More pictures!

30 weeks...and counting...

Alrighty...

Obviously been quite some time since I last updated this thing! Nine weeks, maybe?? Either way, too long, and I'm sorry.

Well, Matt and I have been plenty busy since Christmas. We spent Christmas eve eve with Roger and Dori and headed safely up to Pekin, in one of the worst winter storms, later that evening. Good thing we did, as we ended up having Christmas with my folks and brother because my dad had a feeling he'd be busy on Christmas Eve - and YES HE WAS. But either way, it was a great holiday and Emerson got SO many presents from both sets of Grandparents! Actually - she was really the ONLY one who got presents! And that's all we asked for!

The biggest present for me, came on December 22nd when, while spending time at R&D's, I got a phone call from HR at Provena Covenant Medical Center offering me an RN position on their med-ortho floor...and I gladly accepted! A job - a job that kept me here in Champaign - a job that kept me from commuting while pregnant and then later with a newborn - and most exciting - a PAYCHECK! We were very excited!

I began orientation as a graduate nurse on January 5th. Monday thru Friday, 8am (sometimes 7am) to 5pm. It was difficult and took it's toll, but the paychecks were defintely worth it! Now I'm on the floor, getting accustomed to how things go and work. Taking boards next month...hopefully all goes well.

Matt's been plenty busy in the lab, but is still finding time to be home more than usual. He's taking on more of a supervisory role...so he's learning how to delegate tasks - something he's both enjoying and hating - as any Pontifex feels - if you don't do it yourself, you're afraid it won't get done right. But he's managing it all well.

Well...the count down has finally begun. The date is set and we're excited to announce that I will be induced on Saturday, April 18th! So, little Miss Emerson Jo Pontifex will grace us with her presence on either the 18th or 19th! We're very excited!

Until then, it's work (3-12hr shifts/week for me and typical random hours in the lab for Matt), and getting things ready and together. We have an appointment on Friday, March 13th for pregnancy pictures with a well-known photographer back in Peoria, followed by our last baby shower on that Saturday! So, we're very excited!

We'll try to keep everyone updated! Until then - enjoy the pictures!!

xoxo - Katie, Matt, Wrigley & Baby Emme!

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!