An Exciting/Slightly Terrifying Adventure!

When we decided to leave home and move to Belgium, there were a lot of things about life still very much undecided and up in the air…things like whether or not to go back to school, whether or not to pursue jobs, whether to move somewhere else, whether or not to have more kids, etc. While many things are still up in the air and undecided, one of those questions has been answered; or maybe more appropriately, has happened.

Baby #3 is on the way!!

When we decided to move to Belgium, we also decide that we would be completely committed to the move and to making this our home. Well, what better way than to have a baby here! I would be lying if I said that we were completely decided about this issue or on the same page when we discovered that I was pregnant. It was more of a "let's see where God leads us" type of thing. In fact, I would say that I was nervous and a bit in denial when I got a positive pregnancy test. I was so in denial that I didn't tell Cole for three whole days that I was pregnant!! However, after working through the crazy in my brain, I remembered that not telling Cole would not change the fact that I was indeed pregnant, so after three days, I told him and was happy to see that he was excited. 

Over the last nine weeks, all of which I have been sick all day every day, I have been working through this situation in my head and, I think, have come to a much more excited and calm perspective. There are still many things going on in my head about this, but there is definitely much more to be excited about than afraid of. 

So, we are having baby!! This is a positive thing! This whole process is such a miracle that we can't help but be thankful and excited. There is nothing like seeing an ultrasound with a precious, tiny beating heart, or feeling your baby move inside your belly, or bringing a life into the world, or seeing precious newborn fingers and toes, or watching your child grow and learn. We feel so blessed to have Cameron and Harrison in our lives and are so excited to welcome another little one into our family. 

So, why am I so nervous? Well, we are having another baby.…in Belgium! Ok, I know that people have successfully been having babies in Belgium for years, but it is still Belgium!! Things are different. My family isn't here. After birth care is different. Expectations are different. I can't seem to articulate it very well, so suffice it to say that it is just different. Thankfully, most medical professionals speak at least some English (at least in my experience), so I think I can rest assured that our critical needs will not be ignored. However, I can already tell that this is going to be a story for the books. For all the ladies out there, you already know that going to the ObGyn can be a teensy bit awkward, but for me, going to the ObGyn here is terrifyingly awkward (I'll spare you the details)! I'm already anticipating the actual birth story to be even worse. But it's not really realistic for our family for me to come home to have the baby and then come back here, so I'd better get used to all the differences ASAP!  

The boys have been so sweet and excited about welcoming a new baby to the family. I was a little nervous to see how they would react because Harrison is very protective when I hold another baby, and Cameron told me the other day that he didn't want any more babies in the house. However, when we told them, Cameron got a big smile on his face, grabbed my hand and said "ahhh, two babies (meaning Harrison and a new baby)?!" He went on to say, "we are going to have another Harrison." He then leaned over to me and rubbed my arm with a sweet smile on his face. After some more discussion about babies (where they grow/live, etc.), Cameron asked some more questions like "what color do you think the baby will be," and "can I see the baby wiggle," and "why does the baby make you sick?" Even though Harrison does't understand as much as Cameron, he is still very sweet. The other night he asked me if he could give the baby two kisses. He gave my belly two kisses, then asked if he could jump on and bite the baby.  It was very sweet while it lasted and, despite the later comments, I know he will be a great big brother. In the weeks since the boys have known about the baby, they have asked many times to hug or kiss the baby and Cameron is anxiously waiting to feel the baby move. It has been so wonderful to see their curiosity about the baby and their desire to sing and talk to the baby. 

So some facts:

• I am currently 13 weeks pregnant and my due date is November 24, 2014.
• Although the baby will be born in Belgium, he/she will be an American citizen. Apparently, because there are so many immigrants here, citizenship is determined by the parents' citizenship rather than where the baby is born.
• We will be finding out what we are having. Even thought we loved being surprised with Harrison, there seem to be too many other unknowns with this process that we feel like it's a good idea to find out. 
• It will be soooooo much cheaper to have the baby here rather than in the U.S. We don't qualify for Belgian insurance because we don't pay social security taxes here, but even without Belgian insurance, everything is so affordable that, in the end, I still pay much less per visit than I would in the U.S. with insurance. For example, for my last visit to the ObGyn, I had a consultation, lab work, and an ultrasound. Without any kind of insurance help, I had to pay 40 euros…that's approximately $55.00!! I don't think I have ever gone to the doctor for anything for that price, much less with all the lab work and ultrasound. 

So here's to a very exciting/slightly terrifying journey! Wish us luck!!