My husband and I had been trying to start a family for about two months when I noticed that I couldn't keep up with my usual routine at the gym. I felt like I just couldn't go on after 20 minutes and I signaled to my husband that we needed to leave. We thought this was really strange and I told him on the way home to stop by the store so we could get some pregnancy tests.

As soon as we got home, I ran to the bathroom and three minutes later I was staring at two lines on the test. I took two more and made my husband take one just to make sure they worked. I could not believe I was pregnant. I didn't feel pregnant at all, but when I thought about it more I realized that my breasts were a bit tender and I had been unusually tired lately. I really never believed it until the hospital confirmed it two weeks later with a blood test.

We went into our first ultrasound at 9 weeks gestation and my doctor jokingly said, "Well let's go find out if you're having twins." My husband groaned and said, "Don't scare me" and we all laughed. Two minutes later in the ultrasound room, we immediately noticed the two embryos side by side and the doctor said, "Well it looks like you are having twins." I was shocked and in total disbelief, but my husband had the feeling we were going to have twins because there are so many sets on his side of the family. (We found out two weeks later that his brother and his wife were expecting twins at the same time!)

So we spent the next couple of months getting used to the idea of becoming parents to not just one but two children at the same time. We bought plenty of diapers and started to get the nursery stocked up on all the goods.

I had a great pregnancy during the first trimester. Except for fatigue, I didn't experience any negative effects. I was lucky to not have any nausea at all. Right at the beginning of my second trimester I developed really bad pregnancy acne. I hadn't had acne since I was like 14 years old so I was quite upset about it especially since I was more expecting the "pregnancy glow" they all talk about. My doctor prescribed a good acne gel and the acne went away after a month.

My second trimester I got some energy back and I started showing but I also started swelling. My ankles and legs were huge by my 5th month and I was starting to get really uncomfortable. My doctor tested me for preeclampsia but it always came back negative. Swelling during pregnancy runs on my mom's side of the family so I figured there was nothing I could do about it except try to stay off my feet as much as possible. I was still working into my 8th month and by this point I was huge. I had gone from 130 pounds to 200 pounds in eight months! Most of the weight was swelling from the water retention. My skin was so tight I thought it was going to split!

At 32 weeks I went in for the routine steroid shots to mature the babies' lungs in case they came early, and when they put me on the monitor they noticed I was having contractions. I couldn't feel them but I guess they were big enough to be concerned about, so they checked me and I was 3 centimeters dilated, 90 percent effaced and my son's head was at 0 station. Basically he was ready to come out and I didn't even know it! My doctor decided to get me on the magnesium to try and stop my labor. I spent the next two days in the hospital filling up with magnesium and fluids. The magnesium was awful at first. It makes you feel really hot and a bit sick but I got used to it after a few hours.

My doctor released me after two days because I had gone down to 2 centimeters and the contractions stopped. It finally came back that I had mild preeclampsia now and I was put on strict bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, but I was so glad that I did not give birth at 32 weeks.

At 34 weeks, 4 days I started having only what I can describe as the worst heartburn I have ever had. It felt like someone had poured acid in my stomach. I had contractions but I could only tell they were contractions if my tummy was hard. I didn't feel the actual tightening or any pain with the contractions. I had no idea I was in labor; it didn't feel like what people described as labor. I didn't sleep for two days and I suffered this constant "heartburn" the whole time. Nothing would take the pain away: Tums, milk, Pepcid, Pepto, nothing worked.

After two days of this, I told my husband that I didn't think I could take it anymore but I didn't want to go to the hospital for heartburn. I decided I had to tough it out. At 2 a.m., about one hour after I told my husband that I couldn't take it anymore, my water broke while I was lying in bed. I thought I was peeing my pants at first but the trickle never stopped. I told my husband that my water broke and "I guess I'm in labor." He kept asking if I was sure and I kept saying that I didn't know but we better go. (I just kept missing all the signs the entire way through my pregnancy!) What's funny is that as soon as my water broke, the "heartburn" completely went away.

I starting getting the real contractions about 15 minutes later when we were being admitted at the hospital. Oh boy, I had no idea they would be that painful. It was like the pain shifted from the heartburny upper stomach pain to low menstrual-like cramping, which felt totally different than the pain I had experienced the last two days. Labor pains are like menstrual cramps times 100. It started off bearable but after a couple hours, I couldn't take it anymore and I was only dilated to a 3.

I had to wait a while for my epidural so they gave me a little something to hold me off while I waited (fentanyl) and that worked great. I finally got my epidural around 6 a.m. I believe and it was smooth sailing from then on. It took about 20 minutes to kick in and the nurses had to roll me onto my right side because my left side was the first to go numb. Soon I was totally numb and feeling great.

My husband and I took a much needed nap for a few more hours. I was checked again at 9 a.m. and I was 8 1/2 centimeters! The nurse told me that they would start prepping the operating room and getting me ready to go deliver. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I had just gotten there. Time was literally flying by.

