Team Bruns Blog: Bruns: Party of 5

Now that I've broadcast our news to Facebook, I think the whole world knows. We are so excited to be having another baby and that this time we are thinking pink! For anyone who is interested, here's our journey the past several months.

Chris and I decided about a year ago that we definitely wanted to try for a third baby. We weren't always on the Party-of-5 bandwagon. In fact, we weren't ever certain how many kids we wanted. But, we just kind of let life happen and knew when the times were right for us. (As a quick and unnecessary aside, this is it for us. We're closing the doors after August!).

A couple days before Christmas (you know, when things are so calm and there's nothing on your to-do list #sarcasm), I thought I should take a pregnancy test. The truth is, I honestly did not think I was pregnant, but I was a couple days late. Not unusual. I'm usually pretty predictable, but it is not uncommon to have a weird month in there. (TMI?). So, I non-nonchalantly did my thing, perused Facebook, played some Candy Crush and looked down to see this:

My mouth literally dropped to the floor and I whispered, "oh. my. god." Even when you are trying to have a baby (no matter your first or fifth), there is definitely an element of WTF when you find out. You think your ready, but about 7,457 things fly through your head when you see those words:

After the initial shock, I considered making a nice little Christmas surprise for Chris, but I could NOT stand it. My heart was beating out of my chest! So, I cleaned off the pregnancy test, and threw it in a Christmas gift bag and ran upstairs (perks of working at home together). We both cried and were so happy!

Bliss lasted a bit. It was fun to tell close family at Christmas (even though it was SO early and not really my MO, but the no drinking thing is a dead giveaway for me). But, the first trimester ickys kicked in pretty quickly. Normal stuff like being run down and exhausted, but I was definitely the most nauseous this time. Not puking, but food was a huge enemy. I needed to eat to feel better, but did not want to eat anything but lettuce and three bites at that. For those of you who know me, I am NOT a dainty eater. I love food and a good meal. I think I would have been happy with chicken broth and lettuce.

I mustered my way through two work trips, keeping my secret as quiet as could be. I started sllllooooowly feeling more functional around 10 weeks, but it wasn't until 12 or 13 weeks that I really felt back to normal (and, I'm SO thankful for this. I know many women suffer through morning sickness well beyond the first trimester). At our 12 week appointment, we knew we were getting a genetic screen (blood test) to test for any abnormalities, but it also would tell us gender. To say we were curious was an understatement! I begged the sonogram tech to see if she could tell anything. She gave it a valiant effort, but baby's bottom was just too tiny (even though she was being super cooperative!).

Doctor said everything looked good and the results of the blood work would take a good 7-10 days. She advised me to expect it to take the full 10. So, I circled Thursday Feb 25 on my calendar as the first possible day. You can imagine my surprise when I saw my cell phone light up this Monday! I was on a conference call, on which I was presenting. I calmly interrupted myself midsentence and said "I need to take a call, guys. I'll be right back." (Yes, I was THAT guy). As soon as I heard the nurse's voice I said "Please tell me everything is ok!" She said, "everything is perfect!" We decided to have her email Chris the gender so he could tell me. I wrapped up my conference call and flew like lightning upstairs.

The rest is history, expect that I jumped up and down and cried my eyes out when he said, "It's a girl!". When I've told anyone recently that we are pregnant (or trying), the most popular question is "Do you hope it's a girl". It's a fair question! Here's the honest to goodness truth. I absolutely LOVE being a boy mom. I feel so comfortable in this role and truly love all the things that come with little boys. To have a third boy would have been an amazing and welcomed blessing. I would be lying, however, if I said I didn't want a girl. Not just because it would be a GIRL, but because it completely changes how I look at this our third (and probably final) pregnancy. I know how to do boy stuff. I would have coasted along knowing what to expect (as far as I knew) and having all the gear. Now I am sort of starting over (in a very good way). My nursery ideas have a whole new meaning. I have lots and lots of clothes shopping to do. And, names. Oh my goodness, names! So, we are beyond thrilled that we are having a girl, but that does not mean I did not want a boy :)