My Twin Story

I met Jim at work in 2001 we began dating.  On February 23, 2003 he proposed to me in front of Cinderella's Castle in Disney World.  A year and a half later we were married on August 7, 2004 and couldn't be happier!

In April 2006, we decided to start trying to have a baby and very quickly realized that something was wrong.  We started seeing a fertility specialist and I was quickly diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and began a treatment plan right away.  After more than a year and 6 combined cycles of pills, injections (that I had to give MYSELF!), ultrasounds, blood work and disappointments it was recommended that we proceed with in-vitro.  We began to learn all about the process and all that it entailed.  I was very scared (if you know of my fear of doctors... you understand this), but Jim was very supportive.  While he was eager to try, he told me that we didn't have to do it if I didn't think I could go through it.  After a lot of thought, we decided to start the lengthy process.  Up to this point, this was a very sad and difficult time for me, but in the end I'm glad that we went through it. 
I was lucky to find that a friend of Jim's had gone through this process successfully and she really put me at ease and "coached" me through.  I really believe that the positive attitude that she gave me helped tremendously for our ultimate success.  We went through all of our prescribed preparation appointments, injections, etc.  I went for my retrieval the day after my Grandmother passed from her battle with Leukemia and the nurses called for each of the next few days to update us on our embryos status.  On the morning of my Grandmother's viewing we were told that the transfer would take place the next day, so we would need to drive back that evening from New York and would miss her funeral.  While this saddened me, she knew of my struggles and I know that she would not have wanted me to go through all of that work and then not go through with the embryo transfer. 
We had a long 10 days to wait to see if the process had worked.  After a few days of bed rest, I went back to work to wait it out.  I stopped on the prescribed day for my blood work and was trying so hard not to stress that I didn't even buy a home pregnancy test to check.  In the afternoon, I received a call from a nurse named Barbara (my mother's name) telling me that I was in fact PREGNANT!!!! I was so excited that I could barely contain myself.  We kept it pretty quiet for a couple of weeks until our first ultrasound.  My pregnancy was confirmed and it was amazing that at only 6 weeks that their were TWO, yes TWO little heartbeats!

I prepared picture frames for our close family with signs inside that read: RESERVED for the Hazlett Twins expected on October 16, 2008 and wrapped them up as gifts to surprise them with the news. 

Looking back, I am so glad that I had to go through all of this to get pregnant because it made me appreciate the gifts that we were given that much more! I got sick nearly every day of my pregnancy, and as silly as it may sound I knew that if I woke up and got sick that day that I was still pregnant.  I was so excited throughout my pregnancy and really could not have imagined what a cool process growing new life inside of you could be. We had a few scares in July & August that required hospitalizations and tests to ensure that our little pumpkins didn't arrive too soon.  I actually wound up missing the shower that my mother-in-law threw because of one of these episodes.  Ultimately I was put on bed rest at 31 weeks and delivered 3 weeks later.  Summer & Cole arrived on September 9, 2008 and the rest is HISTORY!