Letter to baby

Blog Post by Kati:

On my weekly email from babycenter.com this week, the following activity was recommended for me to do. I thought I'd do it and post it here...in hopes that some day our daughter will read it (and everything else) and realize how excited her mom and dad were about becoming her parents!

Write a letter to your baby. You and your child will treasure this gift for years to come. Go with your heart and follow your inspiration.

Dear Baby Goose-

Yep- that is one of the nicknames that you already have- Baby Goose. You are also called Holly Polly, G-G-G-G-G, Clara, and maybe other names that I don't even know about. Don't worry, your dad and I will pick out a lovely name for you that you won't be mad at us for later! :)

Right now you have been in my belly for 23 weeks. It has been an incredible 23 weeks. At first I had a hard time believing you were actually in there, though you definitely gave me some signs! Just in the past few weeks I have actually felt you move, and that has been awesome. I want to hold my stomach all the time just to see if you're dancing in there. Your dad has been able to feel a few little jabs from you too, and we can't wait til we can feel you more and more.

I have 17 weeks left (approximately- we'd LOVE it if you came a little early! hee hee) of having you in there being protected by all my internal stuff. Though I can't WAIT for you to arrive, I am also very scared about keeping you safe outside my body. But know that your dad and I (and all of our amazing family members and friends) are going to do all we can to make sure you grow up happy, healthy and loved.

Your dad and I are both unbelievably blessed with having the best families anyone could ask for. You are really lucky and are going to have the most amazing grandparents, aunts, uncles, and great grandparents (and big sister Kona, of course!). The crazy part is that is not all! You will also have fantastic great-aunts and uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, and all kinds of other relatives who are so excited to meet you. AND on top of that, your mom and dad have wonderful friends who are thrilled to welcome you into the world. Bottom line- you will be SO INCREDIBLY LOVED...and you'll have a lot of fantastic baby-sitters!

So Baby Goose- I love you and can't wait until I can see you and hold you in my arms.
Love,
Your Mom

Mango...and other food talk

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 23...17 weeks to go. That seems crazy!

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

She weighs over a pound! That is funny, because we were just at the doctor and I gained 10 pounds in the past month or so (about 25 overall already)...oops! Seeing as there is only 1 pound of baby in there, it seems a little ridiculous. My blood pressure was also pretty high when the nurse checked right away. But I was coming from work, really warm, super tired, etc...and we were just at the State Fair yesterday where I ate a lot of fried fatty stuff! The doctor had my blood pressure checked again before we left and it went down a lot, so no worries. But it was a nice little reality check for me. I've been slipping in my good dietary habits. It has been a little tough going back to work because I've been more inactive and have eaten out every day for lunch, as well as a bunch of times for dinner. NOT GOOD! So I need to really do a better job of walking or other exercising at night, as well as eating healthier.

So if anyone has any delicious and healthy recipes involving lots of fruits, vegetables, or chicken (the only meat I really like to eat) that they want to send my way, Chris would love to cook them for me...haha. I told him that since I'm doing all the work of "cooking" our baby, it is his job to actually cook for me and the baby. (***And thanks to Chris' grandparents for putting together a big box of food for us a few weeks ago- yummy chicken breasts and other healthy things to make some great meals!***)

Another reason I'm really getting into this whole healthy eating thing now is that I heard the other day that babies tend to have a similar taste for food as their mothers (and what the mothers eat during pregnancy). Uh oh...this baby is going to really like ice cream. Hence, I want to start upping the fruit and veggie intake so that baby likes fruits and veggies! :)

Okay, enough for now. I'm glad it is the weekend and I'm sure I'll be doing lots of napping in the next couple of days before another busy week starts! Thanks for reading and enjoy YOUR weekend!

Fluttering

Blog Post by Kati:

Don't really have too much to say, but wanted to post. I feel the baby fluttering more now. Especially early in the morning and at night when I'm in bed. It really is a weird feeling- but I love it!

I've finally come to the realization that my running days are over for the next 6 months or so. I was driving down River Road in St. Paul over the weekend (part of the marathon route) and actually got really jealous of all of the runners I saw who had their water belts and were clearly running a long run in training for the marathon. But as my mom says, if I can run a marathon, I can definitely give birth! I hope so...Here is a picture from my glory day in October:

I'm for sure going to use running to get back into shape after the baby. There is a half marathon in May that I'd love to be able to do...or one in August. We'll see how it goes.

