April 26 2013 (October 2012)

October 2012:

12 weeks.  My second OBGYN appt (this time with a different doctor), went just as well as my first one, but it was decision time!  I had to decide what kind of first trimester screening (if any) that I wanted.  I decided that I wanted to do the more thorough one.  The one that would make me drive out to Minneapolis to get it done.  I was excited, but also nervous about that appointment.

What if my baby has special needs (specifically Down Syndrome)??  What if my child needed surgery right after birth?

All of these "What if...?" situations kept running through my mind, but I didn't know that much about genetics and how it all worked so I put my faith in the Genetic Counselor who was interviewing me and the Sonographer who took the pictures of my baby.

In the process of the Sonographer taking pictures of my baby, he kept pushing around my abdomen and asked me to move around to try to get baby to sit right.  But of coure, my little one wouldn't sit still for long or sit in the same position for long.  In order to get the pictures that he needed, the Sonographer had to take quick snaps.  He also made a comment that my baby had "beautiful anatomy".  How reassuring!

My baby was so tiny at this point, but you could count all of his little fingers and toes!  My LO even decided to give mommy a wave:

After a week of waiting on a call, I finally received one that informed me that the chances of my LO having any genetic defects or Down Syndrome was extremely unlikely!  Like, the lowest possible risk!  I was very happy to hear this news.  I also knew that he could still be born with something, but now I knew that science was on our side!

More to come....

With love,
Kjerstin L.

April 26 2013 (September 2012)

September 2012:

8 weeks.  I didn't really feel like I was pregnant..  I kept touching my abdomen in hopes that there would be some sign that would show me that I was pregnant, but at this point, there were none.  Other than the fact that I wasn't getting my period. I was still so scared..

Was I really having a baby??  Was there really a tiny person inside of me?

My thoughts were always racing, but I was relieved when I went to my first OBGYN appointment.  The doctor I decided to see for my first appointment was absolutely awesome.  She walked me through everything. I had no idea what was happening or what I was supposed to do, but she was very calm and reassuring.  While at this appointment, I got this book full of information.  It literally had everything in it (I still am using it).  This book walks you through every trimester of pregnancy!  It was and is my life saver.  Along with this book, I also got a folder full of pertinent information: medications that were safe to take, prenatal classes, etc..

After my appointment, I felt so much better!  I had all of this information to help me get everything together.  I felt so empowered by this one book!

Out of no where I got really sick though.  The kind of sickness where my throat hurt so bad that I didn't even want to swallow my own saliva.  I was really scared, so I went to Urgent Care.  Turns out that I had Pharyngitis.  The doctor at UC said to me that I needed to take antibiotics.

So began my regimen of taking antibiotics and prenatal vitamins every day. 

More to come...

With love,
Kjerstin L.

April 26 2013 (August 2012)

Oh gosh how the day is getting ever so near!
As I was debating on how to let the world know about this very special day, I decided that I should post on Facebook as well as tell you all the story (in sections hehe)...

August 2012:

I was freaking out, I hadn't gotten my period in three days and I wasn't sure what that could possibly mean.  I had been on birth control, so I thought maybe since it was a new method (for me) that it would take time to get out of my system.

On the fifth day of not getting my period, I went to my mother with tears in my eyes to explain to her what was going on.  My dad proceeded to get me two pregnancy tests.  The day after getting these tests (Friday), right away in the morning, I took one of them...  It took time for the test to develop ... I swear they do that on purpose!! ... And it showed a pretty little positive on it.  I immediately burst into tears.  I was finally out of a relationship and THEN I found out I was pregnant.  But I did a little research and it was possible for there to be a false positive on a test.

I waited 'til Sunday morning to take the second one. Positive. Again.  With both tests coming back that way, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor to make sure that I really was pregnant.

Walking into my doctor's office Monday morning, I wasn't sure what to think, say, or do.  But I knew one thing for sure: I was going to get a pregnancy test done.  Once the test came back saying positive, as I should have expected, my doctor had me go get an ultrasound done; she wanted to make sure that everything was as it should be.  And so I got the first glimpse of the beautiful person that would be growing inside me for the next 3/4 of a year <3

More to come....

With love,
Kjerstin L.

My Job(s)

I started my job at Jackson Hewitt. Man was there a lot of training to do! I had to go through tax school, StaRT training, and 3 days of on-sight training. But it was totally worth it! Now I can prepare people's taxes for them! I love it! Seriously. This job is perfect for me, I get to talk to people all day and use my brain at the same time. So cool! :)

In addition to working at JH, I also have been working at Arby's (since August). In other words, I am a pretty busy gal!! But I would not have it any other way. I need to put some money away for a very special reason.

"I think that my biggest attribute to any success
that I have had is hard work.
There really is no substitute for working hard."


Love,

Kjerstin L.

A New Year

Happy New Year!!

Oh my goodness!!  Its already 2013!  How crazy!  I'm ready for this year to be amazing.  We all are given a chance to start this year out with a bang.  I know that this year is going to be a year of A LOT of changes; beautiful, glorious changes.  I mean, we did survive the ending of the world, after all ;)

I'm looking forward to the things that are heading our way this year, even if some of these changes are going to be extremely drastic.  That's alright for me!  The best I can do is embrace it.

"Everyone messes up in relationships,
and has peaks and valleys in their personal lives.
When I realized it wasn't the end of the world,
and I would keep on standing,
I knew it was going to be OK."

Love,
Kjerstin L.