We found out I was pregnant exactly two weeks after our youngest turned one. I knew that had to be the only excuse for all my excessive crying at work and rationale that my students were out to get me. A Friday afternoon, while laying face down across our bed I told my husband “I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant.”
We promptly got a test and it confirmed what I already knew.
After the initial shock, which lasted about the rest of the weekend, we were excited! Excited enough to let the cat out the bag pretty quickly. No waiting until the second trimester over here! But this time around (this is baby number three) it was … weird. There were lots of congratulations, but we were also hit with quite a few “was it planned?”
Are we still doing this?
Asking employed, married couples — no actually ANYONE if their baby was planned? I really believe that people don’t really know what they’re asking. I mean, just think about it. Pretty invasive.
Now, between you and I, if you read the beginning, you pretty much have your answer. At this point, I know where babies come from and have become pretty proficient in making them. So although it was a shock, it wasn’t super surprising.
So my answer to those who asked was usually “it was God’s plan.” And really it was because at around four months along I was thinking. “Wow. This is the first pregnancy where this baby is my belly isn’t a rainbow baby.” (A rainbow baby is a baby born after a pregnancy or infant loss.) Before having both of my boys, I had some significant losses prior. But I did have a loss. My mom passed away in January of last year. It was a major blow to my family to say the least and the grieving process is still difficult to navigate. So when we got this news and were able to share it, it was happy! A celebration! Then around Thanksgiving when we found out we were having a little girl, tears of happiness and sadness were flowing. Our family definitely needed to experience this level of joy.
So here we are! A little less than three months and our “surprise” will be here! Now I really know God’s plan isn’t just a jam I listen to when when I’m washing dishes. It’s really the case when it comes to our little one.
