Hey everyone!
Big news.
We are having a baby!
We are super excited for this new adventure that we are on, and I can’t wait to share more.
I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to share this directly on the blog, but many of you have been with me for years, and I haven’t really done a life update in a very long time.
I completely understand that a pregnancy announcement can lead to mixed feelings, and both good and bad judgment/advice/etc. Also, I do not plan on having things change around here on Making Sense of Cents, as personal finance is still what this website is all about.
Anyway, this is exciting news for us, as Baby Gardner is due in December 2021!
We are so excited to share that we will be starting our greatest adventure yet, and we can’t wait to show our new family member the world.
Pregnancy has been interesting so far, with lots of nausea (but I actually haven’t thrown up at all) for the past couple of months. Eating has been difficult, which feels crazy because I’m usually a huge eater and will eat anything. But, pregnancy has led to a lot of food aversions.
I am starting to feel better now, though, so I am hoping to get ahead in work, do as many fun things as I can, and prepare for the new family addition as best as we can.
I know that many of you are probably wondering (this is the number one question that I’ve received so far)- Our plan for right now is to live with our new family member on our boat. We plan on taking it slow but eventually doing a lot of travel with our new family member by boat, van, plane, etc.
Please leave a comment below:
- If you have any books or blogs that you recommend I read about pregnancy, starting a family, work/life balance as a parent, traveling families, etc.
- If you have any positive advice or kind words that you’d like to share
- If you have any questions for me.
Thank you so much for following along on my journey over the years. Things are about to get even more interesting!
Have a great week!
Related content:
- How To Take Maternity Leave When Self-Employed – What You Need To Know
- Best Baby Gear – Guide For New Parents
- 15 Delicious, Easy Freezer Meals For New Moms & Dads
giulia lombardo says
Congrats!!!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Sonji says
Congratulations. All the very best on this new journey
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
J. Money says
Rock on!! The biggest adventure yet! And that’s saying something with how epic your lives have been already 🙂
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you so much!
Fiona Wilson says
congratualations do you know if it is a boy or a girl?
if it is a girl she is going to love your husband to death i still do with my father and it drives him mad sometimes with me teasing him.
All the best for the future
From Australia!!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
The baby is a girl 🙂
ChrisCD says
Congratulations. Enjoy your newest adventure.
As a father with grown children, you won’t believe how fast it goes. So love on them as long as you can. I always figured I would have until they are 18 to spend lots of time with them. But reality is, between friends, sports, jobs you will see much of less of them, often starting between 14 and 16.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you so much!
Rachel says
Congrats! So excited for you all! I hope you touch on some money-saving tips for babies as your journey continues.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you so much!
J says
Congrats! I’m so happy for both of you! A girl or boy, it doesn’t matter as long as the baby is healthy! 🙂
Shawn says
Congrats on coming baby girl!! My only advise is not to stress, take everything in stride, and enjoy every moment. Mine are now 24 and 27. Time flies! I miss their sweet baby faces, lol.
Christine says
Congratulations Michelle!!! How exciting! I highly recommend the book – The Baby Sleep Solution. It saved my sleep for my 2nd baby, along with using a WubbaNub paci to help with the process, and the Love to Dream sleep sack so the baby can self soothe with their hands up. For pregnancy, the must have book is What To Expect When You’re Expecting, along with websites that track your pregnancy progress, such as BabyCenter. For travel, I have a family travel blog that I’m building up if you’re interested in that later at The Globetrotting Family, and a super soft luxury swaddle blankets and baby hankies for drool at Little Kims. Also, I have vitamin recommendations, but I’m sure your doctor probably recommended some. I’d recommend a food-based one. Congratulations on your baby! It’s an exciting time! Challenging, but also so rewarding! All the best on your pregnancy journey!
Jo-Anne says
Congratulations!!! So excited and happy for you. Some books I’d recommend for pregnancy, childbirth, and post-pregnancy are:
Nurture by Erica Chidi Cohen
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
The First Forty Days by Zheng Ou
Also, Grow Wild by Katy Bowman. And Bringing up Bebe, Simplicity Parenting, and Peaceful Parent Happy Kids.
Candy says
Publix has A Baby Club and when you join they send you a book this book was really helpful as I didn’t remember much about pregnancy my kids are 15 years apart
Chip Williamson says
Congratulations Michelle! I am so happy for you and truly hope that your new adventure is as awesome & rewarding as ours has been so far! Very happy to hear this news!
Sincerely,
Chip
JANICE VENTURA CONDRACK says
Congratulations! We are too (due January). I hear ya about the nausea and food aversions (crazy, right?). The pregnancy lollipops and candies helped some and if not, get your doc to prescribe ZOFRAN. Congrats, Michelle. All the best.
Amber Dubrick says
Congratulations! What exciting news!!!
Yuwanda says
Congrats Michelle (and hubby). May you have a safe pregnancy and an easy delivery. 🙂
Peti @ Leveraged Mama says
Congrats Michelle! I feel like perhaps we called it on this post from 2018 😂
Let’s do an update sometime in 2022!
