Family of eggs!
Do you get it? If not, how about this......
My pretty girls showing off their brand new shirts!
If you still haven't figured it out, how about this? ;)
That's right! We found out on March 14th that we will be welcoming another precious baby into our family this November. I was initially shocked and even a little bit scared. We hadn't planned on having another baby until at least 2013 so this little one was a complete surprise. I've always said that 1.) I wanted to avoid having two kids under two (as well as having two in diapers) and 2.) I wanted to avoid having two kids who shared a birth month. I was also hoping that our third would be born in the summer so finding out that I would be giving birth in the fall again and that not only would two of my kids share a birth month, but also quite possibly a birthDAY caused me to panic a bit. My estimated due date falls a little bit before Lucy's birthday so there is a good chance that she might not be quite two yet when the baby makes his/her appearance. Two under two AND two in diapers! Oh my goodness, I could have another Thanksgiving baby!!!
The shock wore off after only a day though before the excitement and gratitude set in. I realized that none of the above things really matter and that by worrying about them, I was creating problems that didn't exist. We are having a baby in November because we are supposed to have a baby in November. How can I be anxious about or ungrateful for this new life that we've been blessed with? Jon was excited about it from the start and never felt any anxiety about our growing family. He reminded me that our children are the best thing in our lives and assured me that he has no doubt about out ability to love, provide for, and care for another. Thank God for this man! He has been nothing but loving and encouraging and supportive about everything that I want for this pregnancy and the birth.
Here is what we know and have planned so far:
Little One is due in November and the estimated due date is pretty close to right smack in the middle of the month. So unlike Lucy (who could have easily been a December baby), baby #3 will most definitely be a November baby. November is a popular month for our family! Jon's paternal grandfather as well as his brother both have birthdays on November 3rd, Lucy is November 25th, and Jon's mom is November 30th. I feel like Little One will probably have his/her own birthday, but there is still definitely a chance for a shared birthday!
Little One will be born at home (barring complications, of course) with support from a midwife, an assistant, and hopefully a doula. I am not sure whether we will choose to have the big sisters stay at home during the birth or ask somebody to take them for us until after everything is over with. I know that Arianna will do just fine as she's been through this before. Lucy is the one I worry about since she will still to young to really understand what's going on. I would love to have them here to be a part of the birth, but I also know how difficult that might be on both me and them. It's something that Jon and I will pray about and decide on when the time gets closer. I met with my midwife for my first appointment yesterday and I discussed a lot of my thoughts and concerns with her and she eased my mind about quite a few things. I know that no matter what happens, everything is going to turn out exactly the way it's supposed to.
We will be attempting to find out if Little One is a boy or a girl! I didn't really have a preference on whether or not to find out, but Jon wants to know and I left the decision up to him. That said, I will only be having one ultrasound this pregnancy. For me, ultrasounds are a diagnostic took used to make sure that my baby's organs are forming properly and that there is nothing going on that would contraindicate a homebirth. Finding out the sex is just a bonus so if Little One decides not to cooperate, we will be having a surprise! As of right now, I feel like it's another girl, but I was also certain that Lucy was a boy so my intuition is not really to be trusted, haha. We should have an answer in 6-8 weeks!
I think that's about it so far! We will update more as things progress and we hit milestones and all of that fun stuff. In the meantime, prayers and general good thoughts are always appreciated. We're all so exited to welcome a new member to the family and Little One is already very loved. Ari has been showing Lucy how to kiss my belly just like she did when I was pregnant with Lucy. I can't wait to see my sweet little girls holding and kissing their new sibling! As far as the birth goes, we just hope for Little One's entry to be safe and peaceful and for our family to be able to stay together. We have a wonderful birth team and amazing support from friends and family so I know that whatever happens, we are in great hands.
For over a month (and before we told her), Arianna has been talking about a new baby and most often refers to it as a baby brother. In fact, before *I* even found out, she brought home a book from the library called Baby Brother by Tanneke Wigersma. We kept forgetting to take it out of her backpack so Jon and I already knew that Little One was on the way by the time we actually read it to her. I was pleased and surprised to see that toward the end, the book is (subtly) pro-homebirth!
Talking to Lucy about trees and leaves. She's such a good big sister.
My baby, who is still very much a baby to me, is going to be a BIG sister!
Look what I dug out!
Baby's first diapers. Adorably tiny.
A shirt that matches the one his/her big sisters have.
And....the most pregnant I have ever looked at only 12 weeks, haha.
I had that fear about Jacob and Wyatt sharing a birthday and I didn't think it was fair to Jacob, but I wanted to go UC since no one does VBA2Cs here, and I still ended up with one. I hope you get the true birth experience you want and deserve<3
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