I'm pregnant! I'm 18 weeks along and due September 18. (My Dad's birthday is September 19.) I found out this week that I'm having a baby GIRL! I didn't tell my kids I'm pregnant until we learned the gender. My mom and Jessica put together a cute scavenger hunt to share the news with the kids.
Before I get ahead of myself sharing more details, let me just say that me getting pregnant so soon after miscarrying twins feels like a miracle. I had a d&c on October 2, 2025 and found out I was pregnant again on January 7, 2026. I was surprised it happened so quickly. Last time I had a miscarriage and d&c, it took me nearly a year to get pregnant again. We feel so blessed!
How Have I Felt This Pregnancy?
I ended up switching doctors and it has been for the best. My new doctor actually delivered Penelope because my doctor was out of town. Dr. Burgett really cares and listens to me. He put me on progesterone and mini-aspirin right away to prevent miscarrying again. He had me come in often in the beginning, like every 2 weeks. I had multiple ultrasounds and got to hear babies heartbeat which eased my worries. I was glad when I could stop taking progesterone after I was 13 weeks along. You take it right before bed which was helpful, but it made me feel nauseous.
I am fortunate and don't get very sick when I'm pregnant. My varicose veins are my biggest complaint! I had this problem when I was pregnant with Penelope as well. My varicose veins are painful and go all the way up the groin. They throb if I stand too long. My doc recommended having surgery after I'm done having kids. I wear a compression leg sleeve which helps.
What's Different This Time Around?
This is my 6th pregnancy! What! Not my first rodeo. I've had 2 things come up this pregnancy that haven't come up in the past.
1) In an early ultrasound, I learned I had 2 subchorionic hemorrhages. I was told not to Google this because it would freak me out. I listened. This is how a subchorionic hemorrhage was explained to me by the nurse: "It is speculated that a subchorionic hemorrhage is caused from implantation, which causes a tiny little tear between the uterus and the placenta and they can see it on ultrasound. It is a common finding on ultrasound and women do not know they have this unless they have had some spotting in pregnancy or have had an ultrasound. Not everyone will spot with this condition, but some women do."
These hemorrhages usually resolve on their own and it seems like mine have which is a relief because they can be serious. I know one hemorrhage is for sure gone and my doc is thinks the other hemorrhage is too but will double check in my next ultrasound. I'm so glad I didn't have any spotting.
2) I had routine blood work done and my antibody test came back positive. I wasn't sure what this meant. At my appointment today, I learned that my blood might be hard to match if I were to need a blood transfusion which is weird because my blood type is A positive. The doc couldn't explain much more.
Gender
I've found out the gender for each of my kids at 16 weeks. I had my gender appointment on Friday, April 3 and a gender reveal party planned for that night. I had to cancel it. It was disappointing. At the appointment, it took over 20 minutes to get baby to move to a position where anything could be seen. After that, the ultrasound tech said that she wasn't sure either way if it was a boy or girl. I was confused! This had never happened before. My mom froze the cupcakes for the reveal party and I rescheduled my gender check for Monday, April 13.
Within 30 seconds of checking for the gender on April 13, this ultrasound tech knew the gender. It was a different ultrasound tech this time. Phew! What a relief! I had candy in my pockets just in case I needed to get the baby moving. I could finally share my news with my kids! I asked the ultrasound tech not to tell me the gender and to put the results in an envelope. She did a great job referring to the human as "baby" without pronouns until the last sentence. Then she spoiled it and said, "she." I was annoyed and maybe should have called her out but didn't. I wanted it to be a surprise, but oh well. I waited until the gender reveal party confirmed that yes indeed, it's a GIRL.
What Were the Scavenger Hunt Clues?
The scavenger hunt was perfect! I didn't expect little gifts along the way! The clues began immediately as we walked up to my parent's front door. There was a poster and balloons on the door. The last clue, the big reveal was in a closet and included a darling outfit.
Clue #2 Messes happen, that's ok! This keeps things clean through the day. Go find where these are kept in place, you're getting closer in this race! (Hint: it may be somewhere Penny loves to sleep.)
Clue #3 Soon there will be meals to try, with messy hands and happy sighs! Check the spot where snacks are stored, your next clue is almost yours!
Clue #4 You're getting close, just one more clue... Something tiny, soft and new! A special outfit waits to show, the sweetest news you'll ever know!
Clue #5: At last the wait is finally through... A tiny surprise to share you you! Open this up and you will see. Who this little one will be!!!
We ate superb cupcakes to celebrate! There were some blue and some pink ones. Mom and Jessica, I so appreciate you helping me pull this off!
How Did My Kids React?
My kids thought my sister Jessica was the pregnant one! They couldn't believe it's me! I thought they were suspicious, but I guess I was wrong. (James has wondered why I haven't been fasting. They've also asked why I've gone places when I've felt nauseous and worried they would get sick or that I'd get others sick.)
Honestly, I was worried that my children wouldn't be excited about the news. Sometimes having a 2 year old sister can be annoying, and lately we've seen less cute sides of Penelope as we potty-trained. In their defense though, my kids love their sister and are super sweet to her. Boy was I wrong. My kids have been over-the-moon happy about the news. It has been adorable.
James' first question, right off the bat was "when are you due?" He followed up with "how are we going to do carpool next year?" haha. James hasn't seemed bummed to have another little sister instead of a brother. He is really good with kids. James has also asked a few times, "Mom, are you subbing today? I'm so glad you're not. You and the baby need to rest."
I catch Isabelle staring at me and smiling. She likes to touch my tummy and tell me how much she loves me and baby girl. I heard her telling James, "Now we'll both have little sister's to play with. I call the new baby as my playmate and you get Penelope."
Penelope loves her baby dolls. She continues to ask "is baby still in your tummy?" And "baby is going to sleep in my crib!"
The cat is finally out of the bag! And yes, we have some name ideas brewing. The kids have a favorite. September can't come soon enough!
.HEIC)
.heic)
.HEIC)
.HEIC)
