Baby GIRL Sisti 2.0

First off, do y'all even have a clue how hard it was for me to keep this news to myself for 16 weeks?! I'm a gal who loves to share happy news, so I had to temper my excitement!

We are so excited that our newest little daughter, Ainsley Catherine Sisti, will be joining us in mid-December! 

I wanted to take a sec and share a few details about this pregnancy journey so far and answer a few questions, because I'm sure there are a couple things you may be wondering ; )

A surprise and some initial reactions...

I try to keep it as real as I can around here, so here is me doing just that:

• Yes, this baby was a surprise to us. 
• Caroline and Ainsley will be 14 months apart.
• No, we did not "plan" it. But God did. And by now, I think the guy knows what He's doing.
• Yes, we know how babies are made and what causes pregnancy. (And yes, people really do have the nerve to ask that.) 

We definitely wanted at least one more child and hoped she/he would be really close in age to Caroline. We had already discussed trying again when Caroline turned a year old. Turns out, the good Lord beat us to the punch by about three or four months.

I went through so many emotions that first week. 

My initial reaction upon seeing the test was...to laugh. (When I'm nervous, I laugh. A lot.) So, there I was, laughing like a buffoon all by my lonesome while Caroline napped and Ruby (our mini dachshund) staring at me like I was a lunatic. And then I was like, "Maybe I should do another test to confirm?" So, I drove to the drugstore once Caroline finished napping, bought a three-pack and headed back home.

After another test, it became clear that the test was indeed correct. So I picked up the phone, called Stephen with shaking hands and we started laughing together on the phone. Then, I immediately called my Mom. She was thrilled and had to try like the dickens to keep her composure since she was in a doctor's office waiting room, ha!

I was thrilled. And terrified. But mostly exuberant. But kind of in shock. And really happy. But OH-MY-GAWWWWWWW. 

That night we found out, I started to get a little worried as emotions set in and pregnancy hormones reared their ugly heads. The thought of having a newborn and a really young toddler at the same time kind of freaked me out. I was SO excited to be a mommy again, but I began to question my ability to care for two. "Would I have the energy?" "Am I a 'good enough' mom to do this again so soon?" "What if I can't give Caroline the attention she needs and deserves with a newborn to look after?" So. Many. Thoughts.

But, my husband, always the voice of reason, reassured me that we would rock this thing. After I prayed, took a good, long shower, and had a restful night of sleep, I felt much more at peace. And that next morning, I was able to relax and focus on just celebrating the little blessing that would soon be joining us.

I was also reminded of so many amazing moms with similar stories, like Shay from Mix 'n Match Mama, as well as beautiful Natasha from Hello! Happiness, who has been such a godsend, listening to me vent and ask questions via email in the weeks leading up to this announcement. (And can I just say, if I look half as good as either of those mommas after these two babies, I'll be a happy camper!)

The name

There really isn't a significant reason for choosing the name we did -- Ainsley Catherine -- only that we just liked that name a lot. We considered Catherine for the first name, but Stephen has quite a few Catherine(s) in his family already. I heard the name Ainsley, loved it, threw it out to see what Stephen thought, he loved it and it stuck.

We could never come to a conclusion on a boy's name, which is exactly what happened with Caroline, ironically enough. I think our subconsciouses just knew we wouldn't need a boy name : )

Will I do a week-by-week Bumpdate?

I don’t think so. I’ll take some pics for my own records and be journaling everything in this baby's book, but I’m not going to bore y’all with weekly updates. Maybe monthly? To be honest, I'm too busy chasing the babe I have now!

But to give y'all a reference point as to what le bump looks like now, this is me at 16 weeks on July 3rd. I'll be 17 weeks this Wednesday. 

Have I been sick as a dog like I was with Cee Baby? 

I haven’t been quite as sick as I was with Caroline, so that’s been nice. The good news about having a sickly first pregnancy was that I had plenty of glorious Zofran still hanging out in the medicine cabinet. I had to pop that stuff until 37 weeks with Caroline, so I had a pretty adequate stash already. Thankfully, I've been able to ward off the really bad vomiting most days. (Though they do come occasionally and WOAH.)

Right now, I might get sick once or twice a day, but after the hyperemesis (or HG) pregnancy I had with her, this is a walk in the friggin' park. 

It's a..........!!!!!

I was DYING to know the gender and, as much as I love the idea of being surprised at the birth, I'm just too much of a planner. So, when they asked if we wanted to know, we said YES. 

We really didn't have a preference, like, at all. I'd have happily taken a sweet little girl or a boy, no question. Admittedly, I'm a liiiiiiittle bit partial to baby girls because, well, we have one and it has been so much freakin' fun. (But really, boy or girl, aren't all babies a lot of fun?) 

I've always just had a feeling I'd be a girl mom. It's funny because a lot of people assumed Stephen would want a boy, but his loyalty was always with Team Pink. (He's pretty smitten with the little gal we have and, when asked, he was pretty up front about wanting another daughter.) He's also ecstatic that we won't need to do any clothes shopping, ha! 

This will likely be our last baby, so I'm pretty elated that we'll have a chance to re-use all those sweet little dresses and bows again with Ainsley! (I told my mom that I couldn't imagine not ever seeing those clothes on a baby again.)

Most importantly, we can report that she is healthy, thriving and also really cute ; ) (At least in the ultrasound pics.)

Cravings? Maternity clothes yet?
Just like with Caroline, I cannot eat sweets. I had a Sonic milkshake one day at work and spent the majority of the afternoon throwing up off and on. However, I've been eating my weight in salty stuff: chips, salsa, queso, salt and vinegar potato chips, anything smothered in ranch dressing and baked potatoes. Also, I am eating spicy food like my life depends on it. I bought a gigantic container of Cajun blackening spice and have been putting it on everything from shrimp to grilled chicken. 

I did go ahead and bust out one pair of maternity pants to wear to work, but other than that, I'm just using my BeBands from last time to modify my non-maternity britches. (Seriously, if you're pregnant, don't go blow a ton of money on maternity pants in your first or second trimester. Just get a couple of these. Pinky swear, they are awesome.)

Dresses and tops are still non-maternity, but that's because most styles are pretty flowy and easily accommodate the growing tummy.

I bought this maternity swimsuit from ASOS and love it so much. If you're expecting, this is so comfy and even -- dare I say? -- a little flirty. (I'll post a pic in mine this week if I can gather up the nerve.)

ASOS Maternity Exclusive Swimsuit in Black

Will I keep blogging? 

Two babes this close together is going to be a whole lot of work, but I will update as much as possible on here after the second bebe arrives. I’d love to say the content won’t change, but I’ve always blogged about my life - whatever season it happens to be in. So, of course it will change a bit. I'd say if the occasional baby post or baby photo offends or bores you, you will probably need to find new online reading material ; ) (Hey, just being honest.) But, I'll try my best to keep the content not too mommy-ish.

Is this why we’re moving? 

Ha!! No, but it certainly solidified our decision! We really wanted a bigger place anyway, and ironically, had already met with the realtor and began crafting up the listing agreement before we got the positive pregnancy test. But now I’m VERY glad we have sold the house and will be moving on to larger digs.

I think that’s about it! Right now things are pretty uneventful and we are ever-so-thankful for that. Hopefully within the next couple of days, I’ll get a chance to post more bump pics here or on Instagram (username: ablondeambition). Right now, I have a wonky looking bump, which looks more like I've eaten too much pizza and less like I'm a woman with child. 

Again, I really appreciate your support and well-wishes for this new baby GIRL. On behalf of our family, THANK YOU!