Week 18!!!

Bell Pepper:

We have made it to 18 weeks, 4.5 months.  Some of you may thing this means we are half way through...you would be mistaken (most likely).  Contrary to what we were taught in every single health class (and a ridiculously funny movie starring Hugh Grant called, you guessed it, 9 Months) baby incubation periods are actually calculated somewhere closer to 10 months (or 40 weeks).  This week the little bean has grown to the size of a Bell Pepper and will be called either "Baby Bell" or "Peppy" depending on which parent you ask.  I, of course, opted for Baby Bell as it bears a strikingly similar resemblence to the brand of cheese I often eat, and I am obsessed with anything cheese related.  Baby Bell is supposedly moving around in there, but I have yet to feel it for real.  In other news, THIS is what I had for lunch today...perhaps you can hear me smiling through the computer  ("Turkey Club...I can't quit you"):

Scooby Dooby Sam:

So, some of you may know that Sammy is a huge scaredy-pup.  She frequently runs and hides, or cries, uses us as a shield when there are loud noises, thunderstorms, or children around (also "things on wheels" for some reason, I put it in quotes because it seems like a Jeopardy category).  This past weekend Kurt made a fire, once the logs began to burn they settled and shifted making a loud noise.  Sammy, who was sleeping at my feet next to the couch, jumped up and would not leave my lap for the remainder of the day.  As you can see from the pictures, Sammy is not a lap dog:

That's all for this week, hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas (for those celebrating) and a very enjoyable couple days off (for those who are not).

xoxo, Jilly

Say Cheese!

Turnip
Good morning!  Yesterday started the week of the turnip (or "Turny" as the mini bean will be called this week).  We are really looking forward to finding out the gender of Turny (in just a few short weeks), so we can stop calling our baby by vegetable nicknames.  I am feeling fine, nothing to complain about.  For those interested, I still have no idea if the baby is a boy or a girl, so we will just have to wait and find out (which is killing me!).  This week Turny's skeleton is turning from soft to more solid, can move his/her joints, and is developing sweat glands.

Busted!!!
So far I have managed to keep the pregnancy a secret at work (or so I thought).  I was inspired to tell my friend Lindsay just what was going on with me and her response was that she already knew.  Apparently I'm not that good at hiding things.  When I asked her what tipped her off, she noted a couple of things and ended with, and I quote, "No one likes cheese that much".  My obesession with eating the fruit and cheese plate, grilled cheese, broccoli and cheese soup, mozzarella sticks, and even mac-n-cheese is what gave me up!  And no, the compulsion to eat cheese has not shown any signs of subsiding, nor has the revulsion to vegetables...c'mon kid, let me eat a salad!

Sammy Update
I know you all have been on the edge of your seat wondering if Sammy decapitated the Ladybug pillow-pet yet or if it has become her new best friend.  Well, you all will be glad to know, it is the latter.  Sammy has fallen in love with her new buddy and sleeps on it every night.  Though our initial plan has back fired because 1. now Sammy sleeps wedged between the pillow pet and the pregnancy pillow (thus, not getting her off the prgnancy pillow), and 2. the ladybug is BIG, so it takes up more of the minimal space on our bed...poor Kurt is hanging on for dear life!  Check our Sammy and her new BFF (taken while she was sleeping), pictured below:

Hope you all have a fantastic week, and I will keep you posted on whether or not I am able to convice my doctor's office to tell us the baby's gender sooner than 3 weeks from now.

xoxo, Jilly

Avocado, Arizona, and Happy Birthday Sammy!!!

AVOCADO!!!!  In the event you all are confused, Kurt and I are extremely excited to announce that we have hit the 4 month mark (aka 16 weeks)!  Actually this posting is a little belated (oopsy!), I'm more than 16.5 weeks now.  The little bean is now the size of an avocado (or "Cado" as the little bean will be called this week).  I went back to the doctor this past Wednesday and got to hear little Cado's heart beating...actually, it sounded more like whooshing.

Cravings:  Fruit and cheese (I live off of the Starbucks Fruit and Cheese Plate...delish!)

Return to Childhood?:  Recently I have been experiencing many of the ailments I had as a child- bad allergies (including being allergic to dogs), asthma episodes, acne, and excema...fun, fun, fun!

But generally how do I feel?:  Great!!!  I am loving the second trimester!

Greatest news ever?:  My doctor told me I can eat sliced turkey!!!

