In order to tell a good story, I have to give you context. I’ll be as brief as I can to get to the good stuff…

After 18 months of trying, we were finally pregnant with our daughter, Adelaide, who was born in 2013. Two miscarriages later, we delivered our son, Lochlyn, in 2016. All four of those pregnancies were courtesy of fertility drugs. We were under the impression that we wouldn’t be able to have a third without that assistance. Jan. 1, 2018, we found out we were surprisingly expecting Baby #5 without medical assistance(!), sold our house and bought a bigger one closer to work, miscarried and moved in a month later. Later in 2018, we gave fertility drugs another chance. . .

Between 2018 to January 2021, I was on clomid or fermara for 17 non-consecutive cycles. Our last attempts included 2 failed IUI’s in the middle of teaching in a pandemic. My nerves were fried, anxiety at an all time high and I knew I had to be good for the two amazing children we have here. We were done with fertility drugs and open if it happened on its own.

By August, 2021, I started giving away baby clothes and accessories, but my maternity clothes were still in a cedar chest, holding out the thinnest sliver of hope. October came, Infertility Awareness Month, and a friend of our’s let us know about an art display at MercyOne Maternity Center honoring babies gone too soon. I posted this on social on Oct. 14th:

After that, I gave my maternity clothes away. I only kept the dress I’d done maternity photos in for both kids and my favorite pair of maternity jeans. The first week of November, my body did what it does every month like clockwork, I got the Covid booster a week later and then my body started doing weird things. At first, I thought it was just not feeling well from the booster and then I started communicating with my general physician for a mammogram referral. Things were getting weird.

Three days before my GP appointment, I realized I was 4 days late. Cue the “+” & the shock:

This news came in the midst of a huge career shift for Gerard that we never expected. We’ve always been a family of two teachers and unfortunately, the road forward in that plan came to an end. God is clearly up to something with our family and we are confident that He will use 2022 for our family’s good. We just don’t know where we’ll land. For now, we are focusing on “Baby 6”. One day at a time. One gestational week at a time. (And we got November for “free”-apparently Pandemical Teaching Exhaustion feels a whole lot like 1st Trimester Fatigue and my November cycle was actually implantation bleeding.)

What does this mean for Carrie Krupke Photography? Here’s what my vision looks like at the moment:

-serve my family clients on weekends this spring. Two weekends are already booked!

-devote early & mid June to senior sessions.

-schedule senior consultations for product orders towards the end of June.

-maternity leave starts July 1. I’m due July 20. I may open up two weekends in the fall pending how things go.

In my 12-week appointment today, the doctor reassured me in several ways and gave me some really great facts to stick to:

-I am an AMA (Advanced Maternal Age) pregnancy (meaning I’m over 35). And they don’t let an AMA go past 39 weeks. For context, Adelaide was born at 39w5d and Loch was born at 37w6d, both were induced for different reasons. This policy confirmed that I need to be done with summer photo sessions by July 1.

-The doc encouraged me that her favorite pregnancy was when she was 37. (Hot dog!) My parents started their family when Dad was 50 and Mom was 36/37. Go ‘rents!

-We opted for genetic testing bloodwork today. It will not change the direction of our pregnancy but serve to inform us in case we need education on any challenges that may come in this baby’s life. This means we will find out the gender as well in 2 weeks! If you have ideas for how to reveal to kids, I’m all ears! :)

Two other updates for Carrie Krupke Photography:

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Over Christmas break, while I mostly stayed on the couch resting, I updated the CKP Senior Magazine! Enjoy reading through it and seeing new photos from the Class of 2022!

We’ve gotten through a big milestone with Baby 6, but we still have a long way to go and appreciate any prayers you think to send our way!

Take care,

Carrie

2022 Vision