So many kids, I don't know what to do.



Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Surprise Package!

 I have been thinking a lot about babies lately.  If we hadn't had that possibility permanently eliminated I would be debating another.  Cuz you know I am not quite close enough to a nervous breakdown some days.


All of my children were planned and scheduled. 
Except for this one.
(She has learned to say, "Cheeeeeeeese!" every time she sees the camera.)


It was always to the chagrin of my mom that I knew six times I was pregnant before she did.  That is her gift. She can spot an unsuspecting newly pregnant woman a mile away - maybe two.
But I always used EPTs!

After Tayte turned one The Coach and I started discussing having another child.  We were tentatively thinking about trying after Tayte's second birthday.  It would give me an opportunity to complete an entire triathlon season and to save up some "sick" days at work. 
I was also secretly tentatively toying with the idea of not having a fifth child ever.  I have been blessed with trauma free pregnancies, but I don't LIKE to be pregnant and no one likes to be around me when I am.  Plus I was remembering the challenges of raising two young babies during my twenties.  My plan was to teach Tayte to be spectacular bratty thus insuring The Coach wouldn't want another.  :)

By Christmas that year I had planned out a triathlon season including Olympic distance races.  I had lost all my baby weight plus about fifteen pounds and had assembled a new wardrobe while watching reruns of "What Not to Wear".  The Coach and I had plans for a two week family vacation to New York.  Let's just say I was being VERY CAREFUL to swallow that pill every morning.

I was at my mom's house on Christmas Eve and I was crying.  I don't remember why.  I think someone asked me to pass the cranberry or something equally offensive.  My mother took me aside and said, "Heather, you are pregnant."  I was adamant I wasn't.  My mother continued on.  "You are weepy, and your face is fuzzy and your body is fluffy."  Imagine my reaction to that if a simple request for cranberry had sent me sobbing from the room.

I bought the EPT that night, and the next morning Mom's notion was confirmed.  The Coach was ecstatic which is odd for him.  He is definitely a planner.  I dissolved into a sobbing mess yet again.  And then I cried some more because I felt so guilty for crying.  This poor unborn baby-kins wasn't even getting a friendly welcome.  Guilt overwhelmed as me just as much as the surprise of being pregnant for the next week or so. 

I finally I got over it and realized I could still run while pregnant.  (But I didn't.)  I could certainly go to New  York  (I did.)  I realized if I had managed to lose the weight after Tayte I could do it again.

(One of the very few pictures in existence of me about pregnant.  I was about 35 weeks along at the start of our two week vacation.  We had just arrived in Canada, by car, from Texas.  I can't believe I am posting this.)

I stubbornly held on to the dream of pursuing my master's degree until after Shaye was born.  At that point I was hit with the reality that those plans were MINE and I hadn't consulted the proper authorities (GOD) to make sure we were on the same page.

Nineteen short months after her birth I can't imagine our house without her busy, *blackeyed, runny nosed, ornery, carnivorous, dog riding self.


Now if I could just get her older brother to quit calling her Accident.

*She managed to get not one, but two black eyes last week alone.

Were you totally surprised by any of your babies?

26 comments:

  1. I expected to have a challenge getting pregnant due to my age. It took less than three months.

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  2. Those are the best kind of surprises!

    Itty Bit was a complete surprise. Seven years after the docs said I couldn't have children, and I had completely given up.

    And suddenly, here he was :)


    Two black eyes? She is talented!

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  3. Our only one so far was planned, and awaited with much anticipation. But my SIL just found out that surpise #3 is on the way!

    .:Giggling at big brother calling her Accident:.

    Stopped by for PYHO!

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  4. I can't imagine driving to Canada from Texas! Wow!

    My daughter was a complete surprise. When she was 4 we decided to try for another. We thought it would take some time, but I got pregnant right away. That was a surprise.

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  5. Gotta love a fluffy preggo body.
    No surprises here, yet in a way they were total surprises as well.

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  6. She's such a cutie! God's plans are always better than ours.

    I can't believe you took that trip so late in your pregnancy. I hate roadtrips anyway.

    My third...we knew we could get pregnant, but we weren't trying.

    I don't know what exactly we were thinking.

    I had just started working part-time for the first time in 3 years b/c we needed the money. It was awful timing.

    And my husband was in a horrible mood before I told him. I was sitting on the floor across from him, where he was on the couch and said that I had to tell him something. He snapped "WHAT?"

    I said, "I'm pregnant" and burst into tears. He instantly smiled and said "You are? That's WONDERFUL!"

    And our third is such a total blessing sweetheart. Can't imagine life w/o him.

