News from the Chapmans

As usual, I’ve gone forever between blog posts. Things have been so busy around here and so many of the things that have been going on have been things I wasn’t ready to share just yet. Now that Bella knows, the cat’s pretty much out of the bag that we are expecting a baby in June. I’ve had a pretty “normal” pregnancy so far, well “normal” is a relative term, especially when you have my pregnancy history. I’ve been seeing my doctor every two weeks since I first found out I was pregnant and after the last regular visit he finally told me I could wait 4 weeks between visits. Of course, I started having pains a week later and ended up at the hospital getting everything checked out by another doctor while my doctor was on vacation. Thankfully the pains are just from my ligaments and after several ultrasounds of both the baby and my abdomen I’ve been assured that the pains are not harmful to the baby, just miserable for me. That at least is something I can deal with. I’m ok with the pain as long as it’s just hurting me and I can know the baby is ok. Tylenol, and particularly Tylenol PM, has become my best friend! :-)


Kyle and I have known for months now that we were expecting and held most of the worry and anxiety to ourselves. I very strongly didn’t want to tell Bella about the baby until I had gotten through my first trimester, but that also meant not telling anyone else. We were blessed that she wasn’t old enough to understand when I miscarried before, but I knew it would be hard to explain to her if the same thing happened again. I’ve worried and struggled with a myriad of emotions in the last few months and even now that my doctor has assured me this pregnancy is going great, I still have this small voice in my head that worries. The baby is measuring a little big, which is comforting for me. It probably means nothing at this point, but Bella was always small for her gestational age, which got progressively worse as I went through my pregnancy and eventually led to her coming so early. It’s just the reassurance I need that this pregnancy is different than either of my first two.

Bella is absolutely beside herself. Of course the first thing she asked after we told her was “What’s the baby’s name going to be?” Most of the time she is convinced we are having a girl. I’ve tried (without much luck most of the time) to remind her that God has already chosen this baby just for our family and he knows if we need a boy or a girl. She seems to accept this most of the time, but her usual response is “but God wants us to have a girl!” She’s been praying every night for God to help the baby grow big and strong. She will also insist to you that she is already a big sister, not that she is going to be when the baby comes, but she already is right now. I think the baby is more real to her right now than it is to me. I can’t wait until she is able to feel the baby moving. She had a doctor’s appointment the same day as me last week and since our doctors are in the same building we took her with us when I had my ultrasound. She was fascinated! She is already learning to adjust to some of the changes though. She’s not real happy about the fact that I can’t carry her around as much as I used to. She’s excited about helping pick out things for the baby and can’t wait to get a new stroller that she and the baby can both ride in.
We appreciate all your prayers as we are trusting this will continue to be a healthy pregnancy.