Consider it a Blessing
Our wedding day in Jamaica {June 26, 2011}
We had been trying to get pregnant for over a year so the anticipation we had going into our first ultrasound was un-measureable!! I can still picture the doctor's face and hear her words.
"Leann, this is bad--really bad."
I obviously thought the worst...there wasn't a heartbeat, I wasn't actually pregnant, I had miscarried...in the few seconds of silence that followed her words my mind raced with all the possibilities of what could have gone wrong.
"There are 5" she said.
I don't think i completely understood what she meant by that until she was several minutes into her spiel about how a woman's body is not intended to carry five babies. She warned us of the risks of mental retardation, cerebral palsy, premature birth, and all the other possibilities that expecting parents never want to hear. She left us with the recomendation to look into fetal reduction and take it into serious consideration.
We had always been pleased with our doctor but left that appointment feeling very discouraged. While we understood her obligation to warn us of the risks and her reason for concern, it was supposed to be a time of celebration and excitement--not one of tears and doubt.
"Leann, this is bad--really bad."
I obviously thought the worst...there wasn't a heartbeat, I wasn't actually pregnant, I had miscarried...in the few seconds of silence that followed her words my mind raced with all the possibilities of what could have gone wrong.
"There are 5" she said.
I don't think i completely understood what she meant by that until she was several minutes into her spiel about how a woman's body is not intended to carry five babies. She warned us of the risks of mental retardation, cerebral palsy, premature birth, and all the other possibilities that expecting parents never want to hear. She left us with the recomendation to look into fetal reduction and take it into serious consideration.
We had always been pleased with our doctor but left that appointment feeling very discouraged. While we understood her obligation to warn us of the risks and her reason for concern, it was supposed to be a time of celebration and excitement--not one of tears and doubt.
Before we had even gotten to the car after leaving the appointment we had both decided-without any doubt or debate- that we were keeping all five. Although the medical field may call it fetal reduction, we saw it as abortion. God had given us five for a reason and we did not feel it was our position to choose which ones would survive and which ones would not. If nature believes that five fetuses are too many for a woman to carry then it will take care of that problem on its own. Otherwise, we were preparing for an emotionally challenging road ahead but knew that as long as we had each other we could do it! We considered them each to be a blessing.
As we called our family and friends and told them the news they were overly supportive of our decision to carry the pregnancy with all 5 babies. Not a single one of them told us otherwise. That support has been the reason we have been able to stay so positive throughout the process. We cannot possibly express the amount of gratitude we have towards our friends and family.
As we called our family and friends and told them the news they were overly supportive of our decision to carry the pregnancy with all 5 babies. Not a single one of them told us otherwise. That support has been the reason we have been able to stay so positive throughout the process. We cannot possibly express the amount of gratitude we have towards our friends and family.
My husband Jacob, myself, and our daughter Lexi in NYC {2010}
Of course the financial responsibilities of having 5 babies worries us along with the considerable amount of health concerns we could be faced with, however when we look back on our lives we believe that all of the moments that were truly worth living were a challenge...that's what makes them so rewarding.
We hope there is a day when we can look back on this time as just a stepping stone to the great life that we have shared with our children.
We hope this site encourages anyone who may be facing the same situation as well as keep our distant friends and family in touch with our experiences. We would enjoy hearing from anyone who has been blessed with multiples themselves...we may be in need of some resources and advice very soon!! :)
We hope there is a day when we can look back on this time as just a stepping stone to the great life that we have shared with our children.
We hope this site encourages anyone who may be facing the same situation as well as keep our distant friends and family in touch with our experiences. We would enjoy hearing from anyone who has been blessed with multiples themselves...we may be in need of some resources and advice very soon!! :)
The Most Common Questions:
We get asked the same set of questions A LOT so I thought it would be a good idea to address them here.
Q: "How do you get pregnant with 5 babies?"
A: My husband and I were seeing a doctor for infertility for about a year. She started me on clomid and we tried that for several months without any luck. As many of you have probably heard, clomid makes you crazy--and not just a little bit crazy--I'm talking totally crazy!! It got to the point where I didn't even feel like myself so we asked to try a different type of medication. The doctor also felt that after being unsuccessful for several months with the same medicine that it was time to move on and try something a little more aggressive.
That is when we started doing nightly injections of follistim. For about a week or so each month I would give myself a shot to help increase egg production. Every time we went back to the doctor we had success with producing more eggs however I still was not getting pregnant. Our doctor recommended insemination. Although expensive, we went through with it for 3 months; still experiencing no luck. At this point we were extremely frustrated and unable to financially take the next step which would have been IVF.
Thinking that part of our problem could be the stress I was putting myself under from not getting pregnant we decided to take a few months off from really trying. Both being teachers we didn't really have the extra money around to continue with insemination for much longer anyway. We decided to continue to do the injections however wanted to wait until the summer before we tried the insemination again, hoping it would be a time when I could relax a little more and not have work worries on top of getting pregnant worries.
The first month we took a break from insemination we were pregnant. We knew I had five eggs from the injections but never imagined that they would all take naturally!
Q: "Did you plan/choose to have quintuplets?"
A: Absolutely not-we know this is not an ideal situation for the babies or myself. We would never subject ourselves, by choice, to these types of health concerns.
Q: "How will you take care of 5 babies at once?"
A: This is the hardest one to answer...we have to take this process day-by-day in order to not be overwhelmed. We have received so much support already from friends and family; we just hope it will still be there when the babies come home crying and needing their diapers changed!! :)