Now that THAT's out of the way...

Thank you all for the well-wishes. I am actually pretty excited about the whole thing, not the least of which is because I get to milk another high-risk pregnancy for the next seven months. (Also, one of the great parts about finding out you are nine weeks along is you just magically skip the first two months. Poof! They're gone.)

While this was a surprise, it was not unwanted. I had said since the night I delivered Emmie that I wanted one more baby. Josh was on the fence, but wasn't shutting the door on the issue. We decided if it happened, it happened. Apparently, it happened. Just as I was starting to think about wanting another. So it worked out spectacularly well for me. And yes, I know how lucky I am. I know there are plenty of women out there, including some everyday readers of this very blog, who would give anything to have a child. And I hope this same exact thing happens for them.

I didn't really get into the details of what's to come in my last post. I will go for a detailed ultrasound and genetic testing on June 4. Because I am the dreaded "Advanced Maternal Age" now at 35 years old, I get to undergo even more tests than normal. Which is fun. Because I don't have enough people poking their nose around my uterus during under-35 pregnancies.

Immediately after the ultrasound, I will meet with my Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist. This is the man I owe for bringing me my Jackie, safe and sound. And for making sure my Emily arrived without problems. I wouldn't dream of having anyone else perform my cerclage this time around either. Imagine my surprise to learn he had been elevated to the head of the department since I last pushed a child out of my body. Makes me feel even better, if that's possible.

My cerclage will be placed sometime the week after that. I have a wedding to attend, however, so I am angling to have it done the week of June 15, when I will be 14 weeks. I had it done with Emmie at 15 weeks, so right about the same time.

I have no idea what that means in terms of restrictions. I know last time I was prohibited from lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk, vaccuming/scrubbing the floors, swimming and exercising. I imagine things will be much the same this time. They better be. Because since Josh won't let me hire a cleaning lady, I get to boss him around about how the housework should be done. I also hear sleeping in until 10 a.m. is mandatory for all women with preventative cerclages.

And for all of you who expressed concern about lumping the birthday in with Christmas, let me assure you it will not be an issue. While my birthday is a full month after Christmas, it was close enough that I would say, "Well, if I don't get (insert insanely popular gift from 1980s here) for Christmas, I want it for my birthday." My mom even instituted a rule that I could not talk about my birthday until Christmas was over. Emmie's is even closer, at just three weeks afterward. Knowing my body like I do, this baby will be born no later than the first week of December. I think we can safely say that is out of the "lumping in" timeframe.

Oh! Also. I am sick. Sick as a dog. And just like with both my kids, I get sick in the afternoon and it stretches to the evening. I am averse to sweets, crave salty and can't get enough macaroni and cheese and fish sticks. Just like the first two pregnancies. No puking, just constant nausea. Josh has been forced to work at home for the last two weeks because of some insane quarantine, which has been immensely helpful when I need to lie down and not hear about food for an hour or two before dinner time.

So there you have it. All the details you ever needed. You need to know more -- leave a comment with your question and I will address it for you.