Countdown to 40 - #1

Well, my son has officially reminded me. Sweet boy said "Mommy, I like the stripes on your forehead". Um. "Those would be wrinkles, baby."

So, I am on a countdown to 40! As of today, I am 3 months, 18 days away. A few weeks ago, I was inspired by a friend who, upon turning 54, committed to doing 55 things she has never done before she turns 55. So, I've borrowed her idea. I'm committing to doing 40 things I have never done before - big or small - by my 40th birthday, February 23.

What better accountability than to share it with you all? And, you can use some of my experiences as a local's guide to the East Bay. Here we go...

#1 Birthed twin girls

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't list the first thing as birthing twins. Nope, never did that before. Short story about it. We didn't find out we were expecting twins until my 20 week ultrasound. Throughout the pregnancy, the girls heart rates were about the same, so separate heart rates were never detected during prior exams. However, we weren't surprised. My sister has 2 sets of twins, my dad is a twin and my mom had twin brothers - yeah, sort of inevitable, I suppose. 

I love to read, and I am a bit of a control freak, so I wanted to be as prepared as possible. I talked to my sister, my grandmother, and a couple of friends who have twins. I researched, read one of the books that was recommended by a friend, When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads, by Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein , and, I planned. Then I panicked. I realized that there was no way to totally control things, and it was up to God. That revelation was frightening and freeing. So I prayed. And started sending prayer requests about growth, health, labor and delivery to friends. While not every prayer was answered as I would have liked (it took my body quite a while to "embrace" the labor process), things occurred just as He planned (on the day I was scheduled to be induced, there was a strike, giving the girls more time), and for the best. In the end, two healthy baby girls popped out 5 minutes apart - Isabella, 7lbs 1 oz and Issa, 7lbs 11ozs.