    Here ends the longest comment ever.

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  7. I was totally surprised by 2 of my 4. I was 17 when I got pregnant with my oldest so of course I was NOT trying. Then my next 2 babies were planned and I thought my 3rd was my last. I had an IUD out in while we were stationed overseas and once we got back my hubby was going to get snipped. Well, low and behold I thought I had the flu the first of 2009 went to the doctor and nope I was preggo with baby #4. BIG surprise. There should be no more surprises now though as I've had my tubes tied just in case. 4 is my limit!

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  8. No surprised babies, or any babies, for that matter, yet!

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  9. Mine was quite the surprise...but that's sort of how it goes with adoption :D

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  10. Awww, I LOVED this (as I do all your posts!) You made me want a 4th child. My husband says no no no but I think I have another in me. And I love being prego...so fun! My little guy (22 months) always says "Cheeeese!" when he sees a camera too! YOu are blessed! :)

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  11. What's wrong with your preggo pic? You look adorable there! I was surprised by my first kinda. I went off the pill because I was sick of paying for it but really didn't think one way or the other about getting pregnant, so when I did, I was caught off guard but so excited!

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  12. That prego pic is beautiful!

    Our last was our total surprise blessing. DISCLAIMER: MEN SHOULD STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!! I never even had a period after our 2nd. We apparently got prego the very first time I was able.

    And you know what? I wouldn't trade our surprise for the world. She was brought to our family in God's perfect timing.

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  13. wow, two black eyes in a week? lol

    We just started trying, so no accidents yet. :)

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  14. I absolutely love this entry and I am really looking forward to reading the rest of your blog!

    However, after reading this, I'm going to go get another pack of pills and every other form of birth control on the market for the time being.

    2 of our 3 are suprises. :)

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  15. It was a challenge for me to get pg and stay pg - so no surprises here - too much temperature taking and legs in the air ;-) She is a very beautiful "accident" I can't believe that is the only pic you have! I took pictures of my belly getting bigger every other week LOL

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  16. I was pretty much surprised by all of our children. Andrew came when I was barely 20 and married for only a few months. Blake, came after years of fertility problems. The twins were born five days after Blake's birthday.

    Apparently I need to go back and take a decent sex-ed course.

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  17. I'm learning that I'm not a huge fan of being pregnant either. :) I think it's a lot harder at 35. At least that's what I tell myself when I need consolation after seeing young girls who are big pregnant running around with energy.

    And by the way, you look great in that picture!!!

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  18. I was surprised by my one and only but in a completely different way. We had tried (for almost a decade) everything from fertility drugs and temperature charts to me standing on my head after sex to encourage the little buggers to swim in the right direction. Finally surrendered to the possibility that it would probably never happen. And BOOM! Yeah ... we were surprised! And over the top excited!

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  19. That's a big surprise, but one of the better ones you can get in life!

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  20. We only have one right now (she's 13 months) but what surprised me was how quickly and easily we got pregnant with her! I always assumed it would take awhile or I would have issues because of previous problems in the female department. NOPE! One month off the pill and we were expecting.

    Which is why we are being VERY careful right now!

    Shaye is adorable!

    Dropping by from PYHO. :)

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  21. I had an 8 month old when I got pregnant with my second. On purpose. Seriously. I obviously had no clue what I was in for. :)
    But, now that they're 14 and 15, it's great. :)
    When they were newborn and 1 or 1 and 2, not so much. I was ready for a padded room.
    However, there was a party when we were out of bottles, car seats and diapers for good!
    But, I am denying the fact that one year my oldest will be gone to college, and the next year my youngest will be. I can't even think of it. I tear up.
    I would have had 4 more kids...but, I guess BOTH spouses have to agree for that to happen. And your marriage to still be intact.
    Bummer.

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  22. Returning the favor from PYHO. Thanks for stopping by! What a great post! My unplanned surprise baby was the athlete who is turning 11 this July! You are so right when you say your plans might not be what God's plans are! To read y story about this check out My Halloween Surprise on my blog and it tells all about that time in my life. (By the way, I have a coach too! We have a lot in common!)

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  23. I was surprised by number 3 and I had much the same reaction. It took me a good six months into the pregnancy to finally come on board with the idea of a third baby and now he's seven months old and, of course, our house just wouldn't be the same without him.

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  24. Love your blog and outlook on motherhood!

    My first was a complete surprise. I had the same reaction as you. Now he's twelve and a wonderful young man!

    So glad I found you through UBP11! A huge fan now!

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  25. All of mine were surprises. My husband and I joke about how silly it would be to actually be prepared for a baby.

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