My favorite picture! I wish you could see his face a bit more clearly because I love the way he's looking at me here. <3

We're having baby #3!

I had so much fun announcing it to Mark this time because baby #3 was a surprise!

We were planning to try for another baby this year, but not until LATER this year. I guess God has other plans for our family and that's okay with us! We do natural family planning, and its actually worked really well for us up to this point! Both of the girls were "planned" so as far as their pregnancy announcements went, we were both totally anticipating it happening and Mark was excited but not surprised when I told him about the positive tests. 

Since we weren't exactly "planning" on getting pregnant when we did I knew Mark would actually be surprised when I told him this time so I wanted to do something fun!

The morning I took the test, my sister Erin and I had already planned to take pictures of our kids that afternoon. I actually decided to go ahead and take a test that morning, just in case, so I could do something fun at our little photo shoot. Initially I wasn't going to take the test because I didn't think I was pregnant! My cycles had been off since I had run the Marathon and 50k at the end of the year (hence where the natural family planning might have "failed" us!) and I was late the month before too so I thought it was going to be the same thing this time. Thankfully I happened to have a test so, took one just in case! I couldn't believe it when I saw the positive "+" in the window.

I decided to casually text Mark and remind him that I was taking pictures that afternoon and ask him if he thought he could swing by after work to jump in a few pictures.  (It was Friday and he'd be getting off early, already be wearing jeans, and the park was super close to his office!) I was surprised when he said yes without me having to coax him into it! I asked him what he wore to work because I was going to grab a shirt to match what the girls and I were wearing but he was already wearing a white shirt! 

After we took pictures of our beautiful children ; )

I told Erin about our news and asked for her help pulling off my surprise.

Erin has the sweetest little boy Blake, who she had after 7 years of infertility, and she's always been so genuinely happy for us when we've gotten pregnant. I'm so thankful for her love and selflessness through the journey she's been on, and also for her handsome babe! 

She was actually the one that brought up the subject that day just as I was getting ready to tell her... She said "When you get pregnant with your 3rd we should do another photo shoot with..." just as I was pulling the pregnancy test out of my bag. Haha. Sisters. <3

 We wrote something fun on the chalkboard and let the kids play until Mark texted that he was at the park. When he saw the sign he laughed and kept saying... "Is this for real?" 

So much fun surprising him and catching his reaction on camera. 

We then told the girls because they didn't know what I had written on the board or why I asked them to show it to daddy! I just told them it was a special message because I wanted Mark to be able to see their reactions to having a new baby. : ) Reaghan was excited but Lilly was confused and kept saying "Baby no come out yet?!"

I'm 15 weeks today.

Due October 19th!

We've seen baby twice in ultrasounds and so far he or she looks healthy and strong.

I'm finally starting to feel more like a normal person again and hope to write about my experience with my 3rd hyperemesis/severe morning sickness pregnancy sometime soon!

We are so grateful for baby #3 and excited to see our family grow this year. 

25 Week Update!

This past Saturday the babe in my belly turned 21 weeks! Yay! 1/2 way there. :)

This mama is so ready to meet her little girl. I am trying to be patient but it is getting harder and harder! 

I feel great during the day, but as night time rolls around and I settle in for another night of restless sleep, I feel exhausted and uncomfortable and ready to have this baby! I know that I won't be getting any extra sleep once she is here but at least I will be holding her in my arms and not just staring out into the darkness!

Last night I was up late with intense back cramps and occasional contractions. I was hoping they would continue to progress into time-able contractions but unfortunately they started fading away all together around 4am.

As Mark left for work this morning, I was teary eyed and frustrated. I had let him sleep through my cramping and contractions last night in case it did turn in to active labor (no need for both of us to not get any sleep) so he asked me what was wrong. I told him I was upset that we still had no baby and weren't any closer to having a baby today even after my body seemed like it was preparing for it last night, and that I was ready for Reaghan to be here! I think he chuckled a little at my emotional response and kissed be goodbye - encouraging me that we are just now at her due date and that we just need to be patient. 

He's right. God knows the exact moment Reaghan will take her first breath in this world and we just need to rest in His plan! 

So Happy 40 weeks little girl! Tomorrow is your official due date and another Dr's appointment! We will see what they have to say. 

Labor did not start on Labor Day.

Sad Face.

We sure thought it would be fun. 

I went on a walk with Mark's family and swam in the pool with my family.

Still nothing.

I actually felt great yesterday! No cramping, Braxton Hicks, sore hips or anything.

Oh well.

As of today I am 38 weeks+6 days. Thursday will be 39 weeks and another doctors appointment.

Each day is a mystery wondering when, when, when?!?!

So this happened today:

It's official people - Reaghan is full term today and we are getting ever so close to her arrival!

I am now at the "Go to the Dr's every week" stage. So I went last week and they said I was 1 1/2 cm dilated and 60% effaced, and when I went today they said I was 3cm dilated! We are progressing right along! I've definitely been "crampy" the last couple of weeks, and maybe felt a few of those things they call "Braxton Hicks" contractions, but honestly its mostly just back ache and occasional cramps. 

