Hearing the Heartbeat - Month 4

13 weeks

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head -- which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed and your odds of miscarriage drop considerably. (info found on babycenter.com)

We have now entered the beginning of month four!!! And once I hit week 14 (tomorrow), I will have made it to the beloved second trimester. Yeah!!! This is where I hear some, if not all, of the energy comes back and when I'll start to feel baby K kick...and things become a little more real. I can feel my energy sneaking in from time to time already. I can get out of bed in the morning with my cat-like speed like I used to (no more zombie walking to the bathroom and back and no more peanuts at 4:00 a.m.) I was able to create a website for my uncle on my free time, so that tells me I'm slowly coming back. I still need to get to my book writing, but at least I'm able to send out three AOL articles a week.

Tuesday we had the wonderful opportunity of hearing our baby's heartbeat. WOW. First, we decided on St. Francis hospital in Shakopee to deliver. We met with Dr. Druckman who delivered all two of my friend Jill's babies and the one baby she was a surrogate for. She had nothing but great things to say about him and she is right. We connected with Dr. D instantly and I especially liked him because he told me I was in wonderful shape. Yeah!  And he's funny. I guess I'm hungry for compliments now since I'm not used to growing out of my pants so fast.

I found out my blood pressure is great (90/60) and that I have gained 5 lbs total in my first 13 weeks. Phew. For some reason I thought it'd be a lot more. We had a few questions, especially about heart health since so many people in my family have issues. But he said because I am so healthy and I take such good care of myself, we have little to worry about. But he also suggested going to Methodist in St. Louis Park around 20 weeks to get a more serious heart test done. He also gave me the clearance to go back to running and doing stair stepper and whatever balls-out activity I did before I became pregnant. I swear this being healthy stuff is so so so important!!! This made me soooo happy. I miss my hard workouts because that is where my happy drug comes from!!! It's just finding the motivation to get to the gym that's been hard. Hoping that changes second trimester, but at the same time I do like having more time in the evenings to cook and get other things done. Working out sure eats up time.

Dr. D moved the little recorder around on my belly and before we knew it the room was filled with baby K's little heart pumping. I'm so mad we didn't record it, but maybe there will be a next time where we can do that. What a crazy, awesome sound. Still blows my mind that this little human is growing inside me. I'm having the hardest time wrapping my mind around it all. I know people have baby dreams, but that is one thing I haven't had. So strange. When I was planning for our wedding, I dreamt about that every single night. So why no baby dreams? Sometimes I even forget I'm pregnant and get really scared when I realize I am. Like...oh my God...this is happening! Are you ready for this Christie??? I guess I have to be now! Ha! I guess I feel like I should be planning more but we really haven't. But maybe more so around the holidays.

Doc said baby is sounding healthy!!! Next appointment is scheduled for November 9. We're still undecided if we're going to find out what we're having. We're kind of leaning towards no on this, but that seems to change every day.

Changes in body

• Jeans are really snug around waist.
• Sometimes I have NO control of what happens (was on a nice leisurely walk and was hit with baaad stomach pains. Without getting in too much detail, let's just say I had to call Karl to come pick me up)
• By the time Friday comes, I am exhausted by 4:30 and really want to go to sleep. It is also very easy to fall asleep around 9 every night.

Cravings
No new ones to report of. Just sticking with my healthy cravings I always have and hoping they last. I did buy a bottle of Olive Garden salad dressing so I could stop obsessing about eating there.

Advice
I've received great pieces of advice from a couple people so far:

1. Buy all your bigger items in unisex colors (stroller, crib, changing table, car seat, etc.). If you plan on having more than one kid. This pregnancy might be a boy, but the next one could be a girl. Unless you want to buy all new stuff again. Good point.
2. When you want baby to stop sucking on the nook, cut a piece off of it every few days, Pretty soon there will be nothing to suck and and baby/toddler won't want it anymore.

