13 weeks
I haven't been taking the monthly pregnancy pictures like I did with Levi. I keep forgetting. So, I figured I better hurry and take at least a few because the baby bump is rapidly growing. This week I am actually fifteen weeks. But, I thought I would go back a few weeks and give you a little pregnancy update. I think I will take a picture every trimester this time instead. If I can remember.
*I found out that I was pregnant on January 22. As we sat at the table that evening Joel mentioned how cool it was that we found out about our third little miracle on that day. And then it clicked. January 22. The day we found out Cora had cancer and checked her into the hospital. The day our world was rocked to the core. The day that started us down a journey of pain and heartache that we would never have dreamed would be part of our story. It was such a huge reminder to us that God understands our grief, even two years later. A reminder of God's great compassion and unfailing love towards us. Our awesome God cares about the little details of our lives, like dates that bring back a lot of painful memories. We could have found out the day before or the day after. What a blessing to be rejoicing because of new life on that day. That positive pregnancy test on January 22 is something I will never forget.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
Lamentations 3:32
*I am 15 weeks along. My official due date is September 24th. I have been feeling some of the normal yuckiness that pregnancy brings, but otherwise I have been feeling great. Very similar to my other two pregnancies. The past few weeks I have finally been getting my energy back. But I am sure with a busy little boy, being tired is just part of my normal life now. I'd better get used to it!
*We have never found out whether we were having a boy or girl...but we are thinking we might want to know this time. Joel wants to know for sure. I keep going back and forth thinking maybe I will regret finding out. I loved being surprised with the other two. I guess we still have time to decide...
We are so excited about this new little one that will be joining our family before we know it. I can't tell you what it feels like to think about having two of my children together in our home. It is surreal. With each family transition comes many emotions and of course some fears. So, we are trusting God once again to guide us each step of the way. I can't wait to share this new part of our journey with you!
posted by the mcclenahans @ 11:16 PM
64 Comments:
What a beautiful verse. Praise God for His faithfulness.
It helped my older child to adjust to be able to talk about "baby brother" and what he and "baby brother would do together. I think it made things easier for him to pre-bond.
You look so beautiful in this picture...you are simply glowing!
You look just fabulous and I keep praying for you daily! How ironic Jan. 22nd is...God is amazing. Here's to a great pregnancy for you and thanks for having us all along on the journey!
What a blessing! your exact due date is the same exact due date as me!
You look SO beautiful in this picture!! I can't even begin to imagine the full depth of fears that you face, but I'm SO thankful for your trust in God. I can imagine that even with that trust there are still so many moments of anger and doubt, but thankful that we're never asked for more than our best (even if it's terrible!) in that particular moment. Keep on keeping on, friend!! Thank you for continuing to share your journey!!!
so excited for you guys! you look adorable! i am due just 9 days before you with my 3rd baby as well. i think it would be fun for you guys to find out this time, but that is coming from someone who is too impatient to wait that long ;) in fact, we find out a week from today! God's blessings all over you with this new little miracle in your life. levi will be the BEST big brother!!!
Congratulations! I love to follow your blog, and what a happy post this is. We have four children. We didn't find out the gender with the first two, and pleased we had the surprise. Like you, we had a boy and a girl. With the third and fourth pregnancies, we thought it would be fun to find out, and so we did. They were both little boys. It was totally different to know. Sure the surprise was nice, but so was talking to my baby by name. I remember when we had Elijah, our fourth baby, I talked to him all through the labour. Somehow, it just felt special, just as special as a surprise. So, from someone who has tried it both ways, I would say either way is just as exciting! Keep well, and enjoy these special days. Love Beck xx
Our family recently learned we will be welcoming a new baby into our family December 1st.
For over 3 years we tried to have a baby. Finally my doctor put me on some fertility drugs and in 2009 I learned on my birthday we'd welcome our first baby. Things went horribly wrong and our son was born into heaven in October 2009.
Then for fourteen months we tried to have another. The past 3-4 months I wasn't on the medication that allowed us to become pregnant with Luke because it made me so very sick. I used OPKs also to get pregnant last time. My husband was very sick in December and was in the hospital quite a bit.
That new year's eve I spent most of the night praying as I'd done every night since Luke went to heaven. And I got this wonderful answer "2011 a year of miracles".
