Cat's out of the bag! Here comes boy #3!

 Duane and I are expecting boy #3 on December 29, 2011! We are both very excited for this new addition to our family and so far ultrasounds have shown a very healthy baby. We waited so long to announce because I thought it would be fun to tell family once we new the gender of the baby. I will NEVER wait this long again to tell my family and Mom. It was so hard going through morning sickness and talking to my mom on the phone so much (we talk on the phone A LOT, mostly she listens about my life. She's such a great listener!) and not being able to tell her why it was I was complaining that I couldn't keep up with the house and boys, was near impossible.

It was a pretty depressing 2 months of my life being sick and seeing how dependent I was upon my husband to help out with dishes and the boys. My friends reassured me that it was okay for me to be taking a nap EVERY day after already having had 9 hours of sleep the night before, but I still couldn't help but think less of myself as a wife, mother and woman. Bleh!

A couple weeks after finding out I was expecting, I had a series of migraines that were off and on for about 4 weeks. For one of the loooong headaches, I was taking the max dose of tylenol every day for over one week, but with little relief and with new symptoms coming into play because of the migraine, like slight double vision and extreme sensitivity to synthetic odors. Toward the end of two weeks I had an appointment with my OB and she prescribed me a different pain med that cleared up the headache completely within less than two days! I was so grateful to have that because it was just in time for a wedding I was to shoot. Actually, the day I was to shoot the wedding, was the day the headache was alleviated. I was on the pain meds that whole day though and it made the day a little rough because the medication makes me tired and kind of loopy in a way. I was able to get through the wedding though and that was all I prayed to be able to do.

Early pregnancy is really the pits! But even though I struggled in so many ways, I did make up a gratitude list back in May so that I would remember more than just all the terrible things I felt. I've been waiting to share it on the blog since then.

The Plus Side to Morning sickness:
* I don't have the energy to yell at my kids or to be impatient (this was literally true on many occasions, especially when I was on my migraine medication!)
* I can't run a hundred miles an hour so I'm patient enough to let my kids play a little longer with what they are doing before I nicely transition them to get out the door. It's okay to be late.
* Noticing that children are aware of our feelings. (Here's an example story from June 9):
After throwing up a wonderful smoothie Duane had put together for me, I went to the living room to lie down. Kalvin had heard me in the bathroom with the upchucking and so soon after I came out to lie back down on the couch in the living room, he followed and began rubbing my feet. After a few seconds he ran off and within moments had returned with his blanket (something that is very special to him) and covered me from neck to toe, making sure there were no exposed parts and tucked me in all around. He asked, "Is that cosy?" Although I was not cold (it being June), I appreciated his compassion. He had some smoothie left over in his own cup so after climbing in the covers with me, we finished the drink together giggling and enjoying the cosiness of the blanket and moment. After Kalvin had enough mommy time, Tristen came over for a snuggle. So, there it was, even with a messy house all around me, I was still happy.

 I really feel great now! I'm at that prime time in pregnancy where I'm not too big to get off the couch on my own and I have energy to clean my house. I really LOVE that I can clean my house now. It's really not perfect or even close to spick and span, but it feels so wonderful to be able to stand and do the dishes without wanting to barf looking at the small bits of left over food in the sink and to be able to drink a full glass of water without throwing it up because I drank too much at one time (I had to drink in very small portions in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, otherwise I'd be running to the bathroom for a vomit once it hit my stomach all at once, so I often felt thirsty).

Boy, I didn't know how much complaining I had to catch up on...

Duane was a wonderful husband and father through the very hard time. I remember him coming home one day from work and saying (as he was doing the dishes seconds after walking in the door), "I feel like it's a routine now. I come home and the first thing I do after giving the kids hugs and you a kiss, is to sweep the floor and then to do the dishes in the sink." He said it in the most positive way, but it still made me feel bad that I just couldn't get myself together enough to have those two things done just ONE day in 2 months. I couldn't imagine being sick for the entire pregnancy like some women have to endure!

Well, anyway, on to the pictures! The ultrasound tech wouldn't let us take a video or pictures during the ultrasound and the DVD they gave us only had video footage so I had to take pictures of the pictures they gave us. Lame!

 It was great to see that the little guy in me has all his limbs and the technician said his heart looks great (I had been very nervous that he'd me missing an arm. Weird.). The boys were not overly excited about the announcement of a new sibling and Tristen had no idea what was going on, but Kalvin has mentioned to a few people on the street that there is a baby in my tummy.

It was not the most flattering moment having Duane take pictures of me. Seriously, my belly section looks more like after baby gut than baby bump. I tried all the angles and Duane was very patient with my frustrations, but here's the best I could come up with:

 I was 19 weeks when Duane took the pictures last week. So, I think I kind of cheated by having my white shirt blend in with the background... Also, according to my weekly emails, at 19 weeks the baby should measure 6 inches long, hens the tape measure to the belly shot.

So, I've seriously been wanting a baby girl for a long time and in fact, I painted a room purple in our home over a year ago, for just the occasion when we did have a girl. In the first several weeks of being pregnant I desperately wanted a girl, for mere selfish reasons, but as the weeks past, I eventually became afraid that I would have a girl. I feel there is an expectation of cuteness with girls that I wasn't sure I'd be able to live up to with bows in their hair always and the way cute matching outfits, etc. Well, by the day that the ultrasound came along, I was wanting a girl again. To be honest, the day we found out we were having a boy, I was a little let down though Duane was very relieved to hear we were having another boy. He said something like, "Angie, we don't have money to buy a wardrobe of girl clothes." To which I replied, "I'll find a way to buy boy clothes." (with a smile on my face). In reality, this boy is going to be born in the winter and both our other boys were born in the Arizona summer, so we will need warm clothes for him to start. After that Duane said something like, "You can have all your girls when I'm an attending doctor." So, as long as the next two children we have a both girls, I'm okay with having a boy now... I mean, really, don't get me wrong about boys. I love boys! And I love how easy they are to get ready out the door and the little drama they bring and I love how much energy they have to be adventurous, but now that I'm older, I LOVE having sisters. And, girls usually stay close to home, if not physically, then emotionally. I know there is a big price to pay before the payback with girls, at least in my circumstance there was with growing up and fighting CONSTANTLY with my sister over everything from "you're wearing my shirt" to "I wish you weren't in my seminary class", but after moving out of the same house, I feel like we've become so much closer, I love it and can't imagine life without a handful of sisters to give advice to ;-).