pregnancy Archives - Page 6 of 12

baby, Blog, evangeline, Family, kids, pregnancy

34 week bumpdate

It’s been a while since I’ve updated with a pregnancy update. My last one was my 28 week bumpdate video. I thought about making another video this time around but I honestly can’t even watch the first one because it makes me cringe so bad. So a good old fashioned blog post is what you’ll get.

I’m 34 weeks now–only 6 weeks away from the “due date.” (Quotation marks–because I can’t stand that term. None of my babies have been born on or before their “due dates” so I think it’s just a term that sets women up for disappointment.) Last night it occurred to me how close that really is and kind of made me slightly panic. I knew we would need a new van because we will be outgrowing our 7 passenger van, but I kept pushing it to the back of my mind because “we don’t need to stress about that now.” Well now, we do. So now we’re on the search for a used minivan that will seat 8 (because I’m not ready to commit to a big, dorky van yet.)

Not much has changed since the last update. Each pregnancy had been getting harder and harder on my body until baby #6 came along. While I do have some aches and pains every once in a while, this pregnancy has been so much easier for me than any of my others! Heartburn is a rare occurrence–whereas I used to get it all day, everyday with the other kids. The back and hip pain that had me thinking “I’m never doing this again” with the past two pregnancies, has barely showed up this time around.

So exhaustion is still really my main symptom. In case you’re wondering, I’ve been using the liquid iron for almost 4 weeks and I still don’t feel a difference. I had a few days when my energy levels seemed to be improved, but not anymore. I guess the anemia is not what is making me exhausted–it’s just this mom life.

Shortly after the last bumpdate, claiming that we probably wouldn’t decide on her name until birth, baby girl was given a name! We have decided not to announce it until she is here but it has been fun to imagine a sweet name attached to a squishy little newborn.

Ice cream is still my major craving! But after seeing pictures of myself and how big I’m getting, I decided it was time to try to cut back a bit. We’ll see how that goes!

Her kicks are becoming a little stronger but I would still consider her one of the least active babies of the bunch. The kicks are always what I miss the most after it’s over so I enjoy every single one of them, even the uncomfortable ones. However, I can’t say that I’ll miss the bladder kicking.

I really am just trying to enjoy every bit of this pregnancy. And even though I look in the mirror and feel huge and swollen, I love to photograph this pregnancy as much as possible. The pictures are just so special to me!
(all these pictures were taken today–while I wasn’t wearing makeup–so I had Don cut my face out of all of the shots. #reallife)

I had to finish out this post with this little photobomber who seriously kept coming up and standing between us and the camera. It was pretty hilarious but I had to banish him to the indoors so we could quickly get a few pictures.

August 24, 2016

baby, Blog, Family, kids, photoshoot, pregnancy

journey to motherhood

We’re getting closer to launch date of my new website! My web designer (aka–my husband) has been hard at work to transfer all 3 1/2 years of content to the new site. Progress is a bit slower because he has a full time job and a family to spend time with. But if all goes as planned, it should be ready around the beginning of September!!

As I’ve been working to put together an “about me” section, I have been searching through my archives to find posts related to my health history. I know that sometimes I click over to a blog to learn more about someone but find it overwhelming to dig through post after post, just to get their full story. So all that to say that I realized I never have blogged about my “journey to motherhood” and how amazing it is that I’ve been able to experience pregnancy.

And while I have you here to read about a brief summary of our journey to be the parents of 6, I thought I’d also share some pictures I took with Evangeline a few weeks ago with the tripod and a camera remote (that you can see a couple of times haha.) They’re all similar but I can’t just pick one to share! And of course the boys had to join in, even in their pajamas.

If you haven’t already, you can read my other posts about my health history here, here, and here. And while it’s incredible that I am alive and in good health, it’s even more amazing that I have been able to have children.

Thankfully, (and I don’t take this for granted) I never knew the fact that I was supposedly infertile until I found out I was pregnant with our first child, 3 months after we got married. I called my brother to tell him the good news and that’s when he said “That’s amazing! The doctors told us they didn’t think you’d ever be able to have children.” It was news to me because at 14 years old with an 8% chance of living, I was never told. In fact, I told my family that I didn’t want to know any bad news that was associated with my cancer. So it made sense that no one had ever told me. I’m very thankful that I didn’t have to spend time worrying about the fact that I may never be able to biologically have children.

A few years later, at a check up with the oncology department, a nurse pulled out my records and explained why they were so amazed that I had had no issues with fertility. One of the chemo drugs, at a “normal” dose, has a very high chance of causing infertility. The dosage I was given was 5 times that amount. Given at that age (in my teenage years) should have also intensified that side effect. The fact that I have been able to get pregnant at all is a miracle.

Many times throughout my treatment, I would tell my family that I never wanted biological children. After all the pain that the cancer/chemo caused, I couldn’t imagine voluntarily enduring pain. That shows how naive I was at the time because I would endure this pain a million times to have children, but it also makes me hurt for all the women who don’t have the option to have biological children.

Here I am, 14 years after my diagnosis, and we’re about to have our 6th baby. But that doesn’t mean that I’ve gotten here without pain and loss. I have had 10 pregnancies–I’ve lost 4 of them in the first trimesters. Losing a child at any stage of pregnancy is truly heartbreaking. I think it’s important to share that part of my journey because when you’re in the midst of that loss, you feel so alone in your struggles. I know it has always been helpful to me to know that there are others out there who know the deep heartache you’re feeling. And while I do think about those children who I never got to meet, and wonder what life would have been like if we had gotten the chance to meet those babies, I can say that the pain has lessened. And I can credit that to God giving me all the grace I’ve needed. So if you’re currently enduring the pain of loss, know that you are not alone and the pain will ease with time!

So that’s the my pregnancy history–it’s very condensed and all over the place because that’s how my brain has been working these days and I honestly don’t know how to even write this type of post without it sounding boring or rehearsed, but it is a very important piece of who I am. I’m always happy to answer any questions–about this, or anything else! And if there’s ever anything you would like me to blog about, let me know! I’m always open to suggestions!

Happy weekend!

August 19, 2016