090: How I Found Out I Was Pregnant with All 5 Babies & BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Today, in honor of Mothers' Day, I am going to share how I found out I was pregnant with all five of my babies...so listen in! But we've got a surprise in today's episode, so don't miss it!

Transcript

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Hi, I'm Kayla Heater, follower of Jesus, wife and mother of five children, Christian childbirth educator in doula, and your host of the Surrendered Birth Stories Podcast, where we share God-centered birth stories, evidence-based birth education, and our pursuit of surrendering our birth plans to God. Let's get started. Hey everybody, and happy Mother's Day. Or at least happy Mother's Day, a day late, because this comes out the day after Mother's Day, but it is our Mother's Day 2025 special. We did a special last year for Mother's Day with some advice and tips and tricks for moms, which was fun. Y'all actually wrote in or messaged in with like questions or advice or tips for being a great mom, and it was awesome. That episode I think was really fun and unique and something unlike what we've usually done. But this year, when we were thinking about what to do for a Mother's Day special, I contemplated asking my mom to come on and share her birth stories. And maybe we can get her to do that next year. She's not as much of a sharer as some other people, but she would also say that there aren't much to her stories. But I assure you there are. There's always a lot to everybody's birth story. So maybe next year, mom, maybe next year, Mother's Day 2026, we'll have you on and share your three birth stories from the 80s, which would be fun. I think it's always fun to go back in time and listen to how you know birth has changed in terms of our society and how they handle it over the years. But for this year, my husband, thank you, husband, actually suggested to me that I go back and tell the quick version, not the long version, but the quick version of how we found out we were pregnant with each of our children. So I thought, well, that's fun. I mean, we kind of did that though in our episodes. If you've listened to the birth stories of our five kids, we have like a full episode for each of their birth stories. And so if you've listened to those, then you'll have a little bit of an idea here. Um, but if not, this is just a quick way to hear those stories real quick. We have five of them, so that is always fun. And I'm gonna do my best not to ramble. So I can be a bit of a rambler and I apologize for that. But this is just meant to be a fun Mother's Day special, little break and routine um from our usual birth stories that we will get back to next week. But we do have a little surprise at the end of this episode. So make sure you stay tuned till the end of the episode because we do have a little surprise for you. Okay, so starting back in 2013, um, my husband and I were getting pregnant with our first, our daughter. And if you go back and listen to her full birth story, you'll hear like all the details. But we've been praying to God and seeking his advice. We felt like the Lord was telling us it was time to start a family. And so I don't see, it's funny because it's like I don't know what's TMI in a birth um podcast, but we had been together um one time since we got that like peace and confirmation from the Lord. And less than two weeks later, I was holding a positive pregnancy test, which was wild. And the setup was we were supposed to go to my sister's birthday party that evening, or at least I was. It was a girls-only thing, and it was at a wine and design like painting studio where you like brought your own wine and you drank it while you were learning how to paint like a picture for the night. And so I was supposed to start my period that day, and I had not, and I knew there was a possibility, a small chance that I could be pregnant. So on my way home from work, I picked up a pregnancy test at the store, tried to make sure nobody knew me, nobody saw me, and then I ran home and um we had actually taken my sister out for dinner for her birthday. My husband and I did, and I hadn't taken the test yet. We came back to the house and I was like, gosh, before I go drink wine, I should probably know whether or not I'm pregnant. And so very quickly, ran upstairs. We were supposed to just like get home, drop off my husband, and then my sister and I were supposed to leave for the wine and design. Well, we came home. I ran upstairs to take the test with my husband, and we were in shock that it was positive. Like I could not believe that we had a positive test in our hand. And so I just remember like sinking in the corner of the bathroom, holding my hands over my face, going, Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, like just it was a very surreal moment. Meanwhile, my sister is pounding on the bedroom door, like asking, What are we doing? I think, assuming we were we were trying to make a baby. Um, we were not. And she was so upset because she didn't want to be late for her own birthday party and I was her ride, which understandably so, but she was so mad