Three Great Pregnancy Books - Month 7

What to read while pregnant?

Currently I'm reading about seven different pregnancy books, a romance novel (sorry, I need some steamy romance in my life) and a Christian-type of book. And so far I have three faves out of the seven pregnancy books.

Here's the secret I've learned up to this point in my pregnancy. Nobody can really prepare you for pregnancy or what's about to happen. Nobody. No person. No book. No video. Etc. Every 'body' is different and handles pregnancy in its own way. Kind of like how we're all our own person. And with that said, humor is a good thing when the unknown is lurking around every corner. Trust me. Fear can do some cray-cray things to a pregnant lady.

Hilarious, honest book for pregnant ladies

Jenny McCarthy did a good job of cracking me up in Belly Laughs. My friend Katie (due less than two weeks before me) sent me a text and asked me if I read it. I said "no" and she mailed it to me. I thought that was pretty awesome in itself. I read it on our flight to Vegas and was done that night. It's a quick read, and it's hilarious. Let's just say Jenny is very open and doesn't hold back...on anything! I highly recommend this book to add some humor to your pregnancy. Laughing is a good thing.

Second book that has helped me a ton has been Heading Home With Your Newborn. Funny, but Amazon was the one who recommended this book to me. Remember, I'm the one who rarely holds babies...if at all. I don't think I've ever changed a diaper in my life. I never heard of swaddling and bumbos and boppies. I'm sooo clueless (and part of the reason I think I'm so scared). But this book really covered everything from breastfeeding to sleepless nights and figuring out if your baby is too hot or cold to helping make life easier. Let's just say I feel a little more prepared and have something to go back to when I'm struggling!

Third book, Your Pregnancy Week by Week, was given to me by my BFF She-Dawg. I really do read it "week by week" and love knowing what's going on with my body and baby for the week. It's fun and very accurate. I just like it because each week is short and sweet and to the point.

There is one other book that I just started that a work friend recommended about breastfeeding. The Complete Book of Breastfeeding. I'm only a few chapters in but it's full of great information, and I think by taking a breastfeeding class this weekend will help keep the information fresh as I read chapter after chapter.

Moms - Were there any books you read during your pregnancy that you enjoyed?

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Car Seat Safety Class for Baby - Month 7

Parenting Class One out of Four Complete!

week 28

Car Seat Safety at St. Francis Hospital in Shakopee
I would've never imagined myself taking a class like this. But, the statistics are alarming. Over 83 percent of parents install the car seat wrong (which would totally be me) and car accidents are the leading cause of children's death.

Practicing on a little doll

Those numbers had my attention, even though most people giggled when we told them we were going. "You are definitely first time parents." I know, but this stuff is interesting to me!

The class was offered through the hospital we'll be delivering at and I think was around $30 for the both of us. We later found out most everyone else in our class were able to get FREE car seats because they were on Minnesota Medical Assistance and only needed to complete the class and fill out a form. Jeesh! Kind of nice if you ask me.

It was up to us if we wanted to bring in our car seat and car manual. We did. Super happy we were gifted the Chicco KeyFit 30 from our first shower (thanks Mattie Sue...and mom!!!). It's totally awesome. I did some major research on car seats and am totally satisfied with the KeyFit so far. Way easy to install!

The 2-hour class (which really only lasted an hour and 20 minutes) was taught by a nurse and mother of two (who is also married to a volunteer firefighter who has seen way too many horrible accidents due to incorrect car seat installation so she's mega passionate about this stuff). Though we didn't get to install the car seat into our own car, we had to practice getting a doll in the seat correctly (too many times the straps aren't tight enough) and then tied and locked both the car seat base into an actual seat of a car and then again without the base (for the purpose of grandpa and grandma watching baby for a weekend and not having a base installed in their car).

We watched a 20 minute video on the different types of car seats and stages. Very scary to see a bunch of infants and small children dummies in crash tests and how horrible these accidents can be even if the car is going 30 miles per hour...all because the car seat wasn't installed properly or there are toys hanging from the handlebar or the bar is over the child's face and not tucked behind the car seat.

We left turning our recall card in that came with our car seat (just in case Chicco has any recalls and now they have us on file) and received a packet of information. Really happy we took this class.

Most surprised about:

• You can get free car seats through some insurance providers.
• Car seat must be rear facing up to two years of age.
• Absolutely NO toys on or in the car seat...or no loose objects in the car - they will go flying!
• Kids can't sit up front until they are 13.
• Kids have to be in booster seats until age 12.
• Once the car seat is past 6 years old, break it and then dump/recycle it.
• NEVER EVER buy a used car seat. You never know where it's been or what kind of accident it's been in. Even minor.
• Insurance companies will reimburse you if you do get in a very minor car accident for a NEW car seat. Otherwise, if you get in another accident with the same car seat, NOT GOOD. Nobody will be willing to take blame. Just you.

