Another Baby Book Highly Recommended - Month 9

35 weeks
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete – he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. (www.babycenter.com)

I just purchased another book on Amazon - they are getting rich off of me these past nine months. I've heard so many great things about The Happiest Baby on the Block and figured I might as well dive in. There's a DVD for the book too, but I thought I'll just stick to the book because then I can always go back. And I can read at my own pace.

One of my greatest fears is having a baby who will cry a lot and keep us up at all hours of the night. The author of The Happiest Baby studied a bunch of tribes in Africa and saw how quickly they could calm a crying baby and decided to research this for many years. And then wrote a book.

He came up with the 5 S's System:

Swaddling: Tight swaddling provides the continuous touching and support your baby is used to experiencing within the womb.

Side/stomach position: The infant is placed on their left side to assist in digestion, or on their stomach to provide reassuring support. “But never use the stomach position for putting your baby to sleep,” cautions Karp. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is linked to stomach-down sleep positions. When a baby is in a stomach down position do not leave them even for a moment.

Shushing sounds: These imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood flowing through arteries near the womb.

Swinging: Newborns are used to the swinging motions within their mother’s womb, so entering the gravity driven world of the outside is like a sailor adapting to land after nine months at sea. “It’s disorienting and unnatural,” says Karp. Rocking, car rides, and other swinging movements all can help. Thank God someone amazing bought me the Fisher Price Rock and Play Swing!!! :)

Sucking: “Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system,” notes Karp, “and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within the brain.”

I'll let you know if these work:) For now, I'll just continue to pray that everything goes well and read as much as I can.

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A Month to Go - Childbirth Preparation Class - Month 9

week 35

Holy cats!! Let the countdown begin. Karl's birthday is this week and we said once we hit that, we'd have ONE whole month left. That's like four weeks until Baby Koester's arrival. YIKES!!!

I'm just starting to feel the baby drop!

My belly is for sure getting bigger (as you can see). I noticed the heaviness last night too. It's much harder to move around, but I am thankful I do get to move around. I still feel good. Karl and I have enjoyed feeling Baby Koester's feet and butt move along my stomach. We try to reach and grab them. It's the craziest feeling ever on the inside and from the outside feeling in!

Friday night and Saturday (all day...and yes, on a 65 degree day)  Karl and I took a Childbirth preparation (Weekend Express) class at St. Francis. I'm really glad we took this class. Yes, we had to watch some more videos (yes, I cried again - I can't help it...all that work and then poof, baby is out. Such a miracle beyond words.). It was nice to see three different stories of women - all who were "planners" and not one baby plan worked out the way they had hoped. It reminded me to keep an open mind through this whole adventure and know that I can't predict anything. Every birthing story is different but I did pick up a lot of tools that will help me.

What I loved about the class was a pediatrician was brought in to share a lot of insight into those first two years of childhood. It was nice to ask questions and have him provide us with a ton of info. Like I wanted to know just in case we have a boy, how to care for our peanut's little "peanut" once it's circumcised. And Karl had questions about temperatures and when to bring baby in. And we learned all about day care snot nose...it'll be continuous for two years. Nice.

The second thing I loved was a Speech Language Pathologist came in (feeling really lucky right now that my sister-in-law is one) and talked about the importance of Tummy Time. Seems with all the toys out there these days, parents are more willing to lie their kids down and leave them on their backs all hours of the day, which creates muscle and skull issues and lots of development issues. It was crazy to see the difference between a child who received no tummy time and one who did from the time they were born to 6 months. Their heads were even shaped differently! We for sure will be doing lots of tummy time.

We also were able to tour the birthing center, which we both loved! I can't believe I'm going to be staying in a hospital...overnight too. Maybe longer. I don't really know what that's like, but the rooms look somewhat comfortable. We met a couple in our class who are expecting twins on the same day we are...and also have our doctor! Guess we'll be fighting for attention if we both are on schedule.

Karl checking out the room

We also had to watch a video on Shaken Baby Syndrome which broke my heart into a million pieces. I couldn't help but think of my BFF whose son was shaken at 6 months. The man in the video lost his son because of it, and I kept thinking over and over and over, My BFF is so lucky her son survived. But it still SUCKS. Why, oh, why did this have to happen?????

