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We're pregnant with our rainbow baby

77m 6s

We're pregnant with our rainbow baby

The speaker recounts their emotional and physical journey through a pregnancy following a traumatic loss, highlighting the profound fear, anxiety, and superstitions that shaped their experience. After years of grief and uncertainty, the pregnancy became a symbol of resilience and hope. The couple faced intense emotional hurdles, including anxiety about recurring complications and the fear of losing the baby again—deeply rooted in past trauma. A pivotal moment came when they attended a 17-week appointment in the exact room where their previous pregnancy ended, triggering overwhelming emotional distress. Despite this, they found strength in small acts of joy, such as preparing a celebratory gender reveal party with over 50 guests, local vendors, and personalized touches like pink and blue lattes and pastries. This event marked a turning point in their journey, symbolizing not just the baby’s arrival, but a deeper acceptance of life, vulnerability, and shared human experience. The story underscores how grief after loss can transform into a powerful motivation for connection, transparency, and celebrating the fragility and beauty of life. The narrative reflects on the emotional complexity of pregnancy after loss, where fear and superstition coexist with healing, and where small moments—like a party full of children and laughter—become signs of hope and renewal. Ultimately, the experience emphasizes that while pregnancy after loss is emotionally overwhelming, it can also be a deeply meaningful and life-affirming journey.

