Week 21

Hello fellow pregnant ladies and other readers of my blog, good morning! Tomorrow starts the journey into week 22. 

Week 21 was busy but in a good way. I worked a 40 hour week (plus 4.6 hours commuting each week), spend my days off by celebrating my mom's 64th birthday with a full day of hunting for treasures at the ocean, enjoying the sunshine and company of my beautiful sisters and mother and having a most wonderful tea party. We finished up by building whimsical fairy houses for our outdoor gardens small as they may be. It was perfect. Sunday was church and then getting our will written (how cool is that!) and Monday I puttered around the house, cooked, organized, rested and baked a treat for my hubby. I also was able to squeak in a 22 minute elliptical workout and 30 minute swim (on different days of course) during work days. 

This morning I weighed in at 181 lbs which is good and then moved on to eating a delicious breakfast of egg, toast, avocado and bacon that my husband brought me in bed and swished it down with a cup of tea. I'm just headed out to have lunch with one of my dearest friends Rebecca and then I'll come home and nap or poke around in the babies room again.

Looking back at my week and writing about it has allowed me to see what a great week it has been. I mean it's easy to remember that I didn't sleep all that well this week and so I was very tired for work some days, or that the day I went swimming I got into a silly but painful argument with my husband because I've promised to go so many times and of course was feeling like I was rotting from the inside out (I must have accidentally had onions) so I didn't want to. My hormones (aka emotions) were really sensitive this week as well and so I bawled over a blog post my sister wrote about my grandma (who has passed), gave myself a headache and promptly went to bed. Or that moment when I wouldn't get out of the car because I wanted cake so bad but didn't have the energy to drive myself and my husband is so swamped with homework that he couldn't and it felt like the world was over (just for a little while).

I wonder how my daughter feels about all of this. These moments and emotions swirling around in me. I'm quite the mix of highs and lows, quiet and peaceful and then whirling around and around be it with excitement or frustrations. I wonder how it all affects her and if she will come out happy and feeling safe or bewildered and wondering what kind of a world she has been born into.

Well cheers to the ups and downs of pregnancy that help to make us good moms. If it wasn't for the hard parts we wouldn't be as well prepared for the poop, puke, late nights and early mornings that are about to be ours in just a short time. The ups help me to remember that she is coming and that I'm so excited to meet her and that it will all be worth it.

So whether week 21 was amazing for you or not so much remember to Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

Second Trimester!

This trimester your little baby is blooming! They get their lips, fingernails, hair etc. They grow a lot and are covered in that white goo to protect them from being in water all of the time as their skin starts to thicken and they develop brown fat. You are hopefully done with the morning sickness and are moving toward more energy and having more of an appetite for food, your sex life, social life and all of the parts and bits of you that made up your life before you came down with flu like symptoms that didn't leave for 1-4 months!

It wasn't this way for me. I have experienced the headaches that are expected in the second trimester. I get woken up around 3 or 4 AM every day to go pee and although I drink mass amounts of water I don't have to pee as much as I thought I would. I also am a lot smaller than I thought I would be at 20 weeks and don't have much of an appetite.

My husband, smart man that he is said something very profound to me. He asked me to stay calm about everything that I had decided must be wrong. He reminded me that morning sickness (according to the books) should end around week 12, but that I had constant nausea until week 17. He reminded me that I constantly think I must have lost her right before an appointment and that at every appointment everything is good, healthy, happy, normal and she is alive and swimming and growing. He told me that my pregnancy has not gone the way the books said it would and yet I have a happy healthy baby.

It is hard when I don't feel her moving and it's week 20. It is hard when I am still losing weight in the second trimester and I'm not hungry. It is hard when I'm told I'll have more energy and everything will be awesome in the second trimester and then when I get there I'm so tired I fall asleep from 7 pm - 6 am the next morning and want to keep sleeping. It's hard to read the books that promise to keep you up to date on what to expect and so you get excited and hope and then arrive and have no idea what's going on.

