If you haven’t heard the news yet, Craig and I are welcoming baby #3 this Fall! Here’s all the deets!

Was it planned?

This is always the first question for some reason, which I feel like is a VERY personal question. Someone even said, “Was it planned?” I said yes. “Oh well then congratulations!” Uhm… would you have not congratulated me if it wasn’t planned? Makes me chuckle.

Yes! It was planned! But we also have had fun tricking family a little bit talking about how much we just LOVE having only two kids and maybe we wouldn’t even have another one – driving that point home to master the element of surprise. We were shocked and so thankful when we got a positive test the very first month.

Are you hoping for a girl?

I mean of course we would love to have a girl but how cool would it be to have three brothers so close in age? We love seeing the bond between Carver and Gannon. Three boys would also be SO FUN! Although I feel like I’m an awesome boy mom, having a girl would be different and I’d love to experience raising a boy and a girl. I would love having the relationship with a daughter like the one I have with my mom.

Are you going to find out what you’re having?

YES! We have found out the gender each time. I’m a very impatient person. It’s not so much that I have a preference boy or girl, it’s that I just want to know RIGHT NOW! I’m a prepper and I want to prep!

Is this your last one?

Never say never! Craig feels like this may be our last one but after I got pregnant, I had a few extra tests and I tucked them away, you know, for when we have another baby – that was my first unconscious thought so who knows! I’m young! I’ll be 27 in May! We’ve got years to decide what we want to do. Adoption and fostering has ALWAYS been talked about as an option so we are keeping our options open! I love having many siblings but maybe we will feel complete with 3 kiddos!

When are you due?

I’m due (technically) in early October but I’ve never carried a baby past 38 weeks. I was induced with Carver at 38 weeks due to pre-eclampsia and with Gannon my water broke at 38 weeks after a blizzard! So my answer is late September – I would love to have the baby on my Dad’s birthday – September 27th.

Doesn’t that make you like really early? Why are you telling people already?

Because that stigma of “waiting until its safe” (after 12 weeks) really is going by the way side. Women are much more open now about their pregnancies and their pregnancy losses. If I have a miscarriage, I’ll share that with you too. Nothing here to hide.

Who had the best reaction to the news?

My mom. I was at her house and she asked me why I wasn’t drinking alcohol. I said “You’re not supposed to drink if you’re pregnant.” She said, “You’re not pregnant.” and without missing a beat, the conversation went on. A few minutes later she looked at me and said, “You’re not really pregnant are you?” I said “Yeah, I am.” Again, she said, “No you’re not. Oh my gosh are you really?” Then a few minutes later she said, “You’re pranking me aren’t you, you’re going to call when you get home and tell me you’re joking.” It was pretty hilarious.

Both of my sisters had COVID when I called to tell them, my sister said “Yeah, I tested positive.” I told her that I, too, had tested positive for a significant health condition. That was kind of punny.

How far apart will the kids be?

Carver will be just turning 6 that month (kindergarten) and Gannon will be 3 and a half (preschool).

I had Carver when I was 21, Gannon when I was 23, and I’ll have this baby at 27. We did not want the kids so close together again, 2 under 2 was ROUGH.

What do you hope will be different about this pregnancy?

Many many things. Money had been a HUGE stressor on my pregnancy with Gannon. We were deeply in debt, barely making ends meet, I went back to work three weeks after my c-section. We are NOT doing that again and are actually set to be totally debt free with a pile of savings by my leave!

I’m also hoping for as little medical intervention as possible. When I was pregnant with Carver, I had to get several non stress tests, I had high blood pressure so there were plenty of extra appointments there. With Gannon, towards the end I had weekly non stress tests and so many ultrasounds. I gained so much weight with Gannon, he was measuring so big that they said I had to do a c-section for both of our safety.

My goal is to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. I want to only attend the standard amount of appointments. Both of my complications with Gannon and Carver could have been traced back to the huge amount of weight gain with each pregnancy. I didn’t take very good care of myself.

I also would be interested, if we get the all clear, to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) at a larger hospital if possible – our local hospital doesn’t do VBACs. My c-section was MISERABLE. It was a terrible thing to try and recover from. I don’t want to do that again if I don’t have to.

Of course if my doctor recommends a different course, I’ll trust him whole heartedly but for now, I’m aiming high. Maybe I’d even try without an epidural! Who knows!

Are you excited?

I’m very excited. I feel like I have time to be excited this time because I’m not working 60 hour work weeks and juggling a 2 year old and my parents’ cancer diagnosis. I also have grown up a bit since my last pregnancies and it’s much easier to say no to alcohol when everyone else is drinking (that was really hard for me, I spent my 21st birthday on my couch with my feet up and a glass of water) I used to feel so left out and had fear of missing out but now it’s no problem because many of my friends are also pregnant or breast feeding. I am going to miss mountain biking this Summer. We will still go regular biking but mountain biking is a little too risky and I’ve taken too many handle bars to the gut before.

And its even more exciting because Craig and I are on the same page. We were so young when I was pregnant with Carver and we weren’t in a great place in our marriage/relationship when I got pregnant with Gannon. Now, we are a team. We’ve got this parenting and teamwork thing DOWN. We are so excited because we are now reaping the benefits of those long nights with a newborn because those newborns turn into really cool kids and we know we’ve just got to get through the pregnancy and the first year. It’s also been “our little secret” from the entire world for the last two months so that’s been fun having something just for the two of us.

How are you feeling?

NOT GOOD. I’ve been puking at least daily, usually 4 – 5 times per day which is why I’ve been absent from the blog the past few weeks. I’ve got some more new meds I’m giving a go and I’m hoping they will provide some relief this weekend or else I go in for fluids on Monday.

That’s all I’ve got for now, thanks for checking in ya’ll!

Hungry for more? Check out my latest posts!

• The PERFECT Lightweight Tee!
• May 2023 – Quilter and Cross Stitch Tee Launch!
• The Text Message
• Family Pictures!
• Bike Adventures – April 2023!

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