WE’RE HAVING A BABY!

Yes, the title is true! It’s still hard for me to believe, but Nick and I are having our first baby. As I write this, I am exactly 24 weeks pregnant and thinking about how grateful I am that I’ve had a super easy, healthy pregnancy so far. This baby has gone camping in the Boundary Waters, hung out with me in a tree stand while bow hunting, gone pheasant hunting and has dedicated his time to ice fishing nearly every weekend this winter. Start ’em young! Our due date is May 12, which is Mother’s Day and I believe it’s also the Minnesota Fishing Opener – ha! Hopefully he comes a tiny bit early so I can make it to the Governor’s Fishing Opener in Albert Lea this year.

Did I mention it’s a boy? We found out Baby A is a little lumberjack on Christmas Eve, along with my family. What a fun gift! Mentally, I thought it would be a girl. Most of our friends had girls recently and my conscious intuition said it’s a girl. But I had three baby dreams where it was definitely a boy, so I guess my subconscious intuition pointed towards a boy.

Before I share a bit more, I wanted to acknowledge that I know pregnancy isn’t an “easy” journey for everyone. I have close friends who have gone through miscarriages and fertility struggles. It’s scary fearing for the worst. I had a fully open mind to the possibility of going through something similar. But, I’m thankful the journey turned out the way it did and I hope this story doesn’t detract from others who are trying and praying for a baby.

Why now?

Nick and I have been married for more than two years. We’ve had the best adventures, travels and amazing memories together over the last 5.5 years. Seriously, I often think “is this really our life?” But we know we are more than ready to add a little mini us to the picture, so this was a planned pregnancy.

We announced our baby news publically much later than I think most people would because we weren’t in a rush. We wanted to enjoy our first few months as expecting parents to ourselves. I also knew that holding off on the good news would give me peace of mind, just in case, and allow me to fully celebrate with folks on Girl of 10,000 Lakes.

It feels a bit more real, now that we don’t have this whopping secret under my belly. Thank you for your kind words and congratulations so far!

We found out in the Boundary Waters!

We actually found out we were pregnant over Labor Day weekend, so September 1, 2018. I knew exactly when I would be able to take a pregnancy test, which ended up being while we were camping in the Boundary Waters with my in-laws. So yes, I did in fact pack a pregnancy test into one of our canoe packs in the Boundary Waters. And indeed, I peed on a stick (sorry if that’s TMI!) in the middle of the woods the first morning we woke up at our campsite on Birch Lake.

Almost instantly, the two little pink lines showed up. I walked back to our tent where Nick was awaiting the verdict and I instantly broke into a big smile and showed him the stick. So many emotions! We were excited, in disbelief, thankful, in love, everything. I already know Nick is going to be such a loving dad. He’s always rubbing my belly, making sure I’m comfortable, encouraging me to eat healthy and prays for our kid every day.

The hardest part about finding out in the BWCA was keeping it all a secret from Nick’s parents who were camping with us. We didn’t want to break the news to them until we were at least 10-12 weeks in. Although they had an inkling because I avoided drinking the iodine treated lake water. We weren’t sure if it was safe, especially in the first few weeks of pregnancy. I ended up filtering the lake water the old fashioned way with a filtering pump. 

What does the future hold?

I keep bringing up fear in this article, but it’s a common theme when you’re jumping into something new. Before we decided it’s baby time, I definitely had fear about the future and I probably still do. In all honesty, I love my life right now. It’s so easy. I love traveling on a whim and not having a set schedule on any given weekend. I absolutely love devoting my time to Girl of 10,000 Lakes while also working a fulltime job, plus other side hustle freelance opportunities. I love that my time is my time.

But things are about to change big time and probably for the better.

I’m excited to raise an outdoor-loving child or at least give our kid the chance to experience this healthy lifestyle, explore the outdoors and appreciate our wonderful natural resources. I want him to want to play outside, get a little dirty and know that no matter how the weather is, we can put on our raincoats or snow pants and enjoy nature. Hopefully, he’ll enjoy fishing, camping, hiking, hunting, canoeing, the cabin, conservation and lake-to-table eating as much as we do.

I’m eager to keep doing all of the things we do, but now as a growing family. Girl of 10,000 Lakes will continue on with all of the things you see today, but with sprinklings of outdoorsing with a growing family. I want to be mindful of the fact that our kid is just a kid and doesn’t need his photos posted all over social media, but I also don’t want to hide such an important part of my life entirely.

I already have plans for a travel bassinet in the Lil Hotdish. Definitely going to need a sturdy baby carrier for hiking and fishing – haha. If you have any tips on doing the outdoor thing with a kid in the picture, send your tips to girlof10000lakes@gmail.com.

I don’t know exactly what the future holds. But I know we’re in good hands. God has a plan for us and this baby and I know it will unfold as it’s supposed to. We have an awesome family and support system as we figure out this parenting thing. For now, I’m trying to live in the moment, embrace all of the little flutters of kicks I’ve been feeling in my belly and enjoy the alone time that Nick and I have together during these last few months before we meet our son.

If you have any baby-related questions for me, feel free to ask below in the comments!

Xoxo,