12 + 13 weeks | Baby #4 (Hidden Baby Chronicles)

12/30/16 | 12w6d

I never made time to post about week 12 and now I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow, so here goes my first combo post.





On Christmas Day, I was 12w1d and we finally told the kids our news. It was something we had been so excited to tell them and it seemed like they might already know, since we've definitely talked about the pregnancy around them PLENTY of times. Predictions: Truman would be seriously pumped, Cecelia would take some time to warm up to the idea, and Porter would be clueless. Ah, foreshadowing.

We opened gifts with our family of five on Christmas morning and spent a few hours putting together train tables, eating breakfast, and organizing new toys. Before I hopped in the shower, I asked Nate if we should do it and he said, 'Yep.'

I had been thinking of a fun way to tell them for weeks. I bought a sixth (!!) stocking a few weeks prior and put it in a Christmas bag. I wrote a little note from our Elf on the Shelf, Candy Cane Jane, and acted like I just saw it all of a sudden. 'Hey, Truman, what is this note?' I asked him.



He took over from there, reading the note out loud to his siblings. CCJ had him look on the desk for the next clue, where the stocking was waiting along with another note. Truman thought the stocking was for Henry, and kept reading the clue. When the elf mentioned that the big surprise would happen in July, Truman thought it was the elf's birthday. I was shocked that he hadn't already figured this out!

The elf had them sit on the couch so mom and dad could tell them the news, and Nate shot a video. Their reactions were seriously CLASSIC. You can watch the video, but Truman was jumping up and down, Cecelia just stared at me, and Porter kept saying, 'no' and hit me.


Telling the kids on Christmas Day from Julia H. on Vimeo.

Most excited little boy, authentic hug for his daddy after Truman found out the news<3


Cecelia eventually warmed up to the idea after she said she just didn't want 'it' to mess with her Shopkins. Then she said she wants it to be a girl and wants to name her 'Julie.' HA! Porter eventually chilled out and told a random neighbor, 'I'm going to be a brother!' later in the day. So apparently he kind of gets it. Truman has just been so stinking excited from the second he found out. He wanted to know if the grandparents already knew because he wanted to announce it to the world. The second thing he said was, 'I can't wait to tell my teacher!' He keeps saying that he can't wait for the baby to come, and he also wants a sister. In fact, he wants to name her Rose and is pretty adamant that this will be a girl. I think all of them will be just fine either way, but it's kind of cute that they want it to be a girl (and also, because I feel like it's a little lady, too).

Other tasks Truman has decided that he will manage as a big brother times three: he wants to read to her each night, get her dressed (!), give her a bottle, give her a pacifier, and sing her lullabies. I mean, seriously. He also nominated Cecelia to paint the baby's fingernails and told Porter that his job will be getting wipes and a new diaper for the baby. Porter is all over that one.

The kids will be 7, 5, and maybe 3 on the nose when this baby is born. It's going to be a wild ride and we are so excited!!!

Other happenings: I have not taken a nap all week which is major progress. I can eat without wanting to puke. I've been finding the heartbeat pretty easily a few times a week and the HR is now in the 160s. It's still the best sound in the entire world. Oh, and I'm for real showing. No seriously. I had to unbutton my pants when I was sitting at a hockey game for a few hours, I just couldn't handle the wait of my jeans anymore. My boobs are bigger and I'm sure I've gained a few pounds. The scale at Urgent Care said I was up four pounds but I did have my gigantic winter boots and huge sweater on, so I'm not counting that just yet. I've just started to miss running and alcohol but not THAT much. New Years Eve tomorrow night would be nice with a glass of wine but I'll survive, I suppose;)

We welcomed several visitors to our house this week for the holidays: my mom and dad, my brother, Jon and Brittany all came this week and they are leaving tomorrow. We let Truman tell my brother, who was the only one of the bunch that didn't know yet. He was shocked and excited, which seems to be par for the course right now!

I've been pretty tired this whole week but not tired enough to nap. I haven't slept the greatest at night either, mostly because of my darling Porter boy. He was awake from 2-4am last and so was I. I know I'll crash hard tonight but I don't want to waste time napping---a very good sign that the first trimester yuckiness is fading away.

We took our family pictures earlier this week, when I was technically 12w4d. The photographer just sent me some of our balloon pics and I can't quite pull the trigger on posting them yet! I had it in my head that I'd announce to social media next week, after I pass 13 weeks so I think I'll stick to that plan for now. I did just send a few messages to closer friends that should probably not find out on Facebook and Instagram.



This all seems so REAL all of a sudden. I have my first appointment in about 11 days and am really excited to see my old OB again. One of my friends just did the genetic testing for the first trimester, and all is well--no abnormalities. It does make me wish I would have done that test, too, just for the peace of mind. But I'm trying to stay positive and believe that this baby is going to be exactly who he or she is meant to be in our family.

I feel like there were more updates I wanted to share and now I can't remember. I just really cannot believe I'm having a fourth baby. It's starting to sink in and it's both CRAZY and feels completely right. Perhaps the next weekly update I do will be in real time on the blog. NUTS!