In 2007, Melanie and Justin Vitovsky found out that they were expecting their first child.  They were beyond excited.   Justin wondered if he would have a son or a daughter, and Melanie began keeping a journal where she wrote letters to little one inside.   At 14 weeks of pregnancy, she awoke from a dream where a baby girl with curly brown hair (like her Daddy’s) waved goodbye.   She had this terrible feeling that something was wrong, and though there were no indications of anything other than a healthy pregnancy,   she made an immediate appointment to visit the Dr. that day.  At the Dr. everything checked out upon initial exam, but because she couldn’t relieve the knot in the pit of her stomach an ultrasound was ordered.  Their small baby’s heart had stopped beating.  It was a heartbreaking and complicated time.  They hadn’t yet found out the sex of the baby, but because of her dream Melanie swore that it had been a girl.  Through pathology testing she was confirmed right.  There were complications of the miscarriage that required two D & C’s and a week’s hospitalization because of c.diff that resulted from preventative antibiotics.  During that stay in the hospital a CT Scan was performed.   Completely unrelated to any of these events, a tumor was seen on Melanie’s right kidney and she was referred to a urologist.  There were multiple Dr. visits, tests, misdiagnosis, and then surgery.  Through a partial nephrectomy, and pathology reports it was confirmed that Melanie had a Type 3 Renal Cell Carcinoma.  Her Dr.’s made it quite clear that she was very blessed it was found early.  The specific type of cancer was aggressive, and unlikely to display symptoms until later stages of progression.  Undetected that tumor could have become terminal within 5 years.  The partial nephrectomy was Melanie’s 7^th surgery within 4 years due to additional medical issues.    (It’s now 12 since 2004.)  During her recovery, Justin was laid off.  He found employment but at half the income he’d made for the previous several years. 

Melanie struggled with a few different health issues, among them, PCOS, and Crohns disease.  She would see a reproductive endocrinologist for treatment of her PCOS.  After helping to correct the enlarged ovaries, Melanie became pregnant with twins in January of 2009, despite evidence of infertility in both Justin and herself.  It was a difficult pregnancy involving pre-term labor that started at 21 weeks, and time in the hospital of over 5 weeks for herself, and 4 weeks for the premature boys.  Jace was born at 5 lbs 3.6 oz, 18 inches, and Jaiden was born at 4 lbs 5 oz, 17 inches.   They’ve had apnea monitors long term and work with ECI.  Melanie nursed and is working on education to become board certified in lactation consultation so that she can help other Mom’ s that struggle with similar issues.  Since their twins were born, Jace was diagnosed with autism.  He's participated in two research studies at Texas Children's Hospital.  Through early diagnosis and intervention, they know that he will grow up to be exactly the man that God intends him to be.  As Melanie says, "He will teach me more in my lifetime than I could ever teach him in his.  God knows what he's doing."

In an effort to support their family and at the suggestion of close friend (and TWINkieBabies partner) Rosy Turbay, efforts began to bring TWINkieBabies to a computer near you.  When their twins start school in a few years, depending on what God has planned for them in the way of other children, they’d like to open up a storefront boutique in addition to their online store.