Baby #2 Update...The Ups & Downs of My Second Pregnancy

Well, I figure since we are 4 weeks away from meeting this little peanut, I need to update the blog on how this pregnancy has been...

I have always heard people say how different each pregnancy is, and they were not kidding!  I was much more nauseated in my first trimester.  I hit my breaking point one Saturday, when I was on the phone and had to stop talking because I wasn't sure what would happen if I opened my mouth again (I'll let you draw the conclusions).  I called Adam and told him I didn't really care how he went about getting Zofran on a Saturday, when my doctor's office was closed, but that he just needed to get it.  That day.  Thankfully, he pulled through - the perks of being married to a pharmacist!  Ha!

This precious child's heartbeat has never gotten above the 140's.  This is extremely different from Cale's heartbeat, which was always in the upper 160's.

Disclaimer:  This next part of my post is raw and real.  Please try and understand my heart as you read...I am not ungrateful and I am not sad or upset.  This was important for me to write, because I never want to forget the details of this journey and what the Lord has done for us!

I tell people that I pretty much knew the gender of this child from the minute I found out I was pregnant.  Because I have become pretty familiar with the way the Lord likes to work in my life...the way He has to handle me so that I don't become too independent from Him, I pretty much knew He would be adding a little girl to our family.  As fun as little girls are, I taught fourth grade long enough to see the hormones begin to fly and the "mean girl" thing start to kick in.  Basically, I just saw enough to realize I'm not capable of raising girls.  I can handle the energy of boys, but not so much the drama that comes with girls.  And, this is where the Lord comes in.  Knowing I am not capable of raising girls, and feeling a little more confident of raising boys, the Lord is giving us the opportunity to trust Him when raising our children...duh!  So, knowing all of this is my heart of hearts, I told Adam that I was feeling the need to find out what we were having so that I could have some time to "switch gears" before she came.  He agreed, and we decided that we wanted to get a little creative.  After the sonogram, where we made sure not to find out any information, we had the nurse call a local bakery and put the gender colored icing in the middle of some cupcakes.  That night, we sliced it open...

And this is what we saw...

These were the first words out of our mouths...

Kasie:  "Oh gosh.  I'm going to throw up."

Adam:  "We have to start saving for a wedding...NOW!"

Just keepin' it real.

Since that day in August, we have had time to process the reality of parenting two, each being a different gender.  I've been able to shop (that has been a total perk).  We've decorated a nursery in non-gender neutral colors, and we have picked a name for her.  Since we didn't find out that Cale was a boy until we had him, we didn't have the opportunity to prepare for him the way we have had time to prepare for her.  We are thankful we have made the decisions we've made, to not find out the first time around and to find out the second time around.  We have loved the opportunity to prepare Cale for his new little sister, to call her by name, and to begin helping him understand what is to come (as much as he can understand). 

We are most thankful that the Lord is the one in control of the make up of our family!  He has taught me a lot in the last two months since we found out we would be having a baby girl.  He has shown me that my "fear" of having a girl was just that.  Fear.  He has given me truths to combat those thoughts.  That fear is not from Him.  That He has promised not to leave me or forsake me in this journey.  That He plans to work all things for good, according to His purpose.  That I can rest in Him.  

So, this has been a good journey for me.  I know that it really hasn't begun yet, but I'm thankful that the Lord has used this time of pregnancy to remind me of these truths - because they are universal and apply to parenting both of my children.

We are thankful the Lord has entrusted us with two children.  Unique in gender, personality, strengths and weaknesses.  We are anticipating with the great joy, the arrival of our sweet little girl!

Stay tuned...