A Big Announcement

 

“I wonder…I think…yep…wow…ok, here we go again!”

That was pretty much the thought process that led up to and proceeded the confirmation that, yes, we are having another baby. 😀 !!!! There was a slightly longer pause after the “wow,” but we are completely overjoyed by the news of our second child.

If you see me on a regular basis you’ve probably noticed my belly and thought I looked a little more full around my middle (I look particularly plump in the above photo…I swear Collins cannot yet rest on top of my belly – angles people). As I’ve been keeping this secret for several weeks, I of course was paranoid about people looking at me with questionable expressions. I concluded that if they just thought I was getting fat, then they would feel really bad when they found out I was pregnant ;).  On the other hand if you never see me – you will soon, because I’ll be so huge you can’t miss me.

I keep staring at my very pregnant looking self in that photo. I posted this one as some salvaging proof of my not-as-bulging-belly as the previous shot. See? Normal. Ok I feel better now.

As I found out weeks ago, that’s when I wrote a majority of this post, and it has sat in waiting until our big reveal. I am so glad I wrote down my immediate thoughts and feelings though because as I read through this post, I don’t remember all the specifics. It’s nice to know I preserved the memory of this event almost immediately after we found out. 🙂

THE BACKGROUND STORY

The night before I found out for sure about this little peanut, I had a feeling. I wasn’t quite late, but I just felt like – “nope I don’t think it’s coming this month.” That night I went to bed and had a dream that I was pregnant – and possible spoiler alert – it was a boy (since then I’ve had multiple other dreams where it was a girl, so who knows). The next morning  I told Codee I thought I might be pregnant. He wasn’t too convinced (are men ever convinced until the baby is actually here? ;)), but ironically enough I had my yearly well woman’s exam scheduled for that morning so we just decided I’d take a test at the doctor’s and find out for sure. “Have a good day at work honey, I’ll let you know in a couple hours…eek!” That was a slightly nervous “eek!” by the way 😉

I arrived at the doctor’s office and I was getting more nervous by the minute. They asked if I had any concerns when I went into the exam room and I told them I thought I might be pregnant. Pee in a cup, go change into a gown….3 minutes later a knock on the door…”It’s positive :)” Ok, I couldn’t stop smiling. Just like when I found out about Collins. All of my anxiety went away and I just knew it was all going to be ok and that this was the best thing.

Oh, and on top of all that, the day we found out just happened to be our second anniversary as well! Haha….ok God, that one seemed just a little bit too played out 😉 Anyways, I claimed our second child was Codee’s gift for our second anniversary and that was that. We are having another baby!

Baby #2 was planned, but the estimated arrival was not. Haha…we were always planning on having more children, but we were still undecided on when that was going to happen. God chose for us 🙂 And I think it will be perfect 🙂 He or She is due at the beginning of February – what a dreadful month, lol sorry baby – so He/She will be just shy of two years younger than Collins. Our baby girl who is now a big sister. Yeesh, I can’t believe it!

THE BIG QUESTION

Now the big question is, what’s it gonna be?

I really want to try and wait until the baby is here to reveal the gender. Like I find out when the baby comes out, and you all find out when I post and say “He’s/She’s here!” Codee isn’t keen on that idea though, so we will see how it goes. We have all the essentials (although some may be a little girly), so I think it is a plausible situation, not knowing what we are having. I’ve always said/thought that I would find out the first child (just to ease my excitement and to plan for the showers), and then have the rest be surprises – we will see if I can follow through. If Codee can’t hold off then I fear I will have to know too, I couldn’t stand him knowing (and let’s face it he would spill the beans) and me not knowing. He would be rather annoying about it I’m sure, lol. UPDATE: Codee is very insistent on finding out. I see my failure of having a surprise gender ending quickly.

The idea of having a little boy is exciting because Codee will get his son, whom by the way is the ONLY chance of carrying on the “Widler” name as Codee has no brothers or boy cousins. No pressure little bean! 😉 And they can do all the “boy stuff” they want to. Collins keeps up just fine though 😉 On the flip side I love the idea of Collins having a little sister so close to her. I’m sure she would love that (you know, one day…haha). Not to mention we have a PLETHORA of girl clothing. No new wardrobe needed. Either way they will be great little playmates, and if I am honest I really don’t care what the gender is this go around. No matter what, it will be a very loved little human. 🙂

THE UNCERTAINTIES

At this point I still can’t imagine loving another little person as much as my Collins Lorraine. It’s kind of odd for me to have these feelings because I am from a family with eight children. You would think I would have more of an understanding of how my heart will expand and love both of them equally, but it still really is a foreign idea to me right now. (How is that even possible?!) Also, it’s not like I’m the first person to have a second (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) child – people are growing their families everyday, and I think it is pretty common that they find room in their hearts to love all of their children 😉 So, my “worry” is more of a confused heart/mind at the moment. It’s just a concept I can’t quite grasp yet.

I’m not at all concerned about loving this child (I love him/her right now), but I am worried about the change in relationship Collins and I are about to experience. I am just praying so hard we have a smooth transition and she turns into a proud, amazing big sister.

I mean, look at that mama’s girl. She has my heart that’s for sure.

A lot of other things come to mind with this life change too. Adjusting to life with one child was a huge change, and now we are going to have two? And there will be two of them and two of us and it’s time to learn man-t0-man defense really well. More diapers to change, bottles to make, humans to keep happy, mouths to feed, laundry to do, dishes to clean, colleges to fund, whew. It’s a lot to swallow.

But, even though the reality of having two children is going to be more work and stress on our everyday lives, I am truly not concerned about those day to day issues. As long as my family continues to be happy and our relationships with each other stay close-knit and healthy, I will be fine. Everything else will be fine. Right now I will focus on getting this baby here in a timely manner, in a healthy state, and the rest will work itself out!

Note: Now accepting prayers for a smooth pregnancy (I’m a third of the way there! Woohoo!), a safe delivery, and a quick recovery – much appreciated! 🙂

Well, that is about all I can take for one post! Lots of news, excitement, and changes coming soon!

Caption: “yaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy”

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

Lots of Love, Katie

P.S. HUGE shout out to the once again amazing (and I mean that, Collins was rotten during this session, and you can’t even tell!) Jackie Wild from JWild Photography for going the extra mile to make this session happen for us. She truly is the best around and we are grateful for her kindness, not to mention all the memories she has preserved for us. Check her out for your next session!