Here it goes, my 9 week pregnant belly photo and the beginning of lots of bumpdates to come!

I figured I’d talk a little about our journey so far, the questions I’ve gotten since we announced we’re having baby #3 and all of the other fun stuff that comes along with pregnancy. So here it goes…

9 Week Pregnancy Updates

Due Date: November 3rd (but I never got a period since getting pregnant with Franky so they couldn’t base it on that — legitimately a guess at this point!)

Cravings: changes minute to minute but when I want it, I want it and I want it NOW. I’ve craved sushi a lot and smoothies! So random, I know.

Aversions: I didn’t have any pregnancy aversions with Ava but with Franky, I sure did. And the biggest one which is going to shock you all — coffee. Since the day I knew I was pregnant coffee just does not sound good. I know, I want to love it but it just does not sound or taste good. And chicken... yuck. 

Did you try for a specific gender this time? Since I’ve told you all that we tried to conceive a boy with Franky, a lot of you have asked this. If I had to choose, I’d choose a girl for #3 and Frank would choose a boy. So no trying for gender this time but we should find out in the next couple weeks!

Gender guesses? I’m guessing girl (I thought boy originally but I changed my mind when that due date changed. All about that timing!)

Is Ava excited? Oh my gosh you don’t even know! She is ECSTATIC about this little baby.

Sickness? Not too bad, actually. With Ava I was never sick. With Franky I was nauseous all day every day and I’m somewhere in between with this one. But I tend to feel much more nauseous in the evenings, which was very similar to how I felt with Franky too!

Our Pregnancy Story:

Right around when Franky was 6 months old we decided we’d go for baby #3. I know, most would say we’re crazy but we were so ready. So I picked up some digital ovulation tests and started testing. Like I said, I hadn’t gotten a period at this point (and still haven’t) so checking ovulation was the only way we’d know. 

Day 1: circle
Day 2: blinking smiley (which means high fertility)
Day 3: blinking smiley
Day 10, 11, 12: blinking smiley

...and then I gave up on testing.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, you want the smiley face to turn solid which means you’re about to ovulate in the next 12-24 hours or so. That blinking smiley is what we want.

Then month 2, I tested again and the same thing happened. And again month 3 and 4 and I was exhausted and just over it (and over spending money on those tests too.) I decided to order a pack of cheap strips on amazon that a friend had recommended and try it again a couple weeks later.

So month 5 I tested and tested and tested and finally got that line I was looking for. In all honesty, though, I had very little hope that it meant anything at all because this had happened time and time again with the digital tests. By the time my husband got home from work and the kids got to bed, I tested again and the line was gone.

Gone.

I cried. No, I bawled my eyes out. I finally had a tiny ounce of hope and all of that hope was gone in a second.

Two weeks went by and I decided to test my ovulation once again (and I threw in a pregnancy strip while I was at it) and there is was, the faintest little line you ever did see. So faint, I wasn’t sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or if it was real. I downloaded app after app after app to detect if that little line was there and then I finally just snagged a digital test to confirm. 

YES+

I was pregnant and I couldn’t believe it! Luckily my husband arrived home just about half hour later so I could tell him (last pregnancy I took a test at like 8am and had to wait ALL DAY LONG).

Here’s how I told them I was pregnant with baby #3:

I talked about it more over on Instagram but two weeks later, I woke up to devastation. We thought we’d lost our baby. Here’s what happened if you missed it:

“On March 7th I woke up to my worst fear happening right before my eyes. BLOOD. A lot of it. I was not even 6 weeks pregnant and I knew exactly what was happening. I called my OB and she asked me to come in on Monday — unless I was bleeding uncontrollably, there was no use in going to ER - their ultrasound wouldn’t be able to pick up a heartbeat this early anyways. All weekend I cried and cried and cried. Ava loved on that baby, prayed over that baby, thanked God over and over and she snuggled and kissed my belly as I sat there holding back tears all weekend long. I Googled... A LOT. I was searching for some hope — Maybe it was twins and I had lost one? I tried to come up with every scenario possible but really, I knew our baby was gone.

The longest weekend of our lives came to an end + we went in first thing Monday morning. I kept my composure until my OB walked in and then I just lost it. I laid down in the exact spot that was supposed to confirm the amazing news just 2 weeks later, she turned on the ultrasound and she said, “Well Jenn, you’re still pregnant.” Honestly, I didn’t feel any relief. If the baby was still there it was only a matter of time, right? She couldn’t see a heartbeat but we had an itty bitty glitter of hope — Well really, I wasn’t hopeful whatsoever if I’m being 100% honest. And the next step? Wait, just wait. TWO LONG WEEKS. I went into the office that Monday morning for some closure from the unknown but instead, we left with even more doubt. I’d thought to myself, “Well if anything good can come of this, at least my mom finally gets her dream of meeting one of her grand babies in Heaven.”

These were the longest two weeks of my life. Every day I feared and expected more blood. Nothing. On March 24th we loaded our little family into the car for the most somber drive we’d ever take. My heart was beating out of my chest and all I wanted to do was burst into tears. I laid down at the OB and it happened... “lub dub, lub dub, lub dub.” Our precious miracle baby ❤️ If you need any proof of hope + miracles in this world right now, there you have it.”

And there you have it. This November we will have another precious baby in our arms and I get chills just thinking about that day. Ava’s stoked out of her mind to have another sibling and she thanks God for this baby every single night before she goes to bed — legit makes me tear up every single time. 

Until next update ✌🏼