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Imagine setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new groupie setting mist from Mabelie, New York. Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours, with flexible all-day comfy grip. No tightness, no stickiness, no residue. Just plump, dewy hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Try new groupie setting mist from Mabelie, New York. Maybe it's Mabelie. You're glowing, by the way. I think this is your prettiest pregnancy yet. You're so pretty. I can't believe in pregnant four times. This is your fourth pregnancy. Fourth pregnancy. I know. That's a lot of being pregnant. I know. Goodness. I do love it. Is your body doing okay? That's a lot on your body. No, I feel like I'm very, very lucky. I don't feel bad. Super bad one in pregnant. A lot of headaches at this stage, and I have a headache currently, and I have a headache basically every day for the past like two months. I'm sorry. It's okay. Yeah, no, I'm really relieved to like a part of me is relieved to be talking about this publicly, but I would say about 60% of me is like, "I don't want to do it." Why are you afraid? I'm not. There's just so much. We were so public with our miscarriage, and gosh, I'm just a human, right? It just feels like we were so candid about everything and just authentic, and you know, there's just certain pressures with being public-facing with something that's like so fragile, like feeling seemingly fragile, but, you know, there comes a time, like obviously like I'm short too, and people are starting to find out. Isn't that lovely? Like, I mean, honestly, isn't that just incredible? That just shows that like etiquette online does not exist. You know how they say grief requires a witness? Yeah, grief demands a witness. I keep saying comments from women who find out that they miscarried, and they, the comments are like, "Hey, I watched this six months ago when you shared, you know, everything you went through." Gosh. And then they watch it back again, and they're like, "I'm going through this exact same thing." And it sucks, and it's hard, and I don't even know how to get out of bed in the morning, but I feel like that's why, I feel like that's what we shared, you know? Oh, no. 1,000%. 1,000%. That's the purpose. And also just like, like, it's not something I'm, like, ashamed of, and it's not something I want to keep a secret. And if there's anything I've learned from losing a pregnancy, like, experiencing a pregnancy loss, especially late, like, that, like, this is a life that I want to honor, and like, I want to fully experience and live every moment of. There's just like, it just, there's just a lot. It's like, you know, I had a mom, I have a mentor that like, has helped me so much. She lived a very similar experience to us, and she told me she was like, "You have your pregnancies before loss, and you have your pregnancies after. They're just, they're just like a dividing line." And like, even in therapy, like, she's like, because I've like, kind of expressed some, like, bitterness that I feel sometimes with certain things, like in my life now, like, certain statements that people make so, like, so unintentionally, that I'm like, I don't want to feel this way. I don't think the rest of the world should like cater towards me because I've experienced it, and I don't want to feel this sense of like, I do feel this, like, bitterness that I, like, I don't like it. And she's like, no, there's just like, basically, people that are living blissfully, ignorantly, and then people that have had that stripped away from them. And it's not because they want to, but I would much rather be blissfully ignorant. Trust me. Like, I would much rather, but I'm not, and that's not my life circumstances. So anyway, just like, working through all kinds of things and it's like, there's just so, any mom that's experienced this, like, just knows, like pregnancy after loss is just so complicated. Why do I feel like, I have experienced a similar thing where I feel like there was a part of me that used to be ignorant and blissful. You have, you have. No, and now we're not, but I think there's a way to get back there. Like, I think it's like, yeah, you can know, you don't think there is. Yeah, no. I feel like it's a mental practice, right? Like, there's some people out there that have been through some horrific things and somehow they're able to like push through it. No, but exactly. That's what you're doing is you're pushing through, you're carrying on despite the grief, you're, but you're still carrying that with you. So I guess, so I guess you can still be blissful, but you're no longer ignorant. You wouldn't stand. Right. So you're blissfully aware. Blissfully aware. You're aware of all that. We're not there yet. The dark effed up stuff. I'm not there yet, for sure. But yeah, wow, what a journey it has been. And I feel like it's like weird because this was not a secret per se. I just wasn't like, this wasn't like I was like trying to, you know, get everyone to ignore me or like nothing. It's just like I was not ready to talk about it. You just needed space. And I think, and I think even now, like you're saying, it's scary to say it. Yeah. But why are you still craving a little bit of space? But this is where we're at now. Like, it's like, that's the thing about being pregnant is that there comes a point where even strangers know they're catching audio, man. I know. You got a really cute bum. It's adorable. It's okay. And yeah. And I do, I really want to be full, like this is full transparency. It's like I'm doing this first and foremost to honor this baby. Yeah. And second of all, to honor the other moms, I have like joined along in our journeys. Yeah. And maybe they've chosen to pursue another pregnancy or maybe they haven't, but I just want to be like just candid in our experience, just for their sake too. So. Well, let's, let's go all the way back. Yeah, let's go back. There's a lot. We actually found out we were pregnant back in 2025. So to give a little, to give a little recap, immediately after we found out the horrific news about losing Emerson, we knew we were going to try. Like, are actually, no, I don't think, maybe, no, wait, did you know, remind me? The first day, like, when you found out, I was like, what is the, like, how can we make these next steps in a way that is most beneficial to her life? And then also to my own fertility down the road. Because those are, like, unfortunately, that's the reality you have to accept in that moment. And so it's like, yeah, that's not, you don't want to be thinking about a future pregnancy. Like when you're learning about, like you, your seconds into just finding out that this pregnancy is like done, but that's the reality. Like that you have to face as you're making these next steps and these decisions. And so that was something that we always knew that we wanted and they told us we had to wait. There was a period of time where we were advised to, like, abstain from trying just to get my health back to where it needed to be. And I think that we also needed that time mentally, for sure. And it's not like we arrived at some certain, like, spectacular mental state. I think that very early on in grieving Emerson, I realized this was, like, a lifelong, like, process. Yeah. So I was like, that's not necessarily like the major factor. I think we're major, the major factor afterwards was just like consulting our doctors about, like, my health and like, being safe about everything. And so there was a period of time where we were not trying and then finally arriving to Thanksgiving of last year, like, we knew there was a possibility that we were going to be pregnant. And so we decided, or I decided, I think I was like, we could take a test on Thanksgiving. And it'll be a little bit early, but then, like, if it's positive, we'll be extra thankful on Thanksgiving. Or if it's negative, it'll still be a great day because it's Thanksgiving day. And so we took a test that morning and it was negative. And we're like, well, Shucks, and I was actually more disappointed than I thought I was going to do. You were really down. I remember my parents asking, like, is Abby doing okay? Because you were not doing okay. And it was. Wow. I didn't know that it was showing. Oh, yeah. I mean, how could you not? You just went through a miscarriage and you want to be pregnant again and you're not pregnant. And so. I just feel like I did a lot that day, still though, you know? So I was super sad for you. And it was just, yeah, I mean, it sucks to see a negative pregnancy test when all you want to see is a positive pregnancy test. Well, I mean, also going into trying this time, like, your first time trying post-loss. My thought was, okay, I have been reminded, like, in a horrible way that our family planning is really not in our own hands, like it's outside of our hands. And so if I get pregnant, this was what I was thinking. If I get pregnant, then it'll be great. If I'm not pregnant, then I feel like I won't hold it. I wouldn't have been as disappointed as I might have been before, because I just am so freshly made aware that this is outside of my control. That wasn't the case. Like, the negative really made me, like, disappointed. I think I was like holding out hope that, like, okay, like, I don't know, a short time possible and not pregnant, that will help. Not the case. So then when it was negative, I was really bummed. Yeah. I'm not describing this well. And, right. This is also right with me. Got a dog. Remember how we got a dog at the end of 2025? This was all at the same time. We were trying for a baby. We decided to get a dog, because it was hard, and the joy of having a puppy around was actually pretty cool. That was like a sweet thing to do. And I think it almost seemed like in your head, you thought, since that first one was negative, I think in your head, it was like, oh, this is going to be a really hard season of negative pregnancy tests. Right? That's what, like, your mind, at least, was telling you. I don't know. I honestly, I think our doctors gave us realistic expectations for, like, fertility after like everything that happened. And so I feel like I wasn't necessarily going there yet, because it was just our one negative test. But I don't know. I think I was just down as it was anyway. And so this was just another thing, right? And so then-- We go to Vegas. It was my birthday shortly after that. December 1st. Yeah, and we had spent two nights in Vegas to celebrate my birthday, because your parents were town for Thanksgiving too. So they watched the kids while we went to Vegas for two days or like a day and a half whatever it was. And we had a great time. It was really fun. And I felt like a lot better. Like, just getting one on one time is like, you know what, this is great. Like, everything's fine. Like, sure, I wish I was pregnant right now. But like, I don't know. It was really good to connect with you and to like just have some time for rest and recovery, especially during the season of the holidays. And like, everything that I had been leading up to the holidays and how the holidays were looking so much differently than we would have imagined. Like, all these things. It just was really restful and great. Then I come home from Vegas. And I'm like, well, that's so weird. I still haven't started my period. I was like, that's just really weird. And, but then I was like also chalking it up to the fact that my body had been through so much. So then the night that we got home, I was like, wait, that's like kind of when it dawned on me. I genuinely was not thinking about it at all in Vegas. And then I took just like one of those cheap strip tests. And I was like, looking at it in the light. And I was like, I really feel like I see another faint line. Do you remember me bringing that downstairs to you? - I wanna say a salt for the first time. I just watched the video back of us finding out you were pregnant. - No, that was, I'm talking about the night before that. - Yes, wait, yes, you're right. You took a strip test or something. And you're like, this looks weird. And I'm like, uh. - You were like, I don't see a line. - I don't think there's anything to, you know, yeah, don't overthink it, it's fine. - But like, you didn't think I was pregnant at that point. - Yeah, I didn't think