because I was taking so long. Well, when I came out, I told her that I had a stomachache and that I felt really sick to my stomach. And so I was in the bathroom, and then she felt badly that she was being so mean to me. Um, but two days later, she would find out that it actually all was because we were pregnant. So she was ended up being the very first person that we told um because she was living with us at the time. And so um, two days later, after we had kind of had like a moment for it to sink in and and you know, just sort of relish in the fact that, you know, we were pregnant and it was our first. We ended up um telling her a couple days later. So that would be how we found out with baby number one. Baby number two, um, a few years later, let's see, we were trying this time, and it was like we knew we were ready to have another baby, we wanted to have another baby, we felt like it was time to have another baby, and we just went for it. And I think we started around Christmas, but I think I had like actually already ovulated, so it was kind of too late in that game, but so I didn't get pregnant right then. But the next month in January, I thought for sure I was pregnant because it only took, you know, one try last time. Well, on my daughter's second birthday, um, I woke up to my period. And I thought I was gonna be waking up, you know, and taking a positive pregnancy test. And instead it was my period. And I remember I was so sad, and my husband was trying to be like, come on, it's fine. Like it's Brinkley's birthday. We need to be happy and celebrate. So I did. I tried to like get on board, um, but I was a little bit sad. But then the next month we were blessed enough to find out. And I remember I waited all day to take the pregnancy test because I didn't take it in the morning before my husband left for work. And we always take our pregnancy test together. And so I thought, let me just wait till he gets home from work. I'll take it when he gets home. But I wanted to make sure that I had enough urine for the stick because they're always like, oh, do it first thing in the morning when your pee's the most concentrated, blah, blah, blah. So I just did not pee for like however many hours. And I was like squeezing my legs together and telling him to like hurry up and get home from work because I really wanted to pee, honestly, um, in order to take the test. So um finally he gets home from work, he comes up, I pee on the stick, take the test, and it is positive. And that was, I feel like the only pregnancy where because we had like been very seriously trying, that we were like jumping up and down and like so excited. And I just remember like jumping up in his arms and him like spinning me around. And we immediately went out to dinner to celebrate. And on our way home from dinner, we stopped at my mom's house and told her um the good news. And it was just oh, that was just exciting. It was just like a really fun, fun night, a fun time to find out. It was like a good, fun celebration. For our next one, that was our really big surprise. Um, and basically, I had thought we were finished having children, we weren't gonna have any more. I was content. Well, then my husband kind of started getting the feeling that he wanted one more. So there's a lot of back and forth, and the whole story, again, is in our birth story episodes. But I finally, after several, several months, felt like the Lord gave me a piece about having a third child. And I remember we we went out on a date and I told him, like, hey, okay, I'm fine if we have a third kid, like, I'll be okay with it, but I really don't want to do it yet. Cause I had all these plans and ideas in my head of like when the best timing would be, of course, because you know, our plans are awesome. And my husband was like, No, I really don't think we should like plan it around everything else in our life. I think we should just start trying or stop preventing, or however you want to phrase that. And I was like, Okay, but give me one more cycle. I was like, just one more, like, just give me one more month and to kind of like level up and like get my head ready for this. And he was like, Okay. And so I said, Okay, so after my next period, like then we'll be in the clear, like then we'll be fine. Well, we go out of town for a wedding. Um, we went to Ohio, I was supposed to get my period, and it never came. And I remember thinking, oh, it's probably just because we traveled, so everything's kind of off. And so we get back into town a few days later, and I think, oh, it'll come any day. Well, it didn't come like the whole week. And so now I was over a week late, and I just was kind of like, hmm, this is weird. Like, yeah, I've been late before in the past though, so it's fine, like, kind of no big deal. Well, my husband was finally like, no, we should really, we should you should just take a test. And I was like, Well, it's gonna be negative because we used quote unquote protection, we used condoms like all month, so there's no way that I'm pregnant. Like, it's gonna be negative. And he's like, No, I think you should just check. So we'd actually had a really rough morning at the