Unlike my title insinuates - we actually got pregnant on purpose...
But whoops...I stopped blogging because I got pregnant!
I just looked at when my last post was and what it was about and it was literally probably 3 days later that the pregnancy "hit" me. We actually found out the day before Josh's birthday in September and we were absolutely thrilled. It was such good news in the midst of lots of hard news we had in late August/early September.
Then I felt horrible. I mean, I'm sure it wasn't Princess Kate having to go to the hospital horrible, but WAY worse than I recall with Noelle. I was tired more than anything I remember with Noelle. I could barely get out of bed, and just wanted to sleep all day. On top of that the nausea was horrible. I didn't want to eat anything and of course we all know, the less you eat the worse you feel. All I did was try to think of something I wanted to eat and that process was horrible because you inevitably think of something and that food suddenly makes you feel nauseous.
After a few weeks of suffering I tried the vitamin B6 and Unisom combo I had read so much about on the internet, and it actually helped quite a bit. It definitely made food more appealing, but I still had my strong gag reflex (had it with Noelle too) that could make eating quite difficult. I definitely have thrown up way more with this kiddo - 2 to 3 times more than I did with Noelle. It hasn't been excessive but for me, throwing up is torture, so it's been rough.
Mostly I have been so exhausted that I have just been trying to get through this pregnancy as much as possible.
Then life got even more complicated! At the end of October, Josh and the rest of the staff at Quest was notified that we would need to make significant staffing cuts. After a 3 week process where people we know, love, and trust really sought God and tried to discern the best plan for our church, we were notified that Josh was being let go. We were not surprised and we were ready to head into the next season for our family.
From the end of November until today in late January, we have had such a healing and sweet time as a family. Josh and I have spent so much more time together and we have had so much family time with Noelle. Our relationships with each other have grown deeper and stronger and we are so grateful for the extra time we have had together.
Josh has started out as a freelancer for now and we feel this is the best plan for our family at the moment. We've seen lots of opportunities so far and have not had to go without so far...even though we are just now entering the end of our severance pay. I don't question that we will have everything we need, when we need it!
Ok enough with the life catch up. Most of you who might read this know all this any way because you see me - but for those of you far away, there are the brief details.
So, now I'm nearly 23 weeks in and haven't shared anything much about this pregnancy. So here are the answers to the standard questions that we pregnant folk tend to get pretty standardly :)
Are you excited it's a boy?
Absolutely! Though I am a bit bummed I don't get to use the magnificent cute mounds of girl clothing I have from Noelle, we are thrilled it's a boy. One of each is so awesome, and I am confident that Noelle is going to love her little brother. This will be a huge adventure to me, as I grew up in a house where my dad and the cat were the only boys! Pretty much by 12 weeks I was pretty convinced he was a boy, so I wasn't surprised when my "mother's intuition" was correct for the 2nd time :)
Any names yet?
We haven't decided on any names and are terrible at trying to figure it out this go round. We will tell when we know the full name - so feel free to make a suggestion and put in your two cents!!
Any cravings?
I always have the fleeting cravings at random, but mostly I am eating all the same stuff that I did with Noelle. Lots of fruits and lots of fresh veggies. I have noticed that I want meat a bit more than Noelle (especially red meat) and I have a very odd love of fruit roll ups.
Does Noelle understand?
Yes, and not totally. Thanks to my friend Rachel being 10 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy, Noelle learned about a "baby in there" from Rachel's daughter Meaghan (who is 10). So she is excited that there is a "baby in there" and loves to mention it but she doesn't quite comprehend that it's a boy. She does call him "baby brother" right now, but we're not sure that means very much to her.
Are you doing a new nursery?
Nope - I went neutral with Noelle for this very purpose. I intend to use the same stuff and the same room for baby brother. Noelle is being upgraded to the "guest room" and they will have their own rooms.
When are you actually due?
The doctor is keeping it at May 28, 2015...though according to the first 2 ultrasounds it should be May 26, 2015. So I have decided to go in between those two dates, and tell people he is due on Noelle's birthday (May 27). We'll see if he is like his big sister and waits to come out late...hopefully not 10 days like her...or if he wants to be funny and come early. I just think May is a wonderful month to have a baby :)
Hopefully I'll get some more blogs in now that my energy levels are going back up. This next week we will be doing some home re-organization while my parents are in town as we prepare for an extra human living in our little home. The nesting has begun!!