All and all I'm feeling a little more prepared with things and can't believe baby's arrival is almost here! Don't forget to place your guesses for Baby Koester's gender and when he/she will arrive into this world on Baby Hunch! No password needed!

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Tex-Mex Chicken Enchiladas

Tex-Mex Chicken Enchiladas
serves 4 to 6
recipe found on MyRecipes.com

These were delicious!

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers

1/2 cup sour cream 

1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8 (8-inch) flour tortillas 

Vegetable cooking spray 

1 (8-ounce) container sour cream 

1 (8-ounce) bottle green taco sauce

Toppings: diced tomato, chopped avocado, chopped green onions, sliced ripe olives, chopped cilantro

Stir together first 5 ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over each tortilla, and roll up. Arrange in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Coat tortillas with vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Stir together sour cream and taco sauce. Spoon over hot enchiladas, and sprinkle with toppings.

Karl's reaction: "These are good! I'd order these off a fresco menu at a restaurant!"

My take: Loved these. Mad that I made them with fat free sour cream, but those labels can be deceiving sometimes! Still tasted good. Will make again.

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Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Quick and easy!

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
serves 4
recipe found on Six Sisters' Stuff blog

I had to add veggies to it!

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.


*You can also sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top if you want more heat.

Karl's reaction: "This is really good! I'm going to get me some more of this!"

My take: I'm glad I added veggies because I can see this being too salty with just chicken. It was nice to have crunchy veggies in there.

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Have NO FEAR, Coping with Labor - Entering Month 9

34 weeks

Karl and I took our first labor and delivery class yesterday from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. at St. Francis. The class was called "Coping with Labor". There were about eight other couples in class with us (and a platter of really good chocolate chip cookies). There was one other gal who was due the week before us, otherwise, I was basically the next in line.

April 16. That seems so close, doesn't it? Gulp!

We went around and introduced ourselves and shared some thoughts.

My best!

My thoughts: "Hello everyone! Well, Karl and I have never changed diapers. We're not around babies or children. We don't know what we're doing. What to expect. So thought this would be fun."

In response there were some nervous giggles and looks from some people, the look of...."ummm - what were you thinking?"

No bigs, right? I can learn. There are tons of things I didn't know how to do and am now pretty good at them. But then I realized I was asking myself this same question a lot after the class. What was I thinking???

One major piece I took away was HAVE NO FEAR! Fear causes the most problems. Your body tenses and baby doesn't want to move and the pain begins. And it's a cycle. I just need to stay focused and calm the best I can, and baby shouldn't have any troubles. Problem was, FEAR was ALL I felt when I left the class. LOTS of FEAR. Can I do this? Will the pain be unbearable? Will I have to spend days feeling that pain?? Will I have the back labor? Will baby take his/her sweet time?? My plan of having the baby while working out on the stair stepper quickly went out the window.

The tips and pointers the teacher shared with us were good. We learned breathing techniques. What to do when a contraction comes on. She showed the husbands what they need to do to support and encourage us (I liked this part a lot). Let me just say, I'm so glad I have Karl. For real. He makes me laugh when I need him to!! She also suggested some items to bring with us to the hospital - ipod, heating pad, two really cold Coke cans (good for the back) and a water jug. And I must ask for "the bean" if I do get an epidural. Will do!

This was all good stuff. Then we got down on our mats and practiced some stretches. We learned some great ones, especially good ones if I'm suffering from bad back labor. And there were things Karl was shown that he could do to help the process a long, like pushing my hips and tailbone. I'm really thinking about sitting on a fitness ball at work from now on to help turn the baby in the right position, so I can eliminate any chance of back labor. That just looks really painful!

The scary part was watching the video of an actual birth. From 6:00 a.m. to 7:07 p.m. a video camera followed around a couple going through a drug-free birth. Man, that woman was in a LOT of pain throughout the entire day. Karl kept saying, "Why wouldn't you get an epidural, lady???"

