Babies 'R We

In case you're wondering where we've been for the past, oh, month or so, we have a simple explanation: over half of us (aka. 3 out of 5) are currently expectant mothers! This is obviously exciting news for all of the Albright clan, but it has meant we've needed to reduce our expectations for the time being. But we did want to do a special post just to let you all know about what's going on with whom, as well as share some of the exciting, fun, and ... well, interesting parts of these times. 

Sarah (currently at 38 weeks with baby boy)
Jill (currently at 24 weeks with baby boy)
Megan (currently at 17 weeks with ?)

What is your greatest fear/anxiety approaching delivery?

Jill: With this being my first full pregnancy, I have probably general fear because of the unknown. But my greatest fear is delivering early while my husband is still in his final exams for dental school, and being too much of a distraction to him.

Sarah: I'm worried that the delivery will not be as great or better than the last three. This little guy was breech for a long time and thoughts of having to schedule a delivery just because he was facing the wrong way was scary to me. But thankfully the Lord prodded him to turn, and so far things are going as planned for a normal delivery. 

Megan: I get really klutzy when I'm pregnant (like dropping things constantly and tripping over my feet all the time), so I'm always afraid I'm going to fall down the stairs. Thankfully I won't be dealing with any ice or snow during  the rest of my time (I hope). 

What foods do you crave?

Sarah: With this pregnancy, salads and egg sandwiches.

Megan: I'm with Sarah on the salads thing - and steak. Lots and lots of big juicy steaks. 

Jill: Rice (esp. fried rice) and fruits (especially strawberries). 

Any strange dreams that you can share?

Megan: I tend to have regular dreams about having the baby - usually in toddler form. Once I gave birth to a 2-year old-looking girl with really curly blond hair - that was when I was expecting my son (who still has no hair at age 2). 

Sarah: I do have lots of very vivid and realistic dreams whenever I'm pregnant. Most of them relate to having to go back and redoing a part of my life like high school or college (I usually want to wake up from those as quickly as I can). When I get to about 6 weeks away from delivery, I start having very real dreams about delivery and holding my baby in my arms and even what I imagine he'll look like. I surprise myself when I wake up at how disappointed I am that that dream didn't really take place as I'm anticipating getting through these events and enjoying the reward of holding that precious little one at the end!

Do you have a nickname or way you refer to your baby?

Jill: Since we're not sharing the name until he's born, we've referred to our baby as "Oscar."

Sarah: We've ended up calling ours "little guy" a lot - but we have had a name picked out for him for quite some time and have also used it a lot just between our family. The kids like to call him by his "possible name" and I love hearing it.

Megan: We're still at the awkward stage since we don't know what we're having yet - but I hate using the term "it." So right now we're just using "baby." If it's another boy, I have a feeling it's going to be another "buddy" just like the last one (and that name has still stuck). My husband says two "buddys" are fine. 

Favorite maternity products or recommendations?

Jill: I love the clothing from Motherhood Maternity - it seems to fit my body type the best. And using a body pillow has helped me to sleep much more comfortably. 

Megan: Old Navy Maternity stuff tends to fit me well - especially their pants (they're the only ones short enough for me). I also love my "belly bands" (that I've ordered off of Amazon in 3 colors so far). It takes me so long to grow into maternity stuff, that having the bands for the transition time really really helps. 

If you've lost a baby, how has that affected how you approach each pregnancy now? How does it affect how you talk to other women?

Sarah: We've miscarried two little ones - our 1st and our 4th. This is our 6th pregnancy, and the first six weeks of it were just as nerve-wracking as the first 6-8 weeks of our 1st. After coming to the realization with our first miscarriage that it could happen again to us (as God ordains), we were nervous with each pregnancy after that and frankly spent most of our first trimester in silence. By that I mean, we told family soon after we found out about our pregnancy but no one else. Even my husband and I didn't talk to each other much about the baby until after 3 appointments with the OB/GYN. Instead, we spent a lot of those first weeks praying together and asking family to pray and reminding ourselves of the truths we'd learned about our God's goodness. As the normal pregnancies progressed, we would soon forget our anxieties and spend the rest of our months praising God for his grace and His gift of this new child.

Jill: As the last two pregnancies were miscarriages, the approach to this pregnancy was one of fear and anxiety. It has been a great time of learning to completely trust the Lord, and know that He is in complete control of me, my life, and my child. His health, safety, and life are all in God's hand now, and will always be in the future.

Any questions you would love to do without during your pregnancy? 

Megan: With my first pregnancy, I found myself getting frustrated with having to answer the same 3 questions over and over again: 1) When are you due? 2) Do you know what you're having? 3) Do you have any names yet? I deliberated getting a t-shirt that said "August 15th, Boy, Don't know yet." But I came to realize that this was just everyone's way of showing interest in me and that they cared. I don't mind these questions at all now - I think the ones when you're NOT pregnant are a lot harder to deal with ("Are you going to have kids anytime?" "When will you have another baby?"). So I've tried to make sure to avoid asking those kinds of intimate questions to other people.

Sarah: I think the only comment that ever bothers me is when I still have 3-4 months left to go and someone says, "Wow, you must be ready to deliver any day!" To which I usually respond, "Well, I have quite a bit more to grow - 3 more MONTHS actually." In my mind, I'm probably thinking, 'I guess I really do look like as big as a house...I thought I just felt like it.'

What is your favorite way to relax during pregnancy?

Jill: Taking long showers, lounging on the couch, and working on sewing projects.

Sarah: I'll let the kids play at a friend's house, lie in my side position across my comfy bed, and play a game/read a book on my Kindle Fire. Sometimes, I will get myself some of my favorite tea which is, Republic of Tea's Honey and Ginseng green tea with a little extra honey...only when I'm not overheated.

Megan: My warm drinks that I've always gone to for comfort mostly disappear - as I lose all desire for them during pregnancy (it's so sad). Now that it's getting nice, I love to just sit outside on the deck in the sunshine with my eyes closed, sometimes listening to some quiet music on my iPod. 

How do you handle your other children while dealing with 'pregnancy' stuff, discomforts, etc.?

Megan: I'm sort of learning as I go, since this is my first time trying to balance pregnancy and toddler. Thankfully, Brenden has done really well at just playing in his room by himself for a while if I need a quick break or end up in the bathroom. I've put his gate up a number of times and he'll just dump his toys and books all over the place - and be perfectly happy doing it. Only once did I have to call my husband to come home, since I was so sick (and couldn't leave the bathroom) and Brenden had been in his room for over 2 hours!

Sarah: Handling the other children during a pregnancy has been tricky, and it might sound silly but I have to literally take it a day at a time. The first trimester brings such fatigue and sickness, but thankfully for me it's not every day and not for very long. So if one day is worse, I take up a friend or family member on their offer to watch the kids so I can get some extra sleep. If it's a fairly good day, I sleep during their nap(s) to get me through the rest of the day...then get to bed early so I'm ready for the next morning! Many have been gracious enough to take the kids for the day or the evening and I will usually take that time to accomplish more on my "to get ready for the baby" list or just sleep! Because of my husband's work schedule during this pregnancy, I have had the rare privilege of having him work from home and it has truly been a blessing! I believe his presence has made this pregnancy the easiest yet. I think the common denominator here is take help when it is offered. It has taken me a long time to humble myself and ask for help, but I have found that even if someone can just pray for my strength to get through THAT day, it is welcome help.