Here's the hope! Everyone's body is different. Every baby is different. You may not fit into the typical mold of pregnancy that the majority does and it doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with you or your baby.

Tips:

You may not feel your baby moving until week 25! Especially if it's your first pregnancy. I believe I sometimes feel her move but it is definitely nothing consistent and I can't really be sure until she's big enough that I feel her all of the time to compare.

The second trimester is tiring! You may have spurts of energy but your body will crave those naps. You're growing another human inside of you and that takes a lot of energy from you. 

Your appetite hasn't come in yet. Don't worry, it doesn't for everyone, just make sure you are eating something healthy and a lot of times a day if it's a little. You and your baby need nutrients so if you're not eating anything then it's a problem but eating small amounts of food shouldn't a problem..

*** You're not fat or getting fat you're pregnant so make sure you aren't eating because of wrong thinking. This is NOT the time to diet or get on a crazy exercise regime or not eat because of weight gain. If you aren't eating for the wrong reasons then this is bad. If you aren't eating a lot because you aren't super hungry that's ok. Talk to your doctor if you aren't sure. Your baby needs those nutrients!

If you aren't sure about anything contact your health care person. They will be happy to answer any questions you have and help to put you at peace. Worry isn't good for you or your baby so making sure you stay calm and relaxed is important.

Exercises:

Walking, Swimming, Elliptical, Yoga, and Free-Weights are some good, easy exercises to do if you don't normally do a lot. However if you have never done these, then stick to the swimming and walking. The easiest way to injure yourself while pregnant is picking up something new (exercise wise) and trying it and doing it wrong. NOW IS NOT THE TIME to experiment with work outs.

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

Detailed Ultrasound ~ WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!

IT'S A GIRL!

February 6, 2016 at 1 pm Raymond and I went in to have what's called a detailed ultrasound. You need to have a full-bladder ladies! We got ourselves signed in and sat down to wait. We were pleasantly surprised! We didn't wait long and Raymond was allowed to come in for the whole appointment.

If you get your detailed ultrasound done at the hospital the husband is allowed in for the appointment, but if it's done at a clinic (due to smaller rooms sizes) he is asked to wait until nearer the end of the appointment. Another blessing was that our technician was really sweet and she explained what parts of our daughter we were seeing as well as letting us know that everything looked great.

The point of the detailed ultrasound is to check and see that everything looks normal for your baby. They take about an hours worth of pictures and measurements. The head, the femur, the arm bones, the spine etc. It's all captured and looked at by a radiologist. If your baby has an abnormality or something is growing at the wrong speed or anything is wrong the doctor will come and tell you. It's very reassuring to know that everything is moving along at the correct pace, that her heart beat is strong and that she is happy. They also told us that her blood flow was good, amniotic fluid was normal and the placenta was doing it's job. All Good News!

So we officially know we are having a girl and I am researching names and meanings like crazy! I am so excited. It's going to be so much fun to have a little girl of my own running around the house (eventually, I get ahead of myself).

We wanted to find out the sex of our baby right away. You can be told in the room during the appointment, wait until your midwife hands you an envelope or you can wait until the birth. Maybe one day I'll want the surprise but for where we are in life right now I feel more peaceful knowing what to expect.

A fun fact is that she's already quite long! This doesn't surprise me at all as her daddy is very tall.

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

MORNING SICKNESS (or maybe you have) Constant Sickness

This is a poppy, I think it's beautiful!
 I found that when I was experiencing constant nausea that some fresh air really helped and the beauty that surrounded me took my breath away and distracted me from how horrible I truly felt. 

Morning sickness... For some it's a quick trip to the bathroom after breakfast and that's it (every morning for 12 weeks). For others it's some slight food aversions or maybe certain smells but if you avoid those you're golden. Still others feel constant nausea no matter the time or how many small meals they eat or naps they take or how much ginger they consume. And yet others are constantly throwing up everything all the time! Some women even need to be hospitalized because they get so dehydrated from not being able to eat or drink anything without a trip to the bathroom to lose it.

