SURPRISE!

We are having another baby! Each one of us is so excited about adding to our family and even more excited that the secret is out. Derrek and I found out about this pregnancy before we left for our Glamping trip a few months ago! As surprised as we were, we knew that we were going to have a fourth child one day so it has been very exciting since we knew! Y’all, babies are my weakness and I know that having children is chaotic but it’s the perfect dang kind of chaotic.

I figured I could share a few things about this pregnancy since I am just now working up the nerve to talk about it publically. I know that it might be out of the norm for people to have four kids these days but it’s something that Derrek and I have always wanted. I knew even when I was pregnant with Scarlet Reese she wouldn’t be our last baby. We are all hoping for a boy to even out our crew but as long as the baby is healthy, in the end it doesn’t matter!

I am 15 weeks along in this pregnancy and finally over the nausea. I wasn’t ever really having to camp out in my bathroom while throwing up but the nausea has been intense. I’ve found that eating every hour or so a little nibble of crackers or something salty helps. Oh and y’all… my food tastes have changed SO much. I normally eat oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast but the thought of anything sweet doesn’t make my stomach feel good. I’m craving salty, savory, spicy foods… avocado toast and scrambled eggs with hot sauce, BLTs, turnip greens with hot vinegar (if y’all don’t know about that little food gem, you’re missing out!, coconut oil fried sweet potatoes with ketchup… I could go on and on. Oh and my water intake has increased by 5000%! I’m always like a camel while I’m pregnant.

I had horrible experiences at the hospital where I birthed Nolan and Harper because of lack of care and also them not liking the fact that I wanted to do everything naturally. I decided after Harper was born that my next baby would be born at home but unfortunately I couldn’t find a midwife to help make that happen. I ended up living with my sister in Charleston so I could have Scarlet Reese at the Charleston Birth Cenyet, which was an amazing place to have a birth. It was so laid back and the entire experience was great! I am thankful that my sister let us stay there but a home away from home isn’t in our plans this go around. I’ve found an amazing midwife (I wanted her during my last pregnancy) and she is going to come and help us deliver this baby at our home. I know this is unconventional these days but I am confident in my decision and really excited about this experience. There will also be licensed medical attendees with her and we are close to a hospital if I did need to be transferred. After birthing three babies, I’m confident and ready to go through the experience again.

I feel like I started showing way sooner with this pregnancy than any other pregnancies and I’ve already broken out the maternity pants and leggings. I have several pair of plain black maternity leggings that are in serious rotation right now and I’m not mad at it. I refuse to stuff myself into pants and be uncomfortable. No ma’am! My favorite maternity brands for jeans is Old Navy and leggings is Preggo Leggings.

I have tried to answer all the questions that I’ve been asked so far but if I didn’t get to one of yours, please leave it in the comments of this blog and I’ll answer ASAP. Y’all know, I always share all things maternity and pregnancy so this definitely will not be my last post on the subject. I look forward to chatting more about all of this and helping share more about how and what I do and use during pregnancies.

this is a picture from my last maternity shoot when I was pregnant with Scarlet Reese. I am going to link that post right here.