you were pregnant. - And I was like, that is so weird because like, there would not be a faint line. Even the faintest of lines. If there, if it wasn't, you know what I mean? Supposed to be positive. And so I was like, that's so weird. Like that evening, I remember still not thinking much of it. We went to like a Christmas event with some friends. And then I was like, you know what, that's so weird. Next day, I still hadn't started my period. So I was like, I'll just do, I had one more digital test. And I was like, I'll do that. And then I think we're still up in the air whether or not we're gonna share the video of. - That's funny, yeah. - That test saying pregnant. - It was very anticlimactic. - It was very anticlimactic because I was just rushing my teeth. And like, I was waiting for it to load. And it literally said pregnant. - Yeah, we both were just confused. I was confused because of the way you presented it to me. You were like, it says I'm pregnant, but I'm not pregnant. - Yeah, I totally didn't believe it. - Like I was just like, I don't know what to say. - I know. - The denial was 100%. Like if you would have asked me in that moment, even though I'm looking at a test that says pregnant, if you would have asked me if I was pregnant, I would have said 100% no. I don't know, I don't know. That denial, the denial was crazy. - I just kept looking at the test and realizing, wait a minute, these tests are very accurate. They're over 99% accurate. My wife is telling me that she's not pregnant because of this scary stuff, the trauma that we've been through. But the test is saying pregnant. And I'm there and I'm like, well, babe, if you're pregnant, that's really dope. I think it is, I want to say it is. And so eventually. - The mental gymnastics though, of like negative, positive, faint lines, like in my head, the only thing is going through it were like chemical pregnancy. There's some weird lingering H-T-G from your, from Emerson's pregnancy. Like there's just so many things that were like, I think my mind was ultimately just trying to protect me. Like from the reality of like what it was gonna look like to be pregnant after loss. - Yeah. - And the denial was crazy, but also my anxiety was at like 110 at this point. Like I remember that day I like couldn't eat and I couldn't think about anything else. Like that whole day I was just so messed up and then I finally called my OB, went in. Did I go in that day or the next day? - I want to say it was the day after, or two days after, but they confirmed it. They said you were pregnant, they ran all the tests, did everything official, and we knew who remind me, who were the first people that we told? - My mom, I told my mom. - That day? - Well I told my mom that day because it was like, why is this test saying positive? - Yeah. - Like she was like, you probably are pregnant. And I was like, nope, you're wrong too. Like I literally just didn't, I just kind of, yeah, I told my mom and I told my mentor, they were the only people that knew for like a long time in you. - And our friends Mike and Ashley were over for dinner and I would like offer it, I think them wine and I wanted to know if like you ever wanted wine. And then somehow, the way I like worded my question, made it clear that you were not- - You were very obvious, man, how do I fix that? - What did I say? What did I say that made it so obvious? - You're like Abby, you won't win. - Oh, that's exactly what I did. - Never mind. - I was so dumb, I was like, if you won't win, I mean, you probably don't want it, you don't want it. - Maybe. - I don't know, like I should have just let you say, oh, I'm fine, thank you for offering and then nobody would have known that you were pregnant, but I was just an idiot and then people, they knew. - They didn't ask for anything. - But they were our first friends to know just 'cause I was freaking fumble that so hard. - Well, we didn't tell, yeah. It wasn't like a conversation, you just were really awkward. - Yeah, story of my life. - I know, it was fine. And so, yeah, those early weeks, if I'm totally honest with you, that was just like mental warfare. Like, I've never lost, I've never had an early miscarriage like that, but I just like every single day, like, yeah. I was just waiting for something to happen. And so, when at six weeks, we were out of town with your family in Missouri and I started bleeding, I was like, we'll see. - That was scary. - It was literally like, I was just like, well. - I forgot about that. - I knew this was, oh, I certainly didn't offer it, but it was like, honestly, seeing that, like, an experiencing that I was like, not even surprised. Like, that's where my head was at, so, so strongly. - We were in Missouri, to go to Silverdar City, right? - And we had just heard your parents. - We went and did Silverdar City with our kids. - This was at six weeks. - With my parents, we had, yeah, we had just told them. They were asking about, hey, is Abby okay? She seems that maybe those were two different times. I think they knew something was wrong when you had taken the pregnancy test and it said negative and you were really bummed. And then they knew, too, when you were really worried about miscarrying because you were bleeding. - Yeah. - It's terrifying. - And that day was just combined with so many things, like having just told your parents and then also like, not being home also made that worse. And then also we had close friends just in our personal life. That day, tell us they're pregnant and like, at that point, I was like, for sure that we weren't no longer pregnant. So I was like, oh my gosh, like everything was just so heavy. And so I was experiencing bleeding for the whole weekend while we were out of town. And so when I got back in town, I called my doctor and she's like, well, just come on in. And we'll get you checked out. And so at this point, like my head is like, I mean, I thought it was game over, you know? And went back in and they actually found a heartbeat, which was so crazy because it was actually pretty early for that. I didn't even expect to have a heartbeat or especially a heartbeat like this fast at this point. Like the heartbeat was looking like really good. And they found the source of the bleeding, which I know this is common. I had just never experienced it before. It's called a subquadal hemorrhage. I don't know the official term, you would definitely know it. Something like that. And it's fairly common, especially minds probably related to like all the procedures I had post Emerson's birth. And everything that happened with that. And so there was just some damage that had been done to my uterus essentially. And that one of those clots, not clots. One of those hemorrhages had made its way out or were starting to make its way out. And so I still had another one that they were keeping an eye on at that point. So I was just holding my breath because I was like, okay, I was prepared for more bleeding at that point because I knew that they had spotted eyes on another one. I was just praying, I was like, please don't let it happen. My mental state cannot take it. Because by the next Monday after that weekend, the bleeding had stopped or had really subsided. And so I was like, okay, well, that was a shock that the baby was okay. And then just like kept carrying on. So at this point, we were like not telling literally anyone 'cause everything just felt like literally so paper thin, so fragile, so scary. And I had never experienced that before in a pregnancy. And obviously this was my fourth pregnancy. So I was kind of like not prepared for weird random symptoms like that. But that's just because my body had been through so much. - I think it was one of those things where we were just waiting to get through the 17 week appointment, waiting for the 17 week appointment, wanting to get there as fast as possible. And it felt like the more people that we told, the more we talked about it, the more it was on our minds. Like we just wanted the time to just, like if we could have snapped our fingers, we could have had some magic time machine just to teleport us to the 17 week appointment. That is what we wanted. - That's what my instinct was. But that's actually what I was like working against like in therapy. Because, okay. After experiencing. - Yeah, why don't you tell me about this? What did you learn about therapy? - Yeah, like after experiencing loss, like the instinct for me personally, everyone's experience is gonna be different, obviously. I'm just talking about my own personal experience with things. Thanks. was to literally distract the crap out of myself, was to just like pretend I wasn't pregnant and to just go about my life and just like try to not think about it. The problem with, and that's what I did for like the first little bit there because like that was just a defense mechanism, essentially. But that does not work. Ultimately for so many reasons, but one of them is that it was giving me intense nightmares. Like I, like, I told my therapist I was like, I just keep having like these terribly graphic nightmares. And she's like, well, a lot of that is probably 'cause you're having these like unprocessed emotions and fears throughout your day. And so the only time your brain has to sort through it is in the middle of the night when you're sleeping and it's like doing that. So then I was like, okay, I learned really quickly. Like I'm talking about like five weeks that that was not gonna work. And so I, and then also I was like, I have just been freshly reminded that we are not guaranteed anything when it comes to pregnancy. We are not guaranteed anything. And that's a really unfortunate reality, a really terrifying reality. But like until you lose the pregnancy, like you don't. You don't wish that you, I don't know. How do I explain this? You just know that you have to enjoy every single day that you wake up in your pregnant. And so I knew that distracting myself was not what I wanted to do. I wanted to try to cherish and enjoy every single day. That I got to carry this gift. And so I then really started doing a lot of things. I started to journal, I started to, even though like really early, like I would journal and like journal to the baby sometimes, I just short little bits. But I didn't know that you were journaling to our baby. That's so sweet. I had a notebook of it. It's a separate notebook. And. I've never, I've never heard you read one of those. Or maybe you just wanted to be for you. I've never read them to anybody. Do you think you'd ever read it to our baby? I don't know. They're kind of dark, some of them. And so, and then I got it like a book for like, just like, there's a really great book. It's called like growing, growing with purpose is what it's called. It's a really thin little book you can get on Amazon, but they have like specific like bits of encouragement. So it's like, say you have a scan today. Like this is a specific bit of encouragement. Say you got good news at the doctor's day. Say you got bad news at the doctor's day. Like say you're like, I don't know. It has like, it has something for every single day. And I read that. And then also, it really early on. Obviously you don't have any kind of bump when you're five, six, seven weeks pregnant. But I would still put my hand on my belly and just like, that was like really connecting me with this baby. Because if I've learned anything like, I just did not want it. I didn't want to wish a single day away because you know, you think when you find out you're pregnant that you're going to have nine months with that baby and so it's like, oh, I'm living so I can, I got to get through this bit so I can get to the birth. And when you've never reached that finish line during your pregnancy, you know that every single day is a gift that you're pregnant. And so I just wanted to live it and enjoy it and feel it every bit of it. And know this baby as much as I possibly can. I'm fine. By the way, I can just-- Any-- you good? Yeah, fine. Here, use my sleeve. Let me just step. No. Dad, I was just my sleeve. Imagine setting your makeup. Then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new grippy setting mist from Maybelline New York. Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours, with flexible all day comfy grip. Just plump, dewy, hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Try new grippy setting mist from Maybelline New York. Maybe it's Maybelline. Thank you to Shopify for sponsoring this portion of today's episode. Starting something new isn't just hard. It's terrifying. So much work goes into this thing that you're not entirely sure will work out. And it can be hard to make the leap of faith. 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Unplanned to 64,000, message and data rates may apply, see terms for details. I was given the advice from another, I'm gonna call them Loss Moms, 'cause I feel like that's kind of the title that they have online sometimes. From another Loss Moms, 'cause I was like, I'm not, I don't want to do it. I don't, I don't know how to feel. I don't know how to go about this next pregnancy. It just feels so foreign, even though it's my fourth time doing it. And she's like, my advice is to know everything you can about this precious life for as long as you can know it. And so for the first time then, at 10 weeks, we decided to do the NIPT blood work test, which would tell us the gender of the baby. - Yeah. - And we've always found out previously at the scan, or with Emerson and her case, we found out the day that we found out she didn't have a heartbeat. And I learned through that, that I never wanted to do it that way again. It's just not the way you want, if you can at all help it. Like, I just wanted to know everything I could about this baby for as long as I could. And so for the first time, we did that blood work. And you want to kind of tell us that story. - Yeah, yeah, let's tell it. So. - Do you remember, did you black out everything? - You know, it's been, it's been a, it's been a whirlwind. Like looking at the video of us finding out, I'm like, I forgot, that's how it happened. Like in my brain, it was probably a happier discovery. But no, we're just confused. We've never done this before. - We found out at, was it 10 weeks? - 10 weeks, yeah. - And it was really sweet. We had Abby's mom like put out. - I emailed her the results the morning I got them, and you would not believe the like, she was just so honored. - Your mom was very honored. - Very honored, so excited. - And I was teasing her, I was like. - And that made me excited too. - I was like, I was like, it's a girl, right? I'm like, you're like, you, I'm trying to get your mom to like spill the beans on like what? - I know, she's pretty good. - Was her poker face on her face. - And she was good. Like she wouldn't, she wouldn't cave. She wouldn't give me information. And so Abby and I went shopping for some flowers. She and Lori, Abby's mom put the flowers, like the color of the gender into our, I guess our boys were just carrying the flower. And they just carried the flower to us. - We got fake flowers. - Yeah. - And we got pink and blue. - We couldn't find real ones. - Good federal. - We actually vlogged that experience. We went to like a bunch of different stores. - It was fun. - We were that we went, we could not find the flowers. - And so basically we just went outside that day. It was literally just us, my mom and our kids. And we had both bouquets of fake flowers. And then she handed the boys the appropriate color, you know, of the gender of the baby. And you opened your eyes first. - Yeah. - And then you told me. - And it's funny too, because we started telling a lot of people that we were wanting to keep it a secret. But we told my parents, we told my grandma, we told your parents, and then pretty soon we decided, I think we decided on the name literally that day. You just, you gave like two different ideas for the name. And I'm like, ah, I like that one. And I told you. - Well, 'cause unfortunately we had already been in conversations about names, you know? - Yeah. - Since last June. - Exactly. And so then we had the name, we made the mistake of telling our boys the name, 'cause then they just started telling everybody. - Yeah. - We got to go back a little bit, 'cause we never told, talked about telling people we were pregnant in general. - Oh my gosh, you're right. Yeah, we thought of a gender. - Everyone just kind of found out by accident, I feel like. - Wait, what do you mean by that? Who found out by accident? - Well, first of all, the first person that found out that we told the grandparents immediately. - Except for your grandma. - No, no, no, no. I'm talking about like my parents and your parents. - Ah, yes, yes. - Right. - Wait, okay, so we told our parents immediately. - Yes. - So the grandparents of the baby. And then, while I told my mom immediately, and then she told my dad, and then your parents found out like when I was like, what, five weeks? - It was really funny because the reason we told my parents when we did, we were writing roller coasters at Sylvord R. City in Branson, Missouri, and Abby wasn't going on a single ride. Like, not only are you not able to do rides on your pregnant, but even the ones that were pregnancy safe, you were skipping out on some of those too. Like, you just did not want to get anywhere close. - I was experiencing bleeding. - To the line, yeah, and you're experiencing bleeding, so you were worried. That sucks that we did that fun experience while you were. - Yeah, wasn't so fun in my head. The boys had a freaking box. - Yeah, they had a great time. - The boys, oh my gosh. - And also, that is a really great point to bring up. Having two little kids too is such a gift. And if you're experiencing like this, 'cause I'm such a, so much joy from them that it's like, and so much levity, they're just like going about life. - But to finish this story, I can tell my mom knew that you were pregnant, she was just on to you because you would skip like six rides. And I'm like, okay, we're gonna tell my mom before she tells my dad that she thinks that you're pregnant, and then my brother, who's with us, he's gonna know. And so we're on our way over to another ride. And I have our two-er-guide, 'cause Sylvord R. City set us up with a two-er-guide and we're super diced to them. Have her take a picture of us, but I just put it on video mode, and we told them we were pregnant, and they freaked out. And of course, anyway, mom had like, she was on, she had been on to us for probably 20 minutes at that point because of the situation. It was really funny though, because my dad is, he's so sweet, my dad would share our YouTube videos with people before anybody even watched our YouTube videos. He'd shared it with his Facebook friends, but there were some sweet girls who were happy to be walking by and had recognized us, and they got really excited, 'cause they heard that we were pregnant, this is back in December, so they've kept it a secret this whole time. They queued to those people, they kept it a secret, but my dad goes up to them and he's like, "Don't tell anyone." "I'm gonna keep it a secret." - It was like, it's okay, John. - My dad's like playing the secret police out here, just trying to tell all these sweet people that saw us announce to them. So anyway, but that was really fun. It was a fun, we got to post that video. It was a fun little surprise for me. - Well, and then the next person that found out when I was in your brother, your older brother Caleb and Abby. - Yes, my brother. - This is so bad. - My older brother, yes, so on Christmas, it was like, we were-- - Christmas Eve service. - You looked so hot, but you wore this like tight dress, and you can see like a teen-- - Oh my gosh, you're making it look like I was scandalous at church. - No, I told you to wear it. - It was fitted. - I told you to wear it, 'cause you were like, "Baby, should I wear this?" And I'm like, good in mind. I was like, "Oh my lord, you look amazing." Wear that, and you could barely see like these slightest teeny little bump, but it was so cute, and I was just obsessed with you. I was like, "Where are that?" You look like a goddess. Caleb realizes that you're pregnant. He's like, "Okay, is Abby pregnant?" - No, on Christmas Day, he pulls you outside. - Yes, we're all gathered together. Whole families at our house. - And he said Abby's pregnant. - Before Caleb could spill the games to his wife, I told you, I was like, "Baby, we gotta tell him right now." So, he already got it out. He literally just looked at you. I was like, "Abby's pregnant." - And, right around that same time, though, 'cause we were trying to stall. We were trying not to tell. We were trying to keep this secret-- - We had the rest of our family inside the house. We wanted to keep it as secret as long as possible, but Blake and Abby are sister-in-law, who's literally in the room with us right now. She was onto us, but wasn't saying anything, because you were having food a versions while we were looking at Christmas slides, like anything that smelled slightly different than the air, I don't know. Just anything-- - The air. - Just any smell at all. That was just a funky smell. You're like, "Oh, I can't." I'm not clear. - Let's be clear. - What was the smell? What was it that you were smelling? - It was Blake's chicken wings. - Blake's chicken wings. Oh, 'cause we did charcoot rebords for Christmas. - Yes. - And Blake did a chicken wing one, you were like, "Oh, I can't eat that." This is so-- - Did I do that? - Yes. - Wow, so providing. - You were big. It was okay. You were big dramatic, but I was like, "Ah, they know." - It wasn't that I was like a secret. It was just like, it honestly felt still felt at this point that it was like not real. I don't know how to explain that in any other way. It just felt so not real at that point. - I'm sorry. Can we just pause real quick? You have the most incredible calves. Can you show up your cat? You clearly were a ballerina. Look at those calves, my goodness. - Meaty. - Those have, show the camera. They look amazing. Also, you got to show the bump. Show your bump. Go ahead and stand up. Let's see a little close up of Abby's bump. A little side profile. Wait, more to the side, turn, turn. Oh, go this, do this middle camera. Ah, my baby. - Oh. - Anyway. - Your bump is adorable. I love your bump. - Thank you. - Okay, just to say it wasn't a secret, just felt like nothing was for certain, for so long, because we had so many, just, we were also treating this pregnancy so differently as far as like my doctors were, that it just all felt so uncertain, like more than ever. So we were just waiting until we knew things were good. And I guess like that is something that I've learned is that that's not really a place that you arrive at in pregnancy after loss. Like there's never like a arrival point of like, ah, this deep sigh of relief, like, it just doesn't happen. And so I think once I came to terms with that, I was like the whole, like everyone can know that is in our personal life. - Why is it that now I literally could, I feel like if you really wanted to have like seven children, I would be like, okay, let's do it. - Let's do it. - I feel like we won't reach this level of maturity in this level of love and our relationship where growing our family is one of the most beautiful things I've ever got new experience in my life. And doing that with you has been, there's just no words. There's just no words you can put into it. - That's sweet. Oh, I think now we just realized more than ever how precious like what a gift it is, how precious it is, how just like what a miracle it really is. Like I just remember feeling like after we lost Emerson, I remember just like literally going about my life in public and I was like, how are there so many people in the world? Like I was just like, all these people were once a fetus and that just blew my mind. And I'm like, and they are here. Like what, how incredible is that? And so yes, so then I guess, so yeah, family started to find out and it was different than it's ever been telling people because obviously like, yeah, it's just everything. Every single thing is different this pregnancy. And so we started to tell people and that honestly helped a lot. And I almost think that I'm like, I should have told them sooner, but I was just so like I was literally drowning in fear. And so but once family started to know and friends started to know it started to feel like I could, like maybe they could, I don't know, shoulder some of the burden of fear and just like make it actually, so I could feel a little bit of excitement. - Who is someone that you told that made you feel at peace