Baby Rushing: a short story + FAQs

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!

I feel like I’ve waited forever to be able to say/write those words. And at the same time, it feels like Joshua and I just sat down and had the conversation where we decided that we were fine with getting pregnant so I could quit the oral contraceptives I was taking. (“Fine” turned into “ready already” pretty quickly.)

I learned a lot in the waiting. I probably should’ve learned more, but waiting is hard and my impatience got in the way for a long time. The biggest thing I’ve had to learn – and continue to learn even through pregnancy – is that I can do everything right, but it is God Who creates life, and He is the One Who sustains it. I can seed cycle, drink “fertili-tea,” do fertility yoga and Mayan Abdominal massages, and stop eating soy. But if it’s not God’s time for us to have a baby, it won’t happen.

It’s the same principle with pregnancy. I was so scared for the first two months that something would happen. But I told myself every day, since Thanksgiving Day when we got that glorious BFP (big fat positive): “God is the One Who gave this baby life, and He is the One Who will sustain it.” Obviously I want to make positive, healthy decisions. But even more important than pelvic exercises and red raspberry leaf tea is trusting God and praying for His will to be done in this tiny life.

We are so very grateful, and frankly still in shock. Even though we’ve heard the heartbeat and saw our tiny one kicking and waving its arms around (and sucking its thumb – SO CUTE), it still doesn’t quite feel real. We had been talking about it and hoping and praying for this for so long. Now God has finally allowed it to come to pass, and we are just psyched out of our minds.

We’re also super excited to be expecting our first at the same time as my sister and her husband! Ready or not, my parents are about to become grandparents twice this summer. Note: they are super ready.

I’ve included some FAQs here for any interested party. Everyone has been so kind and supportive, but it does sort of crack me up how it’s usually the same questions. So here are all the answers in one place, correct as of today, March 19th.

When is baby due?

Our estimated due date is around the first week in August. I imagine our little bear will probably show up later than the EDD since it’s our first. I’m currently 19 weeks and 3 days – almost halfway through this pregnancy!

Have you had any cravings or aversions?

Truthfully this is probably the most-asked question. In the first trimester, I wanted broccoli. Seriously. We often stopped on the way home from work to grab a bag of frozen broccoli for me to eat with dinner. I also wanted a lot of sour foods like pickles, olives, and sauerkraut, which has continued into my second trimester a little. But all those things are good for me anyway so I’m not mad about it! Never have I woken up in the middle of the night with intense cravings and forced my husband to go buy me something. I hear so many stories about this happening, but it hasn’t happened to me yet!

I had a couple random aversions. When I had a little bit of morning sickness, it was hard to drink water. And sometimes I couldn’t bear the thought of eating salad or chicken for dinner. But no extreme aversions.

Are you going to find out what gender you’re having/are you going to share it?

Short answer: yes and no. The original plan was for Joshua to find out and keep it a secret from me. He really wanted to know and I didn’t at first. (We have friends who did this with BOTH their pregnancies!) But when I was laying on my couch with my husband beside me and the midwife asked me during the ultrasound, “Do you want to know the gender?” I couldn’t help but say yes. And I’m glad I did! Now it’s our secret. We plan to keep it from everyone until little bear actually arrives. It’s hard to keep a secret, but I am determined!

And for those wondering, we were planning on doing everything gender-neutral anyway, at least for the first little bit. White onesies and gray socks. Mountain/bear nursery. Moses-basket bassinet. We wouldn’t want all blue or all pink stuff even if we planned on sharing the gender.

How are you feeling? Any weird symptoms?

I feel great now! The first trimester was a roller coaster of symptoms with a new one almost every week. I was a little nauseous around Christmas (roughly weeks 7 and 8) but thankfully never got actually sick. Around week 9 the nausea started to subside but my hormones felt all out of whack. Combine my wild mood swings with not being able to stay awake around week 10, and I was a nightmare for my poor husband.

Praise the Lord, as soon as we hit the second trimester, it was like turning a corner. What symptoms I have now (primarily hungry all the time and constantly needing to relieve my bladder) have been fairly consistent for the past few weeks. I’m a little crampy sometimes and there are one or two other symptoms I probably won’t talk about, but no complaints! I know I am very blessed to be having such an uneventful pregnancy.

Were you guys surprised?

By now you would probably assume the answer is “no.” But really, it had been so many months of negative tests and tears and wondering if something was wrong with me that the positive test absolutely threw me. I was supposed to start my next cycle that day; but when my basal body temperature didn’t drop like it usually did, I couldn’t wait to take the test. There was that second line I had been praying for.

We were staying in a snug little AirBnB in Pensacola, Florida for Thanksgiving with Joshua’s family. It was Thanksgiving morning when I stumbled back into the bedroom where my husband was just waking up. I couldn’t stop shaking and started to cry with disbelief. We didn’t want to be too excited at first; but when I used a digital pregnancy test the next day that literally said “Pregnant,” I couldn’t contain myself!

So yes we were hoping and trying and praying, but we were still so surprised and thankful when it happened.

Bonus probably-not-frequently-asked question: Are you reading any books about pregnancy/birth?

You better believe it! I recently finished The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy & Childbirth by “Mama Natural” Genevieve Howland. Absolutely love it! Each chapter is technically a week of your pregnancy, but the chapter is focused on various elements of pregnancy: taking care of your body, your baby, preparing for childbirth, various tests, even baby registry items and nourishing pregnancy-friendly recipes!

Edit to add: I listened to Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols, RDN last spring, in trying to prepare my body for pregnancy. I plan on listening to/reading it again because it is a wealth of knowledge! You can read more about RFFP here.

I’m currently listening on Audible to Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. I wouldn’t recommend everything in the book, obviously. She is the original crunchy midwife. But she has a lot of great information as well as true stories. Also listening every now and again to Supernatural Pregnancy and Childbirth Affirmations which has been interesting. Some of it is a little odd, but other parts are great reminders.

The next two on my TBR list are Holy Labor by Aubry G. Smith (recommended by Phylicia Masonheimer) and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon (recommended by my sister and midwife). I’m looking forward to posting reviews on these later!

Thank you for reading! We are so excited for this next adventure!