11 Weeks Down!

All of your vital organs are now formed and working, which is a huge relief. Your risk of defects is less now that that stage is complete. Yay! Your ears are finding their proper place and finger and toenails are beginning to form. You now weigh a whopping 1/3 of an ounce, which is about the size of two small packets of sugar and you are 2 inches long. It is SO cool watching how fast babies change in just a matter of a week. It is also a fun feeling to know that baby is moving more now...so excited to finally be able to feel it!

And here are some pregnancy stats. I'm thinking I will try to be more regular about this as a fun way of keeping track of some milestones!

How far along? 11 weeks

Total weight gain: Down 1 pound!
Maternity clothes? No, but I'm thinking they sound pretty comfortable already! Pretty excited to wear some of the pants I got while shopping this week!
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: Hasn't been great pretty much the past 8 weeks. Fall asleep instantly now which is nice, but have a hard time staying asleep. Also rountinely go to the bathroom at 4:00 am. Can't get comfortable...ever.
Best moment this week: Shopping for maternity clothes
Miss anything? WINE. I knew I would miss it, but didn't know it would be this bad! You could probably add Diet Pepsi to the list...have only had 2 small ones since!
Movement: Much too early
Food cravings: Really just sweets, which isn't anything new from before. And wine...did I mention that already?
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, but I did have a dream about fish (like the smell of fish in a pond) that made me really sick
Gender: I think Boy
Labor Signs: N/A
Symptoms: Feeling awesome! Hardly more fatigued than normal, too! Pretty sure I can finally start to feel my uterus creeping up farther into my belly...that's kinda fun! It's been awhile since I've put on jeans, but I would imagine they would be a big more snug. And now looking back, I would imagine that all of the itching that I was having from about weeks 5-9, especially on my legs and back, was pregnancy related. It was pretty bad for several weeks, but it's been a couple since it has really bothered me. I have also had 2 headaches this past week that 1 Tylenol wouldn't fix that lasted for about 12 hours both times. Really, nothing I can complain about though!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, and content
Looking forward to: Actually feeling pregnant, right now it feels like it's all sacrifices for nothing! Feeling baby move will be pretty cool, too.

Painting the Nursery

Since Dan and I have both had this past week off, we decided it would be a good time to go through everything in our entire house and get rid of everything that we don't need. Needless to say, half of our basement is now a garage sale pile, and every single closet and room of this house has been gone through and is completely organized. It feels amazing. We actually ended up with a little bit of spare room, which is good considering Dan and I had outgrown this house with just the 2 of us.

We have basically been working on the house all day everyday for just about a week now, and were able to get the nursery painted already. When I had originally suggested the idea of painting so early, I was just sure he was going to turn me down. He isn't always amused when I get too far ahead of things. But when presented with the reality that if it wasn't done now, it was probably going to be in the middle of a football game during the fall when it would be time to paint, he really didn't hesitate one minute to agree to the idea. :)

I knew all along that i wanted to go with a neutral color, so painting this early was not going to be a problem. I am also the type of person that had had my entire wedding planned for years before it actually occurred, so it would make sense that I have had most details of this nursery planned for many many months now too. I was also just positive that he was going to be more than annoyed with me when presented with the challenge of not just painting the nursery, but painting one entire wall in horizontal stripes. Not suprisingly, he didn't even bat an eye. (Perhaps this is because he is getting used to my love for painting now. The week before the wedding I decided that our bedroom had to be painted, and a day before we were having a Christmas party at our house for some classmates I decided that our bathroom had to be painted. He didn't fight me one bit then, and before we knew it we were buying paint and supplies, taping the rooms, and they were done! He is amazing, really. Not only does he not get extremely irritated with me like he very well could, but he helps me with every step of the process, and never complains. I really am sad now that the last room in our home has been painted.) Anyway, we collected every paint sample from Menards that was on the pallete in my mind, and came home to begin narrowing them down.

After another trip to Menards for paint and supplies, the next fun part was getting the lines to be perfectly level on the wall and taping. We used a laser level instead of a chalk line and I think it worked pretty well. It would have been much easier if our walls were actually square. This was by far the most meticulous part of the entire project.

After we got done taping the entire wall, we measured each of the stripes to make sure they were perfectly even. It's amazing how much of an illusion the tape makes in making the stripes look different sizes. We then covered each of the stripes that were to be white with paper so that paint wouldn't drip into those parts.

