the adventure begins

It's official....we are expecting twins in September! It's actually been official for a while now, but after telling our extended families today it's starting to feel more real. Keeping this secret has been extraordinarily difficult. We have been bursting with excitement--I have literally had to stop myself from telling random strangers on the street. We are so excited to not have to hide our wonderful news now!

So how did we learn that we were expecting two bundles of joy? After initially finding out I was pregnant, we had an ultrasound a few days later to make sure everything was where it should be (more about this coming in a later post). We saw one perfect little gestational sac...one little baby beginning to form. About four days later I had a total meltdown and convinced myself I was no longer pregnant. Sweet Andrew convinced my doctor's office to let me come in for blood work to make sure everything was progressing well, so I rushed to the office. Andrew didn't come since it was just a simple blood draw and we wouldn't get the results for a few hours. My veins are notoriously hard to stick, so when I arrived the nurse suggested we do an ultrasound rather than a blood draw. I, of course, agreed...I wasn't turning down a chance to see our baby again. The doctor quickly pointed out the gestational sac, and the now visible yolk sac. He then moved the ultrasound a bit and showed me a second gestational sac and yolk sac! I will always remember that as one of the most amazing, surreal moments...and I will always remember telling Andrew that he was going to be a dad times two in the Food City parking lot immediately following the appointment.

So here we are, nine and a half weeks pregnant with fraternal twins (our 40 week due date is October 4th, but twins are full term at 37 weeks). We are excited to begin what is sure to be a wild, wonderful adventure. And we will try to keep this blog updated so you can follow along as our set of Shafers continue to grow!