Surprise!!!!  We’re having a baby!!!!

I was going to wait until Friday to post this but seriously, we are just so excited + I could not contain the secret for one second more!!  AH!!!  Brad + I are over the moon joyful + so grateful!!  Literally cant even believe that the time has come to begin typing this blog!!  It feels surreal right now!!  The funny thing is that I suddenly have no idea where to begin!!  So, I guess I’ll start from the beginning!

We found out that we expecting our sweet little one when I was about 4 1/2 weeks pregnant!!  I made the silly decision to take the test one night when Brad was at work, mostly because I was not expecting it to actually be positive!  Then I immediately regretted taking it when Brad was not home when it actually showed a positive result!!  I was not telling him by text message, so I had a majorly exciting secret to keep to myself until the net day when he arrived from work + that was tough, my friends!  I am sure that our house was a funny sight that night because I was so happy + jumping around + squealing, so that got our dogs excited + they were jumping around with tails wagging with me!!  Obviously, they had no idea what was happening but whatever it was,  it was good + they were celebrating with me!  It was so important to me that I shared the news in person with Brad,  so as hard as it was to keep the secret overnight, I surprised him when he got home the next day!!  It was so worth it to be able to see his face + hold on to one another as I shared the news!!

We decided not to tell anyone until I was at least 12 weeks.  It was so difficult to keep it a secret at first.  I wanted to shout it from the roof tops!  After the first two weeks or so, I began to really enjoy having a secret that only Brad + I knew.  I felt connected with him on a whole new level knowing that we are going to be parents + knowing that a little miracle was growing inside of me + also knowing that it is something that he + I were getting to cherish together without anyone else knowing.  

We had been taking for months about having photos taken for our anniversary this year.  When we began talking about ways to tell our family + friends, we decided to move our session plans up + we would turn the anniversary session into a baby announcement session!!  I reached out to Hope Taylor + shared the news.  Baby announcements are not at all in line with her business, but she is so bubbly + fun to work with so I decided to reach out to her about the session!!  I added in the message that if she needed to tell me no since it did not align with her business plan, then I totally understood. 

I was so grateful when I received the email back from her bursting with joy for us + our news + being more than happy to photograph this special time for us!!  We planned our session for April the 4th!!  The day arrived + I found myself so anxious to get home + head to Fredericksburg with Brad.  It was a bit of a damper when I received an email from Hope discussing the weather possibilities that afternoon!!  A 60% chance of rain- not so great!!  I was so bummed about the possibility of rescheduling.. Between sessions + doctors appointments + Brad’s schedule, I just knew that it would be difficult to find another date for us to book this session! 

Hope was so understanding + responded back happy as could be suggesting that we move our session up by a few hours + laughed about how she would totally take photos of us in the rain if the weather turned bad!!  I was so grateful that she was such a trooper for us!!  (A huge Thank You goes to Hope for fitting us in for this session, being such a good secret keeper, + sharing in the joy that we feel!!)  The sky turned dark as the rain drew closer + the wind was blowing like crazy!!  Obviously that was not good for my hair which had been perfectly curled just a few minutes before!!  It wasn’t ideal but it absolutely did not take away from the joy we felt + the excitement over the session!!

Sundays have become my favorite day of the week.  Often begging with a morning filled with a good breakfast, watching Lifepoint Church online, + snuggling in bed with the dogs.  Its normally a day filled with connection- reconnecting with myself, reconnecting with my husband when he arrives home from work, reconnecting with peace + grace.  So, it seemed only fitting that we share the news with family + friends on the best day of the week!!  We went to my parents to share the news, then we went to spend the afternoon at his parents to celebrate his dad’s birthday + share the news!!  

I had printed all of the photos from our session.  Both of our families knew that we were having a “couples session, just because”, so they were excited to see the pictures!!  The surprise was that we had put all of the baby announcement photos in the very back!!!!  Hope was a doll + delivered so many gorgeous photos!! Our families looked through a huge stack of images before finally getting to the surprise!!  Each reaction was filled with so much joy + we felt so much love + happiness beaming from every direction!!  We are so grateful for our family + friends + it was such a fun day to finally share the secret that we have been keeping!!  The next two weeks were spent visiting + face timing + skyping with family + friends as we continued to share our wonderful news!!!

Brad + I are beyond blessed.. We are so grateful that God has given us such a precious gift + we could not be happier!  I always rave about how wonderful my husband is to me, but sharing this secret with him for the last three months, going through this experience with him as we bask in the excitement, witnessing him care for me so gently, knowing that he is going to be such an amazing daddy to our sweet baby… All of this has made me fall so deeply in love with him on a whole new level that I never even knew existed… If I am being honest, I am certainly one of those people that has spent the last 8 years still feeling just as madly in love with him as I did in the beginning, so you can imagine that I feel like my heart may burst at the seems at any given moment from the amount of love + joy that I am blessed with!!!

I know this was a long post, but such amazing news deserves to be well written + no detail omitted!!  Our couples session turned baby announcement session photos are below!!  You’ll also find a few more details about Baby Hudson + my pregnancy so far at the very end which should answer all of your questions!!!

Baby Hudson + Answers to All of Your Questions

I am 14 weeks today

My due date is October 27th

Our next doctor’s appointment is today!  This makes 5 appointments so far which is more than we were expecting but we get to see our baby each and every time so we are not complaining!!  It has been so magical to see how much she/he has grown between each visit!

I have been so fortunate to have had an easy pregnancy so far.  I was nauseous for about two weeks, but once I started taking my vitamins at night, I  have felt wonderful ever since!

My food cravings + aversions change daily.  Chocolate milk seems to be a reoccurring one!  The most prominent craving in the beginning was macaroni + cheese dipped in baked bean juice.. No idea where that came from but I ate it for three days straight around week 6!!

The most out of the ordinary emotional moment was the first time that I saw the new i-phone commercial with the cookie monster baking cookies… that commercial made me so happy that I cried a little… Yeah, over an i-phone commercial, I know.

Baby Hudson’s heart rate was 164 at 7 weeks 6 days, 178 at 9 weeks 4 days, + 158 at 12 weeks 1 day

We will absolutely be finding out the gender of Baby Hudson- there is no way that we can hold out until October!!

A little baby bump is starting to show, but not enough that anyone else would notice!  Brad + I know its there though + its such a magical feeling!

It is unreal the amount of love that I already feel for this sweet little one in my belly + I am excited to experience the next 6 months!!  Pregnancy has been such a joyful season of life + I truly just want to cherish each + every sweet moment!!