Not an Alaska baby

There will be no child named Juneau in our family. This is NOT an Alaska baby. I'm over nine weeks pregnant and came back from Alaska four weeks ago. So, yeah. Though, it does sound like a fun story to tell.

Nine weeks pregnant. How did I know? The tell tale sign for my pregnancies--my morning (or in all reality ALLFREAKINGDAYWHENWILLTHISEND) sickness. The Wednesday we got back from Alaska, I knew. The next morning, I made Andrew rush to the store before work to buy me a pregnancy test. It was negative. However, I was on some medication for an infection that I think affected it. Andrew convinced me it was just the antibiotic messing with my system. I went off the medication that Saturday because I couldn't stand how it was making me feel. By Tuesday morning, June 2nd, I was still sick. I told Andrew I must be pregnant. He shrugged me off and told me I was paranoid--remember, I just took the test and it was negative. So, naturally, I waited until he left to take the other pregnancy test I still had leftover from his drugstore run the week before.

Within seconds, I was staring at two pink lines.

First thing I did was call Andrew. Next? Of course I emailed the girls. I haven't kept it much of a secret. Mainly because if you're around me too long, you might see me excuse myself (as I did while mid sentence running a staff meeting about a week ago or during a first time meeting with a new volunteer in Houston) to head to the bathroom. If you're among my staff, you've seen me not so gracefully RUN out of the office to the bathroom across the hall.

We waited until my sonogram to make sure everything was ok to tell Maggie. That was two weeks of not telling her. Except, well, she told us. Each and every day. She would wake up, inspect my belly and say, "well, it's still small, but there's a baby in your tummy!" Or she would say, "in two weeks there will be a baby in your belly."

I went to visit Dennis Eisenberg, my beloved OB and family friend (yes, Sam's dad--they are doing great. They don't blog anymore but the boys are awesome. Going into third grade!) on Tuesday June 16th. I had a board meeting that night, so we didn't get to tell Maggie until the next morning. She was actually in our bed, as she likes to crawl in there in sneaky stealth mode in the middle of the night. Andrew and I got on either side of her with the sonogram picture. He said, "Do you know what this is? It's a picture of the baby in Mama's belly." Sleepily, she looked and asked, "Is that me?" No. "Is that Allie." No. She squealed, jumped up and YELLED, "It's BABY DREW!!!!"

Maggie has now taken to referring to herself as Big Sister. Big Sister is hungry. Big Sister wants to go swimming. Yeah. It's fun. Seven months of this and Andrew and I are going to lose our minds. She is so excited. My belly popped over the weekend. Third pregnancy and my body just knows what to do. She inspected my belly this morning (as she does every morning) and exclaimed, "whoa, Mama, you're belly is GROWING!" We talk a lot about babies. She loves to hear about when she and Allie were in my belly or what they did and didn't like as little infants. She thinks it so funny that Allie hated the swing but loved the bouncy while she loved the swing but hated the bouncy. She recounts to me (as if I forgot!) how she cried every single time we put her in the infant carseat until we took her out and she happily cooed. She thinks that's hilarious and wonders how the next baby will react.

Of course, there is one thing she is steadfast on. This is a boy. Baby Drew. If we mention that it could be a girl, she yells at us "NO!! It's BABY DREW!!" We're definitely going to find out the sex of the baby. If it's a girl, I'll need the duration of the pregnancy to convince her that's a good thing. In the car the other day she told me, "It's perfect Mama. I have a baby brother in your belly and a baby sister in Heaben!" Makes total sense to Maggie.

So, that's the scoop. I'm due January 25th. Maggie will be the only one without a January birthday (Andrew's is the 12th and mine is the 24th). This sickness is not treating me the best, but I'm getting a bit better. I'm learning what I can and can't eat and I'm dealing with the all day queasiness. I'm really hoping it doesn't last as long as it did with Maggie--which would be the day she was born. That child had me vomiting in her delivery room and my first day without morning sickness was the day after she was born. SO hopeful that is not the case with this little baby. Allie had me sick until about 23 weeks, so I'm prepping myself that it isn't ending in the next few weeks.

Thanks for all the well wishes. This is a fun and exciting new chapter in our lives. We're so much calmer this pregnancy then we were with Maggie. There isn't quite the fear and anxiety we felt at this point with her pregnancy. There is much more excitement and anticipation.

Work is still going great. We're celebrating FIVE years this fall!! Can you believe it? I don't do this too much, hopefully, but I am going to ask for donations. In honor of Allie's new sibling, five years of hardwork and dedication, and our sweet Maggie, I'm signed up to be a fundraiser for our High Five Club. We're asking for something really simple this time--a $5 donation in honor of five great years. Will you help me celebrate? www.active.com/donate/HighFiveClub/jennyscott