Tickler Mantra

Yesterday I went to my first prenatal yoga class with my good (and pregnant) friend Audrey.  I had never been to a prenatal anything class and had no idea what to expect.  There were seven of us in the class and I was most definitely the least pregnant.  I mean, these women were preg-nant.  They were all huge and looked like they could pop at any moment.  I have obviously seen pregnant women before, but not so many at one time and in one room.  I couldn't stop looking at them.  They were beautiful.  It only makes me want to be huge that much faster!

Class started and we went around the room introducing ourselves, told how far along we were and if we had any ailments.  I have been virtually unable to walk these days due to a raging pain in my sciatic nerve and expressed to her that I would basically kiss the ground she walked on if she could help me find some stretches that would help. It seemed that most of us were suffering from one pregnancy pain or another: hurting sacrum, tightening uterus, Braston Hicks, lack of sleep, circulation problems etc.  Oh, the things I get to look forward to as the months pass!

The class was unlike your typical yoga class as many of the moves were created for expecting moms.  We used the wall a lot, focused on our breathing and practiced many moves I had never done or heard of before.  It was when she announced that the next move was called the clitoral tickler mantra that I knew I could in no way, shape or form, make eye contact with Audrey.  The what ticker? That's right folks, in prenatal yoga you hear the word clitoris and anus many times.  You also talk about Kegel exercises and more that I won't even share with you.  The best part?  I loved it.  I felt very safe and very connected with my fellow pregnant womankind.  We are all sharing in something so wonderful and beautiful, and talking about Kegel anything felt so natural.  The second best part?  My pain is at a 1 today (compared to yesterday's 7).  If the Prenatal Yoga Clitoral Tickler is what it takes, then sign me up!

On a total side note...many of you have communicated to me that you are unable to subscribe to this blog.  Somehow I created the blog under my work gmail and not my personal.  My district has a block on any subscribers to any blogs. Currently, I'm working with IT to try and get it moved over, but they are less than thrilled to spend their busy summer helping me with a baby blog. The guy in charge emailed me the other day and asked me for the blog's address.  I really hope he's not interested in seeing my "weekly belly photos" and makes the switch quickly! When this finally happens you'll see something under the "About Us" section that will allow you to subscribe.  :) Until then, keep checking in for updates!

16 weeks and 23 weeks pregnant.  Aud just moved
 back to Colorado with her hubby and little boy,
Walter.  I'm so happy to have them here.  <3
(Sorry Aud, I know you're in your PJs
 but this is the only pic I had!)

Baby is the size of a large avocado.  We had our doctor's
appointment on Monday and everything is looking great!
 Three weeks until the gender ultrasound!

Questions, questions and more questions...

Now that the world knows about the baby there are many questions that people are very curious about.  The following are the most popular questions that we get over and over (and over and over) again ...

1. How are you feeling?
In my first trimester I'd say I felt about 80%.  I had some indigestion and was tired most afternoons but overall I feel very lucky that I didn't have any morning sickness.  My mom had terrible morning sickness with both myself and my brother and I feared the worst, but somehow I got lucky and felt great!  I feel great now with nothing more than a little sciatica in my lower back giving me some pain.  I have had a not so pleasant time learning to sleep on my sides but thanks to the many body/pregnancy pillows that I have been given from friends, I have been more comfortable and sleeping better.

2. Do you know what you're having?
Not yet.  We have an appointment on August 5th and will have the doctor write down the gender and seal in an envelope.  We plan to have some sort of a gender reveal party that will announce the gender to us and our friends and family in a fun and creative way.

3. What do you think it is?
I have had no dreams or hunches as of now.  Many people say that the mother usually has an accurate intuition of the sex of the baby.  I'll keep you posted if I feel anything in the next few weeks.

4. Do you have a preference in a boy or a girl?
I don't have a preference but everyone keeps telling me they think it's a girl, so naturally, I keep picturing pink dresses and pigtails. :)

5. What does Daniel want?
He's a man! All men want boys!  Although, he has three girl dreams...!

6. When are you due?
December 23, 2013.  Yes, a Christmas baby!  Hanukkah this year is November 27th -December 5th so it's most likely won't be a Hanukkah baby.  We heard from friends who have a Christmas baby that they celebrate a half birthday each year for their child so that they can have a fun summer party when people are in town and able to celebrate.  We like this idea and will probably do this once the baby gets older.

