My Husband, The Super Star - Karl Koester

My husband, Karl Koester in Shakopee Valley News

I've always admired my husband's career choice of becoming a prosthetic practitioner. I thought it was pretty cool. I first met him when he was an analytical chemist and could tell he was in the wrong profession. He needed to be around people - making them laugh - and using his hands more building things, versus being buried in a back room, staring at a bunch of bunsen burners and test tubes to see if certain soil samples were OK for businesses to build on.

My sweetheart, Karl, makes front page news!! What a stud!

We started dating while working together (trying hard to keep it under wraps as much as we could but I don't think our faces could hide it) and soon Karl was off to California for six whole months making his dreams come true. He first finished four years of undergrad at the University of Minnesota with a Biology degree and then went on to Century College to get the technical side of building artificial legs and arms under his belt for a year and a half. He then decided he wanted to be a full-on practitioner and needed to head out to a bigger, more specific college for that.

Being apart was hard, but any weekend and every chance I could get, I was off flying to see him. Really I just couldn't wait to eat at Soup Plantation (just kidding)!!! California wasn't a bad place to visit in the winter and we sure had a blast during the weekends.

I knew Karl would become successful in this profession - I had no doubts. I knew he'd draw people in with his contagious laugh and lovable personality. And I knew he was smart enough to draw the attention of someone in the Twin Cities in the prosthetic field because of his background and his desire to make this dream become a reality.

I get home last night and what do I see? My adorable husband on the front page of the Shakopee Valley News!!! That's twice he's made front page news in the past year. And I married him! Wow. I'm one lucky girl and just had to brag! After all, I'm his biggest fan:) Gooo Karl!

Here's the full article in the Shakopee Valley News! http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/cool-jobs-the-perfect-fit/article_d80696a3-aa4d-5a2e-aa02-5ed443d91f03.html

Tweet

Read More

Nine Month Update - Month 9

36 weeks

Your baby is gaining about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy hair that covered her body, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, your baby will be considered full-term. Most likely she's in a head-down position, but if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an external cephalic version, where she'll try to turn your baby by manipulating her from the outside of your belly. (www.babycenter.com)

I feel like time is going at a warp speed, so I thought I'd take a moment and write all that's been going with me, my body and other stuff - since baby could come at anytime. However, we really want to get through this week without any issues because once 37 weeks hits then baby will be considered a full-term baby! Yay!

What's happening?

Nursery is done
This was so fun to do! I'm going to put up a separate post on this with lots of pictures but the nursery is finally done. Clothes, toys and blankets have all been washed in Dreft. Everything has been set up (seriously how many cardboard boxes can we fit in our recycling bin) and is in place and ready to go. We are ready for you Baby Koester!!

Fun little nursery

Life insurance
Karl and I looked into getting more life insurance as most soon-to-be new parents would do, which means we had to get all those fun blood tests (again). Karl's came back with elevated cholesterol and mine came back with elevated bilirubin. I thought only babies got that (jaundice). So of course I ran to the mirror. I wasn't seeing any orange coloring in my skin or eyes. So I'm not sure what that's about. Glad we have our doctor appointment tomorrow and I can ask if I should be worried. I'm not drinking alcohol so I don't know how my liver could be overworked...

The leg cramps keep getting crazier and more intense

I picked up a bottle of cal/mag from the gym hoping this would help with the leg cramps I've been getting in the middle of the night. I've been on them for about a week and have been taking them in the morning and at night. They did help when I wasn't pregnant and playing sand volleyball - the foot cramps stopped. Well, last night I had another round of brutal, throw-me-to-the-ground charlie horses, but this time in BOTH shins. Yowsers! They were so bad and painful I couldn't even get my brain to tell my feet to move. And it's hard to maneuver around with a big ol' belly and a bladder ready to burst, so I crawled to the sink and drank three glasses of water. I don't know why I did that. I think it's because I couldn't stretch or move and I thought water would help me think? To my surprise in a matter of minutes, my cramps just disappeared. It was the weirdest thing. So to me that means I'm dehydrated. Nuts since I've been drinking close to 90 ounces of water a day. However, I work out and sweat... and have a baby inside me.

