Hello and welcome back to the blog. Hey look, I didn’t wait an entire month to post again. Hahaha. Things have been intense, but not as intense as they were several weeks ago. There’s been a lot of amazing things and wonderful progress happening and I’m so grateful for that. Let’s start off with the baby shower. Basically everything is set and we just need to get the invites out. I really thought the process was going to take a lot longer, but once I asked family and friends to help me plan this wonderful event, everything seemed to fall into place. I don’t believe in coincidence or anything, so I know this is all God working behind the scenes and making sure all the elements are covered.

I’m gonna be honest–and this might sound selfish or naive–but a few months back people were asking me when my shower was going to be, and hoping they were invited, and telling me I really need to get on top of planning it. In my mind, I was thinking “Well, are you going to do it?” It’s a lot of work, and I never thought it was something I could handle on my own. With no one really offering their help, I just figured no one cared enough to. That was actually really hard for me to take in because I had no idea how the whole process of baby showers was supposed to go. In my head, your friends and family just offer to plan one with no prompting necessary. I guess that isn’t the case.

I even told my mom how I was feeling about it and she said, “Well, have you ever offered to throw a baby shower for any of your friends?” Yeah, she got me. I never thought to do that and I have several friends with babies or who are currently pregnant. My father-in-law also brought up the fact that most people’s minds don’t necessarily go into party planner mode the moment a friend has a reason to celebrate. Fortunately, I do have friends who are actually event planners, but the average person won’t offer to take on a task like this. Realizing this definitely killed my inappropriate “woe is me” saga after seeing it in the right perspective. Asking for help has been an opportunity for me to grow a lot as a person and to not rely on people reading my mind and assuming what I want.

Another thing that’s been awesome this past week was getting a ticket to be in audience of Ellen DeGeneres’ Mother’s Day episode this year! I didn’t want to blast this information online, even though I knew a month ahead of time that I was going to be on the show. I have this thing where until something actually happens, I have a hard time accepting that it will. I have a very skeptical outlook on life, which really is not helpful when faith is a huge component of being a Christian. Alas, back to the story at hand.

I’ve talked about the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” app I have on my phone before, and this is where it all began. I don’t go on the forums often, but one night as I was scrolling down the topics, I saw one that said “The Ellen Show!!!!!!!” so I clicked on it. One mother-to-be was telling everyone that she got a ticket to the Mother’s Day Episode and that everyone else should apply. The only requirements were to be a first time mom currently pregnant. I didn’t really think I would get on since the deadline was fast approaching, but I filled out the form anyways and hoped for the best. I applied on a Friday, and the following Monday I received a phone call from one of the producers of the show asking if I was still interested in being in the audience. What? Me?! Heck yeah! Since they were obviously still accepting submissions, I shared the link on Facebook for any of my pregnant friends who I thought would be interested.

So fast-forward to a week before the show. I get a voicemail from the same producer, and she tells me the check-in time was pushed back an hour and a half. I thought this was weird, but I called her back and left a message re-iterating the info she just gave me to make sure I had the details correct. The day of the show, I had a feeling to just come at the call time they gave me first just in case there was a mix up, but instead I showed up at the new check-in time to a barren parking garage at the Warner Bros. lot with a few people milling about. Something didn’t look right. I’ve been to my fair share of talk shows, and there’s usually a line wrapping around the building hours before the show starts consisting of everyone who’s supposed to be in the audience.

I walked up to the security guard and asked him where I was supposed to go, and he informed me that everyone had already gone inside about 30 mins prior to my arrival. EVERYONE WAS INSIDE. My heart sank, but I told him my situation–I still had the voicemail on my phone proving they said to come at a different time–so he called over to the stage they were shooting at and tried to get things worked out. I immediately texted my husband to pray, and moments later, the security guard walked me over the building I was supposed to be in, and someone was there to greet me and get me into my seat. The show had started and they already taped the first two segments. That’s how “late” I was.

I couldn’t believe it, I was the ONLY one there that received the new information and was late to the show. I have no idea why that happened to me, but I did get all of my gifts and walked away over $6,000 richer in swag (free stuff). God is so good, and that’s all that matters. I even saw a friend of mine in the audience who didn’t know about the show until she saw my Facebook post. Her and her best friend who are both pregnant were able to get on the show and be blessed with so many incredible gifts because someone shared this info with me and I passed it along. How amazing! What the Lord sets aside for me is mine, no matter the obstacles. I hope this encourages you in some way. I’m not trying to brag at all, this has nothing to do with me, it has everything to do with what a wonderful provider my God is and I just wanted to share the testimony about my experience.

Another thing I’ll share in honor of Mother’s Day is how different it was for me this year versus last year. I talked before about how we lost our first baby early in the pregnancy, but I don’t think I went into any details about it. It was April of last year that it happened, and once Mother’s Day rolled around, the pain was still very fresh and almost unbearable because I didn’t understand why I wasn’t able to be a mother to a living, breathing baby on this holiday. I’m not the only one who’s ever gone through this, but everyone’s pain and journey is different. I felt robbed and disappointed because there was nothing I could do to change the fact that I had an empty womb, and was asked to celebrate Mother’s Day with my husband’s family and try to keep a smile on my face. All I could do was sit outside of my in-laws house in the car and try to stop crying.

A year later, my husband’s family had another special Mother’s Day lunch, but this time I was able to partake in the celebration and I felt so honored to be going through this again in the way I always imagined. My family and friends have been so supportive, and sometimes I feel like I’m getting on their nerves by bringing this up time and time again. I always hope there is someone new listening or reading that can benefit from my story, so that’s why I continue to share. No matter what you’re going through, God will restore you and help you through the most devastating hardships you’ll ever face. That’s the only reason I was able to get through that part of my life and see the new beginnings God has for me.

Before I leave you, I’ll share my most recent stats:

Age and size of baby:

31 weeks old, 18 inches long, 3.2 lbs in weight.

Cravings:

Salty and/or vinegar based foods. Seafood. If only I could have sushi right about now. Mmmmmmmmm.

Morning sickness:

I thought my morning sickness was coming back because I did have a few days of it right after I told you how happy I was to announce that it was gone. Lol. However, there was an intense heat wave recently and it turns out that was the true culprit. We’re going through another one now. Agh.

Stretch marks:

Nothing new, but my belly button is still flattening out and the skin is a little darker around it.

Crazy hormones:

It’s hard to know if I should blame hormones or just Mother’s Day for all the tears.

Sleeping habits:

Sleep is getting a little more difficult again. My lower back has been in some pain, and our baby girl likes to stay active throughout the night. That is not a good combination for good sleep, but hopefully our new mattress will help with that. We haven’t had a new mattress since we’ve been married, if you can believe that.

So, that’s that for now.  Be blessed and take time to make your dreams into your reality.

-Kytia L’amour