"Their News"...

These little kids are just bursting to tell everyone and anyone "their news". All last year they asked and asked for a baby sibling. Having just graduated from school and started a new job, I kept telling them the time was just right but we could talk about it at another time. Eventually they just stopped asking.

For two months the kids watched me suffer severe morning (all day, really) sickness along with several of the other not-so-great aspects of early pregnancy. Finally, one day at the doctor's office while getting some blood work, T broke down - literally mid-blood draw, and started crying, "Mom, I am terrified you're dying." When the tech disconnected me from the 6th tube of blood she drew (no wonder he was traumatized) I was able to comfort him by assuring him I was not dying and we would talk about it. Then I offered a distraction of a nearby jungle gym. Still, though, he was upset. Later that night, after dinner we sat the kids down and shared the news. Honestly, Hubby and I were not prepared for their response. They stood up on their chairs and jumped up and down shouting, "Yeah, yeah!!" over and over.

We tried to have them keep things quiet for a couple more weeks just so we could get to that second trimester mark. For the most part they did good. Plus, it has made T very helpful and sensitive to my needs. He even offered to pat my back while I vomit. What a kid! He really is a super sensitive little guy like his super sensitive dad. What about Lil Sister? She is elated to get to be a big sister and, of course, she has a baby in her tummy, too. 

How am I? Does my lack of blogging say anything? Like last pregnancy, I have been hit hard with nausea and vomiting as well as fatigue and dizziness. I am not a glowy pregnant lady but rather look green, pale, thin but with a gut like I haven't worked out in a while. We have had to keep a really strict schedule to ensure I can get to bed early because about 9:00 pm I am done. This is a huge change for us since I usually sleep about 7 hours a night and am never in bed before midnight. I usually have multiple projects on the burner and am a very high energy person. Lately - not so much. However, at least things are starting to get better, slowly but surely. Last week I did actually finish two crocheted sock monkeys. (One is at a benefit auction as I type this.)

So, we have told most folks close to us and the responses are interesting with a lot of questions. Here are some responses to those questions:

- Yes, it was all very carefully planned.

- Yes, we are all very, very happy.

- Due date is first week in November. I never say exact date since neither of my kids was born on their due date. T was 2 weeks late and Lil Sis was 5 days early. I would be happy with a Halloween baby. I have always loved dressing up for parties. This would be a great excuse.

- Am I going back to work? The first person we shared our news with, before even our families, was my boss at work - senior partner boss. I was actually quite nervous to tell him but he is a family man and has been my number one advocate for many years. He was very happy and excited and on pins and needles as to whether I was going to come back to work. I learned my lesson not to keep your employer hanging because I think it makes him/her nervous. Yes, I assured him I would be returning in the new year. I think it will be nice to have the remainder of the year off to get into a rhythm and not have things too broken up with the holidays. Plus, I do only work about 16-18 hours a week so as long as initially I don't work extra days we should all be fine. Additionally, we will be able to get into a rhythm with T being in school before baby comes.

- How am I feeling? Name every pregnancy symptom and I've been suffering through it. I take meds to keep me from vomiting which have bad side effects making other things worse. However, I have friends who cannot have babies or have recently experienced miscarriages and I remind myself they would happily trade places with me so I push through. With Lil Sister the nausea finally went away the day after she was born. If I have to wait that long so be it as long as the end result is a good one. I will push on. Plus, I have an extremely supportive, patient husband along with some kids that have been trying to be extra good. Oh, and my apologies if I am severely blunt these days. Sometimes my inside voice is a little too hard to over-ride and becomes my outside voice, particularly when pregnant.

- Cloth diapering? Oh, yes. We have a great stash from last time and we plan on renting some newborn diapers for the first couple months so we don't have to wait until baby grows into our current diapers. It took Lil Sister 6-8 weeks to fit into the diapers we have. We can actually save a lot of money by renting a stash for those first few months. Plus, I'd love for this baby to never have a disposable touch its skin. Just a small goal I've set for this time around. This little one will once again be on a shoe string budget since we're still paying off school loans.

There you have it - reason behind my absence from the blogging world. I am hoping to catch things up in the next few months but for now I'm just trying to grow a baby as healthy as possible and it seems to be taking most of my efforts of late. Thank you all for sharing in the "kids' news" and stay tuned for more updates and some updated photos this next week.