We are so excited to share that our family will be welcoming a precious new baby in January! James is going to be a big brother and we are going to be parents to two!! You probably made your way here through one of our announcement posts. Thank you for sharing in our excitement! Here are more details about our journey so far!
You can read all about our story of getting pregnant with James back in 2016 here. We shared details of our marriage, buying our first home and deciding we were ready to grow our family. We welcomed James in June 2017. As any typical new parent would say, it was a beautiful and tiring learning experience as we transitioned into being a family of three. We knew we wanted to wait until James was at least one to start trying for another baby. Just two weeks after James celebrated his first birthday, my mom had a medical emergency and our lives quickly changed. James and I spent a lot of time in Orlando over the next 6 months and we put the thought of trying for another baby on hold. As the new year rolled in, my mom was improving, our lives were becoming more stable and I was spending more time at home. We felt the time was right!
In the middle of May, right after our 8th wedding anniversary, I took a pregnancy test. I had no specific reasons or symptoms that it would be positive. I left the test on the bathroom counter and asked David to look at it a few minutes later while I eagerly stood nearby. Half of me expected it to say negative and half of me thought it just might say positive. There’s no other feeling of anticipation in life like that. David looked down and said “PREGNANT!” and I just shouted “WHAT! NO WAY!”. I guess I more than half expected it to say negative. Ahhhhh pregnant!!! There’s definitely no other feeling like that!! I put my hand over my shocked face, laughed and we shared lots of hugs! James walked in a little while later in his cute monkey pajamas. I picked him up and said “you have no idea what this means, but it’s a really big deal!!”. We took a few pictures in the kitchen to capture the special moment. James is going to be a big brother!! To keep in tradition when we found out we were pregnant with James, we bought Prego sauce and made pizza at home for dinner!
One month later, on June 21, we visited my OB for my first prenatal appointment. We had an ultrasound and got to see our sweet baby for the first time. We saw a small wiggly baby with four tiny limbs. Our ultrasound tech said, “it looks like a dancing gummy bear!” and it totally did! It was so cute!! We got to hear baby’s heartbeat, a strong 166 beats per minute. Praise God.
In the middle of July, I went back to the OB for my 12 week appointment. No ultrasound this time but I got to hear baby’s heartbeat again, 160bpm!
Here are a few Q&As about our pregnancy journey…
How far along are you? I’m currently 14 weeks and a few days. My weeks change on Tuesdays. So fun to see the growth of baby’s size each Tuesday morning!
When are you due? My due date is January 21, 2020. James and baby will be right around 2 and a half years apart.
Do you know the gender? Not yet. We’ll find out at our 20 week appointment!
How have you been feeling? Feeling good! I was queasy and miserable for about 10 days after finding out I was pregnant. I was super nauseous and did. not. want. to. move. off of the couch. James watched a lot of iPad during those two weeks! Fortunately, the sickness was short lived and I felt better soon after. Sooo thankful for that!
Do you have a name picked out yet? Hahah no. I think we’ll wait until we find out gender to start talking about potential names.
Are you still going to do photography? Of course! I haven’t planned out a maternity leave yet but I will likely still be available for sessions until Christmas. I will definitely still be doing family mini sessions this Fall!
Does James understand that a new baby is coming? Yes and no. He knows I’m growing a baby in my belly. Anytime we see a baby in public, he’ll point to the baby, then to my belly and says “bobby” in the cutest soft voice! But I don’t think he, at freshly two years old, can fully understand the magnitude of how life is going to change in January. But he seems excited!
How have you grown closer to God through this? A few different ways. Our family had a really hard season last year. We’ve had many hard seasons but I am realizing that they are just that… seasons. There is joy in the morning. Highs and lows. Hills and valleys. We are now in a season of expectancy, new life, and gratitude. It makes me really thankful to feel hope and joy right now. I’ve also really been feeling for the many, many women who experience infertility and don’t get to have this experience. It feels really unfair that we were able to get pregnant while so many families long for the same thing but never get it. It’s confusing and sad and my heart wants to share the burden with those families but I’m not sure how. It makes me trust in God’s plan for all of us and pray with a more sympathetic heart for the waiting families.
Thank you for sharing in our excitement! We can’t wait to see James as a big brother and get to know this special little human that will be joining our family!
I love the way you explain all of this! Congrats! I’m so happy for your family. ♥️
Thank you! Miss you!!