Introducing Mila Elise Koester

We are the PROUD parents of a beautiful baby GIRL!!! So excited to introduce the love of our lives..Miss Mila Elise Koester. She finally entered the world on Friday, September 9th at 9:19 pm weighing a perfect 7lbs 8oz and measuring 20 & 3/4 inches long. LOVE LOVE LOVE!  This is one of my favorite first pictures of her. It definitely displays how alert she was just minutes after birth. The nurses had to give her a bit of oxygen and everyone was cracking up in our delivery room because she reached up her little hand and held the oxygen mask to her own face! This was just a preview of what was to come..every day Mila grows more and more alert and we continue to be amazed by new skills, movements, sounds and facial expressions. She is definitely gaining a personality of her own..and a very feisty one at that :)

Labor was long and hard but so worth it. I was induced at 11:30pm on the 8th and after 22 hours Mila finally decided to grace us with her presence and much to MY surprise..he is a she!! Patrick definitely called it. He has been convinced from day one that our little one is a girl.  We couldn't be more happy with our experience at LMH. Everyone we met took such great care of us - all of the nurses, doctors and other staff members. We were discharged from the hospital on Sunday the 11th with the great news that we have a healthy, happy daughter. Aside from some fussiness and feeding issues, she is perfect and already weighing in at 8 lbs!

She's here, she's here!!

These past two weeks Patrick and I have been trying to settle into a routine, get SOME sleep (4 hours   is considered a good night at this point and this is total..not consecutive) but mostly just enjoying every minute of our new lives as mom and dad. Patrick was able to take one full week off work and come to all of Mila's first doctors appointments, etc. It was wonderful to have him home for a few days and gave our new family a chance to bond. Mila has been spoiled rotten with new outfits, accessories, books, toys and well wishes. We could not have survived without our wonderful family and friends and a huge thank you to everyone who made us food our first week home from the hospital. We would have been living off of frozen pizza and Arbys if not for you.  Here are some favorite photos from Mila's first two weeks of life! She is such a joy.

Last pregnancy photo..yay!

She's here!!! First mother daughter photo

Proud father

Love bug

Grandma and Grandpa Fritzel! - Grandparents for the 3rd time in 3 years!

Our waiting room cheerleaders!!! Two sets of great-grandparents, grandparents and Auntie Kylie

Winking & smiling! So happy to be home from the hospital



Almost There

14 Weeks and I THOUGHT I was really starting to show :)

20 Weeks Pregnant

40 Weeks and 1 Day - SO READY to finally meet Baby K

Hello, Due Date....Goodbye, Due Date!

Due date has come and gone and Baby K is still hanging in there! Officially 3 days overdue and although labor on Labor Day would have been awesome..it seems as though he's going to stay nice and cozy inside of me for a little bit longer. If labor does not happen naturally this week, Patrick and I will be admitted to the hospital on Thursday the 8th at 7:30pm to be induced! Although I've always wanted to go into labor naturally, the doctor thinks this is the smartest/safest decision. Sooo I have been walking every day, eating lots of spicy foods and pineapple in the hopes that Baby K will make an appearance sooner rather than later.

But, if not before, we will meet Baby K on the 8th or 9th of September - let the countdown begin! We are so excited to finally see our little boy OR girl that we have loved so much these past 9 months.

40 Weeks & 1 Day Pregnant!

Just the girls at Tyson's Baptism!

Meet Baby Koester: Week 37!

Finally some face shots (sort of) of our sweet Baby K! He was still hiding behind his arms for a good portion of the ultrasound but we were able to see his face a little bit and we are in LOVE!  He was squirming and making all kinds of faces and getting into strange positions. He even had his foot up by his nose at one point!

The technician thinks he weighs around 6 lbs 7 oz (still in the 30th percentile for weight at the 37 week mark).  He has a small head for his size (phew), a normal sized torso and small legs. Also, still picking up lots of hair on the ultrasound! Everything looks normal and right on schedule for an early September due date. At my Monday appointment, the doctor confirmed that I am not dialated and baby has not "dropped" so it seems he might hold off for awhile at least! We will keep you posted!

He has Patrick's cheeks and nose!

Covering his sweet little eyes.

Full Term!

I've made it to 37 weeks and Baby K is officially considered FULL TERM (yay)!! His lungs are likely developed enough to function outside of the womb.  Don't get me wrong...we still have a over 3 weeks to go and lots to do!  Baby K is probably weighing in at a little over 6 pounds and is around 19 inches long (the size of a swiss chard?) - see below.  

Or a watermelon (I think I like this comparison better although I cannot imagine this fitting in my stomach).

