Party of 5

So...

I've kept my mouth shut for FOREVER! I hate keeping my own secrets. But, I sort of accidentally outed myself on Facebook this afternoon, so I figured, oh who cares. Let's shout it from the rooftops!

That's right, folks! Our families have known for a while now (plus anyone who sees me in person...my belly popped WAY early this time around and was pretty hard to hide). We've been so excited, and I've been anxiously waiting to announce it.

But, after the heartbreak of losing Hannah last year, I was so hesitant. The last thing I wanted was to announce it publicly (again), only to have to un-tell everyone (again). That's incredibly painful. So, we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. We told our families when I was around 17 weeks, I think--past the first trimester plus an appointment to check for a good heartbeat.

We'd talked about waiting to go Facebook-public till we knew the sex of the baby (which we don't yet, thanks to some insurance issues). I've avoided posting pictures that clearly show my expanding waistline. :) But then today, I posted in an event called Bring Back Our Girls Day of Fasting and Prayer, aimed at specifically fasting and praying for the Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped and are still missing, many of them apparently sold as brides. I believe in the power of prayer, and I wanted to participate. I made a comment about being unable to go without food/water due to my pregnancy but still wanting to participate, not thinking about the fact that my comment would be viewable by the general public. Whoops!

So, rather than trying to delete it or hide it, I figured I'd just own it. Ta-da! So, we've got another tiny nugget coming our way mid-August! My pregnancy so far has been more or less okay. I really do wish I were one of those women who just sails through pregnancy like it's a breeze, but alas, it was (sadly) not meant to be. Still, this time around has been less awful compared to my pregnancies with Hannah and David. Not a barrel of monkeys or anything, but at the very least I can function most of the time like a normal person. I've got less joint pain (which means I can still walk! Hooray!) and my morning sickness wasn't *quite* bad enough to really be hyperemesis this time around. My depression has also been easily manageable, which is nice after the hell that was David's pregnancy.

(And you'd better believe I'm knocking on wood after that paragraph.)

We should be finding out the sex of the baby fairly soon, I hope. I'm really tired of waiting, but you've got to love insurance and the hoops they make you jump through. *sigh* Keep an eye out for an exciting reveal when we find out!