Joanna Gaines Reveals How Recent Pregnancy Motivated One of Her Biggest Project Changes

Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines welcomed their fifth child, son Crew, in June 2018, and Joanna recently revealed that her latest pregnancy actually forced her to make a big change to her newest project.

Joanna released a children’s book, We Are the Gardeners, this month, something the designer had started working on before finding out that she was pregnant with Crew. In a new post on her blog, the mom of five revealed that thanks to illustrator Julianna Swaney, baby Crew is also a part of the book, as he was included in the artwork after his birth.

“We actually started this project before we knew Crew would be joining the family, so Julianna was kind enough to add him into the illustrations after he was born,” Joanna shared. “She really brought our family to life on every page.”

Crew was also included in another part of the project, with his mom writing that she recorded We Are the Gardeners‘ audiobook with all five her kids.

“My hope for this book is that it inspires families to want to get out and connect in fun, creative ways — whether or not it’s in the garden,” Joanna wrote. “It could be sewing or painting or cooking together. Whatever it may be, at the end of the day there’s always something to learn and I believe taking the time to try something new together makes it all the more meaningful.”

We Are the Gardeners tells the story of the Gaines family and their garden, a place they’ve enjoyed together for years.

“Since they were little, we’ve always had some scope of garden in our yard — whether it was only several feet wide or much larger like the one we’re growing at the farm today,” Joanna wrote of her kids. “It has always been a place where I go to retreat or unwind, or to simply spend some time in nature — and of course any time my kids would join me was always more fun.”

“When I started to ask for their help in the garden, I found that, like me, as soon as their hands hit the soil they were hooked. Over the years, we’ve had to learn by trial and error because a garden is hard work — plain and simple. There have been times where we’ve all been frustrated and could have thrown in the towel, but thankfully, the garden has always called us back.”

We Are the Gardeners is just one of the many projects Joanna has overseen, as the Fixer Upper star also helms a shopping complex, multiple product lines, a magazine, a restaurant and more.

Photo Credit: Getty / Rob Kim