Bump Watch

This past (extended) weekend we went to Arizona to visit Cousin Cheryl (on Kurt's side) and join my entire family for Rachel's Bat Mitzvah.  Here we are in Gilbert, AZ with Cheryl and Lindsey!!!:

 

Now, I have been off the Bar/Bat Mitzvah circuit for many, many years...I completely forgot how much fun they are!!!  There was fantastic music, delicious food, giveaways (they gave out slap-bracelets!!!!  remember those?), games (though no Coke & Pepsi, to Dan's dismay), and of course fabulous family and friends.  Rachel did amazingly well leading her portion of the services and we were all extremely proud of her.  See below for some pictures from our weekend in Arizona (most of them from the photo booth at the Bat Mitzvah):

The woman of honor, Rahel Leah, and her proud parents Zina & Paul:

Night before the BIG party (minus Kate who was hanging with Abby):

The whole family at Rachel's Bat Mitvah (minus Paul & Zina, who were hosting, and Olga & Jessica who sadly could not make the trip this time):

Me, Kurt, and Avocado

Happy Birthday Sammy

Our little fuzzy baby girl is turning 5 today!!!  We can't imagine our lives without her and I try to thank Kurt every single day for bringing Sammy into our home (she is, without a doubt, the best gift I have ever received).  For her birthday this year we have given Sammy a pillow pet (the ladybug), we hope this gift will accomplish 2 goals: 1.  We are haoping it will keep Sammy off the pregnancy pillow, and 2.  We are testing her maturity level and seeing if she will keep the ladybug in-tact or tear it to shreds and sleep on the carcass as the does with her stuffed animal toys...I'll keep you posted!

xoxo, Jilly

Here is an extra picture in case you all forgot how fun the "photo booth" can be:

Are you smarter than a Labrador?

Last week I was reprimanded by my doctor because I continue to sleep on my stomach (already into my 15th week of pregnancy).  While other doctors in my practice do not agree with the first doctor, instead taking the approach that my body will tell me when it's time to sleep on my side, I decided to get pro-active and try to come up with a new sleeping position.  To this end I contacted my sister to find out if she had any tips or advice on how to accomplish this task.  As luck would have it, she provided me with her pregnancy pillow, The Snoogle (pictured below):

Anyone who knows me fairly well, knows that I love to read and follow directions.  Unfortunately since this pillow was purchased for my sister's first pregnancy, 5 years ago, the directions and pictures had been long ago discarded.  No problem, I thought to myself, "How hard could sleeping with a body pillow actually be?".  Pretty hard is the answer.  For 3 nights I tried, the pillow would end up tangled, suffocating me, or knocking me off the bed.  It was clear that I needed help.  Once again I went to my sister for advice.  She explained to me that, 1. I am a moron (who doesn't know how to use a pillow), and 2. There are many ways you can use the pillow, you just have to find the one most comfortable to you (which she then demonstrated).  Armed with this knowledge, I tried again.  It wasn't a total success, yet it wasn't a total failure either.  I managed to keep the pillow, and myself, on the bed for the entire night and I only woke up a few times to re-position.  The next morning I woke up to shower and get ready for work, when I got back into my room and THIS is what I found in my bed...

So yeah...Sammy is smarter than me.  She was mad that I was disturbing her by taking pictures while she was trying to sleep (and also she thinks I am a moron because I couldn't figure out how to use a body pillow without directions).

xoxo, Jilly

Beck and Me (and "the Bean" and "the Bee")

So as I mentioned yesterday, I recently attended my friend Becky's baby shower.  Here are some pics from that day as well as a couple pictures which eerily predicted the future, lol...

Here we are wearing our matching #3 Jerseys for Halloween in 1997,
and our matching baby bumps in 2010...

I am so thrilled to be sharing this special time with such a wonderful friend!  I can't wait to meet the Bee in early January (and to have the mini Bean, as Apple is also often called, meet him soo after that)!!!

xoxo, Jilly

Apple of our eyes...

For those of you who got used to Lemmy (after all, Lemmy has been the baby's name for 2 weeks), I hope you enjoy change...as of yesterday, we are into the week of Apple!  Yesterday, I had the fortunate/unfortunate pleasure of hearing baby Apple's heart beat due to an unscheduled visit to the doctor.  Have no fear, however, as the doctor re-assured me that everything is going well and Apple's heartbeat is good and strong.

Recap of recent events:

How am I feeling?: Amazingly well, those books and websites were not joking when they said that the second trimester is a complete 180 from the first.  Only complaints; As we learned yesterday, I have something called "round ligament pain", which is not terribly uncomfortable and should go away soon and my allergies which are terrible (again the doctor said it was normal for them to get worse during pregnancy...oh joy).
Food Cravings: Cheese, Fruit, and Bread (are we certain this baby is not French?)
Food Aversions:  Sadly, still no veggies.  I asked the doctor again yesterday and she restated that this was just fine (hopefully I will be able to eat them soon).
What is Apple up to?: Accoring to our weekly newletters, Apple has developed sensitivity to light, reflexes. fingerprints (so no more bank robbing), as well as can now frown, squint, grimace, and pee (awesome...and disgusting)
What is Sammy up to?:  Well, mostly this...

Bump Watch:
A week and a half ago I had the pleasure of attending the baby shower for Becky Ham Ormsbee (my best friend from high school).  Over the years she and I have remained very close and shared many of our milestones at almost exactly the same time.  It seemed only fitting that we have children around the same time (in fact we joked that all we needed was for Becky to get pregnant in order for it to happen for us) and I am delighted that we can share this special time together.  Her shower was fabulous with her family and friends as delightful as always.  Becky is expecting a baby boy (which I've nicknamed "the Bee") in early January.  Becky looked amazingly beautiful (naturally) and it was a really special day that I was pleased to be a part of.  Here is a picture of one of the centerpieces, I will post some more pictures soon!

xoxo, Jilly

Happy Turkey Day!!!

