Rob and I are overjoyed to finally share the good news that our little family is growing. We've been bursting with excitement over here since early November and it has been so difficult to keep our little secret. Especially these past few weeks, when I've had to get creative with my wardrobe. Now that I'm 14 weeks along, it seems like the perfect time to share the news with the world (or at least with our little corner of the world). Baby Gavin is expected to arrive on July 10, 2017.
Rob and I love a good surprise and we've decided not to find out the baby's sex until it arrives. Although I'm sure we will have lots of predictions from family, friends, and readers of the blog in the coming months.
We plan to use the spare bedroom in our little rental house as the nursery and Rob and I keep getting goosebumps every time we refer to “the baby's room.”
We've cued a few people in and they often ask how I've been feeling. I can honestly say that I think I fared better than most women in their first trimester, but it hasn't exactly been easy. Nausea and exhaustion became my unwelcome companions for the past 7 weeks and I ate a steady diet of all things carbohydrate during that time. Vegetables and other nutritious foods haven't exactly been my friends.
Fortunately, my morning sickness was best described as “evening sickness.” A light, slowly eaten breakfast of cheese and crackers helped me start my days on the right foot and as long as I kept some food in my stomach during the school day, I was functional. The real discomfort always arrived in the evenings. Which is exactly how I would want it. Thankfully, the nausea didn't have much of an impact on my classroom or students.
In the past week, I have begun to notice a change in how I feel. I'm still exhausted at night and can't seem to crawl into bed early enough, but I've been blessed with an occasional break from the nausea. And I've begun to experiment with eating vegetables again. We ate tacos for dinner four times in one week and this past weekend Rob and I actually went to see a movie. I relished every single bite of buttery popcorn. I'm hopeful that things are finally beginning to turn around.
Thankfully, Rob has been such a wonderful and supportive husband every step of the way. I've pretty much been down for the count over the past several weeks and Rob has been incredibly sweet. He does virtually all of the cooking and cleaning, will happily run to the store if there is something that sounds appetizing that we don't currently have in the house, sits by my side if he knows I'm sick, and has been reading What to Expect When You're Expecting right along with me.
The big question that has been on both of our minds has been how we will continue to juggle everything when the baby arrives. This first trimester has served as a bit of a test run. I've had just enough energy to teach part time and write an occasional blog post. It is my sincere intent to keep teaching, blogging, sharing, and pursuing all of my current projects after the baby arrives. I plan to scale back a bit in each area to make room in my life for motherhood and our little peanut.
In the meantime, Rob and I are enjoying this time of anticipation as we prepare for our family to grow. We can't wait to share the journey with you.
Thank you to the incredibly talented Ania from Lulu & Lula Photography for capturing such beautiful images.
So happy and excited for you. So much fun in store for all of you.
Thanks! Yeah, we have a lot of work ahead.
Congratulations! I’m so excited for you! You look absolutely beautiful and the two of you look like you couldn’t be happier despite your challenges in the first trimester. Looking forward to seeing many updates! Blessings to the THREE of you!
Thank you so much Kim! We are very excited for this next chapter in our lives :)
What wonderful news!!! My little guy, Gavin, was born on July 9th. Many congrats to both of you! I’m positive you will find the right balance for your family and be fantastic parents!
July 9th is also my birthday so definitely a great day to have a baby!
Stacey, I love that your little Gavin was born so close to our due date! I still remember when we had lunch with you after the engagement and you mentioned that you had a son named Gavin. It just seems fitting!
Yaaaay!! Congrats to you guys.
Babies are a blessing.
Thank you Corrie!
Congratulations!!! You *must* check out Modern Natural Baby in Ferndale. They have AMAZING staff and the most wonderful baby & kid things! You can try on all kinds of baby carriers to see which might be the best for you. They also have an amazing cloth diaper section. AND they have classes on baby wearing and cloth diapering! I was scared of both, but now I can’t imagine life with out them!
That is SUCH great advice! I’m not sure yet if we will do cloth or disposable diapers, but I definitely want to consider cloth. It’s nice to know that you were scared of it too and then it became a way of life!
Congratulations Maria and Rob=- July 10th is a fabulous day- my son shares that same B-day. I laughed about the tacos- only because for me it was bean burritos with extra cheese. Enjoy every moment with your little one- before you know it he/she will be all grown up.
Mmmm… bean and cheese burritos sound so good right now (even though I have a bit of a stomach ache!) Thank you so much for the well wishes!
This is the best news EVER! I am thrilled for you and Rob! What an absolute blessing! I’m here for any support you need. I can’t wait for this baby! Woohoo! xoxo
I KNEW you would be excited! Thank you so much, sweet friend!
