Our Little Girl - Emerson Jo!

I know!

It's been a while since I updated, but so much has been going on! We've been crazy busy!

On December 12th, I successfully graduated from Parkland College with my Associate's Degree in Nursing! Only 1 more step away from being an RN - the NCLEX! Waiting for clearance for that - should come in January. Been interviewing like crazy at all of the area - and non-area - hospitals and so far, only 1 little nibble. However, it's a nibble we'll be turning down as things just won't work with little Miss Em on her way. We're desperate to stay in Champaign, as we love it here, and I'm desperate to work for 1 of the 2 hospitals here in town as they provided me with a "special scholarship" this summer - that comes with a 30 month work committment. I have yet another interview on Monday, and if all goes well, I'll be practicing the kind of nursing I never wanted to, but it's a job and it'll keep us here in town and everything will be as close to perfect as possible. Plus, after 6 mo of employment, I can transfer units, so maybe I'll get lucky there too. Let's just hope that the interview on Monday goes well and that I get an offer. Otherwise, I think we've decided that I'll look for a part-time job until Miss Emme comes and then apply with all of the new May graduates for jobs then. I'll have 1 up on them though - I'll have (hopefully successfully) completed my state boards!

As for little Miss Em - for those who haven't heard yet, we've chosen the name Emerson Jo. We'll likely call her Emme. Matt and I are so excited! She started moving, as previously reported, around 17-18 weeks. Matt's been chomping at the bits to get to feel her, but she hasn't quite been strong enough - not to mention that my placenta is smack dab in the front, and that's typically the area she kicks. Well, laying in bed last night, I had his hand on my tummy - over towards my right (her head and back are over there) and he was getting a little disappointed with my every "did you feel that?" and he'd shake his head. So, I stopped asking. Then, all of the sudden, he asked "Was that her?" And it was! So he's finally felt his little girl move! He was so excited! What a great feeling and what an amazing Christmas present! (Especially as we aren't exchanging presents this year d/t lack of money.)

Saw the perinatologist on Tuesday - taking advantage of all the perks mom has to offer as my midwife. She's very close friends with Dr. Egly and he's a wonderful man who will bend over backwards to help colleagues. So, he assessed her for about 5-10 minutes and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a single thing wrong with her! So, looks like we have a perfectly healthy little girl growing in there! He gave us about 6-7 3D pictures and she's SOOOO cute! No idea who she looks like, but she's got the cutest little nose! Unfortunately, they're only printouts (mom gives us her pics on CD so we can upload them to the computer for everyone) so we'll have to scan those and with Christmas rapidly approaching, we've been hard-pressed for time! But I promise, I WILL get them up soon!

Alright, I must leave you now! Time to host a baby shower for my little pregnant friend Elizabeth! Happy Holidays to all of you! Love you!

Love, Katie, Matt, Wrigley and little Miss Emerson!

19 Weeks

Alright - 19 weeks down, about 21 to go...

Started feeling baby girl kick and kick on Friday, November 21st (18 weeks) while out to dinner with Matt at Chilis. We're sitting there and I get this "thunk" under my belly button about 2 inches...then a few minutes later "thunk." With the issues I've had in the past with my GI system, I knew it wasn't gas. Felt her again later that night while laying in bed...and again the next day. Only a few times a day.

Well...now a week later and especially today - she's been going crazy! Every hour, constant for about 10-15 minutes and then she takes about a 45 minute nap. She's a wild woman, that's for sure!

We're looking forward to the next couple of weeks when baby girl gets bigger and Matt's able to feel her movement. He's really anxious for that time - and so am I - I want so badly for him to be a part of this - but so far, it's just me.

Roger & Dori (my wonderful in-laws) were able to join us for an "After-Thanksgiving-Dinner" sonogram at mom's office. So, they got to see little peanut squirm and wave all over the screen. I sure hope they enjoyed that! It was nice to be able to include them in something! Hopefully they'll make another trip up to Peoria before she arrives for another.

On another note...
We did announce our name choice for our daughter to all family at Thanksgiving dinner. We had originally decided to wait, as we didn't want people's reactions to affect our decision - but then we reminded ourselves that she's OUR child and that no one else's opinion matters but our own. And seeing as it's a unique name, we thought some family may need time to get used to it, so, since we're halfway through the pregnancy (hard to believe!), we decided to go ahead and share. However, we're not ready to announce it on our blog. So, if you're interested, drop me an email and I'll share it with you! However, we will share her middle name with you!

Baby girl's middle name will be Jo - after my mom. We liked that my middle name is Anne - short for Annabelle - after my maternal grandmother. So, in trying to make a tradition out of it, we took mom's middle name of Jolene and shortened it to Jo. And we liked how it can also serve as a shout-out to my mom - who will deliver this little girl in April - if things go as "planned."

So, we hope you're all absolutely wonderful and looking forward to a wonderful Christmas! We wish we could see you all! Take care!

BIG NEWS!!

IT'S A GIRL!!

16 Weeks

Time for yet another update!

