Counting our blessings

Well... it's been far too long since I have written. So much has happened. I can't guarantee that I wont be bouncing all over the place. So I hope you are all doing well and enjoy this post.

Back in January 2019, we found out we were pregnant. Spencer and I were really excited as we had been trying for a while. We were ready and no one new, except maybe one or two people. Being a diabetic has some perks when trying to get pregnant. If you become pregnant and are in good control you know exactly when you are pregnant because your blood sugars suddenly become crazy. I found out at 3 weeks, just like I did with my other two pregnancies. However, as the days came and past, something felt weird. I had scheduled my appointment with my OB at 5 1/2 weeks. Besides constant headaches, I never got sick or nauseous. At 7 weeks, I began to spot bright red blood. Almost instantly I began to painfully cramp and huge clots started to pass. Somehow it worked out that Spencer had that day off and was home with me when all of it passed. I was an emotional wreck and Evie seemed to pick that up and felt that she needed me more than anyone that day. Unlike my last miscarriage (at 11 ish weeks), this one passed in one day and in a few hours, all at home. It was hard to imagine that I had to go through this once again and suffer the agony of losing a precious baby. Spencer and I have always wanted our children close in age so we felt that it was right to continue to try after I felt ready. This time it took a bit longer to stop bleeding, making it harder to track my ovulation cycle.
However... on March 2, 2019 I woke up nauseous and wanted to throw up at the sight of everything. For the few days before that I had been sick, almost like I had eaten wheat and was uncomfortable. This was the day we actually gave Leo back to his breeder (the first time) and on our way home, through our tear-filled car, I blurted out that I might be pregnant. Once we got home and settled in to our unusually quiet house I ran back out to the store. I bought a pack of three tests and came home and took one right away. I sat on the toilet and started sobbing again. What a day to find out we were pregnant. I opened the door to Evie banging on the wall and told her to go give the stick to Spencer. She had no idea what it was and happily did what she was asked. Spencer, with puffy eyes already, smiled and teared up a bit. According to my app, I was 3.5 weeks pregnant. I didn't waste any time and the following Monday called to schedule an appointment. I was able to get in right at 8 weeks (high risk= earlier and more appointments).

Now.... I found out I was pregnant right in the middle of my anatomy lab at school. Which was full of cadavers soaked in formaldehyde. I got sooo sick and the smell of that every week literally made me want to vomit. I had to step outside several times a class just to make sure I wouldn't lose my dinner. Oh man it was rough and I do not recommend it. With Evie I was sick from week 5 to week 15, so I was mentally preparing myself for a long time of not being 100%. This time around, I was just as sick if not more. Being pregnant with a toddler is so hard, and it makes it hard to even get things done. The mornings were the worst. I would wake up with Spencer and throw myself over the toilet. By the time Evie was up, it was time for another round of getting sick. I have never dry-heaved or vomited more in my life, even with Evie. From week 3 to 10 I was really sick, ALL DAY LONG. I even had to travel in the car with a bag (or 5) in my car for just in case I got sick. I was so blessed during this time where Evie was so good to me. When I got sick my 18 month old would lay outside the bathroom door and repeatedly say, "Mommy okay okay". Then for hours a day she would entertain herself by coloring, reading, or playing with her baby dolls. When I would fall asleep, she would always cover me with her blanket and go, "Shh Mommy it's ok" Oh my heart!! Spencer also came home to some pretty "hardy" meals like leftovers for days, or pancakes, or cut up apples and cheese. Just like that at 11 weeks, I felt great, and could eat food again. I had worked out like I had with Evie since the day I found out at three weeks. I plan to workout the whole time with this pregnancy.
I saw baby and the heartbeat at 8 weeks, healthy and strong (BBP of 147). We also saw baby at 13 weeks where we opted for genetic testing. At this point baby was growing at a week ahead and BBP at 157. This one was stubborn and it took almost 30 minutes to get baby in the right position. We fell even more in love with this baby. We opted to find out the gender with our genetic testing and we were so excited.

A week later I was in the store with Evie and my phone started to ring. It was the Genetic Counselor. She told me that our baby was healthy and the proceeded to tell me something else (I don't remember) but then I heard, "Congratulations Kacey! You are having another girl!" I literally stopped in my tracks and started to cry. I was pretty convinced it was a boy up until week 11 and I just had a feeling and while getting a pedicure with my friend I blurted out that Evie was going to have a sister. I have never felt more joy than that! Yes of course we wanted a boy because we are 99.999% positive that this is our last baby. (Long story short, this time around, pregnancy and diabetes has kicked my trash).However we are so happy for Evie to have a sister and to grow up with a close friend. Spencer was shocked when I told him we were having another girl. I know he will love baby girl number 2 as much as Evie. We are keeping the name between us (not even family knows) until she is born mostly because we have two that we are torn between. Just know they are "old lady names" like Evelyn. I have never thought Evelyn's name was an old lady name but have been told this countless times by other people.

With this baby I started showing really early (mostly bloat) but I was able to wear my normal pants with E until 20 weeks. This time around, not so much. At 15 weeks I could no longer button up my pants and had a cute little/big bump. My placenta is anterior and because of that, the "flutters" have been very subtle . With Evie I felt her move at 14 weeks and from them on it was constant. Regardless, when I do feel baby girl #2 move it is the best feeling in the world. One big difference that I have noticed is that I am so emotional. I think I cry a little every day at the littlest things. With Evie I never cried or maybe I was just able to hold in my emotions better. Poor Spencer has had to deal with having normal conversations and then I would start to cry for NO REASON. Man. Embarrassing for me but I am sure I will laugh at it later. Evie loves baby sister so much already and loves to say "Hi sister, Evie" or in a really whiny and adorable voice, "I love you sister". Obviously Evie doesn't understand what sister is yet, but I try to help her. I am 100% sure that she will know who she is as soon as she sees her and will mommy her just like she does with her own babies. Which if any of you know Evie, she is such a good mommy to her baby dolls, always sushing them or wrapping them, or even feeding them.
At 16 weeks, I was in a car accident as I was on my way to class. I was side-swiped and caused a huge dent and scratches in our passenger back door. It was scary and stressful, with hormones it was almost impossible to not cry. Because of being pregnant, I had to be checked out. Honestly, this was so scary, and as a mom it is my worst nightmare to be in a car accident with my babies. The EMT's were so nice and understanding and made sure I was able to get my blood pressure stable. With an anterior placenta I was not able to track babies kicks or movements. I stayed up the entire night waiting for any movement. Unfortunately I was so stiff and sore I felt like I could only focus on that. The next morning I tried to only focus on the baby, but I was busy running around. My sweet sister-in-law, who is a nurse in L&D did a Doppler heartbeat test and we confirmed that baby girl was strong and healthy. A huge blessing for us.
We feel extremely blessed to add another baby girl to our family. Although it doesn't seem quite real yet, it feels incredibly right and the perfect fit for our puzzle. We are not quite sure how we will do it; graduate school, two girls, and long work hours for Spencer, but we are sure that this is all part of our family plan. We couldn't be more grateful. Even with all of the trials we had to endure to get to this spot, we know that Heavenly Father had a huge role in our journey and has prepared us every step of the way. As it gets closer I know that everything will just fall into place and quite honestly, I can't wait to have another piece of Heaven in our home.

May all of you continue to be blessed and Go Forth and Do,