Seeing as I've only mentioned this poor little fourth child of mine once on the blog so far, I figured it was a good idea to document some of the pregnancy before it's all in past tense (and we all know blogging won't be my first priority once the baby comes!)
I found out I was for sure pregnant on Wedneday, Sept 9. I was surprised simply because it happened so quickly this time around. But I was also very excited. It had taken me almost a year after being called to be RS president to come to terms with the fact that our next child would be on the Lord's time schedule instead of mine. (This little guy would have come last spring if it were up to me, but I wasn't about to add a new baby to the craziness of my RS life!) I was extremely excited to finally welcome another baby into our family after what seemed like forever.
I told Brett that night by making a crossword puzzle out of Bananagram tiles.
He, too, was excited but also surprised and a little nervous. We knew what we were signing up for! With as crazy as life gets with the three kids we have, it's a bit daunting to imagine adding another one. :)
Over the next few weeks, I felt sicker and sicker. Morning sickness for me hits worst in the evening. I start the day fine but feel worse as the day progresses. I discovered that sucking on Lifesaver mints helped quite a bit. The kids were constantly asking what I was eating and why I was always eating mints. Gratefully none of them like mints, so they weren't too jealous. :) It was challenging to keep up with the demands of my calling while feeling ill. Previously, I had purposely scheduled a lot of meetings and food orders for the late evenings so I could be gone when the kids were in bed. Since that was my worst time, I felt like I was at a loss!
We told the kids in mid-October when I was 10 weeks. I'd been to the doctor and had an ultrasound that showed a perfectly forming peanut, so we figured we were safe to tell them why I was feeling so nasty all the time. For family night, we went to the store and bought pumpkins to paint in preparation for Halloween. Brett snuck an extra, tiny pumpkin into the cart. When we got home, he pulled each pumpkin out of the bag and handed them out. When he had an extra one, the girls blamed Aaron for accidentally getting two, but Brett said it must be for our other child. Daddy is a bit of a tease, so it took several seconds for them to get it. Ember was the first to question, "Really?" with wide eyes. She told Abby and they both got super excited. Aaron just kept asking if he could paint the tiny pumpkin. :) And thus our baby got his womb name "Baby Pumpkin".
This pregnancy has been harder than the others because I was sick longer. I never threw up but just felt overall nasty. It started to improve around 15 weeks but I didn't feel normal until 24 weeks. I think it was probably because I didn't have the time to rest as much as I should have. Although I let some things fall through the cracks, I was still very busy and stressed. There were several evenings that I told Brett we are not doing this again! I also got bigger faster this time around. I felt like I was obviously showing by 12 weeks, this picture of me at 18 weeks doesn't look too huge, right?
On December 27, we had our ultrasound. I'd hoped we could do it the week before Christmas so the gender reveal could be a Christmas present, but the receptionist insisted on scheduling me for my "21 week ultrasound" the week after. Grrr. But I think it was for the best because I get so excited for the kids that I don't sleep the night before Christmas as it is. Add in finally finding out the baby's gender and I would have been waking everyone at 5 am!
We brought all the kids to the ultrasound as well as my mom. I was anxious to make sure the baby was healthy. (I've been more stressed out about what could go wrong this pregnancy. Maybe because I'm more educated and experienced? It has been an opportunity for me to trust in the Lord and give the burden to Him. It's been an ongoing process, but I think I'm better for it.) The ultrasound tech found the heartbeat and did a quick overview of the baby and then showed us that he is unmistakably a boy. Even I could tell, and that's saying something! I was very excited to have another boy and make our family even. The girls were actually hoping for another sister, but they got over it. Aaron was hoping for a baby brother who could "sleep in the sandbox". Apparently he's heard that babies sleep a lot! Brett said he was relieved it was a boy because he was afraid we'd have to keep having kids until we evened out numbers. :) I'm just a little OCD about stuff like that.
At the ultrasound we also learned that the placenta was at the front of my belly. That explained why I didn't feel the baby move until later than I thought I should. I never felt the flutters. I just felt kicks down low at 18-19 weeks. I continued to feel kicks and movement only down low until just a few weeks ago. Now I feel it all over. He's definitely getting stronger! And he will probably be a BIG boy like his brother because his femurs were on the longer side of average just like Aaron's.
The baby became more real to me once we knew a gender and that he was developing normally. We started to plan how to rearrange rooms (No one wants to move downstairs so he will share with Ember once he's sleeping better at night. Until then, he will sleep in the bassinet in our walk-in closet since we all do better not hearing each other sleep. We'll see how it goes.) I went through the baby boy clothes. But the thing that got me super excited about this baby joining our family was buying fabric to make matching pajamas for him and Aaron. (Silly, huh?) The girls originally wanted to match too, but they weren't in love with the cars Aaron and I chose, so they have coordinating blue nightgowns. :) Since I got released from RS president the end of January, I've actually had time to sew, and it's been so nice to have a fun project. The jammies are almost done, and I have the top of the baby's quilt pieced too. Those things make his coming seem so much more real to me and get me so excited!
