Kerstin's Blog

15 days old and she has already spent 3 of those days at the beach!

We have been planning and practicing for this for a while.  We have a great baby “cave” that we broke in last year with our friends baby.  It gives 100 percent coverage from the sun but allows a great breeze to come in, which is awesome for napping (not that Grace needs any help in that department.) 

She is still very, very tiny, just 6 lbs at her last drs appt, so even her newborn clothes are too big. She is swimming in her baby swim suit. We hope to pass to her our love and appreciation for the ocean at a very early age.

Some of you have asked what Graces’ background is.  Her birth-mom is black, white and hispanic.  Her birth-father is Mexican.  My husband and I are both European.  He is German/Irish, I am English/Czech.  

As for me, I am doing great.  Getting bigger and bigger every day.  My doctor said I couldn’t continue my daily runs and spinning that I did before I got pregnant but I was given the okay to power walk and do power yoga.   The dogs are super happy because that means they get an extra long walk nearly every day.

Thank you so much for all the kind notes and replies. I am so touched by all your support and the stories you are sharing. I promise to reply to you all when I get back on August 3rd!

Teaching Grace, at a young age, how to blog.  

When Im not on the computer we sit around and just stare at her.  She is truly a miracle, and we are so, so blessed.

She wasn’t supposed to be here yet, but my husband, Dan, was thrilled to have his first fathers day with his 8 day old baby girl.  

Grandma Gigi and Grandpa Dude are spoiling her VERY early, taking her (and us) to the Hotel Del Coronado for fathers day lunch.  It was beautiful and she was a trooper.

Check out Dan’s manly army green baby bag, and me wearing the sling while I can before I get too big!

When everyone heard we were going to have TWO babies the first reaction was “you will have to move.”   But to Dan and me moving is not an option.  First, the economy is heartbreaking and we just cant afford to sell our home and move but, more important than that, we LOVE where we live and our little home.  

We live in a 1920’s beach cottage 3 blocks from the beach. It is 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a whopping 950 square feet. Already we have the 2 of us and 2 dogs and by the end of the year 2 babies.  So, a little remodeling was in order.

We added storage on our rooftop deck, storage under the stairs to the rooftop deck, storage inside the deck on the side of the house, we put in a new fence and artificial grass (which is gorgerous by the way!)  We took out the shelves in the guest room and put the trundle bed in the closet nook.  Added a window to the room. My father built new shelves above the bed and painted the entire room.  We figured, if family HAD to say in that room there would still be a bed and the babies could sleep in our room.  Plus the bed is nice to lounge on for midnight feedings.  

The best thing we did was add a stort of day bed to the front of the house.  Its in an area that, in the 20’s, was a porch but sometime along the way was enclosed.  We built an odd sized queen bed into the corner, and, of course, put built in storage underneath where we can quickly store the double jog stroller among other things.   It is a VERY comfy bed that the grandmothers and other guests love. 

It is a small house and we have to constantly have things picked up and put away. Nothing is kept that isn’t really needed.  My husband and I now share a small walk in closet and armoire.  We have 8 flat bins under the bed, 2 for each of us and 2 for household goods.  But, all that being said, we still LOVE it.  Having a small house means less to take care of and more time to enjoy each other.  

We know that in the next couple years we will have to move but for now we are really making it work. There isn’t too much room but we have a beach 3 blocks away and a park 1 block away.  There will be lots of walks and outside time, and just enjoying each other and our cute little beach town. 

Our first babies are adjusting quite well to Grace.  Pumpkin (the little one) is very protective and likes to lick her toes and head.  Gourdie (the big, but younger one) is a bit confused but he is learning to live with the fact that he is no longer the baby in the family. We placed her used blankets in their beds before Grace came home (a recommendation from Jennifer Jenesen) and that helped them get used to her smell.  They still sit on the couch with us, go for walks every day and sleep on the ground in our room, now everything is just a bit tighter in the house. If Grace can sleep through their snoring she can sleep through anything!

I’ll also be updating on Twitter while I am on leave.  I do twice a day weather summary’s and updates on life in general.  http://twitter.com/K_lindquist_sd

Thanks for all the great feedback! So many of you have mentioned how similar this is to what happened to Lee Ann Kim, http://www.10news.com/station/153216/detail.html

 a former 10 news employee, in 2005 & 2006.  Her boys are less that a year apart, one adopted and one biological.  Glad to say she is doing well and loving being a mom and working for the Asian Film Festival.

It’s amazing reading all of the viewer emails about people who have had something like this happen. Struggle to get pregnant, adopt and then get pregnant. I actually looked into the statistics and, while you always hear about it happening, it really isnt that common.  It would seem like it happens all the time but that is because when it does happen, you hear about it.  Many couples who have infertility and adopt, never go on to get pregnant. Personally my world would be complete if I only had this little girl in my arms.  She is 100 percent ours.  But, I do know how truly, truly blessed I am to have gotten pregnant and to get to experience this part of life.  I’ve never been so happy about being sick and gaining weight in my life. Being a woman and not being able to get pregnant is an unexplainable pain. 

Heres the latest pic of the little munchkin.  One of these days she will stop sleeping

Thanks for taking the time to visit my maternity blog. 

I will be off the air until August 4th enjoying my new daughter.

Here’s a quick summary of what is happening in the Lindquist household.

My husband and I have struggled with infertility for many years and we decided to adopt last summer.

My brother and my husband’s sister are both adopted and to us, adoption is such a blessing. 

We were matched with a selfless, courageous young pregnant woman from Los Angeles in January and we had a June due date!

In March, we found out that I am pregnant! People say it always happens that way, and for us it did, we are overjoyed.  Two babies in one year!  My husband and I continue to marvel at Gods grace. 

Baby number two, which we found out is a girl, is due in November and then I will, again, be going on maternity leave.

Stay close to this blog for weekly updates, pictures (I can’t stop taking pictures of her!!) and notes on what it is like to have 2 babies in 5 months!

I welcome your feedback, stories and questions.  My husband and I have been through so much to get to this point and have much to share.  We feel like luckiest couple in the world.  I am so happy to be able to share this experience with all of you.

- Kerstin

Our little blessing arrived 6/12/09 at 9:15am. She was 3 weeks early but came out perfect.

6lbs 3oz and 19 inches long.

Thank you for checking out my maternity blog! I’ll be posting pictures and details about the new addition to my family soon. Check back regularly to see how I’m doing on my maternity leave.