For those of you who don't know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!!!  My family really steps up their game and cooks and bakes fantastic dishes for a truly fantastic meal.  This year, Kurt and I are thankful for many things;  of course we are thankful for Lemmy who is growing (hopefully) with each passing day, I am thankful that Lemmy permitted the nausea to subside so that I could enjoy the Thanksgiving feast (I would have been very upset if I had to eat plain pasta while my family ate Thanksgiving dinner), and we are thankful for our family and friends who have been so excited and happy for us over the past few weeks.

Below is my favorite Thanksgiving song (which I sang the entire time cooking my 2 dishes) and a picture of my plate from the meal (which I ate everything on the plate and went even back for more):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIufyg09WnQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Printing Retraction!!!  Last week I posted that the baby would be the size of a lemon (and that we were calling the baby Lemmy), in fact, the baby was the size of a medium shrimp last week and this week is the lemon.  So for those of you who became attached to calling the baby Lemmy, have no fear!!!  You have another week of Lemmy!

xoxo, Jilly

Notes from the underbelly...

Kurt and I have spent the last week happily revealing our news to shocked and elated family and friends.  We can't express how happy it makes us to feel the love from all of you.  Though we tried our best to give you all of the information we had (or so we thought), we discovered that you people ask a lot of questions.  So here is some more info for your inquiring minds:

How I am feeling right now?:  A little pukey, a little hungry, and still very tired (hoping this part will be over soon)
Do I have any cravings?:  Not really, although cheese and mozzarella sticks have been in my thoughts recently
Do I have any food aversions?:  Sorry Kurt, but this kid seems to take after me...I am not permitted to even think about eating a vegetable (don't worry moms, the doctor swears that is okay)
What is the best thing I've eaten since pregnant?  Giant rice crispy treat in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head.  (it was roughly the size of my own head and I ate it all by myself after giving my father a dirty look for even requesting to share).  Seen below from another blog:

What is the worst?:  Salad from Cheesecake factory..hey, I tried.  Three bites into it and I needed it to be removed from my sight.
Best reaction to our news so far?:  Grammy (my grandmother) crying and my sister letting a curse slip
How is Sammy handling the pressure of becoming a big sister?:  She is excited, yet wants to establish that she is the only one allowed to sleep with us.  Actually she likes to put her head on my belly!
Hardest thing about being pregnant?:  Keeping it secret from everyone else.
What do I miss the most about being not pregnant?:  I would literally kill for a turkey club sandwich (not sure how much longer I can hold out!!!)
What is the best/worst parenting advice that I have received so far?  The best and worst advice strangely came packaged as one warning on a ride in DisneyWorld (pointed out by my sister), posted below.  It appears the good people at Disney do not want me to RAVE with my child?...Noted.

That's all for today.  Today starts the week of the Lemon (or more affectionately, Lemmy).  By the by, by popular request I fixed the comments section, so feel free to leave a note or ask another question (we'll see if we can accomodate your request).  Thank you again for all of the love and support!

xoxo, Jilly

Baby on Board!

After almost 3.5 years of marriage, being seperated by war, famine (well, whenever it's Jill's turn to cook), and surviving homeownership (so far), we have procreated!  We are extremely excited that we get to finally share this news with all of you.  It has been extremely difficult to keep this secret for so long.  As our family and friends are numerous (lucky us), we have decided to bless the world with not only a pregnancy, but also a blog.  Here you can find updates and anecdotes about Jill's pregnancy as well as our thoughts on becoming parents.  So...let the blogging begin!

Basic Information (this section will hopefully prevent Jill's family from activitaing the emergency phone chain to find out as much information as possible):

Due Date: May 25, 2011
So, what does that mean?:  Jill is a little over 12 weeks, so depending on the website either almost or completely through her 1st trimester
How big is the baby?:  About the size of a lime (hence this week the baby is being called Limey).  Previous weeks have included Figgy, Kidney (Bean), Lentil, and the confusing Kumquat week in which none of the nicknames sounded right.
How is Jill feeling:  Tired, cranky, and a little pukey.  (Actually, the last week or so has provided 100% improvement)
Does Jill glow?: umm...not more than she usually does
Cravings:  Jill can pretty much only eat plain pasta...though cheese is making a comeback this week!
Boy or Girl?:  Too early to tell, we have no idea yet, we would be happy with either, and yes we are finding out

Bump Watch (Where has the bump been, maybe closer to you that you thought):

Dinner in Morristown with Dan and Olga; Hillsboro Farm with Carolyn, Wendy, Kate , Andrew, and Anna;  Dinner with the Kaufmans; US Open; Fort Lauderdale; Disney; Newtown Beer Festival (where Jill was the designated driver); and Princeton with Rob and Sandra...as well as work for the past 3 months!

We hope you all will enjoy sharing this special and exciting time with us!!!

xoxo, Jill and Kurt