And then began the fun! The rest of the pictures are when progress was finally seemingly made.

After taking off the paper on the white lines....starting to get excited (and nervous about taking the yellow tape off to see how good or bad our lines look)!!

And here is the final result. It turned out as perfectly as I had it pictured in my mind. I LOVE IT! It looks better in person, because I have the cheapest, worst camera. It was either that or my phone so this is the best I can get. You get the idea, though!

We still haven't figured out of we are finding out what LD is or not, so this might be the last nursery picture until baby is born. Still haven't figured out how it's going to look if (when) it is a boy, but I'm thinking light coral and pink accents for a girl. Excited to see how it all turns out!

1st Official Ultrasound

On Monday, May 21st, we had our first official ultrasound and another office visit with Dr. Martin. The ultrasound was really quick, and we were in and out before we know it, but here are some pictures. Heart rate was 164 the first time she did it, and 170 the 2nd time. She said that we were 4 days behind where we thought we were based on baby's measurements, but Dr. Martin said he wasn't going to change our due date. (Possibly because I strongly encouraged him not to...for the kid's sake we do not want a Christmas Eve or Day baby.) :) I did have my first pregnant-woman supersensitivity moment when I got to thinking about baby measuring 4 days later than he should be, because he was right on track 2 weeks ago when we measured. It was fleeting, but I did worry about that a little since all babies should be all about the same size at this point. Dan has since been calling it "shrimp" and reminding me to eat, because he doesn't want to have to defend it it's entire life. HAHA!

I need to make these more visually appealling and straighter, but we are trying to do lots of things at on our house so this is as good as it is going to be for now.

Not sure what date he is going by, but I am assuming it is either December 19th or 21st. Even with how fast she did the ultrasound, we did get to see the little one move a little bit. That was pretty cool! It is amazing to see how much he (still calling it a "he" because that's what we both think baby is) has changed within the last 2 weeks since we had the first peek.

Back soon for pictures of the nursery that we just got done painting!

Lesson(s) in Patience

1st Lesson - I had a second interview in Omaha on Friday afternoon at 4:00, and was thankfully running ahead of schedule as I aim to do for interviews. I went out to the garage to discover that I had locked my keys in my car (#1), and had exactly 70 minutes until I had to be walking into my interview in Omaha by the time I collected myself to decide how I needed to handle it the fastest. I tried to get ahold of Dan who had my spare set, and by the grace of God, he was leaving work at that time and got home at 3:15. He ended up jumping in with me and took me to my interview, and we made it JUST in time.

The interview went really well. They told me that I beat out a lot of candidates for the position, and we immediately began discussing contract details. As soon as we had outlined the contract, I decided it was probably time that I admit to them that I come with an extra-special package. Their first response was among the frustration and awkward shuffles was "Kait, I wish you would have told us that during the first interview." Not sure how dumb he thinks I am for thinking I would have actually told him that on the first interview, but he must have. The rest of the interview was very awkward and cut short as I could tell that they were visibly upset by this news. They took me to the clinic quick and then took me back to my car. As I was leaving they said that they needed to talk about what I had just shared with them and what they were going to do about it and that they would get back to me within a day. (I'm guessing get back to me about whether or not I even still had the job). It is Sunday night, and I still haven't heard back from them. I am not too disappointed in this news...yet, as I am hoping to hear in the next couple days whether or not I get the job that I am hoping for the most in family practice.

2nd Lesson - I have been studying really hard for boards, and honestly, there isn't anything else that I can or have been thinking about right now....especially this past week and a half. I have complained to Dan that I am losing my mind more than a couple times now, and I think he may be starting to believe it. I'm sure being pregnant doesn't help the cause, let alone mental exhaustion/concentration on only one thing right now. We were going to make a quick trip out to Dan's parents' house for lunch for Mother's Day today and had to stop and get groceries before we went out. I also needed gas (which Dan has been filling up for me since I have been pregnant so I can avoid the fumes....one of the very considerate things he has taken on for me) so he was going to do that while I ran in to get groceries. I pulled the car up next to the gas tank and walked in the get the food. I was walking down an aisle when I spotted Dan, who walked towards me. As soon as I saw him I could tell that something was wrong as I didn't expect to see him so soon. The only thing he said was "Give me a hug" as he held out his arms in the middle of the cereal aisle, and we hugged. I knew it right that moment...I had locked my keys in the car (#2) for the 2nd time in 2 DAYS. And not only had I locked the keys in the car, I completely pulled the wrong side of the car up to the gas tank so he wasn't even able to get the gas. He gave me a hug, and I tried to collect myself from the frustration and guilt that I felt for putting him through this yet again. And long story short, our other vehicle was in Milford, so Ila had to come pick us up and we then took her car to Milford and got our other vehicle and went back to town to get my car, and then went back out to his parents for dinner. Not once did he seem frustrated, irritated, or even surprised.