This week kicks off an insane week. Tomorrow Mike (my bro) and I are meeting up with Pastor Vern for breakfast at 6:30!!!! I sooooo miss him terribly and can't wait to see him. Then I have a full day of work. Then I have our association meeting for our town home and am scared for that since our dues are going up and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to hear that - I know we didn't. So I'll have to do what I can to keep the blood pressure down. Then I have volleyball at 9:15. It's going to be a long long day.

I have promised myself to really enjoy these next six months of relaxing as much as possible. Friends and family will always ask favors of me and I've come to terms with the fact that it's okay to say no because my life is about to become very chaotic. It already has with Karl being back in school. My household chores have doubled again since he can't get to any of his stuff. So that stinks. I just really need to decide what is important to me. I want to get as much rest and relaxation as I can right now because this is the only time I will be able to enjoy silence and sitting for a very long, long, long, long time. And for once, I'm kind of okay with it.

Today I'm hitting up the Mall of America in hopes of finding a few cute maternity outfits. I hear GAP, Old Navy and Motherhood are the places to go. I need pants for sure. I am still able to wear about five or six pairs, but every week the waist is getting tighter and more uncomfortable. We'll see what I come up with!! Pictures soon!

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Asparagus Bow-Tie Pasta

Thank you Kraft!

Asparagus Bow-Tie Pasta
serves 4
(recipe found on Kraft Foods.com)

2 cups farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked. I used whatever was leftover in our cupboard.
1 lb. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 cup halved orange pepper strips
1/4 cup julienne-cut oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 cup 2% Mike Shredded Italian Three Cheese Blend

1. Cook pasta in large saucepan as direct on box, omitting salt and adding asparagus to boiling water for the last 2 minutes. Drain.

2. Cook peppers and tomatoes in large skillet on medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently.

3. Add pasta mixture, broth, cream cheese and oregano to skillet; mix well. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened. Top with cheese; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese begins to melt.

Karl's reaction: "Oh-la-la. I like this!"

My take: I totally forgot to add meat. Karl was a good sport about it though. I think this would be great with shrimp or chicken.

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Greek-Style Quesadillas

Bringing us back to Greece!

Greek-Style Quesadillas
serves 4
(recipe found in Better Homes and Garden online)

4 - 7 to 8 inch whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup coarsely shredded purchased roasted chicken
1/2 feta cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved
2 tablespoons whole flat leaf (Italian) parsley leaves
1 tablespoon whole fresh oregano leaves
1/4 bottled Greek vinaigrette salad dressing

1. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. Place tortillas, sprayed sides down, on a cutting board or waxed paper. Sprinkle with chicken, feta cheese, red onion, cucumber, grape tomatoes, olives, parsely, and oregano. Drizzle with dressing. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Cook quesadillas, two at a time, over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until light brown, turning once. Remove quesadillas from skillet; place on baking sheets. Keep warm in a 300 degree F oven. Repeat.

Karl's reaction: "Not bad! These are good!"

My take: I was overly tired this day (thanks to pregnancy) so I didn't eat much, but it was very flavorful!



This is a real Greek meal in Santorini, Greece! SO GOOD!

And another...this is octopus! I promise it was good!

And our beloved gyros. Nothing compares to these....ever!



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Easy Lasagna

Easy Lasagna
serves 12
(recipe given to me by an old boss at Braun Intertec)

1 lb ground beef
1 8 oz container ricotta cheese
1 8 oz container cottage cheese
handful of fresh spinach
carton of mushrooms
1 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 6 oz jar tomato sauce
fresh basil
9 lasagna noodles
1 lb mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese (grated)

1. Brown mean, drain off excess fat.

2. Add ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce. Set aside.

3. Cook noodles in boiling, salted water. Grate mozzarella cheese. Rinse and cut spinach, basil and slice mushrooms. Put in bowl together.

4. Place half the noodles in 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Add half the sauce. Add half the veggies. Add half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover last layer with Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake at 350-375 about 30-45 minutes. Until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Karl's reaction - "Seems like there needs to be more red in here. Like it's missing sauce. But it still is good!"

