Surprise! Baby J!


husband and wife at gender reveal party celebrating baby girl

AHHHHH! The news is finally out and if you didn’t see this post already, Michael and I are THRILLED to be sharing that we are expecting a precious baby GIRL in October!!! My heart feels like it could explode. We’ve been keeping this pretty close to our chests up until now, so it’s an absolute joy to share it with the world finally.

Let me just start off by saying that GOD IS GOOD! Many of you know the road Michael and I have walked to start a family and while 2017 was plagued with a lot of disappointment, sadness, loss and grief, our 2018 has been a year of joy, celebration and gratitude. God has been so faithful to us and we couldn’t be more thankful for His provision. For those of yall who have walked with us the last couple of years and covered us in love and prayer, THANK YOU. We are so grateful for this community and now so excited to share the life of our little one with you.

So about this announcement… Michael and I found out the gender of baby last Wednesday (more on that below) and planned a little reveal with our families and a few close friends on Mother’s Day. As you’ve probably gathered by the photos, we had our parents shoot off these awesome confetti cannons that sprayed pink tissue paper everywhere. It was SO fun and truthfully, much of our family was very surprised because almost everyone thought we were having a boy! If you haven’t seen the video yet, head to my Instagram and check it out (on the BABY highlight reel). The reactions were priceless!!

Since sharing that first photo, I’ve been getting tons and tons of questions from everyone, so I wanted to answer some of those today and tell y’all more about where we’re at right now…

How far along am I?

I’m 18 weeks… almost halfway there already!

Due date?

October 18th, which happens to be my college roomie’s birthday and Michael’s parents’ anniversary. For the record, we’re crossing our fingers for the 14th – the day we met! 🙂

How have I been feeling?

Pretty good! I know a lot of women have a tough first trimester and luckily I was one of the fortunate ones. By far my biggest symptom was extreme exhaustion… like I’ve never even been close to feeling this tired before in my life kind of tired haha. I had a few headaches here and there and some nighttime nausea a few times a week but nothing horrible.

Showing yet?

Eh, depends on the day, what I’ve eaten and what I’m wearing haha. I’ve been wearing a lot of looser tops as I’ve just felt more “bloated” than anything else, but I would say in the last week or so, I’m starting to show a little more. I’m sure she won’t be hiding for much longer…

How did we decide when to tell family and friends?

Because of our past, we kept this news pretty private for a while. Michael and I found out when I was about 4 weeks along, had our first appointment at 7.5 weeks and told our families around 10 weeks. My doctor specializes in higher risk patients, many of whom have had multiple losses, so they actually have you come in weekly during the first trimester. It was so amazing to get to see baby every single week when we were early on and know that she was still okay. Once I was 12 weeks and through that first trimester, we shared with a few close friends as well.

All that being said, many people might be ready to share their news with friends and family much sooner than we did. There is no right or wrong answer here, you just have to decide what you’re comfortable with! It’s a very personal decision and completely up to you as the parents to make.

How did we tell our family?

For our immediate families, I got some small boxes and filled each one with a baby item (booties, rattle, onesie, hat, etc) and we had everyone open them together. They all knew right away when they saw those little items inside what was going on. It was simple and sweet and a really fun way to surprise them. Plus, I got to pick out some adorable baby things for this little project. 🙂

When did we find out the gender and how?

So we knew we wanted to find out the gender right away and did not intend on keeping it a secret. The more we talked about it, I really wanted to do some sort of fun reveal for our families but the two of us wanted to find out in a more private way ahead of time.

We had an appointment last week, where the ultrasound tech was able to very clearly determine the sex of the baby. I had an envelope that I had been bringing with me to our past few appointments and we had her write it down for us in there. This next part, which turned out SO perfect, was an idea from a friend actually (thanks, Whit)!

