Pregnancy Q & A

Hello wonderful readers,

My husband Trevor and I went public with our very exciting news last week! We are expecting our very first child in February 2019!!! This has been a very big secret we, and our families, have been keeping a secret and we are so thrilled to be able to share this news with all of you.

Well, secret is out, cat has been let out of the bag, our secret ship has sailed – we are screaming it from the rooftops because we are so excited!!!

When we went public with our news, we received an enormous amount of love, support, and well wishes. It meant so much to Trevor and I, and our families, all of the messages, cards, and notes we received. On behalf of my family and I, thank you!!

Along with the love and support we received, we also received a great deal of questions. I am an open book and welcome questions, but I was getting a lot of similar questions, so what better way to answer them than sharing a blog post on it!!

If you have additional questions, or are curious about anything else, baby related, health related, life related, any question really, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me personally and I would love to have a conversation and connect.

Most commonly asked questions about my pregnancy and baby Tanck: 1. When are you due? We are due February 9th, 2019. We shall see when baby Tanck wants to make the big appearance and enter into the real word, but come February next year, we will be ready!

2. Are you going to find out the gender? We are! Trevor and I had many discussions about finding out the gender of baby Tanck and we both agreed we would like to find out. We have family members and really close friends that chose not to find out the gender, and they enjoyed the element of surprise and focused their attention on wishing for a healthy baby vs. a boy or girl. Each couple/mother has the right to chose if they would like to find out the gender and I completely respect anyone’s decision. Trevor and I plan to find out the gender via ultrasound at the end of September when I am closer to 20 weeks.

3. How are you feeling? I am feeling really good. I have had some minor symptoms, some days are better than the other, but I really don’t have any pregnancy complaints at this time and I know how lucky I am to be in this position. Every women and every pregnancy is different, and I feel for you mamma’s out there that have symptoms and I hope they subside for you soon. I also know that symptoms can come up at different times throughout the pregnancy. So we are hoping for health and happiness as we continue on our pregnancy journey.

4. How does your diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis impact the pregnancy and baby Tanck? Great question! This is a question I got from a lot of close family members and friends, but I am sure some people might want to ask this question, but might be afraid to. I welcome this question as I am and was very open about my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in January 2017. Being diagnosed with MS doesn’t negatively impact ones ability to get pregnant. Many pregnant women report that their symptoms in relation to MS stay the same or even get better. Some believe the pregnancy hormones are what causes symptoms to improve to remain stable. As for the medication I was taking for MS, it has not been tested on mothers who are pregnant and the effects on the baby, so we stopped taking the medication right away and everything has been going well. Many women are not willing to put their baby or themselves at risk to run the trials of the medication and find out the potential effects. I don’t blame these women as I am not willing to take this risk either, hence why we stopped the medication. Multiple Sclerosis is also not proven to be hereditary. There is some conflicting opinions on this statement, some doctors state MS is genetic, and others state there is no true evidence to prove this hypothesis. I am the first person in my family to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and because I have MS does not mean baby Tanck with have MS. Luckily, we are aware of the signs and symptoms of MS, so if something is to arise, we will be able to seek medical attention right away.

5. Do you think baby Tanck is a girl or a boy? I am team girl and Trevor is team boy. Honestly, we just want a healthy and happy baby whether it is a girl or boy. We will be sure to share the gender once we get the results at the ends of September!

6. Have you started working on the nursery? We have started prepping the room for baby Tanck, but nothing too extreme yet. We are not going to paint the walls, but we do plan on adding cute little decorative pieces to the nursery space. We are going to keep it simple and go with a white crib, changing table, etc. We do not have a “theme” per se yet, as a nursery and having a baby is enough of a theme! When we find out the gender, we might chose a theme, but honestly, only time will tell. We are pretty open and don’t want to box ourselves into anything.

7. Do you have names picked out? Yes we do, but, we are keeping the names a secret at this time.

8. Are your families excited to be grandparents? YES!!! They are beyond excited to be grandparents. My parents were already blessed with a handsome grandson, but are so excited to be getting another grandbaby come February. Trevor’s parents are OVER THE MOOD ecstatic as this is their first grandchild and cannot wait to spoil the little nugget!! Trevor and I are beyond blessed to have the love and support of our families and we cannot wait to return the blessing by delivering a healthy grandbaby!

9. You are gluten-free – will baby Tanck be gluten-free as well? I am remaining gluten-free during my pregnancy, and so far, it is going well. When baby Tanck is born and grows older, we will allow our child to chose for themselves if they will remain gluten-free or decide to eat gluten. If baby Tanck has a gluten allergy or intolerance, that is a different story and we will make sure baby Tanck is eating healthy foods that agree with their system. I am a strong believer that everyone should have a choice with their diet and should not be forced into anything. Trevor is not gluten-free and he is an adult and has the freedom to choose. I believe this is everyone’s right.

10. What are to most excited about for your pregnancy and/or having a baby? This is two separate questions, but I will answer them here in number ten. I am most excited to have the opportunity and ability to grow a human life. I see pregnancy as a massive blessing and I feel honored this little soul chose Trevor and I to be its parents. When baby Tanck is born, I am so excited to be able to experience life from our child’s point of view, watch them grow, and become the person they were made to be. I think the piece I am the most excited about is to make my amazing husband a father and watch him positively shape our son or daughter. Welcoming another life into our family is a privilege and the biggest blessing we could have ever prayed for.

TANCKS for reading!