We are expecting a baby in June! A baby we’ve hoped and cried and prayed for many, many times.
Chase cannot wait to be a big brother. (Once again our sweet Sadie is clueless.) We do not know the sex of the baby and are not planning to find out but Chase is 100 percent convinced this baby is a boy. And, according to Chase, the baby’s name will be Thomas the Train. Choo choo!
I am currently 19 weeks pregnant and while I would’ve loved to have shared our news weeks ago, I’ve felt incredibly scared, apprehensive, protective and anxious throughout this pregnancy. After a wonderful 18-week appointment last week, I felt myself exhale for the first time after what’s felt like a four month rollercoaster of emotions ranging from intense hope, joy and elation to fear and overwhelming anxiety.
But now, at four months pregnant, we’ve seen our baby many times. Heard its strong heartbeat many times. Seen our baby kicking, punching and dancing up a storm many times. I still find myself wondering when this pregnancy will feel 100 percent real. Perhaps it won’t feel real until the very moment I’ve hoped and prayed for: The moment when I get to hold this precious baby in my arms.
As I share this news, my heart is so full and so incredibly grateful. It’s filled with all the joy that comes along with expecting a baby – a baby we’ve deeply longed and prayed intently for – but it’s also so acutely aware that the baby we’ve seen dancing around during our ultrasounds wouldn’t be growing in my belly right now if we had the two babies we lost and loved with all of our hearts.
I cannot wait to wrap this little one up in my arms in June and fall even more in love with the incredible life growing in my belly right now.
Thank you so much for all of the love, support and prayers you’ve sent our way. We’ve felt all of them and we are so incredibly grateful.
***
There is a huge part of my heart that shares this news that is so incredibly aware of how it likely affects those of you who may be struggling with infertility, a recent loss and an ache and longing for a baby that is currently unfulfilled. Every pregnancy or birth announcement I read following our two miscarriages over the past year – especially those that overlapped our due dates or came after our due dates – felt like such a poignant reminder of what I was missing, what I lost and what I wanted so strongly deep within my heart. I know firsthand there’s nothing anyone can say to take away the ache you feel, your sadness and your desire for a child, whether its your first or your fifth, but I just want to recognize you, send you whatever kind of comfort and love I possibly can and tell you that my heart is with you.
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Congratulations!!! So very happy for you all! I’m due with my second just 3 weeks before you! 🙂
Beyond happy and excited for you and your family, Julie! 🙂
I’m so so happy for you and your family! I hope all stays well and we get to see your baby bump grow in your next posts 🙂
HI Julie, I’m incredibly happy for you. I, too, had a miscarriage and dealt with infertility. God bless you and your precious bundle of joy.
I was SO happy to see this this morning! I’m thrilled for you and your family! What a wonderful blessing 🙂 I really appreciate you sharing so much of your journey with us in all of this – as a woman who hopes to be pregnant someday, you’ve really helped me understand that sometimes the road is filled with twists and turns you never expected or wanted, which I think gets left out of the sanitized version of what it takes to create a family a lot of the time. Your honesty has been eye-opening and very appreciated. Congratulations!
I am so happy for you for your sweet family Julie!!! Totally brought tears to my eyes!!
Julie congratulations!!! I’ve been waiting for you to post happy news like this! (From experience) Pregnancy after loss is such a roller coaster but I believe This new addition will bring your family smiles and healing ?
Oh happy day! I am ecstatic to hear this fabulous news. Congratulations to all of you! Can’t wait to meet the newest addition.
I am so incredibly happy for your family!
Oh My Gosh! Congratulations Julie!!! I’m so happy for you! I totally understand why you wanted to wait! (I really do. I struggled with infertility too before having our twins Zoe and Zeke!) I’m just SOOOO thrilled for you!!! Yay! Yay!!!!
Congratulations!!
Julie,
I am so thrilled for you and your family! You deserve all the happiness. I loved following your pregnancy journey with Chase and I am hoping you are planning to document it again?
CONGRATS!
Congratulations!!
Congrats Julie! I’m so happy for yall! Been following for about 5 years now and reading your blog is one of the first things I do to start my day. When I opened Instgram, your post popped up immediately and I literally screamed “yay!’ Prayer is powerful!
ps – When you mentioned Chiptole in your post yesterday, I thought to myself, “I hope Julie is pregnant!!!” I remember you loved it so much when you were pregnant with Chase 🙂
SO much congrats to you & your family on this blessing! Also wanted to say thank you for recognizing the range of emotions that might be triggered by this announcement. I am recovering from a miscarriage, and it’s often a lonely place, but it helps to know that it is a shared grief. Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!!
xoxo
eeeeeek! So happy for you all.