dentist's office. We found out that my daughter needed like five thousand dollars worth of dental work and we didn't know how we were gonna pay for that, and it was just like, oh, it was it was a dramatic day. Um, so I like ran to the Dollar Tree, picked up a test. I was like, no big deal, it's gonna be negative, doesn't even matter. And we got home from the dentist, and I just went upstairs, and I don't even know if I I think I pulled my husband up and said, Hey, I'm taking this now, but it wasn't like this big get ready moment. It was just kind of like, just so you know, I'm about to take this negative test. And instead, it was very, very positive, like immediately. And I was I was in disbelief, in utter disbelief. Like, how is that even possible? Like, we use condoms, I don't understand. And my husband was just so excited and happy, and he was like, This is great! Like, we wanted a third baby, and the Lord finally gave you peace, and here we are, we're already pregnant. And I was like, Whoa! I just, I, I just did not expect that at all. And it was it was shocking for sure, shocking. That ended up being my worst um start to a pregnancy ever because I found out so much later than my other ones that I ended up getting sick really, really quickly after I found out and felt like I got whiplash, like I had like no time to prepare. And I was just, I mean, I went downhill very quickly and ended up in the hospital and I was on fluids, and I mean, it was it was bad, really bad. But his birth redeemed it all, which was great. Um, which was great because obviously we went on to have more children. So finding out we were pregnant with our fourth, um, we had just decided that month that we were gonna try for a fourth. We finally both had sort of like the the piece and confirmation about it. I kind of was wanting to wait a little bit longer, and my husband kind of gave me the now or never speech. Um, you know, like I'm getting older, like if we're gonna do this, let's go ahead and do it. And I was like, okay. And then lo and behold, never got my period again. So I remember that time we were both working um full time at our church at the time, and we came home for our lunch break because we knew we'd be alone. Kids were in school/slash daycare, and we ran home at lunch and together took this pregnancy test, and it was positive. And I remember it was like I was surprised, but not shocked because, you know, of our prior experiences. But it, I just remember it was weird to be alone in our house without our kids. Um, just because when does that ever happen? But we were in our bathroom and just hugging and rejoicing and being so excited and it was wonderful. Unfortunately, that afternoon it got completely spoiled. I had like this horrible meeting at work that literally ruined the entire day and actually would ruin weeks to come. Um, but we had this like brief celebratory moment with just the two of us where we got to just be really excited about it. I did get to tell one friend that night that which was fun, but that was in the middle of COVID, that was in the middle of 2020, that was when the drama of the world was going on, and you you all know how that went. So then for our fifth, so we had debated getting a vasectomy after the fourth. Um that had been tossed around, it had actually been scheduled um and then canceled the week of um due to just like high stress and lots going on. But then the Lord really just changed our hearts and our direction for what we were visioning for our family. And again, all those details can be found in his birth story. But we sort of had that same discussion, okay, I think we're ready, we're gonna stop preventing and see what happens. And again, kind of started later on in my cycle where I had like already ovulated, so there was a really low chance that I was gonna get pregnant. So I didn't. Um, I got my period on like New Year's Eve or something. Um, and so it was like, oh bummer, but I kind of knew it was a slim chance at that point. But then on my daughter, um the day of my daughter's birthday party, it wasn't her birthday, but the day of her party. Um, I remember I was supposed to start my period that day and I didn't. And I came into my husband, he was taking a shower, and I just hopped in the bathroom and I was like, okay, like I'm gonna take a test now. Like we're both in here. And so um took the test and it was positive, and we were super excited, jumping up and down. Well, as much as you can. He was in the shower. I did not join him actually, because I was all dressed and ready for the party, but um so excited. And I just remember going to my daughter's birthday party, kind of like, I have this little secret that nobody knows, but it's so much fun, and just you know, kind of the specialness of of that. It was it was great. We did actually tell um our good friends that day who were in town for the party, but it was it's always such a surreal moment, but you know, such a moment of celebration, this moment of becoming a mother, you know, whether it's the first time or the fifth time, it's just always exciting. Okay, time for the surprise. I promised you all I would tell you at the end of this