celebrations.

We've had many celebrations at the Hanna house lately. Jason recently had two papers accepted for publication (okay, technically he had to make minor revisions to one and he's waiting to hear the final word, but it's pretty much a done deal!). One more and he's met the publication requirements for tenure -- and he still has 4 years to go before he's up for tenure review! Here's a picture of the happy philosopher enjoying a victory strawberry tartlet:

And speaking of victory, of course there was the big Packers win over the Bears last Sunday. We celebrated that with an updated belly pic and some green and gold cupcakes:

And this week at church choir practice, when sight-reading through William Billings' "Universal Praise," a quintessentially American hymn all about celebration, future baby Hanna started kicking like I've never felt before -- huge, powerful jolts every few measures for several minutes straight. Either she really likes that piece or she wishes that we were singing something a little more subdued!

baby on the move.

Future Baby Hanna is moving up a storm -- so much so that Jason was able to feel her kicking today, which got him pretty excited. Many more kicks and punches to come!

I braved the cold and went out to meet the wife of a teacher friend of mine who had a baby last February; I told her I'd buy her coffee if she'd let me pick her brain about all things baby-related. We had a really nice chat; it was good to talk with someone who delivered at the hospital we'll be using and also to get some ideas about exercise, baby gear, and staying sane. She had a pretty crazy, and scary, birth story (water broke but she didn't realize it, because of strange complications, for three days and then had to be rushed into delivery), but everything turned out just fine for them, thank goodness. She was very reassuring and upbeat and I got some great ideas of things to start thinking about!

Speaking of moving, these baby shoes (below) were handmade for me/us by my cousin Adria -- the first baby gift we've received. So sweet! The second picture shows them inside one of my made-to-match slippers. We will be such a stylish duo :)

all clear on the baby front.

Just got back from our "20" week appointment (I start week 22 tomorrow!). Besides being frustrated by the 45 minute wait to get in, it went really well. Our quad screen had come back negative for any fetal abnormalities, and our doctor said that all of the ultrasound images looked great. Hooray! A healthy baby! I'm officially 127 pounds now, which she said is right on the mark for where I should be in the pregnancy. And we had a good chat about all kinds of things related to labor and delivery, so I think we're both feeling positive about that.

The baby has been very active but Jason still hasn't felt anything yet. I keep telling him that he needs to be patient (after about a minute of waiting, he proclaims "She doesn't like me!" and moves away), because she doesn't have any predictable movements yet. But she's kicking and flipping up a storm, so I'm sure he'll feel it soon.

Jason has been trying to sign for a FedEx package all week and now they are holding it at their facility in Rockford...so now that we have to drive all the way up there, I guess we'll try to make the trip useful by stopping in at Babies R Us since there isn't one any closer to us anyway. Hope Jason's ready for baby craziness!

20-week ultrasound.

Courtney had her 20-week ultrasound this morning. We now know--or at least are as confident as you can really be at this point--that it is a girl. (Sorry, Ross, but "Herman" is out as a name.) More importantly, everything else looked good. The baby had four limbs, two kidneys, and a functioning heart, and the placenta is in the correct location. So although we won't meet with the doctor until Wednesday, that is all good news. And she came in at a solid 13 oz., give or take 2. I think that's fairly big this far along in the pregnancy, so maybe she's taking after the Hanna/Herszenson/McNamara sides of the family rather than the Boebel side.

We've posted some pictures taken during the ultrasound. You can see the baby's face and fingers (the thumb is pointing almost directly forward so is harder to see). As has been common for the past few weeks, she was moving around quite a bit, and she never really turned to "face the camera." (Is awkwardness in photos also genetically inherited?) At one point, her lips started moving, apparently because she was drinking amniotic fluid. That was fun to see, but sort of gross to think about.

We'll visit with Courtney's doctor on Wednesday and might learn a bit more there. Until then...

do you doula?

Jason and I will be meeting with a potential doula (aka birthing coach) on Sunday afternoon -- luckily, the Packers play on Saturday, so no conflicts there. :) She comes highly recommended by a friend and colleague of mine, so I'm hopeful it will be a good match. After much contemplation, I'm coming around to the idea that it might be helpful to have someone there at the birth who knows what's going on and who knows what we want -- so that Jason and I can relax into our appropriate roles. At the same time, I know that Jason is nervous about the idea of someone who, in his words, "will want to balance your chakras during your contractions." I don't get the sense that this doula is anything like that, but we'll have to make sure we're comfortable first.

I've also started signing us up for classes -- we're registered for first-time childbirth, new baby care, infant safety and CPR, and breastfeeding. I also just ordered three books, thanks to some Barnes and Noble gift cards from the holidays, and forsee many nights of reading that will probably not involve posting any reviews to my other blog...

It feels like there's so much to learn and know that it's getting a little overwhelming!

thinking ahead.

I'm in my 20th week now -- halfway done! Jason seems to think things are going fast, but they seem awfully slow to me.

I broke the news to my students this week. It's way too obvious not to mention now, so I figured I should tell them before the rumors started. Teachers are noticing and asking, too, which has been mostly nice. I'm struggling with body image a little bit but trying to relax into things!

Now that it's basically public knowledge (though still not on FB) and we're at the midway point, I've started thinking about future planning. We have a guest room in our house that we're planning to convert into a nursery that already has some non-gender-specific, baby-appropriate curtains and decorations in it. However, the fabric we used is no longer widely available! I think in all of my mom's internet searching, she was only able to find 5/8ths of a yard left. We love the pattern, so I'm trying to decide what to do about keeping it or maybe finding another accent fabric to go with it:



And then of course there comes all of the other baby accoutrements. Stephanie lent me the book Baby Bargains, which has been a helpful crash course in what we might need and what products are worth investing in (or worth saving our money on!), but it's all a little overwhelming. I'm glad I'll be taking the month of May off to get all of the final details ready -- it seems like a full time job to get ready for this baby!

One week, two days until we find out what we're having. Can't wait!

updates.

I posted some pictures from the holidays to spice up some of the entries below -- enjoy the updates!

30th birthday.

Today I am 30. I was dreading this birthday ever since 1.2.2010 -- the thought of moving out of my twenties seemed terrifying -- but today came and went fairly uneventfully. It was lovely to be with family and to have a relaxing day. And somehow the anticipation of 6.2.2011 made today seem un-daunting; according to my due date, 5 months from today (or thereabouts) a new little person will be in the world.

Future Baby Hanna must know it's my birthday, because I've been feeling what has to be movement for the past two days fairly regularly -- little flips and pokes right in the center of my abdomen. Worth the wait to feel more sure that I'm not just imagining things! Despite my excitement about getting some new maternity pants so I can actually feel comfortable in clothes other than sweats and a darling bag that Jason picked out (and special ordered with an extra pocket inside for a bottle -- such a thoughtful guy!), that has to be my favorite birthday present.

Jason was probably most excited, though, about the Packers victory over the Bears -- post-season, here we come! Here are some updated baby bump photos of me in my Packers regalia, though I no longer fit into those jeans from the previous pics (please excuse the hair; it was a long first day back at work when these were taken.)