The Twin Spin by Kendra Hendrix
When we walked into the obstetrician’s office that July morning, we were worried that the pregnancy had
ended. Sickness had plagued me that summer, but it suddenly ended when I was about 11 weeks pregnant.
All signs of the pregnancy seemed to end at once. Because of this, I felt so nervous at my first doctor’s visit.
My head was spinning with anxiety and fear.
My obstetrician recommended an ultrasound to check on the baby. I sat in that small ultrasound room with
fear filling my heart. I felt deep inside that something was terribly wrong. I had known for a couple of weeks
that something wasn’t quite right. When the ultrasound tech maneuvered the wand on my belly, we saw our
baby at once. The baby moved around, waving its arms and legs, and seemed perfectly fine. We asked the
tech if everything seemed okay, and she reassured us. Soon, though, her facial expressions changed. My
fear—and the spinning—resumed. Something was wrong.
I quickly questioned her. “What’s wrong? Is the baby all right?” The tech moved to the phone by the door to
call my obstetrician. My husband grasped my hand tightly. The doctor came in, and she and the tech
nodded together while looking over the ultrasound images. Finally, after what seemed like hours, my doctor
glanced over at us and said, “You’re having two babies!”
Oh no! The spinning again. What? Two babies? I thought there was something wrong with my ONE baby
or that I wasn’t even pregnant anymore. Now she was telling me that I was carrying TWO babies?
TWINS??? I was in immediate shock. That is not the news I expected to receive walking into that doctor’s
office that day. Were we on an emotional roller coaster called the Twin Spin? I expected bad news that day
and received completely opposite news!
My husband took the news much better than I. He giggled and was instantly excited over our new challenge.
I, on the other hand, had immediate concerns over carrying two babies, caring for two babies, and raising two
babies. I also worried about the son we already had. He had turned two a month before. Things seemed to
be spinning out of control.
Everyone in the doctor’s office seemed to know of our news almost instantly. Some congratulated us, while
others almost felt sorry for us. “Bless your hearts,” some said like they offered condolences. Our parents
had very different reactions, too. My parents were thrilled, especially my mother who already relished her
role as Mimi to one child. The thought of two more especially thrilled her. My husband’s mother, however,
was shocked when she stared at the ultrasound picture showing off our two surprises. My grandmother, too,
seemed to feel sorry for me instead of being overjoyed at our news. I was somewhere in between. I was
happy that all seemed well with my pregnancy, but I felt anxious or even downright scared at the prospect of
twins. I had never envisioned twins in my mental picture of my family.
After a couple of weeks and a great deal of prayer, the news of twins finally sunk in for me. I knew God had a
plan for me, and obviously, that plan included twins. Sure, it was a different plan than I ever expected, but
God had chosen me to be the mother of these babies. Surely, if He thought I could do it, then I could. I felt a
sense of peace from then on about carrying and raising these babies with their big brother.
We met a variety of opinions on twins while I was pregnant. Some people seemed almost jealous of us. They
claimed they had always wanted twins. Others, though, said the most awful things. Things like, “Better you
than me” or “You’ll sure have your hands full.” To ignore their thoughtless comments, I would always remind
myself that it was better me than them and that my hands would indeed be full, but thankfully not empty.
I was very taken aback by everyone’s fascination with twins. Seemingly everyone—including complete
strangers—wanted to know all the details about the babies and my pregnancy. Were they identical or
fraternal? Boys or girls? Would I breastfeed them? Did we use fertility treatments? This was a question I
could NOT believe I was asked so much. Are they “real twins”? I wasn’t sure what this meant at first, but I
found out it is a variation of the previous question. Would they sleep together or apart? Do twins run in my
family? The list goes on and on. I answered these questions the entire time I was pregnant, all the time
praying for the patience to endure them again.
What I know now is that this was God’s way of preparing me for life with my babies. I still answer questions
like this nearly every day, and my twins turned two last month. Those questions are what first made me
realize that my life would never be the same again. Never again would I be able to shop for groceries without
several people stopping me to check out the babies and run through this list of questions. Even my then 2-
year-old could answer “fatonal” (fraternal).
These endless questions kept me from grocery shopping or strolling through the mall in peace, but they did
prepare me for the loss of control these twins brought to our lives. That was difficult for two control freaks
like my husband and me to swallow. It was in this uncontrollable setting, though, that we began to rely on
God more. We knew we would have hard days, and indeed we did, but He would see us through. And He
has. We knew adding two more children to our family would make finances thin, but we also knew He would
provide. He has. We knew sleep would be fleeting, but we also knew God would give us enough strength to
sustain us, and He did.
During my pregnancy and the first few months with my twins, I had to rely on God more than any other time in
my life up to that point. I didn’t know if I would have the strength to carry two babies at one time. I didn’t know
if I’d be up to the challenge of double the diapers, spit up, feeding, and care of two newborns. I didn’t know if
I would be “good enough” for these babies, but I knew God would provide a way. He gave us these babies,
and we knew He’d give us the strength, wisdom, and encouragement to endure.
That strength, wisdom, and encouragement came from God in the form of kind family members who took time
off from work to help us in those first few busy weeks, church members and friends who loved on us by
providing meals or stopping by to play with our toddler who felt so neglected, and other twin moms and dads
who have been there before and shared their wisdom with us. We quickly realized God’s promise to never
leave us was fulfilled.
God is there all the time. He is always with us in times of celebration and times of struggle. He’s with us in
our most triumphant moments or on the battlefield when life seems to be spinning out of control. Whether
you’re struggling with a new little one or two or three, God is there to help you find your
Kendra Hendrix lives in Owensboro, Kentucky and is a stay-at-home mother of 3 kids.
