Just the Five of Us?

So, for those of you who live under a rock (or aren't Facebook friends with me), we have some news...

We are so thrilled to announce the upcoming arrival of of the newest (and last!) little Allenby.  Baby Goose (as the boys affectionately refer to him/her as) is due in late March on my Dad's birthday!  I love that this little one shares a due date with my Dad's special day, and although they probably won't actually share the same birthday, it's fun to think about the possibility.  (My mother-in-law's birthday is earlier that same week, but the likelihood of me actually giving birth to a child early is slim to none.  Both boys were six days late, so I'll probably end up with an April baby!)

Scott and I went back and forth for months (years?) about whether we wanted to try for a third baby or if our family was complete with our two boys.  We love our little family just the way it is, and practical concerns (financial, space in our house etc...) weighed heavily on us.  We talked this subject into the ground every single day and finally we decided to just stop talking about it for a little while and see how we were feeling in a few weeks.  One day Scott came home from work and said, "I've been thinking a lot these last few days, and I just really feel like our family isn't complete yet.  I also don't think it makes sense to make a decision like this based solely on finances...a lot can change and we just never know where we'll be, but I know we'll make it work."  Well, although he had been swaying me a bit towards his "no third baby" side with some legitimate concerns for a while, it didn't take any convincing for me as I was always leaning towards wanting just one more.

My concerns differ a bit from Scott's.  Finances will definitely be extremely tight, but my fears revolve more around the fact that I have to push another large Allenby baby (so far we have Camden weighing in at 9lbs even and Micah at 8.5lbs) out of me and endure excruciating back labor one more time...and the fact that I'm bound to get mastitis about 6 times in the first year of breastfeeding...and the fact that many nights a week during the school year I will be on my own attempting to put three kids to bed instead of just two...and the fact that right now, when I read bedtime stories to the boys, I have one arm around each of them with their heads resting on my shoulders and I just don't have another arm and shoulder for this third little person.  I'm sure we will have moments where we are overwhelmed and while we're scrambling in the zone defense we may sometimes reminisce about the good ol' man-to-man days, but I know for a fact that this little life is going to complete our family, that we will love him/her unconditionally, that s/he will be a great playmate for our boys and that Micah and Camden will love their little sibling and they will all take good care of each other.  Based on my experience with Micah's birth, I know that even if I'm nervous and feeling a little unsettled in the final days before Baby Goose's arrival, my heart will grow the moment I lay my eyes on this child and I will never be able to imagine my life without them.  I feel so blessed to be experiencing pregnancy again, to lie down with my boys and let them snuggle my belly and talk to the baby. We are just continuing to pray that all goes smoothly throughout and that little Baby Goose is healthy and content in there.

Does this mean I have to change the title of my blog?  Again?  (What was I thinking when I originally titled this Just the Three of Us?)  Thanks for all of your excitement!  It's gonna be a wild ride!