Kathleen Cregg says
Congrats! I’m due in October! I recommend the Sleep Easy Solution book – to sleep train the baby so you get sleep too! It was recommended to me, I hope it works! Also, I heard to get a Snoo!
Ronna says
Congrats to you both!!! How exciting! Sorry about the morning sickness-this too shall pass!!! My book recommendation is “Feed Me I’m Yours” !!!! Great book for first time parents!! And second.,. And third!!!
Nick Muri says
Congratulations Michelle and hubby! As a dad to a 9 year old smart girl, having a baby brings so much joy that words cannot simply describe the feeling.
Because you are looking for reading material to help you know what to expect, it shows that you’ll be great parents! Give yourself some grace throughout the parenting journey and enjoy the ride.
Kristi C. says
Congratulations! You said it well when describing this as your “best adventure yet!” I agree, and I have three little ones at home. I will share a couple of topics that are often shied away from, yet incredibly important.
Look deeply into whether vaccinations and circumcision are needed. I encourage you to step outside of the formal sites, into places where experiences are shared without funding from those who benefit from the typical. It took years of researching for me, and I have changed my views as I learned more and grew as a mother. I welcome discussion with you on this, even if you’d like to email me privately – you have my email via this comment (I believe).
A couple places to start:
yourwholebaby.org – obviously circumcision only applies if you’re having a boy, but why is that? Only baby girls are born perfect? No, our sons are too! This is cosmetic and unnecessary. Keep digging!
As for vaccinations – I highly suggest TheHighwire.com where you can watch countless episodes discussing science with all resources and studies linked for your own review. This isn’t a news site with unchecked facts that you must take at face value – this is sources on hand for you to dig into. Its transparency like journalism is lacking in this day and age.
And lastly, watch the excellent documentary titled “The Business of Being Born,” as it benefitted me greatly in all three births (hospital birth for first two, home birth for third).
Congratulations!!! You are capable of hard things. Always remember that!! “I CAN DO HARD THINGS” will help you immensely in the journey of parenthood! Welcome!
Sabih ul Hassan says
Congratulations! god bless you
Hasan says
Congratulations! This is fabulous news, Michelle! I can’t thank you enough for your kind words and encouragement for prospective bloggers because they inspired me to start mine. Despite only your glittering achievements with your blog, your down-to-earth approach to relating with people really resonates with me. God bless you, your husband, and your incoming bundle of joy! Kind regards.
CAREN HAGAN says
Congratulations, Michelle & Wes! Absolute best of luck with your new addition to your family!
Tracy says
Since this is a finance blog, my comment is to let you know, as a mom of 6, that children don’t need to blow the budget! As a large family, we live lavishly on a fraction of the cost many other families we know live off of, and most of those families only have 2 children! Fun and adventure can be had for free or low cost, education can be inexpensive and even free, clothing and food does not need to cost a fortune, and most toys and gadgets are, quite simply, unnecessary. Also don’t buy into the belief that you need loads of safety devices or a larger home. Until recently, we had 4 kids sharing a room, and other than a good car seat and pool safety net and fence, we didn’t feel the need to baby proof everything. In fact, we didn’t even use the monitor a friend passed on to us.
It’s not strictly a baby or parenting book, but Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy is a great read.
Enjoy the journey! Listen to advice but follow your own intuition and make choices that suit you. At the end of the day (and especially in the middle of the night), what works for YOU is the most important thing! And you don’t need to explain or apologise for it, to anyone, ever.
Hoping all goes exceedingly well!
Kim says
So exciting!! ❤️ Congrats!!
muks says
Congratulations ma’am , hope this baby is good luck for you. He/she brings real happiness with him
Samantha says
Congratulations!!
I can’t think of a book or blog, but check out Sailing SV Delos on YouTube, they have a baby (toddler now) and have documented a lot about their lives as liveaboards with a baby. 😊
Good luck!
Kristin Brause says
Congratulations! You must be a momma by now as it’s the beginning of Jan 22. I hope you are both well and that you are taking in this miraculous experience. My baby girl arrived in April and now she’s the reason why I started my blog as I want to help other mommies, who want to stay at home with their kids, make money online.
Rachel says
So very excited for you (and commenting on this rather late in the game)!
There are two books that have been indispensable for handling stressful parenting times. The first is ‘Conscious Parenting of Your Toddler: Strategies To Turn Discipline into Growth and Connection’ by Mihaela Plugarasu (I’m not including links because not sure whether those will go through the comment form). This really opened my mind and heart to appropriately responding to and dealing with triggering issues with my child.
The second is ‘The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind’ by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. It covers more of the science behind children’s minds (but in a very readable, approachable format) and how crucial it is that we approach parenting/connecting with our kids in difficult situations from that knowledge.
Both have been game-changers for me in helping to understand and better handle insanely stressful moments (which we can all relate to) so want to share this info in case it may be helpful for you too, or at any point down the road!