When we walked into the obstetrician’s office that July morning, we were worried that the pregnancy had
ended. Sickness had plagued me that summer, but it suddenly ended when I was about 11 weeks pregnant.
All signs of the pregnancy seemed to end at once. Because of this, I felt so nervous at my first doctor’s visit.
My head was spinning with anxiety and fear.
My obstetrician recommended an ultrasound to check on the baby. I sat in that small ultrasound room with
fear filling my heart. I felt deep inside that something was terribly wrong. I had known for a couple of weeks
that something wasn’t quite right. When the ultrasound tech maneuvered the wand on my belly, we saw our
baby at once. The baby moved around, waving its arms and legs, and seemed perfectly fine. We asked the
tech if everything seemed okay, and she reassured us. Soon, though, her facial expressions changed. My
fear—and the spinning—resumed. Something was wrong.
I quickly questioned her. “What’s wrong? Is the baby all right?” The tech moved to the phone by the door to
call my obstetrician. My husband grasped my hand tightly. The doctor came in, and she and the tech
nodded together while looking over the ultrasound images. Finally, after what seemed like hours, my doctor
glanced over at us and said, “You’re having two babies!”
Oh no! The spinning again. What? Two babies? I thought there was something wrong with my ONE baby
or that I wasn’t even pregnant anymore. Now she was telling me that I was carrying TWO babies?
TWINS??? I was in immediate shock. That is not the news I expected to receive walking into that doctor’s
office that day. Were we on an emotional roller coaster called the Twin Spin? I expected bad news that day
and received completely opposite news!
My husband took the news much better than I. He giggled and was instantly excited over our new challenge.
I, on the other hand, had immediate concerns over carrying two babies, caring for two babies, and raising two
babies. I also worried about the son we already had. He had turned two a month before. Things seemed to
be spinning out of control.
Everyone in the doctor’s office seemed to know of our news almost instantly. Some congratulated us, while
others almost felt sorry for us. “Bless your hearts,” some said like they offered condolences. Our parents
had very different reactions, too. My parents were thrilled, especially my mother who already relished her
role as Mimi to one child. The thought of two more especially thrilled her. My husband’s mother, however,
was shocked when she stared at the ultrasound picture showing off our two surprises. My grandmother, too,
seemed to feel sorry for me instead of being overjoyed at our news. I was somewhere in between. I was
happy that all seemed well with my pregnancy, but I felt anxious or even downright scared at the prospect of
twins. I had never envisioned twins in my mental picture of my family.
After a couple of weeks and a great deal of prayer, the news of twins finally sunk in for me. I knew God had a
plan for me, and obviously, that plan included twins. Sure, it was a different plan than I ever expected, but
God had chosen me to be the mother of these babies. Surely, if He thought I could do it, then I could. I felt a
sense of peace from then on about carrying and raising these babies with their big brother.
We met a variety of opinions on twins while I was pregnant. Some people seemed almost jealous of us. They
claimed they had always wanted twins. Others, though, said the most awful things. Things like, “Better you
than me” or “You’ll sure have your hands full.” To ignore their thoughtless comments, I would always remind
myself that it was better me than them and that my hands would indeed be full, but thankfully not empty.
I was very taken aback by everyone’s fascination with twins. Seemingly everyone—including complete
strangers—wanted to know all the details about the babies and my pregnancy. Were they identical or
fraternal? Boys or girls? Would I breastfeed them? Did we use fertility treatments? This was a question I
could NOT believe I was asked so much. Are they “real twins”? I wasn’t sure what this meant at first, but I
found out it is a variation of the previous question. Would they sleep together or apart? Do twins run in my
family? The list goes on and on. I answered these questions the entire time I was pregnant, all the time
praying for the patience to endure them again.
What I know now is that this was God’s way of preparing me for life with my babies. I still answer questions
like this nearly every day, and my twins turned two last month. Those questions are what first made me
realize that my life would never be the same again. Never again would I be able to shop for groceries without
several people stopping me to check out the babies and run through this list of questions. Even my then 2-
year-old could answer “fatonal” (fraternal).
These endless questions kept me from grocery shopping or strolling through the mall in peace, but they did
prepare me for the loss of control these twins brought to our lives. That was difficult for two control freaks
like my husband and me to swallow. It was in this uncontrollable setting, though, that we began to rely on
God more. We knew we would have hard days, and indeed we did, but He would see us through. And He
has. We knew adding two more children to our family would make finances thin, but we also knew He would
provide. He has. We knew sleep would be fleeting, but we also knew God would give us enough strength to
sustain us, and He did.
During my pregnancy and the first few months with my twins, I had to rely on God more than any other time in
my life up to that point. I didn’t know if I would have the strength to carry two babies at one time. I didn’t know
if I’d be up to the challenge of double the diapers, spit up, feeding, and care of two newborns. I didn’t know if
I would be “good enough” for these babies, but I knew God would provide a way. He gave us these babies,
and we knew He’d give us the strength, wisdom, and encouragement to endure.
That strength, wisdom, and encouragement came from God in the form of kind family members who took time
off from work to help us in those first few busy weeks, church members and friends who loved on us by
providing meals or stopping by to play with our toddler who felt so neglected, and other twin moms and dads
who have been there before and shared their wisdom with us. We quickly realized God’s promise to never
leave us was fulfilled.
God is there all the time. He is always with us in times of celebration and times of struggle. He’s with us in
our most triumphant moments or on the battlefield when life seems to be spinning out of control. Whether
you’re struggling with a new little one or two or three, God is there to help you find your
Kendra Hendrix lives in Owensboro, Kentucky and is a stay-at-home mother of 3 kids.
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