Good News

First of all, I thank everyone for the phone calls, text messages and visitors during my stay in the hospital.  It was very nice and Charley and I felt very loved.  I especially want to thank Trish for bringing my daily coffee and being my main support person during this difficult week.

My fluid level went up and has stayed up for the last couple of days.  They are releasing me from the hospital in a couple of hours and I have another appointment on Monday.  I will continue to do bi-weekly ultrasounds to continue to monitor the fluid levels.  I am so excited to get back into my own bed and keep my fluids up.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Love,
Sarah, Topher and Charley

Week 33

Well, Charley and I have had quite the weekend.  I went into my doctor appointment on Thursday afternoon and they discovered that I had less than 3cm of amniotic fluid so they admitted me to the hospital right away.  There I got IV fluids and another dose of steroids to help Charley's lungs develop a little faster in case she did come early.  Friday morning I had another ultrasound saying that my fluids were up and I was okay to be released and have another ultrasound Monday afternoon.  I got released form the hospital around 4pm Friday afternoon.  Around 4pm Saturday afternoon, I wasn't feeling a lot of movement from the baby so I decided to call the on call Dr and she told me to come in right away and get checked out.  Turns out my fluid dropped just as much as it increased within 24 hours.  So they kept me overnight again Saturday night.  Sunday came around and I had another ultrasound saying my fluids went up again but the Dr wanted me to stay another night for observation.

This morning my regular doctor came in and we talked about what we were going to do from here on out.  But first we are waiting to see what the fluid level is today.  I am still waiting for them to take me down to get an ultrasound.  So pretty much hurry up and wait.  That's what this whole weekend has felt like.

Charlotte is doing great through all of this.  She is healthy and kicking normal again.  Which is always a good sign.  We are going to try to keep her in my belly as long as we can.

Toph is currently in country now.  He will not be able to come back for the birth if she comes early.  Which is okay we will have plenty of pictures and video for him to watch.  We will also try to skype if he is available.

I will update as soon as I know after my ultrasound.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Love,
Sarah, Topher and Charlotte

Bed Rest

I was informed from the doctor that I will be taking a full week of bed rest.  I have lower than normal amniotic fluid.  So she wants me to rest up and get plenty of fluids and check me again next week.  I will be going in weekly for an ultrasound to check my fluid levels and see the doctor.  Charlotte is doing great.  She is measuring almost 31 weeks and I currently am 29 weeks 5 days.  She weights 3lbs 5 oz and her head is in the 92 percentile.  So she's got a big head.  The doctor will determine next Thursday if I will be able to return to work or stay on bed rest. 

Hope everyone is doing well. 

Sarah 

Week 28

Well we entered the 3rd trimester this week.  YIPPY!!  I am starting to get a little more tired than I was in the 2nd trimester.  And I find myself feeling more uncomfortable sitting, standing, walking and sleeping.  But its well worth it!  I am still continuing to workout at the CrossfitMSP gym and I love it.  But I have been scaling my workouts to accommodate the belly.

My Doctor says everything looks good.  She has a fast HR of 160bpm last visit and is getting bigger and putting on fat.  I have already gained 20lbs and my doctor said to try and keep the weight gain between 25-30lbs.  I don't know if that's possible but I will try to keep it health.  Its not a bad thing to indulge ever once and a while!  :)

I've been communicating with Topher usually by text and sometimes I am able to talk with him.  We got to skype a couple of weeks ago and it was nice to see him and have a conversation face to face or should I say computer to computer :)  He has been busy with training missions and he says they are going well.  He comes home on pass July 13-17.  I am so VERY EXCITED to finally see him again.  And Charley is excited to hear his voice and feel his hand on my belly.  She has been kicking and moving a lot lately and I am sure she will be a little stinker when he comes home. 

Sarah and Charley

Topher's First Post

Since this is of course a shared blog between Sarah and me, I thought I'd get in on the action and say hi to everyone. We are now in Crapsconsin for mobilization, the process is slow and arduous, lots of paper work, planning, and certifications. So... sorry, but there isn't any real cool Army stuff to report. The military is a slow beast, and takes some getting used to but thats the way it is, my lovely wife is figuring out the hard way that dealing with and receiving information from the Army can be a pain in the butt sometimes.

Life here is OK, other than the fact that I'm in Wisconistan, food is good (by Army standards), plenty of sleep so far, and I have great friends with me. There are promising training events planned that will be useful and fun, and in no time we will be off and across the pond.

Kind of bland I know, but we just haven't been doing any exciting things yet.

Here is my sleeping arrangement, its got its draw backs, but it could be a tent in the mud. Or just the mud...been there before.

Week 24-25

Hello everyone!  Sorry I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks.  We have been busy moving and preparing for Toph's deployment.  Toph had annual training May 6-21 and then Trish and Rick had a great going away party for him on the 22nd.  We had a great turnout and I want to thank you all for coming to help send him off.  Toph really appreciates all the kind words and the support our little family will have throughout this difficult year.

Here is picture of Toph at the gun range up at Camp Ripley earlier this May.

