I know that more than one of our babies have been an...ahem...unexpected surprise in our lives, but let me tell you, this wee babe was yet another very unexpected surprise. I guess God knows we need to be kept on our toes! While pregnant with Evie, and after having her, I was content with having 3 kids. I felt like that would be my last pregnancy, and I was good with that. I was happy with 3 kids, and felt like that was what we could handle for now. We talked about how if we wanted more kids in the future, we would look into adoption - something that we've always talked about pursuing at some point. I got rid of all my maternity clothes, gave away all of our baby toys and clothes, and had the mindset that Evie was the baby of the family.
With all of that in mind, we made the decision for Max to get a vasectomy. Like I said, we were done. It ended up working out for him to get one while we were here in Monterey, so it was scheduled for this February. The procedure came and went - everything went well, and we thought the pregnancy/birth control chapter of our lives was over.
Two days after his vasectomy, I took a positive pregnancy test. We had definitely not been trying to get pregnant, ha - in fact, we had been trying to NOT get pregnant! But alas, God had different, and better plans for us. In the last few possible weeks that it could happen, I got pregnant with baby #4.
To say we were shocked and overwhelmed would be an understatement. We were thrilled that God would bless us with another baby - a precious gift of life. Yet I was overwhelmed by the idea of another pregnancy, another labor & delivery, another baby. In my mind, we had been done, and all of a sudden, I had to make a huge mental shift back to baby mode!
It took me a few weeks to take it in, to soak in the fact that God was growing another little one in my belly, that our family was going to expand by one yet again. It took me some time to realize that this was good and beautiful - even though my plans had been different, realizing that God always has bigger and better plans for us than we can ever dream or imagine.
Logistically, this makes things a little more complicated for us. Max will be away at training for a few months this fall, while the baby is born. We don't know where we'll living as of right now. We don't have any baby clothes/supplies/etc. But that's ok. I am clinging to the fact that God doesn't make mistakes. He makes beautiful things, and He has good plans for us, for our family, for this baby He is creating inside of me. And I am excited to see what He has in store.
I am a lot less overwhelmed now, and just more excited. It was reassuring to see the little baby on the ultrasound at 10 weeks, and hear the heartbeat strong and consistent. It was a thrill to tell our kids that they would have another sibling - and the questions and ideas that ensued were adorable and hysterical.
I am due the beginning of November, around Ezra's birthday. And this week marks 14 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy has been kicking my behind, let me tell you. It's probably mostly that I am chasing after 3 toddlers all day, and my body is growing a little one. The last few weeks, I have finally been gaining more energy and don't feel like a total zombie all the time. I went back and forth for a few weeks, being hungry all the time, and then being completely nauseous. Now, I just want to eat everything in my sight - mostly comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, grilled cheese and tomato soup, and spaghetti - along with a few randoms, like pickles, sparkling water, caesar salad, and cheese crisps.
To be honest, it's fun to be pregnant again. I loved being pregnant with each of the other kiddos, and this is no different. I was so certain that I would not be pregnant again, and it is a beautiful surprise to get to do this all over again. Even though we were shocked when I saw that positive pregnancy test (and maybe even in denial, haha!), we are thrilled that God is entrusting another precious one to us - I guess He knew we needed an even-numbered family, and yet another unexpected surprise in our lives!
