A Twin Pregnancy Part 1: From Infertility to Double Blessing

Have you ever gone through infertility? You’ve been waiting to start your family and finally the timing seems right, but for reasons you can’t explain, it doesn’t happen. Everything within you longs to have a baby, the longing is so intense you ache. You and your spouse wonder what’s wrong and begin the long process of figuring it out—see this doctor, do that test, do another. All the while each month you’re reminded that your dream of becoming a parent is elusive, out of reach. As hope begins to fade, the sadness and hopelessness creeps and threatens to overtake you. News of a friend who’s just announced she’s pregnant is like a dagger to the heart. You feign joy, but inwardly your pierced heart bleeds.

This was so for me. I had wanted to start our family for a couple of years already, so when we finally agreed it was time, the pain of infertility that I experienced hit hard. After some tests we discovered what the issue was, something that made conceiving difficult but not impossible. In the end, after only a year and a half, I found out that I was expecting Thomas. I recognize that a year and a half is short compared to length of time many other couples endure, but not knowing how long it would last, not knowing if or when our dream would be realized made it difficult nonetheless.

Just before Thomas turned two, Mau and I decided that we would start trying for a second child. We were hopeful that this time things would go more smoothly, but after six months of trying with no results, we found ourselves at a fertility clinic.

We were called from the waiting room filled with hopeful couples to a small room and sat across from a doctor.

She told us, “Most couples in your situation consider a treatment called Intrauterine Insemination, or IUI,” and she proceeded to explain the process. “We would also prescribe medication for you, Christin, to stimulate ovulation and thereby increase your chances of conceiving. There is a 13% chance of success with each treatment. We recommend that couples try the treatment three times before considering other options, but that’s ultimately up to you to decide.”

In the car on the way home we discussed our options.

“I know we’re both very open to adoption, but I think it wouldn’t hurt to try IUI first, just to rule out pregnancy,” Mau said. Adoption pamphlets sat at home; the research process had already begun.

I agreed, and then the thought that had been swirling in my brain popped out. “My only fear is that we’re going to end up with quadruplets—I just don’t think there’s anything really wrong with us. I know that children are an incredible gift from the Lord, but I don’t know how I’d be able to take care of four babies!”

Mau calmed my fears and we made our plan to try IUI. In June we made our first attempt, which was unsuccessful, but the second was a completely different experience—everything went as it should. We celebrated Thomas’ third birthday and a few days later it was time to take the pregnancy test. It was positive! Mau and I were filled with a sense of relief and excitement, thrilled that Thomas was finally going to be a big brother.

On August 29, Mau and I went to the medical diagnostic imaging center for the dating ultrasound. I envisioned a happy, healthy, pregnancy just like I’d had with my first.

The technician began the exam, and I was about to ask the question that had been on my mind since we’d first considered IUI when she quipped, “I see two little beans in there.”

Two little beans! I just knew we’d have multiples, but I was in a state of utter disbelief that the thought had become an actual reality. I couldn’t help but laugh out of sheer incredulity and joy.

From infertility and wondering if we’d ever have a family to three children in just two pregnancies. Our joy knew no bounds—we were completely unsuspecting of the challenging road ahead, never once considering that our babies could be anything but healthy. But God was writing a different story, a better story, a story that would bring him glory and would bring us to our knees. It was only a matter of time before life as we knew it would come crashing down.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9