A Little Bit of Family News

Heads up, y’all. My kids have an announcement to make:

Yup, it’s true. Sometime in early October, Canaan will be promoted to Big Brother! The Ricci family train is awesome, but we decided that it needed a caboose. Plus, there was an extra seat at the dining room table that needed filled. And so here we are. 🙂

In anticipation of the many questions, let’s do a Q&A, shall we?

Q. When’s the due date?
A. We’re saying “early October”, which puts me around the end of the first trimester, currently. I’m not sharing my exact due date this time around because I’ve gone significantly overdue (at least a week) all three times. Feeling like a watched pot and getting pitying looks from far and wide is not fun when you’re tired and miserable and trying so hard to be patient (let alone convincing everyone around you to be patient…) Let’s just say that this is a proactive measure for my own mental health. 😉

Q. Are the kids excited?
A. As excited as I’ve ever seen them! They have been completely adorable about the whole thing, especially Canaan, who kisses and hugs my belly daily, and talks frequently about how cute “da baby” is. They’ll be 5, 7, and 9 when the baby is born, and although it isn’t the age spacing I envisioned many years ago, I think it’ll be fun and special in its own way. This baby will be doted on, no doubt about it.

Q. Was it planned?
A. None of your business. (Ha!) But since you’re all secretly wondering, I’ll tell you that yup it was! Canaan, our youngest, will be five this June. When he was born, our family didn’t feel complete, and yet in the years since we also haven’t felt like it was the right time to throw a baby into the mix. With job transitions, financial hardships, and moving (several times), the time wasn’t right. Last fall we finally decided to go for it, and got the positive pregnancy test a few months ago. Bliss and joy all around! (Plus, as my doctor remarked about the pregnancy, “you’re not actually that old!” lolol! I’m 33, so not quite ancient yet. Thanks, doc. Ha!)

Q. Are you insane?
A. Quite likely. (But let’s be honest, that happened three kids ago. Parenting ain’t for wimps, yo. And also, overpopulation is a myth, so chill out, haters, and take a deep breath – it’ll be okay.)

Q. Are you ready for the dummies who will say passive-aggressive things in the grocery store because they think they have the right to an opinion on your uterus?
A. Bring it. #feistyredhead #mamabear

Q. Are you feeling okay?
A. Yup, I’m VERY lucky to have straightforward, non-complicated pregnancies. Praying that the pattern repeats this time! No morning sickness (you can hate me for it, I get it), which I’m grateful for. Just needing to pee a bit more than usual, needing to eat more frequently (or else I get a bit nauseous), and Tired-with-a-capital-T. I’ve been falling asleep at 9pm most nights, in the middle of a book or TV show, which has been quite out of character for this night owl. All-in-all, easy-peasy. (The end of my pregnancies are usually much, much harder, so there’s that.)

Q. Pregnancy care and birth plans?
A. I have a midwife, who I met last week for the first time. I LOVE HER. Oh my gosh – we are a perfect match, and I was so relieved. She was so enthusiastic about my eating habits that before she handed me my info packet, she took out the standard-issue pamphlet of the Canada Food Guide, and replaced it with a handout that she made with real food, nutrient-dense info on healthy eating during pregnancy. We’re talking like “eat wild-caught fish, grass-fed meat, animal fats, lots of veggies… avoid industrial oils, refined grains, sugar, etc.” My real-foodie-heart was bursting. 🙂 As for our birthing plans, we are excitedly planning on a home birth, attended by our midwife.

Q. Are you finding out the gender ahead of time?
A. Yes, and I can’t wait!! We were surprised at birth with #1, found out via ultrasound with #2, were surprised at birth with #3. We figured we may as well keep the pattern, and find out via ultrasound with this one!

Q. Is this your last Ricci bambino?
A. That’s our plan, as far as these kinds of plans are able to be kept. 😉 As soon as we find out the gender, there will be a large decluttering of the multiple bins of baby clothes in our storage room, and baby gear to be given away once it’s no longer needed for this little one.

Q. Holy belly batman! Are you having twins?
A. I know, my bump popped pretty early! I was showing around seven weeks in form-fitting clothes. However, all of my friends with fourth babies (or more) say that it happened to them too. My belly is a pro at making space now, so it knew just what to do. (And for the record: baby bumps typically show earlier and earlier with subsequent pregnancies. And that’s a nope on the twin question.)

Okay, that’s all I’ve got. Any more questions? Ask away! I’m an open book. (On everything but my due date, haha!)

Thanks for sharing in our joy!