I am SO blessed with a patient, understanding, and sensitive husband who knows when I just need a hug and to be treated with extra sensitivity. I am sure that there would be times where he would very appropriately convey frustration at my apparent carelessness, but this week he seems to have known just what I needed. I thank God for a man like that, and I thank God for having him to help me get through all of this. He has been doing all of the cooking, cleaning, looking after me, getting groceries, etc and I have had to worry about absolutely nothing other than school. I know how lucky I am to have a husband for that, and thank him every day for it. I have learned so much from being married to him, and I would hope that patience is at the top, because he sure gives me a lot of it. He also apparently has learned how much of a slow-learner I am! So, 2 lessons in patients in 2 days and I hope I have learned my lesson!

1st Peek!

We had our first doctor's appointment today, and it turned out to be less exciting than we expected. Right as the doctor was supposed to come in, he came in to tell us he had to leave right away to go deliver a baby. Needless to say, we understood and the visit was cut short. He wants us to come back in a couple weeks for our first "real" ultrasound and to see him again so that is set for May 21st. Looking forward to that day!

Since I have been feeling so well, I have been convinced lately that this was all too good to be true and therefore was looking for proof that indeed there was a life being created every moment of my days. Aunt Alyssa was able to squeeze us in for our first sneak peek of this Little One at the end of her day today and we were able to get a few snapshots to post. And according to that ultrasound, estimated day of arrival is December 21, 2012, pretty close to what we were thinking too!

Not a whole lot to see, but seeing Baby's heartbeat for the first time was something we will never forget. Seeing Daddy's face light up was pretty cool! I think I had somewhat convinced him that this was all indeed to good to be true, too! Heart rate on May 7th was 144. According to wives tales a heart rate greater than 140 is a girl...we will see! I texted Grandpa Lennie with the news to see what he thought of it since he has seen a lot of these, and his response was "Time for a boy." I think we all know he is a little biased. :)
This past weekend was full of excitement, and more family and friends know about you now than we had planned on. We were also able to officially tell all of our immediate families, and here is the letter that we gave to each of the grandparents:

I do not have a face to see, or put inside a frame

I don’t have soft cheeks to kiss, I don’t yet have a name.

You can’t yet hold my tiny hands, nor whisper in my ear

It’s still too soon to sing a song, or cuddle me so near.

 

But all will change come December; that’s when they say I’m due

I am your new Grandson or Granddaughter;

And I can’t wait to meet you!

 

And all I ask between now and then is your patience while I grow.

I promise I’ll be worth the wait;

Because of all the love we’ll know!

So what I have to give you now is a wish to you from me.

I cannot wait to be a part of this wonderful family!

And, because there is only a first baby in this family once, I wanted to share some of the reactions of our families when we shared the news. Of course everyone was very excited, but some notable moments to share:

The day after we told Grandpa and Grandma Matthes we both got a text from Grandma Ila saying that she had had a smile on her face all day because she was just so excited. Grandpa too was excited, but I think the visions of all of the honey-do's in their house flashed through his mind with the news of a 3rd grandbaby within 6 months to be on the way. :) While I was riding to golf with Grandpa Lennie on the morning of my graduation party, he listed off all of the things he needed to get before this baby is born: a kids' sized fishing pole, a small shotgun, and he needed to subscribe to a fishing magazine to learn more about it among other things. After having 3 girls, I think he is ready for a grandson. And if this little one is a girl, I sure hope she is more willing to break away from her tea parties and dolls than I was because she might have to be a little hunter whether she likes it or not! Aunt Kilah is already planning to spend her Christmas break with us and I think that is a pretty good plan myself. :)

Baby is now about a half an inch in length, the size of a large raspberry! Also exciting, baby is making spontaneous movements. Looking forward to the day when we can finally feel them! Still feeling great, no sickness and really very little fatigue. Haven't had any cramps for a couple weeks now! I am more tired these past few weeks than I used to be but I attribute that to mental exhaustion from everything that is going on with school and trying to find a job. Whatever the reason, it has been nice to finally be able to fall asleep so fast at night, which is something that I wasn't used to. Daddy thinks it might have something to do with the pregnancy, and he could be right. It really did start to change right about the time we found out about this little miracle so it is possible.

