Baby Fred - 24 Weeks!

Date:
April 27, 2015

How far along:
24 weeks

How many weeks to go: 
16 Weeks

Baby size:
A Cantelope

Baby milestones: 
She's about a foot long now. Her skin is becoming more opaque and her lungs are developing more as well.

Maternity clothes: 
You betcha. I didn't realize how fast I would get sick of the maternity clothes I buy. I feel like I never have enough!

Stretch marks: 
Nope

Belly button in or out: 
Still sticking in there!

Symptoms: 
My blood-filled left nostril was back earlier this week, but it comes and goes. I am also having acid reflux from time to time (it actually started last week, but I forgot to mention it). From what I read online, I'm supposed to cut back on citrus fruit, chocolate, spicy food and fried food to help keep the acid reflux at bay... That's like four of my favorite food categories right now... figures! Other than those occasional things, there are some times that I forget that I'm pregnant (until I see my belly, that is)

Food cravings: 
Spicy food, I think. I'm not quite sure if it's a craving really, though... Other than that, nothing really.

Aversions: 
None

Movement:
Still moving quite a bit, but I'd be even happier if it was more consistent.

Labor signs: None.

Mood: Good.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty good still. I haven't even really needed to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, which is nice. My back hasn't felt the greatest the past couple nights when I woke up, though.

Miss anything: Not really. If anything, I miss just not having to think about what I am eating (and not eating).

Gender prediction: I'm not sure! When I think about decorating the nursery, I think it's a girl, but then when I think about the actual baby, it's a boy... so how about that one!??!

Names: Nothing new here...

Best moment of the week: Having our appointment on Friday afternoon and then having the rest of the afternoon off. I spent it at Target :) The rest of the weekend was very pleasant as well. My mom came on Saturday afternoon and we went to eat at Petrow's and then went to Lauritzen Gardens and then hung out at home and watched a movie before she had to go home. It was a very nice Sunday as well!

Nursery Things: Nothing new this week other than just working on our plan for the closet and starting to think about things that we're going to hang on the walls. We're going shopping this week at Nebraska Furniture Mart during their Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder sale to order our chair and dresser!! Yay! :)

Looking forward to: Ordering our chair and dresser! Going to Lincoln on Saturday with Lauren for Mallory and Bob's Diaper Party. I'm excited to see and hang out with my friends for a while this weekend!

Other things: We had our 24 week appointment last Friday afternoon. The baby's heartbeat was 153 and the doctor said that from where she was hearing the heartbeat, she thought the baby's head was down now (the baby was breach at our 20 week ultrasound). I got my "orange drink" for my glucose test next appointment. After our next appointment in 4 weeks, we start having our appointments every two weeks! Eeee!

I am in a Facebook group of about 65 other women who also have babies that are due in August. It's pretty interesting to be able to share this with that many other women who are in all different stages in their lives and having their first, third, or SEVENTH baby and who are from all over the country. The first one of the members had her baby on Friday evening. A little girl named Hadley Ann. She weighed in at just 1lb 7oz. Last I heard today, things were going very good and they may be taking her off the ventilator that's down her throat and being replaced with one that goes over her nose. Obviously anything can happen anytime, so if you'd like to say a prayer for that little baby, it could only help!

Baby Fred - 23 Weeks!

Date: 
April 20, 2014

How far along:
23 weeks

How many weeks to go: 
17 Weeks

Baby size:
A Grapefruit

Baby milestones: 
Her face is fully formed now and she's listening to us talking out here in the world.  I guess we'd better start watching what we say. She's also listening to my heartbeat!

Maternity clothes: 
Yes. And I always feel like I don't have any! Need to buy some more!

Stretch marks: 
Negatory

Have you started to show yet: 
Yes, but I don't feel that "big" anymore... maybe I'm just getting used to where I'm at, so it doesn't seem very big.

Belly button in or out: 
Still in, but getting shallower. Trent says it's going to be like my third nipple.

