Here we go again!

**Written on June 21, 2014**

My mind still hasn't wrapped around this fact, but this week we've just learned that our family of three is now on its way to becoming a family of four!

We always knew we wanted more than one child, and from the start wanted around a three year age gap. I'm glad we felt that way even before Nolan was born because, to be honest, it took me nearly two years to feel ready to take on another pregnancy/child again. Going from zero to one child is a gigantic transition, and I really wanted my mind and body to fully heal before taking on more responsibility. Once Nolan turned two, we both felt ready to take this step. The idea was for us to train/run the broad street 10 miler in May, then try afterwards we we'd feel good mentally and physically. Unfortunately, I injured my back and had to drop out of the race in the last week, but there were a lot of unexpected benefits from this change of events. Since I had to take a big step back at home to rest, Joe was forced to take on a bigger part of the house/family responsibilities. He flourished in this role, feeling like he was contributing more, and also realizing/respecting how much I was doing before. I also realized I was taking on too much previously, and should delegate more to Joe. These insights really helped our family dynamic grow, and we both feel like we are really functioning well as a well oiled machine now - probably better than we ever have before. Parenting really takes amazing teamwork, and we feel we've really reached a nice sweet spot and are ready to take on more.

With all that being said, I rested my back, worked our gaining strength in May, and felt much better by June. We officially started trying for #2 at that point. I really didn't have high expectations for this month since it was a disjointed month with first me traveling to San Diego for a conference then Joe traveling to Austin for a conference. Also, unlike last time, I didn't track basal temperature every morning, instead relying mostly on the "fertility friend" app on my iPhone. I was so doubtful that this was a successful month that I didn't even try a pregnancy test very early (like last time) since the timing didn't seem perfect, and I felt signs of my period coming. I wish I had tested on Father's Day Sunday since that would have been such an amazing gift for us, but I didn't! Instead, when my period didn't arrive as expected two days later, I finally tested and got a dark, very clear positive!

 The day we found out was this past Tuesday, June 17th. I took the test around 7am, right after I woke up, and stared in disbelief at the two lines. A huge smile formed on my face that would not go away the entire morning. Instead of going directly into the shower as I normally do, I headed downstairs and waited by the door until Joe came back inside from taking Dean on a walk. He looked at my with my big silly grin on my face and asked me what was going on. He didn't know I would test this morning, so when I showed him the positive, he couldn't believe it and we both just expressed our disbelief and gave each other huge hugs. 

This is our shocked faces!

We quickly worked out in our heads that the due date would be around late February, and Joe was quickly concerned if 2015 was a leap year or not. I quickly googled that it is not (2016 is the next leap year), which is a relief since we don't think it would be very fun to have a birthday on February 29th. I also checked online due date calculators and have 2 estimates of due dates to consider so far - February 26th based on my last period, or February 20th based on my estimated ovulation time (since I have short cycles). Last time they didn't account for my shorter cycles, which I think in the end was a bit harmful since Nolan consistently measured ~1 week ahead in all ultrasounds and was born at 36 weeks, 5 days. Since he was born 2 days before 37 weeks (full term), he was treated as a "late pre-term" baby, which required more monitoring at the hospital/stricter feeding schedule. However, if the due date had been adjusted in the beginning, he would have been past 37 weeks. Something to keep in mind for my first doctor's appointment.

Speaking of my first appointment, after taking a 2nd pregnancy test on Thursday, June 19th and seeing an even darker band, I decided to call to make an appointment on Friday. They scheduled me for this upcoming Friday, June 27th. I should be somewhere between 5 and 6 weeks along at that point. I will sure to update as to what my "final" due date is set at once I know. Looks pretty likely that we'll have a little February baby though! Of course I'm partial to February birthdates since I have one myself ;)

Feeling SO SO SO thankful, lucky, blessed, excited, nervous, every emotion under the sun regarding this big news. We know we are extremely lucky to already have our wonderful son, Nolan, and can not believe we are lucky enough to be able to bring another very loved child into the world. Lots more to come. Fingers crossed for a happy and healthy pregnancy!

We love you already, Baby B #2!