dress is old Reformation

Yay! Baby #3 is on the way and we couldn’t be more excited. I am 14 weeks today which means I am officially saying goodbye to my first trimester and hello to more energy, less nausea and better days ahead. My due date is January 7, 2021 – a beautiful way to start a new year.

We feel so beyond blessed to be able to grow our family. We do not take that opportunity and ability for granted. We have many friends currently struggling to conceive that I hold in my heart everyday, hoping and praying that they get their miracle. It is not something we take lightly, just want to make that clear as I explain our process of getting to this point.

Having another baby was always something I knew in my heart I wanted for our family. In all honesty, Dave would have been happy with two. He comes from two and appreciates the man to man coverage we currently have going on in our house. But I come from a family of three kids and that dynamic was always something I wanted for Charlie and Jack. There is a quote from one of my favorite songs, Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen…“siblings are the greatest link to your past and the most likely to stick with you in the future.” Siblings are such a gift and I always knew that if I could give my kids siblingS, then I would try.

Our journey to getting here is pretty simple. Dave and I are very fortunate that we’ve never struggled with getting pregnant. I’ve never taken ovulation sticks and if it didn’t happen one month, I didn’t stress about it too much. I trust my body’s timing. I haven’t taken birth control since 2009 so I’m pretty in-sync with the way my body operates. With all of my babies, I’ve never focused too hard on the timing each month. I aimed for the middle of the month (or 10-14 days after the first day of my period) as the typical most successful time of the month to conceive but never focused too hard on it.

On April 15, I took a positive pregnancy test. I’ve had so many questions about getting pregnant during COVID and if it was a fear I had or a concern and honestly, no. At this point our lives have morphed into a new protective awareness that I truly don’t have concerns about currently being pregnant with COVID. I’ll continue to do what I can to protect myself and my family and trust that my body protects the little one in my belly. My doctors appointments feel the same aside from social distancing in the waiting room and wearing a mask. Maybe it is because this is my third baby but I feel like a seasoned veteran, ha. I also have two little boys who don’t let me feel pregnant. I’m still operating on their schedules so most days I kind of forget! I honestly believe that this baby is a gift during a really trying year. This pregnancy has already sort of reset my mindset and I can’t wait to see where I land next year. It feels like we are on this journey together.

My first trimester was rough. With all three of my pregnancies I’ve had morning sickness in the afternoon and into evening. However, this time around felt a little more brutal (think fetal position from 4pm on and in bed by 7pm). Maybe because I have two kids to take care of and less time to relax/rest, maybe because we were all under one roof with zero breaks and life just feels a little more heavy regardless. I will say there is something comforting in the nausea, like your body is doing what it can to protect and nourish and grow your baby. You forget that feeling better also makes you second guess and worry a little more about what is going on inside! But I’m learning to trust and let go (notice that let it go is becoming an important theme in my life? – ha) and have faith that all is well.

A lot of you asked if we will be staying in our house and the answer is YES! For now. We don’t have plans to move anytime soon. Charlie and Jack will share a room (the goal is to move Jack into Charlie’s room by September) – if you remember, Charlie has bunkbeds that can actually be taken apart into twin beds so I think that is the plan. Then the new baby will be in Jack’s current room. We have three bedrooms on our top floor and then an additional guest bedroom in our basement so we can definitely make do with what we have. Down the road we will most likely find a house with more space but I get a pit in my stomach even thinking about leaving our little home we love so much.

I’m going to be answering more questions in tomorrow’s Coffee with Liz post but wanted to fill you all in on how the past 14 weeks have looked! I can’t wait to share this journey with you. Thank you for all of your excitement for our growing family. It means so so much to us. xo