Posted on 06/25/2006 1:02:39 PM PDT by Coleus
Two fuzzy heartbeats—our doctor pointed to the black-and-white monitor of the ultrasound machine, and we both squinted and pretended to see what he was talking about. A lima bean, we thought, with a smaller lima bean next to it? Sensing that we weren’t getting it, he punched a few keys and suddenly the small exam room at Cornell’s Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility filled with a rapid-fire thump-thump-thump-thump: our embryos on speakerphone. So wait, it had worked? Twice? When we still didn’t say anything, our other doctor piped up: “This is good news, you guys.”
How did we feel? Relieved, more than anything, that we didn’t have to face starting all over again with fertility injections. And then . . . shocked that there were, in fact, two of them in there. Given that we’d done in vitro fertilization (IVF), twins were a predictable outcome. But we hadn’t allowed ourselves to believe it would actually happen.
When we decided to get pregnant, we had imagined a far simpler scenario. We had expected to control the process the way we thought we controlled everything else in our tidy yuppie lives. We felt happily married. We had pretty good jobs. We had a new apartment with an extra bedroom. Having a kid was the natural next step. In a sense, we were merely being swept up in the generational tide, but we also genuinely envied our friends with kids and liked being around them. This is what we wanted.
For ten years, Sarah had, via the Pill, put her reproductive system on hold, assuming that it would resume normal service when she wanted it to, right on cue.
(Excerpt) Read more at newyorkmetro.com ...
My twins turn 31 this year. They both have two children, but one of them wants another. I have been gently pushing for her to please not put it off any longer. The Pill has screwed up society and with it women's reproductive systems.
"Sarah had, via the Pill, put her reproductive system on hold, assuming that it would resume normal service when she wanted it to, right on cue."
Why women put their bodies through the ravages of hormonal contraception is something I will never understand. One of the most insideous lies of the feminist movement is that you can have a baby whenever you want. A woman's ferility drops dramatically by age 25. You can't mess with nature without having to pay the piper at some time.
I have a hard time feeling too sorry for yuppies who find their world turned upside down with the arrival of a second baby when they only ordered one. A family I know was expecting their ninth child. During the ultrasound the technician looked at them and asked "Which is this?" They said "Nine." He said "Try ten."
That's a shock I can understand.
An acquaintance of mine was surprised with her 8th and 9th babies, at the delivery. I have not been blessed with twins, but of course you adjust :=).
Having twins after 8 kids is not such a big deal, the older ones help out a lot.
I had my 9 kids one at a time.
Nobody told my Mom that fertility drops after 25.
She had 7 after that age.
My mother had six. But it is a medical fact.
She might disagree with you, but the older children did help out quite a bit.
Not disputing the statistics....
However she hadn't used anything to supress he ovaries and had her first one at 18.
I've had 7 of mine since 25, and 6 since 30 :-). Der Prinz's fertility seems to be falling off afte 40, though; we have slightly more than two years between each of the last 3 children!
My mother's first child was born at 28. and her last at 41. However, she too didn't mess with her system.
Time for what? Time to murder one if it might be too inconvenient. Do these self absorbed yuppies realize that children are human beings, not pets?
The only thing that kept my Mom from having more was a ruptured uterus with her 14th delivery.
She wanted more.
2 year interval is good. Keeps you from having too many in diapers at once.
She squeezed them in close together.
Six kids, thirteen years, not too shabby....
Apparently, the Pill back in the late 60s was still pretty new science. She was also taking antibiotics at the time and they did something to counteract the hormones.
I was on the pill for only a short while, I never liked how it made me feel -- it was very a very strange, unnatural time. Thankfully, my body bounced back quickly--because I've heard horror stories of women who NEVER get back to normal. We'll be trying (possibly, still haven't decided) on baby number two next year. If we get pregnant, great, if not--there's always adoption.
I had 5 in 6 years....started at age 25 and ended at age 30. No pills ever, healthy kids, good father, wholesome family....all kids college graduates now.
Had time to get ready perhaps? We found out we were expecting twins nine weeks into our second pregnancy, and we needed all nine months to prepare ourselves mentally. Unfortunately we only had 7.5 months, and it took us years to catch up.
One book we read included the statement that the occurrence of multiples takes off astronomically at the age of 35, perhaps showing Mother Nature has a sense of urgency, but it also drops again at 41 - showing she also has a sense of humor.
We would never wish twins on even our worst enemies, but we would never chose to be withour ours - we are blessed to have such a gift.
Nothing beats a big family.
We had fun that singletons can't conceive of.
Massive Monopoly games that went on for hours , playing cards, building forts,playing ball,going fishing, camping and picnics.
Fixing Sunday dinner was a massive family affair.
Mom's fried chicken was to die for.
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