My Mom has always felt strongly about her intuition, reminding me to "follow my gut"and "listen to my heart." She has always believed that you will know deep down when something isn't right, or for that matter, when something IS right. 
Deep down in my gut, I have known that our family was not complete. I recall one night staying up late and talking with Adam. My eyes welled up with tears as I explained to him "as crazy as it sounds, if we don't have another child, it feels to me like we are giving up on someone who is supposed to exist." Adam would reiterate the adverse advice we had heard from hundreds of people. The advice that had poured in over the past few years in an overwhelmingly negative land slide: "Don't do it!""Stop at two kids!" "Cars aren't made for families of 5, hotel rooms aren't set up for families of 5, vacation plans aren't set up for families of 5" "it costs an arm and a leg" "they'll out number you!" "the third one will wear you down" and most of all "you'll never have any fun ever NEVER EVER AGAIN." (okay well maybe no one ever said that last one.)
I couldn't exactly argue with the logistics of it. A lot of it seems very true. Fitting three kids in a car will be tight, sharing beds in a hotel sounds like a nightmare, feeding three kids will be expensive, and vacations will cost more…. BUT I couldn't ignore my gut. And eventually, neither could Adam. He slowly began to make comments like "Well, I CAN see us with three kids" and "With all the land at the new house there will be plenty of room for the kids to play outside…"So low and behold.. Adam, the kids and I are excitedly expecting the third addition to our family. Our #3 (despite the advice of many, and God willing) will make his or her debut in late February. And if my intuition, my gut, and my dreams are on par… then I think it will be a little boy. We will wait and see!!!
I absolutely love these pictures. I love their inquisitive looks, and their excited faces when they found out there would be another sibling. Jack was able to read the sign out loud on his own, and with a dropped jaw exclaimed "is this for REAL!??" "Is there REALLY a baby in your belly!??" And the series of questions regarding the baby, how it got in my belly, how I will make milk for it, etc. etc. etc. has ensued. My answers have been total flops… as I was not expecting my 4 year old to care, or question it. Oh dear. He even informed his Mema that "Mom wanted another baby and... BAM! It's in her belly!" NonaJane on the other hand was smiling because we were, and she liked holding the sign. Not sure she really cares about another baby, and in fact, when I hold other kids she gets pretty outright jealous and mad about it. BUT, we have 7 months to not worry about it :) I love these two, I love their smiles, I love their questions, their shenanigans, and am beyond thankful and excited about the opportunity to round out this picture with a third little smiling face.
Hello. You don't know me, but I am your mother's cousin, Carolyn Nance Orsak. I read your blog and wanted to share my experiences with the decision to have a 3rd child. I, too, was reminded about the inconveniences of having a family of 5 as opposed to a family of 4. Why would I want another child? I already had one of each! Why would I want to have another when I wasn't a stay at home mom and would just be sending another child to day care? Despite these comments from friends and family, I still felt like my family was incomplete. It took awhile to convince my husband, as he has a sister (the 3rd child) that had problems at birth and suffered permanent brain damage. He felt that we shouldn't "push our luck" with a third child. I managed to convince him, as I usually do, and we were blessed with a beautiful, BIG baby girl - 11 lb. 12 oz. and 23" long. She is now 20 years old, a student at Texas A&M, and engaged to be married, as is my oldest daughter. She has been a joy and I can't imagine our family without the baby! I feel that God placed on our hearts that feeling of incompleteness and desire to "be fruitful and multiply". As you know, your mother was also a third child. I am the third daughter of my parents. What if our parents had stopped after two? None of us would be here! I'm not saying there haven't been challenges - and yes, the hotel accommodations and vacation packages are just a few of them, but the blessings far outweigh those inconveniences. Best of luck to you during your pregnancy and may God bless your sweet family.
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