I also had two more interviews this week that went really well. I should know by Monday about the family practice one and had the Aesthetics interview in Omaha last night. I had only been gone for about 40 minutes before they called and wanted to schedule another one, so it looks like I am going back to Omaha tomorrow for another interview! Excited to see what God is doing with all of this, and praying that his will be done wherever that may be. And still trying to stay focused for boards that I take in 4 short days. Hoping we are that much closer to a job so that we can start telling more friends about our new little addition!

Our Little Blueberry

Another week has passed, and now you are 10,000 times bigger than you were at the moment you were conceived. You are the size of a blueberry! Your brain cells are forming at 100 cells per minute. Your mouth and tongue are forming and so are your arm and leg buds (when I told your Daddy last night that your mouth and tongue were forming, he said "Oh dear, it's probably going to come out just like you." Not sure what that was supposed to mean, but I think I'll take it as a compliment). :) And finally, your kidneys are formed and are now ready to begin their job!

The cramps that I had been having have finally decreased in frequency and it has actually been a couple days since I've had anything at all.  I hope this will continue! Because this blog is only intended for personal and family viewing, I'm also going to document that I have had quite a lot of breast tenderness since the very beginning. In fact, I noticed that things didn't feel right and were extremely painful the night before I took the first test. That really has not subsided but it is certainly something I can deal with. Just keeping my fingers crossed that I'm one of the 25% who have no morning sickness, fatigue, nausea, etc! Otherwise continuing to feel great!

Your Dad also likes to refer to you as "Biggie Smalls" whenever we talk about you, and I have told him a million times that that is NOT happening, because that is the very name he throws out every time a cat happens to be nameless. I will not give in, nor refer to you as Biggie Smalls. Last night, I had my first feeling that you are going to be a...Boy. Not sure why or where it came from, but for right now that is my gut feeling. So then Daddy began calling you "LD" for "Little Daniel." I told him I didn't think it was appropriate because there is still a 50/50 chance you are a girl and asked "then what?" To which he replied, "It still can be LD-for Little Devil because she will be a mini-you." It was all fun and games but that is not what I am going to call you. So, before you have an official name it is looking like you may have several. Daddy is going to call you LD apparently, and I am going to call you Bug.

We are SO looking forward to telling our families about you this coming week at graduation.  Can't even wait! Prayers and Love in Week 7!

6 Weeks!

Goodness, we are beginning week 6 already! This week your jaws, cheeks and chin begin to form. Your ear canals are forming. Your kidneys, liver, and lungs are starting to take shape. According to books, your heart is already beating 80 times each minute, and getting faster every day. It still hasn't really hit me that this is all true just yet, but I know it will as soon as we get to see you on our first ultrasound. What a blessing this is; I pray for each part of your development every day.


Other than some cramps (extreme at times) usually in the evenings, I have felt great. It is still very early, but still not extremely tired and haven't been nauseous...two of the things that I was dreading the most.


This has been a hard couple days on me. I had an interview yesterday and it didn't turn out like I would have liked it to. It sounds like they think it would be a good fit for them, but I am just not convinced that working every Saturday is what I want to be doing. I'm doing the only thing that I can - continue to pray, and trust that God knows what he is doing with all of these financial circumstances that are overwhelming me this week. These verses has been heavy on my heart, especially this week:

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:26-31

We can't wait until we get to start telling our families and friends. Your Daddy came home from work yesterday and sat down on the couch where I was studying and I looked up at him and I could tell he had something on his mind. I asked what he was thinking, and he said "I just want to tell someone!" Pretty cute if you ask me (and I agree!!). On that same note, the morning we found out we were expecting, I was getting ready for work and he was laying in bed and I looked at him and asked him what he was thinking about, and he said "Names." That wasn't the last time that has been his response either. We have a a couple girl names that we both agree on, but he is just quite indecisive which boy name he would choose. I, however, love them both and will probably just let him make the final decision. It's still so far away, but we began talking about this years ago. Believe me, your name will not be something that hasn't been given years of thought! We love you so much, Little One!