It feels awful, even for those who don't have it too badly. Like something is wrong, a flu bug going around perhaps? Maybe this is how you discovered you were pregnant! And for those who have it constantly it can be a nightmare. 

For me it was 17 weeks of feeling like I was going to throw up but not ever throwing up. It had a flow, sometimes it was unbearable and I bawled like a baby. Other times it was there like something lurking but in the shadows, not right there in your face. It was exhausting and debilitating. 

Some things that helped were 1. eating protein 2. drinking lots of water 3. adding ginger to my water 4. eating consistently (never getting to the place of being hungry - then you waited too long) 

5. visiting with friends and 6. going to work.

However none of these things ever made it go away, it just made it less somehow. The only thing that truly made me forget about it was sleeping. 

One thing my midwife told me was that my prenatal was probably responsible for some of the nausea and she gave me a 30 day trial pack of prenatal vitamins that are split up. The pink pill you take in the morning and the blue pill in the evening. It splits the calcium from the iron (if taken together these two cancel each other out) as well as a few more vitamins and minerals making it for a lesser dose for your body in one shot. These do seem to help but you need a prescription for them. They are called Preg Vit by DUCHESNAY. Ask your Dr or Midwife about a sample pack or a prescription to try them out if you are struggling with morning sickness. It may help a lot!

Talk about how you're feeling, Cry it out, or just Write it down!

Keep in mind you aren't alone in feeling this way and please feel free to express yourself in the comments. Sometimes just writing out how hard something is at the time really helps to make me feel better, feel heard or to put it into perspective. Also talk to your husband, mother, mother in law, sister or friend about what you're feeling and going through. Your husband will appreciate being kept in the loop and your mother or friend will understand (as long as you choose someone who has gone through this before). 

Sometimes a listening ear is all you need to make it to the next day. 

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

That First Trimester

I grew sweet peas this past summer. Keep your eyes open for the beauty in your own back yard (or deck) and be sure to breath it in, surround yourself in it and get out there and breath that fresh air and Vit D!

The first trimester is said to be one of the hardest depending on if you're hit with morning sickness, or constant sickness as some of us like to call it. It can be difficult to say the least. 

My First Trimester Story

 Travel - Plane / Car, Nausea, Hotel Stays

It's fun to shop for maternity clothes!!!

So I figured out I was pregnant about 5 weeks in, told my husband right away and two days later I left for Palm Spring on a work trip and got hit with constant, round the clock nausea and total exhaustion. That trip was so difficult and horrible. I was in hotel most of the time and while the work was enjoyable (I look after two beautiful babies) nine days in a hotel room, constant nausea, plus two days of travel by car and plane made for one VERY unhappy pregnant me. Plus I was so lonely, this had nothing to do with the family, it just worked out that way.

So I was off to a rough start.

Next I started looking for a local midwife, which proved impossible for my area and so I settled on Vancouver midwifery. Unfortunately you have to actually live in the city in order to be taken on as a client to gain access to that cities midwives. But as luck would have it I work full time in the city and my doctor was willing to send me to either Richmond or Vancouver (depending on my choice) and so I found a clinic that would take me.

A few weeks later and I was waiting in traffic on my commute home, thinking about sitting there, being in labour and not being able to speed off to the hospital like I would if I were to deliver in Richmond and it hit me, I HAD to change locations. So I called the Delta midwives, explained the situation and got moved over.

Honestly, God has given me so much favor and blessing during this whole transition and journey of pregnancy. I have felt so much peace about this baby even though she was a bit of a surprise and I don't know what our lives will look like during the couple of years of schooling my husband has left or after. After miscarrying our first precious babe I thought I would be a lot more anxious with this one, and while I have noticed that I panic before each appointment as to whether she's still alive or not, for all that in between time I never worry once.

