I was not “technically” ready to take a pregnancy test the day that I did, but I could not wait any longer and just had to take one and see. I remember reading the pregnancy test box that said it could detect if you were pregnant or not a week before your missed cycle. Of course, I thought I would just take it to calm my thoughts.  

So I woke up on that morning of May 2^nd, 2012, took a test, and left it on the bathroom counter for the five minutes you are supposed to wait. My husband was in the shower getting ready for work while I did all of this. I went back to bed to wait while he finished up in the bathroom. I just kept hoping I would find out that I would soon be a new mom.

I will never forget him opening the bathroom door and the look on his face. He asked me with a look of excitement in his eye, “What will this thing show if you are pregnant or not?” I said, it will say “Pregnant” or “Not Pregnant.”

I quickly jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom asking, “What does it say? What does it say?” He showed me the pregnancy test, and it showed I was pregnant! I screamed and jumped up and down. We then hugged and I kept saying, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” He went to work that day, and I actually had an appointment with my doctor already scheduled. This is when the real shock came.

I told the doctor that my home pregnancy test said I was pregnant. They took blood work, which would confirm if I was or not for sure. The nurse called me that afternoon and said, “You are really, really, really pregnant!” I laughed and said, “What does that mean?” She then told me my HCG levels were so high, the chance of multiples was very likely. I then thought holy cow!  I remember calling my husband at work and told him, and he just said, “Okay, when will we know for sure?”

Soon after, I had an ultrasound and found out we were pregnant with not one new baby, but two -- and it couldn’t have been a better surprise!

Photo by Meryl Spadaro on Unsplash

Before I became a new dad, my time was my own. But now that my twin boys -- Carter and Camden -- are in my life, those days are long gone. Staying at home to take care of my 4-month-old twins while my wife is working has proven to be a lot of work -- and a lot of fun. Here’s how a typical day unfolds in our house:

6:00 a.m.

My boys are already wide-awake. I take them out of the crib and prep for the first diaper change of the day. Before my new babies were born, I’d never changed a Pampers diaper in my life. But after four months with twins, I feel like I’ve mastered this and other baby care basics.

6:30 a.m.

We head to the kitchen for breakfast. The boys are making “feed-me-now!” noises as they kick in their bouncy seats that I’ve set on the floor. I look forward to the day when they can eat in their highchairs, but for now, I’ve found the best and safest way to give bottles at the same time to these two little guys is by sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor with the boys in their bouncy seats in front of me. After they eat, each kid gets his own pat-on-the-back session, since I haven’t mastered the art of burping two babies at once.

7:30 a.m.

Carter had a bowel movement, so it’s time for another diaper change. Both boys are starting to get fussy, which means they’re ready for their morning nap -- and so am I. I snuggle back into bed to grab a little bit of sleep. I’ve learned that snoozing when the babies nap is the number one way for a new dad of multiples to stay sane!

9:00 a.m.

It’s time for another feeding, more diaper changes, and some playtime. Today, I break out the baby activity mats, which are always a hit. The stimulation from the different textures, shapes, and sounds keeps them busy while boosting their baby development. We also read together often.A note to stay-at-home dads: The sports section of the newspaper counts!).

10:30 a.m.

At this age, my sons still need to nap often. And that’s fine with me! I settle them down for their second nap of the day, and use the free time to catch up on my to-do list.

12:00 p.m.

We all need some fresh air, so I strap the twins into their double-jogger stroller, and we head to a nearby park. We say hi to the neighborhood dogs as we go, and I point out the really cool cars that we see. Research shows the more I talk to the new babies now (even if they don’t understand much about sports cars), the better their vocabulary will be when they’re older.

2:30 p.m.

Once this round of feeding and diaper changes is over, the boys and I head to the grocery store to get food for tonight’s dinner. At the store, I strap one new baby into a front carrier while the other stays in the portable car seat now attached to the cart. I’m grateful there aren’t many items on my list!

4:30 p.m.

The boys are hungry and tired again by the time we get home, so it’s another round of bottles, then a quick nap while dinner is fixed.

6:00 p.m.

My sons play on their activity mats and get a baby bath before bedtime. After one more feeding and a quick diaper check, the boys are down for the night. I’m thinking of turning in as well. Tomorrow is another busy day for this SAHD!