Symptoms: 
I didn't have much in the way of bloody noses this week - maybe because it's been wet out...? I'm really feeling pretty good these days!

Food cravings: 
No real cravings, but I did have an Oven Roasted Chicken Breast from Subway three days in a row last week and had eggs and toast three nights.

Aversions: 
None

Movement:
I can feel her moving quite a bit! There have been a few times that she's kicked so hard, I've actually gasped or stopped what I was doing. It's still kind of strange to feel it, but it's pretty darn cool. When I watch my belly, I still haven't been able to see it on the outside much, though. Still waiting to have Trent try to feel it!

Sleep: 
Sleeping quite well! It was nice to sleep with it raining this past weekend :) I think that's one of my favorite things!

Gender prediction: 
Still have about one and a half feet in camp boy.

Names: 
Same story here. I think the whole naming the baby is one of the most exciting parts of this whole thing. I can't wait until we actually get to do it for real instead of just talking about it!

Best moment of the week: 
Spending the whole rainy weekend binge watching Orange is the New Black and immersed in baby things on the internet. We went and registered at Target on Saturday afternoon and then I spent the rest of the evening finishing our Target registry online and then registering on Amazon.com as well. I may have gone a little crazy, but maybe not...

Nursery Things: 
On Sunday, I spent the day coming up with a plan for the baby's closet. It is pretty much exactly like one from a blog that I read. I measured it all and then drew it out to scale on some graph paper. I'm not 100% sure if it's what we're going to end up doing in the closet, so we're going to wait until we make a trip to Ikea and see all our options before we decide! Regardless, it was so fun.

Looking forward to: 
Our Earnings Release at work and filing our 10Q on Thursday which means my life going back to normal and not being so crazy busy and having to work late all the time! It also means that I am going to be able to focus more on my new job at work, which is exciting (even though I won't really stop doing my old job until late July). Friday is also my last official day at my desk on the 18th floor, which has been my home for the past 5 years - it's all I've ever known! I also won't sit by Stephanie anymore, who I've sat by and seen pretty much five days a week for he past four years... We've gone through our weddings together, buying houses, the birth of her son, and now, we are both pregnant and due with babies in August. It's going to be so strange not seeing her every day! On Monday, I make the move to the 16th floor and she moves down to the 12th floor in her new job! I'm sure going to miss everyone in my old group and my old boss and all that stuff! (I just kind of rambled on there so it's not all really stuff I'm "looking forward to" but whatever)

Other thoughts: 
In addition to registering this weekend and designing the closet, we also signed up for our birth class. We start the first week in June and it lasts for 9 weeks. We ended up deciding to take a natural birth class through the hospital. After looking at several different programs and options, this was one of the only ones that was on a good night of the week and started and ended when would fit into different traveling and things we already had planned. I have high hopes for it, as I think it will be a good balance between what we want out of our birth experience but also getting to know how things work at the hospital as well.
We also have our next appointment on Friday afternoon. It should be pretty uneventful, but it just means another month has passed and we're closer to meeting our baby!

Baby Fred - 22 Weeks!

When I was taking my weekly picture after work, Mattie came to visit me. I had just pushed the remote button to take the picture and she sat in front of me and stared up at me (like she thought I had some food or something). She's such a sweet dog! 

Date:
April 13, 2014

How far along:
22 weeks

How many weeks to go: 
18 Weeks (I downloaded a baby app on my phone this weekend and it says our due date is in 126 days. That still seems SO far away... So I think I'll just stick to counting down the weeks rather than the days! It makes it seem shorter!)

Baby size:
A Papaya

Baby milestones: 
She's looking more and more like a real newborn (haha) especially since her eyes are more developed. She's also sleeping more in cycles - about 12-14 hours a day.

Maternity clothes: 
Yes. I bought a few shirts this weekend. When I got home, I was trying them all on again and I told Trent that some of the maternity clothes was made for older people and I wasn't old enough to be pregnant. He asked me how old you need to be to be pregnant and I told him that the clothes looked like you had to be a mom to be pregnant... which I know doesn't make sense. I guess it won't be long before I don't think twice about wearing "mom clothes".