And then, they showed the head coming through and tears just started falling down my cheeks. I don't know where they came from. I couldn't stop them. I just couldn't believe what this woman went through - all the pain. She also demonstrated different ways to cope with her labor pains. She sat on an exercise ball. She relaxed in a bathtub. Her husband massaged her. There were tons of different things she did to help her get through it all. And if I choose an epidural, you can't do many of these. But an epidural sure sounds good to me.

The video scared me. Just because I saw how painful birth really was. But once that baby came out....wow.... Truly amazing.

They did interview a couple of moms in the video. One of them said an ankle sprain was way worse on her because at least with her contractions and labor, she knew there was an end point and she focused on that. I thought, OK...I can do this. I've sprained both ankles at least a dozen times playing volleyball. And yes, sprains are very painful and suck. If I can get through those, I can get through this. Right?

This morning I'm starting to give myself more credit and have started to relax a bit. Every one has a different story. Yes, the woman in the video was in super great shape and clearly worked out and took care of herself, but she still isn't me. And she did it. Millions of women do this all the time. I'll be able to do it and I'm sure I'll forget all about the pain once our baby is placed on my chest.

All I know is there is so much more than science behind all of this. Life is so incredible.

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Pregnancy Nesting - Month 8

34 weeks

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers – which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born – are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. (www.babycenter.com)

Me at 34 weeks!

I have heard a lot about the "nesting" stage kicking in while pregnant. My "nesting" stage kicked in around week 14 or so, but it keeps intensifying...like majorly. I keep creating lists and lists of things I want to get done before baby comes. It's pretty nuts. During my work lunch breaks I'm racing to the store to pick up a few things here and there. But at the same time, I keep getting sick! So I don't know if my body is trying to tell me to STOP and SLOW DOWN or if this is pretty common for most pregnant women? I'm kind of on this mission to get everything crossed off my lists. Like even remodel our master bedroom. Yeah, I know. How? When? I don't know either...

I caught two back-to-back colds this past August (that's when I kind of knew something was up with me since that happens about never). Then I get the flu in December. Then I get the stomach flu in February. And now, I have a bad bad cold again. What gives?? I have never gotten sick so often than I have in the past eight months. I absolutely hate it. I hear a woman's immune system goes down when she becomes pregnant because the body doesn't want to fight off the baby - which can be viewed as something foreign. So it adjusts accordingly. Oh man, I just can't wait to get healthy again. And for good!!!

Karl worked feverishly on setting up the crib in the nursery, so it feels good to have that up! But we need to find homes for all the stuffed animals and blankets. And I didn't want to just ignore the crib bumpers (they are viewed as a hazard now these days) so I put one of them on the outside. Ha. It's fun to walk by the crib though and look in knowing a baby is going to be in there. Soon. Our baby. So crazy.

The crib...very full of stuff right now...

The closet full of clothes 0 - 9 months right now.

Then I spent a couple weekends washing all the baby's clothes, sheets, blankets in Dreft. Yum, that stuff smells good - expensive, yes, but yum! The nursery now smells like baby to me when I walk in. I love that!!

Because of one of our showers, we were able to buy the crib, mattress and glider. We have some REAL generous awesome friends. Jeesh. We were so excited. And so we get the glider shipped to us and what do you know? There is no hardware to put it together!! So it's been sitting in the kitchen. We just heard back from Canada last night that they will ship the missing hardware. Hopefully this weekend we can get that together and the nursery will be complete!

In the meantime, we decided we needed to clear all the picture frames and clutter in the family room and kitchen so we went to Slumberland and bought a bunch of furniture to solve that problem. Things are really starting to come together around the Koester town home!

We're most worried about space though. Where is everything going to go? We have no idea. I have three more garbage bags full of things we're going to donate. How much purging can one couple do? Right now we have two strollers set up in our family room because there is no room in the garage. And we have a mattress and bed frame in the "man-cave" because my brother's roommates haven't moved out, and have also added all the old furniture that was in the family room down there. All the baby stuff we've gotten from the showers is in the guest bedroom, which needs to be cleaned out because my parents will be coming soon to help with baby and need a place to sleep.

Good thing there are five to six more weeks, right? We're going to need it!

