The 9 Month Maternity Marathon ~ Yep, I'm Running It!

Yesterday, I shared this little tid-bit on Facebook:

"Steve and I are excited to announce that I'll be running my FAVORITE marathon for the next few months.....It's the toughest race, but has the BEST view at the finish line, and the post-race party with the boys is always awesome!!"

I'm sure you guys aren't too surprised, as I am always writing about how yummy babies are and what gifts and graces flow when we are open to life, and how I've become a professional at handling the misguided, thoughtless comments of others when it comes to fertility and family size, etc., etc.

What you probably didn't know is that after I had our 4th little wonder, Mr. Henry, my body's endocrine system said, "Hasta la vista, baby!" (It did, I heard it). It completely left town, abandoning it's duty of helping me function like a normal human being.  My adrenals, thyroid and hormones made a swift disappearing act. So, that was fun. (I won't go into the boredom inducing symptomatic details - Google can fill you in.) Luckily, I have a great doctor who didn't think I was a hypochondriac and was willing to get to the root of the issues.  Slowly, the trio was revived and I started feeling better, which, to our great joy, made it possible for me to receive the gift of our 5th son, Charlie.

After Charlie's birth, the same dang thing happened again.  Only, this time, I never really felt like myself again.  All of my cooperation with the Dr.'s orders, still didn't result in a strong and sustained system.  Deep down, I knew that the possibility of having another baby was slim, but I kept hoping and praying that if God had plans to trust us with another life, He would give me the grace to trust in Him. I've already been asked if this little one is a surprise, to which I must answer, "yes!" followed by, "BUT, you didn't mean oopsy did you?? Because our baby isn't an oopsy, it's a miracle."  Everyone also wants to know if we were trying for a girl.  Really? Really?????

The boys are giddy with excitement, and so are we!  I'll be even more excited when my hyperactive gag reflex settles down a bit, and the waves of exhaustion pass.  I don't want to scare anyone off, but funny things happen when you experience your sixth pregnancy.  For instance:

 :: 6 minutes after you tinkle on the stick, you start to show. (Bye-Bye blue jeans, hello yoga pants.)

:: 6 questions are asked 60 different ways by your children how this really happened.

(Our precious sons always look at me for answers, but I divert them with cupcakes.)

:: 6,000 kegels are what it would take to re-gain control over peeing your pants after sneezing and giggling. Raise your hand if you despise kegels.  What's a kegel?

::6 pregnancies x 9 months = 54 eternities without wine (that's nearly 5 years people!)  The next time you uncork a bottle, think of me!

:: 600 mental attempts at rearranging the entire house are what my mind goes through at night while laying in bed trying to convince myself that another baby and all the baby stuff won't shrink our square footage.

:: 16 times a day I have to explain to the boys why  our ninja wars on the trampoline will hereby be suspended until mid-summer. We are currently looking for a less violent form of quality time.

I hope you guys are ready to run through the next 6.5 months and all of the baby bananas with me! We can do this, right?? Raise your glass of OJ with me: 

Here's to the constant carb cravings, feet swollen to the next shoe size, 

support bands and bigger boobs (hey, for some of us, that's a major benefit!).

Have a great day, my friends!!