Had my 16 week check-up today - I know, that sounds silly as I've gone to be "checked" every other week since we found out I was pregnant. But anywho - we had a flip-flop on gender at 14 weeks, so of course, since with all other patients, mom starts looking at 16 weeks, we thought we'd give it another shot. Matt wasn't able to go, but as we had a VERY good idea what the sex of the baby was at 14 weeks, we decided it was ok that he couldn't be there - afterall, mom was just going to be giving us confirmation. So, my girlfriend, Elizabeth, went with me - she's 23 weeks pregnant and even got a sono for herself out of the experience!

So, I took the video camera - just in case - and all is well with baby. As we decided at 14 weeks, we know gender and are keeping it a secret until all the grandparents are told first. Unfortunately, we've been calling Matt's parents and not getting an answer. So...the wait continues for the rest of you!

After we were done with our sonos, mom had a delivery to head off to, and Elizabeth and I both eing nursing students and both wanting to go into midwifery ourselves, I asked if we could tag along...afterall, Elizabeth had never actually seen a delivery! (When taking OB through school, babies don't really come while we're up on the unit to observe - so very few students ever get lucky enough to witness this amazing experience...thankfully because of mom - I have many times.)
So we headed on over to the hospital and witnessed the miracle of birth - the first time I have since I found out I was pregnant...suddenly, reality set it. This is really going to be happening to me and my body in 5 months...woah. I still find myself holding my breath with the patient as they push...and holding back tears after the baby is born. I know - I'll make quite an emotional L&D nurse/future midwife someday...hopefully someday soon.

So, speaking of school and jobs...I applied and interviewed for one of a few positions in the OB department at Provena Covenant Medical Center here in Urbana. I was fortunate enough to have applied and been awarded a heafty scholarship from Provena during the summer, that of course came with a work committment (30 months) which was perfect, as Matt would finish his PhD at the same time my committment would be up. Couldn't time that better. Everything seemed to go well. My interviews went really well...still waiting to hear. Called to check in with HR last week and they said that due to a couple of late applicants, we wouldn't hear anything until next week...hopefully M-W but the good news was I was still in the running! So, that itself was good news!

Well, we'll keep everyone posted! We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and we look forward to updating you all again soon!!

Love to all!

Katie, Matt, Wrigley and Baby P!

Baby Bump

I've finally popped!

Wrigley gets a Haircut!

Our little Piggy got herself a new "do" today and we wanted to make sure you all got to see!

Hope you think she's as cute as we do!

P.S. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is in Pekin! Has been since Tuesday when they surprised a family whose little adopted son, Jake, has osteogenesis imperfecta (for non-medical people - it's better known as "Brittle Bone Disease"). We've driven by 4 times and the house looks phenomenal! Matt and I (and possibly my parents) are gonna go "spectate" tomorrow for a while in hopes of getting pictures! Maybe even of Ty Pennington and the gang! If so, we'll make sure to post pics! Check back soon!

<3>

14 Week Update

So, I realized that I forgot to update after 12 weeks - but I have a good excuse. My brother-in-law, Mike and his new girlfriend, Tasha, came to visit for a week, along with the fact that I had midterm and a bunch of things to do for the pinning ceremony and the student nurse's association. Boy - that was a long week - but enjoyable because Mike and Tasha were home! (P.S. - LOVE HER!) They brought us a beautiful baby blanket - so soft and yellow and just perfect - baby will be lucky to have it by the time it arrives - mommy might use it first!


Anywho...Week 12 went fine. No word on gender that day. If anything - it was the opposite of week 10. So, still 50/50 shot there.


Week 14...same deal. Baby looks great, looking more and more like a baby and not as much of an alien...Mom took measurements and checked everything out and everything looks good!


Started showing around 12 weeks. So, I've finally got a bump! My weight is great - only a couple of pounds so far. My jeans still fit - if I don't wash them...(ew) and maternity clothes are right around the corner - problem is, I'm too small (my build). So, it might be normal clothes in bigger sizes for a while...I'm now a size small in Old Navy! That was weird!

So anyway, things are good. We'll keep you posted. Gender of baby Pontifex should be revealed week 16...And I'll make sure to post it right away! Until then, take care everyone!

10 week check!

Saw mom in the office yesterday. Had my OB blood panel drawn and had a sono (of course!). Everything looks good - baby looks HUGE compared to two weeks ago! Mom was instructed to not look for gender - but of course, she did - but lucky for me, she kept it to herself (it's only a guess anyways)! Unfortunately, Matt wasn't able to join me for this particular appointment and as we get further along, we know there is a chance of finding out sex. Since mom doesn't usually sono her patients this early, she wasn't sure if we'd see anything. We had already talked to her about doing another sono on Saturday so that Matt could be there and see how things are progressing! He hadn't be to see her with me since my 6 week check! This was why mom was instructed not to say anything! Although, she later told/showed the perinatologist (explanation on it's way) and he was "very impressed" by my little one's peepee!

Baby looks like an ALIEN! Seriously, imagine a movie-like typical alien head and that's what our baby's head looks like! At one point, we could even see the eyes and mouth! Freaky! We saw little arms (up by the face almost always) and little fingers! Baby was all over the place! Wiggling and wiggling!