short and sweet Mother's Day special episode. And that is, I'm here to tell you the story of how we found out we were pregnant with our sixth child. So, yay! If you're listening to this, the heaters are expecting baby number six. And I don't know if you've noticed the last several episodes, especially my intro. I have been sick as a dog, um, or just sick as a as a mama who's pregnant, throwing up all day and being nauseous 24-7. It's been rough, guys. It's been rough, just like it was rough for most of my other pregnancies. It has been very hard. Um, but we are excited and we are happy and expectant. It's exciting. Now, this time I will tell you the story how we found out this time. So we knew we were open to having more children. It was never off the table. It was something that was just sort of like when we feel like the time is right. Well, we had talked this year about this summer, and maybe this summer the timing would be right. And I was gonna take a month or so off from taking clients because we were going out of town to see my grandparents. And I thought, yeah, that would be a good time to be sick, you know, when I'm not on call. Um, and okay, yeah, like it was just like, yeah, that would that would work, or maybe a few months later, maybe this fall, kind of had it all planned out in our brains. Well, I was going on a trip with my best friend Taylor. We were going to the mountains for like a girls' weekend, and I was supposed to get my period that weekend. And I brought all my stuff, you know, because I expected to start while I was there and it didn't come. And I just kind of thought, like, oh well, like maybe my cycle is a little off, like, no big deal. And while I was there talking with Taylor, I was like, you know what? Maybe my cycle is a little bit off because I was sick that month. So, like a couple weeks before that, I had been sick. I never really got a fever, but I kind of had like maybe it was a low grade fever, and I got like body chills and um just like a cold and like just didn't feel good and it was just down for a few days. And I remember that weekend. That is when I was supposedly ovulating. And I really do feel like I was ovulating, like I had all the other signs of ovulation and I tracked my cycles really well. And I've, you know, been able to keep track of everything. And so I was aware of that. And about eight days later, we both were kind of like, I'm sure we're like totally in the safe window. Well, then while I was on this mountain trip, supposed to start my period, I'm having the thought, like, wow, I wonder if being sick this month really messed with my cycle and that's why my period's late. I wonder if everything's just off because I got sick. And that would make sense. And as I had that thought of like, oh, that's just why my period's late, that thought jumped into my brain of, oh no. That means if my period's late, it means I could have ovulated late. And if I ovulated late, we did have that one time where we weren't using a condom. Like, oh man, like could that have happened? And I just was kind of like, no, no, like, not a no. Like, it's such a slim chance. I highly doubt it. It's no, no. But I I was talking with Taylor about it on the weekend, and I was like, I mean, I guess it's a possibility, but it's like such a small possibility. It's probably nothing to worry about. I'm just like, I'm thinking too much. Well, then I get home from the mountains and I'm just thinking about it so much. I still don't have my period. So I just go ahead and take a test just to prove to myself that I'm not pregnant. And it was negative. And I was like, okay, all right, it's negative. I'm probably gonna start my period any day now. I'm getting acne, which is like my symptom that I get right before I start my period. Okay, I'm getting acne. I'm about to start my period, it's all good. Well, another day goes by, another day goes by, another day goes by, and it just is like, okay, still don't have my period, still don't have my period. So finally I looked at my husband on the next weekend and I said, All right, it's a week later. I said, I know ovulation could have thrown everything off when I was sick last month, so maybe I am just supposed to be a week later. But I said, I really, I really feel like I need to test again because if it is positive, like I would like to know much sooner rather than later. And so Dollar Tree test, whole routine. And we were getting ready for our Friday night Shabbat dinner that we do to kick off our Sabbath. And I said, I would really like to know before Shabbat and not like after the fact, it would just help me. And so, you know, the kids are all running around getting ready. We're trying to get, you know, the bread done and the food done and everything. And I was like, babe, let's just run into the bathroom real quick because I just really need to know. So did the test, and every time we take a test, we pray. So every time we take a test, we like put it on the counter for three minutes or whatever. And while we're not looking at it, we pray. And it's just sort of like, what do you pray in that moment? Like, please don't let me be pregnant, please let me be