The theme for Mommy Moments this week is Preggy Tales. I’ve had two difficult pregnancies in two consecutive years and although they were the most trying years in our married life, I am glad to say that everything has fallen into place now and we are very thankful that the Lord has helped us go through those difficult times.

My period has always been like clockwork so when two weeks passed by and there was nary a sign of menstruation, I knew that I could be very well pregnant. I bought two different pregnancy test kits and, sure enough, both confirmed what I already knew. A friend of mine did suggest that I go to the local clinic where they gave Free ultrasounds to check and officially confirm but I had my own doctor. On the 14th of January 2008, a transvaginal ultrasound revealed something I would never even have imagined – I was carrying twins!

twin A and twin B became Jade and Jake after seven months

I still remember how shocked I was when I heard one of the sonologists say to the other, “Yung isa, na check mo na?” I practically screamed, “Yung isa?! Anong isa pa?!” When my honey was ushered inside the laboratory, I was ecstatically saying, “We’re having twins!! Twins, hon! TWINS!!!”

The pregnancy itself was really tough for both of us. The same ultrasound revealed that there was subchorionic hemorrhage so I was put on complete bedrest for a couple of weeks. Things were better after the bedrest and we were able to complete the preparations for our garden wedding which had to be moved from October to April of the same year. So, on our wedding day, I was already going on my second trimester.

honey and I on our third month of pregnancy - so, who's carrying the twins? ^_^

Sadly, everything turned downhill from then. To say that our pregnancy was difficult is an understatement. Since we were carrying twins, we were required to have ultrasounds every month. It was on our fourth month when we discovered that the twins had growth discrepancy – one of them was way bigger than the other. This progressed and the difference in their growth became wider.

A couple of weeks before our seventh month, I experienced pre-term contractions and had to be confined in the hospital. I was on complete bedrest with absolutely no sitting or walking privileges. After two weeks of being monitored, our doctors found out that the oxygen supply of one of the babies was already insufficient so a stat caesarian operation was ordered. I was fully awake during the operation and saw my twins right after they cleared them of mucus. It was truly an unforgettable sight to see the babies whose heartbeats I have been feeling from inside my womb. But my twins weighed only 1kg and 1.5kg and were immediately transferred to NICU. JAKE is now an angel in heaven after succumbing to respiratory distress syndrome on her 7th day of life. With God’s grace, JADE is now a precocious toddler who refuses to be called a baby or a little girl. She insists that she is already a big girl.

Our second pregnancy was physically not as difficult as the first but it was a very emotionally challenging time for the family. We found out we were pregnant again barely five months after giving birth to the twins. I was still suffering from severe post-partum depression then and our little Jade had just very recently undergone surgery for her inguinal hernia. I was really an emotional mess then. Fortunately, everything turned out well and I gave birth to a hefty 3.4kg baby boy.

a very big bump for a little mama

Both my pregnancies were extremely difficult for me, physically and emotionally. But I wouldn’t have second thoughts of going through them again because if not for those pregnancies, I wouldn’t have an angel in heaven, a darling of a daughter, and an adorable little son.

Check out more Preggy Tales at the Mommy Journey.