My take - "I didn't add the tomato sauce because the recipe doesn't call for it, so that's why I added it. Definitely needs more red sauce, but it's easy to make and tastes great!"

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The Good News is Out - Month 3

week 12

The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. (http://www.babycenter.com/)

Ahh, we can both breathe a sigh of relief now that our awesome news is out to the world. Boy, did we find out some cool stuff once we made that announcement. For one, a million of my friends are pregnant too!!!

• My BFF She-Dawg is due in February.
• My awesome hair stylist (and soon to be full-time stylist when I become a famous writer some day...he, he) is due February 16.
• My awesome friend Wendy is due in early March.
• Two great friends I played volleyball with at UW-Whitewater are due. One in April and one in May!
• My friend Amy is due in May.
• One of Karl's coworkers and my new cool friend is due TWO days after me!!!
• Am I missing someone? I feel like I am....

It's so much fun when you can share your pains, worries, concerns with someone else, especially new timers cuz it's like what the H is going on with me right now!? HA! I also love texting and emailing my friends who also just had babies because they are offering up tons of great advice.

New food cravings -

• Honeycrisp apples. I need at least one a day. Thank you University of Minnesota for coming up with the most delicious apples ever. I really need to send them a thank you letter. I think I'm going to do that!
• Olive Garden. I dream of the soup, salad and breadsticks. Going there tonight. Can't wait!

New things I've noticed -

• At week 12 I figured I'd be almost over the hump in the feeling bad department, but this week was actually kind of hard. The only thing I changed in my diet was I ran out of acidophilus vitamins, so I'm wondering if that's why I'm feeling more nauseous than usual? Nothing is coating my stomach.
• I eat...a lot and non-stop! How I'm not the size of a house yet, I do not know???
• I love pomegranates and they are making their comeback in October already...yee-yah!!!

Typical day of eating:

Breakfast -
One or two eggs for breakfast
One or two pieces of whole wheat toast.
Flaxseed and Nutella.
Grapefruit
Water. Lots of water

By the time I get into work, I'm starving.

Snack time begins
Greek yogurt (lots of protein).
Few minutes later I'm hungry again. (yes, I'm serious)
I have a banana
I eat a small baggie of walnuts
I get hungry again
I have string cheese

LUNCH time!
Usually leftovers from the night before. Bigger portions than normal (and I'm good until 3)

Snack time again!!!
My beloved honeycrisp apple

Dinner
Some healthy recipe and larger portions

Hoping I'll be okay! I haven't been that great with walking this week. Why? Welllll because I'm in bed by 7:15. What on earth!?!?!? I couldn't even hold my head up at the dinner table the other night. So messed up.

So work was super cool about the news, which made me feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders!! Very happy about this. They are willing to work with me and I'm willing to work with them. Yeah! Karl's work seemed very happy for him too! Phew, that worry is over with for now.

We were just so excited to get the response we did from family and friends. You guys are making this so much fun!!!!!

Questions I'm faced with:
1. Should we find out the sex of the baby?
2. Daycare? Nanny? In-house? A center? Akkkk!!! This is going to be so so so hard!!! I can't even imagine doing this!!!!

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Telling Friends and Family - Month 3

Sharing the Good News

This is the best part!!! Now I see why people want to share the news right away! It's so hard to keep it in. And I think for those who do, that's awesome because you have tons of people cheering for you, ready to pray and catch you if anything should happen along the way. It's so much fun to see people's reactions. Every one's is different, of course, but I can't help and smile when people share such kind words with us!!

We gave the blessing to our parents that they could share the news with their friends and family this weekend as long as nobody posted anything on Facebook. I need to get to work first. The calls and texts messages started coming in, which has been really cool. I love to hear the excitement in every one's voices. This is going to be fun!