Oh my goodness, I almost burst into tears when I saw this post! I’m so so so happy for you, and after reading your blog, I have been hoping SO much for Chase to become a big brother! Have a WONDERFUL second half of your pregnancy, and I can’t wait to read all about it!
Julie I’m so so happy for you! I have followed along with your struggles and my heart broke for you each time, although reading about your journey was deeply comforting at the same time as we had our first pregnancy and miscarriage last year. Thank you for your sensitivity and compassion to those who still struggle. We recently found out we are expecting again and at 8 weeks it is a very nervous and anxious time for me. My first ultrasound is today and I’m praying for a heart beat and a little blob on the screen. Your story gives me hope that these things do in fact work out in the end and that rainbows and miracles do come true. I wish you all the best through the rest of your pregnancy and will pray for your healthy baby.
So so happy for you! And Thomas the Train- cracked up at that!
Congratulations!! I’m so happy for your exciting news!
SO SO SO happy for you and your family. You enjoy being pregnant, I know I loved it!! 🙂
Oh Julie, I’m so so happy for you!
So so so happy for you and your family. I had a feeling you were!!!!! Congrats!
YAY! YAY! A thousand times yay 🙂 Congratulations, Julie, this is such wonderful and blessed news.
Congratulations!!!!!
SO, so so happy for you!
So Happy to see this and was hoping to see a post like this soon for your family! Congratulations! 🙂
Julie/Ryan:
This news made my heart SOAR WITH HAPPINESS FOR YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!! So very thrilled to hear this incredible news!
I am so happy for you guys! Congratulations! ❤
Congratulations! Such happy news!
Congratulations!! I am so happy for you! I have been a reader for years since my brother-in-law went to college with your sister and told me I’d love your blog since we have a lot of common interests. You even inspired me to start my own blog about traveling! I cannot imagine how hard this year has been for you so I’m thrilled at your wonderful news. I’ll be hoping and praying that the next few months go smoothly for you and that you’ll be greeted by your healthy baby this summer!
Congratulations Julie! I am so happy for you and your family!!
SO happy for you and your family, Julie!
Congratulations! So much love to you and your little fam!
My day is made with this happy news!!! Very many congratulations to you and your lovely family.
This is might sound weird but I have been reading your blog since 2014 and previously won a Celestial Tea giveaway year back. Anyway I have been hooked to the blog since 2014 and I have been waiting for this post for about 2 months now. Everyday I would pull up the blog and hope to see your baby announcement. Something in me just knew it was right around the corner. I am so happy for you and amazed at your strength and positive attitude towards your recent fertility struggles. You inspire me to be a better momma. CONGRATS!
This news makes me so happy! I’m a long time reader and just want to say I’m so grateful that you have shared your experiences with us. My first pregnancy/miscarriage coincided with your second and now I am pregnant and due in July! I know it must have been tough to put your emotions out there but It was so comforting to know I was not alone. Again so happy for you and your family!!
I am so excited for you! Every day you posted I would wonder if this would be the day you would have news like this for us readers – I absolutely get it! We had just started telling people when we had our loss at 13 weeks – un-telling stinks! I wish you guys an easy, carefree second 1/2! Our kids are slightly less than 3 years apart – it makes it interesting!
So happy for you , Ryan, Chase and Miss Sadie. Have sent many prayers your way. Many more coming your way.
So happy for you! I teared up a little reading this. I’m due in June with my second as well, so I look forward to following along with you. Wishing you a happy, healthy and smooth rest of your pregnancy!
I have been waiting for this post!! I am so beyond happy for you!
I’m so so so happy for you guys!! I kept hoping that we would see a baby post! I’m actually due with my first about a month after you, and I reference your pregnancy posts (when you were pregnant with chase) all the time! You are an amazing mom and you have a huge community out here that can’t wait to see that little baby! Congrats!
Amazing!
Congrats!! I was so happy to read this announcement! I am currently pregnant with my first, a few weeks ahead of you! (Due May 24). It’s been exciting times for us! We just found out 2 weeks ago that she’s a girl! Congrats again!!
Such exciting news!! Congratulations and you’ll be in our prayers for a healthy baby and mama!! Thanks for letting us in on your journey!!
YESSSSSSSSS!!!!! Come on Jesus! This makes me smile BIG for you!!!!!!
So happy for you and your family!! This is such great news to hear. Congratulations 🙂
Congratulations – it has been amazing following your journey, the good and the bad. When you had the flu a few weeks back, I wondered if you might actually be pregnant. Totally understand why you waited so long to tell the “world”. Hope you will document again – when I was pregnant in 2016 reading your old posts was very informative to try and understand what I was experiencing and what was coming next. Many blessings!
Congrats! God Bless