Announcing Baby Garcia

If you follow me on social media this is not new news to you….

Baby Garcia is making his or her debut in August of 2016!

My husband and I are so excited that our family is growing.

How are you feeling physically?

Mostly I feel really good. I am blessed so far by an easy pregnancy. During the first trimester I was so exhausted I never wanted to get out of bed. I never had terrible morning sickness, but I could be sick any time of the day if I didn’t eat every two or three hours. 

Now that I am in the second trimester the exhaustion is leveling off. Although I wouldn’t say it’s gone away entirely. With work and ministry I have a pretty active life and I’m learning I can’t go quite as fast as I did previously. Baby is growing and so is my belly. With that has come changes in my sleep and the addition of some pillows to the bed. I pee a lot and sometimes make multiple trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I’m not longer feel sick if I don't eat and my hunger is increasing.

Where are you at mentally?

I feel like I have been riding a roller coaster of joy and fear. Initially I was freaked out. While we were trying to have a baby, we weren’t trying for very long and I was a little thrown off guard it happened so fast. I wrestled with guilt over my close friends who are trying to have a baby and can’t get pregnant. I dealt with shame over feeling guilty and being freaked out. In the first trimester I was constantly afraid I was going to lose the baby. The Lord used my fear to get ahold of me hard. “Ashlee, you can’t control anything, not even this. Your fear does not keep anything from happening. You are going to have to trust Me so hard with this baby, so you better get on board girl” are just a few promptings the Lord placed in my heart.

Now in the second trimester I’m dealing with the changes happening in my body and it’s much harder than I want to acknowledge. Eating healthy while gaining weight is messing with my head. Yep I will say it: I take too much pride and find too much identity in how I physically look. Let’s just say that’s a really hard pill to swallow. I watch my emotions swing back and forth, but mostly I struggle with having a short temper. Things get under my skin that typically wouldn’t and I have a hard time letting them go.

What are you eating?

In the first trimester I quit meal planning. It was impossible to know what I would be hungry for or what I could eat in the coming week. So I just gave myself a lot of grace. I was mostly hungry for creamy or bland food.

Plain eggs taste terrible, but I can still eat them as long at they are mixed with something else. I eat a lot of homemade omelets and breakfast tacos with corn tortillas.

Coffee tastes terrible, so I cut it out altogether. Soda gives me headaches, so I don’t indulge in the occasional soda. I pretty much only drink water with the exception of Peppermint and Rooibos tea in the mornings.

I can’t stand BBQ and Shrimp. Two things that I typically love. With BBQ I can’t stand the smoked meat smell or the taste of smoked meal or BBQ sauce.

I crave a lot of salad, so I eat salad pretty much every day at lunch. The tangier the dressing the better. 

My other cravings are not so healthy: Panda Express cream cheese ragoons, Fruity Pebbles, Taco Bell bean and cheese burritos (no onions) with mild sauce, strawberry glazed donuts (no sprinkles). Tangy foods seem to be my favorite though. 

In the second trimester I hit what  I call “eat all the things” stage. My hunger is increasing and I eat at least 5 meals a day (3 meals and 2 snacks). I am working to make sure I am getting enough of the right kind of foods. I’m hungry for food with lots of flavor which is such a contrast to the first trimester.

Prayers and Praises:

Case de Garcia: We are house hunting and it’s incredibly discouraging. It’s a seller’s market where we live and the houses coming on the market are few. Please lift us up as we search out a home for our family.

Weight Gain Struggle: I know I’m supposed to gain weight. I know that’s a good thing. But it continues to be a struggle in the way I view myself. Some days are much harder than others!!

My friends who are struggling to have a baby: I have a few friends that I am really close with that are currently wrestling with desiring a baby, but being unable to get pregnant. My heart is so broken for these friends.

Baby G is healthy and growing: can’t tell you how relieved I was to make it out of the first trimester. I’ve had so many friends who have experienced miscarriages and who are struggling with infertility that I was so grateful to hit that milestone!