This week and weekend, Thursday through Saturday, Karl and I are taking two more classes from St. Francis. Coping with Labor and Childbirth Preparation. I am excited about these classes because I feel like I'm kind of clueless. I guess that's what makes things fun! I just hope I start to feel better so I can focus!

We had our 34-week appointment yesterday. I'm measuring right on schedule and the baby's head is down and my ligaments are stretching and softening too! Our next appointment in two weeks will be to test for Strep B (GBS) - they take a swab "down there" and he'll check to see if I'm dilated at all. That'll be just crazy because there'll only be 3-4 weeks left! Yowsers!

And last but not least. Everyone told me that the last trimester will be the slowest, but I'm going to disagree. It has been the fastest for me, for both of us actually. Yes, we're excited to meet the little one but we're also extremely busy and I think that's helping pass the time a lot. We don't have a whole lot of time to think (maybe this is where some insomnia is now coming from). There is so much to do and so many places to be, we look at each other and can't believe another weekend has come and gone. It's pretty nuts. And I'm OK with all of this. No need to rush anything:)

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Baby Shower #4 - Month 8

34 weeks

Baby Shower with my Minnesota Besties

I have some really amazing friends and I was able to celebrate with a lot of them yesterday. I keep thinking about how I moved to Minnesota ten years ago and I really didn't know a lot of people at all. But somehow I was able to make and meet such wonderful people...all because I made a big decision (all on my own), totally stepped out of my comfort zone and took a huge leap of faith. Really great things came from that choice to move to Minnesota. I feel so fortunate and blessed.

Connie, me, Hoover and Kimbra

My friends Kimbra and Angela wanted to throw me a baby shower, and boy...did they throw a pretty awesome shower. I felt like all the decorations needed to be in a magazine or something. They did such a great job putting the whole thing together!

The room set up all cute!

The shower was held at Transfiguration Lutheran Church - my church! And each table had a different centerpiece and pictures of both me and Karl when we were babies. Plus there were a bunch of envelopes on the table too with some dates on them.

This was for everyone to write some words of wisdom to us as we wait for baby! I can't WAIT to open these on the days it says we can!!! Some are specific to Karl and some are specific to me!!!

Kimbra is an AMAZING baker and she whipped up the COOLEST cake ever. I have NO idea how she got the pink and blue on the inside of the cake, but all I know is it was GOOD. And she made these awesome cake pops that were to die for! Seriously, I could've eaten all of them!

I love the little wooden blocks! Christie's Baby Shower!! Awwww!

How adorable is this cake??? Yes, it was as good as it looks!

I'm in LOVE with these cake pops. They had chocolate fudge something in them.

Kimbra cutting up the cake! Yummmy!

Kimbra and Hoover introduced themselves and had everyone say their name, how they knew me and a favorite childhood memory! That was fun to hear some of the stories.

THEN...it was time for games!!! The first one was the poopy diaper game. Kimbra and Hoover smashed different chocolate bars in the diapers and we had to smell them and guess which candy. That was pretty fun! He, he! Looks delicious!

Poopy diaper game!

The next game Kimbra and Hoover brought out their gift, which was a basket loaded with items both Karl and I will need for baby. We had to guess how much each item cost and the total bill. I think it ended up being around $48! Baby is going to be expensive!!!

Soon I was opening gifts. Jeesh. There were so many cool ones!! Feeling really lucky and blessed these days!

As I was opening gifts, Karl came (he was cutting up deer meat)! And afterwards we had some time to talk to everyone. I wish there could have been more one-on-one time, but there's always so much commotion going on! I really do have the coolest friends. They're so down to earth and fun and REAL!!! Love that.

Baby "bumpin" with Amy Fuhry!! Due within weeks of each other!

the TINKS and Kim. Yes, they are playing volleyball with my belly! HA!

I can't believe I once coached these fabulous young ladies! They are all going places!!

What a super fun day! After, I went to dinner with Connie, Hoover and Kimbra and it felt so good to catch up on life and have some girl times. Girlfriends are forever! I couldn't have asked for a greater group of friends.

Huge thanks to Hoover and Kimbra for making me feel so special and for throwing such a great shower!!! Love you ladies!!!

Just five more weeks to go!!!

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