First Trimester Recap

 I can't believe I'm already in my second trimester with this pregnancy. It has gone by so fast! March was a busy, busy month for us, so I think that the busyness contributed to this pregnancy feeling like it's flying by.  Here's a little recap of my last three months with this sweet baby growing inside.

Finding out I was pregnant ended up being a little crazier than I expected. We tried for one whole month to get pregnant with this baby. I'll never know why God has blessed us with being able to conceive all four babies so easily, but I also don't take it for granted and am always grateful. Since it was our first month trying, I don't think Matt really ever thought that I'd get pregnant that fast. We hadn't talked much about the possibility of me being pregnant or anything. The day after I was expecting my period was a Friday and that was date night for us. So, after I dropped off the kids at my parents' house for the evening, I came home and took a test. I didn't tell Matt I was going to take a test or anything. I just figured if it was negative, then he didn't need to know, and if it was positive it would be a fun surprise to talk about during our date. So... I took the test, and I saw a VERY faint blue line. I was  a little surprised it was so faint because I wasn't testing super early or anything. Anyway, I had always heard that any line (even faint) meant a positive test, but I couldn't convince myself 100% that it was a positive test. I was just confused. I had always used a pink dye test with the other pregnancies and the result were always super clear even testing at about the same time. So when Matt got home, he asked what I was doing, and I pulled out the test and told him that I was trying to decide if it was positive or not. First he sort of laughed at me, like "we just decided to start trying for a baby like three weeks ago, how could you already be taking a test?" and then he looked at it and very confidently said there was no way it was positive, and that I had gone a little crazy for thinking so. I told him that the rule always was that any line was a positive, but he was sure that the light blue line was just the dye and meant nothing. So we went on with our night. I googled it later that night and read that the blue dye tests were more unreliable than pink dye tests and had more of a potential for a false positive with a blue dye test than a pink dye test. I wondered all night about it, and the next morning I tested with the second test (since that's the recommended testing time of day for the best results). The line on that test might have been a tad darker, but Matt was still sure that it was negative and that I was crazy. We picked up the kids from my parents' house, ran some errands and stopped and bought one more test. I didn't want to have any doubts, so I spent the extra money on a digital test. My plans of having time to process the results by ourselves on a fun date night had gone out the window, and while the kids were being super loud and crazy and eating their lunch, I took the digital test, and brought it out to show Matt.

He didn't doubt me this time! I think we were both a little shocked at how quickly we got pregnant.  (I was excited because I worried if it took us a few months to get pregnant we'd end up with a December baby which wouldn't have been as fun for birthday parties. Ha! And I didn't want the age gap between our kids to get much larger since the other three were so close in age). We just sort of stared at each other and talked in code because the kids were around and we didn't want to tell them yet. So, it ended up not being the way I had hoped to find out, but it's a fun story to remember :)

Two days after I found out I was pregnant, Elisabeth told everyone at her preschool that she was a big sister. I was mortified because we had not told a soul and we definitely had not told the kids we were expecting. She went through a phase a few months ago when she called herself a big sister, and I have no idea what prompted her to say it again, but she had no idea what she was really saying. I think she just knows she's a big girl and a sister, so that makes her a big sister in her mind. I told her that if she was a big sister then that meant we had a baby in our family, and she was like we do have a baby in our family... it's me! Anyway, I had to lie to her teachers at the preschool and tell them that I wasn't pregnant because we hadn't even told our families yet. And then a few weeks later I had to explain that I was in fact pregnant. Silly Girl!

It was fun sharing our news with family and friends, although it was a bit more complicated this time around. We wanted to wait a few weeks before we shared the news with the kids, just to spare them any trauma if I happened to miscarry or something and because they aren't the best secret keepers. Ha! So we had to find time to tell people alone without the kids, which was tricky. It was still fun to share our fun news. I think we surprised most people, so that was extra fun.

At eight weeks, we had our first ultrasound of our tiny babe and got to see a teeny tiny heart beating. I always love that first ultrasound appointment. It's always a relief that everything is fine with the baby (and that there was one baby and not two. ha!) and makes the pregnancy feel real.

After that appointment, we felt comfortable telling the kids our big news. So we sat them down on the couch and told them we had a surprise. I gave Samuel a picture of the ultrasound, Nathan a onesie with a 4 on it, and Elisabeth a Big Sister book. I really thought they'd be able to figure out the surprise, but they were CLUELESS. I knew they wouldn't understand the ultrasound picture, but they thought the shirt was for Elisabeth, and Nathan even read the title of the Big Sister book and still had no idea. It was hilarious. Finally, we came out and just told them. For as much as their little minds could comprehend, they were all excited.

It has been really fun to share this pregnancy with them. They all say and do the cutest things. I thought Samuel would be the one that wouldn't think much about a new baby, but he has been the most excited one, and he is so thoughtful toward this baby. He always wants to know how big the baby is and he's told us that we need to get the baby a new car seat and a kindle :). He talks about making sure we have milk and bottles for the new baby and wants to know where the baby will sleep. He gives my tummy hugs and kisses and says he can't wait to know if the baby is a boy or a girl. He also tells everyone that we're having a baby. I just love how excited he is. I think siblings are one of the greatest gifts we give our kids, so I'm thrilled to see their joy in adding to our family. Nathan is excited too, but I think since he's not around us as much, he doesn't voice it as much. And Elisabeth has a hard time comprehending how long it will be before the baby comes and is adamant that this baby better be a girl! She loves to hug and kiss my belly too. Finally, just last week she conceded that she'd still hold the baby if it's a boy, but she still gets upset if anyone mentions the possibility of her having a baby brother. When we first told the kids, we told them that we'd have to wait a few weeks to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl, and that we don't get to choose, but God chooses the baby He thinks is best for our family. Samuel immediately said, "I hope God choosed a boy for our family." He was really insistent on wanting a boy at first, but now he says he wants a girl, but really he just wants a baby. He's the sweetest.

We got to see the bay again at my 12 week appointment. It was still so tiny but so much bigger than at eight weeks. We went to the store to look at limes afterward to show the kids how big the baby was at 12 weeks.

I haven't been feeling the best with this pregnancy. During the first trimester, I was pretty nauseous almost all day everyday. I never threw up, and I was still able to function which I was very thankful for, but I felt crummy a lot of the time. I was either nauseous or starving with not much in between. This pregnancy has been different from all of my others, because I've never had much morning sickness. I did feel a little more queasy with each pregnancy- I had nothing with Nathan, a few random times of queasiness with Samuel, and a little more consistently with Elisabeth, but this pregnancy felt significantly worse. Thankfully, it's improved a lot now that I'm past the first trimester.

13 Weeks

I guess the trade off was that I didn't notice being as tired this pregnancy as in my other three. I did always notice a slump in energy levels in the afternoon and tried to make a point to lie down and rest during Elisabeth's nap time. I would rest for about an hour and doze for about twenty minutes of that pretty consistently. I hated when I woke up though because I would be really nauseous and groggy, and it always took me a while to snap out of the waking up funk. Samuel was sweet to let me rest. I always told the kids that I needed to rest to help the baby grow, so now they remind me that I need to sleep a lot. I also fell asleep a little earlier at night. But I also had a hard time sleeping in the middle of the night (after a trip to the bathroom), so that was super annoying. That's improved in the last couple of weeks too.

14 Weeks

I've certainly been thankful for the second trimester to make its appearance. I love seeing my little bump and looking forward to feeling baby kicks soon! The kids ask all the time if they can feel the baby kick, so I know they are ready too. I'm savoring this pregnancy and all the joy that comes with anticipating a new life.