Weirdest Feeling!

On Sunday morning as I was waking up, I rolled over on my left side and Kelsey started kicking like crazy. Although this happens everyday, the miracle of her developing body never seizes to amaze me. So I put my hand on my stomach to feel her kick (I'm pretty sure at this point she is sideways with her head toward my left and feet toward my right). Her kicks were more intense than in the past so I pressed harder and felt her heal glide down my palm! It felt like it does when you get a massage and they press really hard against your back. It sent little tingles down my spine because it was so different. Her little foot is only a few inches, but it was by far the coolest experience I've had so far with her. I would have made John feel but he was still sleeping, and she tends to hide whenever he tries to feel her move :( Just thought I'd update you on that experience! :)

Week 26 - I'm getting impatient :)

I know it's wayyyy to early for me to be this way, my belly is not big enough and I'm not in enough pain, but I just want little Kelsey to be here! I feel like I'm huge(!) but compared to other friends I don't compare much at all. It was my first day back at school today since Spring Break and all the teachers were commenting on how much I've grown. I feel the same way, since 2 weeks ago when I took my last picture, my stomach has dramatically increased in size. Here's a picture to prove it...from the font and the side.

I know...the picture from the front makes my belly look HUGE!!! I like the shape of it right now though, it's a nice high circle. She much have a comfy home in there, because she sure is taking up a lot of room. It's actually getting hard for me to bend over to tie my shoes or roll over in bed. The crazy world of pregnancy!

Last week I traveled back to Dallas to visit my family. I had such a great time!! Not only did I get to catch up with my mom and my dad, I also got to spend a lot of time with Katie. I hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving. We got to hang out pretty much every day...she just couldn't keep her hands off little Kelsey. We laid out by the pool Monday and Tuesday...mom took pictures of course; it was definitely a sight to see! :) When I was in Dallas I also got to catch up with Lauren Lee and Lauren Tollett, Katie Smith, and Lauren Epperson. I had sooo much fun talking with all of them. It's so crazy how you can be away from friends for a long time but meeting up with them makes it feel like you haven't left at all! When I returned, John and I went to the Houston Rodeo to see Taylor Swift. That night was a fiasco to say the least! Between parking and finding seats, we were about to go CrAzY!! Luckily the concert was awesome!! We met Laura and were able to sneak down with her to 3rd row seats! So, I guess we'll consider this Kelsey's first concert :) Finally - to top off a busy week of reunions, John's mom came in town to visit. We all met up at Cracker Barrel from lunch on Saturday to celebrate Grandma's 74th birthday. I think they were both surprised at how big I'm getting as well. It's always good to see them, especially since Diane lives so far away. Below are a bunch of pictures from the last week.

Week 24 - The Kicking Continues!

I know my Mom really appreciates knowing the size of Kelsey based on the food they list on the internet...so here's another for you! This week Kelsey is as long as an ear of corn (about 12 inches), and she's gained 1/4 pound since last week. It amazes me how quickly she will gain weight in the next 16 weeks!




I'm actually sitting up at school right now, it's the Friday before Spring Break and I'm just about to go crazy! The kids are definitely ready - and so are the teachers in my hall! Kelsey is very active today...it could be the sugar rush she experienced with the donuts this morning and cake at lunch. I was doing so well eating healthy and making sure I worked out, but this week I've taken a turn for the worst! I got a text from my sister a few weeks ago mentioning how much weight she's lost, and I wrote back with, "That's exciting...I've gained 15 and I'm pale white!" :) I don't know how Laura is going to do it! jk...she'll be great. But seriously, it's tough sometimes. I really want to be able to get back to pre-baby weight ASAP!!!

Besides getting a little bit bigger this week, not much has changed. I had a really big kick last night that felt like it was in my upper ribs. I thought it was a little strange because Kelsey isn't supposed to be that high yet. But it was huge!! Lauren and Renee visited this weekend and got to feel her kick as well. I think it really excited both of them. It made me feel very 'mommy-ish' when they had there hand on my belly waiting for the kick. My sister Katie claims its not kicking or punching but instead it's Kelsey 'shaking her booty' like all the Nagy girls do! haha..I hope that is a trait I can pass down :) Speaking of that rhythm..I hope she's active next week when I visit home. I'm sure she will be and if she isn't, I've figured out that all I have to do is lay on my back and give her a little massage. It's so fun to do - I sit and make her move everyday when I get home from school! Here's my latest photo from week 24 - I'm in all black so I appologize, but the tummy is definitely growing!!

23 Week Update

This week Kelsey weighs about as much as a large mango -- just over a pound. (Length: more than 11 inches.) Let me tell you, I'm starting to feel every bit of the mango inside. She is one active little girl! During the echocardiogram last week, she refused to stop moving. It's a very exciting feeling when it takes place during the day, but there will be some nights when I get comfortable and she starts going to town with the punching and kicking. Those are the times when I try to massage her back to sleep :) John has been so helpful with everything and amazed at how fast I'm growing. I love it (and I know Kelsey does too) when he rubs my belly and gives the baby kisses. I can't wait to see them together, I know he is going to be such an amazing daddy! Not much else happened during our 23 week. We had our doctor's appointment and all went well. Her heartbeat was strong, as it always is. I feel so blessed to have a healthy baby growing inside of me. We keep her in our prayers each day! Here is a picture of me before heading to school...the kids are definitely starting to notice the change. The girls are so interested in whats going on and how I'm feeling while the boys just kinda sit and stare.

First movements!!

