Dylan Dreyer is profoundly grateful to be expecting another child.
The Today show meteorologist and third-hour co-host, 38, who announced in July she’s expecting her second child — and second son — with husband Brian Fichera, has been open about experiencing a miscarriage last winter, following a struggle with trying to conceive.
“I feel so grateful because I know it was so much harder this time around,” Dreyer tells PEOPLE exclusively of getting pregnant naturally. “We weren’t sure we were going to get pregnant or what sort of IVF treatments we’d have to go through to be able to have this baby.”
“So every night I pray and thank God for putting us in this situation and giving us this opportunity and not having to struggle any longer than we did,” she adds.
Dreyer previously told PEOPLE that she and Fichera were preparing to begin in vitro fertilization when they learned the happy news.
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As she prepares to welcome another son, Dreyer is staying focused on how her 2½-year-old son Calvin Bradley is handling all of the changes.
“I’m more worried about Calvin’s feeling than this baby,” she says, noting that things were very different when she was preparing to become a first-time mom.
“When I was pregnant with Calvin, it was all about the nerves of having a new baby and not knowing what to do with a new baby. And this time around, I know the baby’s going to be fine and I’m so worried about Calvin’s feelings,” she adds. “For the past three years it’s all been about him.”
In order to help make the transition easier, Dreyer says she’s making it clear the new baby won’t be taking anything away from Calvin.
“We made a whole big deal about converting his room into his big boy room,” she notes, explaining that “we wanted him to not feel like the baby was stealing his room.”
And inside Calvin’s room is a very sweet nod to his brother on the way.
“I had this little treasure chest and I put a countdown on it. So every day we cross off the day now,” Dreyer, who is due in January, says. “And every day Calvin opens up the treasure chest and it’s a new little gift from his baby brother, little things like a Matchbox car or a little thing of Play-Doh or stickers or just something small, so he’s excited.”
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Although Dreyer admits that she and her husband “don’t know how he’s going to react,” she says her son has already given her belly a hug to thank his sibling-on-the-way for the gifts.
“I think we’re building excitement for it,” she adds.
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