Stretch marks: 
Nope

Have you started to show yet: 
Yep

Belly button in or out: 
In - but I can tell that it's flattening out

Symptoms: 
I have a little bit of a pregnancy mask going on my face which accompanies the little bit of dry skin with the random zits that show up. I'm not going to complain because it's not really bad, but it's definitely a change. The pain back has been getting a little worse this week, too, especially when I stand back up after being bent over at the waist, so I think it's time to do something about that... For the past few months, I've had blood in my nose and mucus in the mornings and then on Sunday night, I had a real bloody nose that didn't really run, but it was all up in there and the Kleenex was all bloody when I blew my nose last night and this morning. Pretty exciting stuff.

Food cravings: 
Nothing really, but not the "right" things when I do crave something...

Aversions: 
None

Movement:
The movement has gotten a lot more constant this week and it's pretty cool (but kinda crazy too) It's not just always when I'm sitting still either, I can feel it when I am moving around and doing stuff now too. I feel the baby quite a bit when I'm at work and when we're laying around at night. As strange of a feeling as it is, it's very comforting, too. While we were watching TV on Friday night, I laid on my back and stared at my belly for a while hoping to see it move on the outside, and I did see it move once, but just that one time. So that's something else to look forward to when I can see it on the outside and Trent will be able to feel it.

Labor signs: 
None.

Sleep: 
Pretty good, but not enough. I had quite a few late nights at work last week, so I'll be happy when that's all over!

Gender prediction: 
When I feel the baby move, I still think about it being a boy moving around in there... but who knows?!?! This is going to be the greatest surprise ever!

Names: 
Nothing new this week on the name-front. Sometimes, during the day, I find myself just thinking about the names and imagining calling our child that name. It's a fun thing, but I can't wait until the day actually comes!

Best moment of the week: 
Not having to work on Saturday and it being great weather this weekend! Also celebrating my cousin Tricia's baby shower on Sunday.

Looking forward to: 
My friend, Grace, having her baby!! I am sooo excited to find out what she has and see her little one!! I'm sure she'd love it if you'd say a prayer for her to have a safe delivery when that day comes and to have a smooth transition when the baby comes home to join big brother, Trice!! I wrote this last night and then this afternoon, Grace had a little girl, Eliana Mae! So happy for them!! Welcome to the world, Miss Eliana!

Other thoughts:

Here's Tricia and I at her baby shower. The two of us were born 9 days apart and now we are due with our first babies 3 weeks apart! She is having a little boy! It will be fun when we can get our little ones together for the first time!! Hopefully our little ones will have as many good times together as we did growing up!

Baby Fred - 21 Weeks!

It's been quite a busy week at work, so I haven't had my lunches free or had time in the evening to post this, so it's super late. Tomorrow is already 22 weeks (we'll see if I get that one done tomorrow or not), but at least I got this done within the week!

Date: 
April 8, 2015

How far along:
21 weeks

How many weeks to go: 
19 Weeks

Baby size:
A Pomegranate (I couldn't tell you how big that is really...)

Baby milestones: 
Her digestive system is prepping for making it in the outside world. She's moving around a lot more and her eyebrows and eyelids are getting to be fully formed.

Maternity clothes: 
Yes. Need to buy more work shirts!

Stretch marks: 
Nope

Have you started to show yet: 
Yep - and it keeps getting bigger. Looking more and more pregnant each day!

Symptoms: 
I can definitely feel more pressure on my bladder the past few days. I can tell when the baby is kicking my bladder because I have a quick urge to pee and then it will go away... it's kinda strange. I also have been playing whack-a-mole with a few little zits on my face. Not cool.

Food cravings: 
Not really craving anything, but still enjoy cold food...

Aversions: 
None

Movement:
At this point, my confidence is back up that what I felt in my 18th week that one night was the baby kicking. I have felt it several more times and it feels just the same and I don't think it's anything digestive related! It's still not super consistent yet, so still waiting on that.

