Hey hey hey there!

It’s been a bit of a slow morning and I had some time to pick up my computer. But I’ve had some technical difficulties with logging into my blog lately, and whenever I actually decide to write a post, it takes me about 20 minutes just to log in. Perhaps it’s a sign?

I wanted to share a bit about this pregnancy so far as I’m now 15 weeks and starting to feel like myself again.

Todd and I had talked about having a third baby, but we wanted to wait until we were settled into our home and we wanted to wait for Hayes to turn three. Not because it’s a magic age (far from it!), but I just wanted to move a little farther past the baby stage.

Toward the end of June, I realized that I was late. Another week went by and I was close to two weeks late. At a regular grocery store trip, I picked up a pregnancy test, but just put it under the sink in the bathroom. In my heart, I knew that I was pregnant, but I guess I was just scared to confirm it. Even though it was what we wanted, something about a third baby just had me wondering if we could handle it.

On a Saturday afternoon when Todd was home, I decided to take the test, and it only took about 30 seconds for the plus sign to show up confirming our suspicions. We were going to have another baby! I cried and told Todd, and he just laughed and hugged me. We were so excited… and nervous.

I waited a few days to share the news with my parents and told our closest friends as we saw them. I set up an appointment with my doctor, and went in at 8 weeks.

Around six weeks, I had been feeling pretty lucky that I’d managed to avoid any symptoms or sickness. We were having this fun, carefree summer. I had horrible all day sickness until 24 weeks with both boys, so I was so relieved. But then it hit me with full force around six weeks this time. All day, every day. I’d find myself dozing off on the couch while watching cartoons with the boys. And it took me an hour to get out of bed every morning. And the evenings were actually the worst! I couldn’t eat at night and going to sleep was the only way to feel better.

But the sickness was so reassuring because I knew that my body was doing what it needed to do to support our little baby. And the 8 week appointment went perfectly.

I had to back out of going on a mission trip with our church this summer. It was a trip I had really looked forward to, but with the way I’d been feeling, I knew I couldn’t go without really disrupting the trip. It ended up being the best decision.

We had our last appointment at the end of August and the baby was wiggling all over the place with a really high heart rate of 173. And then, miraculously, I started feeling better. I still have little moments where it hits me, but I feel like I can go and do what I need to do and not worry about getting stuck somewhere and getting sick. I am so thankful to have turned a corner!

I’m 15 weeks now, and definitely starting to show. I’ve been wearing maternity pants for a couple of weeks now, and have been able to wear my normal long tunics and tops to cover up that super awesome belly panel!

We talked about not finding out the sex of this baby. We know it’s our last baby, and I would really love to have that big surprise moment in the delivery room. But, to my complete surprise, Todd really wants to find out.

He told me he’d be fine to find out and not tell me, but I know that would drive me crazy and I’d have to know if he knew.

I’m not a big lover of surprises normally, but for the third baby we have everything we need. We have gowns and onesies and sleepers and a crib and sheets and a room. I think it would be so much fun!

We went ahead and scheduled an appointment to find out the sex in two weeks. I’ll be around 17 weeks then. We can always cancel it if Todd changes his mind. But it looks like we’ll be finding out then!

We’ve talked about names some, but I’m thinking that Todd is like every other man in the world and the baby name conversation isn’t his favorite one to have. I, on the other hand, have been naming babies in my head my whole life.

We really, really are just praying for a super healthy baby. I was lying on the couch late last night watching Shark Tank Week (yes! Shark Tank Week!) and I got really still. My stomach started feeling really full and bubbly and I just had a feeling that if I laid there long enough I’d feel something. And there were some tiny flutters, and all of a sudden I felt one very distinct kick on my hand. And that was just the reassurance I needed.

I get so nervous between appointments in the beginning and I just want to know that everything is okay. I know that all I can do is pray. And the most comforting thing in the world is that God knows this baby. He created this baby. He knew this baby before he was even formed. But those first tiny kicks are so so sweet.

I hope you’re all having a great week so far, and hopefully enjoying slightly cooler temps that give you the promise of fall!

If you’ve read up to this point, thank you! xo