And Baby Makes 10!!

I didn’t think we could top the announcement of selling our house and moving into an RV, but we have even more exciting news!

We are expecting baby Allen #8!

Let me just be the first to say WOW! We are so blessed, and we are so excited, but I’ll admit, also a little stunned. I’ll explain why!

I wasn’t totally sure I wanted another baby after Emily was born. Her sleep issues gave Sean more gray hair, and caused me to discover my first gray hair. 🙂 Ok, that might be more age than her lack of sleeping, but seriously we have never been so sleep deprived as we were her first year.

I finally got to the point where I told Sean we would probably have another baby in a few years (he always leaves it up to me, unless I have a strange hormone surge and suggest having a baby during the worst possible time!). The last few girls have been spaced 3 years apart and it’s been so much easier than having them every two years or closer.

I had in my head we would have our last baby when I was closer to 40 (I just turned 37), which would fulfill my last childhood dream of having a baby at 40 (I know, what child has a specific dream like that, but I did!).

If you have read the blog for awhile, you know I’ve had progesterone issues for the last two babies. I couldn’t get pregnant without being on progesterone pills for Sophia and Emily; but since we love having a large family and wanted more, that’s what we had to do.

One thing I started doing months ago was using Progessence Plus from Young Living. I put it on each night before bed, and could tell it was balancing out my hormones, but we weren’t looking to have another baby anytime soon.

The surprise was on us, because not only did we get pregnant, but when I tested my progesterone levels a few days later they looked really good without being on any progesterone medicine! I’m so incredibly thankful!

I am testing my progesterone levels each week, and I’m totally open to being on the medicine if I need to, but for now my pregnancy symptoms are strong and everything seems to be going well!

And I’m happy. Truly happy. A little overwhelmed at times since it’s been awhile since I’ve had a 2 year old and a baby, but I also sense how fast this time in my life is going, and that I only have a few precious years left where I can have a baby.

God is so good. Our children were stunned. Having a baby had not come up in conversations, but thankfully they are all excited and are being so sweet to get me food, tell me to go take a nap when I need it, and Sophia is always coming over to me asking what she can do for me.

You can watch the video to see my reaction, and when we tell our children!

Mosiah will be 17 when this baby is born, which is crazy to think about! He is so good with our babies and is always playing with Emily, making her giggle and laugh, so I have no doubt he will enjoy the next baby as well. I’m thankful we homeschool so he can actually have time with these little ones, instead of just seeing them at night or on the weekends.

So how does this all fit into our plans of living in an RV for a year?

Honestly, we found out we were expecting after we had set the plans in motion to sell the house, and we almost backed out after we found out about the baby. God gave us peace though, so we kept going forward and unless something happens with trying to close the deal, we’re sticking to it.

Am I looking forward to the part of being pregnant in a small space? No. Have many other women done it before? Yes. It’s just a short term sacrifice to get us (Lord willing) the house in the country that we have always wanted.

As for specifics, I’m due in December (not my favorite month to have a baby in. We already have two girls with December birthdays and I’m already teasing Sean that this baby will probably be born on Christmas Day!). I’m NOT having the baby in the RV. I’ve already firmly decided that. 🙂

We are going to work out details of our actual plan as we get closer. My midwife has said we can do a birth in her office. That’s not my first choice, but a possibility. I would love to rent an AirBnB house for the month of December (that sounds pricey though), or find an actual rental house and just rent for 1-3 months over the winter. Until we get closer to the birth we just don’t know what we will do yet.

Obviously we will not be traveling this winter, and I’ll talk to my midwife and see how close to the birth we can travel safely. Since we are not planning on traveling full time, we will be in town for all the appointments with her.

I’d love to share with you more details on how I have balanced out my hormones this past year. I’m going to go live on Zoom this Tuesday evening at 8:00 PM, CST and chat with you all about it! Click here and enter your email address if you want to join me!