(If you missed Part 1 of Growing the #Mireckizoo, catch up here!)
Last summer we made a fairly big move from one city to another. It was the first time we’d really moved as a family – when we had moved into our previous place, we had The Boy and I was 7 months pregnant with JJ. So we only had “stuff” for a fairly small family. But when we moved out?! 4 kids and all the things that go along with all those changing stages AND homeschooling for 6 years. Iy yiy yiy! Needless to say, it was quite the move and we were completely wiped after it.
Before we moved we got rid of a good bit of stuff we knew we wouldn’t need in the new place, and did the same as we unpacked on the other side. Some of the things I kept were the bins upon bins of many stages of children’s clothing. It made sense to hang on to it since we didn’t know if we were done growing our family yet.
However, after all the work of the move and settling in to our new place, I felt in my heart that I was content with 4 kids, enjoying the ages they were at and the things we could do now that they were a little bit older.
The Man had already really reached this point prior to me, so it made sense to offload the baby clothes, since we didn’t really see ourselves entering that stage again. I kept a few things for each of the kids that were special, memory-evoking, and passed on, sold or donated the rest. Ahh, the freedom from storage containers and bins was so sweet!
Fast forward to March 2016. I was “late”, but I had been quite sick the month previously so I wasn’t overly concerned. As I sat drinking a hot coffee in the church pew during our kids’ piano lessons, a sudden wave of nausea overtook me and I knew. God had decided to grow the #Mireckizoo!
As we were now living in a new city, it took a bit of a scramble to (quietly) track down the best options for prenatal care, but we eventually we got on the phone and called our local midwife’s office (which, as it turns out, is one of the best and many friends have delivered with their midwives at different locations). They accepted us and suddenly it all started to become reality.
We bounced around a bit trying to figure out due dates and got anywhere from October 31st to November 12th (my mom’s birthday!). The decision was made to have an early dating ultrasound (which was very cool to see since we’d never had one that early with any of our other babies) and the due date confirmed – November 12, 2016, #babynumberfive would be joining our ranks.
When we told our kids I wasn’t quite sure how they’d react. But they were absolutely THRILLED and jumped for joy! The boys of course wanted a boy, and the girls, a girl. But right away they were talking together and making plans, coming up with names, and just generally enjoying the whole idea of a baby in the family again. I think this is really the first time they’re all fully aware of what’s happening and going on and able to enjoy the process, so it’s a whole new experience for all of us.
Along with the joy and elation from the kids, this pregnancy has been a roller coaster of emotions and experiences for us (well, mainly me :D). I’ve been sick all day, every day, since about 7 weeks (that’s pretty normal for my previous pregnancies with the girls, which is why we thought we were having another girl!), and I’ve wrestled with it, as well as the typical aches and pains that come earlier on with each pregnancy.
I hadn’t felt mentally or physically prepared for being pregnant, and it was kind of knocking my feet out from under me and stealing a lot of the joy out of it for me.
At about 14 weeks I needed to go on diclectin to regulate the morning sickness and keep from physically being sick all the time. We found out we were having a boy (oh boy!), so there went my theory of the sickness (I think it’s just that I have 4 kids and we’re busy, y’all, and my body just isn’t the same as it used to be). Now it’s continuing to hang on into the third trimester and while I am doing my best to keep my eyes on the prize, I won’t pretend it has been easy and there are many days I just want to quit.
But during all of this we’ve been enjoying summertime as a family – even with the intense heat waves we keep getting hit with! We’ve been able to take in a baseball game, a few bike rides, MANY trips to the beach, pool and splash pad with friends, and even our annual Mirecki extended family camping trip (AND a second camping trip with church friends to Tobermory!).
I have been so grateful for the love and support of The Man through all of this life change we’ve been through in the last little while. He is faithful and patient, understanding and kind where I am not.
The kids have also been helpful and patient with me (though I haven’t been the nicest person to be around, nor the most involved mama ever, since my energy seems to be down most of the time).
We are all definitely very much looking forward to the fall though so we can get back into a routine and meet our new little man!
