Earlier this year, before Jack started potty training, we couldn't believe the diapers that piled up. Everywhere. Not only was having two kids in diapers expensive, it was tiring, exhausting, and kind of ridiculous. I can't even imagine what twins would be like, in that regards.
But a couple of months ago, when Zy was around 10 months, Chris and I started thinking about possibly adding a third baby to the bunch. We debated the pros and cons, and thought that maybe it wasn't so bad having two kids in diapers after all. It's more likely that we just don't remember all the details. I'm sure it was horrible.
But, after debating back and forth on whether we should add to our family this soon, or wait until Zy was closer to being out of diapers, we sort of decided just to see what happens. We are, after all, not getting any younger, and if we want more than three, we might want to just get things done with... and be out of the baby phase sooner, rather than later.
So, we prevented about half the time. I was just about finished breastfeeding, so that form of birth control was out, and I wasn't taking a pill. I started my first "lady cycle" after breastfeeding back in October, and that was not a warm welcome. It never is. And, I've never been "regular" as far as cycles go, so it wasn't really a surprise (but it was nice) when I didn't do more than spot a little bit the next month.
A few weeks later, I was feeling a bit "off." Lack of motivation, tired, not wanting to do anything - and extremely irritable over small things. I had taken a pregnancy test a while before this, just because, and it was negative. I usually have a few tests on hand, so I decided to take another one that day, to see if a bun in the oven was the reason to this sudden decline in my drive to do anything other than lay in bed all day (which, of course, was not an option).
Not expecting to see two lines in that window, I was taken back when I looked down after flushing and washing my hands. Though it wasn't a complete shock, it was the most surprised I've been after taking a pregnancy test.
"What?? What??? WHAT????" was the only thing coming from my mouth, repeatedly. I didn't think it was real, even though I knew that there really are no false positives. I couldn't believe it.
I waited until later that night to show Chris the test. He repeated the same, "WHAT??" as I had earlier, and pulled me in for a hug. Neither of us could believe it.
I hadn't really thought about what the due date of the baby would be until he asked me. Not knowing whether or not that spotting in November was a real cycle, I wasn't sure. If it wasn't, that would make October 13th my first day of the last one. And if that were the case, I was already six weeks along. SIX! I'm normally three-four weeks when I find out I'm expecting. I called Dr. Smith the next day and they asked me to come in to get some blood work done, and it was confirmed. I was six weeks and a couple of days, my due date being July 21, 2013. Unreal. And a relief... that meant I was half-way through the first trimester, which in the past, has been the worst part of my pregnancy.
I had an ultrasound done that week. Dr. Smith likes to start my prenatal visits early because of my history, for which I am grateful. And honestly, I was expecting no heartbeat at this ultrasound... if we were following a pattern, another miscarriage would be in tow. There was one before Jack, one before Zy, so that's what I expected for this one. And, for the first five minutes or so, she couldn't find one. There was a baby; it's amazing the detail you can see in something so tiny. I love seeing the spine. It's always so intricate and detailed. Incredible.
Because she wasn't finding a heart beat, I was building myself up for the worst. She wanted to do an ultrasound inside, to get a better look - and it wasn't long before we saw that beautiful little flutter in that tiny frame on the screen. I was even able to hear it - which is one of my favorite sounds in the entire world.
What a relief! I knew a miscarriage was still possible, as it always is, but seeing the heartbeat has always meant a successful pregnancy for me. I was excited, though I still didn't think it was real.
Over the next few weeks, my appointments went well. Things started following in the same pattern as my other pregnancies - sickness, more irritability, and even more lack of motivation... and because I was working nights at the time, I had even less of a desire to do much at all.
I walked into my 12-week appointment with Dr. Smith and checked in with reception, and informed them that my insurance had changed. They looked at my Select Value card and told me that they don't accept it. WHAT?? We had made the switch to a different plan a couple of weeks before, and made the mistake of assuming because it was the same company, Dr. Smith would be included. WHY DID I NOT CHECK???
