goes as planned I will be able to print these out on a yearly basis, save them & then give them, on their 18th B-day to my beautiful babies...my miracles...my twins...Jett Carlson & Delilah Rose Anderson. You see, I want them (& everyone) to know just how much they were dreamt of; wanted; fought for & loved even loooooong before they ever came to be.
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Our Wedding Day
6.19.2009 |
So, it all begins when I FINALLY met the man of my dreams - Richard Anderson. (how we met is a whole other story:) For some time, up until that point, you could say that I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I'd never become a Mom. As much as I had always desired to be such, it just wasn't in the cards. Or, so I thought. Once I met & started dating Rich I learned early on that he, too, had the dream of being a Dad. So, after a year or so of dating we decided to take the plunge & start working on our family ASAP. After months of trying, with no luck, we scheduled our 1st of what became MANY doctor visits. Long story short... We needed professional help & very quickly began the loooooong, strenuous, emotional & sometimes painful road of IVF. For those of you that aren't familiar, let me just tell you: It's not for the weak OR the weak at heart. To help fill in just a few of the blanks as to what's involved, here it goes... 1st I'll mention that every ounce of modesty that I once had... out the window! There was nothing kept private in our new world. Next, come the doctor visits. If we went to one doctor visit we went to a thousand! In reality, there were sometimes 5 or 6 visits in a week. Medications galore... Pills, shots, creams, suppositories, patches... you name it, I did it! Poking & prodding has got to be mentioned. I swear there were times that I truly felt like a human specimen... they really left "no stone unturned". Ha Ha. Waiting. UGH! One of the worst parts by far. Ya know how time seems to fly by? Well, not when you are waiting & waiting to get "that" phone call from the doctor. Heart break is next. When we finally did get the phone call the 1st 3 times (2 IVF attempts & 1 insemination) it was so heart wrenching to hear those 1st few words: "I'm sorry, Mrs. Anderson". Looking back, it's hard to say who was more upset... Me or Rich. He tried so hard to be strong & supportive but I could just see it in his eyes, he was totally disheartened each & every time. While waiting for "the" call after one of our attempts we decided to do some praying at the Grotto. I recall that drive home after our sad news... the silence was deafening. That brings me to what was probably the thing that kept us focused & committed... Prayer. And, lots of it. Alone; with each other; out loud; in silence; with friends; with family; at any time & anywhere. We prayed & prayed that God would see fit to allow us one of the greatest gifts of all... Parenthood.
OK...I'll fast forward just a bit to being told that I would not be able to produce my own eggs. Therefore, without hesitation, we decided that we would give it one more try with Donor eggs. It's pretty much what you would imagine: Flipping through photo albums & bios, hoping to see one that grabbed us. After a little waiting (boy, was this whole process a lesson in patience... which, for those of you that know me, I don't have much of) we received a call from a nurse at the clinic that explained how a new candidate for the egg donor program had just come in & she felt confident that she would be our Answer. She was right on the money! The young girl was beautiful, tastfully dressed in the latest fashions; great hair; good skin & most importantly had a bio that we agreed was exactly what we had been waiting for.
I'll skim over the part of the financial aspect of it all by just saying that although it was the most money either one of us has ever paid for anything (except for our home:) it is also the BEST investment we've ever made.
After more doctor visits, injections, implantion & the dreaded 2 week wait (which I didn't wait out... I "peed on a stick" on day 10) I received the phone call we had waited all of our lives to get. It started something like: "Hello, Mrs. Anderson? I've got great news... Not only are you pregnant, you are SUPER pregnant!" I pretty much zoned out after that & therefore really don't recall anything else from that conversation.
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| Easter 2010-8 weeks preggo |
For the next 4 weeks we were on cloud 9. I say 4 weeks because at 4 weeks & 1 day the Morning Sickness set in! But, for me it wasn't just in the morning... it was aaaaaaallllll day, everyday. I thought for sure I had 1 foot in an early grave. So, I spent the remainder of that 1st trimester & part of the next in the bed. Watching Lifetime movies & HGTV.
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| The Beans |
I'll move on to when we were told that we were expecting Twins. Rich was sooo excited & I was a little overwhelmed. All in all... We were just ecstatic that we had been given this amazing opportunity to have a family of 4. From that point on we started calling our precious babies "The Beans". And, to this day that's what we as well as friends & family refer to them as. And, mooooore waiting to find out the sexes. When we went to the ultrasound appt. & found out that we were expecting a boy & a girl we were so happy! What could be better than having 1 of each?! God had truly blessed us.
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| The Nursery |
Since they would be sharing the nursery we decided to decorate in green, black & white. Our wonderful friend Toni (now known as YaYa Toni) helped me shop for all of the material & then she hand-made every inch of the nursery decor. It was just beautiful!! Rich & I (OK, mainly Rich) put together the furniture. What a nightmare that was... I laugh out loud just thinking about the collasal mess! Over the next 5 months we decorated, attended baby showers, shopped & cleaned in preperation of our little bundles. Little did we know... you just can't prepare enough for Parenthood.
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| Headed to the hospital |
At 36 weeks pregnant & weighing 179lbs away to the hospital we go. It was time for the c-section & for our babies to make their entrance into this world. It was September 30, 2010. Out comes Jett Carlson @ 1pm & Delilah Rose @ 1:01pm. Cue the crying & screaming... both of them had a healthy set of lungs & were just beautiful. Jett weighed 5.3 & Delilah was 4.7. Both right around 18" long.
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| 1st Family Photo |
Due to Delilah's weight & the fact that she was unable to maintain her own body temp she was quickly swept away to the NICU w/ Rich right behind her. They let me stop by to see & hold her on the way up to my room. She was so tiny but just perfect. Jett stayed in my room until the following morning when they noticed that he wasn't able to control his body temp either so away he went... to be w/ his sister.
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Delilah Rose
Jett Carlson
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And there they would live for the next 2 weeks. It was so difficult to go home that 1st day & pull into the driveway & realize that our babies were not going to be there w/ us. Over the 2 weeks that they were in NICU we were able to feed them (I pumped breast milk every 3 hours to bring up to them); change their diapers & just be there to hold them. It seemed as though that place had become our 2nd home.
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| Our Life in the NICU |
The day finally came when we were told we could take our babies home. We couldn't get out of that place fast enough. We bundled them up & the 3 of us hopped a ride on a wheelchair. The nurse and Rich wheeled us out to the car & away we went.
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| Leaving Methodist NICU |
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| Going Home |
Seeing Jett & Delilah all nestled in their car seats for the 1st time was really something. They looked so tiny! Well, that brings us to the point where making memories began...So, w/ that being said I think I will end my 1st Blog entry right here. I will pick up soon by just posting some photos of the "1sts" of everything... Holidays; visits f/ friends & family; trips & many other joyous occasions.
I don't wanna close this out w/out thanking so many special people that were kind & helpful during those 1st several months. We appreciate everything & love you all: Chris Anderson (Spoil-Grandy); Billy Stringer (Grandaddy); Rick Anderson (Grandpa); Toni & Steve McCormack (Ya Ya Toni & Yo Yo Steve); Amanda & Cody Stringer; Aunt Carol Barker; Tracey Lane; Sarah Krug; Meredith Clarke; Barb & Steve Mechler; Terry & Simon Honig; Katrina Wiatrek; Dalarie Robertson; Sheila & Bill Knowles; Carol Baring; our Firefighter Family & everyone else who gave their love & support.
