Two miscarriages and months upon months of trying to get pregnant. EVERY day wondering if this month was going to be “it”. Buying 5, sometimes 10 pregnancy tests at the dollar store on my way home from work, just so I could torture myself with each negative pink line that showed up on those lousy plastic sticks each week. I was tired, I was angry… I was done!

Then came the month of July.

The month that my husband and I were SO busy, that we forgot all about our “baby problems” and plowed our way through demanding jobs, busy church callings, and (what seemed like) never-ending family obligations.

I remember like it was yesterday…Sitting in our small cramped basement apartment on the edge of our tiny bed… heart beat pounding in my ears, pregnancy test laying face down in the palm of my clamy hand, praying my VERY hardest that this time… things would be different.

I’ll never forget the feeling I had flipping over that cheap dollar store pregnancy test and seeing a plus, and NOT a minus. The feeling of knowing that THIS time was different, and that this time I was REALLY going to have a baby.

Fast forward 8 weeks.

I was now about 12 weeks along and feeling great! Not much sickness and headed to my first doctors appointment, hubby in tow. I distinctly remember feeling nervous, but also feeling relieved and reassured from the fact that all 8 of my leftover home pregnancy tests from the past few weeks, had STILL turned up positive

I got weighed, peed in a cup, had my blood pressure checked, undressed… and now it was the moment of truth.

I can’t even describe the flood of emotions that go through a Mother’s body when that first blip of blueish-grey from an ultrasound monitor comes up on the screen. Some people choose to look at the monitor with squinty worried eyes trying to make out tiny baby-type shapes, but not me. I turned my head and studied a pencil scribble on the white bumpy wall beside me. I couldn’t tell who’s hand was sweating more at this point. Mine, or my husbands. Either way, it was starting to become the only thing I could focus on, until…

I heard my Doctor start to giggle.

Giggling is good, right!? Nobody giggles in front of a nervous pregnant lady who’s in her first ultrasound after having TWO miscarriages!? I lifted my head and looked at my cute nurse with my most perplexed facial expression demanding to know what was so funny to our doctor!… When she finally stopped giggling and happily say…

“Well folks, get ready! … You’re having twins!”

This moment was definitely, by far, the BEST moment of my first pregnancy.

The next 5 months were pretty much a blur. besides the sleepless nights, excruciating heartburn and then a month-long stay in the hospital, I really enjoyed being pregnant!

All of that said…I never could have prepared myself for the incredible amounts of love and emotion that poured out of me the first time I saw those fragile little babies. Nothing in life is sweeter then those first amazing moments that you have with those precious little people, once they enter into this world.

What an amazing gift we’ve been given as women. To nourish and cultivate the lives of these tiny human beings that we’ve created. I feel pretty confident in saying that I’m sure Mother’s everywhere must feel the same way.

I wouldn’t take back any of the pregnancy trials that got me to this point, because now that I can look back… I realize that growing, learning, and getting through those tough parts of life is what being a Mom is all about.

So now it’s your turn.

What has been the best or hardest part of YOUR pregnancy?

Becoming pregnant changed my life, and I’d love to hear more about your best or most difficult pregnancy moments. By replying, you will be entered to win an exclusive Million Moms Challenge Gift Pack, which includes an all expenses paid trip to a conference on mothers hosted by the UN Foundation in DC (Jan/Feb 2012), an iPad2, a custom-made Million Moms Challenge pendant and $50 donation in your name to Global Giving.

Please join the Million Moms Challenge and sign up!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Million Moms Challenge. The opinions and text are all mine. Contest runs September 19 to October 16, 2011. A random winner will be announced by October 18, 2011.

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