Considering IVF multiples? Consider this...

So if you're headed down the IVF path as my wife & I did,  you will be posed with the question regarding how may embryos to implant, right?  At that point in our decision process, I was thinking "put them all in".  Thank God for Dr. Pabone who helped us understand that (1) the babies will be at a higher risk as the number goes up and (2) it is likely to happen.  He was right on both accounts.

I was just thinking this morning about how our first ten days have gone at home with the twins, and how utterly dependent I am on my wife, and she on me  -- especially for the nighttime feedings.  I've been thru singletons before and you can always rationalize that you'll switch off at night to help your partner (and yourself) get some extra sleep.  Let me say with twins there is no sleep beyond a 2-3 hr block.  It will take full cooperation and teamwork between you and your wife. Nothing less will work.

The other thing we never considered was the visit to the NICU for the first weeks of life.  This is not a stress-free time and even though we were blessed with the best NICU on the planet (Sarasota Memorial), there is still a lot of work to be done for the parents.  The 24-hr job really starts on day one... it just has a lot more driving injected.

Last night we had one of our friends from church stop by and she commented "I can't imagine not getting an 8 hr block of sleep".  Shoot -- we haven't had one of those in almost two weeks but guess what? We've adjusted and it's ok.  No problems. Especially when you see those little hungry faces at night.

Now during the day there is a contrast in that you are typically awake when someone starts to stir.  Julija has gotten her hair done and had other excursions that I had no problems with and vise-versa.   One starts to wake up,  you take care of them and get them comfortable before the next one does.  No problems.  But at night it's all different because the process starts when someone is so mad they wake you up.  And guess what? They wake up in pairs :)

So -- consider "how many" very carefully. Single parents need not apply for multiples :)
In case you're wondering,  I would do it again without hesitation. Love you Z&Z.