That same afternoon, I took our envelope to Nordstrom and picked out two different outfits. One that was very clearly for a little boy and one for a little girl. Here comes the fun part… I then went to the cashier and explained how I had the gender of our baby written down in this unopened envelope and wanted them to open it and wrap up the correct outfit for us. I brought my own gift bag and TONS of tissue paper for them to use as well.

Later that night, Michael and I sat down on our couch, in the comfort and privacy of our own home, and opened the gift. When he pulled out a pink onesie, we both looked at each other in shock. We were both convinced baby was a boy! It turned out so perfectly and I think we are both so pleased we found out this way. It was very fitting for who we are and gave us just the absolute sweetest moment of celebration together!

Do we have a name picked out?

We do! We’ve had a girl name for quite some time, so that was by far the easiest decision we had to make when finding out baby was a girl.

Any strange cravings?

I could be wrong on this, but I’m not sure I buy into the whole cravings thing haha. I mean, we’re all human and we all get cravings, so the fact that I want Mexican or pizza or ice cream one day doesn’t automatically make me think that’s because of pregnancy. We all do that! So, in short, no I’m not having any strange cravings. Every now and then something sounds really good and so I’ll eat that, but again, I think that’s a humanity thing not a pregnancy thing haha. I’ll let you know if I start craving pickles and ice cream or anything crazy.

Feeling baby move yet?

Amazingly enough, I think I felt the first little kicks on Mother’s Day, I kid you not! Before then I had felt some little “flutters” as many women call them, but on Sunday morning I felt a whole new sensation that was more like a small thump. It’s amazing and I can’t wait to feel her moving more and more as she continues to grow!

Overall, I’ve been super blessed with an easy pregnancy thus far! Baby girl is growing just as she should and all of our checkups have been great. I’m looking forward to sharing more about our journey and this new part of life on the blog these next few months and would love to know if there’s anything in particular you want to see or hear about. If so, please leave a comment below!

Thank you for celebrating this exciting announcement with us! Your continued prayers for a healthy pregnancy and our baby girl are so appreciated. We can’t wait for October…!

Gender Reveal Party Details

Who What Wear White Dress // Poof There It Is Confetti Cannons // Glitter Bites from Sarah’s Cake Shop // Glitter Party Co “Oh Baby” Toppers // Daydream Society Striped Paper Goods

Photography by Hannah Schweiss

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10 Comments

  1. I am so happy for you, and secretly praying for an Oct 18th baby 🙂

    Love, your college roomie 🙂

  2. I’m so very excited for you and your rainbow baby. I can’t wait to follow along as you continue down your pregnancy journey. Each of my pregnancies was amazing and wonderful and scary and exhausting, but truly the best. I hope yours is healthy and wonderful and gives you continued joy.
    I agree on the cravings. Mine were never weird cravings (because like you said people crave things all the time), but mine was always that things would taste like amazing and so much better than when I’m not pregnant. Fruit and pickles especially. Like normally with pickles they are ok and I’ll enjoy one and then I’m done, but when pregnant I don’t crave them, but when I do eat one it taste like the best thing on earth and I want to eat two or three. Isn’t pregnancy weird?
    Glad to hear you are well.
    Sarah

    1. Thank you so much, Sarah!!! Yes, pregnancy is crazy! The things happening to and inside your body/brain… it’s nuts!! Haha but I’m enjoying every minute until she gets here! 🙂 xx

  3. Loving everything about this! Especially all the joy in the photos at the end! Also wanted to say that I have always felt/thought the EXACT same thing about cravings!!! I just crave what I think sounds good which happens even when I’m not pregnant! Maybe the urge is just stringer bc I’m typically hungrier when pregnant?! Who knows but that made me laugh when I read it bc I’m the same way!

  4. I am beyond excited for y’all! Loved reading this post and I love how you two found out together first!!! And I love the Nordstrom idea! I’m so happy you’re feeling pretty good and I’ll continue to pray for a smooth pregnancy! God is GOOD!!!!!!!

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