Easter Sunday // 41 Weeks Pregnant

  

Oh Happy Day!  I am ransomed.  I’ve been set free.  Also, I’m super pregnant.  

We are talking 10+ months people.  And although I love every moment of feeling this sweet girl wiggle, every little hiccup, housing her safely while she grows & forms, hidden away for as long as God wants her to be, the struggle is real. 

Having delivered 3 beautiful boys each 1 week early, I could not have imagined Easter morning arriving & not sharing it with my baby girl!  In my head, we were pajama clad, homebound, lounging all morning & just relishing in this new soul that had entered the world.  Establishing our new family unit and praising God for His awesome goodness.

 In reality, I spent the Saturday before the holiday searching for coordinating outfits, fighting crowds at the grocery store, and desperately trying to set aside family time to color eggs, decorate, and have a real discussion about what the true meaning of Easter is.  It’s was a mad rush, but I got it done.  Score 1 for mom #winning

Easter morning came and I purposed to have a stress-free day with the family.   The boys each opened a small basket filled with: a new notebook, colored pencils, Annie’s Homegrown bunny snacks, and ears (because who doesn’t like to be festive?).  Then we sent them in our new yard (see previous post) to hunt for eggs while we set up a surprise inside.  [I wish I could post the video, but I haven’t figured that out yet]  Instead, let me share this pic of the boys’ “Pre-baby-life-is-about-to-change-again” Easter surprise:

 

He’s not a dog, but they’re pretty much in love!  🐰

Lots of bunny play & cuddles later, we put on our Sunday best and headed out to celebrate Resurrection Day with our church family.   

 I promise I was super uncomfortable… I mean happy in this picture.  No really, the contractions I was feeling and the giant muumuu masquerading as a maternity dress made me feel like a super star.  We are talking Beyoncé status here…  no really…. Okay not really.

We made it to church for a beautiful service, and only 15 minutes late which was pretty impressive.  It made it all the more special for my husband to sit with us, as he is usually working in ministry, running the sound board.  Thank you Jesus for knowing something so small, like having Hubs by my side, was just what this hormonal, contractioning, prego needed.  Plus, isn’t he just so cute?

  

We spent the rest of the day at home as a family.  My parents & younger sibs brought lunch over and we enjoyed a super low key holiday, playing with our new bunny and enjoying each other’s company.   It was as perfect as a day could be 💕 and we had no idea how much more wonderful it was going to become as day turned into evening…

Third Time’s the Charm.

When Dear Husband (here on out referred to as “Hubs”) and I finally became pregnant with Baby 3, we were ecstatic.  Having had a 6 year gap between pregnancies and now being  in our 30s  a bit older,  we were really feeling prepared and excited for a new little soul to join our family.
“Baby Cupcake” [affectionately dubbed by the Big Brothers] was a perfect pregnancy.  Minus a scare with low blood platelets, it was text-book; I gained 35 pounds, still worked 5 days a week as a teacher,  actively participated in 2 fulltime church ministries, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment.   Well, almost every moment.  Already the parents of two boys, people decided it was okay to speak their opinions over me:
“Oh this time it’s going to be a girl!”
“Are you hoping for a girl?”
“Wouldn’t a girl be great?”
“You must WANT a girl after ALL these boys…”

We found out Cupcake was a boy at 18 weeks and we were BEYOND happy. After all, we knew boys.
We had fun with the “gender reveal” both in person & via Facebook post, choosing as a family to all wear either pink or blue. Every moment of “baking” Cupcake was enjoyed as a family. Being a family, a tight unit, had always been important to Hubs & I and Baby #3 just meant we would become even closer knit.

On Thursday, May 30th while Hubs was dropping our older boys off at school, I began to have contractions. What does a 3rd time around preggo do when she begins labor? Well go for a mile walk, of course! You can shake your head as you read this, my husband did too. Hubs & I took a walk down the beach, contractions 7 mins apart. At home, I decided to get ready for the hospital finish up the nursery – folding clothes, putting up shelving, and breathing heavily while bouncing on my yoga ball. When it was “time” to head to the hospital, the conversation went a little like this:
Me, putting on makeup in the bathroom: “Babe… how about [my contractions] now?”
Hubs, patiently standing at the door: “60 SECONDS!!!”
Me, lowly walking to the door: “Umm… we should probably go to the hospital now.”
Hubs, holding my hand, his keys, & the hospital bag: “Finally.”

Forty minutes later we were holding our little boy! The baking was over and our Cupcake had arrived. He zoomed into the world naturally; no pain medications, one push. One of the doctors jokingly asked, “Did you want to have your baby at home?” “Maybe next time”, I responded with a laugh.
Did I say next time?

So that’s the story of how our family went from 4 to 5. How we went from quartet to quintet. And how we became 3 Boys, A Girl, and A Baby.