what to expect

For Mother's Day we gave a simple present to our children & then our moms that included this picture...

Our family is growing by TWO FEET!  

Coming 12.12.12

We told the kiddos after church - even though I'm only about 9 weeks along, the last two weeks has brought on the lovely 24 hour sickness that I experienced with each pregnancy.  I do believe that each pregnancy has gotten better --- or maybe I just don't remember how terrible the previous pregnancy was!  We decided we needed to tell the kiddos as I was starting to feel worse, and they were starting to ask questions why I was throwing up so much, why I wouldn't go downstairs to tuck them in bed (the smell of that basement puts me over the edge!), and have wondered why around 8/8:30pm each night I  need to be laying down for the night - if I'm up late or move after 9'ish there is more of a chance that I'll throw up...bodies are so strange but interesting aren't they?!  

Here are the kiddos before opening the bag which held the baby booties - which was to be their clue to figure out that we are having a baby....

I wish the video I took of their reactions would upload - but I'm guessing it's too big & I have yet to figure out how to edit videos on this computer.  I'll recap their reactions & some day I'll work to get the video up.  They each reacted par their personalities...Bryson & I were laughing at how funny it was to have them figure out that first of all the baby booties were not for their little cousins Noel & Juliet, they weren't for anyone but them...which we then had to help with some other clues such as there would be a present coming in December & no it wasn't related to Santa Claus (one of their guesses).  We finally threw them the line that the present would be a baby brother or sister that would be coming in time for Christmas --- which we got BIG eyes & grins in response and also these reactions: 

Madeleine - just kept giggling & giggling :)  She giggles a lot when she is excited and doesn't know what to say :) 

Bryson - kept asking "Really?  Really?"  "How do you know?  Are you sure?"  He is our logical boy :) 

Jacob - asked "Will we get to keep it?"  with his huge smile & goofy face on....he is our comic relief in our family :) 

I actually felt so good the first few weeks that we thought maybe my body had changed due to being older and therefore perhaps my hormones had changed to make the pregnancy easier & that I wouldn't get (as) sick.  Oh that was good wishful thinking!  :)  

Some days are terrible, and some days are manageable....I have unbelievable nausea so most of the time I am sucking on hard candy (a complete no-no in our house because of what it does to your teeth!), chewing a flavorful gum and I've been known to get a slurpee almost every day.  The taste of that Mango flavored Slurpee is one of the few things I can tolerate.   I love sour things - which I remember really craving Sour Patch Kids & Slurpees when I was expecting Madeleine...perhaps it's a girl, but I don't want to say and jinx it!  We would be happy with either gender of course - it would be fun awesome to have another girl though....Madeleine so wants a sister! 

My sense of smell is amazing - Bryson says I should go hunting or use my nose for some great purpose right now.  As I write this I can smell the candle that is UNLIT, and on the table about 2 feet away - but it smells like it's right under my nose.  In church on Sunday, we were sitting in the chapel for our Sunday School class - we were back about 3/4 of the way and suddenly I turned to Bryson and asked what that intense smell was?  He looked at me like I was slightly crazy (which I am), and told me he didn't smell anything.  I told him it smelled like someone was painting their nails - and then I realized it was the smell of the dry erase marker that the teacher was using at the front of the chapel.  Again it smelled like it was right next to me it was so intense!  

The bad news with the smells is that I hate going into our bathroom - I usually start to gag, and then that has led to throwing up multiple times.  The smell of the fridge is more than I can handle - so sadly my fridge which I love to keep organized & moving food along that is past its' date & needs to be thrown out --- is all just thrown in there in a random order.  Sad, sad.  As mentioned above, I don't go downstairs - unless it is really needed, and then I plug my nose & make a run for it...looks so silly I'm sure!  Then there is the smell of people - wow, there are some strong smells out there!  The other day Madeleine had her violin performance at the school - my mom came to support Madeleine and sat by me & right away I knew that seating arrangement wasn't going to work.  She was trying to talk to me, and I kept my head another way -- then finally I told her I wasn't trying to be rude, but either it was her laundry detergent or her soap was making me ill....so Bryson and I swapped seats and he sat by and I sat by the aisle where I smelled no one! :)  Everyone in the family has made me gag at least once with their smell - I can't stand the smell of Madeleine's shampoo, so after she gets out of the shower I can't have her around me until her hair is dried...which is so sad!  I'm not as sensitive to Bryson's smell as I have been on past pregnancies - with Madeleine I couldn't have him anywhere near me most days during a really bad spell!  Now, I can definitely smell him when he is out of the shower & getting ready, but I either hide under the blanket or if I'm feeling up to it I get out of bed and attempt to help the kids get ready for school.  

We are all excited about having a baby in the family again....Jacob turns 6 this September & so it's the biggest span we have between children.  We've been feeling for awhile that another baby might be ready to join our family - we talked about it every so often in NY, but life was absolutely crazy there and the minute we'd talk about it we'd realize that it would put our family over the stress edge.  When we moved here to Utah and life calmed down considerably - we realized it was probably time to start listening to our hearts and let this baby come if the timing was right.  Bryson & I joked that it was a good thing our hearts won over our heads because our heads kept telling us we were older, it had been too long & that we were in a phase of life that was rather pleasant right now...why go backwards & start over with a baby?!  That's why when you get an answer to a prayer you can't argue with it...it might defy all logic and thinking of the mind...but it makes sense in your heart & you know it's right.  

It's been fun to tell family as it's helping me to be more excited about it all & to make it feel real.  Before then it felt like we were pretending that we were going to have a baby - now with more people that will know & definitely the sickness aspect...it feels VERY real! 

We will probably find out what the gender is when the 18-20 week mark rolls around - ever since I guessed that Madeleine was a boy & felt that Jacob was a girl...I'm grateful to get to know & plan on the right gender that will be added to our family.  If only I could wrap up the pregnancy years by finally having TWINS...that would be my dream!  You are welcome to pray with me for that one :)