I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that the baby was born. (I had actually delivered him myself at home. I'll take the easy labor and delivery of that dream, but I want to be in the hospital.) I was holding him and nursing him, and he was the cutest little baby with dark hair. When the alarm woke me up, I pushed snooze in hopes of returning to that dream. It was just so fun, and now I really can't wait to meet our little guy. And hopefully he'll introduce himself since we are struggling in the name department! :)
Over the next few weeks, I felt sicker and sicker. Morning sickness for me hits worst in the evening. I start the day fine but feel worse as the day progresses. I discovered that sucking on Lifesaver mints helped quite a bit. The kids were constantly asking what I was eating and why I was always eating mints. Gratefully none of them like mints, so they weren't too jealous. :) It was challenging to keep up with the demands of my calling while feeling ill. Previously, I had purposely scheduled a lot of meetings and food orders for the late evenings so I could be gone when the kids were in bed. Since that was my worst time, I felt like I was at a loss!
We told the kids in mid-October when I was 10 weeks. I'd been to the doctor and had an ultrasound that showed a perfectly forming peanut, so we figured we were safe to tell them why I was feeling so nasty all the time. For family night, we went to the store and bought pumpkins to paint in preparation for Halloween. Brett snuck an extra, tiny pumpkin into the cart. When we got home, he pulled each pumpkin out of the bag and handed them out. When he had an extra one, the girls blamed Aaron for accidentally getting two, but Brett said it must be for our other child. Daddy is a bit of a tease, so it took several seconds for them to get it. Ember was the first to question, "Really?" with wide eyes. She told Abby and they both got super excited. Aaron just kept asking if he could paint the tiny pumpkin. :) And thus our baby got his womb name "Baby Pumpkin".
This pregnancy has been harder than the others because I was sick longer. I never threw up but just felt overall nasty. It started to improve around 15 weeks but I didn't feel normal until 24 weeks. I think it was probably because I didn't have the time to rest as much as I should have. Although I let some things fall through the cracks, I was still very busy and stressed. There were several evenings that I told Brett we are not doing this again! I also got bigger faster this time around. I felt like I was obviously showing by 12 weeks, this picture of me at 18 weeks doesn't look too huge, right?
However I had Brett take a picture of me today at 31 weeks because I was wearing the same shirt I wore when I was really pregnant with Abby.
And then I looked up the picture from Abby. I was 34 weeks in the other picture, and I was smaller than this! I just stick straight out this time around! Oh well.
It has been more fun to have older children this time around. The girls especially are so excited for a baby and they understand what's coming. Aaron has been so cute giving my belly kisses and telling me how much he loves Baby Pumpkin. On December 27, we had our ultrasound. I'd hoped we could do it the week before Christmas so the gender reveal could be a Christmas present, but the receptionist insisted on scheduling me for my "21 week ultrasound" the week after. Grrr. But I think it was for the best because I get so excited for the kids that I don't sleep the night before Christmas as it is. Add in finally finding out the baby's gender and I would have been waking everyone at 5 am!
We brought all the kids to the ultrasound as well as my mom. I was anxious to make sure the baby was healthy. (I've been more stressed out about what could go wrong this pregnancy. Maybe because I'm more educated and experienced? It has been an opportunity for me to trust in the Lord and give the burden to Him. It's been an ongoing process, but I think I'm better for it.) The ultrasound tech found the heartbeat and did a quick overview of the baby and then showed us that he is unmistakably a boy. Even I could tell, and that's saying something! I was very excited to have another boy and make our family even. The girls were actually hoping for another sister, but they got over it. Aaron was hoping for a baby brother who could "sleep in the sandbox". Apparently he's heard that babies sleep a lot! Brett said he was relieved it was a boy because he was afraid we'd have to keep having kids until we evened out numbers. :) I'm just a little OCD about stuff like that.
At the ultrasound we also learned that the placenta was at the front of my belly. That explained why I didn't feel the baby move until later than I thought I should. I never felt the flutters. I just felt kicks down low at 18-19 weeks. I continued to feel kicks and movement only down low until just a few weeks ago. Now I feel it all over. He's definitely getting stronger! And he will probably be a BIG boy like his brother because his femurs were on the longer side of average just like Aaron's.
The baby became more real to me once we knew a gender and that he was developing normally. We started to plan how to rearrange rooms (No one wants to move downstairs so he will share with Ember once he's sleeping better at night. Until then, he will sleep in the bassinet in our walk-in closet since we all do better not hearing each other sleep. We'll see how it goes.) I went through the baby boy clothes. But the thing that got me super excited about this baby joining our family was buying fabric to make matching pajamas for him and Aaron. (Silly, huh?) The girls originally wanted to match too, but they weren't in love with the cars Aaron and I chose, so they have coordinating blue nightgowns. :) Since I got released from RS president the end of January, I've actually had time to sew, and it's been so nice to have a fun project. The jammies are almost done, and I have the top of the baby's quilt pieced too. Those things make his coming seem so much more real to me and get me so excited!
I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that the baby was born. (I had actually delivered him myself at home. I'll take the easy labor and delivery of that dream, but I want to be in the hospital.) I was holding him and nursing him, and he was the cutest little baby with dark hair. When the alarm woke me up, I pushed snooze in hopes of returning to that dream. It was just so fun, and now I really can't wait to meet our little guy. And hopefully he'll introduce himself since we are struggling in the name department! :)
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