Pregnancy, Second Time Around

It's a bit unfair that I didn't keep up with writing about my second pregnancy.  When we were pregnant with Asher, we took tons of pictures and I tracked everything monthly.  Second time around was not quite the same.  But I'll do my best to recap for the sake of having it on record.  It was truly a special time.

Reesey, when we found out we were pregnant with you it was between Christmas and New Year's 2012.  It was not really a surprise but that didn't take away from how excited we were.  We were thrilled to be growing our family again.  In the following months we debated selling the house and finding something bigger.  During that time (first trimester) I don't know if it was the hormones or the stress of the housing decision but my face broke out something terrible!  A red rash all over the lower half.  We didn't know yet the gender but it was jokingly said that you were a girl and that you were "stealing my beauty".   Sure enough, we found out at 20 weeks we were having a girl.  We were over the moon!

If you look close you can see the last of the rash...

Taken at the end of the first trimester, three months pregnant.

Other than that terrible rash in the first trimester and one week about half way through that I had pharyngitis, a double ear infection and an awful cold (I seriously felt like I was going to die), the whole pregnancy was absolutely lovely.  I know many women who would gag at me saying this.  Or roll their eyes.  But I want you to know that growing you in my belly was a sweet, sweet time.  I felt a closeness to you that I can't even describe.  As you grew in my belly I felt like I was already getting to know you and your personality.  I felt like our hearts were connected, not just by sharing my bloodstream but through our souls.

Through the nine months of carrying you, this is what life looked like:

Asher, your brother, had his first trip to the ER, requiring a CAT scan.  A few weeks later, he turned two and we announced we were pregnant with you.  In March we signed a contract to build a house and in April we sold our first home, moving in with Gramps and Grandma Gigi.  The plan was to live there for a couple of months, then with Grammy and Papaw for a couple of months, closing on our new house in September.  Ironically your due date was September 8th and our projected closing date was within days of that.  We were completely insane for doing it.  Leaving our home, packing everything in storage, potty training your brother and pregnant with you, all living like nomads for months.  At this time, your daddy even worked from home - which meant he'd be working in a make-shift set up in our temporary housing.  Not what we were accustom to at all.  And for the family that housed us, they were saints for sharing their space with our craziness.

Taken in May, about six months pregnant.

Over the course of living with family and building a house we had some fabulous highs and some serious lows.  Asher got bigger and more independent.  You and I got bigger and bigger.  Watching the house come together was so exciting yet decisions throughout the building process took over our marriage.  We were missing church and bible study was on summer break.  And in July we got news that your womb buddy, sweet Evan, had ascities and it was a very serious and life threatening situation.  (Your sweet friend is a miracle and you can find out more at raisingfig.blogspot.com) To say that we were brought to our knees in prayer during this season is an understatement.  It was a humbling time and shaped us beyond what we had expected.

Originally we had chosen to live with family during this time because we thought it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for Asher.  Little did we know that it would be just as sweet for us.  Living with our parents allowed us to "go home", back to our roots.  Our relationships with our parents (your grandparents) grew in ways we didn't expect.  I pray that you will get to see and experience the lasting effects of this growth.

Eight months pregnant, right before heading to my Sprinkle.

So all this brings the timeline to late August.  We were scheduled for a csection on Friday, September 6th but I was sure you were coming early.  I was huge and having contractions every night for weeks.  You had dropped in mid August and I was ready for your arrival.  We had also realized by this point that the house wouldn't be done until October.  We were at the mercy of everyone else.  Just waiting...