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.)

chiropractor.

I am starting my 19th week today (18 weeks, 0 days as of 12/30) -- baby is the size of a sweet potato. I'm really starting to not be able to wear my pants anymore; luckily, my birthday is Sunday, and I am getting some expandable-waist maternity pants as my gift from the 'rents so I can stop walking around with my jeans unbuttoned (classy, I know).

Today started with a visit to the chiropractor. I have been having terrible lower back pain since prior to Thanksgiving, and it's been significantly worse since my car ride from DeKalb to Bloomington, so I went in to see a practitioner my aunt has used for years (I actually went there for acupuncture back in high school when I was having shoulder pain). At first, I thought her table was really crooked and off balance -- and then I realized it was me! My pelvis is totally out of alignment (was, I guess I should say). She worked on me for an hour and also taught me some stretches and exercises I can do. I'm hoping to find someone I can see regularly back at home, because I really can't keep feeling like this until May! And I think baby will be much happier when s/he is in the right place, too.

I know I've been posting a lot of text-y entries with no pictures. I promise to remedy that soon -- once we get home and can load pictures from the camera to the computer. And exciting news: Ross and Meredith got us a Flip camera for Christmas, so there will be videos to share once baby arrives!

christmas eve.

Christmas is a lot of hustle and bustle no matter who or where you are. But Christmas in my family is a little extra crazy -- my dad has a stressful church service to organize and run, 3 people have birthdays on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and now that we have both sets of grandparents living in MN, we have 2-3 days of nonstop relatives, shuttling people around, and catering to people's whims, fancies, and dietary restrictions, and of course the overwhelming need to preserve tradition. Don't get me wrong: I love all that the McNamara/Boebel family Christmas entails! But now that we have a baby on the way, it makes me wonder what it will be like next year with a little one in the mix. I worry that it'll be even more crazy -- but I hope no one will mind because s/he will be too cute to be mad at. :)

Got to see good friends Reid and Stephanie and their 5 1/2-month old, Juliette, yesterday. We last saw them when Stephanie was at about 39 weeks pregnant, so it was fun to see the finished product in person at last. Juliette was very good the whole time and even put up with me holding her for a while.

I'm still not feeling definitive movements. A few things here and there that make me wonder, "Hmmm, is that...?" but I'm just not convinced yet. Hoping it will happen soon. I'll be 17 weeks, 2 days (otherwise known as "in my 18th week") on Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas to all! Stay safe and warm (the snow here in MN is getting deeper by the minute...)

avocado baby.

Soon-to-be Baby Hanna is the length of an avocado this week. That reminds me of a book my family used to love when I was little: Avocado Baby.

This unassuming little baby becomes like Popeye whenever he eats avocados. I wish our little one felt the same effects so that I could be sure the funny things I'm feeling are really baby movements! Plus, it's hard to think of anything more delicious than fresh guacamole. Hmmm...I wonder how Jason feels about getting Mexican for dinner tonight...

16 week appointment.

Today, we had our 16-week appointment (as I've mentioned before, pregnancy dating is so weird -- I'm actually 15 weeks, 5 days today, but in my 16th week). It went great! I've gained 2 pounds since my last appointment at 12 weeks, which the doctor seemed to approve of. And we heard the heartbeat; last time, my backwards-tipping uterus wasn't cooperating, but this time we heard little future Baby Hanna loud and clear with a heartbeat of 150-155 beats per minute, which is right on target.

Equally exciting: we've scheduled our anatomy ultrasound! On January 3rd at 9:15am, we'll get the chance to see our little one and find out if we're having a boy or a girl. What a great 30th birthday present (one day late, but I wouldn't really expect the hospital to fit me in on a Sunday...). We can't wait! Jason hasn't been present for an ultrasound since week 6, so he's really looking forward to this -- and I am too, of course. Will we be breaking out the pink or blue balloons? Only time will tell...

Edit: only moments after posting this, I realized we had a phone message from the doctor's office -- wanting us to reschedule the appointment! Even though the doctor said "any time after 18 weeks," the scheduler said we had to wait until after week 20. I'll call back tomorrow to plead my case...but it's looking like we won't get to find out until much later than planned. (Update: we won't get to find out until Monday, January 17th -- and I was warned that the ultrasound tech won't tell me much of anything, so I'll have to wait to talk to my doctor on the 19th. Man, I'm already feeling impatient!)

not so quick.

Starting my 16th week today -- Baby Hanna is navel orange size now. Supposedly, s/he is whirling and twirling around in there, but as of yet I haven't felt any "quickening." The first movement is usually detected in weeks 16-20, so I'm anxiously awaiting those little pops and wiggles. I have spent a lot of time this week sitting quietly on the couch or in bed, trying to notice anything different, but I can't confirm anything as of yet.

We have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so I'm sure we'll get some reassurance then, but now that my nausea is gone it'd be nice to have some other signs of the life within. Besides running to the bathroom 10 times a day and having my pants get a little tighter, I'm feeling pretty normal. I'm still struggling with anxiety about the pregnancy but trying to channel it into being excited as much as I can.

I'm also getting excited about finding out the sex of our baby, which usually happens at a 20-week ultrasound (somewhere in the beginning of January). I know that it's trendy now to wait until you give birth, but Jason and I feel that we'll be surprised whenever we find out so we might as well know sooner rather than later! I have no reason to think so, but I feel convinced we're having a boy. Jason refers to the baby as "he" but feels equally convinced we're having a girl (you can try to figure out that one, because I can't!). It'll be fun to share that news with you when we get it.

Hoping for an early Christmas present, since it's too late for Hanukkah now, with feeling movement...I'll let you know when it happens!

"belly bump" pics -- sort of.

Here is some photo documentation of my "do I look pregnant?" development thus far. I don't really know precisely what my weight was pre-baby, but as far as I can tell, I think I dropped about 5 pounds by week 10 due to nausea and lack of gym time (I was on pelvic rest for that subchorionic bleed, so my 3x a week on the elliptical routine came to a crashing halt -- goodbye, toned muscles from summer!). Since then, I think I've gained that weight back, plus possibly 1 additional pound.

For comparison, here is a picture of me taken this August on our trip to Boulder, CO (admittedly, this is taken from the front so you get less of a three-dimensional view, but it's all I have!):

Two weeks ago, Jason took this picture of me just after the Packers pummeled the Vikings 31-3:

And today, after the Packers beat the 49ers 34-16, this is me in my other Packers t-shirt:

So, it seems that all of the weight that I lost and regained since September has settled in my mid-section...but I'm not sure that I would say I'm "showing" at this point. More like I look as if I just ate a really big meal. My pregnancy guidebook says that I should start gaining an average of 1 pound a week starting now -- we'll see what the scale says when I go to my next doctor's appointment on 12/14!