Karl and I went to church this morning. It's been many many weeks since we've been. It's been hard for me to get up early on Sundays, but for some reason this morning I could do it. And thanks to Pastor Stephanie for sending me a text to make sure I was coming. I needed that extra push! Plus, I knew I had to tell the organist Karen! I was missing her hugs anyway. Karen was pumped and it felt good to get it out. Church always seems to add an extra step of goodness in my whole week. I feel so lucky Karl and I have a place to go that feels a little like home. Like our second family is waiting for us. Where else can someone go and get a hug as soon as they walk through the door? (Thanks John!!!) Today, I feel really good about everything...life...the baby...the future. We need to start showing up more!

I couldn't help but think about baby Koester's baptism and him/her singing in the children's choir and getting his/her Bible blessed. What will he or she participate in? Will he or she be one of those kids who are overly animated up front or will they stand there scared out of their mind? It's fun to think about. I am so so thankful for our church and the people there, and for the sense of community it brings every time we walk through those doors. Instant connection. Love it.

We're headed for a nature walk because it's gorgeous today. I love getting fresh air and just spending time together. Just trying to enjoy every moment and every day because there are always changes coming and there are a lot more about to hit us. Every one keeps hinting that our marriage and relationship will change once baby comes. But instead of worrying about how it'll be, or what could happen, I'm just going to enjoy today and what's going on right now.

Thanks for your excitement!!! It really means a lot.

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Telling My Grandparents and Visiting Parents - Month 3

written Sunday, September 18, 2011
week 9

This week I've been feeling really great. Finally! I'm not sure if it's because I was able to see the ultrasound on Monday and actually see that there was indeed a baby growing inside me and hear from the doctor that it was natural to feel the way I've been feeling, or what? But I really do feel like myself again. Thank you God!!! I was getting pretty worried there.

Wednesday night Karl and I left work (late)...both of us had real bad days but pushed the bull aside, shoved food down, packed and hopped in our car. We didn't leave until 6:40 and I knew that meant we wouldn't get to gpa and gma's until way past their bedtime. Rats. Another day of waiting to tell them our good news. As we pulled up their long driveway, everything was dark. We crawled into bed and couldn't wait to tell them in the morning.

Grandma, me and Grandpa Powalish

Both Karl and I woke up early and realized it was freezing out. I saw on Twitter most of Minnesota tied for a record low and there was frost in Wild Rose, Wisconsin. We walked in the kitchen and got our hugs and I handed grandma an ultrasound picture.

"What is this?" She studies it.

I look at grandpa sitting at the kitchen table and he has a gleam in his eyes. "I'm pregnant." I smile.

"Really?" Grandma squeals and grandpa smiles. She squeezes me and grandpa stands up and walks over to Karl.

"Congratulations you big buck, you."

We laugh and all hug again. The moment is real special and my grandma looks at the picture again. "Oh, Christie. This is great news! Oh! The baby is in a heart! Look!" She points and she's right. The space around baby is definitely shaped as a heart, which only makes me smile bigger.

We sit down and talk more about baby and grandpa cuts in. "I'm shocked!"

I giggle.

"I thought you said you weren't ready?"

"Will I ever be ready?" I ask.

Grandma, Karl and Grandpa Powalish - lots of love there!!!

Throughout the day we talk about it more and have a real nice time. Grandpa tries bribing us to stay longer but we tell them my parents are dying to see us and we have to go home. They can't wait to hear from them on Sunday. We leave around 3:30 to see mom and dad. The trip with gpa and gma was really really special and grandpa mentioned he now has to stick around for sure to see baby born. Yeah! He turns 85 on Thursday.

We arrive to Roscoe and mom and dad are very excited to see us. We show them ultrasound pictures and give them two to hang on their refrigerator. I can tell they are excited - my dad is talking a mile a minute. My mom can't wipe the smile off her face.

So far the trip has been wonderful. Karl's golfed with my dad. I went to the Apple Orchard with my mom. We've cleaned the basement and introduced my parents to Craigslist - how their junk can become someone else's treasures. We've eaten really good. I've gone shopping with mom. This really has been such a great time and I so wish we lived closer. It's so nice to get spoiled like this.  Our baby is going to be one lucky grand baby and great-grand baby!!!

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