"Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Ava and Olivia
Happy birthday to you"
It was the twins third birthday and Colby was on the road, this was the second birthday in a row that he was on the road and he was getting videos all day from his wife. He couldn't believe his little girls were three, it seemed like just yesterday they were born..
3 years ago...
Every doctor Rebecca had went to had said they didn't see how Rebecca would carry twins to full term. It wasn't easy, her body tried to go into labor at 25 weeks but thankfully they stopped it, it tried to happen again at 33 weeks and the further along she got the more pain, uncomfortable and at risk Rebecca got, the doctors suggested they induce her at 35 weeks, so the twins would be able to come out and have all of the help they needed in the NICU and Rebecca wouldn't be so at risk of something happening but She refused, she wasn't going to induce, she was going to let her body go when it was ready. She got past 35 weeks and she knew the girls would be fine after that, there were less risks to them but she wasn't going to get induced, she was going to wait until her girls were ready..
At 37 weeks and 3 days they were ready
Little did they know how hard and exhausting this process was going to be, 29 hours of contractions every 6 minutes or less, pushing for what felt like forever, It was 29 and a half hours after her water broke that Ava made her appearance at 8:32AM and the relief of pressure was almost instant as she was laid on her mother's chest, the two parents admired the tiny baby who had dark brown hair that almost looked black, her eyes were opened as she looked around and her eyes adjusted
"She's so cute" Rebecca said in a whisper and then the pressure came back
"We can take her.." a nurse said "So you can focus on her sister" she said and Rebecca shook her head, Olivia was just as painful but it was a lot calmer than Ava, maybe it was because her body had adjusted and knew what it was doing or maybe it was because she had one baby laying on her chest, whatever it was.. 12 minutes later at 8:44AM Olivia came into the world screaming, very much the opposite of her older sister.. that would be a trend that would continue as they grew older.
Olivia was quickly placed next to Ava on Rebecca's chest and she quieted down almost instantly.
"Woah.." Rebecca said in a whisper
"How did you do that?" Colby questioned and she looked up at him
"We just went from a family of three to five in less than 15 minutes" she said in a whisper as a nurse placed hats on each baby
"That was amazing.. you did that with no pain medication at all"
"Most painful thing I've ever done in my entire life, hands down" she shook her head
Ava was 5 pounds 1 ounce and 18 inches long.. she stole the weight and all of the room from her sister, who came into the world at 4 pounds 7 ounces and 17 inches long.
Meanwhile with Rebecca back at home she was helping the twins open their gifts, they'd decided on not having a party this year, Colby's schedule wasn't free anytime near their birthday and Rebecca didn't want to have a party without him being there to see the joy on their faces.
"Dollhouse!" Ava yelled as she bounced up and down
"Liv what's that?" Ella asked her sister as she watched her pulling the wrapping paper off in little pieces
"Ball!" Olivia yelled as she jumped up and down
"What kind of ball?" Ella asked
"Socks!" she said and hugged the soccer ball to her chest
"Soccer.. Liv.. it's Soccer not socks"
"I say socks!" she exclaimed and Ella laughed
Olivia loved watching her older sister at soccer practice and begged her parents to put her in but she was still too little so Ella promised the little girl that she would work with her at home and now she had her very own soccer ball to practice with.
That was a major difference between both girls as well, Ava was all about dolls and makeup and princesses and everything girly but Olivia was all about sports and rough and tumble, she was very much a tomboy.
As many differences as they had, they were still twins, they were still attached to one another 24/7. If one was without the other for longer than a few hours they would both begin to get sick because they've never been away from each other longer than two hours their entire life.
The newest obstacle they were going to have to face was when the girls started a Pre-K program in a few weeks, Ella would be starting third grade at the same time and she was excited to get back to her friends but not the learning. The twins would be in different classes which Rebecca and Colby decided would be the best thing for them, they needed to learn to be separated and the couple knew that it wasn't going to be an easy adjustment.
Rebecca watched her two daughters play Soccer in the back yard while she and Ava played with the dollhouse next to the fire pit. It was enough to tire out all three girls and they all eventually made their way under the throw blanket on her lap and watched the fire.
