First of all, thank you for the outpouring of love and support in the wake of our announcing #TheBiscuit/#UnitJr who is soon to arrive . We are excited and not taking lightly the blessing and monumental task that God has given us – we are to raise this child using His teachings and I can think of no higher calling in my life, thus far.

Additionally, we are also thinking “oh crap!” because this kid will be de-utero in 10 weeks and the nursery is still functioning as my walk-in closet, the crib is in the box and I haven’t filled out insurance paperwork yet. I’ve got plenty of time left to do all that, I think…

However, today, I’m here to talk about social media and pregnancy announcements. I can’t count the number of people who said “Wait! Did I miss something? I’m so far behind!” or some other variation of sorts when they saw our pregnancy announcement. No, you didn’t miss anything. I really did wait until I was 29 weeks pregnant to announce it on social media and honestly, if I had my way, I wouldn’t have announced anything until the kid arrived.

Why?

Because I was anticipating a lot of “Well, it’s about time” or similar judge-y comments from folks who have been wanting us to have kids or wondering why we hadn’t birthed a screaming bundle in almost six years of marriage. And those kind of comments are a) not warranted by anyone b) make me ragey and c) lend themselves to me keeping more private parts of my life (like the #stateoftheuterus) offline. I’m not sure what makes people think that I, or any other woman, welcome input on the #stateoftheuterus but apparently unsolicited advice is the soup du jour. We waited to have kids on purpose and then we planned and waited, planned and waited, planned and waited. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t just lay down and get pregnant – there are a lot of microscopic, miraculous and biological things that have to go exactly right. So if a woman isn’t pregnant yet based on your assumption of the “right” timing, just chill out and let her be. Her life is playing out exactly the way it’s supposed to, according to Him.

Bottom line: social media is making me more private because some people will say anything when they are safe at home behind a computer screen. My lack of filter and dislike of stress have combined to make me be more private these days.

It’s National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month so, for the sake of all of the women out there dealing with fertility issues, miscarriages, happy or sad pregnancies, and babies called to heaven too soon – please for the love of all that is holy – keep your thoughts to yourself. If someone says, “we’re pregnant!” don’t say:

• “It’s about time”
• “Why are you having another?”
• “Are you sure you’re ready?”

As it turns out, a woman’s reproductive organs are just that: hers. We actually don’t need your input to determine when we’re ready to procreate or if we should have kids at all, or even how we should raise them. When faced with a pregnant woman, all you really need to say is “Congratulations” followed up by “Do you want some ice cream?” or “You look great!” I promise you, those responses are always welcome. I can also promise you that we don’t need or want your input on 1) what we’re eating, 2) what we’re wearing, 3) how far along we look or any other judgmental advice you think is harmless (but can be quite the opposite). Just think [heavy emphasis on “think”] before you speak, mmkay?

Now that the serious business is out of the way, I wanted to mass answer a bunch of questions we’ve received because I’m too lazy to answer everyone personally at this point [for the record, I don’t mind questions at all. Happy to answer them and I appreciate the interest, love and support!]:

• Do we know what we’re having? Yes. A baby. But in terms of gender, no we aren’t finding out in advance because I love surprises and dislike pink. If it’s a girl, I don’t want to be inundated with pink. And in the big picture, all I care about is the kid being healthy. It can come out cheering for the Broncos, hate me from day one and steal all my sleep as long as it’s healthy – boy or girl doesn’t matter to us at this point.
• When am I due? December 14 – so I am 30 weeks pregnant (7.5/10 months) right now (a full term pregnancy is actually 40 weeks).
• How am I feeling? I don’t really have any other pregnancies to reference but I think that mine has been pretty easy thus far. I’ve only gotten sick a handful of times and most of those were my fault (prenatals should be taken with food and not eating frequently enough apparently makes me sick as well). I’m always tired but I was that way beforehand so not much has changed in that respect. The thing that has been the biggest pain is the alteration in my lifestyle – I’m very independent and don’t ask for help with chores, tagging/vaccinating calves, unloading hay, changing tires, etc. So having people constantly stepping in to help me move a table, offering to do chores, lifting feed sacks for me, etc has taken me offguard. I’m very appreciative of the support and kindness but on the flip side, I’m just pregnant, which is not a handicap for me.
• Am I still running and riding? Sort of. My doctor encouraged me to stop rodeoing very early on, so I did that (I trust my doctor more than Google) but I have been saddling up to check cows and go for a nice relaxing ride when I need it. I mean, a girl needs her horse time. In regards to running, I have transitioned to run/walking, [jog for a bit, then walk a bit], and I try to get in a scheduled 30-60 minute walk every single day. I haven’t ran more than 3 miles in a row in about 2.5-3 months so a half-marathon a month after the kid is born is not in the books. But I am already registered for one in mid-May 2017!

   

   

• Do you have names picked out? What are they? Yes we have names picked out. You’ll find out the name when the kid is born. No, we aren’t naming our kid after you.
• Can I touch your belly? Good Lord, no.

 

In closing, we are excited to be welcoming a little cowboy or cowgirl and appreciate your support, encouragement, kindness and tact as we near the finish line.

In related news, I’ve got a whole heap of fun content planned before this kid arrives so make sure to check back often OR sign up for posts in your inbox (in the right sidepane)!

This post originally appeared on Buzzard’s Beat