Baby #7: 21-26 Weeks

Oh baby #7. While you may be loved and wanted and cherished and thought of every day in the real world, I've been majorly slacking updating the blog on you. I wish I could say it will get better once baby's here, but I know that would be a major lie ha! 

The last six weeks have been filled with fun and even more anticipation of meeting baby. Eric finally felt baby kick a little after 20 weeks. I've also had Brayden and Ashley feel baby kick, and they said they felt it, but I'm not convinced they actually did. 

We had our anatomy scan, and our anatomy scan 2.0 since baby decided to not show a clear picture of his or her heart. We finally got some almost decent photos of baby, so I was excited about that. Baby likes to hide its face out in my placenta or the lining of my uterus, so the adorable face pictures are lacking this pregnancy.

The kids are all still seeming excited about the baby. They were all kissing my stomach the other night, and they talk about baby a lot. Katie will still point to her belly if you ask her where the baby is, but if you ask her where mommy's baby is she will point to my stomach (or my chest, it's a 50/50 shot of her getting it right still haha). 

I'm still pretty exhausted by the end of the day, and I'm realizing that my ability to bend over and give the kids a bath or even give them kisses goodnight if I'm standing will be coming to an end soon. But that all just means we keep getting closer and closer to meeting this last piece to our family, and for that I'm so, so grateful. 

An Eclipse Party for the Books

It was a solar eclipse of the heart(land). A totality awesome thing to witness. Watching the sun get mooned was the best part of my day. {Insert all other corny solar eclipse statements here.}

But seriously, witnessing the total solar eclipse yesterday had to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. 

It’s hard to put into words the magnitude of what happened. You almost didn’t notice it getting slightly darker as the time passed. I’d be reminded by Brayden and Ashley that they wanted their glasses to look at the sun, and then I’d hear their sweet little voices filled with excitement when they would state that there was a piece missing from it.

As it approached totality, the changes definitely became more drastic. It was noticeably cooler, and noticeably darker. There was almost an eerie feeling that came over you as it got closer and closer to totality. And honestly, it felt much more eerie and seemed to get much cooler than when I experienced the eclipse in 2017 with 95% coverage. It’s so amazing what that extra 5% can do!

And all at once it was like a light bulb got turned off as the moon fully covered the sun. Seeing that last bright flash of light before the total ring surrounded the moon was something truly breathtaking.

I didn’t bring my camera, and honestly I am glad I didn’t as I feel like I didn’t get to watch the actual eclipse as long as I would have liked anyway, and we saw it for over three minutes already. But I did find some truly amazing photos that photographers shared on Facebook, with my favorite being one by Ryan Pinkston that I’m sharing below (click on his name to go to his Facebook page for the original). 

In the darkness, the kids played with glow sticks while all the adults marveled at the beauty we were witnessing. There were too many people (and little kids) when we saw it so I didn't notice, but I heard others say that their porch lights came on and they could hear animals and bugs act as if it was nighttime.

Brayden and Ashley loved the "clipse" party. When I asked what their favorite part of the day was, Ashley said it was watching the moon go in front of the sun and it getting dark and playing with glow sticks. Brayden said that his favorite part was playing with his friends. Then he asked me what my favorite part of the day was.

Man that got me thinking- what was my favorite part of the day? Much like Ashley, I had more than just one favorite part.

I loved that I was able to spend the day with some friends we don't get to see very often- talking about you Nick, Jaycen and Katie!

I loved that I was able to experience the eclipse with my family. Seeing the excitement on their faces throughout the whole day was something I never want to forget.

And I loved that this whole thing reminded me just how small I am, and just how mighty our God is. He created the world and all the beauty in it, and being able to witness just a small portion of his miraculous works was something that will stick with me forever.

Baby #7: 12-20 Weeks

Since I'm officially over halfway, I should probably start doing some pregnancy updates, right? Baby #7, while I may be behind on the sharing side, we are definitely so in love with you and absolutely can't wait until July to meet you!

But let's back waaaaaaay up to last July, when we had our first transfer in trying for baby #7. We were met with a negative pregnancy test, so we regrouped and tried again. But our transfer in September was met once again with a negative pregnancy test. Eric and I knew that another baby was in our family plan, so we didn't give up hope. We had our third transfer on November 13, and just before Thanksgiving we got what we'd been waiting for- a positive test! 

I can't thank all the staff at STL Fertility enough, especially our wonderwoman of a doctor, Dr. Dayal. Her perseverance with our treatment and willingness to do whatever it took helped us get the family we have wanted for over 10 years. 

We had our first ultrasound on December 6th and I was positive that I'd lost the baby. I woke up that morning to bright red blood and feeling extra discouraged. Thankfully when we got into the doctor's office we were able to see that beautiful little heartbeat. Turns out it was just a subchronic hemorrhage, which I have had with both the twins' and Katie's pregnancies, so I should have known it would happen again. But it's still a scary thing to have happen!

Our second ultrasound was on December 20th, and we were once again blessed to see a growing baby with a beautiful heartbeat. We sadly said goodbye to everyone at STL Fertility, but were so excited to be continuing our journey back home. By this point, my stomach had definitely popped out, and it was getting harder and harder to hide. I wore lots of baggy shirts and sweatshirts for a while!

On January 19th we had a 12 week scan with Dr. Haller where she gave us the much awaited news that baby had a perfect little head. So many praises for this! That night we told the kids that I was going to have a baby. It wasn't the picture perfect moment that I was hoping for, but that's ok. It was real and adorable nonetheless, and that's the important part. 

