Photos by the very talented Lindsey Wiatt of Lindsey Wiatt Photography. If you're in the Portland, OR area check her out!!
Surprise!! We're having another baby!
We are over the moon excited to finally share our happy news!!!
So let's get right down to business and answer the number one questions we've gotten. Was this baby an oopsie?! No!!! You guys! If you've been following along for awhile, you know how badly I've wanted a fourth baby. Eric fiiiiiinally came around so we went for it!
Now that we've gotten that out of the way ;), let's answer some more of your questions!
How on earth did I talk Eric into a fourth baby? Funny enough, I didn't really do anything specific (outside of make 1743 comments about wanting a fourth baby ;)). My comments about a fourth baby haven't ever really come as a surprise as I have said since before we were married that I wanted four children. As soon as Eric found out that Briar (our third) was a boy (after two girls), he was totally and completely complete. He announced that our family was complete and I tried so so hard to believe that.
I remember going into the hospital to deliver Briar and Eric making a comment about how it was the last time we'd ever experience birth. I felt so devastated by it and thought about it constantly while I was in labor. A little while after Briar was born, Eric took the girls home and helped my brother get them down for bed. While I laid in my hospital bed with my brand new baby, I looked down at him and thought about how in love I felt with him. And then it hit me-he was NOT my last baby. I just knew in my heart that there was another baby waiting to join our family.
I made comments throughout Briar's first year about having another baby and Eric always had a funny remark to shut the conversation down. And then one night he came home from work and was like, "I know you want one more baby, so let's do it now. I don't want to get too far out of the baby stage or I'll change my mind." I was still nursing Briar and was honestly not ready to be pregnant again right then!! So we went back and forth on the timing for a few months and finally went for it! This is definitely our grand finale baby and I feel totally at peace with that. I really do finally feel like our family is complete.
Eric is so excited now and agrees we were always meant to have four kids. The girls have been praying for months that God would give us another baby, so to say they are thrilled would be an understatement! Sloan would like another baby brother and Phayre wants a baby sister SO BAD. At 19 months old Briar has no idea what's coming, but mirrors the girls excitement when they talk about the baby :).
The baby's official due date is October 5th. I have always wanted a fall baby and no one else in our family has a fall birthday, so I'm pretty excited! We do not yet know the baby's gender, but we will find out in a few weeks! I am dying to know. I have a strong feeling that the baby is a boy, but I will be so thrilled either way! I love the idea of another sweet baby girl, but would also love for Briar to have a brother. This baby feels like such a bonus baby, I really don't care about the baby's gender as long as it's healthy!
Speaking of a boy and a girl-or two babies... shortly after getting a positive pregnancy test, I went into my doctor to have the pregnancy confirmed via blood test. My hcg numbers were right where they were supposed to be and they asked me to come back in to two days to make sure that the numbers had doubled. So I went back in two days for another blood test. I asked the nurse what numbers we should be hoping for and she said anywhere between 250-400 would indicate a healthy pregnancy. They called me later that day and said my numbers were a little over 750 (!!!). I asked why my numbers came back so high and she said, "It either means it's a super healthy pregnancy or there's more than one baby in there!" I was like SHUT THE FRONT DOOR LADY.
We spent the next three weeks waiting for our first ultrasound and all of our friends joked that we were having twins. I never really thought it could be twins, but I will say I was very relieved to see one, perfect, healthy little baby on the screen at our ultrasound!
My first trimester was exhausting. I haven't been horribly sick like I was with Briar, but I have literally never been so tired in my entire life. Naps are my jam and we've had way more movie afternoons than I will ever admit. Nausea has come and gone, but it's been so mild compared to my last pregnancy that I am not complaining one bit!
That's all for now, but I cannot wait to share this pregnancy with you guys! 2019 is going to be a big year for the Brown's and I am ready for every bit of it. Thank you for all of your excitement, love, and congratulations. We appreciate all of the congratulations and kind words so much!!!
M