Anyone else have good suggestions for awesome car seats after baby grows out of the infant one? they seem quite expensive!!

Up next: My crazy and scary thoughts on being pregnant. My favorite pregnancy books so far. Gestational Diabetes testing (going in on Friday). And breastfeeding class.

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Pasta with Chickpeas and Garlic Sauce

One of Karl's Favorites! Score!!!

Pasta with Chickpeas and Garlic Sauce
serves 4
recipe found on My Recipes.com

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups uncooked medium seashell pasta (about 6 ounces)

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (I used basil instead of parsley)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (beware - this is like $9.00)

I also added Italian sausage for extra protein

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add crushed garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, chickpeas, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

2. While garlic mixture simmers, cook pasta in boiling water 9 minutes, omitting salt and fat; drain well.

3. Place chickpea mixture in a food processor, and process until smooth. Combine chickpea mixture, pasta, tomatoes, minced garlic, fresh parsley, and lemon juice; toss well. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.

Karl's reaction: "This is for sure another top three. Yum, babe. I need more."

My take: I liked using chickpeas because it looked like I was using a bad cream sauce and tasted like it too, but I knew it was healthier! I will be making this again. Very easy. And I liked the basil because it added a lot more flavor.

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Being Pregnant and Going to a Concert, Vegas and a Magic Show - Month 7

27 weeks

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

My family in Vegas (at Bellagio)

Who would have thought I'd being having so much fun at seven months pregnant? Not me!! I thought I'd be miserable and unable to move. So far, this had been pretty fun besides the feeling tired part (but I really don't mind getting sleep - it feels good). Oh, and I don't like the pants getting tighter! Hate that.

Brad singing Then! Felt like our first dance all over again!

So I barely go to concerts when I'm not pregnant but I won tickets to see Brad Paisley in concert at the Xcel Energy Center via Twitter. All I had to do was tweet my favorite Brad Paisley song. Of course it's Then, since it's our first dance. And low and behold, I had won us a pair of tickets. Score!

Off to the show Karl and I went. Scotty McCreery was first and The Band Perry was next. Karl and I didn't show until 9:00 p.m. considering we were leaving for Vegas to celebrate my younger brother's 30th birthday the next day at 6 a.m. We had a very early morning ahead of us and were already tuckered out so we didn't want to be out for too long. Lucky for us both Scotty and The Band Perry played with Brad during his show, so we were able to see all of them perform too. Yay! The concert was great and not too loud. I was worried I'd blow Baby Koester's ears out. He/she was pretty chill during the entire show.

Side note: I will say I do know why Taylor Swift was Entertainer of the Year though. Her show blows Brad out of the water. Okay, so maybe I do go to more concerts than I thought... 

We stayed until 10:30. We knew we'd be getting up at 4:30 a.m. but were a bit excited to meet my family in Vegas. We maybe got four hours of sleep. And anyone who is pregnant knows you NEED more than four hours of sleep to function. I tried to pretend I wasn't tired and I will say the only way to travel is with my older brother Mike. We always get the best seats on the plane, covered parking at the Park N Fly, Sky Club access... Jeesh. Let's just say it was nice.

Even though it wasn't 60 out, we still hit up the pool for Vitamin D!

Vegas was fun but I will be honest. It was hard being pregnant. I wanted to drink. I wanted to stay up late and gamble with everyone. I wanted to do more. But I was exhausted most of the time, and all that smoke in the Casinos is nasty. I was scared the baby would be breathing it all in. So I'd climb into our wonderful fluffy King Size bed and grab a book. I finished Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs - totally LOVED it. She even tweeted me back in response after I told her how I thought her book rocked! And I finished another one of my other baby books. More to come on those in another blog post.

Yeah, Jenny McCarthy and I go back to MTV's Singled Out! Ha!

Not going to lie, I had my moments where I'd freak out while in Vegas - the selfish Christie would start to come out. I wondered a lot how life would change once Baby K was born. Would I get to do any of the fun stuff again? Would Karl be the one getting to experience all the fun while I took care of baby and kept my body healthy for baby? But then the more I thought of it, I realized I was the one who woke up refreshed (not hungover or tired) and I was still able to have fun and remember things. And with baby we'll have new different kinds of fun adventures.

But it's still scary because it's the land of the unknown. I don't know how things are going to change. I can worry myself about them, but I think like everything else in life everything will turn out just fine. I don't know if we'll be able to travel like we have been. More signs point to no, but I'm constantly reminding myself to take one day at a time. Nobody can predict the future. Things change all the time! And my life so far has been quite the ride. Why stop now?

My brothers and Karl (and dad) playing Craps for four hours!!!

All in all, we had fun. And I mean lots of fun. Karl has been to Vegas five times and he said this was by far his favorite out of all the times he went and that makes me super happy. I love how he's able to fit right in.