Our hospital bags are almost completely packed - one or two more things to throw in there, we have the carseat installed in the car, we took our hospital tour this past Monday, so we are pretty much ready for little miss to come whenever she feels like it. I am working on getting everything at home in order - cleaning, laundry, groceries, etc. so there is nothing to stress about.

I'm feeling a bit reminiscent so I would just like to take a moment and look back at my very first "Pregnancy Picture". This is me, back in January, about 6 weeks pregnant. At that time I could only imagine what my belly would look like when I was 9 months pregnant!

And now back to present day:

hehe - a big change! 

 I love every pound I've put on carrying my precious baby.

Here's to the next 3 weeks and waiting anxiously for her arrival!

We've known ever since finding out that we were having a girl that her first name would be Reaghan. We definitely weren't trying to keep it a secret, and if you had asked us in person we would have told you right away! But we were hesitant to put it down in writing anywhere because we weren't quite sure about how to spell it. We finally settled on adding the "h" to the name this past week. Mark was iffy on it at first because he said the poor child will never find a souvenir that has her name on it spelled the right way! But we like the "h" because I also spell my name with an "h" so it is our little way of connecting. : ) We still have 8 weeks left though, so who knows, its been such a back and forth that it could change! But for now, we're going with the "h"! Her middle name was also a struggle! I've decided that I love the idea of including family names for my children's middle names! We paired Reaghan with so many first and middle names of females in our family and after a lot of consideration decided to give her the middle name Eileen which happens to be my mom and my mom's mom's middle name. So there you have it. Our little girl, who will be arriving in only 8 weeks, will be named

~Reaghan Eileen Poindexter~

We are entering the final stretch of the pregnancy and still have lots to do to prepare for Reaghan. First up on our list - choosing a pediatrician. We have a prenatal interview this afternoon with one office and then a meet and greet tomorrow with another. Call me a crazy first time mama, but I already have a list of questions printed out that I want to ask! Realizing the responsibility I have to ensure the health and well being of another human is a bit overwhelming and something we are taking very seriously as we enter into this new world of being parents. Th

We've made it to 29 weeks and we're doing great! Look at how big my belly is getting! 

I got the results of my glucose test and my anemia screening last week - passed with flying colors!

I also started talking to the midwife about the birth plan. I am hoping to have a complete physiological birth, meaning no pain medications! I am delivering in hospital, so I have the option of medication, but a midwife will be delivering the baby so will hopefully be more supportive of letting my labor take its natural course and not putting me on a time limits. Of course this is all "planning" and since this is my first I'm trying to remind myself that I have no idea what I'm getting myself into and prepare for things not going exactly as I dreamed.

I seriously have been craving any and all fruits I can get my hands on. Plums, peaches, pears, grapes, melons, berries ANYTHING! I had to hold myself back at the grocery store going through the produce aisle - there is only so much fruit you can physically eat before it goes bad and my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach as I walked through.  Out of all the fruit I want to eat - nothing compares to the juicy deliciousness of WATERMELON! 

I had my glucose test yesterday but I don't get the results for another day or so. I've been feeling really good so I think everything should be fine, and then I have another check up next week to check baby's heart beat and start checking position! 

We also started on the nursery this past weekend:

This is pretty much our before well, our before after we took down the full size guest bed that we had in there. The crib pieces you see leaning up against the wall are part of the crib that I slept in when I was a baby. We were hoping to be able to put it back together to use for our little girl, but unfortunately not all of the pieces were there. 

Just a a shot of the other wall. We are leaving the room painted this teal beach color and we are planning to accent it with grey and pink chevron curtains/bedding/etc.

In fact... I think I'll go look on Etsy some more right now. :)

I've been wanting to take some pictures next to my moms chalkboard for a while now to document my first pregnancy, unfortunately I was a little late actually starting it - 25 weeks in and I'm just now doing it! Ugh... it would've been fun to see me go from no belly to belly, but better late than never. And I've still got 15ish weeks left to photograph my growing baby! 

I forgot to post last weeks so I'm doing them both together today. :)

I was able to run 1 mile today with Piper for National Running Day! I could've gone for the second mile but it was pretty hot since we didn't go out until about 10:30 this morning. I'm gaining weight a little more steadily now so I want to make sure it is healthy weight :) and since I'm planning a natural birth I almost feel like I need to "train" for it. I want my body to be healthy and in good shape to endue the labor.

Our little lady is getting stronger and stronger every day - Mark is able to feel her kicks now, although she tends to shy away when he first puts his hand on my belly and it takes her a while to get used to his touch and start moving again. 

Some fun pregnancy symptoms I'm experiencing include bathroom wake up calls 3-4x a night and heartburn! I even keep some Tums at a drawer at work. :) 

Mark and I took a childbirth preparation class the month of May. For a few hours every Tuesday night we would go and watch birth videos, learn relaxation techniques and learn about what it means to be "dilated" and "effaced". It was fun! Of course I've been around babies and pregnancies my whole life - having 4 younger siblings, many younger cousins and having close relationships with ladies at church - so this information didn't come as a complete surprise to me, but it was fun to go and experience the class together as a couple. Mark's sister, who is due in July, also took the class with her husband so we enjoyed being there with them every week as well.

We've also started on the nursery, so hopefully I can start posting pictures of that soon!