I only told my husband about the answer I got. Then we went to church that sunday and the pastor's theme for his sermon that day was "2011 a year of miracles". I told my friend about it the next day and she got quite and said she got an email and then she forwarded it to me and the subject? "2011 a year of miracles".
On March 29th we found out we're expecting a new baby due December 1st. Funny thing is when we got pregnant my husband wasn't even supposed to be home he was scheduled to be out of town on business!
It certainly is. My friend who has her two oldest in heaven (2 on earth) is expecting again and is due in June.
I am so thrilled for you and your family!
God's goodness brings me to tears so many times and this post was a time that did that. I am overwhelmed by HIs goodness in turing that date into a sweet day for you. I bet there was a wee bit of celebration in Heaven too :) Cora is gonna be a big sister twice!! That's very cool.
I'm right behind you in my pregnancy! We found out on February 8th and I'm due October 20th. I'm gonna enjoy being pregnant with you :)
Also, yeah... you look great!
CUTE :) you are exactly one week ahead of me :) praying God will bring these babies here healthy and happy in the fall!
What a great photo idea! I may have to steal it. I know 5 people born on Sept 24th, it's a good day!
What a wonderful God!
Continued prayers for health for you all.
so excited for your news!!!!!! and god has such wonderful timing on the day you found out - nice to have a HAPPY memory to put with that date now :)
Good Morning!! I am SO thrilled to be "doing this with you!" We are also having our third child, due September 29. Our son died last June of SIDS, so this has been a roller coaster for sure! We have not found out what we were having for the other 2, and for this baby we were on the fence. I think we wanted to "prepare his heart" in a way. Last weekend we decided that the absolute surprise and joy from the days they were born, literally the best moments of my life, were to precious. I can't rob myself of that! Praying for you daily!
Congratulations again. You look great! I am almost 28 weeks pregnant with our third child, and I often feel overwhelmed with a sense of God's blessing. We decided not to find out boy/girl with any of our children, but like your husband, my hubby really wanted to know. He decided to let me make the call, and some days I wish I had said YES! We'll know soon enough :) Take care.
You look great. And I love that you speak from your heart.
Carley
hi there,
i've been reading your blog for awhile. i have a 14 month old little girl and am also pregnant again and due on sept. 14! too bad we don't live in the same town! thanks for always being so honest and vulnerable. i really appreciate it. congratulations.
Congrats! What wonderful news! We are expecting our third little one right around the same time as you!
We are all excited to read about your journey & this 3rd miracle!
Glad you are feeling good!
Your little baby bump is so cute! I love God's timing, what a special surprise to get on this 01/22. We found out the gender with our first and kept it a surprise with our second. I am glad I got to experience it both ways. If we are blessed with #3 we are going to find out but have the ultrasound tech write it down for us to open in private. Then (stealing someone else's idea) we would do a gender reveal party and bake a cake dyed either pink or blue and frosted in white and then our family and friends would all find out at the same time when we cut into it.
Enjoy this amazing time!
Congratulations! How amazing about the day you found out you were pregnant! God is truly WONDERFUL! My husband & I weren't sure that we wanted to know with our second child, so we had the sonogram technician write it on a piece of paper & put it in an envelope. That way we could know when we wanted to, & eventually we did.
So excited for y'all! Very cute!
Praising the Lord for this news.
So excited for your growing family. I love the creative ways God shows us he is thinking about us... makes me feel loved. Congrats again!
Congratulations! You and I have followed the same trail of kids. We had our daughter in May 2008, our son in November 2009, and another daughter due August 11.
I rarely comment, but I love keeping up with your little guy! Many times I think, "I can totally relate." Especially when it comes to digging things out of his mouth!
This 3rd pregnancy is just FLYING by. It's an amazing time for sure.
I am soooooo happy for you! About the baby, and about the way you found out on that exact day. It makes something beautiful out of something tragic.
I found out the gender of each of my three babies as soon as I could - but I am impatient, and I don't like surprises. Like some of your other comments, I loved the feeling of early bonding, naming, preparing. It gave me lots of time to dream about the baby in more detail. But mostly I just couldn't wait, lol. I can't wait for you to find out either - when you are ready.
Looking forward to reading about your newest journey in motherhood...
Such wonderful news. I too am 15 weeks!! We found out on January 24th and I'm due sept 29th!! Here's hoping we both have an easy 5ish more months!