Blood Test #1, Dating Ultrasound, Dr Appointments

So I've confirmed I am pregnant, told my husband, decided to slowly tell family and friends (I'll explain why in another post), gotten my first doctors appointment, been referred to the midwife and hospital of my choice (after researching and making an informed decision) and had my first two appointments. Now it was time to get my first blood test and my dating ultrasound. This may sound really easy but I am TERRIFIED of needles. I can't exactly pin point when it happened as there are two separate incidences but if I put them together then I guess it actually makes quite a bit of sense. So I book the appointment for my ultrasound, my husband can miraculously come and it all goes swimmingly.

I got to the clinic, took a number, went to the change room after my name was called, Raymond had to wait in the seating area, and then the ultrasound began. My technician was super nice and told me that she wouldn't be talking during the appointment so she could focus on the pictures she had to take. I'm guessing it's so she wouldn't have to stop talking if something was wrong, because that would be super awkward. Anyway she eventually got Raymond and we watched our baby wave at us on the monitor and swim (it was a valiant attempt for a ten week old, three centimeter long baby that had arms and legs but still only nubs for fingers and toes), to say the least we were enthralled and very impressed. And I finally got it, the baby on the monitor is so clear and beautiful which is why the parents love to show those grainy, blurry ultrasound photos that make no sense as to what we're looking at to the rest of us! They have the memory of the clear baby and so the pictures make sense.

Our baby is healthy, growing, normal and dated in at 9 weeks, not the 10 we thought we were at given the first day of my last period.

Next on the list was my blood test. My husband also needed one and so we went together (who am I kidding, if he doesn't come it doesn't happen). He got his like a champ and then it was my turn. I got the elastic tied to my arm (the vein on my left arm is so beautiful, every technician loves it and tells me so), I got swabbed and then it happened. It always does. I freak, I pull away, I talk quickly so they'll stop and listen instead of poke, I try and explain why today won't work for me (while I'm in the chair already there and ready to go) and then I start to cry. It's horrible. There is however a saving grace God has given me, it's my hands. I made my mother spank my hands when I was young (I'm so sorry mom) because she didn't want to (they were my piano hands and she was paying for the lessons) and I needed to control something so that's what we did. I learned to desensitize myself from the pain in my hands and so ta-da! I can get my blood taken from my hand if they can get a vein to pop up blah blah blah. It takes some work and a heat pack but this superstar (the lady drawing multiple bottles of blood from my poor hand) got it done!

It's true, getting my blood taken is traumatic for me every time but I somehow (thank you Jesus) am able to eventually overcome my fear and get the deed done without too much drama or hysterics. So if you too have a hard time getting blood taken you're not alone and it's okay to cry.

My blood work came back awesome and I have great iron stores as well as great iron. 

Exhaustion, Constant Nausea, Weight Gain / Loss

Lastly I want to say that my husband has been a superstar. Besides working a full-time, ten hours a day job I have been a permanent fixture on my couch. I kid you not, my husband has picked up all house keeping, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, cooking etc while I lay on the couch. He did all of this while also being a full-time engineering student and studying for finals. He has blessed me and our little baby and he has stretched himself and come out for the better and in my eyes, our hero.

So if your first trimester isn't going the way you planned or thought it would, if you are sleeping all of the time, not eating very much except for junk food because all of a sudden that's the only thing your nose and stomach can agree is appealing DON'T WORRY, it will even itself out in the end. At the beginning of my pregnancy I weighed in at 189.9 lbs and by the time I had hit the 12 week mark after eating a regular diet of A&W I was down to 175 lbs.

Or if you are sailing through your first trimester with barely a thought or notice that your body is making huge changes because you feel wonderful then I am so happy for you! I wouldn't wish the constant nausea on anybody. Keep up the healthy eating and exercise and know that it's a wonderful thing you've got going on!