Labor signs: 
None.

Mood: 
Good.

Sleep: 
Pretty good.

Miss anything: 
Not really.

Gender prediction: 
I still think it's a boy, but I have started to get a little concerned that I am going to get used to the fact that I think it's a boy and then it's going to be a girl and I'm going to have to get over the fact that it's not a boy. (if that makes sense). So I decided that this week, the first week into the second half of the pregnancy, I am going to start calling the baby "her" and even out my thinking!

Names: 
We had another discussion about names on the way home from visiting our families on Easter. Turns out that what I thought was our #1 boy name isn't so "for sure" anymore, so we came up with a few more front runners for boys. I like them all, so it may be hard to choose it the end.
Trent has shot down my girl name that I have loved for the past year or so, and I'm not super in love with any girl names at the moment (even though there are 1 or 2 that we do like quite a bit) so we'll see what happens with the next discussion we have.

Best moment of the week: 
Celebrating Easter with our families! We spent Saturday with my family and Sunday with Trent's family and it was just great to see everyone! I am already looking forward to next year when we'll have a 7-8 month old all dressed up nice for Easter, too! :)

Baby Fred - 20 Weeks!

Date
March 30, 2015

How far along:
20 Weeks - Out of the teens!!! Halfway there!!

Baby size:
A Banana

Baby milestones: 
Per my baby apps, our baby weighs around 10 and a half ounces, but per our ultrasound last week, our baby is already at around 12 ounces! He's about 10 inches long as well. Our baby is also gulping down more amniotic fluid, which is good practice for his digestive system. We actually got to see our baby take a big gulp during our ultrasound on Wednesday!

Maternity clothes: 
Same story here - all maternity pants and a mix of regular and maternity shirts.

Have you started to show yet: 
Yep

Symptoms: 
Hungry all the time still and growing belly

Food cravings: 
Nothing

Aversions: 
None

Movement:
I don't think that I have felt any more movement this week. At our ultrasound on Wednesday, my doctor told me that I had an anterior placenta which means that my placenta is essentially between the baby and the outside world which makes it harder for me to feel the movement. It makes my 72% confidence that I felt the baby last week go down. The baby's feet in the ultrasound were right in the area where I felt the movement last week, so it's still possible that that was it. I guess I will just wait patiently until I feel it again and see if it's the same as what I felt previously.

Mood: 
Good. :) (We'll see how it ends up being by the end of this week, though, because I stayed up too late last night watching the season finale of The Walking Dead!)

Sleep: 
Pretty good this week! Still have to get up to pee at some point in the night, which I don't like, but it could be worse.

Dreams: 
I had some weird ones but I can't even type them and have them make any sense... There were family members there that we thought were dead because of carbon monoxide poisoning but then no one would go to look. Turns out they were okay. Then there was a storm and I was driving and my brakes weren't that great. Trent was mad at me and there was a little girl there and those two were kind of teaming up against me. When we got to our destination, the girl was evidently a little talking dog... and the dog went and peed on a rug that looked like grass. (I know that makes absolutely no sense)

Miss anything: 
Not really.

Gender prediction: 
I still say "he" more than "she" but I really don't know

Names: 
No change here

Best moment of the week: 
Our ultrasound on Wednesday! And getting to do a little redo ultrasound on Friday. I can't even describe how amazing it was to see our baby in there and to see he or see moving around!

Looking forward to: 
Hanging out with Grandpa tomorrow during Grandma's knee surgery, having Friday off for Good Friday and going to see both sides of our families for Easter this weekend.