Fortunately, my Aunt Tudy was still home visiting and was able to go with me. And I'm glad she was there. We noticed that mom was staring at the machine and not saying very much. We asked her if she saw something, and she said she thought she might - mind you, we're not talking about gender now. She concentrated on the abdomen...checking out the cord. I asked her if she thought she saw a knot in the cord and she said "yea." Only - turned out, Aunt Tudy and I were just looking at a thick part of the cord - not the same thing mom was looking at.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the development of baby in utero, I'll fill you in. Around 8-12 weeks, babys bowels are forming. When doing this, they form some inside of the abdomen, then they come out, turn around, get situated and go back in. If they don't, this is referred to as an oomphalocele. (1st Nursing intervention? Cover with a sterile cloth soaked in sterile normal saline! - putting that good nursing education to use!) From time to time, babies don't develop this normally, producing an oomphalocele and needing surgery immediately after birth - it actually happens more than some might think and is considered "common" and is completely treatable.

So, mom told me about it calmly, explained everything to me, and left the room to call her buddy the perinatologist who got me in an hour later. They checked everything out (so, really I had 3 sonos this weekend) and all is well! If it's anything, it's a small anything, and it's got time to finish it's development before we can consider it a "problem." Dr. Egly was great - even brought in a book telling us that at 8 weeks gestation, 75% of fetuses show this on ultrasound, at 9 weeks almost 100% of fetuses show this and by 11 weeks, only 25%. So there's still plenty of time for things to be totally fine! Whew! Luckily, I remained calm on the outside - to the point where mom was impressed - but inside, I was quietly freaking out!

Mind you, mom normally doesn't sono her patients this early. So, when she noticed this on me, she saw it as "abnormal" (forgetting how early I was) and saw her patient not as a patient, but as her only daughter carrying her first grandchild! So, a slight panic set in and we're glad we got everything checked out! No worrying now! Dr. Egly wants to see me back around week 18-20, if for no other reason than to get me some GREAT 3D/4D shots of our little one!

So, Matt and my Dad saw the sono today - and quite a few times Matt said "oh, there's a penis!, oh there's a penis!" He's convinced it's a boy - which would be great because we have a boy's name picked out - and we continue to argue about a girl's name. However, today, we thought we saw both penis and then labia...and then penis and then labia...so obviously we have no clue! 50-50% shot though!

Overall, a good weekend! Baby's heartbeat is a fast, healthy 164bpm and strong! We'll continue to keep you all posted! But, mind you, if we find out the sex at the next appointment, we won't be sharing it with anyone until we can share it with our entire immediate family first - and good news! Mike comes home to visit only days after that appointment! So, hopefully the wait won't be long! Until next time...

Finally figured out the pictures!

It's Official!

So, as we announced to many of you through email...Matt and I are expecting our first baby in April! And, April is such a great month, as it is home to my birthday, baby's Uncle Mike's birthday, baby's Great Aunt Connie's birthday, cousin Caroline's birthday, and even cousin Savannah's birthday!!

I began seeing my mom, who will be my midwife, when I was 4 weeks. I had some spotting and went to have everything checked out. No worries, all was well! We checked out the little peanut and we got to see a yoke sac!

At 6 weeks, Matt and I went to visit my parents for Labor Day weekend and of course went up early enough to see mom in the office before the end of the day. This time, we got to see the flicker of the heartbeat - which was hard for ME to see - and even got to listen to it beating - which I was convinced was MY heart beating...yea, I was wrong. And right there on the screen was a little peanut-shaped baby! It was really neat and made it a little bit more real to Matt and I.

Today I am 8 weeks and saw mom in the office yesterday for another sono - I'm loving these! Boy did the baby grow fast! No longer looking like a little peanut, baby looks like a baby! Big head, big belly and little stumps for arms and legs. Again, saw and heard the heartbeat - MUCH faster this time! My brother, David, and his girlfriend, Michelle, went with me this time. They both found it astounding - neither had experienced technology like that before!

Mom and I went back into the office today to make a DVD of the pictures - and while there, I convinced her to do yet another sono...I know, spoiled, but I'm totally going to take advantage of this - and we are so glad that we did! While checking everything out - baby did a little dance for us! It was so neat! It's definitely a Pontifex! It's got the little butt-shake already! (It's a "boy" thing - so I'm thinking this is a little boy - all Pontifex men jump and shake their butts - "to bring sunshine" - weird enough that it works!) Overall, I haven't felt too bad. Nausea everyday - sometimes bearable, sometimes not. A few low blood pressure experiences accompanied with light-headedness. But all is well. I've maybe got a couple of weeks left before I start using a rubberband to keep my jeans closed!

We'll keep you posted with how things progress!

Love to all! Katie, Matt, Wrigley and Baby P!

Blog Time

Since so many are out there doing it, we thought we'd finally try it! Since we both have so many extended family members all over the country, from coast-to-coast, we thought it would be a great way of keeping everyone updated about the goings-on in our life! So please be patient as we are new to this! :o)