Extended Morning Sickness, Road Trip, Dislocations, Pinched Nerves, Numb Leg, Food Cravings, Loneliness

A few other things to mention are that my morning sickness (what a joke, I call it constant sickness) lasted until week 17. I was told from week 12 on that it would go away "any week" and it was really tough to hear with no end in sight. I had a few days off in week 14, caught the flue that weekend and was back on the nausea train until week 17. Also, I am in a wedding in two weeks and as part of that my husband and I drove from BC to Alberta in a day, threw my childhood friend a wedding shower the next day and then drove home on the third day, in January. It was okay'd by my midwife because I'm having a normal pregnancy but it was absolutely crazy and super painful on the drive back. HYDRATE and STRETCH every two hours were her advice. Did I mention that my hips and lower back have pinched nerves, dislocate partially and my right leg goes numb if I stand for too long or walk too far? It was really hard driving but the party was so worth it! However, if you don't HAVE to go then I suggest you stay home or fly.

That's about it I guess. There are of course the cravings (don't watch tv, food commercials killed me) and the emotions (so many tears and I'm not one to cry often or easily) and the overwhelming changes, information and possible loss if your friends and family have no clue what you are feeling or going through and don't understand why you can only nap and lay on the couch for months.

You will make it through. Your baby is worth it! And you are NOT alone. Please remember that, you are not alone and someone, I, understand.

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

We've Confirmed We ARE Pregnant - The Next Steps

The First Steps to Take After the Test is Positive

So you've established you're pregnant and told your husband (or partner) and you're both on the same page and excited! It doesn't matter how you got to this excited stage you're here and that's what counts!!!

MAKE A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT - Let the receptionist know you're pregnant

Now if you haven't already done so you need to call your doctor and make an appointment. A lot of General Practitioners don't deal with pregnant you after your first check up; they will refer you to a hospital if this is the case.

At your doctor's appointment go in with a full bladder as they will need you to pee in a cup to confirm you're pregnant as well as to check for proteins in your urine. You will also be weighed (clothes and shoes on in the waiting room if your experience is similar to mine) and at your appointment you will need to make a few decisions with your doctor as to where you want to be recommended to and you may have your blood pressure checked. This is a pregnancy confirmation check up and you will most likely need a second for the first full check up which happens around the same time as your dating ultrasound at week nine or ten.

 MIDWIFE OR DOCTOR - Research both and make an informed decision

Your hospital will have a maternity ward and that's where your doctor will recommend you to. You will go there for your check ups, ultrasounds, as well as labour and delivery.

The midwife route. In case you didn't know, a midwife is covered under your care card and so if you go this route it won't be an additional expense. A doula however is a luxury and will not be covered by medical. If you choose to have a midwife then you will go to her clinic for check ups, a recommended clinic for ultrasounds, anywhere for blood work, and you will give birth either at the hospital or at home- wherever you have previously decided if all goes according to plan.

I am currently going in for check ups at a midwifery clinic in Delta and it's been a really wonderful, relaxing experience. I've also recently hired a doula and so between God, the midwife, doula, myself and my husband I am feeling pretty confident that this baby will be safely delivered in the end - safely, healthily and happily is my prayer.

WHERE WILL I DELIVER?

You will deliver at either the hospital or at home depending on who you are seeing (midwife or doctor) and your birth plan.

This is also open for debate depending on your little babe as one of my friends can agree with first hand. She delivered in the back seat of her car as the hospital she was speeding to with her husband and friend was too far away and they didn't make it. The happy outcome was that baby was happy and healthy and so was my friend!

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

LINKS TO INFORMATION ON LITERATURE AND MIDWIFERY

• http://www.southdeltamidwifery.ca/

Is the link to my midwifery clinic if you want to learn more about midwives and what they do it's a user friendly, informative site.

• https://www.ovuline.com/#ovia-pregnancy-app

Is the link to the pregnancy app I have on my phone. They also have a fertility app to help you figure out when you're most likely to get pregnant.

This app has an awesome feature that lets you type in a food you're wondering about (if it's ok to eat or not) and it will tell you yes or no and why. They also have a similar feature for drugs (for example Tylenol is okay while pregnant but Advil is not).

