Ainsley & Bailey Announcing...

... that we are having another baby!!!  

This blog post is very belated but that doesn't alter our excitement level for this new lil addition to join our family!  I am currently 16 weeks along and due December 12th... or two weeks after that as my babies tend to arrive.  Aside from intense nausea and exhaustion for about a month during my first trimester, I have been feeling great.  This is such a blessing because my back was already causing me a lot of pain when I was this far along with Bailey.  Actually, saying it is a blessing doesn't even begin to cover how incredibly grateful I feel for this baby and my health so far.  This has been such a tough two years for me physically and there were so many times I thought my body wouldn't be able to be pregnant again.  I have already shed more tears and said more prayers for this baby than my other two children combined because even when Bailey was still so little and when my back was a mess, I still had such a longing in my heart to have another baby.  At the time it felt so silly, cruel even, because I was longing for another child one day when I couldn't even take care of the two children that I already had without the constant help of another person.  But looking back, I feel like it was the Lord's way of giving me hope and something to hold onto for the future.  The Lord carried me through so many struggles of pain, doubt, and sadness these past two years and has healed and grown me in ways that the drs said wouldn't be possible.  And then after all that to give us the gift of this baby is simply amazing and such an enormous testament to God's love, provision, and steadfastness.  I am utterly speechless with gratitude.

All that said, I know that as this baby and my belly grows there will be more stress put on my back.  So I am not in denial that I won't have pain in the near future but my core is so much stronger than it was before and I have more practical systems in place (regular pilates, regular bodywork and physical therapy, and part time helpers with the kids) to help me when I get to that point.

But back to the fun stuff... Ainsley is thrilled about being a big sister again especially after being around so many babies that weekend my friends were in town.  She has logically said that she wants to have a baby sister because she already has a little brother.  I told her that we don't get to choose but that it is God's choice so she has added this to her list of prayers at night and before meals.  She is also dead-set on the baby sleeping in her room so that she can help take care of it at night so that I can sleep so that I'm not grumpy.  Sweet girl!  I told her we will have to talk about it more when the baby comes because there are going to be lots of things for her to do to help.  :)

I'm not really sure how much Bailey understands because he doesn't verbalize much but he acted excited when we told them probably because Ainsley was excited.  I will say that later night though when I was putting him to bed he showed me his baby doll and said baby and pointed to my tummy.  It was a sweet moment and I of course cheered him on and affirmed that yes there was a baby in my tummy.  I think that when I'm showing a bit more we will increase the baby conversations with him to make sure he understands on some level.

 Oh and just on a fun note so that I remember, once my nausea subsided my first trimester, my cravings were out of control!  I found myself doing things I never do when it comes to food, like ordering a steak for dinner at a seafood place, driving halfway across town to get a bagel and cream cheese and fresh orange juice for lunch, and opening and eating a quarter bag of sour cream and onion potato chips.  My cravings have been so intense and it is kind of hilarious to feel my body want something so badly that I typically rarely eat.  Ha!