with everything? - Or maybe like a friend or a family member? - Well, everyone I told, like it all felt really good, but especially on Christmas, like telling Abby, like 'cause that was the first, - Yeah, you were guys for crying. - Yeah, it was the first, like, it was the first non-parent that I had told. - Yeah. - And like it just felt like everything was just like, a little lighter after telling her. And so then yeah, just kept going about life and going to a lot of appointments. Yeah, remember because I had experienced a little bleeding, they were like kind of like, take it a little bit easier in the gym. So I think me, like my behavior changing in the gym, like a lot of my friends are from the gym. They started to notice, but no one was asking, which I appreciated too. Obviously I feel like that's just respectful afterwards. Until I was ready to talk about it. And so some people just because of circumstances, like it didn't feel like there was like a, I remember just telling you all the time, I'm like I don't want a hoopla. I just don't want a big hoopla. - Yeah, tell me more about your decision to keep it private for so long, but maybe not. - I just didn't want the attention of it. - Well, 'cause like at the gym, I noticed, I would notice like, again, you looked so ridiculously beautiful in your gym attire, but it was clear that you had a bump. And so I didn't know how you felt about, you know, post going out of you working, you know, doing a workout. - Oh, that's fine. - Your bump being seen. It was fine if people knew I just didn't want like a bunch of attention. - You just didn't, you just didn't want to like address it yourself. You just wanted to keep it. - Yeah, I just didn't want to, I wasn't ready to talk about it. - Just because of the grief in the fear. That was the thing. - So totally, I just wanted more space to like process how I was feeling. I felt like I was like kind of drowning every day. And then also like just struggling with like, how to even feel, how to even be. I wanted to also just like collect my thoughts too. And I feel like I'm at that point, where I'm like more collected about it. And so. - I think that's just because of the stage we've reached because of like a common question, people are gonna ask, like it's the most common question that anybody ever asks when you say your pregnant is, how far along are you? So how far are along are you? - Yes. Now at the time you see this, I'll be 20 weeks, but the day of filming, I'm 19. - We're almost over halfway. 20 weeks will be over halfway. By the time you guys are watching this. - Yeah, 'cause they will be over halfway. - So that was a big role too. Like especially wanting to go public about it, I really wanted that space for when we got to that 17 week mark. I wanted that space from like, you know, online, all that. That comes with it because I just knew that was we're gonna be a really hard week. And boy were they ever. Those weeks were actually harder than I even anticipated. So like week 17 and 18, I was just like, freaking basket case. - Yeah, 17 was horrible. The day, the day of filming. the 17 week appointment. I was trying to keep it together for you. -Oh my gosh. -I was just so scared. -Well, you didn't ask scared at all. -Because I could, I had to be your rock. -I feel bad. -I had to be your tough guy, and I want to be your rock and your tough guy. -You were scared, though. -I want to be the man that you can always lean on and come to for safety. -You were scared, but I didn't even know you were scared. -I'll do whatever I need to do. -You were scared at that appointment. -Of course, of course. -Oh, that sucked so much. -What's the scariest part? -Oh, Fudge Sickles. Okay. Don't I'm trying to not cuss as much. -Fudge Sickles. -I sometimes, sometimes I cuss now. -Oh my gosh. -We went to the freaking room that we found out we lost Emerson. -The same room. -It was the exact same room. -My heart was just bop-bop-bop. I was like, "Freck, we, oh, I hate this." And thank goodness. Well, here's the other thing. We had to wait in the waiting room for like 30 minutes, because they had like a surprise appointment or something. Like something came up and they were just scheduling things, and it was nobody's fault at all. But we had never waited longer. I felt horrible too. I wanted to drive you to the appointment, but I'm trying to, I weigh more than I've ever weighed, so I'm trying to lose weight, so I went on to run that morning. I got home 20 minutes before the appointment started, and you had already left the house, because I think you just needed to get out of the house. -I think you just needed to free your brain, and so I got there. I was in the waiting room five minutes before your appointment started, but I think you had gotten there like 10 minutes before your appointment started. -You were waiting one day. -And then we didn't get in until over 30 minutes after the appointment. So we were just in the waiting room for nearly 45 minutes. -And just to give you some idea into my head, like you walking into that same ultrasound room, like that was you reliving it a bad experience. When I have to explain to you like my body doing this again, it's like my body is reliving like a bad experience constantly. And so, especially when I started getting to 17 and 18, I remember just talking to therapy. I was like, I thought I was past this. Like I kept saying like I thought I was like doing so good. Like I was doing better. And then there's this like saying in like therapy or psychiatry, I don't even know. But like the body keeps the score, have you heard of that? It's so true. Like my body knew that when I had gotten to this stage of gestation, that things did not go well. And so like I just was like wrapped with anxiety. Like, I mean, so bad. Like it was so hard to do a lot of things that were normally like not a big deal, you know? Just going through the day was really hard. And I just remember just thinking like if I can just get to 18, if I can just get to 18, if I can just get to 18. And I got to, so we went to that 17 week appointment and baby was good. And we both started crying, I think. I for sure did and then and what's funny is like that day. My doctor has been so tender with us and very considerate. She was like, okay, at that 17 week appointment, I know that's going to be a hard one. So I'm going to schedule an extra scan that day so you can see baby. And I have had so many scans already just because of everything that had happened because of prior like, you know, with our loss, I had so many scans. And so my head, I was like, I'm for sure going to cancel that for like, I just won't need it. Yeah. As we got closer and closer to that appointment, I was like, there is no chance in this bloody earth that I'm going to cancel that. Like we did it. The additional one was at 18 weeks. 17 weeks. Yeah. Okay. So I'm so glad we had that because that rest that day was very, very good. And then I felt comfortable to plan the gender reveal. And so that, like that very same day, we started to actually put things in motion for the gender reveal. Yeah. Which is good because it was going to be like a week or so after that appointment. And so yeah, I think, yeah, literally was like a week and a half after that. So I was like, we like had to pull that together last minute, which I'm sure like all our friends and family was like, why did we just find out about this literally a week and a half before it happened or like a week before it happened or matter of days? It was just because it felt like, I mean, to be truthful, like we were planning the gender reveal when we found out we lost our last pregnancy. So like it just felt like if I were to do these things, then something were to go wrong. And I feel like that's something else I've been really working through a lot is that, like, I've called them superstition. And I don't really know that that's like exactly what it is. I think it's just like serious fear. But like not wanting to do the things I did before in a way to prevent the same outcome from happening. What are even things that were illogical? Tell me more about your superstitions because I knew about the gender reveal one. I knew that you were holding on to the gender reveal one and I was like, if I had planned it, then something's going to go wrong. So you waited literally the last minute to plan it. Other things were like, our kids coming to doctor's appointments, like I was like, have they been to a single one? They haven't. Like they were at the appointment when we found out we lost Emerson. So I was like, and my head was just kind of a blessing, honestly, it was, but illogically my head, I was like, if they come, then we're going to get bad news. Like it's just not. It's so illogical, but that's just like where I'm at, you know, and so there's more than that too. There's so many more. Yeah. Like the even you coming to appointments, like I just wanted to go by myself. Yeah. It's so weird. What's crazy is the one where we found out that Emerson, that was like, we had so many appointments already at that point. I almost didn't even come. Because I was like, oh, we're good. Yeah. Abby's got this down. And then thank goodness I came. Oh my gosh. Thank goodness you came. Yeah. But so yeah, I've just been struggling with a lot of these and I feel like superstition, like I was using that word, but I do feel like it kind of minimizes the fact that it's just like, it's just deep, deep fear that like you just have to kind of become comfortable with and the pregnancy after a lot lost. Like it's, I think it's unrealistic to think that you could have like none, you know? Yeah. Can we talk about something happy? Yes. Let's talk about something happy. What's going to happen? The gender reveal party was so happy. It was amazing. So we had over 50 people at our house for the gender reveal. Yeah. I'm like, so much fun. So many little kids. Yeah, bazillion little kids running around. You looked absolutely stunning in your dress. That's so fun. So, so pretty. It's so fun that like, that was a huge thing too. Like knowing the baby's gender meant that we could give the baby a name and giving a baby a name gives the baby humanity and like, that was just felt like such a great experience. Yeah. And for all of our friends and family to know, like, has been, oh, it's just, it feels like, it feels really good to be like, where we're at now. Now it doesn't mean that like, yeah, talk about something good. I'm going negative again. Yeah. Well, to keep the conversation on a positive moment, Abby did an incredible job putting out this party. She hired a local coffee shop to come and make pink and blue lattes for everyone in attendance. We have a lot of LDS or what you may know as Mormon friends that were there as well. So Abby thought of them. She had chocolate milk. And lemonade. That's the coffee stand, which is so sweet. A local balloon artist did the balloon arch with Abby's friend, what is it, Party Co. AZ Party Co. Is that right? So sweet. Our sister-in-law's friend, AZ Party Co did all the balloons in the backdrop. It looked so good. He had Chick-fil-A chicken minis. We had junk bakery did so many delicious pastries. I'm a local business called chunk bakery. I'm dying. The best, they're like a family owned local bakery and they are just the best ever. The ants got so many of them. We ate a ton of pastries at the party, but then I want to go, I want to go eat a leftover pastry the next day and it was covered the same day. Was it the same day? Yes. It was covered in ants, you guys. Sad. We have an ant problem at our house. We need a life. I'm so sick of these ants. They loved those pastries. I probably shouldn't have paid for pest control at this point is probably what it is because I put out ant traps, but it doesn't seem to do anything. So. Anyway. Awesome. It was really fun. It was a great day. It felt like more than anything, I've said this before, but gender feels, I'll be the first to tell you. They're kind of silly. What doesn't really matter the gender of your baby? It's just a celebration of life. It's just an excuse to throw a party in. It's just an excuse to have a party and then just to honor the life and the pregnancy and everything. You know, can I tell you a funny idea? I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this idea in the comments, but you know how some people do these like wild over the top gender reveals like there's some where they have drones in the sky and I'm saying the gender are for our friend Nicole, the nomad, not realizing it. I guess like a firework company wanted to go above and beyond for her gender reveal. It looked like a freaking nuclear like firework went off. No idea. It was going to be fun. So. But I kind of want to like, recreate something like that with AI and make it look like. It would be funny if we posted an AI and like our mat navy gender reveal and then you see like a plane like you're the sky and drop just like, I think you don't do it. But we just did the little poppers. We just had a little boop. And every time we do a gender reveal, I feel like you can't ever figure out a pop-your-popper. This time you did it yourself though, this time you took you like five seconds but you eventually figured it out. Yeah. I was saying that throwing that party was like against everything that my subconscious was telling me to do. Meet new grippy setting mist from Mabelie, New York. Jeldermist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all day comfy grip. No tightness. 