Joanna Gaines says her new baby’s age gap has a sweet perk for the siblings

During pregnancy, it seems impossible to ever forget how those baby kicks feel or what it’s like to hear the heartbeat or the awe of seeing your baby dance around the ultrasound screen, but expectant mama Joanna Gaines says it seems like she’s going through all of this for the first time. “Since it’s been over eight years since I was pregnant with Emmie Kay, I joke with my friends that it feels like it’s my first time being pregnant,” Gaines says in a recent blog post.

Because she had her first four children in quick succession, none of them remember what it was like for mom to be pregnant—but they seem to be enjoying the experience as much as her.

“The best thing about all of this is the excitement that my kids have shown for their new baby brother,” Gaines says of Drake, 12, Ella, 11, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay, 7. “They love my growing belly (and boy is it growing), and they cannot wait to meet him. I truly believe this baby is a gift from God for our family in this season.”

All of Baby Boy Gaines’ older siblings are old enough to be excited about his arrival, yet still young enough that family is the focus of their (immaculately decorated) world. Gaines once described this stage of life in a letter to fellow moms posted on the Magnolia website: “The young stage my kids are in is the sweetest. Chip and I are their favorite people and they still stop what they’re doing to greet us at the door when we get home. I really want to savor this season for as long as I can,” she wrote.

Gaines herself is also appreciating this pregnancy to its fullest. Not only is she surrounded by support, but she’s also able to indulge in napping and eating—”my two favorite things“—without guilt.

Of course, Gaines is still keeping plenty busy, even after wrapping the final season of Fixer Upper. Her restaurant, Magnolia Table, is now open for business and her cookbook, also called Magnolia Table, is coming out next week. While she’s in writing mode, Gaines is finishing up the manuscript for her design book. (Eagerly waiting for when we can pre-order!)

Along with hubby Chip, she’s still working off-camera on flipping houses and building 20 new ones in town. On top of all that, she’s working on launching the Magnolia Kids furniture line with baby items because “of course that’s all I can think about.”

Gaines is an ambitious businesswoman, but also a present parent. With her oldest approaching his teen years, Gaines knows how fast her next baby will grow up, so you better bet she’s going to make the most of each minute she has to savor his childhood. “As a mom, sometimes I have to change my mindset and remind myself what’s important. I only have so many hours a day to spend with these sweet, little people. And they won’t be little forever. So I get up and keep moving,” she once wrote.

Honestly, it’s exhausting for us to just think about all Gaines is up to—but she’s embracing it and having fun along the way. “If you would have told me that I’d end this season of the show pregnant with our fifth baby, I would’ve laughed,” she says. “Like the entire Fixer Upper opportunity as a whole, life has a way of surprising us.”

You might also like:

• Joanna Gaines’ baby bump is just as cute as she is
• 5 parenting lessons we want to steal from Chip + Joanna Gaines
• An open letter to Joanna Gaines—from a fellow mother of five