I couldn't help but tear up and try not to hyperventilate at the thought of Dr. Smith not being my doctor anymore.
Over the next few days, I tried to make some calls to try and find a way to change plans or somehow get him back, but had no luck. I finally had to accept the fact that a different doctor would be taking care of me, and have to learn my history. I was incredibly frustrated at the people I called, who were not helpful at all, until I called the insurance company's advocate number and was referred to Dr. Christopher Hutchison, who had been referred to me by my neighbor Lindsay, who sees him. I scheduled my 16 week appointment and felt good about it, though I wasn't looking forward to seeing somebody new.
At this point, 12 weeks, nobody in my family knew I was pregnant. I had told a few people at work, and Chris had told a couple of friends, but we had always wanted to find out the sex of the baby before telling our families we were pregnant. That was our goal this time around. At Fetal Fotos, 15 weeks was the earliest we could find out, so we decided to pay the extra money there to get a gender check.
15 weeks is about as long as I could go in hiding it; I started showing at about 11 weeks with this baby and I was getting bigger every week. It was very noticeable, and would be especially to my mom, if I wasn't wearing jackets and warm clothes all the time. Thank goodness it's winter. :)
We had a birthday party planned for Jack and Zy for the 27th of January, where we planned on telling everyone we were expecting... and knowing that we'd know by then whether it was a boy or girl, we were even more anxious and looking forward to our ultrasound, which was set for the night before.
I had been feeling like it was a boy, from early on in the pregnancy. I've had the same symptoms and nothing was really different, and my overall feeling was that it was a "he." Chris, on the other hand, was determined that it was a "she." He's been saying, "the next two are girls," pretty much since we found out that Zy was a boy. Though I thought a girl would be great, I was looking forward to having a boy, since that's what I thought it was. Not only do I know how to do boys, we have all the stuff, and boys basically rock, girls scare me a bit; all the drama and emotions.
Well, not long into the ultrasound, and, like a true Lewis boy (his brothers were the same), there was no mistaking about what was there. He was not shy about "showing" himself. I was right!
So... here comes the third version of our little Avengers team!
They sent us home with a few pictures of the little dude, and we talked on the way home about how we would tell everyone the next day. We called Heather and Holly on the way home, to ask if we could to a web cam call since they wouldn't be there. Holly couldn't do one, so we just told her. She was excited, but shocked, and told me she needed some time to process it. She couldn't believe it.
We did do a call with Heather when we got home. She cried, and couldn't believe that I had kept it in so long either! We also did a quick call with Aaron and Julie, that congratulated us and were also surprised. I think that most people wouldn't guess I'm expecting because Zy is still so little. No one expects for you to announce you're pregnant when it seems like you just had a baby. It seems that way to me, anyway.
The next night, we decided to hand Jack the envelope of the ultrasound pictures for him to open for his first gift after having dinner and had everyone gathered together. He and Zy came with us to Fetal Fotos, so he knew what they were and what he was looking at. He pulled out the pictures, and right away said, "BABY!" while we waited for everyone's reactions. That was something they were NOT expecting. It took everyone a few seconds to get it, it was great. They couldn't believe I was having another boy, let alone that I was pregnant. It was a fun surprise and fun way to announce our third boy!
I am so anxious to see what this little man will be like. Jack and Zy's looks and personalities have been completely different, so it'll be fun to see what this one will bring. I'm looking forward to a summer baby... even though being pregnant in those months doesn't sound awesome.
I did see my new doctor, Dr. Hutchison, this week. It was different, but I do have confidence in him. He prescribed the progesterone shot, to keep baby in as long as possible, like Dr. Smith did with Zy. Chris gave me the first dose yesterday. That giant needle in my behind has not been missed.
So, things will get even more crazy than they already are in the Lewis home. But we are so excited for our little team of boys, and wouldn't change it for a second!
Now for the hard part... finding a name.