What a sweet post! It's so funny how you can follow a blog and feel like you live right down the road from someone! I wish that were true. I would come eat dirt with Levi:) Congratulations on your new blessing to be!!
Jess, you look adorable! We found out with both of our girls. Good luck. And I love the sweet little coincidence.
God is so good. May his blessings continue for all of you.
Isn't God's timing amazing? We have a 2-year old and a new baby on the way (due 10/31)! We found out the day my husband's grandma passed away...within minutes of finding out she had gone to heaven! Like you said...we could have found out the day before or after, but it was meant for us to find peace amongst sadness on that day!
Congratulations and blessings to you in your pregnancy!
Thanks for sharing! My birthday is September 21st. I love September, it is such a beautiful month!!
Congrats on your news and the new life that you have created.
I love reading your blog, Levi is getting so BIG!
Take Care!
Molly :)
Look at your baby bump growing. It's amazing to me how quickly the belly "pops" after the first. :) You look so cute!
God is so faithful. You are a tremendous reminder of that truth.
You look beautiful and glowing in this picture.
I say not to find out but we didn't with our daughter and LOVED the surprise. Maybe Joel can find out and keep it a secret from you.
Beautiful. Been following your blog for a couple months now and am moved to my knees by your story and what God has done. So excited for you and your family. I too, am one not to find out what we are having. My first two children, we didn't find out and the surprise what exactly what I wanted. We then lost one and a month later, we were expecting again. My husband and I went back and forth as to whether or not we would find out. We did......I wouldn't change a thing. For us, it didn't seem to take away or "spoil" the surprise and I so enjoyed calling her by her name.....Charlotte. Congratulations again and thank you for being so willing to share your heart.
I so very happy for you and Joel and little Levi too! God's timing is right - all the time - even when we least expect it.
Will be fun watching this little baby bump grow. Blessings!!
Jess,
I totally understand what you mean about God being so good and caring about the little details of our lives. We lost our first baby on December 3rd. I didn't think I could go through an anniversary of losing the baby - and God blessed us with a positive pregnancy test on December 2nd of the following year. What a blessing that was!
Congrats and you are in my prayers!
Tina
You have a lovely pregnancy glow and look fabulous :)
your legs stay little in your pregnancies. not fair.
you are beautiful!
Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you. I'm due about 6 weeks before you, and we decided against finding out the sex for the third time! I hope you continue to feel well!
We were surprised by our first two and found out with the third, and if we have another? Surprise, all the way. There is nothing sweeter than that moment. The moment that my husband leaned down to tell me whether it was a boy or a girl.
You look lovely! And what a special reminder that God remembers every day of our lives.
aaaah look at that little belly! you look so adorable!
With our first two boys, we found out the sex before they were born. With number three, I did not want to know but my husband did. So, what I (because I was the one enduring 9 months of pregnancy, figured I had the final say) decided to do, when we went in for the ultrasound, I took along an envelope. I had the technician write down the sex of the child and then seal it in the envelope. I came home and hid it in a place my husband would never find. Now, I had the option to know what it was, anytime I was ready. I did hold out though and made sure I packed the envelope in my hospital bag. After our third son was born, I opened the envelope and sure enough she had written 'boy' on it. My friends thought I was crazy for not opening the envelope. My husband drove me nuts. I finally told him I would give him 1 hour in the house and if he found the envelope, he could open it. I knew one couple that found out but did not tell another person. I know another couple that the husband found out but did not tell the wife, although I think she had a strong inkling what it was by his reaction to things, etc.
I read your blog all the time but rarely comment. I guess I am what they call a "lurker". Just wanted to say a BIG congratulations and thank you for sharing your story.
Dear Jess
We found out with our second baby. we wanted our daughter to know she was going to have a little brother or sister. Brother as it turned out. So in her head she had quite a while to adjust to the idea of a baby boy. It also helped people who so generously gave us so many things as it was all coloured, tailored, focused on a boy.
I was stunned when the scan person told me our son was a boy. For some reason, I had 'expected' another daughter. But after a nanosecond, I was excited and thrilled. After all, any baby is a gift from God.
As I said to people, some people are surprised at finding out the gender in the delivery room. Others are surprised to find out at the scan appointment. Where ever the surprise is, it is still a wonderful moment. To me, it was just sensible and practical to find out as soon as I could. And I have no regrets.
All the very, very best. I am so happy for your family.
My name is Andrea, I live in Delaware. I have found you via Etsy just before Cora passed. I cried with you... for you and Joel.
