NEED TO KNOW
Matt and Abby Howard will soon be welcoming another little one into this world, and they can’t wait to experience the joys of parenthood all over again.
The TikTokers opened up about their family news on a recent episode of their Unplanned Podcast, and Abby, 26, didn’t hold back her emotions as she described the nuances of being pregnant with their third baby.
“Obviously, the first time is so exciting, but now we know how much joy and purpose another little blessing brings us,” she said while tearing up. “Now we know just the depth of how great it is to be given the responsibility to parent another child that it almost feels like seeing that positive test, now a third time … the impact is even deeper.”
Emily Fuller
Matt, 27, nodded along in complete agreement as his wife continued to describe how the general feeling is less of a “jittery excitement” and more a “deep anticipation” for the journey ahead.
“I feel different seeing that positive test this time around, but I feel like it’s even more joyful, even more exciting, because I just know how much I’m gonna love this little baby,” she added.
The soon-to-be mom of three also spoke about her fear of a miscarriage, which stemmed from the lack of strong symptoms she experienced during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Abby said that at about seven weeks, she became “freaked out,” worrying that something wasn’t right.
“I’ve never done this with either one of my pregnancies, but I … just kept taking pregnancy tests,” she admitted. “Even though I was over seven weeks, I was like, ‘Why do I just not feel pregnant?'”
While Abby wasn’t feeling the same nausea she had with her past pregnancies, Matt said he saw some signs. “I noticed that your body was changing. I noticed that your appetite, I think, had increased, and we had the positive pregnancy test,” he told her during the episode.
She took HCG tests to measure the presence of pregnancy hormones, but even that did not assuage her nerves. Though they too came up positive, she found herself fixating on how “faint” the line was. They tried to get an ultrasound while on a trip to Hawaii, but a broken machine at their island’s non-profit pregnancy center prevented Abby from having total peace of mind.
“My rational side of my brain was like, ‘You are really like letting these fears become so much greater than they need to be,'” she remembered. “But then also there’s that mama bear side of you that’s like, ‘I just want to make sure my baby’s okay.'”
Ultimately, she was convinced that the baby was growing just fine when her fast food cravings kicked in. Like during her first two pregnancies, Abby said she essentially developed “an aversion to literally every other food except for like a Taco Bell quesadilla or like a McDonald’s McDouble.”
Since then, she’s started experiencing nausea and body changes as well. However, when PEOPLE exclusively revealed the news that the Howards are expecting, Abby shared how her current situation stands out.
“This pregnancy has felt different from my other two,” she said when announcing her baby news. “Lots of days I have to remind myself that I’m even pregnant and that this is really happening!”