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Yeah, so visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That is Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's u-p-w-o-r-k dot com Upwork.com. It's just wild. It's wild that this is the fourth time we've done this and it's wild. Even navigating that alone feels so like I've put so much thought into it but it just feels so complicated too. Does this make it baby number four? Still baby number three but fourth pregnancy. Trying to just navigate that also feels messy and complicated and we'll just do whatever feels like the best for us and all that has just been just been tricky. All that being said though. Last week we had the 18-week appointment. Yes. Well, it only had 20 weeks. Normally at 20 weeks we had it early at a facility that deals with high risk pregnancies. We're just being extra safe. Abby's doctor thought it'd be smart. It's called the maternal feel medicine doctor. Yes, so with our history, we're just doing extra appointments, double checking everything and thank goodness we did because while the baby is happy and healthy, we found out last week that Abby needs to be on pelvic rest. So it's described for people that don't understand pelvic rest. What that is. How long will you be on pelvic rest? It started from the beginning. This was at the anatomy scan which we did at 18 and a half weeks. It can happen anywhere between 18 and 20 but since we were going to like this high risk specialty doctor, they have like a ton of really good equipment and also they are checking. So I think the standard human or the standard anatomy scan is checking for like 20 different structures but one of the maternal fetal medicine doctor, they're looking at over 40 structures. So they're just they're doing an extra thorough job of the scan that everybody gets. They did notice that the placenta is in a less than ideal position. So basically the way the doctor, he was really great at describing this. He even got out an expo marker and like drew a diagram for us but basically they're looking for the placenta to attach itself to the upper half of the uterus and that's because that's obviously the afterbirth for a reason you don't want it to be close down low to your cervix because you don't want that to come out first like when you're delivering maybe. So they wanted to be in the upper half. The our placenta is in the lower half and it's a little too close to the cervix that they like to see and so they have recommended pelvic rest which I know that this is not entirely uncommon. I actually know other people that have like had this similar thing and it's not actually not too far off from where they want it to be. It's actually just literally a fraction of a centimeter but like that's that's the reality is that they I'm glad they're looking for that and I'm glad they're being extra cautious. So they did recommend it. I recommend like a form of pelvic rest but basically like I can't do any high intensity workouts. So at this point I'm literally just going on walks and we also cannot have in the intercourse for the next several weeks. Which is brutal. I know. I thought she wouldn't you look at this? Matt literally left off is he goes which one's worse in your opinion. And I was like I don't feel like I should answer my question but yeah so it is just like very you know we're open about that type of thing over here. That's the difference. This is a change for us. Yeah. And so um obviously obviously we're just so grateful that the baby is healthy. That has been like just our biggest hope and that was just such a release like of fears to get through get to that appointment and to get through that appointment with a positive result was great. It was like a little bummer that there was like this other thing to think about because I just wanted to like just like have a deep sigh of relief and like move on. But now there's this lingering thing that we had just have a follow up for and we have to keep thinking about it and hoping that it moves its way upward a bit and things like that when we've never had to think about something like that. And so it is a little bit like a bummer if I'm totally honest a little frustrating. What was he saying about the placenta being too close to the cervix. We need to like let it get higher up. We also don't want the placenta to it would not be good if the placenta detached. So we're trying to you're being extra careful extra cautious. Yeah. But what's the thing about like he said something about like 1.7 millimeters or something. Do you know what that exactly meant? Yeah. So basically I think they're looking for it to be like over two centimeters away from the cervix. Away from the cervix. Why though? Oh, because it could fall through. No, no, no. I don't know. He didn't go. He was very kind. He did not go into like all the worst case scenarios of it because I don't think he was also too concerned. Like he was like this is not too far off from where he wanted to be like we're just going to keep an eye on it. But I think that the risk is if it goes my assumption. I'm not a doctor. My assumption is that if it goes over the cervix area, it first of all isn't great for delivery, but then also it can lift if that cervix opens. Yeah. And which it's going to like later on in pregnancy. And so and that's definitely not good if the placenta is not like fully attached to the uterine wall. So we're not too concerned about it at all, but it's just something to think about and something to be extra cautious about, which we are more than happy to do whatever we have to do. You know, I feel like I'm in high school again. You know why? Because we are. I'm like, I'm next to this extremely attractive woman and we can't even do anything. We just have to kiss. We actually did kiss a long time the other day for it was for like 30 seconds. It was amazing. Anyway, yeah. So I guess that's like the full update. Oh, so we do know the gender of the baby. And we're probably going to, I don't know when we're going to help better. We need to decide when we're telling people. Yeah. Next week. We'll announce the gender to you guys soon. We'll announce the name at some point. When the baby's born. Probably when the baby's born. But it is. Oh, my due date. The due date is August 11th, which is Abby's dad's birthday. Yeah, well, and Augie's birthday is August 10th, crazy that like Abby's dad has the due date. Real's birthday August 18th. We got a bunch of August so many August birthdays in her family. What's up with that? Yeah, well, you know, okay, what I would try to avoid that for the fifth pregnancy. Whenever that happens, I think we should time it to where you'll have a big bump around Halloween. Because I think it'd be so funny. I think you have it so much. I think it's so cute. I'm really into you pregnant. And I, I think it'd be so cute if you had like, I could paint your belly to be a watermelon, a basketball, like so many different things. It would just be hilarious. That has nothing to do with this no one stop. Honestly, you have done such a good job of like helping me feel comfortable being pregnant. I just love you. Like, you first of all make me feel beautiful when I'm pregnant, like especially now more than ever. But then also just like constantly, like validating this pregnancy and such. Like it makes it just feel so much safer. Like that I am - I'm pregnant now. - I'm really excited. - And you've been so excited about the baby. Like you being like a 150% excitement about everything has made it feel like I can like be more excited myself. - Yeah. - That makes sense. And so like just I'm so grateful like to have you like through this pregnancy and always through everything. But like you've been such a help through all this. - The thing that we need to figure out is if and when we're doing a baby moon 'cause I love baby moons. I know. - I think they're so fun. - We just do a short little trip like we've done in the past. Not too long if you don't wanna be away from our kids. If we're not for kids like more than two days we get really sad. We miss them. - Two days of some max. - We usually switch our flight so we can get home for kids. - What's your sad? - But yeah, I think we should plan like a short like we can get away in and maybe like we fly my mom out to hang with our kids while we're gone or something. I don't know. We'll figure it out. - Potentially. - Yeah, I love baby moons though. - How did you guys tell the boys you were pregnant? - Wait, yeah, how did we tell the boys that we were pregnant? - I think we like-- - Did you just tell them? I feel like you just said it. - We just told them from the beginning. - Yeah. - Yeah, well I just didn't wanna make it a big thing too because this has happened and I was anticipating it like confusion. Like and they have had confusion, you know? - Yeah. And we've had a talk to them about the miscarriage. We've had to explain to them why mom was pregnant and then she wasn't and now she's pregnant again with a new baby and I think the simplest way to explain to a three year old what happened is that Emerson's body stopped working which then of course Griffin's next question was, is my body gonna stop working? - And then is this baby's body gonna stop working? - Which is scary but I think there's always age-appropriate ways to talk about these things and it doesn't have to be-- - And I also don't think little kids have that fear attachment. - You don't need to go into detail for them either. Like you say, oh, baby's body stopped working and then it's kind of like, okay, they don't really ask follow-up questions and if they do, then you can just say, well, yeah, eventually everyone's body does stop working. And then-- - Well, it's really helpful to have a name for this baby too and I feel like we waited also until we had a name more. - Yeah. - And we're like, oh yeah, like we just called the baby by name and they do too and yeah, they're very excited. I feel like also our kids are very chill. Like they're not like, they're just, they're very chill kids. They're very laid back, easy going and they're excited but also like they have no concept of like how long a pregnancy is. - Has it already been a week since we found out you needed to be on public rest? - No. - Oh my gosh, we have so much more time. We're gonna get through it though. - It's been like four days man, howard. - Yeah, I know. You've been going out in your walks. Do you enjoy walking now or is it just kind of eh? - It's eh. - It's eh. - I'm gonna learn to love it. I've been listening to audiobooks. - Any fun audiobooks you're listening to? - I know. - Nothing. Nothing that good. - You can't recommend it. - No, but no, we're making the most of it. It's great and we'll just do whatever you have to do. - Yeah, how do you feel about your hormones this time? Do you feel different than you have? I feel like the answer is yes. - I do, yeah. I feel like I've been different. - Yeah. - Well first of all, I love my bump throwing. - I love it. - I love it too. - I love every single bit of it. - And we're feeling kicks. You've been, you've started feeling kicks like a week ago. - I love kicks at 17 weeks you guys. I feel like that was like the sweetest, like little blessing to field kicks so early. And that was like such a gift. - How did you know it was a kick? - You can tell. You can tell. - But like it's just like a little vibration sort of thing, like it almost feels like a heart. - No, it feels like a little tiny foot just like. - 'Cause when I felt it, you described it as, it almost feels like a beating heart. In a way, like a heartbeat. - Maybe it didn't feel like kick. - Maybe I said it feels like a pulse. Like it's just like a little. - Yeah, that's what I felt. I felt a pulse. - Yeah. - That's like their, yeah. And so we've been feeling kicks as of like 17 weeks, which was very early. And it was like undeniably what that was. And now I like this morning I woke up and I like felt even more than like a kick. I felt like a movement of sorts. - Yeah. - And so that has been such a gift, like such a relief. So, so amazing to experience and to feel like, I don't have no, like any body changes that I'm experiencing. I'm like, yes, yes, I welcome them. 