I was so happy for you both when Levi was on his way and born... more tears, but of joy!
And again teas of joy over the new baby.
I think you are an amazing mother, woman, sister, wife and friend to everyone who has the fortune of coming in contact with you.
You take my breath away with your sprite and how strong you are.
You dont know me from Adam, but I think of you often, and speak of you as a friend.
I have to say that you have given me a hope of something bigger then all of us, that I have never had before.
Thank you for letting me "know" you.
Congratulations!! I am so very excited for you & Joel. God is so good! If you can hold on one more day, September 25th is a wonderful day to bring new babies into the world...at least that's what my mom said.
As I read your post, it reminded me of how God gave Seth to Eve following the death of Abel. I don't know why, but I felt I should share that with you. I read once that if you offer to pray for someone, you shouldn't wait unitl you get home...that you should pray right then with that person...so here is the prayer that I am praying right now for you:
Lord, You are so good! You alone are the only one who knows the depth of pain this family has seen, for You have walked daily by their side. But You also know the joy they have experienced because You are the only that has given it to them. Lord, bless this new little baby that You are piecing together inside of Jess. May this child grow healthy and strong. Give Jess the energy she needs to tend to her family while she grows this precious miracle. Thank you, Jesus! Amen.
I totally got the shivers when you said about Jan 22nd being the same date you found out about Cora being ill.
Im so Happy for you both, I cant believe i'll be away in Vegas getting married when your due to have the bubba!! - argh im going to have to log onto the blog to check for an announcement! lol x
Yeah!! A preggo pic!! You are so cute when you are pregnant and I REALLY REALLY hope you follow through with finding out...please don't torture your loved ones :) haha. Love the chalk board and your perfectly Jess handwritten 13 weeks :) Love and hugs. Bring your cute belly to Colorado soon, K? Maybe you could pack Levi and Joel too :)
Congratulations on baby #3!!! And you look beautiful! I'm excited to see what you decide on finding out or not...we had one friend tell us it was a surprise either way :)
My prayer is that you have a wonderful pregnancy! Thanks so much for sharing & being vulnerable about the array of emotions...God is using your family is such an incomprehensible way.
I didn't find out what I was having with my first two, but with the third I was SO tempted. I went back and forth for weeks, because I really wanted to know, but I was afraid I would regret finding out. So I waited with number three as well, and I will never regret waiting! I've also loved finding out upon arrival. Congratulations to you all on Baby #3! What a blessing!
You are so beautiful! And if you do find out, just think, it's a surprise either way...just sooner rather than later. :)
We had the u/s tech write down the sex of our baby and put it in an envelope..then took it to a store where we asked the clerk to put either a "little brother" or "little sister" onesie in the bag..she did, then we had our families over for a BBQ and had our 2.5 year old open the bag and pull out the onesie..so everyone found out at the same time. It was more fun than finding out lying on a table with an u/s wand up you know where!
I remember when we bunked together at Meg's talking about more kids. And you were pregnant! HA! :)
Congratulations! I've cried and prayed over your blog several times. Thank you for sharing your life so honestly.
HOORAY! I have "known" you for a while now. I knew you even before I lost my son, Briar at 32 weeks in September. I found out in January that I am due September 23rd! So we are due very close :) And we are adopting from Ethiopia, so we will have another boy later next year. CONGRATS on your pregnancy!! So excited for you and your THIRD baby :)
I loved what you did with the monthly pictures when you were pregnant with Levi, and I was determined to do that with my pregnancy. That was #4 for me, and guess what - I didn't even get ONE picture!!! It was a nice thought though ;).
Thank you for sharing your story of God's providence. He doesn't do anything by coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. He is so compassionate and His mercies are new every morning. Praise His name!
Sorry, that^^ was from me, and I forgot to sign my husband out first ;)
You look lovely and so happy! It's great to keep a photo record of your pregnancy. Kids love to look back on how they grew in your belly:-)
Congratulations! That is fantastic news and I'm sure Levi will be an amazing big brother!
I've followed your blog for awhile and never commented. If you do find out here is a cute way a teacher and his wife revealed the gender of their baby. The ultrasound tech sealed the answer in an envelope which they took to a bakery. They made a pink cake. They had a party and revealed the news of a baby girl at a party for friends and family. Another friend took hers to a friend who will be making her cake.
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