pregnant. Lord, ultimately let your will be done. So we go back in and look at the test, and it was just the faintest, the faintest line, like the faintest line I've ever had, which to me means I was still testing like a a little early, but there was a line. And I looked at my husband and I said, babe, that's positive. I am pregnant. And it was just again, one of those like, I cannot believe this is happening moments. Like, yes, we're open to more children, but no, we were not trying. And wow, I can't believe this is happening. Cause I, in my mind, again, my plans, my schedule, I had this huge class coming up I needed to be teaching. I had several clients who were due that I was going to be going to their births. And I was like, no, I cannot be sick and pregnant for this. Oh, but ladies and gentlemen, I was, I was sick and pregnant for all of those. And those clients found out. Um, thankfully, not like as soon as I got there. But um, yes. So for the last six weeks, I have been 24-7, nausea, extreme food aversions, throwing up every day, multiple times a day, sometimes in the middle of the night, not going anywhere, not leaving my house, like laying down as much as possible, not cooking, not cleaning, not meal planning, not grocery shopping. Our house has been a disaster. We haven't been doing much in the way of school with the kids. We've just been like, thankfully, it's been so nice outside. And so they've been able to play outside a lot, which has been great. But, you know, we are in survival mode over here as it goes with my pregnancies. Hopefully, um, here in the next few weeks, I'll I'll kind of round a little bit of a corner. My nausea doesn't go away until usually like 23, 25 weeks. That's usually when I feel like good again and I feel like I'm totally in the clear. Um, but around 14 weeks, sometimes there's like a little bit of a lift, a little bit of an edge taken off where I can be a little bit more functional and like leave the house more often and and stuff like that, which is good because I've got lots of clients coming up here at the end of May and June. But even just talking right now, I've just like in the back of my throat at all times, I've got, yeah, I'm just nauseous. But we are happy, grateful, thankful, excited. We're thinking early December, just because it's easier to say that than you know, say that I'm due in November and go super late and everybody wondering why I haven't had my baby yet. So we're just saying December. Um but yeah, so before 2025 is up, we will have another heater baby in our house. And we are excited for that. So thanks for tuning in. Thanks for listening to all of our stories. And you got a little, you know, preview of our sixth story, because I'm sure I'll kind of go back over and rehash that whenever we do share the birth story. But um, I'm not gonna put this on social media, at least not for a while. So I guess you'll only know that I'm pregnant if you listened to this podcast episode all the way to the end. So um, if you know me personally, feel free to reach out and let me know that you heard the news. Um, we have been telling, you know, family and friends over the last several weeks, but um, if I haven't seen you in person, I probably haven't told you. So, anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day or had a wonderful Mother's Day. I usually go like get a pedicure or I go shopping or I just have some alone time and then Chris doesn't make me cook or anything, and it's a lovely day, but this Mother's Day I'm I just envision myself laying in the bed and resting most of the day um as much as possible just because that helps me not throw up so much. So, anyway, here's to Mother's Day 2026 being a little bit better than Mother's Day 2025. Alright, that's all I have, everyone. Hope you have a great week, and we will see you back here next week for another birth story. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. You can reach me at Surrendered Birth Services on Instagram or email me at contact at Surrendered Birth Services.com. Be sure not to miss an episode by hitting the follow button. Also, we'd love for you to leave a written review of the show so that more people's births and lives can be changed by the love of Jesus and the empowerment of accurate birth education. If you really enjoyed this episode in particular, please take a screenshot of it and post it to your Instagram story tagging Surrendered Birth Services. If you would like to be a guest on the Surrendered Birth Stories podcast, please click the link in the episode show notes to fill out your interest form. Also, if you're interested in taking my childbirth classes, birth consultations, or having me as your birth doula, please click on the link in the show notes to take you to my website for online and in-person options. Just as a reminder, this show is not giving medical advice. So please continue to see your personal care provider as needs arise. We hope you have a great week. And remember, learn all that you can, make the best plans, and then leave it in God's hands. But I don't know if this is TMI. Chris, if this is TMI, you just cut this out, okay? And that's totally fine. Um