Congratulations! What a lucky little person – you will be amazing parents!
Thank you so much Debbie!
Congratulations! I am so excited for you both!
Thank you so much Lauren! We are also very excited!
Congratulations! I am so excited for you two! We did not find out the sex of our first baby and it truly is the best surprise. Lots of prayers coming your way!
Thank you so much Mary! We greatly appreciate all of the prayers!
Such wonderful news!!! Babies are an incredible gift and your life will never be the same (in a hard but very good way!). Congratulations!
Thank you Haylee! It’s hard to wrap our heads around all of the changes coming our way, but we are very excited!
Congratulations to both of you! I discovered your blog through Stitch Fix and overtime you both feel like old friends! You are both smart, sweet, kind and debt free — you are ready for this next adventure and I bet you’ll be great parents. So excited to follow your journey. ❤️
Oh Nancy, thank you so much for your incredibly sweet and supportive comment. We have been working hard to lay a solid foundation for our children and we really hope that we can rise to the challenge of being good parents!
Congrats! I had a feeling it was coming (I think I got a vibe in one of your post a while back) be grateful for your night sickness….mine was a 7:45am all the time sickness until I gave birth – in less I could sleep in. Thank goodness I had an administrator and staff who supported me and allowed me to come struggling in when I could.
July babies are wonderful! Especially when you don’t have to deal with a newborn/young infant in this Michigan weather! I have a July 1st son…he’s 18 months old. And honestly, letting the gender be a surprise is the very best thing! In fact, I didn’t even have the doctor upon delivery tell me!! I told the doctor and the nurses that I wanted MY HUSBAND to tell me who our child was. On top of it, my husband was to announce our child’s name to me – then I would know who God blessed us with. I’ll never forget when the doctor said “ok dad, you can look!” (I had an emergency c-section) and my husband proudly proclaimed “Joseph Robert is here!” I then knew God blessed me with a son.
We also told our families by announcing the name. My husband recorded it as he told them….the look on their face as they processed the name to mean boy is priceless.
Have you told your students?! Would love to see a post about that! I’ll always cherish the moment when I pulled out a bunch of baby stuff from a bag and asked my students why I’d have such things. 💜
Hi Karen and thank you so much for your incredibly sweet comment! I cannot imagine having such intense morning sickness.
I love that your husband announced the sex of your child by introducing him to you. That is just so precious!
I told my students on the same day that we announced it on the blog because I wanted them to hear it from me directly. I do have plans to blog about it on Kinder Craze – hopefully very soon!
Congrats!!! I love that you’re not finding out the sex! We didn’t with our son who just turned one and it was the absolute best. Coolest surprise ever! Best of luck to you and Rob and hope you continue to feel well!
Thanks! We’re pretty excited to wait for the surprise. And it is kind of fun to work on picking out a boy name and a girl name while we wait.
Congratulations! We just welcomed our first baby on August 30th and kept the sex a surprise, it was the most exciting time and it was what kept me motivated to keep pushing for two hours! (I’m currently reading your blog to keep me occupied during my evening pumping session while baby sleeps!). We delivered at Henry Ford West Bloomfield with their midwives, I desperately wanted to have a natural birth and they were AWESOME! I loved the Ovia pregnancy app. Best of luck, it really is such an amazing experience for you guys as a couple!!
Oh, I forgot to mention, we also had a son and just like Karen, my husband handed me the baby and said “here is Christian Robert” and I knew we had a baby boy! We call him Ian for short! Hubby also recorded his first cry on his phone and it’s the most amazing sound, I often listen to it and every time I shed a few tears of pure joy!
Thank you so much for your very sweet comments and belated congratulations about the birth of your first child. One of the reasons I don’t want to know the sex is because I know I will need some extra motivation during labor. I love that your husband introduced your to your child. That is just so sweet!
Such wonderful news! You are both going to be wonderful parents! This is my first time commenting, but I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog and I appreciate how much attention to detail and effort you put into everything you write.
I’m also due with my first in July and cannot wait to follow along your journey as I experience my own. Best wishes to you both and of course, the little one!
Oh, yay, two Maria’s due in July! Thanks for the well-wishes and we hope your journey goes well, too!
Congrats! I am so happy for you.
Thanks, it’s brought us a lot of joy so far!
Congrats to you both! My husband and I just found out that I am expecting too! I’m due July28th! 😊 Hoping the sickness gets better for you. What an exciting next step in the journey!
Another July due date! We have a lot of those in the comments. Congratulations to you, too!
Congratulations — that’s wonderful news! :-)
Thanks very much!