'Cause that means that baby's growing and that's all we want. I don't know, I think we should keep the rest of the like, 'cause I was gonna say other things that I can't do this pregnancy that I was able to do all my other pregnancies. I don't know. Like I'll never download the pregnancy apps, probably ever again. - That's right. - Yeah, I don't know. I just have a weird attachment to those. I'm not an attachment, like a weird reaction to those. Like not to be, I don't want to be dark. I don't want to be negative, but like all those apps a lot of times they have like a graphic of like what baby looks like in your womb. Currently, which I think is incredible that they have that. But also, we have had like a very realistic view of what a baby looks like at that gestation. And yeah, I don't want to see the apps. Also, it just feels like you're banking on something happening like that. You're like, I'm not guaranteed to be able to scroll, you know, to 30 weeks, 35 weeks and get to that point. Like I don't know, just so many confusing feelings about pregnancy apps much. I'm like, I don't have to download those. It's totally fine. It's totally fine. I always know how far along I am. There's never a point where I'm like, 'cause I've seen some moms have multiples to be like, I even know how far along I don't even know blah, blah. Like that, I can't relate to literally at all. Like I know how many weeks and how many days I am every single day. And you know, that's totally fine. It's just a little different than before. What are other different things? Finding out super early, the gender was different. - Yeah. - Also not trying to distract myself. I feel like I always try to distract myself through pregnancy. Don't want to do that. Definitely don't want to do that. I really want to fight against that and enjoy every single day and view it as a gift. And I do, and on the days that it's like really, really hard. Like I'm talking about week 17. I like, oh, actually talk to the baby. Like when I'm by myself. And so that really helps too. - I haven't heard you talk to our baby. That's sweet to you. - No, I'm just embarrassing. - That's not embarrassing. That's not embarrassing. That's beautiful. - But that would be my advice to like a mom that's pregnant after a loss too. It was like really just do everything you can to just try to stay present and connect it to you. - Oh my gosh, you know what just made pregnancy. What, talking about you being pregnant, maybe you think of? - What? - How Griffin asked us for the first time how babies are made. - Yeah, that was interesting. And I just, I said it in the simplest way I said, well, I really just said, what a mommy and daddy love each other very much. - Essentially. - Mommy gets pregnant. - Yeah. - I just said, want me and daddy, love each other? - I think we could prove as it that. - Yeah, I know. - But that was enough for him for that. - And that was enough. He was like, all right, you guys love each other. So mom got pregnant. - Yeah, it was really, you know, it was like, but how did the baby get in your belly? That was the question. I was like. - What did I say? - Well, I feel like we were talking about it. And then that naturally led him to that. Like I don't think he would have ever arrived there on his own. - Yeah. - Like you're like, do you know that mommy, or that daddy loves mommy so so much? - Yeah. - And that like, oh, you said, did you know that mommy grew you in her belly? - Oh, yeah, I told Griffin that we made him. So we made him. - Yeah. - And then he's like, wait a minute. - How did the baby get in mommy's belly? - Yeah. And I said, mommy's and daddy's babies through love. - Yeah, something like that. - Yeah. - So you know, that was enough for him. - Yeah. - Well, wait, well, yeah. That's, that will be a conversation for another day. - It was a very smart intel question. - But I think just keeping it as simple and as age appropriate as possible is the way to do it. I don't, but I also don't like, I don't like it when, I don't wanna lie. And I don't like when parents are like, don't ask the question. - I don't wanna make it taboo or anything. - Yeah, you don't wanna make it taboo. - But I think that that was very age-properate. - I think it's important though to for you as the parent, to be the one telling your kids how this stuff works. - Totally. - Just think about it. Like they discover all this stuff from kids at school. - I had a lot of misconceptions because I never had this extra thing. - Or a movie that they're, like maybe they learned it from movies and TV or some wacky kid at school that has a bunch of older siblings. - I didn't even know my own anatomy at the time of getting my period. - That's crazy. You had no idea you had more than one. - I didn't know there were three. - Holes. - That's crazy. - That genuinely didn't know. - That's pretty remarkable. You have that. - That's awesome. - That is remarkable. - I love that for you. - Thank you so many ways. - I just think that you talked to your kids about it, and as uncomfortable as it is, I think diving into the discomfort and being okay with that, just for the betterment of your child is important, right? - We're going off on a tangent. - Yeah, I definitely am. But yeah, I think you told me, you're ago that you did not want to do another summer pregnancy in Arizona. And guess what? - We're doing another. - You're doing another summer pregnancy in Arizona. How are you planning to stay positive, to keep cool, to not overheat when it's like 120 outside, what's your game plan? - I'm just so grateful. - To be pregnant, that I'm like, I'll do it any time of year, I'll do it. However, I have to do it under any circumstances. - Yeah. - What's up with gap we're going to go for between baby number three? Well, this is baby number four, but I guess, what should we even say? Like when people ask us about our kids, do we say like, yeah, we have one in heaven, then two here and one on the way? - I just always just consider the person that I'm talking to. - Yeah. - Right, so if I'm like talking to a stranger and they say that I have two boys and that I'm pregnant, I'm like, oh yeah, baby number three. Like, you know, there's no reason. - Yeah, you carry it to them. - But I actually am surprisingly comfortable to tell random people all the time, like, oh yeah, we had a loss after them. [BLANK_AUDIO] So like this is our pregnancy after loss and that was a girl and I like tell them like I feel like And I do that if it's another like mom. Yeah, or another dad like a parent like I might they know they they've done this So I just have to Yeah, I It's just I navigate this like if it's friends and family for sure I'm talking about it in the sense of number four because it but I know it definitely bothers you when people make the mistake of saying How's your third pregnancy and it's like it's not like it'll be your third birth I'm like it's actually my fourth birth. Yes, you've you've already given birth three times Yeah, two of them two of them were live But vaginal. Yeah, what's called live birth live birth and then one was not It's complicated, right and it's messy and I just feel like I don't expect everyone in my life to you know Know always have the perfect right thing to say at that given moment because also it changes within me Like what feels right? It's just like but I also don't feel the like I can also speak up, you know and yeah help everyone out, you know To qualify well guys. I think that is enough for today That is certainly enough are so So grateful so excited if you've been here since the beginning I know there's been some of you that have been watching listening tuning in since the beginning of this podcast Even since the beginning of our YouTube channel and Tik Tok back in 2020. Thank you for being here Into those of you that have left a review for our podcast. Thank you. I want to read a review from Kate 109 This is a review that she left on Apple podcast and it says I'm so grateful for how the two of you show up and tell your story I enjoy listening every week at the end of the last episode Abbie's that's all I have broke me. Thanks for being so vulnerable. I know it's helping many And wow thank that was really sweet. So thank you for leaving that review We try to just keep it as real as possible for for you guys here because we we want To just because we're actually just real we're just we're just we're just yeah, we're just a couple couple dudes Making making can I say one more thing silly videos online. Yeah, what's up? Um, I just want to say this Like our decision to pursue another pregnancy after pregnancy loss was fully out of evaluating Was it worth the cost yeah, and When I looked at ever since like pregnancy and like short little life As painful as it was as like life changing as that was Ultimately, it was worth the cost of my mind like it was worth the cost of everything that we went through To get to carry her for 17 weeks and evaluating this pursuing this current pregnancy Looking at the potential of getting to carry another baby And getting to hopefully meet this baby On the day that this baby is born alive and healthy That was worth the cost for us. Yeah, and so if your mom that has experienced loss and you're looking at everything that's happened to you And everyone's circumstances and experiences are different if you're looking at that and you're just coming to the conclusion It's not worth it. There is no judgment. That is that is totally valid that you feel that way We're just sharing our story and that for us that was worth the cost The the potential of experiencing loss again As fearful as it was it was worth it's it's been worth it And so that's why we felt comfortable Trying what we did trying and trying when we did Is because we just had really thoughtfully evaluated all of it like all the pain all the fear compared with the joy and the gift of pregnancy and potential like Growing like growing our family and like all that it was worth it So I just want to add that there for the mom that's listening That's like I just cannot reconcile doing this possibly doing this again And that is totally valid. I want you to understand that you don't need this isn't necessarily the right quote-unquote right way to do things are the most Healed way to do it like it's just what was right for us Given everything so I just want to say that too and also like all I can do is just picture the day that we get to hold This baby in our arms and that really is just keeping us going just hearing that cry being the hospital holding that baby Having our boys meet this baby and taking this baby home is just like literally Just like the vision that we just can't like that we just keep Imagining in our heads to get us through each day. So yeah, I'm like crying so much as episode and it's like supposed to be so happy And it is but obviously like it's so complicated so yeah and Yeah, the people I get it get it. I really know that like I really know that Well guys, thank you. We'll see you in the next one and as always peace out Imagine setting your makeup then forgetting it's even theirs Meet new grippy setting mist from Mabelie, New York Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all day comfy grip No tightness no stickiness no residue just plum do a hydrated skin that still feels like your skin try new grippy setting mist from Mabelie, New York Maybe it's Mabelie