As I was just typing this the baby moved a lot- I felt her on the outside...a big kick or something! So so so cool.

Spaghetti Squash?

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 22 info:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Well, I have never eaten nor heard of spaghetti squash, but apparently that is what it looks like and how long the baby is! I learned something new today. :)

Today was my first full day back to work. I had the best of intentions of getting up early and posting the week 22 stuff this morning, but as my alarm was going off at 6am I knew that wasn't going to happen. So my weekly baby growth updates will have to be posted Friday nights from now on!

I did some back-to-school maternity shopping this past week and was able to find some really great deals at Kohls, and even better deals at the consignment shop by our house. I got 3 pairs of nice work pants, a skirt, and three tops for $48! "Can't beat that" as my Grammy would say! So for those friends who have not had babies yet but will in the next few years, I've got the maternity clothes covered for you! Luckily they are making maternity clothes look like nice normal clothes. My mom and aunt Amy were talking last weekend about how ugly the maternity stuff was that they had to wear.

My sister Laura is coming home tomorrow and I haven't seen her since the 4th of July, so I'm sure I'll probably look huge to her. That will be fun. :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Ultrasound Pictures from 8/17

Blog Post by Kati:

Here are the latest pictures!

Another face shot- still kind of creepy looking! :)


My favorite- the little feet!It's a girl for sure!
In the profile picture it almost looks like she is blowing bubbles!


We are so happy and thankful that it has been such a smooth pregnancy so far and the doctors say everything looks perfect!

Ultrasound/The Baby Room- Stage I

Blog Post by Kati:

We had another ultrasound yesterday morning so that they could get better pictures of the baby's brain and spine. But they did all the other pictures and measurements again too, so I'll put the pictures that we got up on the blog once I get them scanned. Everything looks great- she is healthy, on track with the due date, and confirmed to be a girl by 2 more professionals. :) Even though it has only been 3 weeks since the last ultrasound, it is amazing how much bigger she seemed and how much clearer the pictures are!

This past weekend my sister Mari finished STAGE I of the baby room...painting (after taking down the awful wallpaper, steaming, scraping, sanding, and priming...ick). I'm posting pictures here and expect NO JUDGEMENT from anyone regarding the, um, crap that filled the room prior to painting (ahem, Mom! :)) Those of you who know us well know that neither Chris nor I are (in any way, shape, or form) neat freaks. We're messy people who compile junk. And you all seem to love us anyway. :)

That being said, here are the before pictures of the room:

Pictures like this will just make us really appreciate the room when it is done, right? :)

And here are a few pictures of Mari in the process of it all:

And here is the end of STAGE I- the room painted a beautiful "Sunbeam Glow" yellow. And though it was suggested, we will not be naming our baby after the paint color. :)

Obviously there is a lot more work to do. We'll be getting the crap out of there and getting new carpet in sometime soon. Then we'll need to figure out how to make it look like an actual nursery! That will be the fun part.

Blog Post By Chris:

So I am officially back from my Canada trip. It was a really fun trip, and it was great to hang out with Nate before he leaves for Afghanistan in 15 months. Nate's mom has also turned her eye of doom onto Nik after she found out about his criminal record. I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. On the way into Canada and the way back we got stopped at the border and had our car inspected both times. Although it was a pain to stop, all of the border police were really friendly, not like 4 years ago when they had to bring out the drug sniffing dogs and interrogate 2 members of our party. Anyway enough about Canada, being away from all my girls was really tough for 5 days. I did get a lot of time to read one of the baby books that we have. There are so many things that you can learn about babies, that I think sometimes you just have to stop listening to advice and raise the kid your own way. The worst you can do is have all your buddies over the night of senior prom and have everyone take turns questioning her date about his intentions. But come on I would never do anything that crazy. Hey if I can't pull a gun on him then the best I can do is let Big Dave and Dan have a crack at all the boyfriends. I AINT GOING BACK TO JAIL!!!

Some cool news that we found out last week is that our next door neighbors are pregnant too! But shhhh they aren't really telling anyone yet so don't say anything. When I was telling the husband Mike that Kati and I are going to have a baby he laid the news on me. At first I thought he was joking, but soon realized that he was serious. They are a little behind us with a due date in mid March, but it will be fun to help them along with the process, at least the fun stuff :) The nursery room upstairs is finally all painted. Mari did an awesome job and both she and polly picked out a really nice yellow color for the room. Now we just need to figure out what to do with all the crap that was in that room. Does anyone need a 300 pound filing cabinet and table tops?

