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!