I was getting a little worried around 22 weeks because I still hadn't felt her move and we were going in for our BIG ultrasound. Finally, Monday night I was laying in bed and I felt this weird jolt in my stomach. People kept telling me, "Oh, you'll know when you feel her" but I was still a little hesitant to call that feeling her moving. Some say it feels like you have gas or like little butterflies in your stomach, but I would describe it as a muscle spasm. You know when you get those weird contractions in your arms or legs, that's what it felt like. Anyways - John called in between softball games and I told him the news. His reaction was, "I really hope that was her because I know how bad you want to feel her move." I just laughed it off because it was so true. For the last week I'd been saying, "oh, maybe that's it..." but none had been. When he got home from his softball games that night he rolled over and laid his hand on my belly. I felt that weird feeling again and told him to really focus on trying to feel it. Sure enough she let out a big punch (or kick) and he felt her move as well. It was such an awesome experience and I think it made the situation even more real to us.

On Wednesday we went in for our ultrasound. It was awesome!!! About 30 minutes long, and we just got to sit and watch her move around! The doctor measured all her bones and took a look at her heart to make sure all 4 chambers were developing. (We had an echocardiogram the next week and all looks great with the heart!!) Kelsey is definitely going to be stubborn though - she wouldn't let us see her whole face, instead she kept one arm up in front of it the whole time. Looks like we'll have to come up with a plan for handling this stubborness when she's a little older :) Here are the pictures we did get. I'll try to describe them for you since I know a lot of people have had a hard time understanding them.

This is her little footprint.

This is the best picture of her face we can get. You can see one arm under her chin and the other is on the right side next to her cheek. She was taking a big yawn in this picture.

This is a picture of her right arm. The top is her shoulder and then to the left her elbow and the bottom she's making a fist. Her head is on the far right.

I just love these pictures! I can't wait to see all the little details when she arrives!

Our 13 week ultrasound

We went in for a 13 week ultrasound to get a risk assessment done for different chromosomal disorders. John was unable to attend this with me because it was during a busy workday. The results made us a little anxious at first because the NT scan came back a little thicker than it should. I went into a bit of shock and fear and asked for lots of prayers. God definitely answered those prayers when my blood results came back and all risks were dropped. It was the day before New Years Eve that we found out we were having a little baby girl!! Here are the ultrasound pictures we got that week. You can see her long leg extended in the first picture. It was really neat to me because I was able to see her head and limbs now!

After this week I was finally feeling better, which was also a relief! I was able to eat meat again and I finally gained back some energy. I now fully understand how different it is to be tired, and to be pregnancy tired!! :)

Here's a belly update at 19 weeks:

Talk about PINK!!

We've worked really hard on Kelsey's room over the past few months! For all of you who haven't been able to see it yet, here are some pictures:

Closet and Dresser

The clothes we have received so far!

View as you walk into the room

I have a feeling the rocking chair and I will become good friends. And the bear from Nana!

Our crib and the craft project Lauren Lee and I put together.

It's very pink!! ..but we love it and can't wait to spend time in there with her.

Week 23 - Wish I would have thought of this sooner!

After seeing a friends blog, I thought it would be a great thing to start to keep all our friends and out-of-state families in the pregnancy loop!! For one - I feel like I'm getting bigger by the minute. I think I really underestimated how big my belly is going to get! Before I start on where I am now, I'd like to look back over the past weeks and fill you in on all that's happened in our life!

John and I found out we were pregnant on Tuesday, October 28th. I remember this date because I had just been on a 6 mile jog with my assistant principal and she brought up the question about starting a family. She said, "So Koehler, when are you guys going to start having babies?" I just started to laugh because little did she know I had asked John to pick up a pregnancy test on the way home from work! I looked over and told her about out '4 year plan' that may be changing soon because I was going to take a test that evening. She just laughed and we kept running. I was about a week and a half late at the time, but to my naivety I thought it was because of my new workout pattern and better eating habits :) Little did I know there was a baby growing inside.

So - I took the test that night and sat anxiously awaiting the results. Then the positive sign showed up! Talk about nervous...I sat there trying to think of how of ways to tell John the results. I could hear him playing with Bailey in the room (trying to keep his own thoughts distracted). I walked out and told him "It said I was" and broke down crying. Not that I was upset, the unexpected feeling was just too much to handle. He smiled and said "Yayyy!" with a bit of hesitation. We just kinda sat there in disbelief for a while. We decided we wouldn't tell anyone, which of course lasted about 5 minutes. He got on the phone with his best friend Ryan and I called Lauren. They were both so excited while we sat there still shocked! I then called my sisters to let them know they were going to be aunts. They were in shock as well, but soooo excited, and I knew from that point on, this baby was going to be SPOILED!! :)

We told all our co-workers the next day and called the doctor to set up an appointment. Both of our parents couldn't believe the news. I remember my Mom's reaction was "My baby's having a baby!! Don't call me Grandma, I'm too young for that!" and Dad said "You're kidding..are you guys excited?" After confirming we were he became ecstatic and said he couldn't wait to be a Grandpa! John will have to give me more detail about his parents reactions...this will be their second grandchild and I know they are just as excited as my parents were!

The first trimester started hitting at about 9 weeks. I had nausea at night, which worked out well since I needed to teach during the day. I was unable to eat meat until week 14, so I got my protein through lots and lots of peanut butter and eggs. I pretty much ate anything I thought sounded good. In fact, the one day it snowed in Houston, I was craving an ice cream shake, so there I was in the snow sipping on a milk shake!


We had our first check up at 12 weeks...here's our first glimpse of our little 'peanut'

We had some other testing done in the next week which left us a little worried at first because the test results were outside the 'normal' range originally. After my bloodwork came back however, all previous worries were put to ease! We found out on December 30th that we had a happy, healthy baby girl growing inside!! Our little Kelsey Ann Koehler! Below is a picture of my belly on December 15th. I think that would have been about 12 weeks.