Well that is all for now, it is getting late and I have to work tomorrow. Please keep making comments on all the posts as they are fun for Kati and I to read about what everyone is thinking.

Carrot

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 21!

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

I have started feeling the fluttering more and more the past couple of days. It is kind of like rumbling in my stomach...somebody is definitely moving around in there! :) And I feel like I'm getting bigger every day. It is funny to see people I haven't seen for awhile, or even in a week, because I can always tell that they notice my growing belly. I don't mind people rubbing my belly, so if you see me and want to touch it- go ahead!

Chris seems to be having fun in Canada with his buddies. Fishing, boating, swimming, eating, drinking beer...rough life! Kona and I are getting along fine at home...working, napping, hanging out with family, etc. But we'll be glad to see him on Sunday!!!!

More baby bump

Blog Post by Kati:

It has been about a month since I last posted belly pictures and have gotten some requests, so here you go! The first one is from last month and the second one is from today.

Chris is on his way to Canada until Sunday for some hang-out time with a few buddies, so Kona and I are having a girls week! :) My Grammy and Aunt Margie are coming in to town tomorrow so I'll stay plenty busy seeing them!

We have a 2nd ultrasound scheduled for next Tuesday morning, and it will be fun to see more pictures of the baby...and they said I don't need a full bladder for this one! Yay! :)

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Blog Post by Kati:

Week 20!!! Halfway there!!!!

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against her torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of her head to her bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, she's measured from head to toe.) She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

4th Anniversary!

Blog Post by Kati:

While we have been together for about 10 years, today is our 4th wedding anniversary! So I thought I'd post a few pictures of our wedding day for fun. We were 23 years old! And we look pretty little. ;)

If you'd like to reminisce a little more, here is a link to an online photo album I have of the wedding that has a lot more pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6941&id=650686819&l=150e7a1e71

We're hanging around the house tonight, and then heading to a Stillwater B& B tomorrow night for some R&R.

Naps, Names and Dancing

Blog Post by Kati:

Well, I'm back at work this week, so no more nap time for me at 1:00! And sometimes 3:00. And occasionally 10:30am. :) But it has been good to get my brain engaged in real life stuff again. I don't feel like as much of a lazy oaf. Of course, now that I'm back to work, there are so many things I think I should have done while I had all the time in the world to do them (cleaning, organizing, preparing, etc.) but alas, I was too busy napping. ha ha

We've been hanging out with college friends a lot this past week since one of our friends has been in town. And a couple of them have become accustomed to calling the baby G-G-G-G Gosselin. Like stuttering. Like G-G-G-G is her first name. It is pretty amusing. Maybe its just me. Thanks to Dave for the name suggestion. :) (Remember how I mentioned a few posts ago that some name suggestions have been more helpful than others?...yeah...)

My baby bump is getting pretty, um, obvious. I went to a dance aerobics class yesterday. And this exercise class always has all participants facing a mirror. I felt pretty ridiculous trying look cool doing dance moves while my baby belly was bouncing around. But I was entertained, and it is a great class because I can still participate while not getting my heart rate very high. So I love it even though I'm sure I look hilarious. I hope our little one wants to take dance classes some day!

Ultrasound Pictures

Blog Post by Kati:

Well in honor of all things girly, I added a little pink and purple to the blog page!

And on the pictures. My dad scanned them for me and lightened them up a little so hopefully you can tell what the pictures are, with a little description from me. :)

Here is a profile picture of the baby. She is upside down with her head on the bottom in the middle and the rest of her curving up to the left.


Here is a picture of the baby's feet. It is hard to tell but her ankles are crossed and her second foot is partially hidden behind the front foot. The ultrasound tech was trying really hard to get a cute foot shot!

Here is a picture of the baby's arm. Not sure where the rest of her is, but she looks very squished in there. :)
Here is a picture of the baby curled up with her leg sticking out:


And here is the creepiest picture of all! The ultrasound tech asked if we even wanted this picture. She said a lot of people don't want it- but of course we did! It is her face head on- she looks kind of like a skeletor baby!I'm continually amazed that something so special is growing inside of me. And I'm also continually amazed by and thankful for the support of our wonderful family and fantastic friends. Everyone is so excited for us. We've already received little gifts, ideas for names (some more helpful than others! ;) ) and words of encouragement and love. Thank you to everyone who has made this such an incredible time for us! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: We are truly blessed!