• http://www.anydaynowbirthservices.com/

Is the link for doula services and further information if you want to know more about what a doula does.

This is one of the books I'm currently reading to stay up to date on what to expect at appointments as well as what questions to ask, things to watch out for and what to expect as my body and the baby go through weekly changes.

Week 1 - 6 ~ Finding Out You're Pregnant

Telling Your Husband - And Your Reactions

Finding out you're pregnant and the feelings and actions that result from that positive test (or tests) varies from the videos of the husband crying with joy and the wife glowing, to the man becoming angry (or maybe you were upset) and storming out. There are so many actions and reactions but something to keep in mind is 'Try and Be Positive.' There is a little person growing inside of you that feels all that you feel and it affects him/her whether you want it to or not.

My experience was somewhere in the middle.

I had been having some slight cramping (which I thought was leading up to my period), a late period and... I'M PREGNANT! I just knew it. I called my wonderful hubby and he was in complete denial. It didn't upset me, it made me determined to find out then and there. So I hung up the phone, dug out the pregnancy test I had boughten a while ago in case of a 'Need To Know Now' emergency and took it. I was shocked to see the dark positive line in purple show up and called my husband back. His second response was "I don't trust those things," so I told him to pick up an expensive one on his way home. One of those digital, tells you around what week you are, costs you twenty dollars plus contraptions. He came home, I took it and yes, I was still pregnant. He looked at both tests side by side announcing that we were to be parents and then looked at me, shook my hand and said "congratulations Laura."

"Congratulations Laura." 

A little underwhelming to say the least but we were both shocked. We had talked about trying for another baby but hadn't really came to a conclusion about anything and now here we were with a conclusion - we were going to have a baby. I had so many emotions! I was scared, how were we going to do this? I am the main financial provider in our household while my husband is working on his engineering degree. With a baby on the way I knew that somewhere down the line I would have to quit my job. I was excited, a baby, finally, I've been asking God and my husband for one for what feels like forever and now here it is, my moment, our moment. Bliss!

My dream is to be a stay at home mom and the main caregiver to my child (children) and after being a nanny for 4.5 years that dream is ever closer to my heart. I love my job, the family I work for, the kids I work with and feel lucky every day I get to go to work. However the mother at my job has shared her children's love, attention, affection and entire lives with me and as amazing and humbling as that is to be a part of, I am not that selfless. I want to be the mom, I want to be the first love, and the everything. I want to teach my children (along side my husband) bringing them up in the ways that are valuable to my husband and I, putting God first and working out each day how to parent with excellence. As a nanny I have tried to do this to the standard and expectation of the family I work for but the love that has been given to me by those children I cannot describe how wonderful and amazing it is to receive and how difficult it would be for me to share if the roles were reversed. So for every working mom out there who shares her children's love with another I salute you but I do not want to have to join you.

So to get back to the topic at hand, you're pregnant - how do you feel, how do you tell him, how do you tell them... Take your situation into account. Trust yourself to make the right choice. This is not the time to confide in your best friend, sister or mother. This is the time to let the joy creep in and the wonder to fill you no matter what. This is the time to trust your husband or father of your child for a positive response and if it's not forthcoming then to go from there. This is an exciting time whether you were expecting to get pregnant or not. And in all honesty if you're having sex then you need to expect to get pregnant or be able to get pregnant no matter what because that is usually the wonderful, complex end result in making love even if you're practicing "safe sex."

Lastly, my husband (and I for that matter) may not have started this pregnancy journey with me in the most believing, joyful manner but what really counts is the end result. Our result is that we are both very excited! We are happy to be soon to be parents and even though our situation isn't ideal, the truth is, there is no good or perfect time to have a baby, it just all comes together and works out in the end. There is no ideal, there just is. Our is, is that we are having a baby, Lord willing and so we are preparing for our little addition which is a miracle in itself, a story for a different post.

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo

New Beginnings

Let's start from the beginning.

