Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Wrigley!

(Grandma Schlieman got this little get-up for her and since we never dress her, this was amazing that we got her to sit so pretty for her close up!)

New Belly Pic! Week 23

Week 23 - Beginning of Month 6

Well tomorrow, we're actually going to be one week into the 6th month at week 24, but we had one more day to follow what we said of one picture every 4 weeks!

Things are going real well; she's moving away like crazy every day in there and we can actually see her through my belly every now and then, it's pretty surreal. She gets a little stage fright when Daddy comes to feel or see, but she's getting better as time goes on.

Mama is hanging in there, starting to get a little uncomfortable with little things like putting shoes on or pants, LOL...but I can manage :) I've been walking on my lunch breaks when it's nice out and still getting to the gym on Wed and Thur with some classes, with the newest one being water aerobics. I love it and I'm pretty sure the little one does too! And I never thought I'd say it, but it's NOT easy!

Daddy is doing great! Just finished and turned in his thesis which means he'll have his Masters in just a few weeks, we're so proud of him! Baseball is going alright, not the best outcome so far, but hanging in there and staying busy! GO TEXANS!

We go back to the doctor next Thursday for another check up...we'll check back in at that time! Til then, hope all is well!

Love,

Kara and Nate

Exciting Days Ahead...

This is our BEAUTIFUL furniture that we were surprised with (minus the bedding in the picture)!!! My Dad and Cyndi got us the crib, tall dresser and a change table (not pictured). It is absolutely GORGEOUS and we can't wait to get the baby's bedding in it and make the room around it and start decorating :) THANK YOU!

We also wanted to say thank you to the Gilbertson's (Sarah, Seth and little Bennett), Monica and Scott Lindstrom (our friends from the gym down here) and Ian for the wonderful gifts off our registry...it sure is fun to get things for the baby, the only hard part is not opening them; we're trying to keep everything the way it is for when we move to our next home and location so we won't ruin or damage anything! Ahhhhh, can you imgagine as new parents-to-be not being able to open anything?! We are however, getting our little fixes on the clothes that Grandma and Grandpa Harrison and Grandma Schlieman have been getting her and of course our own little pile we've started :)

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE for EVERYTHING thus far...so many exciting things are happening and with only 17 more weeks to go, we can only imagine they'll be getting more exciting with each day!

~Kara and Nate

GOOD NEWS!

So I just got back from the doctor and I got good news...

I have a 7MM stone in my right kidney and a 6MM stone in my left, not HUGE, but not small either...the good news is that they are not obstructing anything and I'm able to empty my bladder from the kidneys normally. I also only have a 30-40% chance of passing these on my own, which means the likelihood is not very high. He explained the different options we have at this point:

1) putting a stent in both sides, which he said is not necessary for my "diagnosis"
2) "blasting" them which breaks them up and allows them to turn to dust and pass with no pain
3) NOTHING

Because I am in no pain and he doesn't see a great risk of these turning into a kidney infection (that's the only thing that would cause pre-term labor) he reccommended, if I was his daughter, to not do anything until the baby is born and go with Option 3. THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THEM THOUGH! The plan right now is that if I have a healthy delivery and no C-section, they will most likely do the blasting surgery right there while I'm already in the hospital. If for some reason I have to have a C-Section or my delivery doesn't go smooth for whatever reason, they'll have me come back in August to have the procedure.

I am so relieved and feel so much better after seeing Dr. McCurdy today. Both he and my OB have been wonderful and we feel so lucky they are so on top of me, and the baby!

Tomorrow, I'll be 21 weeks...19 more to go!!! Ahhhh, over half way, can't believe it!

Til next time,
Kara and Nate

PS...Nate got to feel the little munchkin for the first time on Tuesday night...he was in pure awe at her kick or punch or whatever it was and she's been moving so much more lately that I'm pretty sure, he'll start to feel her a lot more in the next coming days :)

Well Friday I had my renal ultrasound for my kidneys and today the doctor's office called to let me know that unfortunately they did find stones in both of my kidneys. Now I am going to go see a urologist to get some further analysis on how they are looking, etc. The good news is the stones don't affect our baby girl, but the bad news, is I could easily pass these stones during my pregnancy (that is most likely what I already did once 3 weeks ago when I was in all that pain and they thought it was a bladder infection). They could also just stay there and cause no issues, so of course that's what I'm hoping. I'll know more when I see the doc, I'm just waiting to get the go ahead to get that scheduled...It's a little scary and stressful right now, but I'll continue to warrior through and just pray that all goes ok.

On a lighter note, we got most of our registering done yesterday at Babies R US and Target, boy was that a BIG job!!!! SO much to get and think about, but I think we did a good job and we're excited to start to see some of these things and get some things for our little girl!

We'll be in touch soon...
Love,
Kara and Nate