Other thoughts: We had our 20 week ultrasound on Wednesday. I was nervous but so excited going into it. When I laid on that table and first saw the heartbeat I felt the first wave of relief and as the tech started showing us different parts of our baby, my eyes started filling with tears. Not too long into it, she showed us the baby's face and his hands were right up by his face. Then he moved, kind of rubbing his face, and I felt a feeling like I'd never felt before - I have never been so in love! I briefly started sobbing and I'm sure it probably sounded like I was sad about something, but I was happier than I've ever been in my life. It was amazing. The last few minutes of the ultrasound, the tech put in a DVD to record some of it, unfortunately, when we got home, the DVD didn't work. On Thursday, I mentioned that fact to a friend of mine who works at the Women's Center and she got me in touch with the Director of Ultrasound Imaging and she made an appointment for me on Friday to go back and redo the DVD portion, so I got to see our baby again for another five minutes!

The point of our ultrasound was to make sure that everything looked good with our baby, and our doctor confirmed for us after our ultrasound appointment that everything looked great. The baby's heartbeat went between 146 and 156, measured about 12 ounces and 10 inches long. Absolutely perfect!

Some pictures from our ultrasound are below. After getting ultrasound pictures of our own baby, I totally get why people share them with the public. Before this, I didn't get what the big deal was with the grainy black and white pictures!! TOTALLY get it now!
If you want to see our ultrasound video, let me know, I'm not going to put it on this blog though, but I'm willing to share our baby with whoever wants to see :)

Our baby's beautiful spine!

Sucking his/her thumb

Our baby's legs crossed at the ankles (the knees are pointing to the left)

St. Patty's Day Party 2015

The weekend before St. Patty's Day, we had our second annual St. Patty's Day get-together with both sides of our family. The main dish once again was corned beef and cabbage. Our get-together was larger and more planned out this year so we had a chance to invite all of our family to come. This year we had about 25 people here compared to just 11 or so last year.

There was a lot of green to go around in people's shirts, socks, and accessories as well as in the green beer and some of the food. I say this every time we have something at our house, but I love having our house full of people, it just makes my heart so happy!

Grandma and I had our green socks on!

Mattie loves it when we have people over so she can get loved on by everyone!

Baby Fredericksen got his/her first Beanie Baby from Aunt Doreen and Uncle Nick at the party!

Grandma Kock brought some fun St. Patty's Day themed gifts that got some great use!

Green beer was enjoyed at the party!

The girls even got some green drink (water!)

The girls helped me to make a rainbow out of fruit.

Our finished product

Time to eat!

All the young girls had fun playing together and decorating the nursery with Beanie Babies!

Trent's parents had come the day before the party and helped to paint the nursery and also hang the new light fixture. This meant my mom made me take an embarrassing picture with it :)

Iowa State played (and won) in an exciting game that night as well, so that's where all the "big kids" were gathered for most of the night. It must have been halftime or not quite exciting enough for Grandpa Kock yet! :)

It was a great party! We will see what comes of our party next year when there's a new little one in the picture!!! 

St. Patty's Day Party 2014

#1 Grandpa

A few weeks ago when I went back home to visit my mom for the weekend, I finally had the chance to go out to my dad's grave site and hang up the flag I got for him. 

I miss my dad all of the time, but when I think about actually getting to hold our baby in my hands, it's very easy for me to think about how I'll never get to see my dad hold our baby in his big, strong hands. I imagine that my dad would be to my kids (and Kellsey and Jared's) like Grandpa Kock was to us. He'd be fun and goofy and play off his toughness to "scare" them, just to make them laugh about it afterwards. Of course, he'd tell them lots of inappropriate (but clean) jokes - like "How do you know that the flat cat had blue eyes? Because when it got run over, one blew one way and one blew the other" (Grandpa Kock will have to correct me on that one if I'm telling that wrong!) He'd love to play with them and watch them grow up and he'd be there for all the fun activities in their lives! I can just imagine all the basketball advice they would have gotten at a very young age! Most importantly, I know he would have done anything for them, just like he did for us growing up, and would have loved them so very much!!

There's so much that our kids could learn from him. Now it will be up to all of us who knew him to pass on what we know of him to his grandkids and teach them all about the wonderful man he was! I know he'll be watching over all his little ones and will be proud of the people they become!