A New Sort of Adventure

Thanks Hannah S. for the reminder that I’m overdue for sharing about our exciting news. Which is hardly counts as news anymore…

We’re pretty excited!!!

Back in the engagement stage, I told Seth I wanted five years of just the two of us and he was thinking more like two or something. Then we got married and we’ve had a really good first year of lots of quality time. Last summer before I had a job I was able to go on field visits with him a few times and most days he’s home for lunch (which is one of the first things I mention to people when they ask about married life). We’ve tried to let this first year be one of few commitments and obligations so we could focus on our relationship. I know it won’t be this way forever, so I’m enjoying this stage while it lasts. But combining our six months of engagement and the past eleven months of marriage with just the two of us, I found myself ready to move onto a family well before 5 years 

I will admit that before it was medically confirmed that I indeed was pregnant there was some internal conflict as to whether or not I was looking forward to adding someone else to our family quite so soon. I’ve been suspicious from the beginning and shared with Seth that I was 90% sure I was expecting. But the day I went to the doctor was very monumental in accepting this next stage of life.

My appointment had been made because I’ve been struggling with some abdominal cramping while running for months. It was getting progressively more intense and occurring more frequently and I couldn’t pin down the cause. The doctor knew right away what I was talking about and said that this is a condition 70% of runners have and as long as I don’t eat for 3 hours prior to running I should be okay.

After we took care of that I mentioned to her that I had some suspicions about being pregnant and shared some pretty obvious clues. “Well this could be fun,” she said and ordered a pregnancy test all the while asking if it was a good thing if I be pregnant and all sorts of questions.

Those were long minutes in the doctor’s office waiting for the results but I was really at peace about it. Reality didn’t fully sink in when the nurse came in and congratulated me on being pregnant, and going to the front desk to schedule an OB appointment wasn’t exactly what I had pictured for the day. On the drive home my feelings surfaced and I cried. Joy, fear, emotion. There’s been a lot of that lately 

From that day on, my love for the baby has grown and grown. I was relieved to hit the twelve week mark and find comfort in the significantly diminished chance of miscarriage. At times I still struggle with fear of losing the baby, but I am so thankful to release it into God’s control and know that He loves this child more than I do. It’s incredible to be part of this miracle.

To answer how I’m feeling, thankfully this pregnancy has been very low key. Early mornings at the coffee shop could’ve been a disaster but I have never gotten morning sickness. I’m excited to be entering the second trimester with hopes of more energy as naps became a routine part of my day. I’ve been able to keep running although my times slumped for a while early on in the pregnancy and those hills really drain me. By the way, the doctor was right about waiting 3 hours after eating before running because I rarely cramp anymore!

I can’t finish the post without a big shoutout to Seth for all the times he offers to give me a back rub and the many ways he supports me and the baby. He’s incredibly patient even though he takes the brunt of my hormonal rollercoaster. He’s going to be such a good father to our baby!

Thanks for all the encouragement, love, and prayers during this time! Part of what makes this exciting is knowing that there are others who are going to love and embrace our child as a part of their own lives. And I am glad we don’t have to keep a secret any longer because, well, I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again…

We’re pretty excited!