Shortly after that we told our parents. I had plans to tell the social media world much before we actually did, but we were so busy with basketball and varying sicknesses that we just weren't ever able to get together and looking presentable all at the same time. So here we are, just a few weeks later than anticipated.

 

 

Overall, I've been feeling very good this pregnancy! I had some nausea at the beginning of my pregnancy, but if I ate something it went away pretty quickly. I started feeling baby around 13-14 weeks. Mostly flutters inside when it would roll around, but I was definitely feeling it. The past few weeks I've felt more kicks and punches than rolls. I thought I should have been feeling more of those than I had been, but my suspicions were confirmed at my anatomy scan when they said I had an anterior placenta. 

Aside from that, I've just been much more tired this pregnancy than I remember being at this point in my others. I'm sure that's because I'm growing a human while also taking care of 3 other little humans and I'm just exhausted from that. But boy am I missing that energy boost I used to get in the second trimester!

I can't wait to spend these last 20ish weeks with baby, soaking every little thing in. I'm sure this is our last baby, so everything has just been bittersweet this time around. Here's to a memory filled next couple of months!

Brayden and Ashley: Four Years

I've never seen four years go by so fast in my life, but boy have we enjoyed them! Brayden and Ashley are officially four years old! 

These two have the best sibling bond, and I hope it stays as strong as it is now forever. They may fight like brothers and sisters do, but they are quick to forgive and always there for each other when they need it. 

 

Brayden. Our big hearted lover (at least to his momma). This kid loves building things- be it with blocks, magnet tiles, or his most recent favorite, chairs, if it can be arranged in some way, he is doing it. His favorite show is Paw Patrol or Spidey and his Amazing Friends. He loves cheese and oranges. He is constantly asking to play with play-doh. He absolutely adores his sisters. Mom is still his favorite person (he will forever be a momma's boy), but dad has really grown on him. His favorite catchphrase is "100s of things" when talking about something that is a lot or will take a long time. He enjoys calling people "poopyheads" and "fat pigs", and I'm sure we will get in trouble in preschool this fall when he starts calling people in his class those endearing terms of affection. He loves to race you to his room before bed, and really loves dancing to Rolex, or "Rolly Rolly" as he calls it. The outside is his favorite place, and he's gotten pretty good at his balance bike. All he talks about is going camping, so I'm excited to make those memories with him this summer. Great things are in store for this guy this year!

Ashley. Our spunky spit fire. I think Ashley was born to be an artist. She is always the first one to ask for crayons to draw or color, and she's pretty good at it. She loves dressing up and playing "mom and dad" with Brayden. Her favorite shows are also Paw Patrol and Spidey and his Amazing Friends. Cookies and milk are her favorite snacks. Ashley is definitely more of a daddy's girl than Brayden is a daddy's boy (though not as much a daddy's girl as Katie is!). She busts out her best dance moves- or better known as spinning around in circles- to "Rolly Rolly". Ashley is the best big sister and a huge helper. She always needs just one more hug and kiss before bed, and will say "goodnight, I love you, see you in the morning" until she is blue in the face, especially if she doesn't hear you say it back to her. She loves to sing anything and everything, and especially loves to finish the silly songs that daddy starts for her. I can't wait to see where this year takes her!

Reflecting and Expecting on What's to Come

2023 is officially in the past, so I wanted to reflect on all the beautiful things last year offered our family, and at the same time, imagine all the good that we can expect in this new year.  

I'm reflecting on all the family time we were able to have. We spent time on the lake, on the four wheeler, at the fair, at a few weddings, in the backyard, at football and basketball games, at the rodeo, at the pumpkin patch, and I'm sure so many other things. I truly feel like we embraced growing as a family last year, and I'm looking forward to seeing how much more we grow in 2024.

I'm reflecting on all the one on one time Eric and I were able to have. Whether it was sneaking in time together during nap time or after the kids went to bed, our New England vacation with just the two of us, or the few special times we were able to leave the kids with the grandparents and fit in a dinner date or evening with friends, we made sure to make time for each other last year. I pray we are able to carve out even more time for the two of us this year!

I'm reflecting on all the friend time that we were all able to have. There were friend dinners, wine dates, dinner parties, sleepovers, holiday parties, hunting trips, and so much more. Friendships are such an important part of life, and I'm thankful that we were able to nourish those friendships in so many different ways last year.

As I reflect on the year, I have to remember to give myself some grace. I so badly want to be a "supermom" and get everything right, have children that love each other and don't fight, have a house where we never yell, and have everything fall perfectly into place every time. Now do I now that that is the most unrealistic goal ever- yes, I do. But is it still something that I beat myself up over when I know that I've failed on so many of those things- yes, it is. I'm not big on making resolutions, but if I could make one wish for myself, it would be to give myself more grace when I don't live up to my unrealistic expectations. 

My wish for Brayden, Ashley, and Katie would be that they seize every opportunity that is offered to them this year. Whether it be t-ball, dance class, sleepovers, that scary ride, or whatever else this year can throw our way, I hope they embrace each opportunity, know that it's ok to feel all the feelings, and know that they are brave, strong, and cherished no matter what the outcomes are. 

My wish for Eric and I is that we remember to not take each other for granted. That we embrace this crazy beautiful life that we've built. That we take time for ourselves, for our family, and for each other. 

May this year be everything that we want it to be. May we face each challenge head on. And may we stick together as a family in everything that we do. Bring it on 2024!