7. What will do for work?
I will take 6 weeks of maternity leave and 6 weeks after that.  This will put me back at school around the end of March.  I will finish the year, have the summer off with the baby and head back to school in the fall when the baby is around 8 months old.  We haven't even talked about daycare vs. nanny vs. alternative options and probably won't until the fall.

8. Do you have any names picked out?
We have been throwing out some names but unfortunately for you, they will be kept a secret until the baby is born. :)  Daniel is very good at picking out names that he knows are ridiculously absurd: Django Andrew Johnson, Tchoupitoulas Hillman, Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo are some just to name a few.  He definitely gravitates to the more traditional names where I am trying to find something not so common and mainstream.  Every time I say a name he looks at me like I'm crazy, "Did you just make that name up? Is that a real name?"  Needless to say this naming a baby thing is not an easy task.  I think it'll be easier to narrow down some names once we know if we're having a boy or a girl.  Until then, we're calling the baby DJ (Daniel Junior or Daniel/Jess) instead of "it" or "baby" or until one of you comes up with something better that sticks!

9. Have you felt it move?
Not yet.  People say that movement this early may feel like gas rather than a baby.  So far I have felt no obvious gas or obvious baby.  I'll often hold my breath and close my eyes hoping with total concentration I'll be able to feel something but I'm only able to hold my breath comfortably for 10 or so seconds.  Also, something about keeping oxygen from the baby for any length of time keeps me from trying for a second round! The books all say that it usually happens between 18-22 weeks, which means I still have 3 more weeks before something should feel obvious.

I'm officially 15 weeks today and DJ is as big as a naval orange, can move all it's limbs and joints and it's legs are now officially longer than it's arms.  Next week all the ear bones fall into place and the baby will be able to hear me! Next appointment is  July 8 where they'll take more measurements and make sure I'm gaining one pound a week (ug!). Until then...

~Mama Jess

Wave Hello!

12 weeks

Today was our 12 week appointment and I have officially fallen in love...

I was so bummed thinking that we wouldn't have another ultrasound picture for 8 more weeks (the 20 week appointment is August 5 and that's when we'll find out the baby's gender) but today was our lucky day!  The doctor couldn't find the heartbeat with the Doppler monitor and so we got to look at the heart instead (and snap a few more pictures).  And as bonus the baby waved hello to us!  It's amazing that something so amoeba-like 4 weeks ago looks so baby-like today! Lots of happy tears...

We're getting excited to go camping with our closest Denver friends this weekend so we can finally tell them and we have officially lifted the "no-telling" ban from our parents and siblings. Word should be spreading pretty fast at this point.  Yay!

~Mama Jess  

Hiding

It's official, I have gone into hiding...the belly has popped, my clothes don't fit and we have one week before our 12 week appointment.

We have started to slowly share the news with our closest friends and it has been so much fun. Anyone who found out in the last few weeks haven't been all that surprised as the expanding belly is getting harder and harder to conceal.  My pants don't button anymore and not one single tee-shirt fits.  Someone even told my dad, "Jessie looks like she's put on some weight."  Oh good lord, I can't wait to shout the news from the rooftops that it's baby weight people!

The drinking, on the other hand, has gotten easier to fake as Daniel and I have gotten quite good at it. He chugs a beer, rinses it out and fills in with water and hands it off to me.  I drink and refill all night long and no one suspects a thing!  My good friends, Sarah and Krystal, have both commented in the last month, to my face, that there is no way that I'm pregnant because I'm drinking, duh. Haha! Joke's on them! I cannot wait to tell them all the secret and creative ways we've been getting around this.  I also cannot wait to stop the sneaking around and drink something besides tap water with a hint of beer aftertaste and let this growing tummy bulge out of my pants and sit comfortably for a change.