Toph and I went in for another ultrasound last Monday and our good friend Jenni Curran gave us a couple of 3D photos.  She just looks so sweet.  I think she has my nose and the Gordon chin.  We cannot wait to see our little Charlotte.  She has been moving around much more these days and dad even got to feel.  Charley really likes it when her dad talks to her.  She just goes crazy whenever she hears his voice.  Definitely a daddy's girl already! :)

Here is a recent photo taken this afternoon.  I will be 25 weeks tomorrow.  Boy does time fly!  I am lucky that I have still been able to my crossfit workouts still and I feel great!  

                                         

We said goodbye to Topher on Thursday night.  They had a very nice ceremony in Sartell, MN.  Trish, Rick, Ben, Megan, Kane and my mom all came up for the send off.  There are 130 soldiers in Toph's 1-194 D Co and a total of 2400 troops deploying from the MN National Guard.  I got the chance to meet a couple of his army buddies this past week and their families.  Its a great group of guys going over and I know Toph is ready to do his part.  He loves what he does in the guard and I totally support him and the decisions he makes for our family.  We are all going to miss him very much.  But I'll be busy helping Charley get bigger in my belly and getting prepared for the birth come September.  We are very fortunate that Toph will most likely be able to make it back in September when Charlotte is due.  I know its very important to him and to me as well.  

I want to thank everyone for all your support throughout this next year.  Topher is so gracious to know that Charlotte and I are in great hands with family and friends.  

His email address is tophkolkman at gmail dot com

Happy Memorial Weekend!  Thanks for all those have served and are currently serving our great country!

Week 20

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday.  Our friend Jenni did our scan and baby K wasn't very cooperative.  Baby kept moving when Jenni needed to get a certain picture and for some reason I have a little pocket in my uterus that she likes to hang out in.  But overall she is healthy and growing right on track.  We get to go back for another ultrasound at our 24 week appointment.  She wasn't in a good position to get heart pictures.  No worries.....she is perfectly fine.  Just needs to show images to document that she is 'perfect'. 

Topher and I went to the Twins game last night.  It was so cold.  It was 35 degrees and it started snowing in the 4th inning.  We eventually left during the 5th inning due to the nasty weather and the Rays were beating us 7-1.  I hope the Twins can turn it around soon!  Makes for an awful baseball season :(

We recently just moved into the Kolkman household last week.  Everything went great.  Toph had some buddies come help move the big stuff while I got everything organized in our new bedroom.  The baby and I will be sharing a room for the next year.  Should be lots of fun.  I cannot wait to meet this little girl!  Toph felt her kick earlier this week.  It was so cute to see his face and how happy he was that he can finally feel his daughter kick his hand.  She really likes his voice.  Whenever Topher and I are talking she will always kick when she hears his voice.  Its so cool.  He enjoys talking to my belly and she just goes nuts.  I can already tell she is going to be a daddy's girl. 

Anyways, hope everyone is staying dry.  Till next time...

Week 19

WK 19

It's been a little while since we posted about baby Cletus because of the rigors of packing, moving things, deciding what is and isn't trash. Toph likes to think that everything can be kept and used later, and Sarah seems to think that we just need to clean the plate... the baby doesn't care. were happy to say that we are just about half way through this pregnancy and all in all its been a very enjoyable time. Sarah was tired at the beginning, bordering on total exhaustion. But since the 2nd trimester started she has been back to her normal self; back to working out, back to bossing me around and back to bragging that she is pregnant to everyone she sees, shes even wearing special clothes to accentuate her beautiful baby belly.

We are going to make an effort after the move to update the blog at least every other day, so keep checking and we'll do our best to keep posting.

Have a great week!

Butterflies

I felt the baby move for the first time today  :)  I was sitting very quietly doing an exam on a patient when out of nowhere I felt little butterflies on the left side of my belly.  It went on for 5-10 minutes.  It's the best feeling in the world!

We are 16 weeks today......YIPPY!!!

Grandma Dot calls the baby lil Missy. She was so cute over the weekend....always touching my belly and talking to the baby. :)

This past weekend Toph and I went to Brookings to spend time with Grandma Dot. She was diagnosed with stage IV non-small lung cancer which had migrated to her spleen and brain. She starts radiation this week on her brain and after she is done with that treatment she will begin chemotherapy. It was good to see grandma and the family since we haven't seen most of them since our wedding last October. We wish her all the best in the next couple of months She is one tough cookie! Love you Grandma Dot!!!

Here is the link to Dot's caringbridge site:

Hello!!

This is my first attempt with blogging so please bear with me until I get the hang of things.

Topher and I are expecting our first child on September 11th, 2011.  We couldn't be more excited.  We found that we were pregnant on January 2nd the day after Nate and Anita's beautiful winter wedding.  It was a rough couple of months in the beginning of the pregnancy.  I was extremely exhausted and nauseous most evenings and nights.  Topher has really stepped up and helped around the house with cooking, cleaning, laundry and cleaning Taco's (our cat) toilet.  Between working and coaching volleyball I didn't have much energy to do much but lay on the couch watching TV and ordering Toph around.  :)

I am currently 15 weeks pregnant and feeling great!  We found out we were having a baby girl last week.  Topher was secretly wishing for a daddy's girl.  Looks like he is going to get one. 

Have a great day!