A mom relates the blessings and challenges of having two sets of twins in less than two years.

Imagine having twin girls and, 21 months later, having twin boys!

That's exactly what happened to Kristi Hirsch. She and her husband, Pastor Phil Hirsch, were blessed with three children during their first years of marriage. God then gave them a set of identical twin girls, followed by a set of fraternal twin boys less than two years later.

How does she manage? "As a family, we have always worked together and counted on the Lord to provide—and he always does," she says. And when life gets hectic, "I remind myself of the many blessings I have and am thankful for them."

SURPRISE!

The Hirsch's first child, Mychal, was born in 1992 while the family was living in Boulder, Colo. They then moved to Watertown, Wis., and had another daughter, Emma. This was followed by a move to New Ulm, Minn., where Sam was born.

While in New Ulm, Kristi became pregnant once more. "I just thought it was number four," she says. She did not have any ultrasounds taken during the pregnancy. She hadn't had any with the previous three either. "We felt if there was something wrong with the baby we wouldn't want to do anything anyway," she notes.

For a number of reasons, the doctors and the Hirsch family decided that inducing labor would be the best option for Kristi. The Hirsches, the doctors, and the nurses were all surprised when she had two—instead of one—babies. "That's when I found out we were having twins—in the delivery room!" Kristi says.

NEW ADJUSTMENTS

Both of their daughters, Ella and Ida, were born healthy. During the following months, the family adjusted to the new additions. "Many people were very helpful," Kristi says, "They did all sorts of things, from buying a double stroller for us to holding kids when needed and bringing food over."

As identical twin babies, Ella and Ida did many activities at the same time. "They would go to sleep at the same time, wake up and be hungry at the same time—they even got their teeth at the same time," says Kristi. This synchronized behavior, together with help from family and friends, made it easier to care for the twins.

Shortly after Ella and Ida joined the family, the Hirsches moved once more, this time to Manhattan, Kan. "I learned in our first year here that I was pregnant, and I thought, ‘Oh, it's going to be one, and it will be so easy,' " says Kristi. Still, she wanted to check on the chance that it could be twins once more. She had an ultrasound and found out it was twins again!

DIFFERENCES IN TWINS