Baby #3 On The Way!

Well, here we go again!! We're pregnant with Baby #3 and are SO excited to become a family of FIVE! Keep reading to get all the deets!

(*Note: This post was written the day we officially announced our pregnancy on social media when I was 7 weeks pregnant, February 17, 2017.)

Due Date: October 1, 2017

How many weeks along am I now: 7 weeks (aka almost 2 months, aka 1st trimester)

How big is Baby Kresta: A playing die or tiny raspberry!

Boy or Girl: Already pretty convinced it's a girl... but it's of course a 50/50 shot regardless so we'll see!

Morning sickness: None! (Yet...?)

Exhaustion: Hmmm yes definitely SOO tired. So tired that we've been going to bed earlier than ever and I stopped caring about getting stuff done after the kids go to bed haha. That will eventually have to change however as the house is a mess and nothing ever gets done. I also can't bring myself to do anything during nap time except for nap! (Not that that wasn't already an issue buuut... at this point there's no question that napping will always win!)

Belly:  Nothin! Just some exaggerated food babies/bloating in the evenings after eating dinner usually. 

Planned: Let's be honest here. No. Haha. Not at all when we expected for our third baby to come into existence! However, as I have said before, by practicing Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness Method (NFP/FAM), we are always saying YES to God and His plan for our family. But in case you're even more curious about the TMI details here ya go (and if not skip on down past this next section):

How did we find out: Warning: TMI ahead. Back at the beginning of January, we had what I'm calling a...*ahem*..."miscommunication" if you will. With NFP/FAM I am always super aware of where I am in my cycle, when I'm ovulating, about to ovulate, etc. etc. So, as soon as this "miscommunication" took place, I instantly knew that pregnancy was a very real possibility (I was due to ovulate any day at that point). And I kind of freaked out juuuuust a little bit. (There were several reasons why I knew *thought* this wasn't a good time for us to get pregnant, one of which being that Ryan's sister is getting married in October and I knew a January pregnancy would potentially be a major interference with our attendance to that. Plus, even though I LOVE being pregnant, giving birth and bringing babies into this world, I did truly want a liiiiiittle bit more of a body break between kids this time around. Like, maybe at least another full year. I mean, we have a 9 month old for crying out loud! So, this is why I was freaking out about the potential of another pregnancy.) But this really was just a GIANT miscommunication!

Well, several days passed and I ended up not ovulating until 3 days after that. At that point, I honestly thought we PROBABLY missed the window for fertilization, but knew that there was still a teeny tiny chance (HAH). (I was also still breastfeeding, although by this point I knew that wasn't any sort of preventative. However I wondered if those hormones would still do enough to slow things down or maybe prevent implantation? Who knows - although not something that I bank on once my babies start sleeping through the night and my cycle returns.) 

I even sent Ryan this picture of my ovulation monitor on the day I ovulated (3 days after
our "miscommunication") and said something to the effect of "Looks like we
 might have dodged the bullet!" MIGHT have. Maybe...At this point, I was thinking there 
was maybe still like a...25% chance that I would get pregnant, but definitely 
wasn't thinking it would end up happening. 

ANYWAY, I did some math and started testing the earliest I thought it would be MAYBE be possible to get a positive test. I took 3 tests over the course of that week all of which were negative. I REALLY assumed that I wasn't pregnant by then, but honestly the more negatives I saw, the more sad that I realized I was getting when those negative tests were staring me in the face. I really didn't think that I was ready to have another baby so soon, so I was a little surprised at my growing disappointment. I really wasn't feeling "waves of relief" with each negative or anything even though I was still feeling pretty stressed about the situation. After the 3 negatives, I waited a few days and debated on whether I should take another one or not. I remember waking up on that Monday morning, sitting up in bed with my feet hanging off the edge and thinking "Okay, I think this is the last day that I could possibly get a positive before completely missing my period, but I really really don't want to take another one since I already know it's going to be negative." But something still told me to take one more. Just one more. (And looking back, I actually believe that I felt implantation happen the evening before. I should have known!) Also, I am not someone who can wait weeks and weeks to know if I'm pregnant, or just see if I miss my period and wonder if I'm just late or actually pregnant... I have to know the earliest minute possible. So, I wasn't about to throw caution to the wind and move on with my life without knowing FOR. SURE. So I took one last test, set it on the ground and looked down a few seconds later. 

Side note: Usually, when I'm examining negative pregnancy tests (which is apparently a lot), my eyes will try to "guess" where the line might be, or even see if one can be fabricated. But when that faint faint positive shows up, I almost always second guess it. I think "okay, I think I'm making up where the line is SUPPOSED to be... but it's not actually there, right?" This literally happens to me every time.) 

That morning, when I picked up the pregnancy test and took a closer look and realized I wasn't making up that little line's existence. I just sat there on the toilet and cried my eyes out. Not because I was sad, or scared or unhappy, but because I was SO overjoyed to see that positive, to know that there was another tiny life growing inside of me and also because I was surprised and relieved that I wasn't feeling any of those negative feelings I thought I might feel should a pregnancy occur. I could hardly believe it. It was a gorgeous day outside, so of course I loaded up my first two babies into the stroller and immediately went on my run for the day. I took as many pictures as I could because I always love looking back on those special days and remembering all of those incredible emotions. I took Heidi and Wells to our bi-monthly church playgroup where I of course told all of my mom friends, but I hadn't even told Ryan yet haha! I wanted to wait and tell him in person, so I told him as soon as he got home from work later that day. 

Why did we decide share the news now: Ever since my first pregnancy, I have felt very convicted to share our pregnancy news as soon as possible. When I was pregnant with Heidi, I can remember thinking to myself: "I'm doing this thing that everyone is telling me I'm supposed to do (by waiting to share) but why?" I do not feel like I'm protecting myself by keeping my babies a secret until a certain magical time. It is a personal decision for everyone, but I would be hurting myself and making things much much harder on our family should a miscarriage or other health issue occur. Every woman and every family is different, so the decision truly is different for everyone, but I feel very strongly about not keeping our pregnancies a secret until X number of weeks. We will always share the news of pregnancy within that first month or two, because regardless of whether it's a healthy pregnancy or if a miscarriage happens a life is a life and one that deserves love, joy and celebrating. One way or another. 

How far apart will Wells and baby #3 be: 18 months (yikes!)

The first positive test - 4 weeks and 1 day pregnant.

Took another test 10 days later just to be sure - definitely MORE positive!

This was how I told Ryan I was pregnant! I had really been pressing hard for us to go back to Hawaii for our 5 year anniversary this October. While he was at work, I made this card and stuffed it in an envelope that we had received in the mail from someone else. (Of course, I made sure to tear the envelope just right so it cut off the return address, so he wouldn't know who it was from, but still not be totally suspicious until opening the card..) When he walked in the door, I was laying on the couch and both kids were still napping. I casually picked it up off the coffee table and said "Oh, hey this came in the mail today." Hehe. Loved being able to catch him (at least a little bit) off guard this time around!! See you in 2018 Hawaii!!! We're comin for ya! (Currently booking babysitters for October 2018... ;).)

We are SO excited to welcome this third addition to our family. Pregnancy is totally my jam and bringing babies into the world is something that I truly love to do. I am so excited and SO grateful that God is allowing me to experience it all again. We look forward to sharing our journey with you for a THIRD time!