Our Gang of Four

It is time to let the cat out of the bag. If we have seen you in the last month or two, you probably already know our big, exciting news, but for the rest of you....Surprise!. Our Gang of Four is no longer four. We are adding a fifth member to our "gang" early next year.  

Q & A with the Preggo

* answers to the questions I'm most commonly asked *

1. How far along are you? 16 weeks
2. When are you due? February 23rd is what they are saying, but I'm thinking it will be moved up after the ultrasound at my next appointment....and because I'll be a scheduled c-section (see question # 7), it will likely be a week or so before that.
3. How are you feeling? Finally can say I feel OK. This has been the toughest first trimester yet. After 8+ weeks of nausea and painful exhaustion, I think things are finally settling down. I said good bye to most of the nausea about 2 weeks ago, but the exhaustion that makes me want to cry it is so bad, hung on a little longer. Some days are better than others, but I think keeping up with two boys everyday may mean I am always a little on the tired side this go 'round.  I've never been one to love being pregnant, but I'm hanging in there. 
4. Do you know what you are having yet? Nope, but we will find out. The doctor looked at my last appointment, but couldn't see due to the umbilical cord running between the little peanut's legs.  I wasn't actually mentally prepared to find out, so I was OK with waiting until our next appointment.
5. Are you hoping for a girl? If you ask Matt, YES. If you ask Eli, YES! (That little boy has been wanting a baby sister for a while now.) If you ask me, I'm fine either way. There may be a little shell shock if we find out we are having a 3rd boy, but the practical side of me is totally cool with that. Totally. But if I'm being 100% honest, it would be really incredible to add a little girl to our gang. So I guess that puts me in the middle. There may be tears of happiness, shock, disappointment....all of the above when we find out. Just keeping it real.  
6. What do you think you are having? A boy. I've been having lots and lots of boy dreams. And even though I felt a bit worse this time, overall, I feel like I'm carrying the same. We shall see...
7. Are you having another c-section? Yes. Cue the loud booing and stamping of feet by this momma. I tried to reason with my doc. I tried to be rational. I even pouted and begged a little bit, but no dice. I love and trust my doctor enough to listen to him explain why I could not try a VBA2C. I'm a good patient, and I still won't switch practices just to be possibly end up with a c-section again anyways. So there you have it....much to my chagrin....I'll be having a 3rd c-section. I'm already dreading the recovery. Blech.
8. Were you trying? Was this baby a surprise? We have gotten this question more than we realized we would. I guess everyone thought we'd be done after two. Well, we did too. Let me explain....  Before getting pregnant and during my pregnancy with Jude, we figured we would be finished after that. But once he was born, Matt and I both admitted to not feeling finished. We talked about it and prayed about it and finally decided. We didn't need to be the ones to make the decision as to how large (or small...) our family would be. We decided to leave it up to God. Sounds a bit cheesy, but it is absolutely true. We figured that if God wanted us to have another baby, we would....and if not....we would know that too. Matt and I were content with two, but at the same time, we were open to more children. There was no "trying." There was no "not trying." It was in some One else's hands. And low and behold, after years of wanting babies so badly (2+ years with Eli and 3+ years with Jude), we found out we were pregnant only 1 1/2 years after Jude joined our family. What an absolute blessing and joy to know that we were meant to have three and that we were right to trust the Lord. We heard you, God....loud and clear! 
9. Do you want more? At this point, we feel beyond blessed and that our family may be just right. Thank you, Lord, for filling our hearts, lives, and house with 3. .......but you never know.... (hahaha!)
10. What do Eli and Jude think about the baby? Eli is thrilled! He has been wanting another baby (sister, to be specific) since Jude was born. "Let's have another baby, Mommy." And as for Jude....he's clueless. As the belly gets bigger, I will start talking to him more about it. Then he will have something to semi-attach the concept and idea to. We also plan to get him his own baby soon to help with the adjustment. Life is gonna get a little crazy come February. Jude is quite a Mama's Boy, so this addition may be a little difficult for him. 
11. Any names? As usual, we don't really get serious about names until we find out boy or girl. And even then, we just make a list to bring to the hospital and name the little one once we meet him/her. You can anticipate another biblical or Catholic (saints, popes...) name though. Eli has chosen the nickname, "Blueberry" for now, so that is what we are going with. Baby Blueberry has been getting lots of prayers and love already.
12. Any food cravings? I have never been one to call them cravings, but as with my first two pregnancies, I am loving any and all carbs...especially if they are salty! They just taste better. Fruit tastes pretty good too. Thankfully, my aversion to sweet treats has worn off in this second trimester. I was missing my chocolate chip cookies. Meat is still not something that tastes very good to me during pregnancy, but I eat it.

I think that is it. Feel free to comment with any unanswered questions. Not showing too terribly much yet, I just look like I've put on a few pounds.....because I have. Ha!  Looking forward to looking a little more pregnant (and not just fat!) soon!!

Love to all,
Our Gang of Four Five!