So we are having another baby. Whew. There, I said it. No creative lead up and stunning reveal. Just there. Baby. Bam.
That's a little what it felt like to find out that a third child would be joining our ranks a bit short of 3.5 years after our first child was born. We were content with our two. A boy and a girl. Who could ask for anything more, right? Also, Quinn and I each have just one sister, so it seemed natural for us to stop at two. So that's what we were working to do. I won't go into the details of it all with you in this forum, but we really were attempting to avoid pregnancy. So this wasn't a "woops" moment. This was a "many things happening coincidentally" moment. And so when we confirmed that we were, indeed, expecting another baby, there was a bit of shock (of course), but also peace and assurance in knowing that God definitely showed us His hand in it.
We told Abram pretty early on and he has been excited from the get-go. He prays for "the new baby" all of the time. Before we arrived at our 12 week appointment today (which ended up being a 13 week appointment because of a couple of cancellations by the hospital), he kept asking if we were going to get to take the new baby home. We've tried to explain that the baby has to grow inside for awhile and then in six more months, we will hopefully be bringing the baby home. So he counts through the rest of the months - always stopping in November to remind me that that's when his birthday is - and gets to March and is very excited. He is such a good big brother to Selah and I know that he will be a great brother to this little Smith as well. On a side note, we are working on him grabbing whatever he wants out of Selah's hands whenever his little heart desires, but that's really the only mean thing he has ever done to her, praise the Lord.
Selah has no idea, of course, but will get more cognizant of it as the months go on. She is in crazy development time right now, starting to talk and obey (and directly disobey) and respond to everything we say to her. She will be almost two if the baby arrives on time (due April 1) and she will grasp it more fully then. It's actually her that I'm worried about. She's a pretty strong willed little thing right now and has been known to get excited and hit and is far more aggressive that gentle-man Abram. But we will make it a constant prayer that she would be an excellent big sister and I know God will answer.
The plan is to deliver over here in the UAE, if everything keeps going normally. We've been going to a hospital here in Fujairah for appointments where the care is much cheaper (since we pay out of pocket and then file claims for hopeful reimbursement), but also much more rushed, impersonal, and... Arab... than the western hospitals in Dubai. So the thought is that we will probably switch to a doctor at the American Hospital in Dubai around 20 weeks and then not go as frequently between 20 and 34 or so weeks, since it's much harder to get there and more expensive. Then, hope that this labor goes something like my other two and we have time for an hour and a half drive to the hospital whenever the time comes. My close friend who lives here in Fujairah is a doula and we are planning for her to ride with us in the car if I am in active labor and making the drive, just in case something happens... Hope you are ready to deliver a baby in a car, Katie!! :)
So that's that! We will hopefully be able to find out the gender in three or four weeks, which we will definitely do. I talked to Quinn about whether he wanted this one to be a surprise (crossing my fingers behind my back that he would not) and he emphatically said "no". We like picking a name and calling the baby by name as we wait for them to join us on the outside. For us, it makes him or her seem so much more real and present. So that's what we will do. I think we are both hoping for a boy, because we have a name we both agree on. We are in a deadlock over a girl name. So the discussion has been tabled (but not really) until we know whether we need to start arm wrestling... or guilt tripping :)
Here's a picture of Abram looking at the baby on the "tv" and a fuzzy cell phone picture of our #3.
Sorry for the long hiatus, but there's a bit of an explanation for the reason why!
That's a little what it felt like to find out that a third child would be joining our ranks a bit short of 3.5 years after our first child was born. We were content with our two. A boy and a girl. Who could ask for anything more, right? Also, Quinn and I each have just one sister, so it seemed natural for us to stop at two. So that's what we were working to do. I won't go into the details of it all with you in this forum, but we really were attempting to avoid pregnancy. So this wasn't a "woops" moment. This was a "many things happening coincidentally" moment. And so when we confirmed that we were, indeed, expecting another baby, there was a bit of shock (of course), but also peace and assurance in knowing that God definitely showed us His hand in it.
We told Abram pretty early on and he has been excited from the get-go. He prays for "the new baby" all of the time. Before we arrived at our 12 week appointment today (which ended up being a 13 week appointment because of a couple of cancellations by the hospital), he kept asking if we were going to get to take the new baby home. We've tried to explain that the baby has to grow inside for awhile and then in six more months, we will hopefully be bringing the baby home. So he counts through the rest of the months - always stopping in November to remind me that that's when his birthday is - and gets to March and is very excited. He is such a good big brother to Selah and I know that he will be a great brother to this little Smith as well. On a side note, we are working on him grabbing whatever he wants out of Selah's hands whenever his little heart desires, but that's really the only mean thing he has ever done to her, praise the Lord.
Selah has no idea, of course, but will get more cognizant of it as the months go on. She is in crazy development time right now, starting to talk and obey (and directly disobey) and respond to everything we say to her. She will be almost two if the baby arrives on time (due April 1) and she will grasp it more fully then. It's actually her that I'm worried about. She's a pretty strong willed little thing right now and has been known to get excited and hit and is far more aggressive that gentle-man Abram. But we will make it a constant prayer that she would be an excellent big sister and I know God will answer.
The plan is to deliver over here in the UAE, if everything keeps going normally. We've been going to a hospital here in Fujairah for appointments where the care is much cheaper (since we pay out of pocket and then file claims for hopeful reimbursement), but also much more rushed, impersonal, and... Arab... than the western hospitals in Dubai. So the thought is that we will probably switch to a doctor at the American Hospital in Dubai around 20 weeks and then not go as frequently between 20 and 34 or so weeks, since it's much harder to get there and more expensive. Then, hope that this labor goes something like my other two and we have time for an hour and a half drive to the hospital whenever the time comes. My close friend who lives here in Fujairah is a doula and we are planning for her to ride with us in the car if I am in active labor and making the drive, just in case something happens... Hope you are ready to deliver a baby in a car, Katie!! :)
So that's that! We will hopefully be able to find out the gender in three or four weeks, which we will definitely do. I talked to Quinn about whether he wanted this one to be a surprise (crossing my fingers behind my back that he would not) and he emphatically said "no". We like picking a name and calling the baby by name as we wait for them to join us on the outside. For us, it makes him or her seem so much more real and present. So that's what we will do. I think we are both hoping for a boy, because we have a name we both agree on. We are in a deadlock over a girl name. So the discussion has been tabled (but not really) until we know whether we need to start arm wrestling... or guilt tripping :)
Here's a picture of Abram looking at the baby on the "tv" and a fuzzy cell phone picture of our #3.
Sorry for the long hiatus, but there's a bit of an explanation for the reason why!
Congrats!!!! What a wonderful little blessing another baby will be!
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