At 10 a.m. they got me ready and wheeled me into the OR. They lifted me onto the delivery table and at 10:30 a.m. my nurse gave me brief instructions on how to push. On my next contraction we would try it. I watched the contraction monitor and got the go-ahead to push, so I pulled my legs back while my husband pushed my left leg against me and the nurse pushed my right. I couldn't feel anything so I had no idea if I was doing it right. I just pushed the way I thought I was supposed to. I pushed through another contraction and the nurse told me that we were ready and she was calling my doctor in to deliver.

Everything was so surreal. I felt like this was all happening to someone else. I took a moment to look around and notice what was going on. There were nurses everywhere and they were prepped and standing around their stations at the incubators, just waiting for these babies to make their arrival. I looked at my husband in his scrubs. He looked tired and scruffy from not shaving. I had never loved him more than I did in that moment. He was my rock. He helped me concentrate on my breathing and was counting for me, never missing a beat. He kept smoothing my hair back and telling me that he loved me. He asked me if I was ready and I told him I was and this was all really weird.

The next thing I know, my doctor was there in his scrubs and mask. He prepped me for delivery and the nurse kept me pushing when I was supposed to because I sure as heck had no idea. I couldn't even tell on the monitor but she somehow knew right when a contraction was starting to build. I pushed about eight times after my doctor got there and then he told me he could see dark hair and lots of it for such an early baby. I asked my husband if he could see it and he said he could more and more every time I pushed. I still couldn't feel anything and still had no idea if I was doing it right but apparently it was working so I just kept doing what I was doing.

Then all of the sudden my doctor told me to stop pushing and I felt and saw my son's head pop out. It didn't hurt at all but I could still feel it. That was weird. I looked at his little head and things were all starting to get real for me. I gave a little push and out popped his body. I could feel him move out of me and boy that is the weirdest feeling ever. He just slipped right out and I was finally looking at my son. I had waited so long to see him and he was adorable. At 11:16 a.m. my son came into the world. Such a handsome little man and I couldn't believe he was ours!

My doctor held him up for a second and showed my husband how to cut the cord and then they whisked him away. He cried immediately and sounded very healthy; he was just small. My husband and I both started crying at the sight of him. The nurse told us she wished she could've taken a picture of the look on our faces. She said it was precious. We were totally in awe at the sight of him. He weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces and I was officially a mom.

A few minutes later my husband brought him over to me and placed him in my arms. He was a little angel. My heart swelled and I fell in love. I cried and told him how much I loved him even though I could barely talk. He was a spitting image of my husband. He had dark hair and his eyes were all puffy from the birth and he was a tiny little guy, so light in my arms. I didn't want to let him go but I gave him back to my husband. I had another baby to deliver!

The nurse told me to start pushing again. I got through a contraction and the doctor said my daughter would be born on the next one. I felt her head pop out and the doctor unwound the cord from her neck. Luckily it was loose. I pushed again and at 11:26 a.m. my daughter was born. She was 5 pounds even. The doctor had to unwind the cord from around her body. She was all tangled up in it, but she came out great. The doctor held her up. She looked like my son to me at first. A perfect little angel. My husband cut her cord and off she went.

It took her a few extra minutes to cry. I had to ask if she was OK because we hadn't heard her cry but she was just fine. The next thing I knew my husband was holding both of them. He gave me my daughter. I just stared at her in complete shock that I was actually a mother of twins. I couldn't believe our luck. Our son looks like his dad and my daughter looks like me. Wow, it could not have worked out any better for us.

We stared at our children for a few more minutes and that's when I noticed the pain building. My doctor had been removing my placentas while we were busy with the babies and now he was pushing on my uterus and I could feel blood pouring out of me. He asked the nurse for a shot of something (can't remember) because I was still bleeding a bit. It was nothing serious but he wanted to get it under control just in case. I saw the nurse plunge the needle in my leg but luckily I was still numb there. I sure felt the doctor pushing on me, though. That was by far the worst pain that I had felt the entire labor and delivery.

The doctor washed me all up and stitched a small tear and then I got moved onto my recovery bed all in a blink of an eye it seems. They told me they were taking the babies to the NICU for observation and that they would possibly need oxygen and feeding tubes due to their prematurity. I got wheeled back to my room and I was on cloud nine the whole way. I was a mom! Our families were waiting anxiously in the room and we were greeted by lots of hugs, kisses and congrats. The families went off to see the babies in the NICU window and we realized how exhausted we were. The rest was a total blur.

All in all, the kids were healthy. Our daughter spent four days in the NICU but our son spent a long three weeks there due to not being able to eat enough on his own. They are 3 months old now and as healthy as can be. By the way, my brother-in-law and his wife delivered identical twin boys the very same day! What are the chances?