Baby #4

    Somehow I have managed to not blog about our newest blessing until now!  Joey and I were beyond thrilled when we discovered that we were expecting baby #4 back in April!  I was a little worried and stressed at first to be expecting a baby right when I started graduate school, but I have been making it work. I believe God has a plan, and it will all work out that way it is supposed to.
      We learned at my first ultrasound that our little bundle is due December 21st, which also happens to be my birthday.  Talk about the best birthday present ever!  I have always hated having a birthday so close to Christmas, and I feel a bit bad that this child will also go through the same thing.  At least, I will be able to relate!
     We decided not to tell the kids until I was in the second trimester.  We finally told them when I was about 16 weeks along.  Ashlyn had had her suspicions since my stomach was growing rapidly.  They were all very excited to find out they were getting a new sibling.  Ashlyn did not stop talking about it for days.  She was over the moon. Dawson and Gracie were a lot more indifferent to the idea.
     We decided this time that we definitely wanted to find out the sex of the baby.  I wanted to be able to plan things more this time.  Of course the girls wanted a sister, and Dawson wanted a brother. He told me one day, if its was another sister, he would lose it.  (Poor little guy!). This pregnancy has been pretty easy except in the beginning.  I had lots of nausea and food aversions.  My pregnancies with both Ashlyn and Gracie started out the same way.  Dawson's pregnancy was literally the easiest pregnancy ever.  I was pretty convinced we were having another girl.  Joey and the kids came along for my big ultrasound at 20 weeks.  We were all so excited to find out the sex of the baby.  I was also praying for a very healthy baby. We declined early genetic testing, so I really wanted to hear that the baby looked perfect.  The ultrasound tech assured us that the baby looked perfect and was growing perfectly.  When she announced it was a girl, the girls' faces absolutely lit up, and poor Dawson got tears in his eyes.  I was beyond excited to learn we would be blessed with another daughter.  I reassured Dawson that he would always be my very, very special only son.
     This pregnancy has been so uneventful which is exactly what you want with a pregnancy.  Even though I am older, I can't say it has been any harder than previous pregnancies.  The hardest part has been juggling everything.  It has been such a challenge to juggle three kids, work, and going to school all at the same time.  I know it will be even harder once the baby gets here.  I am literally on the move or working all the time, but that is the season of life I am currently in.  Life is so chaotic and busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
     I am considered high risk since I am of advanced maternal age.  The bonus of this is that I get weekly ultrasounds for the last weeks of my pregnancy. I love getting to see our daughter each week and the reassurance that she is doing great in there.  I will be 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow, so our girl could be here any day now.  Today was my last day of work, and I am finishing up the last things I need to get done before life gets really crazy.  Having a Christmas baby is super exciting, but I have a lot I have to do for Christmas since we don't know when she will decide to come.
     As for names, I can honestly say I have no clue.  With each child, Joey and I seem to have a harder and harder time.  The other challenge is Ashlyn, who also has VERY strong opinions on any name I like.  I have a few names that I favor, but I haven't even ran them by Joey yet. I figure we will figure it out in the hospital just like we did with Graceyn.
      This little girl will complete our family.  I am trying to enjoy the last weeks of my pregnancy as much as I can because I know I will never be pregnant again.  I am so excited to finally meet this new blessing and see her beautiful little face!  Life is about to become beyond crazy and chaotic, but I guess I can say I am ready for the wild ride!
 

First glimpse of our newest blessing

Here are the shots from my 20 week ultrasound when we learned we were having a girl.

It's a girl!

Perfect little spine

She had her arms together

Sweet little foot

Precious little profile

Her little leg.  At this point she still had room to stretch them out.  

    When I was 29 weeks, we got a 4d ultrasound.  Little Miss had her hands and feet in front of her face most of the ultrasound.  The tech was able to get a few good shots.  I am so in love with her sweet little face already and have looked at her pictures so many times.  I can not wait to see her face in person!  I wonder if she will look more like Ashlyn or Graceyn.

This is my favorite shot

This picture cracks me up, because it looks like she has some major attitude.  

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Sweet little hand.  I think she will have Ashlyn's nose.  

    Since she is getting a lot bigger, I don't really get any good shots from my weekly ultrasounds.  They always try to get a good shot, but she is just too cramped in there.  I always laugh because I will walk out with a shot of a foot or a leg.

Somehow that is a leg

Still a girl

Sweet little fingers