 

We had our pre-admission appointment at the hospital this week which makes everything feel a little bit more real!! Also, my doctor's appointments are now scheduled once a week vs. every other week. So far everything has been great aside from the carpal tunnel in my hands as mentioned before. They are constantly swollen, throbbing and tingly (much worse at night when I am trying to sleep). I think it's nature's way of preparing me for a lack of sleep once Baby K arrives (I've gotten to know the 2am TV schedule far too well..ugh). The important thing is baby is doing great. His heartbeat is strong (usually in the 140s or 150s) and seems to be right on track growth-wise. He is also already in the head-down, birth-ready position yay!

In other news, Patrick and I have officially moved out and into our own apartment in Lawrence. Let the nesting begin! We still have so much to do but have made great strides getting things unpacked and continuing to set up the nursery. The apartment is definitely smaller than our condo in Scottsdale so we are having to get creative with space and storage. Hopefully we can get everything done in 3 weeks! Starting to panic just a little bit....

Molly, Pat, Ruby & Tyson moved out as well so I think my parent's are going through another round of empty nesting;) Here are some fun "roomie photos" from our summer at home.

35 Weeks Pregnant and 114 Degrees in Kansas......



Let the almost one month  countdown begin..I am officially 35 weeks pregnant! Here is a photo of me from last week (my official 35 week mark was this past Friday). Starting to feel a little more "pregnant." Which could just be due to the extreme heat wave in the midwest this month. Holy 114 degrees plus humidity! I thought we moved from Phoenix to escape this?! My hands are so swollen I swear I haven't had feeling in my fingers for 7 days or longer. NO FUN. Other then some intense carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands and slightly swollen feet, symptoms still haven't been too too bad (knock on wood). I do have the pregancy waddle down pretty well though.

We don't have another doctor's appointment until later this week but Baby K should weight in at about 5 1/4 pounds this week and be around the size of a honeydew. Nursery pictures coming soon..still so much to do!!

It's Shower Time!

I cannot thank my wonderful friends and sisters enough who hosted the most marvelous baby shower for Baby K this July! Everything was perfect from the decorations to the food to the fun games and gifts. It was straight out of a magazine! Here are some photos from the big day. Baby K is so incredibly blessed to have such amazing family and friends.

All of the shower guests filled out "Wishes for Baby K." Such a fun keepsake - these will be treasured always!!

Beautiful decorations!

Theme of the day: yellows and grays just for Baby K

Amazing spread food network style..no one left hungry!

My friend Lauren made an awesome hippo cake for the shower (my favorite animal and one of the inspirations for Baby K's nursery). She later gave me the hippo pan so we can make Baby K a hippo cake on his or her 1st birthday..such a fun idea! Also - the cake was delish.

Action shot of the presentation of the hippo cake..SO EXCITED

We played the "poopy diaper" game - thanks sistahs! Kylie and Molly filled diapers with different melted candy bars and all of the guests had to distinguish the candy bars without tasting.

Presents, Presents, Presents!

 Baby K, Patrick and I were truly spoiled. We started putting together the nursery this week and don't even know where to start. We have such fun things!

This one made me cry..love this adorable nursery picture..thanks Kylie!

Me with Great-Grandma Hodges! She is going to have two new great grand babies this September.

Hostess with the Mostess

Baby K's Aunties!

Me with my cousin Shannon, and her daughter Geneva. Shannon is due in late September..our babies are already BFF's!

A framer for sure. So many of my best friends from high school and college were able to be at the shower..so blessed! Baby K's "Honorary Aunties"

My adorable cousin Geneva was just one of the girls at the shower!

Best friends and sisters!

A group shot with my mom, sister, cousin Shannon (due in September with a baby girl) and her daughter, Geneva, sister-Molly, Aunt Di, Grandma Fritzel & Grandma Hodges.

Baby K is very lucky.

Ultrasound: 31 Weeks

We had our 31 week ultrasound today and were so happy to see for ourselves that Baby K is doing wonderful! Unfortunately, he was a little camera shy. See foot below (Our ONLY photo) but so happy to see that he has 5 beautiful toes!

All he wanted to do was kick the camera, which is exactly what he's been doing to my belly for the past 2 months. We have definitely been blessed with an active little guy. He is in the birth-ready position though (head down/butt up) and our technician was surprised to see that he already has a very thick head of hair. She even asked if Patrick or I have Hispanic origins HA! Although she couldn't get a great photo op, the technician was able to take all of the necessary measurements and Baby K has checked out great! His heart looks wonderful (heart beat was 159 beats per minute this week) and he is probably around 3 lbs 9 oz which is actually only in the 20th percentile but our doctor is not worried. She might call for another ultrasound in 4 weeks just to make sure he's growing but for now, she's happy. They pushed my due date back even further to September 8th. I am really hoping for a 9/10/11 birthday!

That's all for now...Baby K is healthy and HAIRY and does not like being photographed. Oh well..he or she will truly be a surprise!!