We can’t believe we are going to be parents of TWO little girls this November, and I can’t believe we are past the halfway mark! Just like my pregnancy with Amelia, my first half was kinda hell, so I am finally getting to our little story and how the first half has gone!

Andrey and I both come from big families, with our siblings close in age, so we knew we wanted to have another baby as soon as we could! It took us a year to get pregnant with Amelia, so we weren’t sure how long it would take the second time around. Crazy things like “secondary infertility” floated around in my head, along with trying around my wedding schedule! It took us 7 months, but we can’t believe we are going to have another baby!

I am totally shocked we are having another girl! I definitely didn’t think it was a girl, and have no idea what having a sister is like, especially this close in age! Andrey is one of five boys, so we are in a totally new league! We honetly won’t have to buy anything though for the new baby until she needs her own crib!

We are so thankful to have a perfect anatomy scan last week, with the organs, limbs & features accounted for!

Here are some answers to some of the questions I get all the time!

How did you find out?!

I took a test at home! Andrey wasn’t home and I had told him I got my period already to throw off suspicion because it had been a disappointing couple of months and I didn’t think I was pregnant! I took the test while he was at work and I was getting ready to head out to a wedding that day. I was in literal shock!

Who did you tell first?

Last time around, Andrey hid my pregnancy tests from me so I would have to take it when he was home. I found out first thing in the morning and the first person I saw that day was Danielle, as she was second shooting a wedding with me! I wanted to capture his reaction on camera, so I told Danielle and she immediately agreed to come to our house the next weekend so I could tell Andrey in the most cheesy way!

How did you tell Andrey?

With the most cheesiest shirt ever (pun intended!) scroll down to see the pictures from when I told him!

How has it been going?

Honestly, I have terrible first trimesters and through to the second. My constant sickness just went away 2 weeks ago, but I still have terrible food aversions! At least this time around I didn’t have to get admitted for fluids! It is exhausting creating a little human body, even though it is SO little. I was so tired, and I shot 7 weddings during this time period, which thankfully I had such an adrenal rush from loving my job, that I didn’t get sick at weddings! I got my burst of energy last week and hoping that it sticks around (like it did with Amelia!) through the end of my pregnancy. I have been doing so much around the house, business-wise, and finally getting back into seeing all of Amelia’s friends in playgroup.

What is the medical issue that you’ve hinted about?

Well, this is a crazy story! Andrey and I are both lucky enough to be O-. If you’ve ever been pregnant you’ve probably heard about the rhogram shot, which is a shot you get that destroy any antibodies to positive blood types, in case your baby has a positive blood type. Well, we got to skip that over with Amelia, because we are both O-! At my first doctor’s appointment, they tested for antibodies and it came back positive. They even typed it and was able to titer is as well (basically ratio it). They asked Andrey to come in, to get a sample of his blood to see if it came from him. It turns out there are more markers on your blood than just positive or negative. For me, I have cc markings, and Andrey has cC markings. The C (big C) is what my body developed antibodies too. This led to lots of talks about risks, going to a high-risk specialist, and making a plan on when and if the ratio’s got high what we would do. They made is clear that this was going to be in my body forever, and something that might make future pregnancies more and more difficult. The funny thing is…..at my next doctor’s appointment….the antibodies were gone! They’ve been drawing my blood every 4 weeks, and it came back negative the next two times. Well at my 20-week appointment, they were back again. The ratio is at the lowest, and my doctors are baffled. They were baffled when it went away, and have no idea what is going on. So this is just an ongoing medical mystery and we have no clue what is going to happen next!

What are the risks?

The risks of developing antibodies can be nothing to the baby having anemia and having to do a blood transfusion through the umbilical cord. The levels could rise or they could stay low the entire pregnancy. Right now all they can do is monitor it. Unlike the + or – shot, there is nothing they can do, and only in Europe is there a shot for the D markers. It’s just a waiting game!

Are you guys doing all A’s?!?!?

Uhhhh no. I love so many girl names that are A’s but have zero boy names that I like that start with A’s. So we will not be doing all A’s.

Do you have any names picked out?

It took a lot to agree on Amelia Mae, we have 2 boy names picked out, but we will be lucky if this little girl leaves the hospital with a name.

Are you going to have more kids?

We hope so!

Some of the pictures from the pregnancy so far!

I used these pictures when I let all my couples in on my secret!

SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO DANIELLE RILEY FOR BASICALLY BEING MY PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, AND ALWAYS DOWN TO SHOOT OUR CRAZY FAMILY!

Just over 20 weeks at the Sunflowers! By Danielle Riley Photography