Here it is.

The announcement of the year. The news you’ve been waiting for.

Well, some of you.

I’m going to have a baby!

Elliot and I are super excited and also very nervous to welcome a little bundle of joy (and drool) to our family.

As this is rather big news, and I am as awkward as can be when it comes to these things, I’m sure you have questions. Everyone we’ve told so far has asked variations of the same questions, so I’m going out on a limb here, and I’m going to assume that some of you are wondering the same things.

In this post, I’m going to answer all of those questions right here, right now, and I’m not holding back, so if you wanted to know the deets, here they are. You’ve been warned.

How far along are you?

As of today, I am 13 weeks and 6 days.

When are you due?

December. Yes, Christmas. No, like literally CHRISTMAS. My due date is December 23, exactly six months from today and yes, it took me this long to adjust to that. Did I want a Christmas baby? HECK NO. Who would wish that on themselves? It was honestly second on my list of “Worst Times To Have A Baby” list, and yes, I absolutely had that mental list.

If I didn’t realize yet that I have absolutely no control over anything, I do now. I am clearly not in charge here; God’s got his own plan, and ya girl is doing her best to hang on for dear life. Now that I’ve accepted that I will have a Christmas baby, I’m diving all in and so help me if my child doesn’t love Christmas as much as I do.

I mean, they have to, right?

P.S. - if you or a close family member are a Christmas baby, please send all the tips and tricks on making birthdays super special and unique when smack dab next to the biggest holiday.

Were you trying?

I’m not sure why people ask this question, but I digress.

Yes and no. It depends on who you ask. Elliot thinks that anything that can potentially result in pregnancy is “trying”. I have tried to explain that I wasn’t tracking ovulation or anything like that, so the answer is no, we were not trying. We have agreed to disagree on this one.

In all honesty, we wanted to wait til he was done school. Then we had our trip to Peru in February and I thought I might die if I tried hiking at 15,000 feet while in the first trimester. I figured we would take 4-6 months of “if it happens, it happens”, and if nothing happened, we would see a doctor. I know a lot of women my age who struggled and/or are struggling to get pregnant, and I was fully prepared for it to take a while.

Well, on our first month of “if it happens, it happens”……it happened.

How are you feeling?

Honestly, I’ve had a very good pregnancy so far. I’ve only had mild nausea and mostly in the evenings, so I usually just go to bed and I’m fine. My doctor recommended Unisom and it’s been a real game changer.

For the first few weeks after we found out, I had a really hard time adjusting to the lack of energy. I hated slowing down, not working out at my regularly scheduled times because I wasn’t feeling great. I still hate that I feel like I need a nap every afternoon, but it has helped to give myself grace when slowing down. I’ve taken a lot of walks just to get some movement in, and it’s helped a ton.

Are you finding out the gender?

Absolutely. 100%. I get that I don’t make the rules here, but I am not laid-back enough to not know until this little nugget enters the world. I require preparation.

Part 2 - When do you find out?

Uh, probably late July or August.

Do you have a preference?

Healthy. Ten fingers, ten toes.

With my experience working in a Level 4 NICU, that’s all I care about.

Do the girls know?

They’re dogs. I can’t say for sure. What I can say, is that I am Ellie’s favorite paw-rent again. For the last couple years, she’s been a real daddy’s girl, but I sense her allegiance has changed. Poor Elliot.

This has been light-hearted and fun, but in all seriousness, we are so, so happy to start our family. I cannot wait to have a sassy little nugget to hang out with and I can’t even think about how adorable Elliot will be as a dad without crying.

We’re going to be PARENTS!!

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb." Psalm 139:13