Congratulations to you both! LOVE this amazing news!!
Yeah, we were pretty stoked, too, haha! Thanks!
Congratulations! I am thrilled for you and Rob!
Thank you! Thrilling is a good word for it, haha!
I had a baby last January & not finding out the sex of the baby was such a great thing. You get so excited to meet the baby and you have so many predictions, but there is nothing like the joy of meeting the baby and finally having the secret revealed. Stay strong at the end! There were moments where we actually debated in later ultrasounds to just find out the sex (it is so hard sometimes). Congrats!
Hi Amy and thank you for the encouragement! We already had the opportunity to find out the sex and I thought “wow, it’s already tempting for me to change my mind.” We will certainly try our best to stay strong!
Hooray! Congratulations. This is extra exciting because my husband and me are expecting our first child on July 1st (or so, of course!). I really hope that you blog about maternity clothes, preparing for baby, etc, as I know that I would love to read those posts. Hope your 2nd trimester is smooth sailing… and I really do look forward to watching your adventure!
Hi Emily and congratulations to you as well! I am so excited to hear that you are expecting as well. I already received my first Stitch Fix Maternity shipment and can’t wait to share photos in February. I’m thrilled to hear that you are looking forward to pregnancy content. If you ever have anything specific you would like us to share, let us know!
Congratulations! I can’t wait to meet your little one!
Thanks! We can’t wait either, haha!
Congratulations! Such an exciting time for you guys! Glad that you seem to be feeling better!
Thanks much! It’s definitely nicer for Maria to feel better.
Congratulations and exciting that you aren’t finding out, I could never keep a secret myself lol
Haha! We’re decent at it, but it will be a fun surprise. Thanks!
Congratulations! Excited to hear about your journey along the way!
Thank you! We think it will be pretty fun to write about, too.
Congrats! I’m due in July as well! (the 16th) and just announced on my blog too. This is such an exciting time :) I love that you’re waiting to find out the gender. I kind of wanted to but husband absolutely wanted to find out :-P We have our anatomy scan on March 3rd and I can’t wait. Good luck with everything!
-Allison
http://www.craftedlove.com
Hi Allison and congratulations! I read your blog post and oh my goodness it sounds like you had such a rough first trimester. I hope the rest of your pregnancy takes a turn for the better!
Congratulations! So excited for you guys!
Thank you Nikki!
I’m so happy for you! My children are 11 and 13 now . . . I don’t know how they grew up so fast, but I’ve loved every moment of it. Can’t wait to see how the blog evolves as your family evolves. Congratulations!
Thank you so much Angela! We are very excited for this new chapter in our lives.
So excited for you-finally got to read this! You are a woman after my own heart. I teach part time at a private school (only thing is I do not blog) and love Kinder! You were my first foray into reading blogs and gleaning from them. I have been at it for 27 years! We have two girls now married and on their own! We never found out the sex beforehand because my hubby said “there are too few TRUE wonderful surprises in life and this is one of them!” We loved it both times!!! Blessings to you both- love following ALL the blogs and websites!
Hi Laurie! Thank you so much for your very sweet comment. It is always fun to “meet” like-minded early elementary teachers! Your husband is SO right. There really are few true surprises in life and we are so excited to meet our future son or daughter. Thank you for the encouraging words and have a wonderful day!
If you ever do a conference in North Texas – I am in (and will bring along my colleagues- we love your stuff!). Blessings!
Now you’re just going to make me cry! Seriously, you are the SWEETEST!
Congrats!! So excited for you both!!
Congratulations!!! You look beautiful, Maria, and you both look so happy!!
Late to the party, but congrats! I just had my first child in November, and he arrived 3 weeks early – he’s 8 weeks now! But I, too, suffered more from evening sickness than morning. At least then I was home to lay on the couch and force food down just to get something in my system. Luckily, no actual puking. Other than that, and EXTREME swelling for the last 3 months, I thought I had an easy pregnancy. Good luck and hopefully you have it just as easy going forward.
A big congrats to you and your hubby!! I have 5 blessings and wouldn’t change it for the world. Having a baby is such a blessing! Enjoy every minute :)
Please allow me to add to the long list of congratulations :-) Having a child is the purest joy (I have two!), and mothering is hands-down the greatest adventure of my whole life. I’m a working mom, but everything else falls to the wayside when it comes to my kids – in the most gratifying, happiest way :-) Originally, I wasn’t always keen to have kids, but after I married my husband, from the moment our son was born, the entire universe literally re-aligned for me, and it has been such a blessing (even in the wee hours of the morning when nobody’s slept). Congratulations to all of you – cherish every moment :-)