5.Versluys'.us

In case you hadn’t figured it out by the clues and the comments, the Versluys family is growing.

On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I found out I was [surprise!] pregnant with our third kid. After my initial shock, I processed several emotions.

Horror at the thought of another difficult pregnancy. I’ve mentioned some of the experiences I had with Roma and Quincy, but definitely haven’t given the whole story. Probably only Eric and my midwife know the full extent of just how sucky those two pregnancies were. Why do I keep having kids then, you ask? Because I want to have as many biological kids as I can before I give up on the pregnancy thing, and I think 3 is going to be the magic number. If this one turns out like the first two, we’re going to find a good adoption lawyer. If this pregnancy breaks the trend, we’ll feel comfortable having more kids in the future (probably not as close in age, though).

Joy at the thought of another addition to our offspring. Even in the midst of the difficult times of pregnancy, there were innumerable moments of pure joy and wonder at the feeling of a foot in my ribs or hiccups. And I’m glad that Quincy and Roma will have a sibling so close in age (I say that now, before I’m juggling an infant, toddler and preschooler).

Amusement that God knows what is best for me when I don’t have a clue. We seriously were thinking we’d wait 3 or so more years to have another kid, but now that we are presented with this unexpected development, I can see that the timing is great. If we had waited 3+ years only to find out my pregnancies are just difficult all round, we would probably end up having one of our poor kids all by his/herself with Roma and Quincy much older, and adopted kids much younger (you know how long that process can take). This way, we figure things out early on, and our older three kids will be close in age regardless. Besides, I think I’m probably more mentally prepared to tackle this pregnancy with a vengeance than I would be in several years after the memory of the other two pregnancies fade.

Again, we are announcing the pregnancy way early, bucking the trend of waiting to see if the pregnancy “sticks”. As usual, we ask for prayers for the little one, that he or she grows healthy and strong, and arrives safely in September. It looks like September 25 is the EDD – maybe this one will arrive on Aunt Jannie’s birthday!