Haven't We Been Here Before?

My friend Laura gave us these adorable shirts for our new babies (they say "Copy" and "Paste").  And I think they are kind of appropriate--not because the babies are identical to each other, but because they are very like their siblings.  Griffin looks very much like baby pictures of Wyatt, and Eve looks very much like my first two daughters--especially Eliza.  AND, really, having twin babies again does feel a bit like a deja vu.  There are definitely differences this time though.  I told my mom that I feel like we signed up to do everything the hard way this time.  Paige questioned that, though, and reminded me that having twins the first time was no walk in the park.  Even though we loved it.  So here, just for fun, is a comparison of what it was like last time and what it was like this time.

Getting pregnant:
1995- Tried for over a year, not knowing if I would ever be able to have children, worrying because my mom had ten years of infertility.  Had one early miscarriage and then got pregnant the next month.
2012- Knew that I already had children, and I was pretty old to be trying again (just try walking into a fertility clinic at age 40!) so it would be okay if it didn't work out. Went through IVF twice. (This included about 80 shots, two surgical procedures, lots of ultrasounds and blood draws, and 5 trips to Colorado.)

Staying pregnant:
1995- Even though I had been through the miscarriage, I didn't really worry about it or have any problems.
2012- I had multiple scares with bleeding for the first 12 weeks.  I stopped exercising and tried to put my feet up a lot.

Morning sickness:
1995- Okay, I think it was a little worse the first time.  The last time I threw up was at 20 weeks.
2012- Similar to my pregnancy with Willa--it was a one girl pregnancy.  Last lunch lost at 15 weeks.

Carrying two babies:
1995- I carried them 35 weeks and gained 50 pounds--10 pounds of baby and at least 30 pounds of water.  However, I was determined that pregnancy couldn't be as bad as all those complaining moms said, so I bucked up and made it through.  After giving birth, I decided the complainers were pretty much right.  I was on bed rest for the last three days.
2012- I carried them 37 weeks and gained 55 pounds--13 pounds of baby and about 45 pounds of water.  However, I was determined to carry them full term even though I knew it would pretty much be terrible.  I never was technically on bed rest, but I was supposed to lie down for at least 4 hours every day.  I was able to "exercise" (at least move around in the pool) right up to the very end.

Giving birth-
1995- Emergency c-section due to pre-ecclampsia
2012- Emergency c-section due to pre-ecclampsia

Recovery-
1995- No complications, felt pretty much better by 2 weeks.
2012- Skin refused to heal, incision became infected, lost about 2 liters of blood and was hospitalized for post-partum hemorrhage.  Starting to feel a little better at 4 weeks.

Taking care of babies afterwards-
1995-Alan took 2 months off from school (his summer break was in the fall due to some great schedule rearranging) and was amazing help.  My mom came out for two days while I was in the hospital and he took medical boards, but after that we were pretty much on our own.  On the other side of the country.  People in the ward brought us meals 3 or 4 times.  It was hard sometimes, but we loved every minute.
2012-Alan took 2 weeks off from work (due to some luck and some great schedule rearranging) and was, and is, amazing help.  My mom came out for two days while I was in the hospital and he had procedures he couldn't reschedule, but after that, we had 4 great older kids and a huge community to help us.  We have had meals brought in 4 times a week for the first month.  God and the people around us are SO good to us!  It is STILL hard sometimes, but we are loving every minute.  And this time, I know what I'm doing!