Tailbone pain
Holy ouch! I'm sure it's the weight gain and sitting all day at work, but man does my tailbone HURT! I need to replace my chair with a fitness ball. Just a few more weeks... I can do this!

Pregnancy Pics
We had our friends Sam and Shannon come over and take some belly pics on Sunday. I'm excited to see how these turn out.

Celebrating Karl's bday
Friday was Karl's birthday and we went on a little fun date to Woolley's at Embassy Suites (where our wedding was). The food is always fantastic and they're always so good to us! Karl even got his own cake! It was fun just the two of us hanging out and enjoying a night out together. We don't do this very often. We honestly don't go to movies or get all crazy downtown. We just love staying in and being with each other. We had his parents and sister over on Sunday for burgers and they checked out the nursery. Then we walked across the street to try out the new yogurt bar, Cherry Berry. I can see this being verrrry dangerous for me.

Baby Movements
I was lying down in bed and looked down at my stomach as Karl was coming up the stairs. "Come quick!" I yelled.

He immediately raced up and looked down at my stomach. "Oh my God! It's like an alien is inside you."

Not the best picture but baby will shift his/her entire body from right to left

The baby had completely shifted to the right side of my stomach and we could see the entire outline of the baby's back and rump. He/she looked so tiny! The left side of my stomach was flat like I used to remember. From that point on, the baby has been shifting his/her entire body from the right to the left and I've been trying to capture it the best I can.

We just can't get over how we can feel this baby's feet and elbow move across my entire stomach. It's the craziest thing. Karl keeps trying to grab at his/her feet!

Weekly doctor appointments
Now is the time we'll be really bonding with our doctor. Good thing we like him so much. Our appointments have moved from every other week to every week! Tomorrow I'll get swiped with a swab for Group B Streptococcus and the doctor is going to see if I'm dilated at all. I'm thinking I won't be. I thought I'd go early, but now I'm starting to think I'm either going to be on time or be late. Or maybe that's just my brain not being ready to accept I'm going to be a mom. I'm sure Jessica Simpson and I will have babies who share birthdays and we'll become BFFs or something. It'll be awesome.

Ready to go
I've feverishly been writing lists of things I need to get done before baby arrives, not just at home but at work. I'm sure my boss thinks I'm crazy. I just like to be prepared and don't want to leave anyone hanging. I honestly can say, I think we're almost ready. Like I even have made up return address labels (with ultrasound pics of baby Koester) and labels for the baby announcement cards and set up an email template so Karl can notify everyone that baby has arrived! All that's left is to get both car seat bases installed in our cars correctly. I was going to do that and take it into the police station by work just to make sure I did it right. Sure, there are little things that still need to be done, but nothing that I'm too worried about.

Pregnancy is an adventure
Kind of getting sick of hearing all these stories about how painful and dreadful labor is. Or how I have no clue what the definition of sleep deprived is. Some guy told me last night that I can talk to him about that when I go two weeks with getting four hours total of sleep. On my drive into work this morning I decided I'm done worrying. I'm done freaking myself out or being fearful of everything. Karl and I are going into this together (wouldn't want to go in it with anyone else) - and I want to make the best of it. I want to be able to laugh about it, and enjoy even the hard parts. This is only going to happen ONCE. Me, Karl and baby. Not saying we're only having one kid, but we're going to only experience this first time stuff once. Why not make the best of it and enjoy the ride? I'm sure we'll have some great stories come out of the experience. And thank God for this blog because it's going to help me get through it all!

Tweet

Read More

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.

Tweet

Read More

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!

Tweet

Read More

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.

Tweet

Read More

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.

Tweet

Read More

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.

Tweet

Read More