This time we stayed at Mandalay Bay

We stayed at Mandalay Bay (ate brunch there three times...shhhh), hung out by the pool, won $209 at Wheel of Fortune (what up Vanna!!), saw the fountains at Bellagio, walked all the way to Battista's Hole in the Wall Italian Restaurant starting from Mandalay Bay (that's behind the Flamingo....holy stairs), took the Deuce to Fremont Street and also saw Criss Angel in action.

Places we ate in Vegas:
The Bayside Buffet at Mandalay Bay
Red, White and Blue at Mandalay Bay
Ri Ru Irish Pub at Mandalay Bay
Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay (this was really good!)
Battisa's Hole in the Wall

Karl, Kid Rock, my brother Mark and TuPac...he lives!

And with all that commotion and travel and noise, Baby Koester seemed to survive! Criss Angel was probably the loudest out of all the places I've been these past seven months and there was no crazy kicking or anything in response!

But I do think he/she was wondering what was going on today as I sat at work because there's been lots of kicking. Probably wants me to move some more or something. Or else he/she is missing all the bells and whistles of those slot machines. Ha!

Up next: Why am I freaking myself out so much? And the results of our two-hour Car Seat Safety Class. Good baby books.

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Orange-Beef Stir Fry

Wok and Roll

Orange-Beef Stir Fry
serves 5
recipe found in Fitness Magazine, January 2012

Lots of flavor in this dish!

1/2 lb top round steak

1/2 cup beef broth

2 T soy sauce

1/4 cup orange juice concentrate

2 T lime juice

1 T sesame oil

1 T minced garlic

1 T minced fresh ginger

1 T cornstarch

Nonstick cooking spray

1 T canola oil

3 small bell peppers, thinly sliced

1 small Vidalia or red onion

1 cup broccoli florets

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Place steak in freezer until firm but not frozen, about 20 mins. Cut against grain into thin slices.

2. In a large cowl, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, orange juice concentrate, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Stir in cornstarch until no lumps remain. Set aside.

3. Coat a wok or large skillet with cooking spray. Add oil and warm over medium heat. Add peppers, onion and broccoli; cook and stir 4-5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Increase heat to high and add steak. Cook and stir 3-4 minutes, until meat begins to brown.

4. Reduce heat to low and add broth mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes more, until sauce thickens and steak is no longer pink.

5. Garnish with scallions and serve.

Karl's reaction: "Wow. I like this a lot. Lots of good flavor in here. Real good job babe."

My take: I think this is awesome. I usually suck at making Chinese and this tasted really great! Loved the fresh veggies. I piled them on to make more food.

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Orange-Dijon Salmon with Almond-and-Herb Couscous

Get those Omega-3s

Orange-Dijon Salmon with Almond-and-Herb Couscous
serves 4
recipe found in Fitness Magazine, January 2012

Refreshing salmon recipe!

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard

1 tablespoon orange marmalade

1 1/4 pounds salmon, cut into four equal portions

3/4 cup couscous

2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

1 cup fresh chives, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard and orange marmalade. Place the salmon, skin side down, in a baking dish and spread the mustard-marmalade mixture evenly over the top of each piece; cook 12 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small pot, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil; remove from heat. Stir in the couscous, cover and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and mix in the almonds, chives, parsley, mint, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and black pepper. Serve topped with salmon.

Karl's reaction - "I like this babe. It has a good taste to it. Good hearty portion."

My take - I liked this. It was easy to make and tasted great. I like making salmon different ways so this was cool!

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Toasted Angel Hair with Sausage and Peppers

A Pampered Chef Recipe

Toasted Angel Hair with Sausage and Peppers
serves 4
recipe found in 29 Minutes to Dinner - From Everyday to Gourmet (The Pampered Chef)

Karl says this dish is in his top three

1 lb bulk hot Italian sausage
2 medium red bell peppers
1 lb uncooked angel hair pasta
3 garlic cloves, pressed
5 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fresh basil, divided
1 oz Parmesan cheese

1. Place sausage into (12-in) skillet. Cook over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Remove sausage from skillet and set aside.

2. As sausage cooks, slice off tops and bottoms of bell peppers, remove and discard seeds and stems. Finely chop tops and bottoms. Remove and discard seeds and ribs from sides of peppers, slice into thin julienne strips.

3. Add pasta to skillet and toast 8-10 minutes, stirring after each 2-minute interval. Press garlic over pasta and add broth, all of the peppers and cooked sausage. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer vigorously 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.

4. As pasta simmers, chop basil, reserving half for garnish. When pasta is tender, remove from heat and stir in remaining basil.

5. To serve, divide pasta mixture among serving bowls, grate cheese over pasta. Garnish with reserved basil.

Karl's reaction: "Just taking one bite I already know I'm going to love this. Okay, this is officially my top three favorite meals you've ever made. Delectable."

My take: This was rather good. I never toasted noodles like that, but it gives it a real nice flavor! Very tasty!

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