Pregnancy...

As I mentioned before, pregnancy is such a huge aspect of parenthood. Well, I guess I talked about delivery, but not too much about pregnancy. It's the precursor. Nine months or so of feeling sick, awkward, completely unlike yourself, all in the hopes of welcoming this new beautiful bundle, not really knowing how foreign, uncertain, awkward, and amazingly humbling (not in the I choose to humble myself sorta way, but in the I have no idea what I'm doing sorta way) it is.

Well, I now have something new to chat about in my real day job adventures. I breaking the news. I'm 10 weeks pregnant. We had an appointment today and got to listen to the very fast "whoosh whoosh" of tiny baby heart beat. I wasn't sure when I was going to share, but finally decided now was an okay time. My risk of miscarriage is small. (I think it's smaller too since I've had two successful pregnancies so far.) I'm not showing yet or anything, so for those who live nearby, I could probably keep it from ya for a while longer, but decided to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.

This is such a massive part of parenthood, even though (if it's your first at least) the parenting part hasn't even started yet. This is #3 for me, obviously. The first month or so were not too fun. Although, I must preface every pregnancy discussion I have on here with this bit of information: I have very good pregnancies. I don't get really sick, I don't barf (only with Moose, like 4 times. Not once since.), I get my energy back fast, I stay relatively comfortable to the end. I don't know if I'm just genetically blessed, or if attitude has something to do with it. Probably a little bit of both.

So after about a week of knowing, I started to feel pretty icky and supremely fatigued. I wanted to sleep constantly. I found it's much harder now that I've got 2 little ones running around who still need my attention and loving. Moose is pretty easy since he's self-driven to entertain himself. Monkey, however, was a much more difficult challenge. Luckily, she has a reading obsession. So she would allow me to lay on the couch, while I read her favorite books over and over and over again.

Now that I'm at 10 weeks, I'm feeling pretty good. I have a day now and then when I don't feel so hot. But I just try to drink enough water, snack frequently, that sorta thing to keep myself feeling generally okay.  The funnest thing so far has actually been Moose. He remembers my last pregnancy, which slightly amazes me. He mentioned to me, the day I told him, about me having a baby bump. I didn't mention anything about that sorta thing, but I really think he remembers. Anyway, each week I check my babycenter updates and check on how big the baby is, and I share it all with him. For the first while, he was so excited. He would ask (and still does), "How's the baby doing Mama?" It's so darn cute. He also asks me, "Is the baby still a grape?" (That's the last fruit it was compared to in size. Tomorrow it will be something else.) I love how aware he is of what's going on (as aware as he can be) and that I can talk to him about it. He's also able to be sensitive if I'm not feeling well, or need extra rest. He also knows that "mama's crackers" are not for him or Monkey and it's because of the baby. Makes some things easier. :)

So now I'll be able to share with you this other aspect of parenting, the actual pregnancy. We're really excited. This was planned, and is right on schedule. Our due date is tentatively April 1. I know, so funny right? So far our kids have a knack for weird days. Well, I guess I do too. I was born on February 29, Leap Year. I was blessed (as a baby) on April 1. Moose was born on July 24 (a church holiday, celebrating pioneer heritage.) and Monkey was due on Earth Day. I don't hope the baby comes on April 1. It would just be a bit cruel. But as my brother said, if the baby comes 6 days early, it can be born on his birthday. That would be fine with me.

So, welcome to my little secret. And if you're local, feel free to mention it. It feels weird to have the cat out of the bag, but it was bound to happen. Our families both know, and have for a while. Back when we had the family reunion it was hard to hide my symptoms without feeling like I was lying, which I just don't do. Then we eventually made the phone calls/Skype to all my siblings and broke the news. This will be grandbaby #15 for my parents. #9 for the in-laws.

#3 for us. Welcome to the next stage of our family development.