Yates Baby #2!

After 4 months, we finally got a positive test!! Assuming all goes well, baby Yates #2 should be making his or her arrival around March 20, 2016!!

I'm SO excited! And nervous. And worried. And excited again. It's crazy to think that we will have another teeny one that will be ours.

So here's this baby's story:

Eric's been working a ton. So we knew there wasn't going to be a ton of chances for us to... you know... make a baby each month. This time around I felt pretty sure we'd missed it since he'd been on call the weekend I was supposed to ovulate. (My cycles have been WAY predictable this time - 26 days - so I felt pretty sure about when the action needed to happen. haha). We got things in where we could, but didn't feel very hopeful. I figured at least I knew we could try again in a couple more weeks.

Samuel and I took off to Arkansas for a week and a half because, seriously, Eric's schedule is AWFUL right now (30 hrs. every 4th day and 12 hr days in between. 4 days off over 5 1/2 weeks. Ick). I had the tiniest bit of bleeding on Sunday (a week after I ovulated) and thought maybe it could be implantation bleeding, but decided it was probably just stress.

Thursday I started bleeding a little more and figured my cycle had just been short. I was stressed. And, since we've been trying, there had been more than one time when I had light bleeding for 2-3 days before I really got a definitive "no." So I was upset. I was at my parents' house. And trying not to cry or mope or feel too sorry for myself. It was not fun.

But at least I had a lot of distractions. We went to the zoo and to see friends and I had to fly alone with a 2 year old.

I was little nauseous off and on, but didn't think much of that since it was SO hot in Arkansas. Running was a little harder than normal too, but, once again, it was hot.

By the time we got back home Saturday night (after chasing Samuel through the airport and flying and taking him out to eat and bringing his whiny self in to bed at 11 pm), my bleeding was still ever-so-light. So, to reassure myself that I wasn't pregnant, I took a test. (I'm a bit of a pregnancy test junkie. I probably averaged 3/month even when I was absolutely NOT preggers).

Yup, you guessed it! The dollar store test showed a line that was pretty stinkin' clear, but I decided to take a digital one too just to confirm (and so Eric would be satisfied it was true. I knew he'd make me take another one). Yeah, pretty sure that was the longest 2 minutes of my life, standing in the bathroom waiting for that thing to officially say "Pregnant."

But it did, of course. :-)

It was kind of surreal. When we found out we were pregnant with Samuel, we both FREAKED out. I was shaking for like an hour. I kept looking and re-looking at the test.

This time I went in to our room, showed Eric, and we just hugged and snuggled and then watched an episode of Scrubs while intermittently making comments about our sweet new surprise. Then we said a little prayer for our new baby and our family and went to bed.

It's funny how this time already seems different. I'm still SUPER concerned about miscarriage (I feel like everyone I know lately has miscarried with #2), and I'm trying to keep my mouth shut. I'm still worried our baby could have something abnormal going on. Those things will always be there. But, I feel way more excited this time. I think it's because I have been through it now. I'm not as scared of labor. I know it's all worth it.

Plus I know, ultimately, this is all in God's hands. I'm reminded again of how little I really have to do with this whole process and how amazing it is that God knits us together in such an intricate way.

Anyway, my first OB appointment is July 29. I've already practically thrown my back out chasing Samuel around today (seriously, I'm having some major cramps on my right side. Yikes). I'm going to have to take it easy with him. And I'm watching extra kids the next couple of weeks, so that might be an adventure. Hopefully I'll be done with all that before the nausea and stuff hit at least.

Here's praying for a healthy, whole baby, and a smooth, easy pregnancy!

Another New Beginning

I really should probably wait to start this thing. It's not like I'm even pregnant yet. And there's always the chance that we might not be able to get pregnant, etc. etc. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch.

But, in one way or another, we eventually plan to be a family of 4, and we are trying again, and that seems like reason enough to warrant a new blog for baby #2.

It's funny to me how I'm just as freaked out and anxious about getting pregnant this time around. I thought that since I'd been through it once, since I know that it's a long long process, since I already have one super active toddler to take care of, that I would be more patient and not think about it as much. Nope. Instead, I'm the crazy lady taking pregnancy tests every day.

It's so scary and exciting all at the same time. The actual pregnancy/giving birth part scares me less, but now there's so much else to consider. Will I be able to handle pregnancy AND Samuel? I know so many people who've miscarried the second time around - Will that be me? Will my labor & delivery be worse this time? Will I deal with PPA again? Will this baby be healthy and whole? Can I actually keep my mouth shut once I AM pregnant? There's a lot to consider there.

Plus, I know everyone says it happens, but it's hard to imagine loving another child as much as I love Samuel. Can my heart really handle it?

Really, though, I am so thrilled at the thought of having another little person to love, a sweet new baby to snuggle and raise and call our own. I love the idea of Samuel transitioning into a big brother, putting his bossiness to use. Haha.

It will be hard and I seriously worry about my ability to manage two kids 24/7 sometimes. But I know God's grace is sufficient, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he will do in the life of our sweet family. :-)