Something I've been meaning to tell you

I meant to post this last week. But I didn't. So here it is. We'll let Sierra tell the news ...

(Did you read her shirt? Do you want to know the secret?)

...


That's right, folks! Baby #2 is in the works! I am currently 13 weeks along in this pregnancy, which I hope will last the full 40 weeks (or maybe a touch longer). Why would I want to stretch it out as long as possible? I'm glad you asked.

Jason is taking some graduate classes this summer. In Montana. We will be living in Bozeman from the middle of June until the end of July. Because this baby is due August 15th, that means that we will be 2200 miles and 4-day drive away from my midwife and local hospital while I am 32-38 weeks pregnant (just for reference, anything after 37 weeks is considered "full term"). Theoretically, then, Baby#2 could be born while we're in Montana. That would not be ideal. But it would be okay. A much better situation would be for #2 to just wait, hang out in the spa until we return to Virginia. I do not know what I will do if #2 decided to make the grand entrance sometime during the 4 days of travel between Montana and Virginia. We will have a nice, long talk (several, probably) where I explain to #2 how wonderful it will be to stay in there until August 15th.

Sierra was born 10 days early. If #2 is 10 days early, that is precisely 1 day after our return home. I was counting on Sierra to be late. First babies are always late, right? I was working on my Masters degree. I had things to do before she was born. I was confident she would be arriving later than her due date. Ha! First lesson of parenthood: things never go according to plan. I didn't have my hospital bag packed yet. This time, I'm packing at 30 weeks!

I've been feeling well. Exhausted, but well. I had some morning late afternoon/evening sickness for several weeks, but thankfully, that seems to have passed. Still tired, though. A problem probably exacerbated by the fact that I spend 12 hours of my day chasing after a toddler and I know I'm not going to bed early enough.

I had my second appointment with my midwife, Donna, early last week. We got to hear #2's heartbeat, which gave me the confidence that Wow! There's really something in there! Also, I'm now into the second trimester. That's why I'm now finally comfortable announcing our impending addition to our family to the blogosphere and Facebook. In the car on the way home from the appointment, Jason said he loved seeing my face when I heard the heartbeat of our second baby. He said it was pure happiness. And it was.