If you still don't know the news, it's coming soon enough (and you're not reading this, of course).  We have our 12 week doctor appointment on June 11 and when we get the a-ok, we'll officially let the cat out of the bag.  Daniel is actually very excited to tell some of our closer friends as I have gotten to share the news with a select handful of my girlfriends and he has gotten to tell virtually nobody.  We will be in Florida in two weeks with his grandparents and much of his family and I know he's looking forward to telling them in person.

It's been fun telling friends in different and creative ways.  One of my recent favorites was telling my girlfriend Jules, of 17 years, who is due with her first baby in late July.  I ordered us two matching onesies and put them side-by-side in a box and wrapped them up for her birthday.   We sat down to sushi and I handed her the box to open before I had to wiggle my way out of ordering a drink and raw fish. I envisioned her response to be, "Why are there two of them?"  No, she knew instantly and told me she had snuck a peek at my stomach as we were driving to dinner and had the whole thing figured out. So much for surprises!  It's been fun sharing this time with her.  We're already talking Bob strollers, diaper bags, crib sheets and we have to pee all the time together, it's great!

Julie's Birthday at the Bolder Boulder
10 weeks and 33 weeks

In baby news...the baby is now almost fully formed, is the size of a large plum and can open and close it hands.  Hair follicles and tiny tooth buds are formed and many of the bones are starting to harden.The diaphragm is forming this week and the baby could already have it's first case of the hiccups!  It's so crazy what happens every week.  I look forward to checking my email every Monday morning and reading what this new week of development has in store.  Until next Tuesday...

~Mama Jess

It's a baby!

We're REALLY having a baby! Yesterday we had our first doctors appointment and we have our first official pictures of baby!  We heard and saw the heart beat and the doctor told us that things are looking great.  This was exactly what we wanted to hear. She sat with us for close to an hour, answered all our questions and made us feel so good. We celebrated the news (and Daddy's birthday) at Sushi Hai after the appointment.  It was a terrific night!

The whole family now knows the news- we told Aunt Deb over Skype on Mother's Day after asking her if she had an old crib we could have.  She looked at us with raised eyebrows and asked why we would need a crib?? Our huge smiles gave us away! Daniel's parents found three weeks ago over Skype.  We asked Margy if she could weave baby blankets on her new loom?  She didn't skip a beat and squealed with delight!! We love that our family can now share in the excitement (and secret) for the next four weeks.

Baby is the size of a  large raspberry!

Introducing, Grandma Gigi!

It was a weekend of big reveals in the Hillman household this weekend.  Uncle Lex found out on Friday night, Papa Poo Poo Head found on on Saturday and finally Grandma Gigi found out on Sunday night.  We had intended to wait one more week and tell her on Mother's Day but knowing that we had to spend an evening with her celebrating our birthdays, and not tell her, seemed impossible.  So we scratched our Mother's Day plan and concocted a new one that evening.  The hardest part was we had to wait all the way through cooking dinner, all the way through eating dinner and all the way through looking at every page of our 100 page Hawaii Honeymoon album before she learned the news!

I made a sign that read, "Guess what mom?! We're having a baby! 12-23-13" and taped it to the last page of the photo book. She about died when she read it and I'm so glad we go it on camera.  Priceless...love you mama.

~Mama Jess

Introducing, Papa Poo Poo Head!

This weekend we had our Birthday Brew-au Luau.  Dad came in earlier in the day to help us get ready.  We had Rusty's Hawaiian wild boar to prepare, tiki torches to light, real Hawaiian flowers to arrange and fake alcoholic drinks to make!  We planned to tell dad before the party but as time got closer to the start of the party and we still had things to do, we were cutting things close.  We knew we wanted to tell him while Lex was taking our picture and so we quickly headed out front to snap a few family pictures.  They started out innocently enough...

 During the pictures I casually asked dad...

JGH- Hey dad, what do you want to be called when you're a grandpa?










DSG- Poo Poo Head!
JGH- You sure about that?
DSG- Yeah! Poo Poo Head!
JGH- Is that what it's going to be?
DSG- I don't know.  Why are you asking me anyway?  Have a baby first!

And that's when he finally realized that we were trying to tell him that we were having a baby! Everyone, meet Papa Poo Poo Head!