Photos by Karl Maguson
Oh boy, friends, we are growing again–to add a BABY BOY to our family in February! We are so grateful and so excited. All we knew the first time around was that we were embarking on a big, completely unknown adventure. But this time we know what a truly sweet gift from God a child is and have enough experience to be able to just anticipate the joy of his birth with all of that gratitude and excitement and much less of the nervousness and stress of preparation.
We had so much fun taking these photos on September 29th, the day after my 31st birthday. It was a gorgeous day on Capitol Hill, and we took them early in the morning when there were very few people around in the U.S. Botanic Garden and at the Capitol Building. We wanted to do a proper photo shoot for baby boy since we did one to announce Victoria the first time. We celebrated afterward with breakfast at a little cafe and just couldn’t believe Victoria was wearing a “Big Sister” shirt.
For those of you who are thinking, “Yes, we all noticed you not-so-successfully trying to hide a volleyball under your shirt in your last couple of posts”: I know, I know, it’s possible we’ve been keeping this secret since early June. But I’m really excited to share all the details and reflect on this second pregnancy today, so I will do it in the same format I did my first pregnancy announcement: Q & A style!
Here are the Answers to my Baby #2 FAQs:
What is your due date? February 12, 2019–a Valentine baby!
How far along does that make you? 25 weeks. We are staring down the third trimester very soon, and I absolutely cannot believe it.
When did you find out? On June 11th, and we left for Scotland on June 17th! We weren’t as far along as I thought I should be, so we were nervous about him the entire time we were in Scotland and England with friends. My blood tests were low, and we couldn’t find him on an ultrasound before we left. So the doctor said we should do another ultrasound as soon as we got back. We went in the day after landing back in the States and saw and heard that sweet heartbeat just pounding away announcing that this was the real deal!
Does Victoria know? We don’t think she gets it. She was 15 months yesterday, and I just don’t think this concept is going to sink in for her. In fact, she will never remember not having a baby brother! But we do talk about “Baby Brother” all the time and show her my belly and say “Baby Brother is in there!”
How are you feeling? Good! The first trimester with this one was very different. Less general nausea and more actual vomiting, which frankly, I prefered. I had headaches too, though, and the sickness came on later and lasted later. But since about 16 weeks it has been smooth sailing. Feeling like myself with a little person who kicks me all the time to remind me that he’s with me!
Do you have any cravings? Just like the first time, give me allllllll the sweets. But that’s me in life generally, so I don’t know if I can blame pregnancy.
Have you thought about names? Yes, and I feel like names are way easier for boys. We won’t announce it until we announce his birth, though!
How did you tell your families? We were so thankful to have almost everyone at our house for Victoria’s birthday party, so we had her open a “Big Sister” dress as her first birthday present while the family watched. It was super fun! We did the early blood test that tells you the gender and were hoping to do a gender reveal right then and there, but of course, the results came back Monday morning! Ah well.
What are you going to do for a second nursery? Right now we have a guest room/office combo that Will uses as his home office. We are planning to keep the queen bed and nightstand in there for guests and then just replace his desk and bookshelf with a crib and dresser, and voila, we have a nursery. We even already have an armchair and ottoman in there. This way we can put baby boy in a pack ‘n’ play or bassinet somewhere else when we have guests and still have a place for them.
Now for the fun stuff:
How do you feel about having a boy? Were you surprised? I was completely shocked! For some reason, I just knew this was going to be another girl! Honestly we were in a great position, because it didn’t matter to me which one we had. If we had another girl they could be best friends and share a room and clothes and all that fun stuff, and I thought a sister would be a wonderful lifelong best friend to give Victoria. (And truth be told, I had all the visions of matching dresses and two sisters close in age like the darling girls in The Greatest Showman, haha.) BUT of course we’re thrilled to have a boy, and that makes this second pregnancy special and new in its own way: we’re going to get to experience all the fun boy stuff we haven’t done yet! Plus all I hear about is how much little boys love their mamas, and I think it will be super fun for Will to have a boy buddy to show all the guy stuff to. I keep seeing darling boys everywhere, and I am excited for the special and different bond we will have than my bond with Victoria! Who could not be excited to have one of each?
How do you feel about having two babies so close together? So they will be 18 months apart, and I am actually super thrilled about that! It was a little daunting to get used to that news at first for sure, but then I thought, “People have twins all the time!” Plus, it’s my greatest dream to have a house full of kids close in age who are friends and play together and grow up to be friends in adulthood, so having them close in age can’t hurt that, right? I know there will be fights in our house, and they may not always appreciate each other the way I want them to, and that two little ones who need so much help from mama will be exhausting. But how adorable will they be together, and we haven’t forgotten any of the newborn stuff yet! All our equipment is still up to date, and we just have to pull it back out!
How do you feel about being a family of four? We can’t wait! There has been no life stage (nope, not even college!) I have loved as much as this one, and being a mama is the greatest privilege and joy I have ever experienced. It’s my favorite thing in the world to watch her learn and her little personality start to emerge and shine. We have the best days together, and as soon as I had Victoria, all I wanted was all the babies, so we are just thankful! I can’t wait to see them play together and get to know one another!
Anything else? I think the one thing that’s really hard about second babies is not knowing how it will affect your time with your first. Victoria and I have a really great schedule and the sweetest days full of time just together. We’re best friends, and I am a little nervous about not having as much of my attention to give her. So I’m thankful we don’t have as much to do to get ready during this pregnancy, because I’m really just focusing on her and soaking up our lives as they are here and now just the three of us.
Have I mentioned how grateful we are? We are blessed by a gracious God who delights in giving good things to His children, and as my dreams of being a mama continue to come true and grow deeper with each new phase, we just stand in awe of Him and His beautiful plans for us.
