“For this child we have prayed and the LORD has granted the desires of our heart.” Samuel 1:27
We are expecting our rainbow baby this September. God is so good. Jairo and I have prayed so much for the possibility to have another child to love and to hold. We are so thankful that our prayers have been answered and that our sweet baby is growing and is healthy. We are all so thrilled. Ashley is ecstatic with the idea of becoming a big sister. Baby Ducos is already loved beyond measure.
I am currently almost 20 weeks, so I wanted to share a first trimester round up before I am further into my second trimester.
Our family also wanted to say thank you for all your well wishes, prayers, love and beautiful comments and direct messages. Y’all are beyond awesome and kind. We are so thankful for this community.
So let’s jump into the deets!
How did you find out you were pregnant?
On Saturday January 9th, my period was a few days late. I had some cramping, bloating and just didn’t feel myself. We had a wedding that afternoon and I truly needed some Tylenol. Haha! Jairo asked me if I had taken a pregnancy test and I hadn’t. We looked at each other and I said “…you know what, lets take one, just to be safe.” I sat in our bathroom, waiting…. and there it was “PREGNANT”! We were stoked and in a bit of disbelief. We had been trying but not overthinking it like before. In our jammies with our bedheads, we rejoiced. We had breakfast with Ashley (she had no idea), got ready for our friends wedding and dropped her off at my parents house. It was so difficult not to blab, especially to my mom and dad. We were so happy and excited.
What prenatal do you take?
I take pinkStork Total Prenatal plus DHA. I really like that they are made with clean ingredients, smell pleasant and do not make me feel sick.
After our pregnancy loss last year due to Acrania, my OBGYN asked that I also take two fast melting tablets of Folate EZ melts. They taste like orange and quickly dissolve.
Was it hard to keep you pregnancy a secret?
YES! WE have a very close knit family. So for me it was really hard to not share the news and our excitement right away. Jairo was a lot better at keeping the secret and keeping me grounded to waiting until we were cleared. Also, the pandemic and not being as socially active helped a lot. It is so much easier to keep things quiet when you are at home and not around others as much.
Not being able to tell anyone for so many weeks, really made the moment we did share the news more meaningful.
What were your first pregnancy symptoms?
Truth be told, I did not have much if any morning sickness. I remember the one time I felt really sick, Ashley rushed to me in the bathroom to hold my hair. I kept telling her to go play and she refused. She said “… no mommy, your sick and I want to help you.” It was such a sweet moment.
However, during the first trimester, I did have a lot of cramping and bloating. I would also get a little car sick sometimes on the highway.
When did the bump arrive?
Around week 6 my stomach definitely started changing. It was like my body knew what was going on and the bump started making its appearance. As I eat and the day goes on, it was also more visible.
Were you scared to try again?
Absolutely! I remember September - November were very hard for us emotionally. We weren’t sure when we would be ready to try to conceive again. We knew we wanted to try but did not want to be on a schedule. I knew I was not going to calculate when I was ovulating etc.
Around November, Jairo and I had a conversation about where we both were mentally. At that moment we decided we were going to put it in Gods hands. Gods timing is perfect and it would happen whenever it was time. I do recall taking a test towards the end of the year and it being negative. I went to our bedroom, curled in our bed and cried a lot. It was hard. The holidays were hard. I wanted our angel baby back. I wanted to be months away from holding him or her. Our family, friends and support system truly helped get us through our fears.
We had a vacation in South Carolina in December that really helped us get our minds into perspective and disconnect. Little did we know, that I was already pregnant on the trip.
When were your ultrasounds?
I had huge anxiety throughout the whole first trimester. Getting ultrasounds really helped soothe me and my fears. I was very open to my OBGYN. I expressed my nervousness and he understood and was awesome about it. I had ultrasounds done at 7 weeks, 11 weeks and 13 weeks.
Did you have genetic testing done?
Yes. My OBGYN recommended it as the information is very helpful. I had blood drawn at around 10 weeks.
How did you guys tell Ashley that you were pregnant?
It was so hard to hide it from her. She kept saying that my belly was getting so big. We would just tell her “…yeah, mommy has been eating a lot.” Haha.
I was almost 13 weeks when we told her. We had received genetic testing results and had a few ultrasounds done. We felt it was good timing. We ordered a big sister coloring book and wrote her a message inside. We also purchased a frame and added a photo of the latest ultrasound. She was so very happy when she uncovered her eyes and saw it. Immediately she took the frame to her room and talked about her plans with the baby. Taking him/her to the beach, zoo, park, road trips, etc. It was so adorable.
We are so happy and excited to share this journey with you all!
Love,
Jessica