When I was pregnant, we decided to leave the sex of our babies a surprise -- that’s right, I said babies, as in more than one! My husband and I were expecting twins! My birth story was one I will never forget. I found out a couple days before my delivery day that both babies were breech. That meant, that a C-section was a must, so my doctors scheduled one for December 26, 2012.

I was on bed rest for three weeks prior to my delivery. Really, the only time I was allowed to get up each day was to go to the bathroom. Thank goodness it was close to Christmas and lots of holiday movies were on television. On December 18^th, I had an appointment to see how the babies were doing. My doctor checked me out and told me I was dilated 6 cm. She left to call the high-risk doctor we had been seeing for the twins, too.

I was thinking, “I bet we are having a C-section in a day or two.” My doctor walked back in the room and said these words, “We are going to have a birthday party at 7:30 tonight!” I was so shocked -- and excited!

Everything went pretty fast from that point forward. I remember thinking this date was going to be their birthday! Ready or not, this was it; I would be delivering twins tonight! When my husband arrived at the hospital with our bags, I thought, “This is real!” He had such an excited look on his face and I was at ease knowing he was there with me.

Pretty quickly, our family started showing up. The nurses and doctor prepped me and explained what was going to happen, all while monitoring the babies. I kept looking at the monitors, praying that the babies were healthy, strong, and ready to be born four weeks early.

In the operating room, it was freezing and kind of scary, everything was so stark white. However, I loved my doctor and knew I was in good hands. Soon enough, the surgery began, and I just kept looking at my husband wondering what was going on behind the sheet. All of a sudden they said, “Here is the first one…it’s a girl!” Oh my gosh, I thought, a girl! Wow! A minute later, which felt like forever, they said, “It’s another girl!” I was shocked and so was my husband! Not knowing for eight months and then we knew -- two girls! How amazing and blessed we are! Both girls were healthy and beautiful. From that day on, our lives have been the best they could ever be.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

No matter how many baby books you read or doctors you talk to, there’s no such thing as being completely prepared for a pregnancy of multiples -- or any pregnancy, for that matter! As I found out, there are many variables and it’s important to be flexible with your birth plan. When I was expecting twins, I never could have imagined how my labor would pan out. Here’s what I learned from my multiples pregnancy:

I was feeling pretty good when I went to the hospital during my 38^th week to deliver my full-term infant sons. I knew that many multiples are born prematurely (or before the 37^th week of pregnancy), so I was relieved that my new babies had made it past that date. Ironically, after I had spent a month on bed rest and taken medication to fend off contractions, my little ones seemed to change their minds about coming out, and my labor had to be induced. Because both babies were in the head-down birthing position, my doctor and I agreed that there was no reason I shouldn’t try a vaginal delivery.

As a first-time mom, I didn’t know what to expect during childbirth. Eight hours, one epidural, and countless contractions later, my first son made his appearance. At 5 pounds and 3 ounces, he was small but otherwise healthy. As the nurses and my husband looked him over, my ob-gyn prepared for baby number two. I was exhausted from the first delivery and certainly wasn’t prepared for what came next. My second son’s umbilical cord had slipped through the birth canal ahead of him, a complication called umbilical cord prolapse. A vaginal delivery was no longer an option because it would have pressed the baby against the umbilical cord and cut off his oxygen.

Umbilical cord prolapse happens in about one out of every 300 births and is more likely to occur with multiple babies. Due to the high-risk nature of delivering twins, I was already in a surgical room. Quickly, the doctors and nurses prepped me for an emergency C-section and our second baby was born. Thankfully, he was healthy and didn’t suffer any ill effects from the prolapsed cord.

While I was preparing for the babies’ arrival, I never imagined that I would experience both forms of childbirth. But if you plan to deliver twins vaginally, you should know that a combined delivery (when the first twin is delivered vaginally and the second by C-section) is always a possibility.

Of course, my labor experience with multiples is unique to me. Work with your doctor to prepare as much as possible for your own situation. And if the delivery seems daunting, focus on the positive: You’ll soon get to meet your adorable new babies!

Photo by Amy Humphries on Unsplash