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. The speaker shares a deeply personal journey of pregnancy after experiencing a miscarriage, emphasizing the emotional and physical challenges of grieving and rebuilding.
  2. They describe a pregnancy that began with intense fear, superstition, and anxiety, shaped by past losses, including a traumatic ultrasound in the same room where their previous pregnancy ended.
  3. The pregnancy became a source of healing and connection, with the couple choosing transparency and joy—such as a large gender reveal party—to honor the baby and support others going through similar experiences.

Summary:

The speaker recounts their emotional and physical journey through a pregnancy following a traumatic loss, highlighting the profound fear, anxiety, and superstitions that shaped their experience. After years of grief and uncertainty, the pregnancy became a symbol of resilience and hope. The couple faced intense emotional hurdles, including anxiety about recurring complications and the fear of losing the baby again—deeply rooted in past trauma.

A pivotal moment came when they attended a 17-week appointment in the exact room where their previous pregnancy ended, triggering overwhelming emotional distress. Despite this, they found strength in small acts of joy, such as preparing a celebratory gender reveal party with over 50 guests, local vendors, and personalized touches like pink and blue lattes and pastries. This event marked a turning point in their journey, symbolizing not just the baby’s arrival, but a deeper acceptance of life, vulnerability, and shared human experience.

The story underscores how grief after loss can transform into a powerful motivation for connection, transparency, and celebrating the fragility and beauty of life. The narrative reflects on the emotional complexity of pregnancy after loss, where fear and superstition coexist with healing, and where small moments—like a party full of children and laughter—become signs of hope and renewal. Ultimately, the experience emphasizes that while pregnancy after loss is emotionally overwhelming, it can also be a deeply meaningful and life-affirming journey.

FAQs

The new groupie setting mist from Mabelie, New York, uses gel-to-mist technology to lock in makeup for up to 24 hours. It provides a flexible, comfortable grip without tightness, stickiness, or residue, leaving skin feeling plump, dewy, and hydrated while still feeling like natural skin.

The mist offers all-day comfort with a flexible, non-greasy grip that adapts to movement. It helps maintain makeup integrity throughout the day without causing discomfort or skin irritation, making it ideal for long hours of activity or work.

The journey highlights the emotional and physical challenges of conceiving after a loss, including anxiety, fear, and the struggle to process grief. It emphasizes the importance of honoring both the past and the new life with honesty and care.

They wanted space to process their grief and fear, especially after experiencing a miscarriage. They felt emotionally overwhelmed and didn’t want the attention or pressure of public disclosure until they were ready.

The couple shared their pregnancy with close family members gradually. Their parents found out first when the mother skipped rides at a theme park due to pregnancy-related symptoms, and their brother noticed the physical changes during Christmas.

Therapy helped the couple process their grief and anxiety related to pregnancy after loss. They learned about the 'body keeps the score' concept and realized their emotions were deeply tied to past trauma, which helped them heal and move forward.

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