2 Years Later…
Ah, she remembered me, says the Blog Svellerella, I may shine once more! Digital tears of joy.
Yes’m. Here I am to say that since January 2018 (when I last wrote a post, on the birth of our now 2 year old), we are now expecting anuzzah baby.
I got a message requesting me to please issue an update about this pregnancy, and since it only takes one person to merely breathe a vague hint to get my ego on a carpet ride, here I am, your blogging veteran, est. 2004.
So here’s what happened:
{TLDR; we pregnant, we happy, God is good.}
This is our “official” pregnancy announcement.
Sincerest apologies for sliding hints since, ohhhh NOVEMBER. (See Screenshot of a little blurb from the Blessed Is She 2019 Holiday Gift Guide where I did not lie about my family size.)
I couldn’t seem to find the “right” time to announce on the internetz.
EVERYONE LOOK AT ME. There just seemed so much going on lately that I felt like not barking over top of all the other voices. It’s silly especially for someone who has a blog, and posts things on Instagram all the time, but I just felt like sitting down.
One Saturday last Fall, I was taking a Mom Morning where Craig stays home with the boys, or takes them all out to go hiking, and I go get my nails done, listen to a Podcast or book on Audible (IRONICALLY I’d just finished up the 45 HOUR LONG audio version of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, which, if you know the story, you will shortly see why the irony.), go shopping for some new makeup etc, and enjoy a small treat.
It was when I was halfway through my cup of Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzel Nuggets that I was blindsided by the sudden urge to vomit— and I knew it. It was too early to take a test, but we do NFP, and the timing was dead on. There was no question.
I eventually got around to taking a test, and I stood there in the bathroom laughing and laughing in joy and gratitude at my positive results. Even at 6 babies, I am still amazed and in wonder at the miracle of a new life which first sparks alive in my own womb; alive as a human being and absolutely nothing else. What an honor.
As I enter into my mid-thirties the reality that my fertility will soon come to a screeching halt has recently brought sadness and caused me to wonder at my anxious 24 year old self who was so uptight about using NFP and how it might “not work.” So afeared of the idea of ANOTHER baby. As it turns out, I was afraid of the idea, but the reality became actually one of those things you just have to be there for: nothing I would return for the world, and so glad I had when I did.
So now, another baby. But the issue was that we had just brought home an 8 week old Belgian Sheepdog puppy, and he was pooping and peeing all over the house, and the boys were absolutely beside themselves, and on top of each other in complete shrill, shrieking elation over the cuteness. And there was constant monitoring and correcting, and wiping, and cleaning, and bathing, and mewling from every creature in the house and I was experiencing morning sickness. Except it was ALL DAY sickness, and the smell of this furry little thing was REPULSIVE, and he even gets bathed more than our own children do.
Then there was an extra weekend of insanity where we ALSO owned a kitten along with Bosco the puppy for 3 days and Jude kept carrying it around like baby Simba, and then he and Dominic kept playing in the kitty litter like it was a sand box and poor kitty went back to his previous owner.
I decided we would announce once we knew the baby’s gender. That’s always an area of great interest around here, what with only boys in this family. A few children ago, we opted for the early prenatal genetic testing so that in the event there was “something” we could better prepare ourselves to handle whatever that “something” may be. After the crazy whirlwind of giving birth to our Collin, and the sudden shock of discovering he had a congenital heart defect right there, mere hours postpartum, and all the stress and fear of the sudden unknowns and exhaustion and transferring hospitals and staying extra long from our children at home, I would appreciate knowing if possible ahead of time.
The other benefit of the early testing is finding out baby’s gender. I NEED to know at this point, so that I can emotionally wrap my head around whatever- the crazy improbability of a 6th boy, or the new newness of a baby girl.
And then Thanksgiving came, and then it was Advent, and I hardly thought making a baby announcement around Christmas time would be appropriate. Mixed into the holidays and birthdays, was also illness. Viral stomach illness. Everyone kept getting sick. SO much bodily fluids, and so so so much laundry and sanitizing. And I caught it. I didn’t know I was getting sick, because I ALREADY FELT SICK, and I didn’t know when I was getting better because I still felt sick, except I finally stopped vomiting. I didn’t do an ounce of Christmas shopping this year, and that’s usually something I take delight in doing. Craig took over for me. I didn’t send out Christmas cards. And, then there was still pooping, peeing, mewling Bosco the puppy.
The first trimester passed and I can safely say this has been the most different pregnancy I’ve ever experienced. SO different. I’ve never felt so sick, so un-pretty, so STARVING that I was waking up at 2am as if I hadn’t eaten for days, craving such a wide array of foods; from Fritos to chips and queso; oranges and citrus juices to chocolate…
Both Craig and I had strong gut feelings about this baby. Craig had an out of the blue, mystical dream involving Our Lady and he was given a rose, and we knew it was directly related to this pregnancy.
I got a call from my midwife. All testing results were normal, thank you Lord, and Y chromosome was detected.
Another boy. Boy number 6.
So I took some time to be grateful for good health, as far as we knew, and to wrap my head around the news of another boy. I mean of course, right? I did make this meme a few years ago, after all:
And finally, our Emmett received his first Penance and Reconciliation, and when posting the family photo of the event, I realized my 17 week baby bump was pretty recognizable, and I’d have some ‘splaining to do. Trying not to detract from the monumental moment of our kid with ASD and hyperlexia who’d just received his first sacrament since baptism, and something we’ve been working on him with his whole life, I wrote at the bottom of my caption, “yes that is what you think it is” and of course I should know, people don’t really read captions, or at least not to the bottom. I know I’m lucky if you’re still reading at this point. Yet I persist. 🤔
THEN (We’re almost there.) on my 11 year wedding anniversary post, I thought surely saying SIX children would suffice as THE announcement. But I forgot that once a family gets past about 3 or 4 kids most peoples’ eyes glaze over and they cannot compute the amount of heads they are seeing and everyone just lumps together into a massive ThatsALotOfKids Family Monster.
At Costco a few weeks ago, a man stopped point blank in the middle of the meat section to gawk at us and he took on a Will Ferrel character and loudly blurted out “GOOD-GOD!” after dramatically counting five little heads. The boys were all quite silent, and since we were still at the beginning stage of our grocery trip they were all very well behaved, so I don’t know why the man had to make a thing about it— ESPECIALLY IN THE LARGEST WHOLESALE GROCERY STRORE IN AMERICA MARKETED SPECIFICALLY FOR LARGE FAMILIES. Then, upon leaving the same store on a separate occasion, another man walked up to us, verbally counted our number and barked out “HOLY SH¶T!”
So, that’s what happened over the course of 4 months. I thank you all so very much for your sweet and warm comments. They are a balm in this world of weird people who don’t understand why we love our children and love giving them siblings so much.
NOW I must post this before my sister in law gives birth to her baby and I find it inappropriate to make this announcement.
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Congratulations!! I’m just a blog follower and we’ve never met but this news makes me so happy! You have a beautiful family!