I can official announce that we will be adding another Matthews to the family in May 2016!

We are all so excited to be a family of four. Kinsie loves the idea of being a big sister, and is already practicing any chance she gets. I know that realistically, it will take Kinsie some adjusting once the baby gets here, but overall I know she will be a wonderful, protective, big sis!

The day I found out I was pregnant is actually a fun little story…

Without getting into the details, I knew that I should be able to take a pregnancy test during Labor Day weekend. I decided to try it out before work on Friday. I knew it could still be too early, but I couldn’t wait any longer. At first, I saw just one line. Bummer. I wasn’t devastated by any means, but I was still a little disappointed. I continued to get myself ready for work, and then looked at the test again about 10 minutes later, just to be sure I didn’t see anything. Well…I did see something now, at least I thought I did. The faintest pink line had me blinking again and again and moving to different areas of light to make sure I was actually seeing a faint line and it wasn’t just my imagination. It was so faint that I still wasn’t too sure, so I didn’t want to get too excited just yet. Ryan was in Muncie during this time, so on my way to work, I called him and said, “Well, I think I may be pregnant??” All day at work I could hardly focus. I planned on taking another test the next morning but how was I supposed to wait that long? When I got home from work, Ryan was home from Muncie because we were getting ready to go to Nashville for the weekend, and he convinced me to go ahead and take another test that night. I did, and again, another faint line, but darker than it was that morning. Now I was starting to feel a little more comfortable with the idea that it actually was positive and I actually was pregnant. We drove to Nashville that night, and luckily only saw my family for a few minutes before going to bed because I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret very long. My family can read me like a book and I worried that they would guess just by looking at me! The next morning, we went and bought Kinsie a “Big Sister” shirt and had her wear it, which is how we told my family (and Ryan’s family a few days later). I took one more test a couple days later just to make absolutely sure since the lines were so faint before and I didn’t feel pregnant whatsoever, and the pink line was nice and bold!

Can you see the faint pink line?

All three of my tests…darker each time!

I am now in my second trimester, so I’ll give a quick update on how this pregnancy has been so far.

Month 1:

• I started out with no symptoms. None. This made me question if I really was pregnant for a while. I couldn’t complain, but I didn’t feel pregnant at all. After a week or so, the fatigue set in, and it hit me HARD. I remember feeling fatigued when I was pregnant with Kinsie, but this time it was 10 times worse. I am guessing it had something to do with chasing a toddler around instead of resting whenever I was home!

Month 2:

• Fatigue was still kicking my butt. I took a nap every Saturday and Sunday when Kinsie did, as well as every day on fall break. It was so bad that I couldn’t concentrate at work, and I was practically worthless when I got home each day. Luckily, Kinsie has been pretty good about playing independently lately, so she could play while I at least sat down and rested on the couch.
• I started craving salty things. Chips, popcorn, pumpkin seeds, and especially pickles and lemons. Very similar to my pregnancy with Kinsie.
• I could see a baby bump at 6 weeks!! It could have started as just bloating, but this bump was definitely coming sooner than I expected.
• I am cold…all. the. time. Uncomfortably cold to where I am constantly in long pants and sweatshirts and wrapped up in blankets even in bed. This hasn’t gone away yet. I’m sure I will miss it when I’m a whale and sweating all the time!

5 weeks

Kinsie looking for her baby!

8 weeks

Month 3:

• I am starting to show so much at this point that it is hard to hide. I had to be very selective on what I wore in public. Especially at work where everyone knew me. I wasn’t ready for a 5th grader to ask me why my stomach was getting bigger!
• I had my first ultrasound over fall break (mid October – 9 weeks). Our little peanut was squirming the entire time! I have a feeling that this one will be just as crazy, if not crazier than Kinsie!

12 weeks

• My birthday was November 16, which happened to be the first day of my second trimester. As soon as week 14 hit, I noticed the fatigue starting to subside. I could actually get through the school day without having to smack myself! This also happened to be the day that I felt tiny baby kicks for the first time! I guess that was the baby’s birthday gift to me! I told my staff that I was pregnant the previous Friday, and my students on that Monday. It sure was fun telling my elementary coworkers and students some exciting news!

I hung this on the bulletin board in the teacher’s lounge and had everyone guess who was pregnant. The picture of Kinsie (and my initials in the thumb tacks) were added after I revealed it was me.

I told my class through a game of hangman.

• I no longer have to hide my bump anymore, and thank goodness because I was having to get creative. I am almost 15 weeks, and I look like I did last time at almost 20 weeks. Yikes!

A lot of people have asked me if I have a hunch on if it is a boy or a girl, and the answer is no. I really don’t have a feeling either way with this one. I thought Kinsie was a boy, so obviously my hunch last time was off. This pregnancy has been very similar so far, but my sister said her two pregnancies were the same too and she had one of each! We will find out if Kinsie will have a brother or a sister after Christmas.

Stay tuned on more pregnancy updates until May!