I was born in the fall to a family that had a mom, dad and big sister all ready to welcome me. We lived in the same town for six years, and during that time every 2-2.5 years another bundle of joy would be added to our little brood. After those six years had passed we moved to an island and farmed a 13 acre vegetable and hobby farm. There we added our last sweetie, a sister which made us a family of seven. By the time she was three we were ready to move back to that small town where I was born and it was fall again.

That's where we all stayed until we grew up and started to spread our wings.

Currently my parents, oldest sister, brother and youngest sister can all be found there while myself and third sister live a bit further away.

In the Fall of 2009 my husband and I began writing to each other and this began our whirlwind romance as the books would say and in the fall of 2010 we got married.

New beginnings in 2010...

A new marriage, a fresh start, a new city, church, job, friends - new everything it seemed. Truthfully I hadn't really thought about after the wedding too much and all of the new things I would encounter and so I was painfully unprepared for my first year of marriage. To put it delicately it was HARD. Even though is wasn't ideal and there are hurts and anger built into our first year memories there are also some of the sweetest, most romantic memories too. God is gracious, always, and even in the midst of brokenness and hurt we have found healing and sunshine. I'm so grateful for that first year of learning and growing with my husband and all of the wonderful memories and experiences we shared along the way.

Fast forward to 2014...

We were excited, surprised and a little nervous. We were pregnant with our first and the feelings and thoughts and excitement that comes with your first baby are so precious. Sometimes however there isn't a happy ending and in June of 2014 we said goodbye to our baby that was lost through a miscarriage. To try and explain the loss and sadness felt and experienced and the heartbreak is something you have to walk through to truly know. Again God walked us through this desert place and we came out brimming with hope, joy, healing and trust. I am ever so grateful.

2016 - buckle your seat belts we're having a baby!

 It was the fall of 2015 (you may have noticed already that a lot of important events for me start and end in the fall) and my husband and I started talking about trying for another baby. We never really came to an agreement or conclusion but (haha) God has His own perfect plans and so there I was on the phone with my husband saying "I think I'm pregnant" and him replying "there's no way!" Two pregnancy tests later and we were confirmed parents to be. Natural family planning is our method of contraception and while it worked great for the first five years, once you start hemming and hawing about having babies things can get a little lazy which in our case always equals a baby.

It's been a crazy start to a pregnancy. My husband is 31 years old and in his 2/3 year of changing his career at UBC. So while he works on becoming a mechanical engineer he doesn't work a paying job, which means I work a full time job to pay our bills. So here we are, pregnant and in a few months about to lose our main source of income and live off of... What EI?

I do need to add that when God gives you unexpected things (such as a sweet baby) He always provides at the same time. So far, thanks to unexpected set backs and changes that we couldn't figure out their reason or good at the time, my husband is getting a bunch of extra time off of school to work at his previous job. Did I mention that his old job hires him every chance he's available because they love him so much - Thank you God and thank you husband! Through this provision of time and work we are able to save and make preparations for this time of little income that is coming. God is so amazing. It just blows my mind and gets me excited. I can't stop thanking and praising Him and all of His goodness to us. I am overwhelmed by his love and generosity in every moment in our lives, no matter what they look like to us, I hold on to the fact that God is up to something and it is good!

So the facts as of now are that in a few months (we are due the first week of July) I will be quitting my amazing 4.5 year nanny job and becoming a mother to my own sweet baby. My husband will be working at the time and able to help out and establish a normality we wouldn't get if he was taking full-time classes (engineering is like working a full-time and part-time job all at once or more). And we will be living on a very tight budget and walking through one of the biggest tests of our faith financially we have ever been through. I am so excited. My God is beyond anything I can comprehend or imagine and although there will be struggles it's going to be a wild ride and I'm so excited to be able to share with you the blessings that God is going to send us and how He is going to walk us through the paths he has us on.

I hope you feel encouraged in your season whatever it may be.

Look for the healing and sunshine!

Laura xo